By Zephyria 
In-ho seemed to be feeling a bit off today. Not Haon, but In-ho.
In-ho insisted he was fine, but to Haon, it didn’t look that way. His body temperature, which had been perfectly normal until morning, had suddenly spiked. Even when he sat alone in the cafe, he looked lethargic.
In the end, they canceled their plans to see a play in the evening and returned home early. Haon had insisted. Very stubbornly.
“In-ho, look at me.”
After a simple dinner at home, Haon, sitting side-by-side with In-ho on the living room sofa, suddenly called out to him. As In-ho turned his head, Haon cupped both of his cheeks and gently pressed his forehead against In-ho’s.
“I think your fever is higher than it was earlier.”
“Is that so?”
When Haon asked with concern, In-ho shrugged and cupped Haon’s cheeks in return.
“I think you’re just cold, Haon.”
He scanned the thin pajama shirt Haon was wearing. Since it would get cold soon, it seemed like a good time to switch to winter pajamas. The house was kept at a moderate temperature, but one could never be too sure. Haon had mentioned he was sensitive to the cold.
“Change into thicker pajamas before you go to bed tonight. You might catch a cold.”
“I’m not cold. Your body is just hot, In-ho.”
Haon pressed In-ho’s cheeks firmly, insisting that his own temperature was normal. The one who needed to change clothes right now was In-ho, not him.
“Please dress warmly. I think you’ve caught a cold.”
In-ho was wearing a short-sleeved crewneck t-shirt. His pants were long, reaching his ankles, but the material was thin. Perhaps because he felt hot due to the fever, his attire was light.
Come to think of it, he had seemed a bit sluggish yesterday as well. He didn’t have a fever then, but he skipped his daily workout and stayed in bed longer.
Had he been feeling unwell since yesterday? It weighed on Haon’s mind that he hadn’t noticed In-ho’s condition more keenly.
“Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”
“I don’t need to go to the hospital for a cold.”
With a small chuckle, In-ho pulled Haon into an embrace and sat him on his lap. Holding Haon in his arms like a doll, he rubbed his chin against the nape of Haon’s neck. Perhaps because Haon was so light, In-ho often treated him like a favorite stuffed animal.
“That tickles.”
Haon, who had been trying to maintain a serious expression, finally burst into laughter. He had intended to have a serious conversation.
Haon swallowed a sigh as he touched In-ho’s hot arms wrapped around him. It seemed like a cold for sure, but the fact that he wasn’t coughing at all made Haon even more worried. He feared it might be something else.
“Are you really not hurting? Any dizziness?”
“I’m not dizzy.”
“Then what about headaches? Have you been sleeping well lately?”
Haon poured out questions and struggled to turn his head to look In-ho in the eye. However, it wasn’t easy since In-ho had hidden his face in the crook of Haon’s neck.
“I’ve been sleeping more than you lately, Haon.”
That was true. Haon pondered a rebuttal but gave up. Aside from the elevated body temperature and the noticeable lethargy, there didn’t seem to be any major abnormalities.
He still smiled often and was eating well again. And as he said, there were times he woke up later than Haon.
“I’ll get better soon if I just rest. Don’t worry.”
In-ho spoke firmly. Then, he played a prank again, taking Haon’s rounded cheek into his mouth and sucking it hard. Haon, who had been trying to knit his brows, couldn’t hold back his laughter again and gave in to In-ho.
Even if he had questioned him persistently, an answer probably wouldn’t have come. In-ho would have kept quiet until the end.
Perhaps In-ho himself didn’t fully realize the state of his own body. He hadn’t noticed that the water, which had been precariously rising, was now overflowing. He was someone just as accustomed to enduring and just as unskilled at taking care of himself as anyone else.
And eventually, the overflowing water was discovered. On the dawn of this very day.
Haon, who had fallen asleep in In-ho’s arms as usual, tossed and turned. It had been less than three hours since they fell asleep. He, who usually didn’t wake up once asleep, somehow opened his eyes alone.
It must have been around one in the morning.
Haon stared blankly at the ceiling and let out a small yawn. He glanced toward In-ho, but it was too dark to see his face clearly. Feeling around In-ho’s body, he realized only he was covered by the blanket.
It seemed In-ho had kicked the blanket off because he was too hot from the fever. With a soft sigh, Haon touched In-ho’s hot neck and face before getting out of bed.
“In-ho.”
He called out in a small whisper, but as expected, only the sound of steady breathing continued. Lately, In-ho had been sleeping more deeply than Haon. In the mornings, he only woke up when Haon shook him.
Haon had simply thought he was making up for a lack of sleep. Not knowing that In-ho’s body was sending out warning signals.
