Chapter 8

Nicole was looking around the hall of the ceremony. It was very big. No. Huge was the right word to describe what it should be said. And beside the enormous size of the venue, the guest that came to this ceremony were all the great artist and actor that Nicole were never think that she would meet in reality. While nicole was busy adoring the venue, she felt one pair of palm was on her eyes. 

"Guess who?" Just with his accent, nicole could get the holder of those deep voice. 

"Park Yoochun-ssi?" She could feel her friends was pouting with her bluntness. 

The said person loosen her palm on her eyes then fold his arm in front of his chest. Pouting. 

"No one would talk to me in English beside you here, Yoochun oppa." Nicole tapped his shoulder lightly. She saw Jaejoong was standing behind him. "Not even this silly head."

Jaejoong could only made a face as she said that while Yoochun was chuckling with it.

"You looked great tonight, Cole." Said Yoochun as he put his arm on her shoulder. 

"I'm the one who chose it for her," Jaejoong interrupted Nicole's word as she was about to say it. "You know she had a bad taste--- hatchooo!"

Yoochun passed him a tissue with concern in his eyes. 

"Kwenchana, hyung?"

Jaejoong waved his hand slowly, told him that he's not ok at all while blocking his nose with the tissue to stop his runny nose. 

"It's ok oppa, he's ok since he was still able to take care of his look and mine as well." Nicole said sarcastically with smirk on her lips. 

Jaejoong was about to fire back if only his sneezing nose didn't make it own way to interrupt. Yoochun patted his back then looked at his watch.

"Oh, I need to go now. Enjoy your time here, OK?"

Nicole waved her hand goodbye as Yoochun walked his feet to the crowd and join his colleague. As his shadow was disappeared, Nicole's eyes were back to the sneezing man beside her. She took a pack of tissue from her back and smacked his shoulder lightly with her hand.

"Still alive?" Jaejoong took the tissue she handed.

He looked at her with his sarcastic expression. "Not yet--- HAchooo!"

Nicole could only shook her head helplessly at him.

"Guess I need to find more tissue for you tonight."

*** 

"Cheers!"

It had been the countless time tonight Yoochun said it with glass of his beverage on his hand. He was just too excited as he got the awards for his role in the recent drama he was staring. 

And he's now completely in tipsy state after gulping almost a bottle of whiskey. 

Yoochun walked in his unstable step to Nicole's direction, glass on his hand. "Hey~~" he put his hand on her shoulder. 

"Congratulation, oppa." Nicole said as she took a sip on her drink. 

The actor showed her his disapproval smile, forefinger swinging left and right in front of her. Mischievous smirk on his lips as he showed her his glass of wine. 

"It's not the right way... To celebrate with me." Yoochun pointed to her glass with his chin. "How could you take those apple juice instead of it?"

He passed his glass to nicole. "Take mine."

"No, I can't break my promise oppa." Nicole shook her head, pushing his glass lightly. "I can't take alcohol."

"Why not? Come on just one glass." Yoochun's silly grin got wider by the effect of the alcohol. 

Nicole looked at his manager for help. "OK I'll drink with you but next time ok?" His manager help him away from her. "You took too much alcohol today, you'd better get some rest."

He shook his head and walked to Jaejoong. "Hyung! Cole didn't want to drink with me." Jaejoong tried to get his tipsy buddy get on his own feet. "You go with me."

"You have too much tonight." Jaejoong voice started to change caused by his stuffed nose.  "Let's drink again tomorrow or when we back to Seoul."

The drunk actor tried to get back on his feet. "Alright... Let's have some again tomorrow." He's going to fall on his if his manager didn't catch him on time. 

Nicole sighed a relief as her oppa listen to what jaejoong said. She took all of her wine-like apple juice before she left the room together with Jaejoong and Yoochun. Nicole help Yoochun to get a taxi to send him back to hotel. She waved him goodbye as they got one. 

"Congratulation, oppa." She said sweetly. "Get a good rest tonight."

