buzzer beater ✦ j.sc | ✔

the little things ✦ [i]

ON NEEDLESTICKS AND OTHER METAPHORS

Stirring slightly in the middle of the night, you were aware of being uncomfortable, hot, and sweaty under all your sheets, blankets, and boyfriend.

"Mmh," you groaned, pushing at Sungchan, who was of course passed out on top of you like you were the mattress. "Channie, off. 'm too hot."

He readjusted slightly, but just grabbed you to pull you to his front like the cuddle monster he was. You were now acutely aware of your clothes sticking to your back and chest.

"No, let go." You grabbed at his arms. "Come on, Channie, aren't you hot too?"

He suddenly vaulted himself out of bed, throwing the sheets and blankets off of him in a mad dash towards the bathroom. You sat up in bed, blearily watching him in confusion until he kneeled down at the toilet and you finally put the pieces together, hurrying in after him and turning on the light on your way in.

He didn't have any hair to hold back from his face as he emptied his stomach, so you mainly rubbed his back through his damp t-shirt. With the bathroom lights on, you were able to see that the front and back of his white shirt were entirely soaked with sweat, his face pink and sweat-sheened, and his hair stuck to his forehead. His whole body radiated with an unnatural heat as you sat beside him, coaching and comforting him through it as he gripped the toilet bowl with white knuckles.

When it seemed like he had gotten to a pause in his retching, you coaxed his head up away from the opening, then flushed it. Grabbing some toilet paper from the roll hanging next to you, you bundled up enough to wipe around his mouth and nose, then tossed that into the bowl as well as the water was still draining.

"We..." He stopped to cough, then spit into the toilet. "We ate the same stuff last night... Why aren't you..."

"Baby, I don't think this is food poisoning," you replied, moving his hair off his forehead to press the back of your hand there. "I think you're sick."

"But my immune system is so good! I haven't even gotten a cold in like five years! I got my flu shot two weeks ago!"

"I know, I was there holding your hand."

His whining was cut off by more puking, and you continued to soothe him through it.

✦

"Channie, you can't send this." You shook your head, reading over his email to his research head again.

"But I have to... to tell him why I can't come in," Sungchan reached for his phone from your hands.

"Baby, this is gibberish." You held the phone away from his grabby hands so you could delete the nonsense email and exit out of the app before setting it on his nightstand. "You go back to sleep, I'll call the lab for you, okay?"

He sighed, laying back down in bed and closing his eyes. "Okay... don't take too long... miss you..."

"And he's out," you commented to yourself fondly.

It was quick work to look up the office line on the university's website, and you took the call in the living room as he napped in your room. Hearing the click of it being picked up first, it was answered by an older-sounding, stern man.

"Yoon Taekyung."

"Hi, Dr. Yoon, this is Y/L/N Y/N, I'm—"

"Jung Sungchan's girlfriend."

"Oh, yes, Jung Sungchan's girlfriend." You laughed nervously, caught off-guard. You'd never met Sungchan's research head before.

"Jung talks about you a lot. I don't stalk my PhD candidates online, in case you were wondering."