Promise Me ➳ Taebin ✔

19. Fever

*The next day*

"This has been fun," Soobin said. "But I'm gonna head home now."

"Really? Come on. It's already 8 p.m.. It's gonna be midnight by the time you get home," Kai said. "Just stay the night."

Soobin had gone over to their apartment in Busan for the day, and he could tell they just wanted him to stay since they knew he wouldn't be back for a while.

"No, I should really get back. I'm feeling homesick."

"Says the guy who likes to travel a lot," Yeonjun chuckled, hugging him. "But we understand. Or at least, we're trying to. We'll give you your time, okay? I'm sorry for being a jerk."

Soobin nodded and hugged all of them before walking out. He was glad. No one ever really tried to give him space. He always needed space to think about everything, but even when he was sitting in Taehyun's room, people would come in to talk to him.

He didn't need a therapist or verbal help. He just needed to be alone most of the time.

No one understood that.

Once he got back to Seoul, he saw that another car was in the driveway instead of Taehyun's parents' cars. He tilted his head and just parked anyway.

Maybe his parents were getting their cars painted or something and this was a rented one.

He walked inside, seeing that a lot of lights were on but no one was walking around. It was midnight though, so he just assumed Taehyun's parents were asleep and decided to go to the boy's room.

After a four hour long drive, he needed to sleep.

But he couldn't sleep when he got to the room.

"Who are you?" He asked the obvious nurse who was checking his temperature.

"I'm his nurse. Who are you?"

"Why are you here? Where are his parents?"

"They're out. They asked me to come over."

"They asked you to come over? You mean you've come over before?"

She looked at him and gasped. "Oh... you must be Soobin. They thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow."

"They thought- you've been here before?!"

"Don't worry, okay? They told me you didn't like having a stranger take care of him, but when you're gone and they have to leave, they call me. I know what I'm doing."

He looked at Taehyun.

He looked okay, except for the thermometer beeping in his mouth.

"And they told me you're starting work next week anyway. You can ask me questions if you want so you can make sure I'm okay." Soobin nodded and watched her furrow her eyebrows at the thermometer. "Shoot."

"What?"

"He has a fever. It's high, but I'll try to get it down, okay?"

She was asking Soobin for permission?

Okay, she wasn't that bad.

He nodded hesitantly, watching her go to her bag.

"I'm gonna give him Ibuprofen. It's a common, over the counter drug, but it'll help bring it down. Would you mind getting a wash cloth and a bucket of ice water?"

He blinked a few times and then left to go get what she asked for.

Taehyun had a fever?

How could someone even have a fever if they're in a coma and isolated in the bedroom?

Maybe someone who interacted with him was sick.

While Soobin was filling the bucket with water, he felt tears brimming in his eyes.

Taehyun was sick, and he couldn't even fight it. Would that make it worse?

Soobin could fight it for him though. Just not internally. But Taehyun's immune system was still working.

It would be okay, right?