Undoing your lace, you pulled off the first boot and then the second and hung your coat that Kai had taken out for you back up in the cupboard. Then, entering the bathroom, you picked up a small flannel and ran it under the tap, soaking it in water until it was cool to the touch. After dabbing your arms to make sure it wasn't too wet, you took the cloth to Kai and Kyungsoo's room, quietly opening the door so as to not disturb him. 

 

"Hana! Hana!"

You were playing in the park near your house. It wasn't particularly sunny, nor was it particularly cloudy. The day just sort of stood as it was. Maddie was with you as Ahri was at the doctors and your brother Joon had just given you a call to invite Maddie over for dinner. It turned out that your parents had somehow decided it'd be a good day for a barbecue.

"Hana! Hana!" Maddie yelled at you, running towards you with a speed that seemed so unlike her. She was frantically waving her arms around, "Haneul Shin! For God's sake, come here!" 

You could hardly make out what she was saying, her voice barely carrying over the vast grassland but given her beckoning motions, you figured she wanted you to go to her. Running towards her, she began running away from you in the direction of the cafe where she had just been, buying some water.

"Hey! Maddie! Where are you going?!" you yelled after her, now even more determined to catch up with your best friend.

Eventually she stopped, just as she was about to turn the corner to get to the cafe. It was in a secluded part of the park and you hit her on the back, slapping her for making you run and get out of breath. After taking a puff of your inhaler, you gave her a look that read 'what the hell was that for?'. Maddie pressed a finger on her lips, signalling for you to be quiet, then pointed in the direction of the cafe. Taking a step forward, you peered around the corner before retracting and backing up quickly. Your foot slipped on the gravel and you slunk to the floor, scraping your ankle as you did so. In fear, both you and Maddie were silent as she helped you scramble back to your feet. The only noises were the loud jeers of a group of bullies from your school surrounding their newest victim.

"Aaron Ahn's a loser! Aaron Ahn's a loser!" 

 

Kneeling down by Kyungsoo's bed, you patted his forehead to wipe up his sweat before carefully folding the flannel into a long strip and leaving it to sit. You opened the window a fraction, wanting to let in a bit of air and went into the small utility room to retrieve the humidifier. With Kyungsoo's occasional but still worrying hoarse coughs, you didn't want to leave him dehydrated. Unsure of how he'd take water being dribbled down his throat, a mist making machine seemed like the next best option.

 

"What do we do?!"

Aaron Ahn was a boy in your class whose reputation proceeded him. People knew him as the half Asian kid who was great at playing the violin and rubbish at mathematics. He was neither popular nor unpopular, sticking with friends of all races and playing football in the playground at lunchtime. His choice in friends had been far more racially diverse than yours, having grown up in England and not recently migrated like you were. Finding comfort in the Japanese and Korean duo, you had stuck with them. That wasn't to say that you weren't friends with anyone else, not at all. You had managed to become friends with all the girls in your class and most of the boys but some name-calling had still ensued when you arrived to school on your first day.

"Why are they picking on him?" you whispered and Maddie shrugged.

"The last one moved school?"

"Just how horrible can they be?"

Maddie sighed, peering over at Aaron again. "Very."

You twitched in fear. Fighting had always been something your parents hated, so much so that they were furious when your grandfather suggested you take self-defence lessons. However, when you had started to go out on your own with friends at night into town, your careful and overprotective parents finally agreed, realising it would be nothing but beneficial.

"Han, you know self defence, come on! You can help him!"

"I don't want to be next in the firing line!"

You hissed back at Maddie, your eyes never leaving Aaron as he kneeled on the concrete floor, hunched over as if there was something he was protecting.

"We can't just leave him though, Hana!" Maddie argued back.

"Why don't you go then?"

"Because... Because..."

It was a typical high school situation. People never want to stand up to bullies because they're afraid they'll be next. Instead, they sit and watch and act as witnesses, feeling the internal pity but never doing anything about it.