“I’ll go get a thinner blanket.”
He sat by In-ho’s head, gave his cheek a quick kiss, and left the bedroom. He intended to return quickly after just grabbing a blanket. The current blanket was too thick for In-ho to sleep under.
Even without turning on the lights, the automatic sensors lit the stairs. As Haon stepped down the brightened stairs, he suddenly rubbed one eye. It felt itchy, as if a hair had gotten between his eyelashes.
“Oh….”
He stopped walking, staring blankly at the hand he had used to rub his eye. The moment he saw his hand, Haon froze and suddenly gripped the stair railing. He nearly collapsed as the strength left his legs.
“What, what….”
Bright red blood was smeared on Haon’s pale fingertips. It was definitely blood. Turning pale, Haon checked both of his hands, his lips trembling.
The blood was only on one hand. The hand that had touched In-ho’s face.
“I-In-ho….”
Gripping the railing, he rushed back upstairs. He nearly tripped several times but managed to keep his balance and ran into the bedroom.
“In-ho!”
At first, he thought he was the one bleeding. He wondered if he had broken a nail or injured a finger without noticing. But Haon felt no pain anywhere. His own body had improved significantly from before and was perfectly fine.
Was that why he believed In-ho would be as okay as he was? Even after seeing the fever and the unusual lethargy. Because In-ho himself had said he was fine.
“In-ho…!”
The moment he turned on the bedroom light, his legs almost gave out again. However, he slapped his thighs to snap himself awake and rushed to the bed.
Red blood was smeared across In-ho’s mouth and the white pillow he was lying on. Blood was still flowing from his nose.
“In-ho! Wake up! In-ho!”
Before he could grab and shake his shoulders, In-ho opened his eyes first. Seeing the ghostly pale Haon, he bolted upright.
“Ha….”
He tried to call Haon’s name, but he covered his mouth and grimaced. As if a wave of nausea hit him, he suppressed a gag and eventually bolted toward the bathroom.
“In-ho!”
Trying to follow In-ho, Haon tripped and fell flat on the floor. Meanwhile, In-ho entered the bathroom, gripped the toilet, and threw up.
Haon, who followed In-ho late, tried to pat his back with trembling hands. But In-ho reached back and refused.
“I’m okay.”
Muttering in a cracked voice, he waved his hand as if telling Haon to go out. Haon bit his lower lip, swallowing the surge of emotion.
“What do you mean you’re okay….”
Ignoring his hand, Haon patted his broad back. He wanted to demand how this could possibly be okay, but his hot throat blocked the sound. If he forced a sound out, it felt as though only sobs would burst forth.
In-ho emptied his stomach a few more times. Waiting for In-ho to settle, Haon quickly filled a glass with water and grabbed a towel.
“Haon.”
After rinsing his mouth with the water, In-ho leaned back against the bathroom wall. He gazed intently at Haon, who was using a wet towel to wipe the blood from his mouth and neck.
“Haon.”
The hand holding the towel was shaking violently. Haon was distractedly wiping the blood off In-ho’s body, looking completely shell-shocked.
“I’m really okay.”
“What! What… is okay about this…!”
For the first time, Haon snapped at In-ho. A loud voice escaped him naturally from the turmoil inside.
“In-ho, do you—do you not see this?!”
Stuttering severely, he thrust the blood-stained towel forward. Even though he knew this wasn’t the time to be angry, he couldn’t calm his heart.
To have bled this much from the nose while sleeping. Moreover, to have vomited immediately upon waking, yet In-ho’s face remained composed. That made Haon even more terrified.
“It’s because I changed my suppressant.”
Holding Haon’s hand—Haon, who was now panting—In-ho spoke calmly. With bloodshot eyes, he observed every detail of Haon’s expression and stroked his twitching cheek.
“I took a slightly stronger suppressant, and I guess it didn’t suit my body. This happens sometimes.”
In-ho smiled as if it were truly nothing. The more he did, the more Haon’s pupils wavered.
“Why… did you take it?”
Swallowing hard, Haon asked again. Why had he taken a high-potency suppressant?
“Because it’s my rut period.”
In-ho looked down for a moment, then looked back at Haon and confessed. In his usual, composed voice.
“I change medications often. Side effects like this happen a lot.”
He smiled, telling Haon not to worry. Once again, he tried to brush off the situation with that same perfect smile.
“It’s not serious enough to worry about. Look, the bleeding stopped quickly.”
“Go to the hospital.”
Haon spoke, gripping In-ho’s wrist instead of his hand. His face was pale, looking as if he might collapse at any moment.
“Quickly, let’s go right now.”
He pulled In-ho with all his might.