his eyelids were leaden and required immense energy to lift open. glaring rays of the morning sun intruded in his black irises, causing him to wince in discomfort.

his head felt heavy and groggy, pounding incessantly. his breath smelt strongly of stale alcohol, causing his throat to close up. jeongguk felt absolutely horrible. his body felt as if it had been repeatedly beaten up. how much had he drank the night before?

he pressed his right arm to his forehead and groaned in agony, stretching his sore legs to relieve the built-up tension. where was he?

a tangy smell of medication lingered in the still air surrounding him. he was in her room, he realised, hating his heart for skipping a beat.

something warm lay on his abdomen. he slid his eyes to hyerim, whose delicate head lay on his stomach. she was resting in an odd position; she must have fallen asleep while sitting down next to him.

in her tiny hands held a damp towel. had she been taking care of him all night?

he was flustered that she was so near, but he couldn't help but caress her forehead with a wistful smile on his lips. the sound of her breathing was the only sound in the room. her shoulders moved up and down with every breath she took.

hyerim's breaths were precious.

jeongguk pulled himself together and stopped himself from staring at each of her tiny movements. "get up."

he pushed her off his belly, sitting up on the bed. the thin mattress croaked under him, sending a whining hyerim squirming. she yawned as she rubbed her eyes. jeongguk stared at her curly black hair that stuck up like a lion's mane. hyerim was like an animal, wild yet strangely captivating.

"...good morning jeongguk," she grinned, large eyes meeting with his. the sunlight from the window bounced on her teeth, making her smile brighter than ever. "how are you feeling?"

"did you stay here the whole night?"

she nodded. "you had a fever, you know? try not to drink so much next time," she patted his head.

he swatted her hands away, murmuring something she couldn't quite hear.

"huh? did you say something?"

"...just... thank you."

hyerim giggled, hooking her hair behind her ear. jeongguk thought she was cute.

"you're welcome, jeongguk!"

——————————

thank goodness it was a saturday, because there was absolutely no way jeongguk could have went to school in that condition. not that he enjoyed going to school, of course.

the reason he so persistently attended school yet skipped classes was to spite his father. taunt him. i'm here but you can't catch me. i'm doing want i want. you can't tell me what to do.

yes, it was childish of him, but after years of sulking and moping around in his father's neglect, jeongguk grew to accept that part of himself.

after he thanked hyerim, he found it difficult to look in her eyes. it was a strange feeling— embarrassment was something he had never quite experienced in his life.

he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

strangely, hyerim did not mind that he wouldn't talk to her. she never did. she always carried on with her life as usual, being her energetic, happy self. regardless of the people around her, it was as if no one could suppress her, hold her back.

she was an unstoppable happiness.

after serving up a breakfast of korean pancakes and soup, they sat at the table in silence. hyerim was doing her homework, scrunching up her nose whenever she encountered deadly algebraic questions.

jeongguk spent the time doodling on a napkin, staring at her, and pretending to be aloof when she caught him looking. she grinned cheekily, placing her pen on the table.

"jeongguk, don't you think your hair's too long?" she commented, reaching forward and tugging at a stray lock of hair that covered his eyes. "it's good-looking, but how do you ever see?"

jeongguk snorted, slapping her hand away. "it's part of my aesthetic."

"aesthetic?"

"my i-don't-care-about-anything aesthetic," said jeongguk, pleased when he made her laugh. being able to joke with her took a weight off his chest he didn't realise had been there.

"can i cut it for you?"

in less than an hour, jeongguk's hair was shorter and neater, black hair finally out of his eyes. he hated to admit it, but it was much more comfortable.

hyerim seemed to look proud of herself, cupping her cheeks in admiration as she glanced at him left and right. "jeongguk you look pretty handsome!"

jeongguk was shocked to find himself smiling. smiling because she thought he was attractive. what a trivial thing to be happy about...

it seemed that whenever he was with hyerim, he was discovering more and more emotions he never knew he possessed.