Chapter 41 (1/2)

“Make fun of me or take care of me. Do only one thing.”

“I’m just telling the truth.”

“You’re making fun of me by telling the truth.”

“So you admit you’re a stupid sneezer.”

Myohan knew he wasn’t going to win the argument, so he just shut his mouth and went to the reception. It was Sunday morning, but the hospital was full of people. He took a number ticket and sat down. He muttered.

“I must have gotten it on that day.”

He must have gotten the flu on the day his friends all slept at his place. He had gone to sleep without a blanket. He gave blankets to all the other boys because of toe air conditioner, but he himself fell asleep on the sofa without one. He hadn’t meant to sleep, but it was dark and nice and cozy, and he fell asleep without knowing it.

“It’s a shame, the cow even put his blanket on you.”

Myohan didn’t like his dry remark, so he bumped his head on his shoulder. It ended up hurting only himself, so he frowned. Still, it was unfair that they had slept at the same place and only he had the cold.

“It’s unfair.”

Myohan had been awake when Chookjae put the blanket on him and said goodbye. When he was in shallow sleep, all he needed was a slight touch to wake up, so of course what Chookjae did was more than enough to wake him up. He just pretended to be asleep and went into his room only after Chookjae left, dragging his blanket behind him. O Shin asked, “So you’re just letting him go?”

He hadn’t been asleep at all.

Achoo! He sneezed again. Myohan’s number came up on the board.

“I’m going to stay here, you do it.”

O Shin gave him a shocked gaze and muttered about how he was now even ordering him around, but he got up to do it.

Anyway, Myohan had let Chookjae go on that day. He just didn’t feel like asking him to find the twelve zodiac animals that day. Moreover, when Sinsul looked for Chookjae the next day, he even lied and said Chookjae wasn’t the cow. Jagyeom looked like he doubted it, but Sinsul just nodded and bought it. Maybe Myohan was a nice cat. He didn’t know since when he had been so full of sympathy.

“Achoo!”

But again, what was he supposed to do? Chookjae’s grandmother had been carrying that burden for 18 years just for him. Myohan had no right to put a part of that burden on Chookjae’s shoulders.

He closed his eyes and put a hand on his forehead. Thankfully, he didn’t have a fever. Now it was easier to breathe, probably thanks to what the doctor sprayed in his nose. He wished he could take his medicine and get better soon. He was sick of the flu.

“I’m sick of it…”

He slowly looked up to hear what he had just been thinking.

Had he blurted it out without noticing it? No, that wasn’t it.

The person who was thinking the same thing as Myohan looked like he was about to die any moment. More accurately, he was expressionless, but for a very different reason. Myohan raised his eyebrows to see his dark, hollow eyes.

“Huh?”

It was the student he had saved from Sinsul’s soccer ball a while ago. He looked down and sighed, but then he noticed someone staring at him and looked up. His eyes widened. Myohan thought he might not recognize him, so he lowered his mask. His round eyes got even bigger.

“Hello again. Um…”

His name was… Myohan didn’t know. He couldn’t remember. They didn’t exactly know each other, so he thought it would be fine and just nodded. The surprised student asked, “…Are you sick?”

He was looking at Myohan’s mask. Myohan hadn’t seen that question coming, so he just looked away. Well, they were at the hospital. People went there because either they were sick, had someone sick to bring, or had to see someone sick.