* * *
Secretary Yang took a sandwich out of the bag.
The sandwich, bought from a place Soohyuk liked, was generously filled and looked appetizing.
Jinwoo, holding the sandwich, glanced at Jingyeom, wondering if he might want a bite, but he didn’t seem interested.
Jingyeom’s eyelids were already halfway down.
He had eaten porridge and taken some medicine earlier, so it was understandable that he felt sleepy.
“If you’re tired, just sleep,” Soohyuk said.
Jingyeom shook his head, the motion slow and heavy with drowsiness.
His throat was sore, so he mostly answered with nods, and he occasionally covered his mouth with a handkerchief when he coughed.
Normally, coughing was a typical symptom of a cold, but when Jingyeom did it, he looked especially frail.
Secretary Yang, holding his sandwich with both hands, took a big bite and chewed loudly.
With a muffled voice, he whispered to Soohyuk, “Maybe he can’t sleep because we’re here.”
“Move away.”
“Hurry and eat, then let’s go.”
Soohyuk, annoyed by Yang’s face getting close, pushed him away with his palm.
“You little creep,” he muttered under his breath, placing his sandwich back on the table.
He had asked for dinner, but he wasn’t particularly hungry.
Soohyuk had even sent away the caregiver Hoonil had arranged because he didn’t want anything to disturb the time he had alone with Jingyeom, although Jingyeom had spent most of it sleeping.
He knew he should leave so Jingyeom could rest, but he stayed longer than planned, driven by a selfish desire to be near him.
Seeing Jingyeom struggle to stay awake made Soohyuk want him to sleep peacefully.
‘I don’t want to leave, but I guess I have to.’
Even if he wanted to stay at the hospital, Jinwoo would be there with Jingyeom.
How great would it be if he could be listed as the official guardian?
Then he wouldn’t have to worry about such things and could stay by his side.
Sitting on the sofa, his gaze kept drifting toward Jingyeom.
His lips curved into a smile, which he quickly brushed away with his hand.
Jingyeom’s slow blinks, as if he was about to drift off, and the way he forced his head up when it drooped made Soohyuk chuckle.
Unable to let him continue struggling, Soohyuk stood up.
Jinwoo also shifted as if he was about to stand, and their eyes met, causing Jinwoo to frown.
Ignoring him, Soohyuk approached Jingyeom.
He was so endearing that Soohyuk didn’t tire of watching him, but he gently laid him down to rest properly.
Startled by the sudden touch, Jingyeom opened his eyes wide for a moment, but they soon drooped again as his head hit the pillow, feeling as heavy as lead.
“I’ll eat and leave, so just sleep. Resting is the best thing when you have a cold.”
“…”
“If you miss me, dream of me. And in your dream, make me so handsome that you fall for me.”
Jingyeom, who had been stubbornly fighting sleep, finally smiled at Soohyuk’s teasing before falling fast asleep.
Soohyuk took the handkerchief Jingyeom had been clutching and placed it on the table.
Jingyeom had seemed self-conscious about coughing earlier, so Soohyuk had given him the handkerchief he always carried around.
Seeing Jingyeom hold onto something of his made Soohyuk smile again.
“Secretary Yang, if you’re done eating, let’s go.”
“I’m not done yet.”
“Finish it on the way.”
“I don’t have a car. Will you drop me off?”
“There are plenty of taxis outside. Take one.”
As expected. Secretary Yang, who had been sulking while chewing on his sandwich, began to pack the rest to go, but Jinwoo stopped him.
He naturally wanted Jingyeom to rest comfortably, but sending away someone in the middle of their meal didn’t sit well with him.
If it had been Wonbeom or Soohyuk, Jinwoo would’ve shooed them out regardless of whether they finished eating, but he couldn’t do that to Secretary Yang.
“It’s fine. I still have more to eat, so I’ll take my time and finish it at home in front of the TV. You need to rest too, Secretary Baek.”
Yang quickly cleaned up, packing his and Soohyuk’s portions separately.
Only Jinwoo’s remained on the table.
“You really can stay longer if you want.”
“It’s alright. You need to rest, Secretary Baek. You haven’t slept at all, right? Jingyeom seems to be fine, so stop worrying and get some sleep.”
Before leaving the room, Soohyuk patted Jinwoo’s shoulder, acknowledging the long, exhausting day he must have had.
“Take care of yourself.”
After all, Jinwoo was still Jingyeom’s family on paper and had to stay by his side.
If Jinwoo’s health deteriorated from fatigue, Jingyeom’s attention would naturally shift toward him.
Soohyuk sincerely hoped Jinwoo would stay healthy until Jingyeom’s heart fully turned toward him.
After the two left, Jinwoo collapsed onto the sofa, feeling the weight of his exhaustion.
‘I’m so tired.’
In the past, he worked without rest, never taking time to relax or sleep long hours.
