Masquerade // Jeon Jungkook

CHAPTER 10

Tae Hee was panting hard after she managed to lay Seonghwa down on her bed. She didn't know how she had that kind of strength to drag him to her room. She looked at Seonghwa whose chest heaving up and down in an uneven pattern and he was profusely sweating.

Unconsciously, her hand moved to his forehead to find out it was scalding hot. His face scrunched and his mouth was slightly ajar as he was breathing. Tae Hee went to the kitchen and came back to the room with a bowl of cold water and a small towel. She placed the bowl on the nightstand beside the bed and kneeled on the floor. Tae Hee dipped the towel inside the bowl before she squeezed the water out and tapped it gently on his forehead.

"You should go to the clinic and get a medicine instead of coming here," she sighed. Her mind travelled back to what had happened a few minutes ago when he suddenly hugged her. She was caught off guard by it and confused when he mumbled something that she couldn't comprehend.

"I'm sorry," Seonghwa said meekly before his body slumped down completely onto her.

Tae Hee brushed aside the strands of hair that stick onto his forehead. "What are you sorry for?" Her eyes fell onto his face and her hand was still gently wiping it. Seonghwa was mumbling something again but this time she couldn't make out what he was talking about.

After a while, his breath started to calm down and his face softened. Tae Hee squeezed the water from the towel and placed it on his forehead. She stood on her feet and made her way out of her room.

~

It had been a few hours when Seonghwa slowly blinked his eyes opened and came back to his sense. His head was hurting a bit but he managed to lift his body into a sitting position. A dried towel dropped onto his lap, bringing his attention to his forehead as he placed his palm on it. Seonghwa looked around and realised he was not in his room.

He snapped his head towards the door when he heard noises coming from outside – it sounds like someone was struggling with something in the kitchen. Seonghwa dragged his feet onto the floor and slowly made his way towards the kitchen where the chaos came from.

There he saw Tae Hee was struggling to cut the carrots while muttering something that sounds like curse words to him. They were sloppy cut chickens and vegetables besides her. The water was boiling inside the pot on the stove with seaweed inside and they were few dirty dishes in the sink. There were also rolled eggs – which looked more like a clump of eggs – on a plate which she placed on the kitchen island. Tae Hee was unaware of his presence as she dropped the vegetables into the pot and a bit of water splashed.

"Shit!" she cursed and jerked backwards.

Seonghwa shook his head as he stepped into the kitchen and turned off the stove. Tae Hee was surprised when she felt his presence behind her.

"Oh, you are awake! Are you feeling okay now?" she asked.

"You shouldn't let the water boils for too long," he said. "And be careful when you put the ingredients into the boiling water. You almost burn your hands."

"Oh, no worries. I can handle the pain," she grinned like an idiot. "Take a seat. I'll make you some porridge."

"You?" Seonghwa looked at the condition of the kitchen. "Cook porridge?"

"Yeah. You should eat some porridge so you will get better quickly."

I think I might get sicker when I eat your porridge. Seonghwa shook his head as he imagined how the porridge will taste like. "I'll cook it," he sighed and stepped towards the kitchen counter.

"But you're not feeling well, you should rest."

"I'm feeling better now." Seonghwa looked at the sink and creased his forehead. "You clean the dishes and I'll cook the food. It will be quicker that way." He took a knife before Tae Hee can start to protest and chopped the remaining ingredients.