episode_0129

It was Friday night, after the impromptu trip with Seonyeong ended.

I was using my left arm as a pillow for Zia, and I was fiddling with my phone with my right hand.

After spending time together in her room after dinner, they were now lying in bed together and chatting happily.

…what is this?

While I was mindlessly browsing a portal site, an article caught my eye and I clicked on the link.

After reading the content roughly, I called out to Zia, who was quietly hugging me.

“Jia, the article just said a new virus was discovered.”

“What virus?”

“I heard that if you get this mutation, you’ll get really bad headaches. I heard that people in our country have died from it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. This virus is circulating outdoors, so you can get infected through unknown routes. ”

Zia heard what I said and spoke in a worried voice.

“I decided to go to my mom’s house tomorrow, will that be okay… .”

As she said, she planned to stay at Seonyeong’s house over the weekend.

After I became close with my mother, we often spent time together like this.

This time, Elia will be with us too.

“I don’t think you need to worry that much?”

According to the article, the odds of getting it are very low and not many people get it in the first place.

Not only was the mortality rate very low, but the outbreak area was very far from where we live.

Since it is said that it does not spread from person to person, there does not seem to be any need to worry in many ways.

When I told this story, a feeling of relief spread across Jia’s face.

“That’s fortunate. Still, I have to be careful just in case.”

“Yeah. Should I go to sleep now?”

I get up, turn off the lights in the room, and lie down again. Zia also comes into my arms and gets ready for sleep.

I hugged her too and closed my eyes to try to sleep.

Warmth from a small but soft body.

I was drawn to it and reached out my hand sinisterly, but was stopped by Zia’s hand.

“No way.”

“Can’t you do just a little bit?”

“I said I was going to meet my friends for a bit before going to my mom’s tomorrow. I have to wake up early, get ready, and go.”

“That’s right, right.”

Now that I think about it, I think I heard something like that while eating dinner.

Unfortunately, it seems today is not the day.

After saying good night and lightly kissing her forehead, he fell asleep with her.

—

The next day, Saturday afternoon.

By now, Jia would be having a great time with her mom and Elia at Seonyeong’s house, but I wasn’t feeling too good.

Because I’ve been suffering from a migraine since this morning.

I must have slept on the wrong pillow, but one side of my head was so sore that I couldn’t straighten my furrowed brow.

… I was supposed to meet Ha-eun today. I guess I’ll have to say let’s meet next time.

It’s not so painful that it’s unbearable, but it’s not so painful that you can walk around with peace of mind either.

I felt sorry for Ha-eun, but I thought I had no choice so I called.

-Brother!

“Yeah, Ha-eun. What are you doing? Are you ready to come out?”

-Yes! Are you almost ready, Oppa?

“That’s… Sorry, can we meet next time? I have a headache since this morning.”

-What’s your head like? Does it hurt a lot?

To reassure Ha-eun, who was asking worriedly, I answered without showing that I had a headache.

“It’s not serious, but I think you should rest at home.”

-Gulkuna… Do you have a cold?

“No. It’s not a cold, and I don’t know why my head hurts either.”

-You don’t know why it hurts?

“Yeah. Did I sleep wrong… .”

-… .

“Ha-eun-ah?”

-Brother.

“Huh?”

-I’ll be there right away, so wait!

Stop.

…what?

The call ended before I could even answer.

Are you coming because you’re worried about me? Or because you want to see me at home?

Anyway, I waited quietly, following Ha-eun’s last words, and after some time had passed, she came to my room.

“Oppa, are you okay?!”

“Oh. It’s okay. No need to worry too much-, ugh!”

“You have a headache, so you can’t stand up! Lie down and rest!”

I was pushed by Ha-eun and fell down on the bed.

“Not that much… .”

“Haven’t you seen the new virus article? That might be the reason, so we need to be careful.”

I thought you were being more assertive than usual. I guess you were worried because of that article.

But don’t worry, I can confidently say that I have absolutely nothing to do with the virus.

They say you catch the virus outdoors, but the only time I went out was from Zia’s room to my room in the morning.

“What should I do… . I should go to the hospital and get tested, but it’s the weekend… .”

I was about to tell her not to worry, as she was getting anxious.

“I’ll take care of you over the weekend, so if you don’t get better during that time, let’s go to the hospital together!”

When I hear the word nursing, I suddenly become curious.

Now, it’s right to tell the truth and reassure the other person, but I wonder what it would feel like to nurse Ha-eun.

After all, her usual image as a younger sister doesn’t really fit with nursing.

“I’m so sorry… Are you okay?”

“Of course, since she’s my girlfriend! First, just lie down quietly!”

