Don’t Lie… You Needed Me

– Hello.

The moment he heard Jeongha’s voice through the phone, his senses returned, muffled as if submerged in deep water.
Startled, Haeyoon momentarily forgot his sickness and bolted upright in bed.
The room spun, and he nearly dropped the phone, barely managing to hold it with both hands.
His complexion was ashen.
Calling first, not even a day after saying they had no reason to see each other—his own behavior was absurd.
“W-well, that is….”
He stammered.
His mind went blank; he couldn’t think of what to say or what excuse to make.
– Seo Haeyoon?

When Haeyoon couldn’t continue, Jeongha called his name, his voice puzzled.
Feeling like he wanted to crawl into a hole, Haeyoon finally forced himself to speak.
“S-sorry. I’m sorry. Wrong number… I dialed the wrong number.”
So flustered, he unconsciously used formal speech.
Feeling dejected, Haeyoon buried his face in his knees.
This was truly the worst.
From Jeongha’s perspective, this must be like a bolt from the blue—what was this about first thing in the morning?
– Why does your voice sound like that?

But Jeongha’s next question was something Haeyoon hadn’t expected at all.
“Uh…?”
– Are you okay? Are you sick?

Haeyoon blinked slowly.
He actually wondered if this was a dream.
He’d called out of the blue and was rambling nonsense, yet instead of asking why he called or what he was doing, Jeongha asked if he was sick—it felt unreal.
“I-I’m not sick….”
Flustered, Haeyoon lied without thinking.
Maybe it was the fever, but his heart started pounding fiercely.
– Are you going to lie to me?

Jeongha’s immediate response somehow sounded angry.
Yet, strangely, that voice was comforting.
It felt like he was acknowledging that even though Haeyoon said he wasn’t sick, that he was fine, he really wasn’t fine at all—that he was in pain and struggling.
As Haeyoon could only breathe out hot air, unable to answer, Jeongha let out a small sigh and asked again.
– Tell me your address.
“…….”
– If you don’t tell me, I’ll track it down through your friends. So if you want to worry them, keep your mouth shut.

Jeongha was practically threatening him.
Strangely, Haeyoon felt relieved by his coercive attitude.
Everyone has moments when they want to be a little cowardly.
Especially when they’re weak.
He could just say it was nothing and hang up, but Jeongha’s attitude, as if daring him to try, eased Haeyoon’s guilt.
It was exactly what Haeyoon needed right now.
“My address is….”
He was sick.
Sick people sometimes made mistakes.
Using his own misery as an excuse, Haeyoon accepted Jeongha’s care.

* * * *

“…….”

After hanging up, Jeongha stared blankly at his phone for a moment.
He was mulling over unfamiliar emotions he had never experienced in his life.
When Seo Haeyoon, who had acted like he didn’t care if they never met again, was the first to call, he had been immensely pleased.
‘See, he may have said that, but he’s actually grown fond of me.’
At the moment he answered the call, Jeongha had been intoxicated with that confidence.
But the moment he heard Haeyoon’s voice, his composure vanished.
His heart felt like it had plummeted to the ground.
Hearing that voice, which was so low and hoarse it barely came out properly, he felt the pain viscerally.
It wasn’t hard to guess why he was sick.
Due to his personality, he didn’t show it outwardly, but yesterday’s events must have been a huge burden and a wound for Haeyoon.
He was never the type to feel satisfied about getting back at Ahn Seonwoo and Oh Jaeyeol.
It was no surprise he fell ill as soon as the tension was released.
Even knowing that, he felt a flash of anger.
Seo Haeyoon still suffering alone because of trash like Oh Jaeyeol and Ahn Seonwoo—it made him feel frustrated and, at the same time, so sorry for him that it churned his stomach.
Asking for his address, practically threatening him, was no act.
If Haeyoon hadn’t told him, Jeongha would have found it by any means necessary.
But Haeyoon had readily given him his address.
At that moment, Jeongha was overcome with an indescribable feeling.
Come to think of it, Haeyoon had called first.
With his voice in such a bad state, there was no way he hadn’t realized he was sick.
That meant that the moment Haeyoon realized he was sick, he had instinctively contacted Jeongha.
The fact that he gave his address, as if wanting Jeongha to come, was proof.
Realizing that, an indescribable passion surged within him.
It pushed aside the frustration and anger born of pity, and an immense satisfaction filled its place.
The person who wasn’t good at getting close to people, who said he didn’t know how to treat him, had reached out to him at his weakest—this realization brought a profound sense of fulfillment.
“This… is a little dangerous….”
What was so great about winning someone’s heart, anyway?
Mulling over these emotions he couldn’t define because he’d never felt them before, Jeongha quickly rose from his seat and grabbed his car keys.
Thoughts could come later.
Right now, taking care of Seo Haeyoon, who was sick, was the priority.