 

After carefully pouring in some filtered water into the mist machine, you flicked it's switch and it began to glow an array of soft and soothing colors. Heading outside, you the radio leaving it to play in the background. There was something a little scary about being alone in the dorm. It was uncomfortable with so few people in a space that was usually overcrowded with its inhabitants. Not wanting to be alone in an empty dorm, you headed back to Kyungsoo, sitting down on the floor beside his bed after checking his temperature again.

It had started to go down which was a promising sign. In his sleep, he even swallowed and gulped a few times, showing you that his throat was moist enough to move now. His slightly pained expression softened turning into one of ease. Quiet moans and breathy sighs replaced harsh coughs and hoarse groans. You leant forward, resting your elbows and your head on the bed as you gazed at him. You could see a light movement in his eyelids as his eyes moved in his sleep, dashing around in his dream. His lips opened and closed a fraction every few seconds and his chest rose and fell steadily with his breathing. With a shaking hand, you slowly reached out and brushed his fringe and hair away from his face before retracting your hand and using it to find his under the covers. Holding it in yours, you laced your fingers with his and smiled, lightly playing with his fingertips with your free hand. The soft lull of IU's voice on the radio and the warmth from Kyungsoo's hand comforted you in your uneasiness from being alone. Even just his presence was enough to help relieve you. Breathing deeply and consumed by a sudden sleepiness, your head fell onto Kyungsoo's chest and there it stayed as you slept.

 

"Han, they can't touch you. You've got an older brother who's on the football team. Your brother's really highly thought of. Just go and get them to leave Aaron alone. They won't think anything of it."

But you were scared too. You had never done anything to annoy anyone. You were popular, sure, but nowhere near as popular as these guys were. In the social hierachy, you were perhaps slap bang in the middle of the middle tier. These guys? The top of the top- the peak of the top tier. They had classmates of yours wrapped around their fingers. One click and the world could be against you. High school could be scary like this.

"Your dog is just as pathetic as you!"

Maddie's ears pricked up and you shot a look at her. Looking around the corner, you saw Aaron Ahn standing up on his feet. The knees of his jeans had ripped and the concrete had scraped away the skin leaving a mess of blood and gravel. It was nothing serious, in fact he'd quite easily be able to go home and tell his parents he'd slipped without them even questioning it for a moment. In his arms however, he held a small toy poodle that shook in his embrace.

"A poodle is perfect for him though, isn't it?" They jeered, "a girly dog for a girly boy!"

You rolled your eyes, now more deeply annoyed by the bullies from your class than scared. It was the beginning of the summer holidays and they were already picking on their next target. There was a roar of laughter as the boys hooted with glee, pointing and jeering at Aaron Ahn. It turned out the toy poodle was a puppy and had yet to be toilet trained. Aaron had been clutching the poor thing to his chest when it peed all over him. And now the boys were beside themselves hooting with laughter.

"Fine. Fine, I'll go help him."

You let down your hair and shook it a little to try and look like you had been running for a while. After jumping up and down on the spot for a few seconds, you gave Maddie a thumbs up and she ran off to hide away until you were done. Once she was safely out of sight, you jogged around the corner, dramatically stopping when you came into view.

 

You woke up to a sweaty palm in yours. Kyungsoo's skin was moist with sweat and his face was as white as a sheet. Eyes widened with panic, you jumped up and shut off the humidifier, scrambling to open the window a bit more. You pulled the covers back so that Kyungsoo's torso was left uncovered and noted he was wearing a plain black button down and a vest underneath. Trying to compose yourself, you reached for the buttons and began undoing them. Black would be keeping in the heat and his vest was white. You hoped that by ing his sheet and leaving his chest exposed, he'd cool down enough for you to lay the blanket over him again.

Lifting the now warm flannel off his head, you took it to the bathroom where you washed it, soaked it and wrung it out as quickly as you could. Checking the coolness of it again on your arm, you ran back to his room after grabbing the thermometer. Teasing his mouth open, you gently slid it in taking care not to hit his teeth or push it down his throat. Letting it set in the pocket of his cheek, you waited until you heard the shrill bleep of the device and you pulled it out to look at the display screen.

