LCL 83 Side Story 1

Side Story 1. Be Careful of Catching Colds

On a day in February, as the peak of winter was starting to wane.

They say spring is coming, but the wind is still harsh and snow keeps falling heavily at every opportunity. I was lounging on the sofa, just a short time before my university entrance.

With a smooth university acceptance and a move to a larger house, now I really just had to start school.

I pulled the blanket over me, leaving only my hands and face exposed. I pressed the remote control buttons, flipping through channels. No matter which broadcast I watched, the excitement for the new year was palpable.

I heard a bustling noise from the bedroom. I shifted my gaze from the TV to the bedroom. The door was tightly closed, and I wasn’t sure what Lim Dae-han was doing inside. He said he felt a cold coming on this morning. Is he still not feeling well?

Lim Dae-han had an iron constitution. I had never seen him sick. It was really rare to see him catch a cold, and even if he said he felt bloated, he’d feel better after riding a bicycle outside for a bit.

With the sound of the doorknob turning, Lim Dae-han came out slouching.

“Isn’t it a bit cold?”

He said, rubbing his arms. I, already wearing pajamas and wrapped in a blanket, only peeked out with my eyes.

I wanted to say that he was probably the only one wearing short sleeves and shorts in the dead of winter. Should I be thankful that at least he’s not walking around in just his underwear in these cold wintry months?

“Move over.”

“Ah, it’s narrow…”

“Give me some space.”

Lim Dae-han dived into the sofa without the slightest bit of hesitation. He squeezed into the sofa that was barely big enough for two people to lie down. He moved his body, making me move involuntarily.

Thanks to that, I ended up lying on top of him in a somewhat uncomfortable position. I hugged him tightly to avoid falling off the sofa.

“I think I have a fever.”

“Why do you have a fever when it’s cold?”

“Quickly.”

I pressed my forehead against his cheek. It was hot to the touch. I wriggled to press our foreheads together. It really was hot. His body was burning like fire. It seemed like his cold was getting worse.

Lim Dae-han slightly parted his lips and pulled at my lower lip. Now wasn’t the time to kiss.

“…”

I turned my head and sat up. Lim Dae-han looked up at me with a puzzled expression on his face face. I got off the sofa. Let’s not get caught.

“…I think you really do have a fever.”

“My throat hurts too.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right.”

“But why are you avoiding kissing?”

“…”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of catching my cold?”

I kept my mouth shut tight. It was for Lim Dae-han’s sake. If I caught a cold too, there wouldn’t be anyone to take care of him.

That was why I did it. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. It wasn’t because it would be troublesome and annoying if I caught a cold.

When I smiled awkwardly, Lim Dae-han frowned.

“Ki Young-hyun.”

He sat up on the sofa, holding onto the blanket. He looked like a monster living in a dark forest. I unconsciously stepped back.

Even though I still had my guard up, Lim Dae-han leaped at me. The blanket opened wide and enveloped me.

“No!”

I screamed, but there was no way he could hear me.

***

“I’d like to buy some cold medicine. My throat hurts, I have a fever, and I’m coughing a lot.”

“Please pack some chicken porridge and vegetable porridge. …And half a serving of red bean porridge.”

“Can I mix and match the 2+1 isotonic drinks? Oh…it’s only possible with the same type?”

I went on around the neighborhood instead of the sick Lim Dae-han. As I wasn’t yet familiar with the neighborhood, I walked around looking at a map. I put the pharmacy plastic bag, porridge shopping bag, isotonic drinks and snacks like ice cream bought from the convenience store into the bags.

It was my first time seeing Lim Dae-han sick, so I wasn’t sure what to do. For now, I put a wet cloth on his forehead before leaving, but what if his fever didn’t go down?

How should I take him to the hospital? Should I call his brother? Various thoughts swirled in my head as I walked.

I returned home and organized the things I had just bought. I quickly put the ice cream in the freezer first, then the drinks. Before opening the porridge containers, I opened the bedroom door.

Lim Dae-han was fast asleep, breathing with a metallic rasp. The air in the room was more stuffy than usual.

His fever must be quite high. I approached him to rewash the towel. His tightly closed eyes slowly opened as he furrowed his brow. Lim Dae-han opened his eyes drowsily.

“I bought some medicine. Do you want to eat before taking it?”

“…I don’t have an appetite.”

Oh my. Lim Dae-han doesn’t have an appetite? The sky must be falling. I was very surprised but tried to hide it. I sat on the bed and caressed his cheek.

It felt very hot. His skin was clammy due to the fever. I slowly moved my hand down to his neck. It was also very hot. When I slightly lifted the blanket, he was only wearing his underwear.

“When did you take off your clothes?”

“It was hot…”

“You poor thing.”

I murmured as I put both hands on Lim Dae-han’s cheeks. Even though he was sick, he tried to part his lips for a kiss, so I slightly pulled my head back.

“We can’t kiss.”

“Am I going to die just because you catch a cold?”

“Then I won’t do it.”

“Alright. I won’t use my tongue.”

Lim Dae-han closed his lips tightly. I gently pressed my lips against his and then pulled away. Lim Dae-han smiled weakly.

“Give me a kiss, not just a peck.”

“I really can’t.”

“Do you hate catching a cold that much?”

“It’s not like that…I’m just trying to take care of you.”

“Touch down there too. It’s hot.”

Geez, he’s such a pervert…

I clicked my tongue but burrowed into the blanket. I slid my hand under his underwear. As he said, it was very hot. Startled, I pulled my hand away.

