Refund Beach City

It's Cold Outside

Aru didn't understand how she hasn't frozen into a popsicle at this point. Winter may not be here yet, but it sure did feel like it. Shivering, she bundled up in her jacket and scarf before exiting the dorms. She could tell that this year was going to be a cold winter.

The sky's were gray, fitting for the cold air. The ice covered grass reflect the rays of the rising sun as Aru carefully walked down the icy sidewalk. She wished that it would just snow at this point. Transition weather was always annoying and difficult to deal with. It had always gotten people sick, especially her. This year, thankfully, seemed to be sickness free for Aru. The petite girl mentally cheered before sliding into the glass door. Rubbing her face, she quickly went inside, happy with the warmth that the buildings provided. Letting out a breath of relief, she made her way to her first class of the day.

Sua was back at the dorm, resting. She had caught a cold and needed to rest. Both Mari and Sehui were already in class. They had both joined the dance team, so they had left the dorms earlier for early morning practice. Aru stayed back to care for Sua until it was time for morning classes. Aru stepped into the class, greeting her friends and classmates that had already beaten her to the room. She quickly jogged up the steps, her legs already used to the familiar schedule she had made. When she got to her seat, however, she noticed something was wrong. Mook was sitting in his seat as usual, but he seemed off. Aru slowly sat down, eyeing her friend with concern.

"Mook? Is everything alright?"

He didn't reply. He seemed dazed and lost in thought. He wasn't moving, aside from the occasional blinking and sighing. Worried for her friend's state of mind, Aru reached out to him. It took a few tries, but she was eventually able to tap Mook back to reality. He jolted black, blinked a few times, and then turned to face her. That's when she really saw him.

He looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his tired and exhausted blue eyes. His skin appeared to be paler than usual, and his face was flushed.

"Mook! What happened? Are you okay?"

Mook's eyes dropped before jolting wide open. Using his arm to support himself, he propped himself off the desk and gave Aru a small smile.

"Good Morning Aru. Crazy seeing you here."

"Mook...this is history...I'm always here at this time."

"Really? Wait, what?"

"Mook...I've been sitting beside you since the first day of school."

"You have?"

It was apparent a long time ago that Mook was not in the right frame of mind. She had never seen him act so forgetful and so...vulnerable. Reaching out to him, Aru felt Mook's forehead with her hand. Her eyes widened as she began to pull her hand back. Mook was burning up! It was obvious that the boy was sick, so why would he come to class? She went to reach for her phone, but Mook had other ideas. Grabbing Aru's small hand, he placed it back on his face, this time on his left cheek. He slowly closed his eyes as he leaned into her touch.

"Hmm...you're so cool...and so soft."

Aru's face flushed at his words. However, she quickly regained her posture. He was only acting like this because he didn't know any better. He was sick and delusional. She slowly took her hand away from him, hesitating when she heard him whimper. By the looks of things, he had never been sick like this before in his life. Unwrapping her scarf from herself, she carefully wrapped it around the coughing boy and sat back down. They would make it through this class together, but then she would talk to Gang Ho about taking Mook back to the dorms so that he could rest.

She got her journal out for notes just as the teacher walked in. She peered over at Mook, who was already fast asleep while holding on to the scarf. With a small smile, she began to take notes.

~                               ~                                  ~

Aru carefully walked to her next class, Mook latched onto her arm. Just as she was arriving to her next class, she noticed Gang Ho. When he noticed them, he seemed alarmed and quickly walked in their direction.

"What is this?"

"Mook is sick. Do you think you can take him to his dorm? I'll stop by later with soup and supplies."

Gang Ho looked between both Aru and Mook before sighing. Grabbing Mook's things, Gang Ho nodded to his small friend.

"I don't know which dorm is his, but I can take him to rest at mine. It's the 14th door to the right on the 5th floor, okay?"

Aru smiled and hugged Gang Ho, thanking him and promising to stop by soon. She went over to Mook and carefully explained what was going to happen, fixing the scarf on him. Nodding to both boys, she was off. After seeing her off, Gang Ho let out one more sigh and led the sick serpent to his dorm.

Gang Ho had an entire dorm to himself. He didn't know why, but that's just how it was for him. That just meant that he had more than enough room for the boy to recover. Placing Mook on an extra bed, Gang Ho quickly left for class. The least he could do was take notes for both Aru and Mook for the different classes. Mook snuggled under the blanket, waiting for Aru.

When she finally arrived, he was exhausted. She slipped into the dorm using the extra key that Gang Ho had left for her she took her shoes off and set her backpack on the rack. Gang Ho had some nice interior decorations, that she could admit. Making her way to the kitchen, she quickly got a chicken noodle soup going. It was around this time that the cafe was the busiest, so Aru was just going to have to make the soup herself instead of getting some from her mother. As soon as the soup was done, she quietly knocked and opened the door."

"Aru!!!! I missed you!!!"

Aru just smiled at the boy as he jolted into a sitting position. She led him to the kitchen and sat him down at the table. Serving him a bowl of chicken noodle soup, she sat and waited as he ate in joy. After he was done, she washed the bowl and put him back in bed. When she was getting ready to leave in order to wait for Gang Ho to come back with medicine, she felt someone grab her hand. Looking back at Mook, he held on to her hand with sleepy eyes. Scared and sleepy blue eyes.

"Please, stay."

How could she be so dumb? Of course he was scared, this was his very first time being sick for crying out loud! Aru gave him a slight squeeze back as she sat on her knees, resting her head on the bed.

"I'm not going anywhere Mook. Now, please rest."

Aru watched as her friend held on to her hand and scarf before dozing to bed. Laying her head on the bed, she watched over him. She stayed to make him feel safe.

~ ~ ~

Gang Ho walked into his living space. He noticed the smell of soup and smiled. Then he saw that Aru's things were still there. He didn't want to believe that Mook was that kind of guy, but he couldn't risk it. Hurrying to the room that he put Mook in, he quickly opened the door.

Mook was sound asleep. His face was still a bit flushed and pale. His breaths were barely audible as he kept his mouth open. Other than that, he laid in peace. Then he noticed Aru. She had fallen asleep on the bedside with her head resting on the bed. She was holding Mook's hand and used her other arm as a pillow. Gang Ho smiled and closed the door, heading to the kitchen to eat soup.