"40°C," you muttered, "."

You fell to your knees and shrieked. Where the hell was Suho or Lay when you needed them? And what about Kyungsoo himself? He was always the one doing the nursing and here he was needing the nursing. Medicine school? Ha! That taught you how to sew up a gash or tell an from an elbow. There wasn't much on high temperatures. Fevers? Child's play. You cursed to yourself because it shouldn't have been that hard to successfully lower a loved one's temperature but with you panicking like an idiot, the worst possible situations flashing through your mind continuously, you were frozen stiff. Reaching into your back pocket, you pulled out your phone and dialled Suho, taking a few deep breaths before he answered.

"Haneul, Haneul, Haneul?" Suho said, your name rolling off his lips. You could sense that he was smiling.

"Suho! H-He's got a temperature!" You stuttered, "what... what do I do? I can't think. C-Can you just tell me please?"

Suho's eyebrows knitted together in concern. "Haneul, listen to me-"

"Just tell me what to do!"

Situations flickered back and forth in your mind- Kyungsoo's fever rising to an extortionately high temperature, him turning pale and sweating, you screaming and calling for an ambulance, his organs starting to shut down, you desperately trying to bathe him in ice cold water to bring his temperature down and eventually him dying in your arms, skin cold to the touch whilst his internal state roared and burned.

"Haneul, hey, hey. Breathe. Okay? Breathe. I know you care about him but he's not going to die," Suho said. "It's just a temperature, remember that. Okay? People have temperatures all the time. He's not going to die on you."

Your voice cracked, "it's at 40°C."

"That's fine. It's high, yes, but it's fine." Suho's velvety voice carried on down the phone line. He had obviously moved away from the pack when he saw you calling, already assuming what the situation would be like. "Is he sweaty?"

You looked down. Droplets of sweat had formed at Kyungsoo's neck and his hair was wet where it met his skin. 

"Y-Yes."

"Okay," Suho said, keeping his cool, "I'll tell you what to do but promise me something?"

You waited.

"Stay calm. Don't overreact."

 

"Oh Aaron there you are!" You said, trying to ignore the thumping in your chest, "what's taken you so long?!" You acted angry and paused to look up at the boys, smiling and waving. "Oh hey guys!"

"Hi Hana," one said, "do you live around here?"

You nodded, "Joon wanted to see Aaron so I called him over."

Another boy shifted a little, uneasy at the mention of your brother. "He wanted to see Aaron? Why?"

You shrugged, "not sure. It might be because of Aaron's new puppy. My brother really likes toy poodles and he really likes Aaron too, doesn't he?"

You had directed the question at Aaron who looked too embarrassed to even move. He was standing in a dog piss soaked t-shirt in front of the girl he had had a crush on ever since she had arrived at school on her first day. Worst off, she was protecting him from getting bullied. Somehow, after processing everything that was wrong with the situation, he managed to nod and stutter, "y-yeah, Joon and I are really close."

"Oh..." The boys' faces fell, "why didn't you say?"

Sensing an uneasiness in the atmosphere, you walked up to Aaron and motioned for him to pass you his puppy. "What's his name?"

"It's 'Haejeok'," Aaron said, handing you the puppy a little apprehensively.

"Haejeok as in... pirate? In Korean?" you asked, cradling the puppy in your arms.

Aaron didn't nod, instead watching you coo over the small animal. "S-Should we go to yours now then? T-To see your brother?"

You nodded, trying to give Aaron a look of reassurance. Turning to the other boys who had been tormenting him, you smiled. "So see you guys around, yeah?"  and they left soon after, not even turning to look back at you.

Aaron however stood beside you, his mouth slightly open, hair sweaty and stood up in all directions. He couldn't comprehend that you were next to him. He couldn't believe he was wearing a t-shirt soaked in puppy pee and that the criminal lay snuggled up against your chest.  

