In a Maze...

Chapter 8

After the third ring of the doorbell, the apartment door opened and a frail figure appeared. Mark was startled to see Jinyoung's colourless face and dishevelled hair. His eyes were pale and his body was leaning against the door frame.

"What's wrong?"

Mark reached for Jinyoung's forehead and the strong heat was all he could feel.

"You've a fever, Jinyoung."

Jinyoung nodded, "I was sleeping."

"Shit. Why did you come out then? Have you taken any pills?"

"I don't remember taking any. I've been asleep for hours."

"Do you even have any medicine? Wait for me, I'll go and buy it. Just a few minutes."

Mark did not wait for any reply and left the place. He managed to buy both the medicine and ice packs from the nearest convenience store. When he arrived back at the apartment, Jinyoung was waiting for him in the living-room.

"Go to your bedroom. I'll come in a minute."

Jinyoung did so and Mark searched for some food in the refrigerator, in the kitchen. There were a pack of cheese bread, some milk bottles and energy drinks. He brought three pieces of bread, a glass of water, the medicine and ice packs into Jinyoung's room.

Jinyoung, wordlessly, followed Mark's instructions to eat the bread and then take the medicine.

"You should've called me," Mark said, "You were planning to sleep, without even taking any medicine, till you feel better? Next time, don't hesitate to call me if something happens to you, Jinyoung."

"You don't need to bother. It's nothing serious. I'm used to this. But thanks anyway."

How this guy did not care himself, Mark shook his head. He reached for Jinyoung's forehead to feel the temperature, which had not decreased yet.

"Is it common? I mean, do you have such kind of fever often? You said you're used to this."

"Sometimes, when I take a long bath."

Mark let Jinyoung sleep and remained beside the bed. It was already darkening outside but Mark was against the idea of leaving Jinyoung alone.

He put the ice pack on Jinyoung's forehead to reduce the fever. All the while, he glanced around the room, which he was inside, for the first time.

There was a wardrobe at the left corner and the bathroom and toilet at the right. There was a bedside table, which had three drawers. Mark tugged at the first one but found that it was locked; so were the other two. There were only a table-clock and a lamp on the bedside table.

Jinyoung whimpered and stirred in his sleep often, and murmured the words Mark could not make out. Mark switched off the room light and let only the lamp light on.

The night wore on; Mark tried to remain awake, changing the ice packs on Jinyoung's forehead. But he couldn't help dozing off now and then.

At one time, he woke up with a start and found Jinyoung trembling in his sleep. His pale lips were moving continuously but no sound came out.

The worry was kicked into Mark when the veins rose and became distinct in Jinyoung's throat.

"Hey, Jinyoung, are you okay?" Mark shook Jinyoung's shoulder, "Is something wrong? I'm here, it's okay."

A moment later, Jinyoung sat up straight and opened his eyes. He looked around the room and his eyes fell on Mark, who was watching him, with concern.

"Why're you still here?" His eyes darted to the table-clock, "It's already two in the morning."

"You need someone to tend to you, Jinyoung. Were you having a nightmare? Just a while ago, you were mumbling and even your throat veins popped up."

Jinyoung's pale eyes turned more weary, "What was I saying in my sleep?"

"Don't worry, you didn't say anything suspicious, for me to arrest you," Mark attempted to joke, "Actually, I could understand nothing."

Jinyoung lay down again and Mark placed the ice pack back on his forehead. Only then, Mark noticed a trace of sweat on Jinyoung's forehead. He guessed it could be because of the nightmare, not due to the temperature drop.

"You should sleep, too," Jinyoung muttered, "Don't make me feel bad. There's my parents' room. I can give you the key if you want."

"Don't bother. I can't leave you here," Mark said, "When was the last time you were taken care of while having a fever? Years ago, I guess."

"Thanks," Jinyoung mumbled. It did not take him long to fall back into a deep sleep again.

Mark was wide awake, and continued the process of changing the ice packs. He was satisfied with Jinyoung's quiet sleep this time. He seemed to be having a much more peaceful sleep than the previous one.

Mark could not imagine how Jinyoung had dealt with such kinds of situations before. And he had said it had been due to a long bath; Mark wondered how long it had been.

Though Mark had thought he had learned a lot about Jinyoung, now he felt there were a lot of things about Jinyoung, which he had no idea of.

Mark ran his fingers through Jinyoung's hair and caressed it, soothingly. Sometimes, he trusted Jinyoung to the fullest and believed that Jinyoung could be innocent. But it could just as well be a biased thought.