TAEKOOK Under the NEW MOON [Taekook FF]

17 | Something Like That

Minghyu didn't call.

The first time I called, Minho answered and told me that Minghyu was still in bed. I got nosy, checking to make sure that Minho had taken him to a doctor. Minho said he had, but, for some reason I couldn't nail down, I didn't really believe him. I called again, several times a day, for the next two days, but no one was ever there.

Saturday, I decided to go see him, invitation be damned. But the little red house was empty. This
frightened me—was Minghyu so sick that he'd needed to go to the hospital? I stopped by the hospital on the way back home, but the nurse at the front desk told me neither Minghyu or Minho had been in.

I made Jaewoo call Harry Clearwater as soon as he got home from work. I waited, anxious, while Jaewoo chatted with his old friend; the conversation seemed to go on forever without Minghyu even being mentioned. It seemed that Harry had been in the hospital . . some kind of tests for his heart. Jaewoo's forehead got all pinched together, but Harry joked with him, blowing it off, until Jaewoo was laughing again.

Only then did Jaewoo ask about Minghyu, and now his side of the conversation didn't give me much to work with, just a lot of hmms and yeahs. I drummed my fingers against the counter beside him until he put a hand over mine to stop me.

Finally, Jaewoo hung up the phone and turned to me.

"Harry says there's been some trouble with the cell towers, and that's why you haven't been able to get through. Minho took Minghyu to the doc down there, and it looks like he has mono. He's real tired, and Minho said no visitors," he reported.

"No visitors?" I demanded in disbelief.

Jaewoo raised one eyebrow. "Now don't you go making a pest of yourself, Kook. Minho knows what's best for Minghyu. He'll be up and around soon enough. Be patient."

I didn't push it. Jaewoo was too worried about Harry. That was clearly the more important issue—it wouldn't be right to bug him with my lesser concerns. Instead, I went straight upstairs and turned on my iPad. I found a medical site online and typed "mononucleosis" into the search box.