Eun Hae’s POV

“Achoo!”

I came out of the kitchen holding a cup of hot chocolate. Poor Lu Han, he got the cold. He’s been sick all week. Yi Fan offered to look after him but I could see he was reluctant. But it was so I could go to work. But then I came home one day and saw how bad he was and decided to take today off.

“Achoo!”

When I walked into the living room, Lu Han had a blanket wrapped around his body, his eyes bloodshot and his nose red. Yi Fan had gotten rolls of tissue ready for him. I walked over to them and handed him the cup.

“Thanks,” he sniffled. He looked at me as he took a sip. “You can go to work if you want,” he added. “You don’t have to stay at home because I’m sick. I mean, I have my brother here to look after me.” He jerked his thumb to his brother.

Yi Fan scowled.

I looked at him and laughed. “If you want,” I said, “you can continue exploring Korea, and see our tourist attractions. I can take care of Lu Han here. Really.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I mean, you came here to have a holiday, not take care of your brother,” I replied, shrugging. Lu Han looked at me and I brushed back the hair that fell on his face. Gosh, he was burning up. “It’s fine, really. It’s not like I have any place to go.”

Yi Fan got up. “If you’re sure,” he said happily and I could tell he was relieved. He must have been bored, staying home. He was gone in a flash.

Lu Han scowled at me once he was sure that his brother was gone and out of earshot. “You really didn’t have to do that,” he told me. “I mean, the real reason why he’s here is to check on me.”

I shook my head. “I’m okay,” I replied. I looked at him, frowning. “Gosh, you’re burning up. Have you taken panadol?”

He nodded sickly. “I just did.” He opened the blanket and hugged me. I hugged him back. He rested his head on mine. It felt so hot. I flinched at first, but then I got used to it. “Thanks for taking care of me. But, Eun Hae . . . I’m sorry. I’m not sure if I’ll be well enough in time for the dance.”

I shrugged, not really upset. “Then we’ll stay at home,” I replied.

“I really don’t want you to miss it.”

“I don’t care. I can’t go to the dance with the worrying thought of you home sick and unwell,” I replied. I hugged him. “Really, I don’t mind. I want to stay and take care of you. I don’t like seeing you sick.”

He looked at me. “Why?”

I shrugged. “Because you’re my friend,” I replied. That was a lie. It was because I liked him, because I had a big crush on him and I wanted to make him happy and hated seeing him unwell.

He sneezed before looking at me. “Have you talked to Kai?”

I looked down. I honestly have been avoiding Kai. I would wake up earlier than usual to walk to school by myself and when I got to work, I would always find jobs to do in which Kai isn’t working in that area as well. I didn’t want to give him the answer just yet. Daeseul kept persisting me into saying yes but I really do not want to. I mean, I do not like Kai in that way.

I like Lu Han.

So forcing me to say yes is bad because I won’t do it.

And I was avoiding him because I also didn’t want to hurt him. I mean, he’s a sweet guy and all, and I fell really bad that I do not like him that way, that I do not return his feelings like how Daeseul would have returned.

“What happened to you two?” Lu Han asked.

I winced sheepishly. He was going to find out sooner or later. “He, uh, asked me to be his girlfriend the other day,” I replied.

Lu Han’s eyes went wide. “What the ? What did you say? Please tell me you said you didn’t want to be his girlfriend!” he exclaimed, looking quite furious. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

I shook my head. “I haven’t given him an answer yet, but my answer is going to be no,” I replied. “I mean, Daeseul really like him a lot and she told me about it first. Even though I did sort of have a crush on him —”

“You what?” Lu Han growled.

I patted his shoulder. “I don’t anymore,” I replied. “Anyway, I think Kai likes her in a way. But why he came after me instead, that is a mystery.”

He frowned thoughtfully and shrugged. “Maybe he wanted to see what Daeseul would do? How she would react? Maybe, if you say that he likes her like that, maybe he did that only because he wanted to see if Daeseul liked him enough to do something about this?” he suggested.

I nodded slowly. “That actually made sense.”

He nodded. He looked at me. “Anyway, what are we going to do while my brother is gone?” he asked.

“Well, I was hoping I could catch up on my Secret Garden,” I confessed.

He nodded and stood up. “I have to use the toilet. Achoo!” He sighed. “You put it on. I’ll join you later.”

“Will you be okay?”

“I’m sick, not crippled,” he replied as he made his way to the bathroom.

I shrugged and slotted the Secret Garden disk into the player and turned the show on. I was in the middle of episode six, and it was when they were down at Jeju Island.

Lu Han’s POV

I’m alone with her.

Oh boy.

I know, I’ve been alone with her for so long already. But this time, it felt different. Maybe it’s because I’m scared I might ruin our first date by not even being well enough to go for it. I hope she wouldn’t be too disappointed. Gah. What am I going to do?

