*
“…Won, Yeo Jeongwon! Wake up, don’t you have to go to work?”
At the sound of knocking on the door, I lifted my eyelids with difficulty. I was so out of it that I blinked blankly when the door burst open and Won Dogyeong came in and sat on the edge of the bed.
“It’s almost 9 o’clock. I also overslept…”
“Ugh… 9 o’clock…?”
He was shaking my limp arm as he spoke, then hesitated and felt around my forehead and nape with his hand.
“I think you have a fever?”
Won Dogyeong hurried outside, then came back with a thermometer from somewhere, lifted my clothes, and stuck it in my armpit. My head was throbbing. When I swallowed, my throat hurt like it was tearing.
“My head hurts…”
Even the voice that came out with difficulty was a bit hoarse. Every time I spoke, my throat stung, making my eyes furrow.
Beep beep- Beep beep-.
At the notification sound, Won Dogyeong lifted my arm and pulled the thermometer back out. It was 37.8 degrees. The fever wasn’t very high, but the heavy head and sore throat were more of a problem. It was the body aches I’d get once during seasonal changes.
The temperature had been going up and down these past few days with the rain coming and going, and sure enough, a summer cold that even dogs don’t catch had arrived.
“You really do have a fever.”
He placed the back of his hand on my cheek with a worried face. Maybe because my body temperature was elevated, it felt cool.
“I can’t go to work today…”
Normally I would have just taken medicine and gone to work with this level of illness, but I was worried about Yongyong.
“Contact them quickly.”
When Won Dogyeong pressed my phone into my hand from the nightstand, I immediately contacted the company and threw it down next to the pillow. I couldn’t put much strength in my arms either. My whole body felt limp.
“Let’s take medicine.”
“I can’t take medicine…”
“This one is okay.”
I don’t know when he bought it, but Won Dogyeong was rustling around taking out painkillers in a red box.
“Let’s wait a bit.”
“You said your head hurts.”
“I don’t want to…”
When I turned my head away to the other side, Won Dogyeong sighed and touched my forehead again.
“If you still have a fever after two hours, you’re taking it.”
“…Okay.”
“Don’t cover yourself with the blanket. That’s how it’ll go down.”
The blanket that had been covering me up to my neck was pulled down to my waist. The air touching my skin was cold, making me shrink a bit, then instinctively curl up toward Won Dogyeong, seeking the warmth beside me. He rubbed the bare skin exposed under his short sleeves and scolded me.
“I’ll make you porridge. Just wait a bit.”
“Okay…”
Perhaps worried about me groaning, he went outside leaving the door slightly open.
It was hard because my head throbbed every time I tossed and turned. I tried to lie still in one position as much as possible, but even when it was okay for a moment, the throbbing would rush back soon and I’d roll over without realizing it.
Should I take medicine?
I had heard that high fever was also bad for the fetus, but still, I was a bit reluctant to take medicine.
It wasn’t serious enough to call it a high fever, so I’d wait a bit, and if my temperature was still high after two hours as Won Dogyeong said, I’d take fever reducer or something.
From the kitchen, the sound of porridge bubbling and the wooden ladle clattering came gently.
While I closed my eyes and endured the throbbing that pulsed my temples periodically, all sorts of thoughts came to mind. The worries I’d concluded in my heart kept coming back endlessly with the headache to torment me.
…What if my stubbornness about not taking medicine is actually worse for Yongyong right now?
But what if taking medicine is bad for them?
My anxious feelings went back and forth. It would be nice if there was a way to know what’s better for Yongyong.
Even though the early stage had passed, strictly speaking it wasn’t the stable period yet, so I was suddenly scared thinking what if something happened to Yongyong.
It’ll be fine. If something would happen from this level of light cold, there would already be many people in big trouble, but I’ve never heard such stories.
While comforting myself, my hand covered my belly.
…It’ll be okay, right? I heard that male omegas already have a high miscarriage rate.
Anxious thoughts floated heavily in my head.
When I was stroking my lower abdomen and soothing my anxious heart, Won Dogyeong opened the door slightly holding a tray.
“Eat and sleep.”
He put down the porridge on the nightstand and carefully sat me up, wedging a pillow behind my back.
I was sitting blankly with my back against the headboard when I suddenly met his worried face, and emotions welled up uncontrollably.
He must not be comfortable either, worrying about Yongyong.
I shouldn’t be troublesome on top of that.
I bit my lip to hold it in, but as if the vague fear I’d been going through alone was bursting out all at once, my eyes heated up hotly.
My nose tingled and I sniffled quietly. Won Dogyeong seemed to not have noticed my condition yet as he was stirring the porridge to cool it.
I opened my eyes wide and glared at the blanket.
