Sunshine Shower

It was Taeun.[When are you coming?]Moon Seoyoon wondered if Taeun needed something, so he sent a reply.[Just woke my friend up to give him his medicine. Are you needing anything?][Looking for someone to smoke with.]At the mention of smoking, Moon Seoyoon rubbed the corner of his lips. He vaguely remembered when he last smoked after being caught by Woo Yeonjae. He wasn’t quite quitting, but he wasn’t smoking regularly either—just in an in-between state.He was about to text back, “You can smoke by yourself,” when he sensed someone nearby. Lowering his phone, Moon Seoyoon instinctively looked up. Woo Yeonjae was standing there, looking dazed. Fortunately, he was fully dressed in the clothes that had been laid out for him.“Are you okay?”Hopefully, he hadn’t washed with cold water again. Moon Seoyoon quickly approached and gently touched Woo Yeonjae’s cheek. With him wearing long sleeves, his face was the only exposed skin he could touch. His palm felt the heat radiating from his skin.“You used warm water, right?”“Yeah. …Your hand feels cool.”Woo Yeonjae nuzzled into his hand. His eyes were still foggy, clearly not fully coherent.“It’s not that my hand is cool; it’s because you have a fever.”“Yeah.”“I brought some porridge. Eat that and then take your medicine.”“Okay.”Seemingly cooperative, Woo Yeonjae tried to head toward the dining table. But Moon Seoyoon grabbed his arm.“Dry your hair first.”“Too much trouble.”“…Should I dry it for you?”Woo Yeonjae blinked slowly, his drowsy eyes curving into a soft smile.“You’ll dry it for me?”“You’re acting like a six-year-old… Just come here.”Moon Seoyoon sighed but still pulled Woo Yeonjae closer. Nagging a sick person was probably pointless.Just like the previous night, Woo Yeonjae sat down at his feet. Soon, his damp hair was brushing against Moon Seoyoon’s thigh.“Don’t lean on me. I need to dry it quickly.”“Yeah… I’m sleepy.”It seemed unreasonable to expect much from someone so out of it. With no other choice, Moon Seoyoon let Woo Yeonjae rest his head on his leg and picked up the hair dryer. Even though Woo Yeonjae often got clingy, it was rare for him to be this out of it, so instead of being annoyed, Moon Seoyoon found it intriguing.‘Is this what he means when he talks about taking my dad’s place?’He felt like he was starting to vaguely understand the words Woo Yeonjae habitually said.He knew that Woo Yeonjae placed him in a category similar to family. Their relationship was closer than typical friends, but it also couldn’t develop in another direction. Even though he had no intention of confessing, whenever he realized how Woo Yeonjae thought of him, it pained him.Just as one can’t easily control their feelings for someone, it seemed he couldn’t avoid getting hurt by insignificant things.Lost in these pointless thoughts, his hands moved habitually, and soon, Woo Yeonjae’s hair was dry. Moon Seoyoon nudged his back with his foot, almost out of habit.“Go eat your porridge.”Woo Yeonjae got up sluggishly and wandered toward the kitchen. After tidying up, Moon Seoyoon followed him. Despite his high fever, Woo Yeonjae seemed clear-headed enough to serve himself some porridge.“Did you go out to buy this?”“Yeah. I was looking for the medicine but couldn’t find it. So, I picked up the porridge while I was at the pharmacy.”“Oh… I took the last dose yesterday. I probably threw away the packaging.”Moon Seoyoon was relieved they were having a more normal conversation than in the bathroom. Woo Yeonjae motioned with a nod for him to sit down beside him. Thinking it might be better to keep him company while he ate, Moon Seoyoon sat down. The bowl in front of Woo Yeonjae contained just enough porridge for one serving.“Thanks for the food.”Though he said he would eat well, his pace was slow, clearly lacking appetite.Moon Seoyoon wanted to ask about their conversation in the bathroom, but he chose to keep quiet. Woo Yeonjae likely wasn’t in his right mind then, so asking would be pointless. He probably wouldn’t remember anyway, and it was more important to get him to take his medicine.“Eat some more.”“Okay. It’s nice to have you here when I’m sick…? But when you were sick, you pushed me away.”“When did I do that?”Woo Yeonjae didn’t answer, just smiled faintly.Was it because the fever hadn’t gone down yet? Though the mention of being pushed away lingered in his mind, he assumed it was just another meaningless comment like the ones before.After a few more spoonfuls, Woo Yeonjae slowly put down his spoon. Moon Seoyoon subtly handed him the water and medicine.“I don’t want to take the medicine.”When Moon Seoyoon shot him a sharp look as if asking what nonsense he was talking about, Woo Yeonjae chuckled and swallowed the pills. Watching his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he drank the water made Moon Seoyoon feel awkward, so he turned his gaze away.