 

You were too consumed and clouded by your feelings for Kyungsoo and luckily, Suho had sensed it coming, knowing how to calm you down when you eventually called him to screech and panic. 

"He's not going to die on your hands, Haneul. I promise. So don't think like that," Suho said quietly, "I know you have feelings for him too but for now, he's just another patient. Panicking isn't allowed, okay?"

After convincing you to leave the room, he ordered you to sit at the table and remember what he was going to tell you. After directing you and giving you your instructions, you felt a lot more at ease. Flicking off the radio, you were left in the silent calm, composure regained.

 

"Thank you, Hana- for what you did back there."

You shrugged, "come on, let's get back to mine."

Bewildered that he was being invited into his crush's home, Aaron followed dumbly. Walking past Maddie's hiding spot, you tugged at her top and she screeched, falling out of the dark space. When she noticed Aaron's toy poodle, she screeched again, taking it from you and cuddling it, cooing like an overprotective mother. Aaron, who wasn't really friends with the either of you, turned to you and you grinned, laughing at his shocked expression.

"Maddie really likes dogs, what can I say?"

Maddie beamed, Haejeok as she passed him back to Aaron. "She's so cute!"

Aaron coughed, "she's a he," and to save the awkward atmosphere, you grabbed his and Maddie's free arms. 

"Let's go home! Come on!"

Maddie grabbed the puppy from Aaron, running off in the direction of your house and at first, Aaron had attempted to run after her. Realising she wouldn't do anything to harm the poor creature, he slowed and ground to a halt, waiting for you to catch up with him. When you did so eventually and a silence had settled, Aaron turned to you realising it was now or never.

"I know I probably seem really weak right now," he said, taking a deep breath. "And I'm also covered in puppy piss," he continued, "but I... I..."

You waited, ready to hear what he was going to say, slightly frowning when he shook his head.

"No, no. It's nothing. Sorry. It's nothing."

You blinked and your eyebrow raised by a fraction though not even a millimetre in height. "Okay," was all you replied.

"Thank you!" he shouted, suddenly too nervous to control his volume. Aaron's hand flew to his mouth and he gasped after realising he had just screamed his words of gratitude right into your ear. Luckily for him though, you burst out laughing, clutching your stomach when you saw how mortified he looked.

"It's okay, don't worry," you said, carrying on walking. It wasn't until you felt Aaron's hand wrap around your wrist and pull you back to get your attention. It was the perfect moment for him.

"I-I like you!" He shouted, again forgetting to control himself, "d-do you want to s-see a movie sometime? Together? With me? With me and you? You know-"

You laughed again, finding his nervousness endearing and awfully cute. You'd never tell anyone about it but you'd always thought the musical classmate of yours was awfully cute. He had a great smile and a funny sense of humour and he wasn't into sports like the other boys making him far more easy to relate to. A lot of the girls liked him in one way or another because he was low-key and there wasn't much risk of being rejected if they were to ever take the plunge and ask him out. And now hearing his sudden confession, you felt rather happy. It was summer, the perfect time to really get to know Aaron if you were to give him a chance. And you were more than willing to.

 

After putting down the phone, you swiftly walked into the kitchen and picked up a small rice bowl. Filling it with water, you were planning on fulfilling Suho's first instruction.

"Remember in those period dramas, people always use a little bowl of water and dribble it into a sleeping person's mouth?" he had asked, "you need to do that. Make sure he's hydrated. Turn off the humidifier and use the fan instead though. You want to keep him cool but also warm."

With the water in one hand and your other holding Kyungsoo's chin, you sat on your knees and gently gave him the water. Just as Suho had said, water leaked from his mouth and you used the cloth to wipe it up. After setting the bowl down beside you, you headed to Suho and Sehun's room, spotting Suho's bag instantly as it lay neatly on his desk beside his notepad. As instructed, you delved into the inside pocket and found a cool patch, usually used for headaches but similarly used for high temperatures. Ripping off the packaging, you rushed back to Kyungsoo and slapped it onto his forehead, sighing with relief when he groaned in satisfaction. Seeing his expression soften just that little bit sent your legs into a jelly like state and you sank to the floor, shaking and silently laughing.

