In Sickness and In... 8
Seohyun ran swiftly, her bare feet digging into the wet sand on the beach. Her heart raced and beat hard against her chest, threatening to jump out. The strong wind whipped her hair about, her white gown billowing around her. She felt hot all over from the exertion, but it barely registered on her mind.
In the distance she heard the sound of galloping hooves. She picked up her skirts and ran faster, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her instincts told her she had to get as far away from here as possible.
The horse and rider got closer. Seohyun screamed as the man picked her up with one arm and she landed on his lap with a thud. It all happened so quickly, and the horse never broke stride. The man barely even broke a sweat.
She quickly threw punches at him, but her fists met a brick wall of a chest. He wrapped one arm around her to still her actions, and he spurned his steed to go faster.
Seohyun continued to struggle against him, as they rode away. He finally pulled her tightly against his chest as he whispered into her ear.
“Be still, Seohyun-ah. Oppa is here. You’re safe with me…”
“Seohyun-ah… Hyun-ah… Hyu~un…”
Seohyun stirred as the fog of sleep slowly lifted from her head. She felt both hot and cold all over, but the pillow she was leaning on was comfortably warm. She rubbed her cheek against, the smooth, warm pillow and sighed. She felt something tapping against her cheek, and she heard something in her ear.
Her pillow had a heartbeat.
Her eyes flew open in an instant. She put up a hand and placed it over the area where she had heard and felt the pulse. What she had thought to be a smooth pillow during her sleep was now firm, hard muscle.
This isn’t a pillow, she thought. Rising slowly, she recognized the fabric she’d been leaning on. It closely resembled a shirt she’d given as a gift a few months before.
Her eyes trailed up the shirt to the V-shaped neckline that showed collarbones. The skin was glistening with sweat. Slowly she moved on to the veins popping out of the sides of the neck, and an Adam’s apple moved up as her “pillow” swallowed.
Her mouth began to feel dry, and she found herself swallowing, too. Gathering up her courage, she finally raised her face and looked into the clear and gentle eyes of Yo~ong oppa.
“That must have been some dream, huh, Hyun?” he said, grinning at her as he brushed her hair away from her face with one hand.
Hot blood rushed to her head, flushing her entire face.
Yes, oppa, that was really some dream...
She slowly moved to a sitting position, leaning onto the leather cover of the backseat.
I must be delirious. I’ve never had dreams like this, especially overly dramatic ones...
She opened one eye to look at Yonghwa oppa. He was staring at her with his furrowed forehead, concern on his face.
She quickly closed her eyes firmly and groaned as she suddenly felt her head spin.
“Seohyun, are you alright? We were on our way to the hospital, but I had to stop the car since you’ve been groaning so much,” Yonghwa said anxiously as he covered her with a blanket.
She pushed the blankets away firmly.
“It’s so hot oppa, I don’t want them,” she said stubbornly.
Yonghwa sighed as he pulled off the blanket. He’d stopped the car a few minutes ago because she’d been shouting that she was feeling cold. Now she says she’s feeling too hot.
This was a new side of Seohyun he was seeing, and he was finding it adorable. No stiff and formal Hyun here, just a sick little girl who needed his tender loving care.
He liked it.
“Are you okay now Hyun? We have to get you to the hospital,” Yonghwa asked as he gently tried to pull her back to lie down on the back seat, her head on his lap.
She allowed herself to be moved, as all energy seemed to have left her body suddenly.
“Okay oppa, let’s go to the hospital,” she whispered as she slowly drifted off to sleep again.
Yonghwa smiled fondly as he brushed away tendrils of hair sticking to her face. She looked like a little girl in sleep. He leaned over to whisper in her ear.
“Oppa will take good care of you, sweetheart.”
Yes, Oppa will make sure of that...
•¤•¤
"It's the flu."
Yonghwa stared at the doctor, not blinking.
"And~?" he asked as he motioned a hand towards the doctor, asking him to explain further.
The doctor smiled as he took a prescription pad and began writing.
"And she'll need lots of rest and sleep, good food, water and vitamin C," the doctor instructed, scribbling on the paper.
Yonghwa sighed as he looked at Seohyun, who was leaning on his shoulder, sticking to his side to grab some of his body heat.
She seems to be feeling cold, he thought, adjusting his coat around her shoulders. He felt her forehead again to check her temperature.
He could've fried an egg there.
Seeing her this helpless, his nurturing instincts took over. Sure, he'd taken care of the boys when they'd had fevers or a bit of a cold, but those were sturdy men. She seemed so tiny and frail compared to his dorky dongsaengs, he couldn't help feeling needed.
A nurse came in with a cup of water and some pills in a tiny medicine cup. Together they helped Seohyun take the medicine, who kept shaking her head like a little kid. After a couple of tries and a lot of coaxing, they finally succeeded.
"Now get her home. She'd recover faster there than here. Monitor her temperature and follow my instructions I've written here. If anything unusual arises, just bring her back alright?" the doctor instructed.
Thanking the doctor as he was handed the prescription, Yonghwa helped a weakened Seohyun to her feet, but her knees kept giving way. He decided to carry her in his arms instead.
Damn, and I wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible, he thought, adjusting his cap lower and moving up the collars of Seohyun's coat to partially cover their faces.
This is gonna be huge if someone sees us like this, he thought as he quickly walked to the car. Opening the door to the back seat, he slowly placed the now sleeping Seohyun in a comfortable position, covering her with a blanket.
Getting into the driver's seat, he looks out the windows, checking if anyone was lurking around.
He was getting nervous. Another big problem he had to resolve: getting into their condo without being seen.
Sighing deeply, he turned on the engine.
He looked back on his patient as he heard her mumbling in her sleep.
He thought he heard "Oppa~" somewhere in there.
He grinned as he moved the car forward.
He'd love to get a peek at what's going on in her head.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld