Fever Lines

“Why are you doing everything alone.”

Jeongyun, who had already showered and gotten ready, came straight into the kitchen and took the coffee Gyeongseon poured for him, finally voicing the question he’d been holding back.

The face he had expected to see lingering around the kitchen was nowhere in sight.

It wasn’t that he was curious about him.

It was just ridiculous that someone who’d claimed he wanted to learn diligently was already slacking off.

At Jeongyun’s question, Gyeongseon answered cautiously with an awkward expression.

“Well… he hasn’t come out yet….”

Jeongyun frowned.

“Why are you using honorifics with him.”

“Ah, well… since the Chairwoman personally chose him….”

Gyeongseon replied passively.

Seha kept insisting she speak casually to him, so when they were alone she did, but in front of the homeowner it was safer to be careful.

No one in this household treated Gyeongseon rudely, but that didn’t mean she could truly relax.

And he wasn’t even the young master—he was someone sent by the Chairwoman.

She couldn’t treat him carelessly.

Jeongyun scoffed and continued.

“Personally chose him, my ass. There’s no need for that. Just think of him as an extra assistant and use him however you want.”

“Ah….”

“If he doesn’t do his job properly, I’ll kick him out, so report it to me right away.”

“Understood, Young Master.”

Gyeongseon knew well enough that the young master disliked Seha.

He seemed polite and diligent, like a decent young man, so she couldn’t understand how he’d ended up on Jeongyun’s bad side.

Gyeongseon felt a quiet fondness for Seha, who was raising his younger brother alone without parents, but she wasn’t clueless enough to take his side in front of Jeongyun.

“Good morning….”

A voice came from behind Jeongyun.

One corner of Jeongyun’s mouth curled upward sharply.

A piercing voice followed immediately.

“And just what time do you think it is, waking up this la—!”

But Jeongyun’s words didn’t make it to the end.

Because of Seha’s face when he turned around.

Jeongyun froze mid-sentence, and the startled Gyeongseon asked first.

“Seha, are you sick.”

“Huh.”

“Your complexion looks terrible.”

It was true.

Seha’s face was pale like a sheet of paper.

His colorless lips were cracked and dry, and he looked as if he’d lost half his face overnight.

“You… what’s wrong with you.”

Jeongyun’s voice came out broken and uneven.

He couldn’t understand why Seha looked like this.

He’d seemed fine when he saw him at dawn, hadn’t he.

As that thought surfaced, Jeongyun suddenly realized he couldn’t remember what Seha had looked like then.

In that chaotic situation, how could he have had the presence of mind to check Jin Seha’s condition.

Jeongyun’s expression twisted.

Then did that mean Seha had already been unwell when he came to wake him last night.

Unaware of Jeongyun’s racing thoughts, Seha smiled awkwardly and answered lightly.

“I think it’s just a bad cold. I started feeling off last night….”

As he said that, Seha glanced at Jeongyun’s face.

He half-expected a comment like, What do you even do to get sick.

He had no rebuttal.

To be fair, Seha himself felt embarrassed for the same reason.

“It’s really just my condition being a bit bad. If I take some medicine, I’ll be fine. It’s nothing.”

In truth, when he woke up that morning, he’d wondered if he’d be unable to get out of bed all day.

That was how wrecked he felt.

His head felt like it was splitting apart, and he barely had the strength to move a finger.

It felt like he’d been beaten senseless all night.

First a nosebleed, now a fever—he really was experiencing everything at once.

Despite Seha’s upbeat answer, Gyeongseon still looked deeply worried.

“This doesn’t look like nothing… shouldn’t you go to a hospital.”

“Oh no, for something like this. I’m really okay. I’m sorry I’m late. I’ll help prepare breakfast right away.”

Seha moved, glancing repeatedly at Jeongyun’s stiff expression.

His stomach churned so badly that he didn’t even want to smell food, but he had no choice.

He was already on thin ice—he couldn’t give them more reason to kick him out.

And strangely, despite his condition, his mind felt lighter.

It was practically confirmed now that last night’s strange sensations hadn’t been because he’d sensed Cha Jeongyun’s state, but because he was coming down with an illness.

