As he swiped the card key and entered, he could hear the sound of rain beating into the house. The veranda window was wide open. The area beneath it was a complete mess with rainwater. He hurried to close the window when suddenly a shout rang out from inside the bedroom.
“Am I some kind of house pet? If you tell me to stay home, do I just have to sit still and guard the house?”
He deliberately made noise as he opened the door, but Siyoung still didn’t notice and continued venting his anger at whoever was on the phone.
“Ahem!”
Seungun cleared his throat to signal his arrival. Gi Siyoung’s expression as he turned around was fierce. Two days had passed since the accident. It had been three days since he’d seen him.
“Why did you come here?”
From Siyoung’s confrontational tone, he could sense his mood was extremely bad. Seungun visually assessed him, starting from his ankle. He seemed capable of standing without difficulty, but he couldn’t be certain. With this kind of injury, it needed to be properly managed early on to avoid inconvenience later.
“I’m Gi Siyoung-ssi’s manager. Of course I came to check if your ankle is okay.”
Gi Siyoung stomped his feet in place.
“You’ve confirmed it, so that’s enough. Have the car on standby.”
“No, I can’t do that.”
Seungun spread both arms and blocked him.
“Did you just say you can’t?”
Gi Siyoung’s face, which had approached abruptly, was redder than usual. Seungun swallowed at the sight of his face coming close. He recalled the reddish muddy water of the Han River he’d seen through the car window on his way here. Gi Siyoung’s complexion was now fluctuating just like that river water, turning red then yellowish. The feeling wasn’t good.
“Your condition hasn’t recovered yet.”
“Are you a doctor?”
Gi Siyoung pushed Seungun’s shoulder.
“Are you a doctor? The doctor said I’m fine, so why the hell are you all making a fuss?”
He couldn’t gauge whether it was because of his body’s fever or the anger he’d been directing at his phone conversation. Seungun firmly grabbed the fingers that kept poking his shoulder as he spoke. The long fingers touching his palm were hot. Seungun tilted his head. Now that he noticed, the breath touching his face every time Gi Siyoung spoke was also hot.
“Gi Siyoung-ssi.”
Seungun reached out and placed his palm on Siyoung’s forehead. He jerked his head away, asking what the hell he was doing.
“What are you doing touching me without permission?”
“You have a fever though?”
This person right now couldn’t even objectively comprehend that he was being unreasonable. A fever that rose from deep inside and couldn’t be resolved was boiling on his forehead. Gi Siyoung shook his head once more to shake off Seungun’s palm. Then he staggered for a moment.
“See? You can’t even control your body properly.”
Seungun grabbed his shoulder.
“Don’t grab me, let go.”
“You’re sick right now.”
“Let go, I said let go….”
“Just stay still.”
Gi Siyoung, delirious with fever, couldn’t control himself at all. Seungun grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the bed. The inside of the blanket was still warm. When he laid him on the bed, he threw off the blanket again like a child who was sick but stubbornly trying to get up to play.
“I’m going to get up—”
“Stay lying down.”
Seungun forcibly held down the body that was twice his size. Seeing how easily his body was subdued, unlike before, it really hit him how sick he was, enough to be groaning in pain. He brought his forehead against the now more docile Gi Siyoung’s forehead. Then Gi Siyoung’s eyes widened as he looked up at Seungun.
“How is it?”
“Get off right now. What the hell are you doing?”
“My forehead is cool, right? That’s how much of a fireball Gi Siyoung-ssi’s forehead is right now. Please be aware of what state your body is in.”
“……”
“Gi Siyoung-ssi needs to get better quickly so I can have the car on standby or not, right?”
“……”
At the gentle scolding, the face tinged with redness soon calmed down. Only after Gi Siyoung became obedient could Seungun finally raise his body. As soon as Seungun lifted his forehead, he immediately rolled the body that was wriggling like a worm tightly in the blanket.
First, contacting Myeongwoo was the priority. After just a few rings, Myeongwoo answered frantically.
“It’s me.”
— Oh, how’s his condition?
Seungun slightly opened the door and came out while checking Gi Siyoung’s condition once more. He was staring at the ceiling, rolled up in the blanket like kimbap. He didn’t look well at all.
“Mm. Bad. He has a fever and it seems like he has body aches.”
— Really? Is it bad enough to go to the hospital?
“It’s not a state where he needs to go to the hospital. If we take him to the hospital in this condition and someone asks for an autograph, I think he’ll break their leg.”
— Okay. Then I’ll send a doctor over there right now. Thanks for your hard work.
