#77

“Why does the sentence end with a question mark?”

“Good question. Why is that?”

At Lee Daon’s pointed question, I let out an awkward laugh. Seeing that, Lee Daon, still wearing a sullen expression, sighed deeply and shook his head.

“Forget it. I’m holding on to you anyway.”

“No, you need to let go so I can get the medicine.”

“Nam Yisol probably has cold medicine. I can stop by and ask for some on my way back.”

“What if he’s already asleep?”

It was already quite late since we’d spent time washing up, getting settled, and talking together. He could very well be asleep by now……

“Yisol hyung stays up late. It’s on my way anyway, so I’ll stop by. If he’s already asleep, I’ll come down later and get the medicine from you.”

The one who intervened in my back-and-forth with Lee Daon was Lee Gaon, who looked visibly exhausted. He glanced between Lee Daon and me with a complicated expression before standing up and approaching us.

“Let go for now, Daon.”

Lee Gaon grabbed both my wrist and Lee Daon’s, applying force to separate them.

“And you do have a fever. President, your hands are cold, too. I think both of you should just go back to your rooms and rest.”

In that brief moment of contact while separating our hands, Lee Gaon had assessed our body temperatures and spoke with firm resolve.

“Sir, do you have anything else you want to say?”

“No. I’ve already told you everything that happened with Rep. Oh Hahyun, and I explained myself. I think I’ve said everything I wanted to.”

“Alright. Then, please go rest. And make sure you take your medicine, too.”

“Got it. I’ll clean this up first, so you two go ahead upstairs.”

I said that while reaching for the three empty mugs on the table. But then, I felt a particularly sharp gaze on me. When I turned my head to see what it was, I found Lee Gaon staring at me intently.

“Sir, I’ll clean that up. Please just go to your room and rest.”

……What is this? He doesn’t seem angry at all, and his voice is calm, yet why does it feel intimidating?

For some reason, I had the distinct feeling that resisting would be a bad idea. So, I awkwardly pulled back the hand that had been reaching for the mugs and forced a small smile.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. I’ll head in now, so you both get some sleep, too.”

“Good night, sir.”

“Sleep well.”

“Yes. And if Yisol-ssi is asleep, make sure to come down for the medicine.”

Once again, I reminded the twins about the medicine before heading to my room without hesitation. Just before I fully closed my door, I heard the sound of Lee Gaon and Lee Daon going up to the second floor.

“At least that ended well……”

I mumbled that to myself as I shut the door completely. Leaning against it, I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Maybe it was because of everything that had happened today, or maybe it was because I’d spent too long standing in the cold, but I felt utterly exhausted.

Ever since coming into this world, I seemed to have an endless stream of tiring events. In my original world, I only felt this exhausted right before a deadline.

Thinking that, I let out a soft chuckle. It’s only been about two months since I ended up in this world, yet for some reason, it feels like I’ve been here for a long time.

Does that mean I’ve gotten used to this place……? That thought left a bitter feeling in my chest.

……Thinking about dark things before bed will only lead to bad dreams.

I slowly shook my head, clearing my mind of the thoughts I’d just been having. Then, following Lee Gaon’s advice, I took some cold medicine before lying down on my bed and closing my eyes.

Sleep took over in an instant, as exhausted as I was.

***

The next morning, when I opened my eyes, my body felt strangely heavy. My head was foggy, and my thoughts didn’t flow properly. Blinking my heavy eyelids sluggishly, I simply stared blankly at the ceiling when a knock sounded, followed by Secretary Sung Yoojun’s voice.

“Sir, are you awake?”

“……Yes. I’m awake.”

My throat was dry and scratchy, making it difficult to answer. As soon as I did, the door swung open quickly, and Sung Yoojun entered with a look of urgency.

“President!”

Seeing me lying weakly on the bed, his face went pale as he rushed to my side.

“Are you unwell?”

“A little…… Yes, I think I am.”

As I answered in a daze, a cool sensation suddenly spread across my forehead. It was Sung Yoojun’s hand, checking my temperature.

