This side of paradise ✅

∞ 8 ∞

Soo Min

I knocked on Jihoon's door for the second time but still no one is answering. Today, I promised Jihoon that I'd make it up to him and he promised me that he would take me on a park. But there's no one answering the door and I've been here for about 30 minutes now, what's taking him so long to answer?

I knocked once again, with more strength so that it could be heard inside. But with the much force that I have exerted, the door flung open, I hesitantly peeked my head inside, it was dark and it was really quiet.

I gathered up courage and went inside, there was no one in the living room so I checked the bedroom. I pushed the door lightly and saw Jihoon all curled up in bed.

I approached him, he was deep asleep and his face was red as a tomato. He was hugging himself and he was laying down in a fetus position.

I touched his cheek and it was burning hot, like literally firing up. I touched his forehead with the back of my palm and realized that he was having a high fever.

I didn't know what to do but I can't leave him at this state so I opened his closet out of impulse and took every jacket that I could possibly see, I put it on him like a blanket so he won't feel cold.

I pulled a chair beside his bed and decided that I wouldn't leave him until he's fine. I caressed his fine hair and occasionally wiped the forming beads of sweat on his forehead with a towel that I found nearby.

He looked so fragile and vulnerable yet still looked so cute. I was seated at the chair as I was thinking about what possibly happened to Jihoon and why is he sick.

I remembered that we played under the rain yesterday and he must've caught a cold and then had a fever because his body temperature was too low. I sighed, I shouldn't have let him play under the falling rain, now look at him.

My thoughts were interrupted when Jihoon started moving around the bed, I got up from where I was seated and checked on him, he was muttering something under his breath that I couldn't hear.

"Eomma" he called out while still half asleep

Poor boy, he misses his mom that's why maybe he thought of her while he was sleeping. He kept calling out for his mother to the extent that I got scared, what if he's having a bad dream, or even a nightmare?

I pulled my chair closer to his bed and then rubbed his hand, I noticed that he's temperature was increasing so I ran to the bathroom and wet the towel with cold water, I put it on his forehead just like what my grandma did when I had fever when I was a child.

I wiped the exposed parts of his body like his neck, forehead and hands with cold water so that his body temperature will be balanced out and my grandmother said that the towel will also absorb the heat from our body (seriously, my lola even put vicks on me everytime I'm sick)

"Mom?" he asked while slightly opening his tired and weary eyes

"Heyy, it's Min, you're sick Jihoonie, you're burning hot"

"I'm always burning hot" he joked while giving me a weak smile while his eyes were still closed, I'm not really sure if it's still closed since his eyes are so little, I can't tell if it's closed or not.

I just rolled my eyes and ignored his silly jokes, who could crack a joke if they have this high fever? Only Jihoon can do that.

He abruptly stood up and got out off bed, which made me stop what I was doing.

"Where are you going?"
"I promised I would take you to a pa- achoo" he wasn't able to finish since he had to sneeze really loudly

I sighed and looked at him like a worrying mother, his nose was red as a reindeer and his eyes were cloudy.

"Back to bed"
"B-but-"
"No buts, back to bed"

He obediently went back to bed but still with a whining and complaining expression on his face.

"No physical activities for today, and I'll be the one to look after you"
"If I wake up and you'll be the first thing that I see every time I get sick, I think I'll have to be sick everyday"

Park Jihoon

I really wanted to go to the park with her today but I guess I'll have to stay home because of this fever.

But staying home and being sick with her isn't bad anyways, she just sometimes worries too much and forgets that I can handle myself.

"It's time for your meds" she handed me a pillbox and a glass of drinking water

I took my medicine while she rants about how she's worried about me because my temperature isn't decreasing. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, beside me so I was basically watching her scold me like I was a five-year old who played in the rain.

"If you didn't play in the rain yesterday, you wouldn't be sick by now and I wouldn't be here, worrying about you! You almost gave me a heart attack because you were lying down on your bed, all curled up and you looked like you aren't breathing"

I sniffed my snotty nose and placed the glass on the small table beside my bed, while doing that, I sneezed again, making her stop talking,

"You see? Your nose is stuffy and your body is too warm, who knows you could've been suffering from hypothermia, Jihoon, get up, I'm taking you to the hos-"

I interrupted all her fuzz and just hugged her, a nice warm hug that would remind her that I'm still here and I'm okay and make all her worries go away. She hugged me back, her hug that could make a fever disappear and could make all the pain act like they never existed.

A hug that can give you strength, I know we both needed this hug. It was my first time seeing her like this, all the worrying and not being able to think of anything else but how to help me.

I saw the other side of Min, the sweet and caring side of her. I usually see her cheerful and bubbly personality and often times she just shrugs off all my pickup lines but now, she acts like I'm someone important to her.

"Min, I really like being with you, please don't disappear on me"

I was used to being left by the people I love, my dad dying when I was at a young age, my mom leaving me for a new family and all the other people that weren't there when I needed them.

Soo Min

"Min, I really like being with you, please don't disappear on me"

While I was stuck on his warm body hugging me, my heart broke into pieces, hearing those words, coming from him.

"I promise" I said while breaking the hug, he looked at me and raised his pinky finger, asking me to lock it.

I can never tell someone that I promise that I wouldn't disappear on them because knowing me, I leave my loved ones behind because they're asking me to do so.

It's my first time that someone asked me to stay, I left my young sister behind, my step father and even my own mom, none of them even asked me to stay but here I am, promising a stranger that I would never leave him.

I interlocked our pinkies as a sign of promise and stood up to go to the bathroom, I was getting emotional because seeing him weak isn't something that I'm used to.

I got inside the bathroom and wiped the tears that were forming on the corners of my eyes.

I didn't notice that after a few minutes I was already sobbing, I wiped my tears and washed my face.

I remember these days when I used to do this when I was still living under my mom's roof, it works everytime.

I got outside like nothing happened. I passed by his living room and notice a piano with a few scattered papers on top of it.

I read what's written in the papers and saw a few musical notes.

I couldn't read notes and and I wasn't really into music so I left it there, but I remember reading the title it goes something like "For the person I love" yup, I think I read that right.

But who could that lucky person be?

Is Jihoon already seeing someone?