“Doesn’t a cold make it hard to get an erection?”

“I don’t think it matters. Keep touching.”

Then it was obvious I’d catch his cold if I got under the blanket. I absolutely had to stop. I shook my head.

Who do you think I am, a beast? I wasn’t just a person blinded by lust. I knew how to read the situation. I didn’t want to do this to someone who was sick.

“Is it okay to talk like this in front of someone with a cold?”

“I don’t know.”

Lim Dae-han chuckled, then cleared his throat with a big cough. He really didn’t seem to intend to do anything. Sigh, after exhaling, I wiped his cheeks and neck once with the towel I had placed on his forehead, then went outside.

I washed the towel in the sink. Should I get him something to eat first before putting the towel back on? He said he had no appetite. But I think it was better to feed him a little and give him some cold medicine afterward.

I should have asked them to split his portion when packing. I thought he could eat it all. Having no other choice, I took out a ladle and bowl to transfer the porridge.

After neatly arranging the porridge and side dishes on a tray, I returned to the room. Lim Dae-han was still lying in bed.

“Get up and eat. You need to eat and take medicine.”

“I have no appetite.”

“Eat a little. I’m really worried because you say you have no appetite.”

Lim Dae-han finally got up. To think I’d see the day Lim Dae-han got sick. The world’s definitely gone mad. He got up and leaned against the bed’s headboard.

I placed the tray on his lap. For someone who said he had no appetite, Lim Dae-han was spooning up the food quite vigorously.

He even scraped up all the side dishes in one spoonful, so I refilled them with the extra I had set aside.

Something…felt off.

Is he really sick?

He finished half the porridge I brought him and was scraping the bowl. Confused, I stared at him blankly before finally speaking.

“Want more?”

Lim Dae-han smiled sheepishly. Then he held out his bowl to me.

“Just a little more.”

I didn’t know how many times I’d have to repeat this if I really gave him just a little more. Exasperated, I ended up laughing. “You said you had no appetite…”

After eating all the porridge I bought, taking medicine, and even changing his wet towel, Lim Dae-han collapsed and fell asleep. He kept coughing even while sleeping.

It’s pitiful…I kept feeling sympathetic. I guessed that it wasn’t for nothing that people say they wanted to be sick in someone’s place. But I had no intention of going in and rubbing my lips against his lips.

If the cold would only come to me, I’d definitely do it, but that wasn’t the case…Well, I’d just become another person with a cold. We couldn’t both be coughing in the same house, can we?

It was better if at least one person was well. Let me emphasize once more, it was absolutely, absolutely not because I might find it bothersome.

Nevertheless, wanting to take care of him a bit more, I opened the refrigerator. There was a jar of citron tea stuck in the corner, bought who knows when. If I remember correctly, I think I bought it when I went to the mart with my brother and he said to buy anything I needed.

I put water on to boil and took out the citron tea. While the water was boiling, I poked my head into the bedroom door. He still looked like he had a fever. A series of breaths mixed with metallic sounds continued.

Lim Dae-han, who seemed uncomfortable with the wet towel, had put it down anywhere and was lying with his arm across his forehead, eyes closed.

“Lim Dae-han.”

“…Yeah.”

“Want me to make you some citron tea?”

Lim Dae-han opened his eyes drowsily.

“Were you sleeping?”

“My throat hurts.”

“Is it stinging?”

“…It’s dry.”

Actually, for someone who grumbled a lot, I didn’t often get body aches. Still, I would catch a cold once every year like an annual event. I wondered if Lim Dae-han felt like this too.

Back then, I would drag my sick body to Lim Dae-han’s apartment to spend time with him. When I was sick, Lim Dae-han never left my side. He didn’t find it bothersome either.

We pecked, we kissed, and when I said I was cold, drenched in sweat, he just hugged me. He even took a taxi with me to the hospital. Come to think of it, I guess I acted a bit meanly.

“I’ll make you some citron tea. Drink it.”

I went out, put citron tea in a cup, and poured hot water. I heard rustling sounds through the open bedroom door. I approached him with the steaming cup of citron tea.

As I sat on the edge of the bed, Lim Dae-han also sat up. He took the cup of citron tea into his hands.

“I don’t like hot things.”

“Who drinks cold things when they have a cold?”

“Ahem…”

He cleared his throat and drank the citron tea. He furrowed his brow, probably because it was too hot. Even in the dead of winter, Lim Dae-han enjoyed cold drinks, so it seemed burdensome, but it couldn’t be helped.

Lim Dae-han handed the cup back. I couldn’t really tell if he had drunk any, as the amount didn’t seem to have decreased much. What little hair Lim Dae-han had grown was sticking out in all directions.

“Cool it down and give it to me.”

“…”

“What?”

He was trying to take advantage of being sick. His intentions were transparent, but I instead found it cute. If I had nagged about this and that every time, it might have been different, but this cold seemed like almost the first one since we started dating.

“Wait a bit.”

I told him and came back with a spoon. I stirred the contents of the cup and blew on it to cool it down.

“If I cool it, you have to drink it all. Understand?”

“Are you going to feed me?”

When I put strength into my eyes, Lim Dae-han subtly changed the subject.

“…I’ll try drinking it first.”

After finally emptying the citron tea, Lim Dae-han lay back down. I put the cup and spoon I was holding on the bedside table and burrowed into the bed. I caressed his sweat-soaked skin.

It was hot and sticky. I should wash the blanket when Lim Dae-han gets a little better. I pulled out his arm to use as a pillow.