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He remembered the first time he was stuck in a trance. He was 20 when it happened. A girl walked by him, hurrying somewhere. They bumped into each other. She continued on her way, but he stared. Minseok always blamed himself for that stare. It was way too simple – almost cringingly cliché.
This time though was different.
He didn't know how long had passed, but there he was, looking at the small hand holding his. Jayoung was leaning against the sofa as her head rested comfortably on his thigh. She must have been here all night.
Smiling at the situation right now would be inappropriate, but he couldn't help himself. Just the other night she had to deal with him getting drunk; now, she had to take care of him getting sick. He rarely got despite the things he subjected himself to, but these days the magic seemed to be losing its power.
So her hair was as soft as he imagined it to be. The chestnut color suited her well. For a second, he thought he was staring at a painting. This was too good to be true.
Suddenly, he felt the stiff cloth on his forehead and pushed it off his face.
The glass table in front of the sofa had never been occupied with so much stuff – food and medicines. He tried lifting his head up to look around and spotted a few potted plants he had noticed before on the windowsill, in the corner, on the kitchen table, and on the fridge.
The gray in this house became the backdrop for these colorful plants.
"Oppa," she croaked, "Are you feeling better?"
He just watched her craned her neck to take a better look at him.
"You fever was acting up last night. See? I called it – you getting sick."
His left hand closed hers the moment she tried to let go. "Thank you."
Of course, he expected her to be thrown off guard. The slight raise of her brow and the sudden close of her lips said a lot. The hair sticking out from the side, the tiny wrinkles on her forehead – he noticed a lot of things.
"Oh, it's fine." He could feel her delicate hand tried to wiggle out of his clutch, but he held on to it.
"No one had ever taken care of me like this before." There was a strain to keep his eyes open, but it wasn't as hard as last night. He saw the change in her eyes; for a split second, she wanted to blink but didn't. "No one paid this much attention."
There was an element of surprise, but somehow it looked like he said something wrong.
"I'll go get a new cloth for you." Jayoung hurriedly picked up the fallen piece of cloth and disappeared into the bathroom.
Her face should be red and burning from the flattery, except she looked shocked more than anything. Did his delivery make it sound different? Did she get the wrong context?
