30. Day Minus Four

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Seungcheol caressed Jeonghan's forehead, checking the other's temperature

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Seungcheol caressed Jeonghan's forehead, checking the other's temperature. He sighed. Ever since Mingyu and Jihoon made that potion to help aid Jeonghan's fever, his temperature has since improved. He still has the fever, but it wasn't that dangerously high.

Seungcheol's fingers traced the branching dark mark now inking along the side of Jeonghan's neck and slowly making its way to the latter's beautiful face. It's a slow torturing display of the Voiding process, and every so often he would find himself frozen staring at it –and all the while despising himself that this was all on him. He knew that this is all his fault and reversing its effect is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Seungcheol doesn't know how long he has been standing there but one thing he could tell, it has been quite some time. He just simply stood there watching Jeonghan who is sitting on the bench under the Pine Tree reading a book all to himself. He noticed how Jeonghan is a little bit of a slow-reader, maybe cause the said male is more likely just pacing out rather than actually reading. Whatever the man is thinking about, it's bothering him.

Seungcheol hates looking at the crease on Jeonghan's forehead before he shakes his head to focus on his book again. Seungcheol hates how that somehow affects him. He wants to see Jeonghan's calm face, his peaceful face.

And why would he want that? What does that get to do with him?

With that realization, he turned around and left the place. Besides, if he had shown himself in front of Jeonghan, would that calm the other? He's quite sure it will be the opposite.

-

How was he so sure back then? How was he so confident that Jeonghan will be just fine without him? And how did he just ignore that urge to approach Jeonghan? It was all too clear that their bond back then had already formed, and ignoring that fact will come down to this. How was he so stupid?

Being overconfident that Jeonghan will always be strong, to overcome the hurdle of their force mating, signifies how big of an idiot he is. A useless unforgivable mate. Wow, he dares calling himself a mate when he fails time after time.

"Seungcheol-hyung, we brought you breakfast."

The chamber's door creaked open to show Seungkwan and Hansol entering the vicinity on their regular clothes. It's Monday, and because of the Great Ball, the school is officially momentarily put on hold. Fortunately, they didn't have to worry about explaining to the faculty as to why Jeonghan had been missing the class for the last few days now. But sure, soon enough they will have to catch on, right? After all, Jeonghan is not easy to miss. He has his band of admirers who would soon realize he had been missing.

"Hyung, you have to eat, alright?" Seungkwan peeked into the room while Hansol placed the said breakfast on the kitchen table. "We also packed rice porridge for Jeonghan-hyung when he wakes up. Jihoon-hyung said to make sure Jeonghan drinks the potion and eat too if he can. He needs to recover in the next few days."

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