Chapter 21

He didn't even remember falling asleep. One moment, Dok Mi was taking his temperature, the next he felt like he was suffocating. A few moments ago, he had been freezing, but now he felt like he was in the hottest pit of hell. He knew he had a high temperature from Dok Mi's concern, but it couldn't be this high. If his body temperature was to the degree he felt, he would probably be dead. And god almighty, he was thirsty. Was Dok Mi still here? Probably not. She had most likely left hours ago to get back to work.

Why couldn't he move though? His eyelids still felt so heavy, but he forced himself to open his eyes. Why were there so many blankets on him? Had he really been cold enough that he went back to his bedroom and got his quilt? He wiggled around a bit, trying to set himself free. If anything, he was making the blankets tighter. At least he had the energy to try and get himself out. He wiggled some more. He could feel the blankets loosening slightly. Almost… nearly there…so- He fell off the couch onto the floor.

He was so stunned for a moment that he didn't realize he wasn't actually on the floor, but on a person.

"Ahjumma" he said. He was still trapped enough in the blankets that he couldn't make a move to get off of her; she was just staring up at him. Her face was blank, no emotion to be seen. Last time he fell on her like this… no, now was not the time to think about kissing her. Not when her lips were mere inches away from him. They looked so warm and inviting, like he imagined a glass of water would look to a man dying of thirst. Dok Mi's lips were probably the softest things he had ever touched. Every time they kissed, it was like he was laying his head on a down pillow after a long day.

Without realizing it, Enrique leaned forward so his lips were almost touching hers. She smelled so good… like vanilla. He remembered the perfume she was wearing; she wore it the day he left for Spain. It was his favorite, she knew. It was the scent that surrounded him the day he was hit by the car. All the blood and gravel around him, and he smelled only her. Dok Mi. His Ahjumma. A few more centimeters, and…

"What're you doing?" she said suddenly, snapping Enrique out of his thoughts. He pulled his mouth away from hers; it was almost painful for him to have been so close to touching her again only to be pulled away.

"Sorry" he said, "I fell"

"I noticed" she replied. Enrique couldn't help but laugh. Even though his heart hurt, she was still here. And she'd stayed here all night and most of the day. He felt so much better knowing that she hadn't left. He very ungracefully rolled off of her. They both just stayed there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, laying parallel to each other. They weren't touching, but they felt close.

"Ahjumma" he said, "Why am I wearing 6 blankets?"

She laughed, a beautiful melodic sound, "You don't remember?" she said, "I was trying to sweat the fever out."

She rolled over onto her side and pressed her palm against his forehead. The sudden contact nearly made his heart stop, "And it seems like it worked. Are you feeling any better?"

"A lot better" he said, "It must be because I had such a good nurse" in truth, he still felt pretty bad. His fever might be gone and he was able to breathe, but he still had a splitting head ache and his nose was all stuffed up

"You're lying to me" she said. She's still touching me, he realized with a jolt. She had moved her hand from his forehead, but she was instead now cupping his cheek, like she had so many times before when she was going to kiss him. Why was he thinking about kissing so much today? Maybe it was the memory of her lips on his forehead earlier. The chaste peck had left him wanting more, but he knew he wouldn't get it. It wouldn't be fair to kiss her right now and he knew she would never kiss him first. But she is touching you.

"My head" he admitted, "My head still hurts"

"Do you want some tea?" she asked, "That's what I normally do when I have a headache"

"Yes please," he said, "But can you help me with the blankets first?"

"Oh," she said, "Of course"

She had to take her hand off of his face. The lack of contact made Enrique rather sad. She carefully unwrapped him and set the blankets aside.

"You should go back to your bed while I make the tea" she said, "You'll be more comfortable"

"No" Enrique said quickly. He didn't want to miss out on a single moment with her. He was surprised she had stayed so long, but he wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

"Really, Enrique" she scolded, "You need to rest"

"I wanna be with you," he whined.

"I'm going to go soon, actually" she said as she pulled the kettle out, "You need to be able to sleep in peace."

"I slept fine with you here"

"No you didn't. You were muttering and flailing around. I was worried you'd fall and hurt yourself"

"But instead I fell and hurt you," Enrique finished. "What were you doing on the floor anyways?"

Dok Mi stopped moving around in the kitchen. Was it his imagination, or was she blushing. She quickly turned her face and returned to the tea, "Sleeping actually" she said quietly

"You slept on the floor?" Enrique asked

"For a few hours" she admitted

"Why?" he asked.

"I took all the covers off the bed for you," she said, "And… I was worried"

"You were worried about me?"

"Your fever was really high, Enrique. Anyone would've been worried"

"No they wouldn't have." He said mostly to himself, "But you're not worried anymore?"

"Your temperature seems normal" she shrugged, "and a headache is unpleasant, but not exactly life threatening."

"You're going to leave me," he said. He didn't want to sound as pathetic as he felt. He thought she'd started to care for him again, but it had just been pity for his condition. He suddenly thought back to just before he'd left for the first time. I don't want your sympathy, she'd say. Enrique hadn't known what she meant at the time, but he understood now. He loved her with all his heart, but what if she just felt sorry for him? He had never pitied her once in their relationship, but what if she was doing it now?

"I'll be right across the street, Enrique" she said, "You can always…" her sentence broke off. What was she going to say? Enrique desperately wanted to know, but he couldn't push her. Instead, they sat in a comfortable silence while Dok Mi put the kettle on the stove.

"Enrique" she said as she sat across from him at the table, "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything" he answered immediately.

She looked suddenly uncomfortable. Had Enrique done something to make her like this? He had fallen on her, but she seemed alright.

"I had a dream last night" she began, "I've been having it for a few days. At first, it was really vague and blurry, but it's been coming into focus more and more each night. I have no idea where it's from, but I'm pretty sure it's a memory from before my accident..."

"What is it?" Enrique asked.

"I was just…" Dok Mi mumbled.

"What did you dream?"

"I was just wondering," she said, he face turned down to the floor, "If the beach means anything to us"

A.N. I know it's been a few days, but I've been really busy with school and other stories. I hope I can update more frequently, but it's getting hard to find time to write. Anyways, I ended up really liking this chapter. It's probably my favorite so far. Tell me what you think!