M Y  S I C K  M I N H Y U N

 

“Never expect anything less than devotion from someone who has claim on your heart.” 
―Dannika Dark, Seven Years

 

 

“Noona~”

 

The whinning sound filled the room for few times already right now. The woman who was called noona by the guy seemed to be busily moved here and there in the kitchen not far from the sofa the guy been laid on. No response, the guy who was now stretched his back up to sit down position groaned unhappily because he didn’t succeed in taking her attention. His reddened face now got hotter because of anger and his brows joined. He wanted to be taken care of especially during his situation like this. Not be left by his favorite noona like this.

 

Not giving up, the guy once again gave a try to call her. Now in louder volume.

 

“Eunmi noooonnaaaa~” The guy pouted and called her name louder, begged for attention from the older woman. His effort seemed to bring a good result now, as she turned her face to him right now. But it wasn’t a welcoming glare that the guy desired; she seemed annoyed by his whinning and it drew out clearly on her composed face. He gulped down the words at the edge of his tongue the moment he saw her angelic face turned devilish like this.

 

Seeing the soup broth she had been made now was waiting to be boiled, she turned her body to face the sick guy that was begging for her attention. She sighed and without putting back her apron, she walked to sit beside the guy. Seeing his face reddened because of the fever like this, her anger evaporated just like that and she let out a smile that the younger guy always loved. After seeing his noona’s anger seemed to be vanished, the guy let out a relieved smile but been cut out by the hard cough and thus he tried to cover it, afraid the germs would spread to the woman beside him. Watching all this, Eunmi could only saw him in amusement and shook her head. He could be sometimes childish.

 

Feeling her phone vibrated, she took out her phone and read the content of the newest text in her inbox.

 

Aron [Received: 2.50PM] Eunmi-ya how’s that little brat? Do you need me to come by to pick you up at that brat’s house later? You’ve got exam today, right?

 

She quickly replied the text.

 

Aron [Delivered: 2.51PM] He still has his fever. Ok sounds good. Pick me up 2 hours later.

 

She didn’t have any choice but to go back to her campus because the exam would be started in 3 hours ahead. Thankfully she had been studying enough already or else, she did not even sure she could answer half of the questions to be given later. Eunmi turned her attention back to her boyfriend who was now tried to massage his own forehead to ease his headache whilst closed his heavy lids. Her gaze softened and a small smile formed on her face and ran in her own mind. Yeah. He came first. Whether I’ve studied enough or not, I should be beside him.

 

 “Minhyun-ah, lie down. You need a rest in order to get better from your fever.” She commanded him softly and put her right palm behind his head to support him while putting the other one on his left arm. She helped him to lie down again. She knew exactly his younger boyfriend needed intensive sleep to be healed from his fever. His hectic schedule made him unable to have 8 hours sleep per day and no wonder, he suffered from long exhaustion. The rest of his teammates were agree that he needed to refrain himself from doing further activities once they figured out the guy fainted when he had his dance practice yesterday. Being a good girlfriend she was, she immediately rushed to his house once his best friend, Minki, called her during her study time in her university’s library.

 

Watching him almost fell back to sleep, she kissed his temple. Eunmi took a while to adore her boyfriend’s beauty. His bare face with no make-ups on was her favorite and she always liked to caress his cheek and eyelids like what she did right now. She never thought that she would have accepted this younger guy’s love. People might say that age is only a number once you’re in love with somebody. But for Eunmi, it was a principle that she used to refuse to ignore. For her, an older guy is important because she herself wasn’t the kind of mature and independent girl that didn’t have any problems with dating a younger guy. She wanted to be spoilt by her boyfriend, not to spoil her boyfriend.

 

All her self-principles broke down once Hwang Minhyun came into her life and took that special place inside her heart.

 

She fell in love with his kindness.

 

She fell in love with his angelic smile.

 

She fell in love with his gentle attitude towards women, especially the ones important for him.

 

She fell in love with his hardworking personality.

 

She fell in love with him and his beautiful soul.

 

“Minhyun-ah. You must be hungry, eh? My special soup for you is almost done.” She stood up just to quickly pace to the kitchen before the soup got burned. Minhyun sneakily opened half of his left eye to watch his girlfriend do the cooking. Once he sure that her girlfriend’s attention was fully focused to the soup she cooked, he opened both his eyes. He didn’t feel sleepy at all. Yet, he pretended to go back to sleep so that he could feel her soft lips brushed against his skin. He loved it.