“You have a fever…… Please wait a moment.”

He withdrew his hand and hurriedly left the room. Through the slightly ajar door, I could hear the noisy conversation outside.

“What? The president is sick, too?”

“Yes. His fever is quite high.”

“This is bad. Daon is also sick, and now the president too…… I’ll contact the doctor right away.”

Lee Daon is sick too? He had been sneezing yesterday and felt warm—so he really did catch a cold. Is he very ill?

With my mind clouded like a fog-covered landscape, I struggled to process my thoughts while worrying about Lee Daon. Just then, the door opened again, and Sung Yoojun entered with Manager Ahn Siwon.

“I’ll take your temperature now.”

Sung Yoojun approached the bed again and inserted a thermometer into my ear. The sensation was unpleasant, and I frowned slightly, but he gently patted my chest a couple of times as if to soothe me.

“38.6 degrees. Your fever is quite high. When is the doctor expected to arrive?”

“He said he’d come right away, but considering the distance, it will probably take 20 to 30 minutes.”

Ah…… Since the house is on the outskirts of Seoul, it makes sense that it would take time for someone to get here. I nodded in understanding, but as soon as I moved my head even slightly, a sharp pain shot through my skull like someone was hammering it.

“Ugh……”

“Sir!”

Caught off guard by the sudden pain, I let out a pained groan, and Manager Ahn Siwon called out to me in alarm.

I was grateful for his concern, but the loud voice ringing right next to me only made my already throbbing head feel worse.

“Manager Ahn…… I’m sorry, but could you lower your voice a little……?”

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

At my feeble request, Ahn Siwon hastily covered his mouth with his palm and apologized. His voice, now much quieter than before, made me nod in satisfaction. Seeing that I seemed a little better, he removed his hand from his lips and whispered softly.

“Are you okay? Are you in a lot of pain? Catching a cold all of a sudden……”

“I guess I was exposed to the cold wind too much yesterday. How is Daon-ssi doing?”

“He has a fever, but fortunately, it’s mild. It seems like he’s in a slightly better condition than you. Did Daon also get exposed to the cold yesterday?”

“Yes. Somehow, it just happened……”

Since Ahn Siwon had stayed at his own place last night due to some business, he must have only arrived here this morning to pick up Tartarus. That meant he hadn’t witnessed the chaos that had unfolded the night before.

I didn’t feel the need to explain everything to him in detail, so I trailed off vaguely.

Ahn Siwon pouted his lips in dissatisfaction, but as soon as I let out a feverish sigh, he quickly pressed his lips together and stared at me with a look that screamed of concern.

“Someone should probably stay behind to take care of you.”

He carefully pushed back the bangs covering my forehead as he spoke. Secretary Sung Yoojun nodded in agreement.

“I’ll stay.”

“Huh? But……”

“Tartarus has schedules today, and most of them are separate. Manager Ahn, you’ll have a hard time making time as well. It’s best if I stay—”

“You can’t.”

I firmly opposed Sung Yoojun’s decision to stay home and care for me.

He was just as busy as anyone else. Considering his current workload, the fact that he had taken the time yesterday to accompany me to meet Rep. Oh Hahyun was already a stretch.

“Work…… You’re busy. If you delay it any further, it’ll be even harder to handle.”

As an incapable boss who had already dumped all the new album-related tasks onto his subordinates, this was the least I could do.

“It’s not like I can’t move at all, so I’ll be fine……”

My throat burned with each word, but I pushed through, determined to convince Sung Yoojun.

After a quiet sigh, he finally spoke.

“Understood. But please, stop talking. Your throat is in poor condition.”

At his words, I immediately closed my mouth. To be honest, my throat was hurting quite a bit.

“I’ll go to work. But at the very least, I want to stay until you’ve been examined. Would that be acceptable?”

His voice held a rare sense of urgency. After a moment of hesitation, I slowly nodded. After all, the doctor would be arriving in 20 or 30 minutes, and it wasn’t like I had a serious illness—just a common cold. The check-up wouldn’t take long.