Jihyo woke up late at 10am to find that Gary was still asleep. She let him be, knowing that he was tired looking after Jiyoung all night. She checked the boy’s temperature, only to realise that it had risen back up to 37.9°C. She sighed, knowing that it must be because the effects of the medication had subsided. Her heart ached; all parents’ would, seeing their child suffer like this.

She changed the fever relief patch on his forehead, and the movement woke Gary up.

Propping himself up his left arm, he used his right arm to check the boy’s temperature on his neck and cheeks.

“It’s back?” he asked Jihyo, who was on the other side of Jiyoung.

She nodded, pouting a little. “Go to our room and sleep, oppa. What time did you sleep last night?”

He shrugged. “I just kept waking up to sponge him. Aniya, I’ll stay with him. You go and prepare breakfast.”

“You still have work later, oppa… take a rest,” she insisted.

He shook his head. “No parent can rest well knowing their kid is sick,” he said, patting her shoulder. She nodded, smiling a little.

Their conversation woke Jiyoung up.

“Eomma…” he called weakly, reaching out for Jihyo. She patted him on his arm, signalling that she’s nearby.

“Eo, eomma is here,” she said.

“Appa…” he called Gary too. Gary rubbed the boy’s cheeks gently, making him smile a small, weak smile.

“Eomma will go and make your breakfast, appa will stay here with you, okay?” Jihyo said, letting go of his hand. He seemed reluctant, but didn’t protest.

Jihyo left soon after, leaving Gary and Jiyoung alone.

“Do you want to continue sleeping?” he asked him.

Jiyoung looked at him blankly for a moment, before shaking his head.

Gary nodded. He slept a lot already. “Okay, so what do you want to do?”

“Ji-ohnnie,” he said. He then turned to look around for his sister. “Ji-ohnnie eodiya?”

“Ji-ohn is sleeping in eomma’s room,” Gary explained. “Last night you were sick, so appa looked after you and Ji-ohn slept with eomma.”

He nodded at the vague memory. “I want to play with her,” he said.

Gary smiled, glad that he still wanted to play. But he sighed. “Mianhae, Jiyoung ah… you cannot play with her. If you play with her, then she may become sick like you,” he explained slowly, hoping that he would understand. Gary knew he loved his sister a lot, so it’s likely that he would agree.

Jiyoung pouted, but nodded anyway. Gary ruffled his hair, glad that he understood.

“Will you play with me, then? Are you staying at home today?”

Gary immediately started to feel guilty. He didn’t want to reject his son again, but he needed to leave in the afternoon. So instead of answering his question, he tried to divert his attention. “Ja, what should we do now? Do you want me to read you a book?” Gary asked, as he stood up to get the books.

“Stay with me,” Jiyoung said, pulling him back. Gary looked at him in confusion. Jiyoung looked up at his father. “Can you not go to work today and stay with me?” he asked again, more whiny that usual that day.

Gary sighed. He bent down to the boy’s height, so that he was looking at him, and held his hands gently. “Mianhae, Jiyoung ah. Appa needs to work today. I’m making many many new songs for people to listen, but if I don’t go to work today, I cannot finish the songs on time. And many people will be sad, do you understand?” he said. It was the simplest explanation he could give to make him understand.

Jiyoung looked down, averting his gaze from Gary. “But if you to work, then I will be sad,” he mumbled softly, but loud enough for Gary to hear. The words gnawed at his heart. “Ji-ohn and eomma too,” he added.

“Young-ie ah…” Gary muttered, not knowing what to say. “Mianhae…” was all he could say at the moment.

After a while, he continued. “Appa will stay with you all morning okay? After I’m done with all my work, then I can stay with you. Then we’ll all go and play together, okay?” he said, hoping to cheer the boy up a little.

He did; the boy made a small nod and smiled at his father. Gary smiled back in relief. He then chose a few books to read for Jiyoung. They sat down on the bed, Jiyoung flipping through the pages as Gary read to him.

Midway through the first book, Ji-ohn woke up in her mother’s room. Realising that she wasn’t in her own room, she was confused for a moment. But soon after she remembered about Jiyoung.

