calm ㅣ taehyung

under the weather

일곱 - seven

All was calm in Taehyung's room. The boy was fast asleep in bed, his loyal cat resting right on top of his chest. It was a peaceful atmosphere until the blaring ring of Taehyung's phone ruined the silence. 

He awoke with a groan, reaching one hand to pick up his phone while petting Dumpling's head with the other. "Hello?" Taehyung muttered, which he immediately followed with a sneeze. "Hey, Tae. Are you alright?" Somi sounded concerned. "I'm okay," Taehyung answered automatically, before sneezing again. "Yeah.. You sound okay," Somi giggled. "I wanted to ask you to go get bubble tea with me, but.." Taehyung's face fell as the girl's voice trailed off. "Yes! We can get bubble tea! I love bubble tea," he rambled, not wanting to miss out on seeing Somi. Also bubble tea. He wanted the bubble tea. "You sound like you're under the weather, Tae. You should rest up so you don't feel worse." Taehyung sighed, knowing Somi was right. She was always the responsible one. "Yeah, yeah," Taehyung grumbled, feeling dejected. Somi hummed for a moment before blurting, "rest up. I'll see you soon." The line went dead, and Taehyung dropped his phone onto the bed. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes and allowing himself to fall back asleep. Wait, what did she just say? Was his last thought before he slipped into dreamland.

Taehyung was awoken some time later by the sounds of his bedroom door opening and Dumpling meowing. He opened one eye just in time to see Somi carefully placing a tall cup of bubble tea on the bedside table. She glanced over at Taehyung as he began to sit up straight. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I tried to be quiet, but Dumpling.." She glared daggers at the now quiet cat, who simply looked innocently back at her. Taehyung grinned at the girl as he picked up his bubble tea. "It's fine. I'm a light sleeper." He paused. "Wait, what are you doing here?" He asked. Somi smiled as she sat at the end of his bed, petting Dumpling softly. "Your mom let me in. I know you love bubble tea, and I didn't want you to miss out just because you're sick," she explained. 

As if on cue, Taehyung sneezed, causing Dumpling to glare at him. "Sorry," he apologised to the cat, before frowning at himself for apologising to a cat. Somi laughed lightly as she reached out to feel Taehyung's forehead. "You're hot," she said, her expression suddenly worried. "Am I?" He winked, taking a sip of his tea. Somi rolled her eyes as she withdrew her hand from his forehead, hoping he didn't notice the blush spreading across her cheeks. He noticed.

"You're blushing!" Taehyung singsonged, poking Somi's red cheek lightly. "So are you!" She retorted, flicking his finger away. "Yeah, because I'm sick! I'm allowed to be red," Taehyung countered. Somi tutted at him as she stood up and moved towards the door. "Where are you going?" Taehyung asked, looking at her with puppy dog eyes. "Getting medicine. Don't miss me too much," she replied as she left the room. Taehyung snorted in response, taking another sip of tea.

A few minutes later, Taehyung started missing Somi. "Somiiiiii!" He whined loudly. "Hm?" She answered as she walked back into the room. She had a bottle of medicine in one hand and a damp hand towel in the other. "What took you so long?" Taehyung groaned. "I was gone for like, 5 seconds," she chuckled, sitting back down on his bed. "It felt like longer," Taehyung insisted, looking up at the girl. He watched as she measured out a spoon of cold medicine for him. "Isn't that stuff for kids?" He asked. "It helps with nasal congestion," Somi read off the side of the bottle. "Plus it's raspberry flavoured!" "So it is for kids." Taehyung concluded. "It'll work! Open up," Somi said, offering the spoon. He did as he was told and took the medicine. "It tastes good," he admitted, his eyes widening. "Hm. Maybe this medicine is for kids after all." Somi replied, patting Taehyung's head. "Hey! What is that supposed to-" He was cut off by Somi gently placing the damp hand towel across his forehead. It was cold, and Taehyung felt his body slowly cooling down too. 

"That's nice," he mumbled, peeking up at Somi. She had a small smile on her face as she moved Taehyung's bangs from behind the towel. He took this chance to observe every freckle on her face, and the way her hair fell around her face in tendrils. He noticed that her eyes were curved at the outer corners, a giveaway that she was happy. He noticed each and every detail about the girl sitting in front of him. 

"Thank you," He said suddenly. Somi's eyes shifted from his forehead down to his eyes as she looked at him questioningly. "It's no problem... I figured you wouldn't want your hair to get wet," she shrugged as she finished adjusting his bangs. "No, thank you for all of this. No one has ever.. cared this much," He murmured, gazing up at her. Somi returned his gaze, studying the boy's rosy cheeks and tired eyes. "I care a lot," she said softly before she could stop herself. Taehyung raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised at her words. Shit. Good one, Somi. Somi scolded herself. Way to make it weird. Her thoughts were cut off as a wide smile spread slowly across Taehyung's face. "Thank you," he repeated, grabbing her hand and holding it in his. "Thank you for caring about me."