The smiley Yoochun walked unstably to her and patted her head lightly. "Aigoo this little fairy~ you really looked so pretty tonight." He pinched Nicole's cheek lightly. "come on, Give me bbo bbo before I back~"

Yoochun puckered his lips and leaned forward to her direction. Nicole get a bit amused by his action, but she need to thanks Jaejoong to put his right palm on his chest and left palm on his face to push him away from herself on the right time. 

"Eii~ you really need some rest, Yoochun-ah~ " said jaejoong. "How couldn't you differentiate who's your acting partner and this senseless girl."

If only Jaejoong was not supporting Yoochun,  nicole was sure she would land a smack on him because of his word just now. 

Jaejoong and Nicole waved to them as they closed the door and drive away heading to their hotel. 

"Let's go." Nicole instruct Jaejoong to walk as their hotel was quite near from here. 

Both of them were walked in silent. Not like Yoochun, Jaejoong only took a bit of the wine that was not enough to induce even a bit of tipsy feeling to his head. But nicole just got it wrong as he kept rubbing his temple during they way back to hotel. 

"Hey, are you ok?" Nicole asked him as they got into the elevator. 

Jaejoong rubbed his temple again and nodded. "I just a little bit tired."

Nicole pressed the switch on as she entered their room together. Took off her heels, she put her purse on the table. Wearing heels never been her choice ever, and thanks to todays event Nicole need to give her feet a good massage while Jaejoong head directly to the bathroom to get a good bath and sleep.

Nicole was busy with her phone as she didn't know Jaejoong already finished his bath and go out from the bathroom only with the towel to cover his lower body.

"It's your turn."

Nicole's eyes were locked on his well built body that was showed in front of her as she lift her head off from her cellphone. It's not the first time she saw it, even this afternoon in the park she saw him 'half-', but still she couldn't get herself stop staring at it. Despite of his beautiful features, Jaejoong really had a body that might let the girls swooning over him. She couldn't deny that he's hot.

"Ah... What a good bath." Jaejoong said as he laid on the sofa near the window beside Nicole, still in his towel. "You too, go get some-- HMPPF"

Jaejoong was annoyed as a pair of his clothes and short were landed on his face. It's Nicole who was thrown it to him as she was taken back to the earth from the spell of his body.

"Yah!"

"Ah~ I'm going to take a bath." Nicole walked fast to the bathroom, not even tried to listen to his rumbling. She closed the door as soon as she stepped her feet inside it. Nicole looked at her own reflection in the mirror in horror.

'What's wrong with you, Jung Nicole? Stop staring at him like a ert!' She started the mental fight with herself.

Shook her head violently, she shouldn't be like this she thought. Taking a warm shower might help herself to clear her mind for a second.

'I just too tired today.' She thought to persuade herself and poured herself with the warm water. It took her plenty of time to finished her shower as Nicole just feel too comfortable inside while playing with it. She got out of the bathroom with her half-dried hair to find his boyfriend was lying calmly on the big sofa. His face looked so pretty with the moonlight that illuminated the room through the window.

Motherly smile was on her lips. Nicole walked slowly to him, "Hey, wake up and move to the bed." she said as patted him slightly on his shoulder. The sofa was quite big but still she could feel that he might feel unconfortable sleeping there.

"Just let me sleep here..." He mumbled in the lowest audible voice she could heard, curling himself.

Nicole was about to pat him again as a thing just entered her mind in a sudden. Jaejoong was sleeping in the sofa means that she could occupied the bed for herself? Not a bad idea, she thought. She decided to let him sleep there and took the spare blanket they have from the drawers. At least she need to make sure this silly head she was travelling with wouldn't get cold by the cold temperature of the air conditioner.

"Don't blame me when you have back pain tomorrow." she said in almost wishpering voice as she put the blanket on him.

Nicole walked off to turn off the lamp, and left the one on the table to be the only source of light in the room. She took her phone and make a video call to her buddies as she entered the bathroom.

