10 Hiding the Truth, Feeling Ill (1/2)

Gun came home at 11 p.m.

He felt apologetic for making Yeo Ri wait for so long the day before that he made an effort to return earlier.

The lights were off but he was hungry. Before checking up on Yeo Ri, he decided to have dinner. However, surprisingly, Yeo Ri hadn't made any.

'That's rare,' he thought. Yeo Ri often made sure that there was at least rice and soup for dinner, so seeing nothing on the dining table perturbed him. He wondered if she was not feeling well. His mind flashed back to her pale lips. Had she been feeling sick since then? His brows creased.

There was two packets of ramyeon on the kitchen counter, so he cooked a portion for himself. He downed the food ravenously; it had been a few hours since he ate and he had walked back all the way home from the study room, so he cleared his food instantly.

”Yeo Ri-ah, are you hurt somewhere?”

Upon entering their room, the first thing Gun noticed was Yeo Ri who was curled up in bed already.  ”Yeo Ri-ah?”

”...Mm. Sorry, I'm a bit tired today...” Yeo Ri croaked. Her voice was hoarse and she hoped that Gun wouldn't notice it.

”Yeo Ri-ah?!” Hearing her voice, Gun couldn't help but worry. ”Are you okay?”

Yeo Ri's face was deftly hidden by her hair and the pillow. She had no confidence in keeping in her tears at his question, so she buried her face deeper into the pillow. ”It's nothing,” she lied. ”I'm just... tired.”

Gun tried to put his palm against her forehead to check her temperature, but Yeo Ri shook him away.

He felt like there was something that was not right, but Yeo Ri did not want to open up to him. He was reluctant to leave her be. ”...Tell me if there's anything wrong, okay?”

”Mm, I will.” Yeo Ri tried making herself sound more cheerful, ”Oh, yeah, Oppa, there's some tteokbokki in the fridge. Warm it up and eat it while you study.”

Gun smiled wryly at her words. Even when she's sick she was still thinking about him. ”You're such a kind girl, Yeo Ri-ah,” he lamented, ”what am I going to do with you?”

Yeo Ri offered him a faux-laugh, ”I'm sleeping. Good night, Oppa.” Underneath the blanket, silent tears ran down her face.

”Okay. Good night.” Gun patted the rolled up girl, then left her to rest.

That night, Yeo Ri fell asleep, the stress wearing herself down.

Gun waited for a few minutes, making sure that the girl was asleep. He knew she didn't want him to worry about her but he couldn't help it. She was his one and only little sister, after all.