“Oppa!” she muttered to herself as she scampered towards the door. Daeyang was no longer there to stop her so she managed to leave the room.

“Oppa!” she called again.

In the children’s room, both Gary and Jiyoung heard Ji-ohn’s voice. Gary left Jiyoung’s side to find Ji-ohn.

“Appa,” she called, recognising his touch.

“Eo, good morning,” he greeted her back.

“Oppa, let Ji-ohn wear a mask first!” Jihyo reminded from the kitchen.

Gary took a mask from the first aid kit and helped Ji-ohn wear it. However, like her brother, she disliked the feeling and kept taking it out.

“Appa, shireo, shireo!” she whined, pushing Gary’s hands away as he tried for the umpteenth time to put it on for her.

“Yeobo, she refuses to wear it,” he shouted to the kitchen.

Jihyo sighed. She expected it already, but still wanted him to give it a shot. “Then don’t let her near the room. I’m almost done.”

“Arrasso,” he said. Turning to Ji-ohn, he said firmly, “If you don’t wear this, then you can’t go to find oppa.”

She pouted, but still refused to put it on. Instead, she sat down and started to whine.

“Stop whining, Ji-ohn. Listen to me,” Gary said. She knew to listen when Gary’s firm, so she stopped. “Oppa is sick, you know that don’t you?” She nodded. “And if you get close to him, you might get sick too. Do you want to be sick?” This time she shook her head. “That’s right. If you are sick, then you can’t do many things. It’s no good to be sick.” She nodded, but pouting her lips. “So can you stay away from oppa for a few days, until he get better?” he asked again.

She pondered for a while. Then she searched for Gary’s hands for the mask and tried to put it on herself.

“You want the mask now?” Gary asked, shocked.

“Can I stay with oppa then, if I wear the mask?” she asked.

Gary wanted to agree, but the mask does not offer full protection. Even if the both of them wore a mask, she might still get infected. “You can’t stay with him for long,” he said. “But you can talk to him for a while.”  

She still agreed to put it on and Gary let her join Jiyoung.

Not long later, breakfast was ready. Gary went into the kitchen to help her bring out the dishes. She cooked porridge for Jiyoung and made noodles for Ji-ohn, Gary and herself.

“You managed to persuade her to wear the mask?!” she asked, rather surprised.

“Eo,” he laughed. “I told her she can play with Jiyoung for a while if she does so.”

Jihyo smiled at that. “They are really attached to each other.” Gary nodded.

“I’ll feed him in the room and Ji-ohn can eat out here,” he said.

“Aniya, I’ll feed him. You looked after him all morning,” Jihyo said. Gary agreed, so they went into the room together. Gary went in to bring Ji-ohn out, while Jihyo went in to feed Jiyoung.

Halfway through the meal, though, Jiyoung vomited again. Gary left Ji-ohn at the dining table and went in to help clean up. Jiyoung was crying, out of shock and probably discomfort, and Jihyo was comforting him. After changing him into clean clothes and cleaning up the mess, they got ready to give him the medicine. Jihyo sat him down against the wall and Gary went to take the medicine.

“Ahh,” Jihyo said, trying to feed him. Jiyoung backed away from the spoon, but eventually took it.

“Whoa, jalhanda,” Jihyo praised, ruffling his hair as he drank the water to wash out the taste. Gary smiled, feeling proud that he took it without much whining. He then took the medication and cup, and went to accompany Ji-ohn, while Jihyo stayed with Jiyoung for a while.

“Go on and sleep,” she said to him softly. “You’ll be better after you sleep.”

Without protesting, Jiyoung closed his eyes, while Jihyo patted his arms and hummed a lullaby for him.

When she finished, his breathing was slow and even, and she thought he fell asleep. To her surprise, he opened her eyes and said, “Mianhae, eomma.”

“Why, what are you sorry for?” she asked, confused.

“That you must look after me because I’m sick,” he said, his eyes open now, looking guilty.

Jihyo rubbed her thumb against his soft cheeks. “Kwenchana, kwenchana,” she said, smiling at him. He smiled back and closed his eyes in relief. Checking that he’s finally asleep, she bent down to kiss him on the cheeks before leaving the room.