But ever since becoming Wonbeom’s secretary, he’d gotten used to having weekends off and sleeping in.
Now, working on just three hours of sleep a day felt like a distant memory.
‘I should wash up…’
But as his head hit the sofa’s backrest, his eyes naturally closed, and he drifted into sleep, unable to resist the wave of fatigue.
Jinwoo was woken up by the sound of Jingyeom coughing.
Though it wasn’t prolonged, it sounded painful, making Jinwoo instinctively open his eyes.
Since Jingyeom had already taken his medicine, there was nothing more that could be done except offer him warm water, which Jinwoo did.
“…Here.”
“Don’t drink too much if you don’t want to.”
“…Okay.”
“Don’t speak. Just nod. Your throat hurts.”
Jinwoo took the cup from Jingyeom’s hand and gently pushed the sweat-dampened hair from his forehead.
Watching Jinwoo, Jingyeom grabbed his phone and began typing something.
Then he turned the screen toward Jinwoo.
“I got caught in the rain,” the message said, filled with typos.
Jinwoo’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “You didn’t mention this yesterday.”
“I thought I’d be fine after washing up and taking medicine.”
“…Hyung!”
The word “hyung,” which Jinwoo had intentionally avoided using, finally slipped from his lips.
“There are some things you shouldn’t keep secret!”
Jinwoo was sensitive about anything related to Jingyeom’s health.
Getting caught in the rain could have lowered his body temperature and posed a serious risk to him.
Jingyeom had been taking good care of himself lately, and Jinwoo had let his guard down, only to feel like he’d been blindsided.
Jinwoo was about to scold him more but stopped when he noticed Jingyeom’s drooping eyes.
Even in his exhausted state, Jingyeom’s eyelashes fluttered as he struggled to stay awake, and Jinwoo couldn’t bring himself to nag further.
“Did you tell Hoonil?”
Jingyeom shook his head.
“…I’ll tell him then. But thanks for letting me know. Now go to sleep. You’re so tired you’re making typos.”
Though Jinwoo wished Jingyeom had mentioned it yesterday, there was no use dwelling on it now.
He doubted his words would even reach Jingyeom, who seemed half-asleep already.
Despite everything, Jinwoo found it cute and sweet that Jingyeom had sent the message with clumsy typing, wanting to inform him.
It reminded him once again of how weak he was when it came to Jingyeom.
“…Goodnight,” Jinwoo whispered, even though Jingyeom’s throat still rasped. To Jinwoo, even that raspy voice sounded sweet.
Jingyeom’s hospital stay was longer than expected.
His condition, which they thought would improve, worsened, and he had another feverish episode one night, causing a commotion.
Though he needed to eat something like porridge to recover quickly, he had no appetite and found it difficult to swallow, so he refused each time.
The caregiver was at a loss, but Jingyeom found even eating bothersome and just wanted to sleep.
He occasionally saw Hoonil, who dropped by the hospital room, and Soohyuk, who visited after work, but he didn’t engage in any proper conversations with them.
Then, the weekend of the certification exam came, but Jingyeom remained slumped in bed.
He briefly recalled the exam date, but under the effects of the medication, he kept sleeping, losing track of the days.
It wasn’t until he woke up later that he realized the date had passed, and he felt quite upset.
‘But I worked so hard to prepare…’
It was true that with so much going on, he hadn’t been able to focus on studying properly, but he still planned to take the exam.
He grew more discouraged, thinking that if he were lucky, he might have passed.
He felt even worse, blaming himself for getting sick in the first place and failing to take care of his health.
Feeling physically ill seemed to deepen his sense of sadness, but it was Hoonil who comforted him.
“Even if you don’t feel like it, make sure to eat and take your meds regularly. You need energy to do anything.”
“…”
“The exam isn’t a one-time thing. You can always take it next time.”
“I know, but still…”
“Your body is just weak. There’s nothing you can do about that. It’s how you were born. You just have to live with it. But as long as you stay healthy, there will always be more opportunities.”
At Hoonil’s words, Jingyeom slowly nodded.
What was done was done. It was better to think about the future than dwell on the past.
Soon, Jingyeom shook off his regrets about the exam and decided to focus on resting and recovering.
Lately, no one had been visiting the hospital, so he was forced into resting anyway.
With work suddenly becoming hectic, Jinwoo had been forced to work overtime and came home late.
Soohyuk, though he dropped by daily, only stopped for a brief moment on his way home from work.
Wonbeom hadn’t visited the hospital at all, and they only exchanged messages occasionally.
And as Jingyeom’s hospital stay grew longer, Sanho, who had been asking about his condition through messages, announced that he would come for a visit and showed up at the hospital.
* * *
Oh no…hope there will be no problem later
wow
Ughh that sanho guy
The cold is terrible sometimes.
Ughh that Sanho bitch