a reason for being | jung jaehyun

twenty one

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟏

- 정적 이외의 소리 없음 - 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜

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IN PEOPLE WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS, a fever could indicate a sign of severe lung infections. being a patient with the disease, you would already feel bad enough in your day to day life, with mucus-filled coughs, constant fatigue, and a variety of other problems. but, with a fever, everything felt more burdening. especially in seonmi's case, where she had not only a high fever, but various other symptoms as well.

seonmi sat alone in an observation room, body rocking back in forth in pain as she buried her face into her propped-up knees. glittery tears were flowing down tranquilly, considering that the poor girls anxiety was fluctuating by the second. her body began to ache, like the sensation of bruises in a pattern of vertigo imprinted on her skin. she was coughing up more phlegm than usual, with fibrous bits of blood fused in the fluid. excreted vomit landed mercilessly into a bucket beside the bed she curled up in.

shivers electrocuted her nerves, like the evil presence of some apparition possessing every fiber of skin that belonged to her.

the poor girl suffered from the flu. not in any way good news with her fatigued set of lungs.

"mok seonmi, how are you feeling?" mrs. cheon gasped as she hurriedly stumbled towards the bed. jaehyun was at her flank, inching gently towards the girl who was sobbing once again into the flesh of her knees.

before she even got a chance to answer, jaehyun was at her bedside, eyes widened and heart accelerating rapidly out of worry as he stared down at her. "seonmi..."

she didn't speak out of sheer humiliation. the bucket seeping stenches of vomit and blood beside her, facing the man she was forcing herself to deny feelings for just minutes ago — it was all too overwhelming. she kept her face buried in her knees, tears streaming slightly.

"she showed no symptoms for the longest time," mrs. cheon explained. "has she been exposed to anything recently?"

"u-um...no, i don't think she has. seonmi?"

the girl shook her head.

jaehyun was trying to think, but again, he was unable to process anything. all he could think of was seonmi was ill. she was in aggravating pain. she was sick. he needed to fix her.

"the air pollution has been really bad around here lately. all those factories being built in close proximity to the hospital was a poor idea," mrs. cheon sighed anxiously.

air pollution? jaehyun widened his stare on the girl's whitened wrist. air pollution...we live in a mega city, damnit. how could i take her up to the rooftop like that?

"mrs. cheon, can you step outside for a moment, please?"

the elderly woman put up a face of agitation at first, the offense evident in the crease of her elderly temples. "no, i can't. jaehyun, have you even been being cautious lately? she's your patient, why aren't you watching her like she has a life-threatening disease?!"

seonmi flinched. it was rare to hear the feeble caregiver raise her equally feeble voice, but whenever it came to seonmi's conditions, she would always be intense. and there it was, that word — patient. that's her label. a patient, not a lover, not a friend. a few more tears stained the sylphlike fabric of her gown.