You can do this. Hold it in, hold it in.
“It’s still hot. Just a moment.”
At the kind voice filled with worry, tears ended up flowing down without me realizing it. Once they started bursting out, hot teardrops flowed down my cheeks uncontrollably.
Geez… I really don’t want to cry.
The sound of sniffling leaked out and Won Dogyeong, who had been absorbed in cooling the porridge, raised his head.
He was startled and threw down the spoon he was holding into the bowl, pulling out tissues frantically to wipe my face.
“Does it hurt a lot? Should we go to the hospital?!”
I was anxious but it wasn’t enough to cry about, yet whether it was because I was sick or because of those damn hormones, my tear ducts were completely uncontrollable.
“Yongyong will be okay, right? …Sniffle.”
Won Dogyeong seemed to finally get a sense of why I was crying as he stretched out his arms and pulled me in to hug me as I bawled. Feeling the small pats vibrating my back, I rubbed my face on his shoulder. The tears from my cheeks stained the gray t-shirt in increasingly dark spots.
Oops, I got snot on it.
“I looked it up too, and since the fever isn’t very high, it’ll be okay.”
“I know… Sniffle, sniff.”
“You seemed to have no energy, so I was going to feed you and let you rest a bit before going to the hospital or something…”
The large palm affectionately stroked my back, making me feel strange. It felt both pitiful and ticklish in one corner of my chest.
“If you’re anxious, let’s eat breakfast and go right away, okay?”
He tilted his head toward me and asked in a tone like soothing a young child. When I nodded slightly with my face buried in his nape, the patting hand came up and pressed and stroked the back of my head.
He pulled out a tissue with his other hand and handed it to me. I hugged Won Dogyeong while receiving the tissue and blew my nose with a honk. After repeating that several times and blowing my nose thoroughly, the tears that had been gushing up also subsided to some extent.
As my agitated body gradually calmed down, this time embarrassment quietly raised its head.
…How embarrassing.
I was calming my panting breath and quietly hugging his waist when Won Dogyeong leaned his head against me and laughed lowly.
“What are we going to do with so many things to cry about? This is the first time in my life I’ve seen you cry this much.”
“You try getting pregnant…”
“I would if I could.”
“It’s all because of you.”
Embarrassed about crying so hard, I lightly pounded his back with the hand I was hugging him with, and he hugged me tight and giggled.
“Right, it’s all because of me.”
“I’m not crying because I want to cry either.”
“I know.”
Won Dogyeong, who had been agreeing in a voice tinged with laughter, paused for a moment then opened his mouth again.
“But actually, you’re kind of cute when you cry.”
“Are you a pervert?”
“Yeah.”
He laughed and pulled his body back. Won Dogyeong lightly rubbed my eyes with his hand to wipe away the moisture, then pressed both my cheeks with both hands.
“Should we eat now?”
“…Yeah.”
He placed the tray that had been set on the nightstand on my lap and pressed a spoon into my hand. The time he’d been out making porridge wasn’t that long, yet in that short gap, he must have chopped things to add—it wasn’t plain porridge but vegetable porridge.
Fortunately it was still warm. Next to the porridge bowl was soy sauce in a small dish and kimchi cut into small pieces.
“What about you?”
“I’ll eat later. You cried, doesn’t your head hurt?”
“It’s just a bit fuzzy.”
When I first woke up it was throbbing, but after crying I became a bit dazed. Even in the midst of all this, the porridge was delicious. I thought I had no appetite but it went down well. If this guy hadn’t become an actor, he should have become a chef.
While I ate porridge, Won Dogyeong lay sideways at the foot of the bed holding his phone, watching a drama.
He said something new came out on an OTT site again. When I asked if it was interesting, he said it wasn’t interesting and told me not to watch it. Yet he kept watching it himself. I guess he needs to know everything to be satisfied.
After emptying more than half the porridge, I put on clothes to go to the hospital. Won Dogyeong said wouldn’t it be better to take things off if you’re hot rather than be cold, and dressed me in layers—a t-shirt, a hooded zip-up, and a windbreaker on top.
In this weather, I’m probably the only one bundled up like this. It’s early summer.
I was getting on the elevator when he tried to go to the underground parking lot, so I stopped him.
“Let’s walk, it’s not that far.”
The hospital we always went to was a 10-minute walk away. Even though my body felt a bit heavy, it wasn’t like I was dying, and thinking about parking, it seemed better to just walk there and back quickly.
“There’s a parking lot there too, just let’s take the car.”
“It’s troublesome though.”
“I’m the one doing it, so what. And crybabies don’t get to choose.”
Won Dogyeong said nonchalantly and pressed the B2 button. When he puts it that way, I have nothing to say. It’s true that I cried.