"Kibum-ah~"

"Yah! Why were you just calling me back now?" It was the expected reaction Nicole predicted to her best friend so she entered the bathroom and close it lightly. Instead of feeling guilty, Nicole was laughing at her shouting friend. "Yah! Stop laughing!"

"Mianhe~ I just got back from the ceremony." Her almighty friend was not satisfied with her answer, but as long as she called back everything was alright.

"You need to pay back for making me stayed out late tonight." his cocky word could only induced more smile on her lips, because Nicole knew that behind that cocky smile Kibum was always care about her. He called her often even though they lived far away from each other and so did Nicole.

And this time Kibum kept calling her for times after they arrived in Hong Kong but Nicole couldn't answer his call becaused of the overly high-charged roaming fee for her phone. Kibum never called her for few minutes, he always did it for more than half an hour. Nicole could only call him through the net as she was connected to wi-fi in their room.

Kibum was worried as he was informed that Nicole flied to Hong Kong all of sudden. She knew about it, so without she was asked to do it, she told everything happened after they arrived. And without she realized it, they had been talking for almost an hour.

"Cole-ah~ are you in bathroom right now?" Kibum only realized it as he saw the shower that caught on her camera. "Aww~"

"He's sleeping now." Kibum knew that Nicole was refering to Jaejoong.

Smirk on his face. "You talked to me in the bathroom just because he was sleeping, huh?"

"Yah, that's a manner to not disturbing people who sleep you know?" Nicole tried to defend herself when she got his intention.

"OK, whatever." He said in his diva manner. "Alright, it was quite late now. Go out of the bathroom and take a good sleep."

"Ei~ You really much more naggy than my mom sometimes, Kibum-ah."

"Yah~"

Nicole knew that her best friend must knew that she was joking about it. He always did.

"Alright, you too. Go get a good rest." She smiled to Kibum. "Good night."

"Good night, baby."

Nicole pressed the end button after waving her hand goodbye. The digital clock on the corner of her phone showed that it was nearly on the 2 in the morning, that's why she felt sleepiness started to struck her mind. She left the bathroom and the first thing she saw was the man that sleeping on the couch. Nicole could see something wrong with him as she walked closer to him. Jaejoong was shivering in his sleep. It worried her a bit, thus she put her palm on his forehead to feel his temperature.

"My God, you got fever."

Her worried get worse as she felt his body temperature was higher than normal. She put her hands on his neck to re-check. Jaejoong was awaked as Nicole was checking his temperature.

"Agh... so cold." he curled himself to get more warmth.

She need to o something. "Kim Jaejoong.. Hey, Kim Jaejoong. Let's move to the bed first."

Nicole was asking him to get by himself but he refused as he lost all of his energy by the fever. Nicole put Jaejoong's arm on her shoulder and helped him to get on his feet.

"Come on, let me help you." She used all of her strength to help him up and lied him down on the bed. 

Jaejoong looked so exhausted and cold even after NIcole pulled up the blanket for him. She opened her backpack to check if she have some antipyretic medication but she couldn't find some. Her unnie's word come to her mind as she saw the screen on her phone, thus she went to the bathroom to get some towel and warm water. Nicole learned way to lower the fever from her unnie when she was still a high schooler in Jeju island.

'First, Help him to sweat more and release the heat.' Nicole help Jaejoong by rubbing the warm half-wet towel on his hand and torso. It worked so well when they used it on Haeyoung, she didn't know if it would work but she need to tried. Nicole was hesitate at first when she needed to take of his clothes, but her unni said it was the only way to lower the fever when you have no medication beside you. After finished with it, she covered him with the blanket.

"I feel cold..."

"Hey, it's ok. I'm here." She sweap away the sweat on his face. 

'Second, let him drink more water.' Jaejoong looked better few minutes later. Seemed that her first step was success. Nicole bring the bottle and help him to drink it.

"Hey, drink some water. You might feel better." she breathed a relief as Jaejoong stopped shivering caused by