Acrophilia

IX: recovery

       When Jaebeom wakes up the next day, it's way past noon, Jinyoung is gone and every trail he could've possibly left behind. Carefully, Jaebeom sits upright on his bed, uncomfortable but definitely not feeling terrible like the day before. There's no headache or spinning world, his body aches but he has full control of it; the worst part is his throat that feels like sandpaper, just swallowing is painful. Because of that, he gets out of bed realising he's in his clothes from the day before, including jeans and shirt, which probably only added up to his discomfort but he's grateful Jinyoung didn't strip him, he already did too much for him.

Jaebeom heads to the kitchen for a glass of warm water for his throat, thinking of Jinyoung and wondering if he got back to the hospital safe. Now the young man realises he didn't give the younger any cash to pay for the ride back, which is the least he could've done for troubling him so much.

Now that he thinks about all what Jinyoung did for him just for a simple cold, Jaebeom is surprised. They've met four times, never in a normal situation. They aren't friends, barely acquaintances if he's being kind enough, because until yesterday Jaebeom regarded Jinyoung as a weirdo he wanted as far away as possible. Yet the younger man went through all that trouble for Jaebeom when he was too weak to get home alone, nursing him and even singing him to sleep.

Jaebeom is quite a healthy man, seldom getting sick so he's never had a friend ever taking care of him, only his mother. He got this cold not just for getting caught in the rain, he knows that. All the stress and worry due to his family situation must've attacked his defences and that rain was just the last straw.

As he fills a glass with warm water, Jaebeom wonders if Jinyoung helped him because he felt guilty for getting Jaebeom soaked wet. He doesn't blame the younger, so he really hopes that isn't the case.

The warm water helps a bit to soothe his sore throat, and to finish waking him up, but he still isn't fully recovered and he knows it. He recalls Jinyoung's words asking him to get better for himself and his mother, which is completely true and for that reason Jaebeom decides he needs to stay home resting for today to get better. He goes back inside his room to search for his mobile phone. Obviously, the battery is dead so he has to plug it and wait for it to turn on. To make good use of his time, he decides to take a warm shower and get in comfortable clothes while he waits.

By the time he's back in sweatpants and a large t-shirt, his phone is on again with a dozen of notifications; from Kakao notifications to missed calls. He starts by calling back his aunt.

"Imo, I'm sorry, I was sleeping. The cold was worse than I thought," Jaebeom immediately says when his aunt picks up the phone. "I'm home right now."

"Are you okay? Did you get treated yesterday? Are you alone at home?"

"I'm better, but I still think it's good if I stay home today to get more rest and fully recover. I'm taking medicine so I should be all better soon. And yes, I'm alone," he answers, knowing today not even the maid will come home as she only comes every other day except on Sundays. His father hired her after his mother got in the accident to keep the house, but Jaebeom doesn't even know her name. "There's food though, so don't worry about that."

"If you need anything, and I mean anything, call me, okay?" His aunt requests and Jaebeom smiles, sitting on the edge of his queen size bed.

"Will do, imo. I also called to know how's eomma doing today. Any change?"

"No," his aunt answers with a sigh. "And I really don't like the doctor. She is void of any emotion! I can't believe you've been dealing with her. I told her she's dealing with people, people in a lot of pain and fear, not just the patients she's treating." His aunt scoffs and Jaebeom chuckles, imagining his aunt scolding the doctor. "I can't believe a doctor can be that cold."