41-2

"That's what you're worried about? Jaewook, you had a fever and you look so pale." He seems to finally notice the sweat covering him and the sheets that are on the floor. "Oh, yeah, I don't feel so good." "Wh—" He jumps out of bed and somehow subconsciously remembers where the bathroom is. I hear the sound of his puking and wince. "Great." I get out of the bed and take the bowl of lukewarm water to the kitchen. Hansoo is, sure enough, cooking some breakfast. I'm shocked to see him looking perfectly fine. His hair is even brushed, new clothes put on, and his face is clean. "Good morning?" I ask, unsure of what a hungover Hansoo will look like. "Morning Destiny." Okay, he's sober. "Do you... do you remember last night?" I ask cautiously. He turns around, his eyes big with worry. "No, what happened?" "Wait, really?" "No, I remember. I always remember." "And you're sober now? 100%?" "Yeah." I head over to him, grab his shoulders, and am barely able to comprehend the confusion in his irises before I knee him in the crotch. "Aoo—!" He curls up in pain, falling to the ground. "What was that for!?" "For acting like a toddler and making me take care of you when I already had my own poor, sick boyfriend to take care of. And for kissing me you sly bastard." He wails in pain, rolling on the floor a bit too dramatically. My brother taught me to do this if I ever felt threatened, and since drunk Hansoo resembled a 5-year-old, I decided to wait until he was his cheeky, arrogant self. "Noona, what's wrong?" Jaewook, with drool on his lips and a pale face asks. "Baby baby," I frantically run over to him and lead him to a chair. "You look like you're going to faint. Sit please." I feel like my hearts going to burst. Seeing him so sick makes me feel sick too. He sits and lays his head on the counter. "Get up Park Hansoo and finish cooking. I took care of you now it's time for you to take care of us." Hansoo's expression is unreadable as he gets up and continues cooking. "It's hangover soup, I assumed he'd be hungover," he mumbles, upset now for some reason. I ignore this and stand beside Jaewook. "Drink some of this," I hand him an energy drink I found in the fridge. He looks in desperate need of electrolytes. He slowly drinks the liquid with his eyes closed. When he stops, his arm moves around my body to pull me closer, his head resting on my chest. "I don't feel good," he mutters. "I know baby, you need to eat some food." I hear Hansoo dramatically sigh. "What's your problem?" I ask. "Nothing." He fills a bowl with soup and places it in front of Jaewook. "You have no right to give me attitude." Hansoo just stares at the ground. Jaewook starts to slowly slurp his soup. I rub my hand in circles on his bare back. Eventually, Jaewook sits up straighter, gaining some energy from both the food and drink. When he's done, I'm relieved to see colour back on his face. "So why did you knee him?" He asks me. I hesitate a bit, but like I said before, I hate secrets. Hansoo tries to stop the words from leaving my lips. "He kissed me last night." Jaewook's eyes are unbothered as he tilts his head. "What?" He asks, as if hoping he heard me wrong. "Hansoo. He was drunk though, it was harmless." Then I see it, the flash of jealousy in his eyes—a look I vaguely remember that night on the subway with those group of drunk men. When he got so upset that he almost left me on the street. "Hansoo—" he says between his teeth and I immediately regret saying this with Hansoo in the same room. Jaewook gets out of his chair and heads towards him. "Wait! Jaewook don't." I grab his arm, which is too tense for my liking. Hansoo looks scared, like Jaewook has grown double in size. Jaewook's hands grip his shirt and he looks ready to inflict pain. "I let it go when she said you flirted with her, I gave you the benefit of doubt. But I will not hesitate to kill you if you touch her," he says between his gritted teeth. I joked about killing Hansoo last night for the kiss, but Jaewook's words don't sound like a joke. My heart beats so fast that now I feel sick. I pull Jaewook away and stand in between the growing monster and the guy I suddenly feel sorry for. "Don't Jaewook. It was harmless, I told you. He didn't know what he was doing." "Sober thoughts come out when people are drunk," he seethes as he continues to stare at Hansoo. I struggle over what to say because he isn't entirely wrong. I'm taken aback when the voice behind me finally speaks up. "So what? I like your girlfriend. But I also like you, you're my friend Jaewook." "Friends don't crush on each other's girlfriends." "I know, but it's not something you can just easily get rid of, I'm sure you know that." He has a crush on me? I find myself moving a bit closer to Jaewook. I shrink in between them, feeling the wall of testosterone building, worried about how high it'll get before it tumbles. "I don't want you near her." "Jaewook, you don't have to worry. I don't like him like that, you know that. I never will." I can almost feel the hurt expression on Hansoo's face, but I need to say it to reassure Jaewook. What have I gotten myself into? "You heard her, she doesn't give a shit about me," Hansoo spits out. "Why would you worry? I can't compare to you, I'm nothing compared to this junior of mine." I squeeze my eyes shut from this sudden outburst of self-hate from Hansoo. Jaewook is breathing heavily behind me, his muscles contracted still. And he's still weak, faint, but putting all this energy into protecting what's his. I'm reminded now of the thing I hate most about men—men and their innate instinct to defend what they see as theirs. Growing all too tired of this now, I push against Jaewook. "Let's go, let's just go home. You're sick and need to rest. You can settle this later." He reluctantly pulls back. I hurriedly grab his clothes from the guest bedroom and tell him to get dressed. Once his shoes are on, I push him out the door. "Where are you going?" He asks, the sharply aggressive tone making me wince. "I just need to grab my bag, just wait out here please," I beg. I close the door and quickly head to where Hansoo is leaning against the counter, head cast down. "You're right, I shouldn't have said anything." "You think?" "I'm sorry, I'll make sure he gets over it. I didn't think he'd get so jealous since he didn't care too much when you flirted with me." "Whatever," he mumbles. "Hansoo," I grab his hand, worried because of the self-deprecating behaviour he showed. "It's going to be fine, okay? I'm sorry I don't like you back, but I know you'll find someone better than me. I'll make sure Jaewook understands. Please don't be upset, I'll make things better." He looks up at me finally, his dark eyes shifting between mine before he sighs and mumbles something I can't hear. I hear an impatient knock on the front door and quickly grab my purse and leave. What a disaster. Jaewook and I don't speak during the entire walk home. . . .