All this panic just to bring down Kyungsoo's temperature and he didn't even know it.

And now all that was left to do was the real challenge- something that when Suho had told you you needed to do, you blushed at the mere thought of it.

"Seal it with a get well soon kiss too, okay?" he had said, chuckling when you finally ended the call on him.

 

You were sat on the sofa in your living room with Aaron who was fast asleep beside you. Maddie had gone to the supermarket with your parents to help buy some ice cream and Joon was busy with his girlfriend, the two of them playing with the puppy like it was their own child. They cooed and aww-ed relentlessly, so much so that eventually you shouted for him to leave and get a room of his own. Aaron had fallen asleep pretty soon after reaching your house. The stress had taken a toll on him and he'd passed out, tired out and exhaused from running and fighting in the baking sun.

 

This was strangely familiar, this feeling- reminiscent of a time you had done it before.

Your eyes rested on him and you leaned in to take his temperature again, placing the back of your hand on his forehead as if it was the most scientific way to check if a person was sick or not. He was cool, or at least at a relatively normal temperature and you allowed your hand to gently caress his cheek, following down to his chest. There was something deliciously inviting, as if it was taboo to touch someone like this but then again not taboo because of the feelings he held for you.

Heading to the laundry room, you plucked a plain white shirt that was hanging up on the line, ready to be ironed. His own t-shirt which he wore was damp with sweat and simply filthy. Not removing it would just be plain unhygenic. Or so you told yourself. 

"I like you too. I really do," you whispered against his ear, "so when you wake up, tell me you still like me and that nothing's changed."

Slowly, you lifted his arms above his sleepy head and began to peel his shirt off of him. It was hard, tugging at the front and then at the sides and finally having to ease the back of the shirt up but by the time you had the item of clothing up to his neck, you managed to swiftly remove it with ease. Not letting your eyes linger on his bare chest for too long, you gently dabbed at his body with the cloth, effectively cleaning him of the smelly bodily fluids. Armed with the clean white t-shirt in hand, you eased through his arms and head and then tugged at it to cover his torso. With his modesty protected, you sighed as you measured his temperature with the back of your hand again before resting your arm on the soft, squishy pillow.

Ever so slowly, you leaned in, and with your eyes closed, placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

 

 

---

MEEEEEEEERRY CHRISTMAS! Here's a christmas present from me (it's still not yet 11PM here so technically it's still christmas ok) 

Hmm, I worried over whether you guys might not like this chapter but I wanted it to be all reminiscent and deja vu with Aaron/Taejoon and Kyungsoo and the way Haneul's cared for the both of them in the past. Hence the reason why no names are mentioned in the final paragraph cause it fits both stories! Yay! I dunno, thought it was cute lol...

Either way, do you want to know something absolutely terrible? Byun EFFING Baekhyun is like climbing my bias list and I already have 2 biases (lol guess who) I CAN'T BE HAVING ANOTHER ONE but omg did you see how gorgeoussssssss he was at the SMWEEK concerts?! Talk about super handsome/hot/can I eat you/can you eat me what (I need to stop, we have young children here). Side note AGAIN, Oh Sehun dayum Chihiro is one lucky girl. If you haven't seen tHAT fancam of him dancing then I suggest you don't because you will get pregnant and DIE but I mean I'm not stopping you because that boy (ok not boy, he's older than me thank god #notanoonafanyetez) THAT MAN is one fineeeeee piece of .

LOOK WHAT I DREW LAST NIGHT!

 

^This is basially what my current mood is a mix of

And if you're wondering why this author note is by far the craziest thing you've ever read in your life it's because I've eaten too much and now the sugar's making me go wiiiiiiiiiiild~ woooaaaaaaaaaaaaaah (ok I lied it's just the overwhelming chanbaeksoo feels I've got going on)