| Chapter Eighteen |

Sitting in her car in the parking lot, Yoona pulled down the vanity mirror swiftly, checking her features to make sure she looked okay.

Somehow she felt different that day, a little under the weather perhaps. There was a tiny prickle in and her nose felt stuffy. The journey to work had not been smooth considering how she could barely keep her eyes open because her eyelids felt like they weighed ten times heavier.

All in all, she felt terrible. Patting her cheeks briefly, she tried to shake her head clear of that annoying throbbing before stepping out of the car.

The office seemed much colder that day, and the girl snuggled further into her quilted jacket as soon as she settled down at her desk. All of a sudden she felt a familiar tickle in her nostrils.

Knowing she was going to start sneezing, she reached for the tissue box and drew a couple of sheets to press against her nose. Sure enough, she soon doubled over in a sneezing fit so bad she hardly heard someone approaching. When the sneezes eventually stopped, her eyes were watery and she felt worse than before.

“Yoona-ssi! Are you alright?!”

“Hey, Hyomin… I’m fine… it’s just a little… ah, ah…” Burying her nose into the tissues once more, she expelled a couple more muffled sneezes.

“Oh my gosh, you’re ill!” The girl’s voice went up a few octaves in her anxiousness, “Are you sure you’ll be alright?! Do you want to go home and get some rest instead?” She rubbed a hand up and down Yoona’s back rapidly.

“Ahem,” a voice halted the two, “Is there a problem?”

“Miss Jung!” Hyomin executed a precise right-angled bow at the sight of the superior, who nodded in response.

“Morning, Miss Jung…” Yoona greeted weakly. Her nose had grown slightly pink from the intense sneezes. She had no idea what had caused the sudden sneeze attack but she did want it to stop.

“What’s wrong?” In a stern tone, the CEO questioned. It was evident she was not happy about the new girl having her hands all over Yoona. Still, she did her best to look as neutral as possible. After all, they were in a workplace and she was the boss. She had to be professional, like it or not.

“I think Yoona-ssi is coming down with something, Miss Jung…”

Leaning forward, the CEO rested the back of her hand against Yoona’s forehead. As she pulled away, a concerned frown formed on her face, “You’re running a temperature.”

“Nothing to worry about. Some aspirin and I’ll be fine before the day is over,” the girl sniffed, hugging the jacket a little tighter around her body. She never liked to make a big fuss about anything.

“Go home,” Jessica stated plainly.

“What? No. I told you I’m fine.”

“There is no way I’m allowing you to stay when the probability of you fainting in the middle of a meeting is this high. The fever is pretty bad. Go home.”

Unable to bear the slightly awkward and tense conversation, the intern hurriedly commented, “Um… I need the washroom… feel better, Yoona-ssi! Please take good care of yourself!” And she made her way off nimbly.

Jessica crossed her arms, an impatient look on her face.

“I’m. Not. Leaving,” Yoona managed a small smile before pulling out a folder between the bookends and flipping it open.

“Nor am I until you start packing up.”

“Wow. I’d like to see you try standing here the entire day.”

“It’s too early in the morning for petty bickering.”

“I’m glad you realize that.”

“Im Yoona.”

Sighing lightly, the girl made a sad face and sniffed, “Do you really want me gone that bad, Miss Jung?”

“You know it’s not about that. You’re clearly feeling awful and you need your rest. I’m not going to compromise your wellbeing,” Jessica reached out to feel her forehead again, “It’s really bad.”

“Maybe I’d feel better if you kissed me.”

“I’m not going there, Im Yoona.”

“A hug works fine too.”

“That’s it. Stay for all I care. I don’t even… whatever,” Jessica breathed out deeply, her heels, and walked off quickly.

---

The hours flew by and soon it was lunchtime. Yoona was all hunched over her desk, feeling more terrible than ever. She regretted being so stubborn earlier. Now all she wanted was to get home and dive under the thick covers.

“Hey…” She heard a soft voice calling.

Too tired to move, she answered without lifting her head, “Hi, Miss Jung. Nice of you to drop by.”

“Really feeling queasy now, aren’t you?”

An indistinct grunt was all the girl was capable of producing at that moment. She couldn’t even nod.

“I have about an hour. Plenty of time to give you a ride home. Shall we go?”

Not believing what she had heard, Yoona’s head popped up at once, “You’re being super nice to me today… should I be worried?”

“About you possibly catching hyperthermia? Yes.”

“I didn’t--”

“Yoona, I’m not going to repeat myself. Stop talking, pack up, let’s go.”

Feeling rather exhausted herself, the girl obediently nodded, sweeping her desk clear and grabbing her bag.

It got quiet in the elevator so Yoona took the chance to say something, “Thanks, Jessica.” Knowing the workaholic, who hardly ever kept track of time, this meant something. Nothing else could express how glad she felt.

“Don’t mention it. I never got the chance to really thank you for bringing Soojung home that night. Plus that time you drove me home when she stole my car,” the woman answered, leading the way to her car as soon as they reached the parking lot. But before they could get there, another car rolled into the lot, stopping a few meters away from them.

When a familiar figure stepped out of the vehicle and started making its way towards them, Jessica’s eyes widened and she almost lost grip of her purse and keys. Yoona dug into her memory as the person came closer, finally establishing that it was the woman who showed up out of nowhere the other time, the one who almost suffocated Jessica in her arms. Could this be the one Krystal told her about?

“Hello,” the woman greeted in a somewhat low voice.

“W-what are you doing here?” Jessica responded. Yoona was not sure if she sounded more u