The Scent of Your Blood

Chapter 29

(5:59 AM)

It had been almost 3 months since Seonghwa was at Hongjoong's apartment and he was wondering where the demon had disappeared to. Early that Saturday morning Hongjoong had woken up with a headache and wasn't feeling 100 per cent well. Luna seemed to have noticed this as she meowed and pawed at his chest.

"I'm okay, Luna," he groaned and fell back to sleep.

When Hongjoong awoke again later, he felt worse. The headache was gone but he felt weak, his body ached slightly and he didn't even bother trying to get out of bed to eat. He rolled over and fell back to sleep once again.

———

Around 3 p.m, Hongjoong was sitting at the kitchen island with a plate of toast sitting in front of him. He only took one bite and instantly felt like he was gonna throw up. He felt cold, shivers shaking his whole body but he was burning up and the pants along with the hoodie he was wearing weren't helping with his body temperature.

He struggled to stand up and make his way back to his room. He crawled into bed and it took longer for him to fall asleep since he was delusional, also the sick feeling in his throat was keeping him awake. He let out little groaning and whining noises as he tried to sleep. He soon did drift off.

(The next day, 5 AM)

The rug in the lounge room was flipped over to show the pentagram which was glowing. Seonghwa crawled out, claws scraping against the wood floor as he pulled himself out of the portal. Luna watched from the backrest of the couch and meowed at him.

Seonghwa looked around the quiet apartment and his eyes landed on the barely eaten toast left on the island bench. He furrowed his brows and looked over to the bedroom. He morphed into his human form as he made his way over to the door and pushed it open once he was close.

Seonghwa saw Hongjoong sleeping and he walked over to the human but when he got a closer look, he frowned. The male did NOT look well at all.

Seonghwa reached out and placed the back of his hand against Hongjoong's forehead. He was very warm. Suddenly, he jolted awake and sat up. He reached over the bed to grab the bin and threw up. The demon sat down on the bed and waited until the male was done throwing up. He groaned and sat back up. Hongjoong jumped when he saw a familiar person sitting in front of him.

"Seonghwa?" He rubbed his eye, a pout on his lips. He looked cute.

"Yeah, it's me," the demon responded quietly and reached out to move the other's fringe away from his forehead. "You don't look well and you're very warm," he said.

Hongjoong shivered and pulled the blankets closer to his chin.

"I don't feel great," he weakly said and sniffed.

"Have you eaten?"

Hongjoong shook his head. "No," he mumbled. "Not since yesterday. I had toast and cereal."

The demon frowned again and furrowed his brows. "That's not good, you need to eat."

Hongjoong frowned. "I can't keep anything down, Seonghwa. It just comes back up," he teared up and his bottom lip trembled. He sobbed and hid his face in his blankets. The demon sighed before pulling the sheets away and stood up. He picked the human up and Hongjoong wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

"You need to have a cold bath to help cool your temperature down and you need medicine."

He made his way to the bathroom where he sat Hongjoong down on the toilet lid. He turned the taps and made sure the water was cold but slightly warm.

He could hear Hongjoong shivering and he glanced back to see him hugging himself. He pulled the hoodie over his head and glanced at Seonghwa. Once the bath was full, Seonghwa stood up and made his way over to Hongjoong. He crouched down in front of him and went to pull his pants off but he was stopped.

"I want to brush my teeth first. Get the taste of vomit out of my mouth."

The demon nodded and stood up. He handed Hongjoong the toothpaste and brush. As he brushed his teeth, Seonghwa looked under the sink for Panadol and he grabbed the packet when he found it. He looked up at Hongjoong.

"You need to take these when you're done, okay?"

He nodded and stood up on shaky legs to spit. He rinsed his mouth out and cleaned the toothbrush off before putting it back where he usually kept it.

"S-Seonghwa, I think-I think I'm gonna—"

His legs gave out and Seonghwa quickly wrapped his arm around his waist before he could hit the floor. The demon lifted him and sat him on the bench. Hongjoong looked pale and very weak. Seonghwa cupped his cheek with one hand and rubbed it with his thumb.

"I've never seen a human so weak before. You look close to death," the demon stated and it made the human smile a little.

"I get like this when I have the flu. It's normal for me," he mumbled and rested his forehead against Seonghwa's shoulder. "Sleepy," he whispered.

"You have to stay awake so you can have a bath and take the panadol, Joongie."

Hongjoong didn't pay much attention to the nickname and just nodded slowly. Seonghwa gently pushed Hongjoong's head back so it was now resting against the mirror. He pulled his pants and underwear off before grabbing his hoodie.

"Raise your arms," he spoke softly and Hongjoong did as he was told. Seonghwa pulled it off along with the long-sleeved shirt and pulled him off of the counter. He lowered him into the bath and Hongjoong whined at the cold.

"I know it's cold but it will help to lower your temperature." He reached up for the Panadol and popped two out of the tray. He grabbed the cup off the sink and filled it with water before holding them out towards the human. "Take these."

Hongjoong nodded and grabbed them. He washed them down with the water and leaned his head back against the glass of the shower, eyes closing. Seonghwa sat down beside the tub and watched him.

"I-I don't know if they'll stay down," Hongjoong said and opened his eyes again to look at the demon.

"Do you feel like you're gonna be sick?"

The other pouted. "I don't know. I'm just saying that since the food I ate was thrown back up," he sunk in the water and let out a tired sigh.

Seonghwa rubbed his knee that was above the water. They sat there for a few minutes in silence.

"Seonghwa, I think I'm gonna be sick."

The demon quickly opened the cupboard and grabbed a bucket that he saw. He held it out to Hongjoong who threw up into it.

"Told you," he groaned before throwing up again. Seonghwa sighed and leaned his arm against the edge of the tub. Hongjoong placed the bucket on the ground and the demon stood up.

"Okay, I'll go get you something to eat and yes, I know what you're gonna say but you need to eat something Hongjoong," he said before leaving.

It was kinda weird seeing Seonghwa acting like this but he didn't think too much about it. He came back a few minutes later holding a can of lemonade and grapes.

"Thanks," Hongjoong weakly said as he took them from the demon.

"Eat and drink slowly," Seonghwa said and sat back down.

"Where have you been?" Hongjoong asked after a minute or two of silence and his eyes drifted up to look at the other male. The demon let out a sigh through his nose.

"Busy," was all he answered with.

He didn't want to say that he was avoiding the mortal because then Hongjoong would ask why and he didn't know how he would reply. Seonghwa didn't like the way his heart sped up when he was around him but he couldn't help that he liked being around Hongjoong. He really liked him.

Hongjoong just nodded and they fell silent.