Chapter 11: Medicine

MAL made her way towards the king-sized bed in the middle of the room after shutting the door behind her. She sighed heavily as soon as she saw the love of her life laying on the bed surrounded by the same blanket she managed to cover him with that same morning, sleeping soundly despite his stomach pain and the other symptoms that almost knocked the life out of him.

"Baby," she called, her voice soft with sympathy, lightly poking his arm to wake him up. "I'm back with the medicine, sweetheart. I brought food as well."

At that moment, his eyes weakly fluttered open. His vision focused after a few blinks, and he took his turn to look into her direction, his eyes teary at the sudden light. It was only then that she got to stare into his eyes. All she could see were the exhaustion, the desperation, and the illness in his eyes.

The helplessness.

"N-Noona," his voice came out weak and shaky with pain and dizziness. Mal's eyes followed his as they rolled to the back of his head, nodding her head at his call. "G-God, I f-feel dizzy..."

She reached for his hand to grab it in order to reassure him. "Baby, I'm right here. I got everything you need. You'll be fine, sweetheart."

She sighed and inched her figure closer to his face, placing her lips against the soft skin on his forehead. Then, planted a kiss on the area with no hesitation. "I promise."

"Noona, please s-stay with me." He whispered with a desperate tone, his entire body shaking and trembling. "I-I need you..."

She let out a small sob at that, placing more kisses across his face.

"I'm always here for you. Always."

How come she was so sure? Her mind retorted at her.

How come she was so sure that she would get to live because of her brothers?

How come she was so sure that she wasn't going to die and leave him behind, heartbroken and traumatized as ever?

"I love you, sweetheart." She whispered, then wrapped her arms around his torso to give him the long-awaited embrace he was hoping for. He didn't hesitate to return the embrace with a tighter one, holding onto her shirt with a weak, shaky grip as if he was going to lose her any moment now.

"I l-love you more than anything, noona."

She nodded her head, then set her chin on top of his soft hair and tightened her embrace around him.

"Me too, baby. Me too."

He sighed and inhaled air to calm himself down, his grip tightening around her figure to reassure himself that everything was going to be alright. She placed another kiss on top of his head, her slender fingers running themselves through his hair.

"What's w-wrong, noona?" He whispered after a few seconds of enjoying her presence. "Why are you upset?"

Her eyebrows furrowed themselves almost immediately.

The last thing she needed at that moment was to make him worry about her.

The last thing she needed to do was make him feel as if he was going to lose her any time soon.

Because all he needed to do at that very moment was focus on recovery.

And she couldn't afford to see him heartbroken any longer.

"Because," she began, holding him closer against her chest. His ear caught the soft rhythm of her heartbeat, and slowly, his rigged breaths returned to normal, steady ones. "I don't like seeing you sick. All I want for you is to be healthy and happy."

He let out a small, involuntary giggle. "Well, you know I get sick a lot, but... I'm happy as long as I'm with you, noona."

A small, single tear rushed down her cheeks while she licked the roof of her mouth, trying to stop any more tears from streaming.

For a brief second, all she could think about was how happy he made her.

All she could think about was how she wanted to stay with him till the end of eternity.

"Please, get better for me, baby." She whispered, her grip tightening around his torso and waist. "So we can go on dates and do everything we've wanted to do. We'll have so much fun."

The idea brought a genuine smile to his face despite his blurry vision and trembling body. If it wasn't for his lover's grip holding him upright, he would've sank back into the bed almost immediately.

"I-I love the idea, n-noona."

And for a sudden, brief second, the terrifying question hit his mind from all directions. He gulped and attempted to close his eyes to push away the thought to the back of his mind, and despite the many attempts from him to do so, the same question was repeating itself in his mind until the words lost their meaning.

What if he couldn't get better?

He knew the question was extreme. He knew that it was too much for a case of food poisoning. If only he could tell that to the obnoxious, unbearable pit in his stomach.

Something terrifying about his illness sparked pessimism inside him. And for all he knew, he was never pessimistic.

He gulped once again, trying desperately to get rid of the lump in his throat while still holding onto his lover as tightly as he could. Tears of pain found their way through his pale, exhausted face.

What if he couldn't get better for the sake of the love of his life?

The thought brought more tears to his sparkling eyes. A small sob escaped his mouth, his vision zooming in and out at the room, the floor spinning beneath him. He held onto his lover tighter, desperate for the spinning and the overwhelming dizziness to stop.

"N-Noona..." He called, his voice shaky and barely above a whisper. "I f-feel so dizzy."

She gently shoved him away, her grip tight around his shoulders to hold him steady. She locked her eyes with his to try and read whatever was going on with him, only to find his eyes rolling back against his head.

She helped him lie down onto the bed once again and reached for the soft blanket cover. After making sure that he was comfortable in his position, she glanced at him with teary eyes, whispering sweet nothings in a low voice.

"I'll get you the medicine, baby."

She reached for the plastic bag on the nightstand and fumbled through it, desperate for the medicine.

And as soon as she glanced at it in her tight, desperate grip, more tears streamed down her face. With her blurry vision, she looked at her boyfriend, only to see him fighting to stay conscious. All he could do at that moment was wait for his lover to save him, and all he could physically do was stare at the ceiling, despite how desperate he was to close his eyes.

Mal took one last look at the medicine, which had the word Vallazal on its front, before pulling the bills out of their package, her hand trembling.

And she could only hope that the medicine would make him better.