“It’s no trouble.”
Not long after the call ended, a doctor came to the house.
Gi Siyoung fell asleep immediately after receiving medication. Seungun heard various instructions from the doctor and breathed a sigh of relief. The face that had fallen into sleep in a daze was haggard and rough. If his fans had seen him like this, they probably would have filled this room with tears.
First, he needed to clean up under the living room window. He brought a dry towel and wiped the thoroughly soaked floor. Then he rummaged through the kitchen looking for rice. While making porridge with white rice, he didn’t forget to check on Gi Siyoung’s condition in between.
The doctor said it was best to sleep soundly until all the IV medication went in, and that it would take about two and a half hours for all the medication to enter. Seungun turned off the gas and covered the white porridge that had nothing left to chew. He also prepared a tray and warm barley tea in advance so Gi Siyoung could eat as soon as he woke up.
He wet a clean towel with water and entered the room. Fortunately, there was still no sign of him waking up. On his exhausted, collapsed face, there was no trace of the sensitivity he had when his eyes were open.
“Well, it would be strange if he didn’t get body aches with a schedule like this.”
Im Seungun stared at Siyoung’s defenseless face, then quietly took out his phone from his pocket. Click, click. He took several photos and left the room.
Some time later, the reason Gi Siyoung regained consciousness was the sensation of something lukewarm half-pressing down on his eyes. With a hazy mind, he wiped his forehead. He frowned at the lukewarm wet towel and sat up. An IV was connected to the back of his hand.
“Ah, my head….”
He skillfully pulled out the tube that had finished administering the medication and looked around. Rainwater was still tapping on the bedroom window. The Han River, its water level closer than usual, was rippling below. He staggered to find his balance and stood up, then opened the bedroom door and headed out. The inside of the house was chilly and quiet.
Then, his sensitive eardrums caught a presence. Swish, swish. It was a careful sound, as if walking on tiptoes to move quietly. Gi Siyoung headed unhesitatingly toward where the sound was coming from. The source of the sound was inside the room used as a study. When he opened the study door, Seungun’s heels, which had really been raised, immediately landed on the ground.
“Oh, are you feeling more alert?”
Seungun approached in confusion. Then he checked his wristwatch.
“You came to exactly two and a half hours later.”
“Only two and a half hours have passed? I thought it had been longer…. By the way, what are you doing here?”
Gi Siyoung asked while rubbing his stiff temples.
“The weather is bad so it’s much darker than usual. Ah, and I’m sorry for entering here without permission. I thought I’d kill some time until Gi Siyoung-ssi woke up….”
“……”
“And I also made porridge. You can eat that and then take your medicine.”
Seungun casually touched Siyoung’s forehead. At the sudden contact, Gi Siyoung couldn’t avoid it this time either.
“Your fever has gone down a bit.”
“……”
“Let’s go to the kitchen.”
Since Seungun hurried out, Siyoung also sluggishly followed him. He could see Seungun’s back already moving around the kitchen like it was his own home. He started heating the pot with white porridge in it—he didn’t know when it had been made—while placing utensils on the table.
Gi Siyoung silently pulled out a chair and sat down. The space that had been silent soon became warm with the heat from the gas stove.
“Please eat.”
“Did you make it yourself?”
Whether the effects of the medicine hadn’t completely worn off yet, Gi Siyoung’s voice was languid.
“Yes. I made a lot, so eat and eat some more.”
“It would have been easier to order delivery.”
“There’s rice and a pot at home, so why bother?”
Gi Siyoung rubbed his dry face with his palm and muttered.
“I’m sorry if I acted rudely earlier. I think I yelled and everything.”
“……”
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Did you just apologize to me?”
“So what?”
“The person who threatened to stab me changes when they’re sick.”
Only after pushing the barley tea for him to drink did Seungun pick up the bag he’d hung on the chair. Then Gi Siyoung blinked and blankly moved his gaze following Seungun’s feet.
“Is there anything else you need?”
After hesitating for a moment, Gi Siyoung slowly opened his mouth.
“I don’t want to eat alone….”
“You’re not a child.”
But that was the same for Seungun too. Somehow his feet wouldn’t easily leave, leaving a sick person behind. Seeing Gi Siyoung sitting vacantly alone at the wide dining table with food in front of him in the darker-than-usual interior, he felt compassion unlike usual.
After getting thoroughly sick, there was something about Gi Siyoung’s face that somehow tugged at one’s heart. His facial lines had become even sharper, and in his slightly downcast gaze there was even a gloomy tragic beauty.
