"Can you try to not like me? Maybe if you do, then I'll learn to not like you back."
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While having to protect himself from the demons of his past, Jin has a duty to protect Jungkook, the spoiled son of a billionaire business tycoon. His life is one...
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Jungkook had been right after all to be afraid of that old lady and her food. Jin had food poisoning.
He was on his third round of IV drip but he still felt too weak to even speak. He had diarrhea and had been vomiting all day. Luckily, the antibiotics the nurse had given him had started to kick in and he didn’t feel the urge to run to the toilet, grabbing unto his butt.
Although, the vomiting was still there, it wasn’t as frequent as before. Jungkook would rush to his side with a metal bucket whenever he gagged. He’d been sitting in the uncomfortable chair in the hospital room for over nine hours, reading one magazine after the other from the stack on the cupboard.
“Stop looking at me and go to sleep,” Jungkook said, without looking up from the magazine in his hands.
“I’m sorry,” Jin croaked, his throat was dry and scratched, it hurt too much to speak.
“For being sick?” Jungkook asked. He closed the magazine and dropped it on the lap. “It’s not your fault that woman poisoned you.”
“You warned me.”
“It doesn’t matter. I would sue her if the situation wasn’t this.”
“She can’t pay you.”
“I don’t need her money. I need that place locked forever. I can’t imagine how many people have been victims of her poor hygiene. The environment alone was dirty, and that was what we were able to see. Imagine her cooking area, the place that we don’t see.” He shut his eyes and swallowed thickly. “Let’s not imagine it.”
A nurse already reported the chicken shop to the Health Department, and that was enough for Jin. He wanted to make up excuses for the old woman, look for a reason to justify why the food poisoning might not be her fault but it was, and he couldn’t let other people suffer the same fate as him.
“The IV’s almost done,” Jungkook said, looking up at the sachet hanging from the IV rod. “The nurse said you were going to receive more if you keep vomiting. Do you feel like vomiting?”
“A bit.” He had felt like vomiting for the past ten minutes but he had been forcing it down. His stomach hurt every time he retched and his throat hurt when he gagged. “Go back to the house, you can’t stay here with me all night.”
“Go to sleep, Jin,” Jungkook said. “You’re going to exhaust yourself even more.”
He knew Jungkook wouldn’t leave his side, and there was no point trying to convince him, so he shut his eyes and let the tiredness take over his body.
When Jin opened his eyes the room was empty. His tired gaze swept around the room, but Jungkook was not in the room. Maybe he went to pee or take a walk. Or maybe he went to the house, which would even be better. Again, he shut his eyes and went back to sleep.
“Jin,” a voice called.
Jin wasn’t sure how long it took before he opened his eyes but when he did, a nurse was standing above his bed, changing his IV. She placed a cold towel on his forehead and offered him a sip of water with a straw.