“Are you going to sleep more?”Woo Yeonjae headed straight back to the bathroom. Following him, Moon Seoyoon asked the question as Woo Yeonjae squeezed toothpaste onto his toothbrush, frowning slightly.“Why? Are you going to leave if I fall asleep?”“I’ll stay until you do.”“What if I get worse? I don’t have any friends to call.”“What do you mean you don’t have friends?”“You’re the only one who knows the password to my place.”As Woo Yeonjae started brushing his teeth, he handed over his toothbrush to Moon Seoyoon. It was only then that Moon Seoyoon realized the toothbrush he had used last time was still there. If he was handing him the toothbrush, it was almost as if he was asking him to stay a little longer.As he squeezed out the toothpaste, Moon Seoyoon hesitated. Woo Yeonjae already looked unwell, and if he got worse, it could be serious. Knowing Woo Yeonjae’s personality, he didn’t seem like the type to willingly go to the hospital on his own.He considered the time. It was still early on a weekend morning. Even if he went back to sleep, he’d probably wake up in an hour or two, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue, he thought vaguely.“Alright then.”In the end, Moon Seoyoon gave the answer that Woo Yeonjae wanted.Woo Yeonjae fell asleep again. Moon Seoyoon gently placed his hand on Woo Yeonjae’s forehead to check his temperature. It wasn’t as scorching as it had been in the morning, but it was still hot. It wasn’t severe enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room, but leaving him alone didn’t feel right either.Moon Seoyoon quietly sat and watched his sleeping face. He felt a bit guilty toward the sick Woo Yeonjae, but strangely, he found this time peaceful.After about an hour, Woo Yeonjae’s eyelashes, which had cast deep shadows, fluttered slightly. His eyes, now a little clearer as the fever had subsided, slowly opened.“Why are you sitting there?”His eyebrows furrowed slightly, perhaps finding it strange that Moon Seoyoon was sitting on the floor. It seemed like he didn’t remember much from the morning.“I was going to wake you and take you to the hospital if you got worse. You scared me when you were standing in cold water this morning.”“Cold water?”“Doesn’t seem like you remember.”Seeing the slight grimace on his face, Moon Seoyoon smiled faintly. It was a rare expression, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.“…I thought it was a dream.”“What? So, you do remember? That’s why I turned on the warm water. I didn’t want your fever to get worse.”“Did you…?”Woo Yeonjae sat up in bed and ran a hand over his face.“What exactly did I do?”“What do you mean?”“You said I was washing in cold water?”Moon Seoyoon recalled the moment, still vivid as if it happened a year ago, even though it was just an hour earlier. Maybe it felt that way because it was the first time he had seen Woo Yeonjae so out of it.“You were mumbling something about being abandoned by me or something. Did you have a bad dream? You did mention a dream this morning.”Their eyes met. Woo Yeonjae tilted his head slightly, his brows knitting together, creating a small crease above them.“Yeah, I did dream. It was about when we were kids. Maybe that’s why I said that stuff… I dreamed you were leaving me behind.”“Why do you keep saying I abandoned you? When did I ever do that?”Moon Seoyoon chuckled lightly and stood up. Now that Woo Yeonjae seemed to be more himself, it felt okay to leave. Some people want someone by their side when they’re sick, but for Woo Yeonjae, it might just feel like a bother.“Only the person who got hurt remembers those things.”“Whatever. Oh, I put the leftover porridge in the fridge just in case. I don’t think you’ll eat it, but… anyway, eat it if you get hungry later.”“You’re leaving?”His voice was filled with reluctance to let him go, which caught Moon Seoyoon off guard. He hadn’t expected Woo Yeonjae to try to hold him back. Perhaps interpreting his silence as agreement, Woo Yeonjae fiddled with his lips, his gaze fixed and tense as he looked up.“Are you tired of me now?”“What?”“You said I talked about being abandoned or something. So, are you sick of me?”At first, Moon Seoyoon thought it was just another playful joke, but the frown on Woo Yeonjae’s face told him otherwise. The sincerity in his voice left Moon Seoyoon momentarily stunned.Tired of him? He hadn’t given much thought to the conversation they had in the bathroom because he didn’t see it as a big deal. To him, it was just a trivial incident caused by Woo Yeonjae’s fever-induced delirium. That’s why he had brought it up lightly, as if it were a joke.Unsure how to explain, he just bit his tongue. Woo Yeonjae suddenly leaned his head against his stomach. His dark hair spilled over, following the movement as he looked up.“Don’t get tired of me.”His voice was as cold as his expression.