* * * *

“Oh… you really came….”
“What, did you think I’d come as a fake?”

Stepping in front of Haeyoon, who stood at the entrance with a dazed expression, Jeongha frowned.
Pale face, parched lips, redness around his eyes.
He was clearly suffering from a severe bout of the flu.
Questions that in the past he wouldn’t have cared less about flooded his mind—how long had he been sick like this, had he been struggling alone all night?
Jeongha silently looked at Haeyoon’s face, which couldn’t meet his eyes, perhaps feeling guilty.
Then he suddenly reached out and touched his forehead.
“Ah…!”
Startled, Haeyoon pulled back, but Jeongha didn’t give him the chance, grabbing his arm with his other hand.
The paper bag he was holding fell to the floor, but neither of them paid it any mind.
Jeongha’s hand covered Haeyoon’s forehead.
His palm covered almost down to his eyes, so Haeyoon closed them.
“…You have a high fever.”
“…….”
“Does your head hurt, or anything?”

Perhaps because he couldn’t see, Jeongha’s gentle voice sounded strangely unfamiliar, sending a chill down his spine.
It felt different from the chills he’d been having.
Haeyoon shook his head.
His head had been throbbing just moments ago, but now it felt like all his senses were focused on Jeongha’s hand touching him, dulling everything else.
“Did you eat?”
“…I took medicine.”
“Geez. Taking medicine on an empty stomach—why are you saying that so proudly?”

When Haeyoon answered as if walking on eggshells, Jeongha immediately scolded him.
Then the hand that had been covering half his face withdrew.
Haeyoon squinted for a moment.
His vision was blurry from having his eyes closed, but as it slowly cleared, a face filled his sight.
Baek Jeongha, bent down to meet his eyes, wearing an expression that was playful yet tender, and at the same time, tinged with concern, spoke.
“Anyway, you’ll be okay now. Because I’m here.”

He had definitely wanted to say he was sorry for bothering him.
He had wanted to apologize, to say he was really fine, that Jeongha could go back, that he’d made him come for nothing.
But strangely, the moment he saw Baek Jeongha’s face saying ‘I’m here,’ he felt relieved.
He was glad he had come.
Haeyoon couldn’t say anything and just barely managed to nod.
The feeling of sinking toward the floor that had been with him all along suddenly receded.
To be completely honest, in that moment, Haeyoon was happy to have Baek Jeongha by his side.

* * * *

“What weight is there even to lose….”

Jeongha looked down at Haeyoon, who was lying in bed asleep, with a complicated feeling.
He was so thin that the shape under the blanket was barely noticeable.
He knew Haeyoon was naturally slender, but he hadn’t realized it was this extreme.
When they were outside, the thick clothes must have hidden it.
In his loungewear, Seo Haeyoon looked exactly like the word ‘delicate’ had been created for him.
At least he was tall, or else you’d worry he might blow away.
Haeyoon had always been on the thin side, but he hadn’t been this emaciated; he must have lost more weight because of those two damn pieces of trash.
Letting out a small sigh, Jeongha adjusted the already neatly tucked blanket for no reason.
Seeing his parched lips and pale face made his insides churn again.
Haeyoon had barely managed a few spoonfuls of the porridge Jeongha had bought.
It wasn’t just a lack of appetite; his stomach felt like it wouldn’t accept it, so Jeongha couldn’t force him to eat more.
His claim that thanks to Jeongha he’d eaten a little and felt stronger didn’t comfort him at all—it only made him angrier, thinking of Haeyoon probably having barely eaten anything.
The porridge Baek Jeongha had bought for someone else for the first time in his life remained mostly uneaten, destined for the refrigerator.
When it was time, Jeongha gave him his medicine, and when Haeyoon tried to send him away, he personally escorted him to bed.
When Jeongha insisted on staying until he fell asleep, Haeyoon had forced his eyes shut and quickly drifted off.
His breathing sounded uneasy, so Jeongha just looked at his sleeping face for a long time.
Watching someone sleep was also a first in Jeongha’s life.
“What does that bastard matter….”

Jeongha’s fingers, which had been fiddling with the edge of the blanket, carefully touched Haeyoon’s cheek.
To his eyes, it looked dry and rough, but the skin he touched was surprisingly soft.