Since Ha-eun started doing illustrations for my novels on a regular basis, I quit my weekend job.

So, there shouldn’t be any problem in terms of time, but will she be able to properly take care of her?

I feel bad for hiding it for too long, so I’ll have to wait a while and then confess the truth.

“Umm… What should I do first… .”

Ha-eun, who covered me with a blanket while I was lying in bed, is busy scrolling through her phone.

“Are you looking for a nursing method?”

“Yes. I see that there is a lot of information posted by people.”

I think there are probably many people who have written down their own unproven methods, like folk remedies.

… If they try to feed you something weird, you should tell them honestly right away.

As I was thinking that, Ha-eun went towards the door and put on her shoes.

“I’ll go to the mart for a bit. If anything comes up, you should call me. Okay?”

“Okay, I got it.”

A man alone in a room, lying down comfortably.

I feel sorry for making you worry, but I also feel grateful and happy that you thought of me that much.

After about thirty minutes of that, Ha-eun, who had gone out, came back.

“Brother, I’m here.”

“Welcome. What did you buy?”

“Honey, ginger, and blue seaweed soup are good too, so I bought the ingredients to make it, and since I needed mental and physical stability, I also bought some aroma candles!”

It looks like he bought everything that was said to be good on the Internet.

But since they were all brought with the same intention of helping me, I felt grateful.

“I’ll make you some seaweed soup, so just wait a minute!”

“I’ll help you too.”

“Ahh! No! Oppa, just lie still!”

She lays me down again as I try to get up.

He covered her face with the blanket, patted her with his hand, and headed to the sink.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

Swish… .

The sound of Ha-eun cooking, such as slicing beef for seaweed soup or pouring water, fills the room.

Ha-eun’s back can be seen when you slightly raise your head while lying down.

It’s cute and admirable that she cooks unfamiliar dishes while looking at her phone intently.

I haven’t thought about it seriously yet, but if we get married, will it be like this?

I thought it might be pretty nice to live in the same space with someone you love.

Of course, it wouldn’t be realistically easy to keep meeting four people at the same time, but can’t you imagine it?

“It’s done, brother!”

After nearly two hours, Ha-eun came to the bed carrying a tray.

“Oh, it smells good and looks delicious.”

“Right?! It’s my first time doing it, but I think I have talent!”

She, who had been smiling brightly at the satisfactory result, soon asked in a calm voice.

“Do you still have a headache?”

As I nodded without hesitation, knowing that my migraine was still there, Ha-eun blew on the spoonful of seaweed soup and handed it to me.

“Okay, let’s eat.”

“… Hmm. It’s so delicious? If you look closely, it seems like there’s nothing Ha-eun can’t do.”

“Really? I’m glad you like it. Hehe. I’ll give you more.”

Ha-eun fed me seaweed soup several times while it cooled down.

It was only a migraine, so I could eat it myself without any problems, but I was secretly pleased by her sincerity, so I obediently accepted it and ate it.

After emptying the seaweed soup, there was warm honey water.

Ha-eun, who even burns aromatic candles that smell good and feeds them spoonfuls of food with affection.

Even though these were just unfounded methods written on the Internet, she was genuinely nursing me and hoping that I would get better.

Normally I would be the one taking care of her, but it felt refreshing to be in the opposite position.

But Ha-eun was surprisingly dependable, so I smiled without realizing it.

“Huh? Oppa, you laughed! It doesn’t hurt anymore?”

Now that I think about it, at some point I stopped getting headaches.

Was Ha-eun’s nursing effective?

I don’t really know what a headache is because it comes and goes suddenly.

If I said that everything was okay, it would be a happy ending, but I wanted to feel Ha-eun’s care just a little more.

“It seems better than before, but it still hurts.”

“Really? Oh my, what should I do, Oppa… .”

I look at my phone again with a sad face.

Her eyes, searching frantically for another way to try, widened when she found something.

“Brother!”

“Huh?”

“Let’s have sex!”

“… What?”

“Then, blood will circulate throughout your body from head to toe, and you will feel better as you sweat!”

At first glance, it seems like baseless content written by Internet users to gather views and comments.

But Ha-eun seemed to have faith in me, perhaps because she was so worried about me.

“Does it really get rid of your headache?”

“Yes! This guy said it worked too! Hurry up, bro!”

He follows me onto the bed and urges me to take off my clothes.

The look on his face as he urged me to have sex to relieve my headache was so desperate and urgent that it was funny and complicated at the same time.

But in the end, men are men.

If your lover offers to take care of you physically, there’s no reason to refuse.

I quietly surrendered my body to Ha-eun and became naked, and soon she, too, became naked under my touch.