Chapter Twelve

Leeteuk looked around at his dongsaengs.

 TV shows, dramas, musicals, performances, interviews, rehearsals, international flights, not to mention recordings for their new album. Things were getting out of hand. Donghae hadn’t left his room ever since he had gotten back from Taiwan, which was about 12 hours ago. Kyuhyun was so sick, he couldn’t even talk. Ryeowook had been monitoring the two of them the entire time, rushing between the two rooms and hardly getting any sleep himself. They still had a program to attend later, so they all had to leave the dorm, whether they liked it or not, except for Kyuhyun of course, they were leaving him at home to rest.

Leeteuk rushed about the place making sure that everyone was ready. He entered Kyuhyun’s room and found Yesung sitting next to the bed. He was holding a damp towel to Kyuhyun’s forehead.

“Has he got a fever now?” Leeteuk asked in concern.

“Its not so bad, but it could get worse with time. I don’t think we should leave him alone like this”, Yesung replied.

“Its ok, we called a doctor to come in and check on him. He won’t be alone”, Leeteuk replied.

He then left the room and made his way to Donghae, who was moping alone in his room. He still managed to look as good as ever though, Leeteuk noted with pride.

“Donghae-ah, atleast try to look like you’re having fun today ok? The fans are good at telling when you’re upset”, he said while patting Donghae’s shoulder.

He just nodded, and continued tying his shoelaces. Leeteuk could tell that he still wanted to be alone, so he left Donghae and made his way to the kitchen instead.

Heechul was there, sitting on a countertop and snacking on a chocopie. He took one look at Leeteuk’s face and said, “Donghae’s still not talking?”

Leeteuk nodded and sat down at the table.

“Aish…If it was anyone else, they would be in the resentment phase right now, hating everything about the person who broke up with them, but Donghae’s problem is that he can’t hate anyone, even if that person threw him away like trash”. Heechul speculated before taking another bite.

Leeteuk responded by sighing and laying his head on the table. Donghae’s situation really bothered him. He hadn’t seen his dongsaeng this upset in a long time. Going through heartbreak was part of growing up, but Leeteuk felt that Donghae was still too childlike to have to face such hardship. He had tried everything he could to get to Donghae, every trick in the book on getting over a breakup, but nothing had worked.

“What he needs now, is time, or another woman”, Heechul said thoughtfully as he opened up another chocopie.

Leeteuk looked up at him. “Do you have any new girls in mind?” he asked. Heechul pondered for a second and then shook his head. “No one except for my ballerina, and I’m NOT sharing her”, he said sternly while taking another bite.

Leeteuk chuckled. “That’s not even an option, she’s our little secret; maybe you’re right, we’ll just give Donghae more time.”

They were almost ready to leave, but Yesung rushed back to Kyuhyun’s room to check up on him for the last time. The doctor would be here in an hour or so, but he still didn’t want to leave Kyu alone for that long. All of their family members lived far away, and none of the managers could spare any time today, everyone had too much to do. Yesung looked through his contact list and realized that there was one person who lived really close by. He could rely on Sara to watch over Kyuhyun for awhile. She wasn’t an obsessed fangirl, and she probably wouldn’t know anything about Super Junior yet, it would be ok to ask her, wouldn’t it? He made up his mind and decided to call her.

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Sara was at the supermarket buying a bunch of flowers when Yesung called. She didn’t hesitate for a second when he asked her for the favor, and quickly made her way to the address he had given, carrying along her flowers with her. She had nothing much to do today, the weekend was getting nearer, and she would soon be busy getting ready for the runway, but she didn’t mind having to spend the day taking care of someone else, it was the least she could do to show her gratitude to all the people who had helped her so far.

She managed to reach the building in the next half hour, and made her way to the 11^th floor. She entered in the passkey which the receptionist downstairs had given her, and quietly stepped into the apartment.

Her first impression of the place was that the occupants must be very neat. There wasn’t a single thing out of place. She walked over to the kitchen and placed her flowerpot onto the table. Suddenly, she heard a cough coming from a nearby room. She followed the sound and opened a door to find an older man sitting next to a bed. He was checking the blood pressure of a boy who was apparently asleep. The man noticed her come in and sat up straighter.

“Young lady, can I help you?” he asked her. Sara bowed and smiled. “Yes, I was asked to come over and take care of him today. Are you a doctor?”

“I’m doctor Kim”, he replied. “It’s good that you came. He’s medicated now, so he should sleep it off, but its better if someone is here to watch over him, I have to leave now anyway”, he said. He picked up his equipment and stood up. After handing her his business card, he said “Call me if you need anything. I left the remainder of his medication on the table over there. Just make sure he eats something before he takes it.” Sara nodded and followed the doctor to the door.

After seeing him out, she went back to the room and sat down on a chair next to the bed. She looked over at her new patient and noticed that he looked abit flushed. She reached over and moved back his fringe so that she could feel his forehead. He had a slight fever, so she quickly went to the kitchen and came back with a damp towel and a bowl of water. He was still fast asleep after she had dabbed his face and forehead for a few minutes. She really liked the shape of his face. Even though he was sleeping, she couldn’t help not noticing his cheekbones; and his soft, wavy hair. She smiled and checked his pulse before heading off to the kitchen. While she cooked, she marveled at how every item in the kitchen was meticulously labeled and kept in its proper place.

After she was done, she went back to the room and found that he had thrown his blankets onto the floor. “He must be feeling hot”, she thought. She went over to him and felt his forehead again. He was burning up. She rolled up her shirtsleeves, and tied up her hair. Then she began dabbing him with the damp towel again. She was used to taking care of sick people. She had a countless number of nephews and nieces back home who always managed to fall sick with something or the other, so she knew what to do in this situation. She lifted up his shirt and placed the towel on his chest, but before she could move it again, he caught her hand. Sara was surprised and let out a gasp of shock.

Kyuhyun was still disoriented from the fever and medication, but he had heard a girl’s voice, and he wondered who it was. He opened his eyes, but he could only make out a female form. “Who are you?” he asked groggily.

Sara got over her shock and replied. “I’m Sara, I came to look after you”

“Sarang?” he asked. “I don’t know any girls named Sarang”, he said confusedly.

Sara smiled at him calling her ‘Sarang’. It sounded nice. “I’m Jongwoon oppa’s friend, he asked me to take care of you”, she said. “Rest now, you’re going to be ok”, she said soothingly. Kyuhyun nodded. Then he said “Help me change my shirt please, it’s too hot, there’s a vest in my drawer.” Sara got the vest and then helped him take off his shirt. He barely had any strength to get up, so it was abit of an effort.

 Normally, he would have been uncomfortable with a stranger seeing his body like this, but she held him steady, and didn’t shy away from holding his arms or placing a hand on his back to help him balance.

 After they were done, he was too dizzy from all the movement. She made him drink from a bottle of water, and then she got up to go fetch another towel. He caught her hand again before she could get up. “Where are you going?” he asked in a soft voice. “I’ll be back just now, don’t worry”, she replied.

“Don’t go, stay here…next to me…” he said while nodding off to sleep again. He still had her hand in his, and he was holding on tightly. Sara sat down on the floor next to him, and rested her head on the side of his bed. Her face was burning from having so much contact with a half man, but she had made a promise to take care of him, so she endured it.

“It’s not that bad”, she thought. He was actually kind of sweet. She was exactly the same whenever she got sick. She was very needy, and hated being alone. She watched his chest rise and fall in a slow rhythm. It was so peaceful here, with just the two of them. Sara tried to fight it, but she found her eyes closing after a while. Soon the both of them were fast asleep, comforted in the knowledge that they were not alone for the time being.