 

He observed Eunmi’s face when she was in the kitchen. Her cooking face attracted him the most. Her gaze was straight to the ingredients she was chopping and she hummed a familiar melody whilst mixed all the soup’s ingredients. He chuckled and he covered his mouth, tried to not make his laugh edible. Her voice was so cute when she hummed his song, ‘Introduce Me to Your Noona’. She said it was her most favorite song now and it made him flustered by the imagination. It fit their relationship the most. The only different was, he knew Eunmi from Aron, her college mate and also his best friend. There was a moment when Aron needed to hand Eunmi the assignment they, as a group, worked on together. Unfortunately, Aron had diarrhea and he unable to hand it back to her. Hence, Aron sent Minhyun as his apprentice and from there, he firstly met Eunmi. He fell in love with her mysterious side the first time. The destiny spoke and they got a chance to meet again when Eunmi visited their dance studio to lend Aron her notes from past lectures he had been missed. From there, they chatted more and Minhyun found her playful side when she and his teammates joked around.

 

Feeling been stared by someone, Eunmi waited for a while and turned her head quickly to see her boyfriend. And been caught red handed, Minhyun’s eyes went big and he covered his face using his blanket helplessly. Eunmi chuckled, pretending to see nothing and got back to her soup only to be stared again by her sneaky boyfriend. She once again turned her head in quicker pace just to see he tugged his thick blanket covered his face once again.

Finished with her cooking, she tried to hold her smile while bringing the tray of his soup, medicine, and water back to him. His aegyo showed as he clapped his hands with no energy as it had been out.

 

“Noonaa~ feed me, eh?” He opened his mouth big and looked to her cutely, trying to imitate the puss in boots in Shrek the movie, Eunmi’s favorite movie ever.

 

Looking at her pale-faced boyfriend, she pinched his cheek and started to spoon him a mouth of hot soup.

 

“Blow the soup first. It’s burning,” warned her to him. Minhyun nodded and quickly blew the soup then shoved a spoon full to his mouth. His mouth opened wide and he fanned his mouth using his right hand as sign of the food was still hot and now his tongue was burning. Eunmi couldn’t hold back her laugh anymore. She laughed loudly holding her stomach and the tears burst out of her pretty eyes. Minhyun, who was still feeling his tongue was burning, gulped the rest of her soup then pouted when he saw her laughing unstoppably.

 

“Yah! Why you laughed like that?” He protested in banmal tone (informal tone). If there was one rule they always kept on their relationship, it must be how they should talk to each other formally. Although Eunmi had mentioned that she was okay if Minhyun wanted to use informal speech to her, he still felt the need to use formal speech. He believed this would avoid them from fighting as they would think of what they should say in order not to hurt each other’s feeling. Words are sharper than knife.

 

But once Minhyun got back to his informal tone—just like a moment ago—that meant either two things: either he was irritated or he acted irritated. Eunmi scoffed. It must the second option this time.

 

She put back the bowl on the table and back to meet his eyes. Her eyes went crescent and she smiled playfully. “Nothing, nothing. I was just—Minhyun-ah, what are you doing?” She looked surprised as Minhyun came closer to put his head on her lap and put her right hand on his hair. Been a couple for almost a year already, it always surprised Eunmi how casual Minhyun with any kind of skinships. Intertwined fingers and swing their hands playfully in the air, embraced her shoulders so that she would stay away from getting soaked during rainy day, or even hugged her from behind.

 

She his jet black hair while she let her free hand support his shoulder so he didn’t roll to the floor. Minhyun’s right hand tugged a strand of her long hair that covered her face to her ear. They went silence. She swore it wasn’t a long awkward silence. It was a silence she always saw on dramas she watched. Pure, comforting, and none of them wanted to break that. The way he looked at her was captivating. She could spend the rest of her life just staring at those pretty eyes and she wouldn’t feel bored at all.

 

“Hey, Eunmi,” After didn’t know how long, Minhyun finally spoke and he addressed her by her name. Not as ‘noona’ anymore. She could feel the butterflies on her stomach grew and it’s tickling her, making her cheeks went hotter until she couldn’t meet his eyes. She was the way too shy. She loved how his soothing voice called her like that. The only answer that came out from was, “hmm?” while kept her trembling hand busy by his hair.

 

“Thank you for taking care of this sick boy. You must be so busy preparing your upcoming final.” He smiled as he kissed the back of her palm. For him, she is the most beautiful butterflies in his life and the colorful rainbow he always dreamt of. He really thankful for her present in his life and he had no plan to let go those small hands of her.

 

She didn’t answer as he sit up to meet her eye level. He went closer to whisper her those magical words he had never said to a girl before he met Eunmi. Those words he never knew the deep meaning behind just before he fell for her.

 

“I love you. “

 

He leaned in closer to kiss her as she closed her eyes.

 

“Minhyun-aahh! Do you feel better now? I brought y—“ Aron stopped his step and blinked for few seconds when he saw the lovebirds almost kissed but they broke it when their faces were just about an inch away left. "Oh.... Eunmi-ya. H-h-hi!" He awkwardly greeted her.

 

Awkwardly Eunmi stood up and waved her hand to the uninvited guest. She scratched her scalp which didn’t seem itchy at all while Minhyun groaned and lied back, covering his embarrassed face. “Oh, Aron you came? Is it the time already?” She smiled awkwardly to Aron while her face still suffered from embarrassment.