Even as he lay groaning in bed earlier, Seha had felt relieved.

Looking back, it was almost laughable that he’d even entertained those thoughts.

He resolved not to dwell too deeply on anything Insuk said in the future.

Just as Seha was about to brush past Jeongyun on his way to the kitchen, his vision suddenly spun.

“Hey, you—!”

Startled, Jeongyun instinctively reached out and caught Seha as he pitched forward.

Seha’s limp body collapsed against Jeongyun’s chest.

Jeongyun wanted to snap that now he was even pretending to be sick to mess with people’s heads, but Seha’s face was bad enough, and the body in his arms was burning hot.

Before Jeongyun could say anything else, Seha jolted in his arms.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Seha apologized over and over, like someone who had committed a grave sin.

Then, before Jeongyun could react, he straightened himself up.

Left behind in Jeongyun’s arms was only the lingering heat Seha’s body had transferred.

Gyeongseon’s look, clearly asking whether this was really necessary toward someone who was sick, was an added bonus.

Seha still swayed unsteadily, clearly dizzy.

Seeing that only made Jeongyun’s irritation surge again.

How was it possible that not a single thing about this guy sat right with him.

“You know my body’s weak. Or do you not.”

So Jeongyun blurted out words he didn’t even mean.

What he actually wanted to say was that Seha seemed to have a high fever and should take some antipyretics.

But saying that would feel like losing.

“I know….”

As if he’d already understood Jeongyun’s intention, Seha lowered his head and answered.

Standing there, Jeongyun looked every bit like a tyrannical employer.

A sly bastard.

But the only people witnessing this were Jeongyun, Seha, and Gyeongseon.

Which meant Jeongyun didn’t need to bother looking like a good person.

So without questioning whether it was truly his heart or not, without caring about appearances, Jeongyun spoke freely.

“What if you get me sick while you’re like this. You taking responsibility.”

Seha bit his lip.

It was too accurate to argue with.

Jeongyun was known to end up hospitalized even without any particular reason.

If he caught even a cold, who knew what disaster might follow.

Seha stepped back a pace, covering his mouth with both hands and bowing deeply.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll go to the hospital first. I’ll wear a mask too. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“…….”

“I’ll get ready and head out right away.”

Seha bowed to Gyeongseon as well, then returned to his room without waiting for Jeongyun’s response.

An awkward silence settled between Jeongyun and Gyeongseon.

“…Then I’ll prepare breakfast for now.”

Gyeongseon was the first to leave.

Jeongyun remained alone, blinking blankly.

It felt like a storm had swept through and vanished.

Jeongyun knew he’d spoken reasonably.

Even a simple cold could be deadly to him.

Gyeongseon and Donghyun both made constant efforts to avoid catching one.

And yet the guy who’d come here to protect him was cultivating germs the moment he arrived.

So Jeongyun had only said exactly what needed to be said.

What he couldn’t understand was why he felt guilty right now.

Thinking back to Seha waking him last night made him feel ungrateful.

Jeongyun stomped into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa, gulping down his cold coffee.

Still, the tightness in his chest didn’t ease.

He fiddled with his phone for no reason.

Donghyun wouldn’t be back until late afternoon.

Jeongyun’s gaze drifted briefly toward where Seha had disappeared.

The hospital wasn’t exactly close.

By car it was quick, but on foot it took time, and the bus route was roundabout.

Normally it wouldn’t matter.

The problem was that Jin Seha didn’t look normal at all right now.

Jeongyun pulled up Donghyun’s contact and sighed several short times.

One call and Donghyun would rush over immediately.

If he told him to take Seha to the hospital, Donghyun would probably welcome the order.

“…….”

But Jeongyun’s finger hovered over the call button and never pressed it.

No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason for him to go that far.

Being woken up from sleep.

Honestly, it was so minor it was embarrassing to even call it help.

He couldn’t give more leverage to a guy who was already clinging to this house.

“I’ll be back.”

A little later, Seha came out into the living room with a cap pulled low, bowed briefly, and left.

His steps looked weak and unsteady.

Only then did Jeongyun realize that Seha hadn’t even eaten breakfast.

But Jeongyun didn’t bother caring.