Decembers With You

Day One

Author’s Notes: This is an “A Second Strike Of Lightning” one-shot written in Goo Seo Jin’s perspective.

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December 2007

Nothing beats waking up as if you’ve been trampled on by a mob of people on their way to a grand sale on a Black Friday, or a large herd of wildebeest as they flee for their life from the clutch of the hyenas just like in “The Lion King”. My whole body feels like it has been pummeled by an invisible force overnight, so much so that I could not even lift my head off the pillow — let alone get out of bed.

With my eyes still closed, I turn to the side and fumble on the sheets for my phone. I press the key to unlock it and make an effort to squint to check the time. It’s 11:00 a.m.

Holy crap!

I sit up — an action I immediately regret — and my head starts to spin. Regardless, I swing my legs down the mattress and virtually drag myself to the bathroom. My mouth is dry, and when I instinctively gulp, that’s when I realize that something is definitely wrong.

Wincing at the pain of swallowing, my hand flies to my throat as if I can soothe it from the outside. At the contact with the febrile skin of my neck, I am able to confirm my suspicions.

I am down with the flu.

Eventually, everything around me becomes blurry, and I literally have to cling on to the walls for support as I make my way back to the bed. To my relief, I reach the mattress without further incidents and crash onto it face-first. I crawl up to the pillows, then search for my phone while groaning in pain.

Out of all the days I could be sick, why does it have to be on my first date with Yoon Jin Ah?

Begrudgingly, I open the inbox and see a text from her.

Did you forget to set your alarm again?

And another.

Or did you turn it off while half-asleep?

And another.

Goo Seo Jin!

I hit the ‘Reply’ button and type, I am not feeling well.

I thought I had only blinked, but when I open my eyes again, the screen of the phone is showing 02:37 p.m. — and my message remains unsent.

Yes, Goo Seo Jin. You are indeed down with the flu, I remind myself.

Before I can press ‘Send’, I hear a knocking on the door.

“Goo Seo Jin?”

Even in the throes of fever and colds, I can easily guess who exactly is standing right outside my unit at that moment.

“What happened to you?” Jin Ah asks me upon seeing my disheveled state.

“It’s that bad, huh?” I grumble through chapped lips.

“It is,” she says, and without second thoughts, she steps inside.

I insist on taking the groceries and her backpack, but she swats my hand with a hiss. Then, she cocks her head to the direction of the bedroom, wordlessly commanding me to behave in a corner and stay put. Of course, I have no other choice than to obey her.

After she finishes fishing out the items from the paper bag — instant ramen, bread, some side dishes — she goes to where I am sitting and places a hand on my forehead.

“You’re burning with fever,” she mumbles, brows furrowing out of annoyance — or concern. I prefer the latter.

She stands up and takes off her coat, then unwinds the pine green scarf on her neck (I note at once that it is the one I gave her on her birthday.) and deposits everything on the foot of the mattress.