Then I had an idea. I switched my watch on and dialled a specific number. “Lay?” I asked as his face appeared. “Could you please come down?”

A few minutes later, Lay was standing in front of me. He looked at me and sighed, shaking his head disapprovingly. “I seriously think the reason why you’re asking me to do this is because you want to do something for the girl,” he said.

I nodded. “The dance is in two days’ time. I want to be able to get well in time so that I can take her out on our first date.” I glanced at him hopefully. “Please, pretty please, with cherries on top?”

Lay shot a withering look in my direction. “The last time I tried to help you, I got chased by knives as thanks.”

I waved a hand dismissively. “If you hadn’t been so erted, I wouldn’t have to send knives flying in your direction.”

He glared at me. “Where’s dui zhang?” he asked. He looked around, scared. “Please tell me he’s not here.”

“He’s gone off touring around town,” I replied and he breathed a sigh of relieved. “Achoo!” I shuddered and grabbed tissues to blow my nose. I flushed it down the toilet bowl. “Gah, this is so frustrating. I hate this. I wish I didn’t catch a cold now. I hate having a cold.” I looked at him and grinned at him.

He sighed and raised a hand to place on my head.

“Wait!” I cried out, but not too loud enough for Eun Hae to hear. “I don’t want you to heal me completely. You know, just enough to be completely healed by tomorrow. Could you do that for me, please?”

“More like, can I do that for her?” Lay grumbled darkly under his breath but he nodded, anyway. He put his hand on my head and all my sickness away. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes and removed his hand. “You should fell much better now.”

I smiled. “Thanks,” I replied. “I wonder, what would I do without you?”

“Eun Hae would have had a hangover and you wouldn’t be able to take her to the dance,” he replied and I grimaced.

“Yah, that was a rhetorical question,” I shot back. But I was actually okay. I mean, he was right. He did help me a lot too. “Thanks, Yixing. I appreciate your help a lot. I promise you, the next time it’s your turn to play, I promise I will come down and make the girl dream of you.”

He laughed. “It’s a deal.” He disappeared soon after.

Eun Hae’s POV

The credits had started, ending the sixth episode, and Lu Han was still inside. I wasn’t worried. It meant he was taking a dump.

I went to the kitchen to get myself a drink before I came back to the living room as the seventh episode began playing. I sat down, focusing my eyes on the screen as I watched the episode of Secret Garden. Suddenly Lu Han came out of the bathroom and sighed tiredly. He yawned as he settled down next to me.

I paused the show and turned to him. He smiled and yawned again. “Achoo!” he sneezed in the middle of a yawn.

“Are you tired?” I asked worriedly.

He nodded, his eyes drooping a little bit. “Mmm, I should sleep now,” he said. He got up to leave.

My hand shot out and grabbed him back. He turned quizzically and I bit my bottom lip. I didn’t want to be alone. I wanted some company. But I knew I should let him sleep. He was tired, after all. And he was sick. I patted my lap, too shy to say anymore. What if he doesn’t want?

But he smiled, seeming to have gotten the hint. He sat back down. Then he turned his body, propping his legs on the couch and he lied down, placing his head on my lap. I tried not to squeal with excitement as he snuggled up and closed his eyes. I looked down and smiled. He looked so . . . calm. I watched as he fell asleep before I played the video again and watched, while Lu Han slept in my lap, keeping me company.

D.O’s POV

I watched as Kai worked around the cafe, constantly checking the door to see if someone would come. He must be hoping that it was Eun Hae. I noticed that she had been avoiding him the whole time.

I wonder why.

Ding!

Kai eagerly went to the counter to see who had entered. I watched as a familiar girl walked up to him. Then I realized that it was Eun Hae’s best friend.

“Daeseul! Just the person I want to see,” Kai said. “Listen, I think you would have known about me asking Eun Hae out, right?”

She nodded slowly, frowning. I could tell that she likes him and talking about her best friend being the girl Kai wants, hurt. “What about her?” she asked, trying to keep her tone friendly.

“Well, she hasn’t been answering to any of my calls,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “and she has been avoiding me at work and she’s not in work today. Do you know why?”

“Lu Han has the flu.”

“So she’s taking care of him?”

My ears perked up at ‘Lu Han’. I looked at them and saw that the way Eun Hae’s best friend was saying, Eun Hae cared about Lu Han, which could possibly mean that she has a crush on him.

If Eun Hae had a crush on that Lu Han guy, it meant one thing for sure: Kai stood no chance against him.

He’s losing.

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I have decided! I'll make a sequel.

I'm not gonna tell you when I'm stopping this first one though :P

Btw, I am so sorry if this fic is starting to not make any sense. I'm going crazy writing this at 3am in the morning, while having a migraine. D:

My poor head.