Just like that, finals were just around the corner. Fortunately, Sora was feeling quite ready.

The past weeks were not so bad, though Professor Lee’s classes were extremely uncomfortable to attend, not to say almost unbearable. The woman was snappier than usual to all the students but Sora. Actually, she was kind of actively avoided by the woman. The only time when they interacted was a week after that terrible group exposition when Sora was simply told she was given full marks for the assignment and promptly dismissed.

Honestly, she did not care in the slightest. However, the rumours were kind of troublesome to deal with.

Some said she was the spoiled child of a wealthy family, they were utterly wrong. Others said her parents either worked in the university or had connections in there, wrong once again. There were a few people who even dared to say her grades were bought, those were quickly squashed by Sora personally.

She went out of her way, even more than her previous casual detour, to help other students in their assignments. While her mental stability suffered and her desire to commit a violent murder increased, Sora successfully squashed that rumour. Even though there were a few who still believed in it, at least eighty percent of the student body did not.

But, actually, the rumours were a thousand times better than the other problem. The troublesome guy turned friendly, suspiciously so.

In the beginning, it was not so bad. While Sora suspected he went out of his way to greet her, they also shared most of their evening classes so it was not that surprising. Then, he stopped inviting her to parties, which was quite understandable considering they were entering exam season. Afterwards, it got plain weird.

The first time he invited her to a group study session she invented an excuse about helping her grandmother that evening. The next day he tried once again, this time however, she could no longer decline and decided to save face. It was fortunate for the school library to be open until late on weekdays because she refused to go to anyone’s house. So she attended a session that felt more like tutoring than actually studying, though she at least went over the information and her notes so it was not a complete waste of time. The troublesome guy also ended up as a tutor.

Once it was over, the group headed to the parking lot. Because of how social Sora was and how much she enjoyed human interaction, she hanged on the back of the group as she texted with Nam-Jun. That troublesome guy actually ended up walking beside her, discreetly handed her a bar of one of her favourite chocolates, and offered her a ride home.

As the good girl Sora was, she accepted the chocolate and declined the ride. Nam-Jun was waiting for her. However, she did feel extremely uneasy with the interaction.

“You look tired,” the troublesome guy said. “Here, you can have it.” And he handed her the treat.

Considering all of their previous interactions, Sora felt as if she had the right to feel uneasy. A few days later, Sora fed the chocolate bar to Nam-Jun in the name of science. Nothing happened, though he eyed her with suspicious eyes because she never gave up her food, especially not her chocolate. Oh well, it was at least worth a try.

Then, that troublesome guy kept being overly kind and thoughtful. The next week he actually gave her a middle-sized cup of caramel frappuccino. According to him, the cashier accidentally wrote two orders instead of one and he did not notice until he was handed his order. Of course, he decided to take them both and not make a fuss. Mhm, Sora may look like a bimbo but she was not one. In any case, she thanked him for the drink and accepted it only because of how apoplectic the strange girl that followed him around looked.

Sora admitted that, sometimes, her desire to annoy people overwhelmed her rational thinking.

She ended up feeding Seo Jun with it and Mina complained about favouritism even though she hated coffee and all its derivates with all her soul. So she ended up getting some canned tea for her friend and waited to see if Jun would drop unconscious any moment. It did not happen, though he ended up joining her that evening for exercise because he felt guilty about breaking his diet. Oh, well.

Sora felt someone tapping her shoulder and looked at the side, taking out her earphone. Surprise, surprise, the unwanted person came to disturb her day once again.

“Hey there, you look distracted,” the troublesome guy said as a greeting and Sora smiled tightly, her facial muscles almost refusing to cooperate.

“Good evening Yunho sunbae-nim, do you need anything in particular?” she asked, containing her desire to roll her eyes when his smile widened.

“Not really, you just looked lonely.”

“I can assure you I have a great company, sunbae-nim,” Sora retorted, signalling the open book at the table.

“Oh, yeah, I can see that now.”

Uncomfortable silence descended and Sora was not sure on what to say or do. The troublesome guy kept observing her though.

“You are part of the committee, right?”

Sora frowned a little at the question and she finally understood what he meant when she saw a poster on the wall. Right, she was dragged into that ridiculous thing.

Apparently, the university was having a robotics competition in order to choose the students that would participate in some kind of tournament, she really did not particularly care. However, one of her professors asked her to join the committee, along with a few other students, and help with the budgeting and decoration. As far as she knew, almost all the departments were involved from the beginning. At least she only had to do numbers and ignore everyone.

“You are too,” Sora stated, not really understanding where this chat was going.

They met enough times in those blasted meeting to know who in their department was thrown at the wolves by the lazy professors.

“I'm guessing you will come to decorate next week.”

“We have all have to.”

“Good, see you then!” he said, smiling brightly at her.

Sora only raised her eyebrows at their odd exchange. They were classmates, they were forced to meet almost every day. That troublesome guy was really strange. She moved back to her book and saw an unfortunately familiar figure reflected on the metal pillar beside her. It was that strange guy. She turned back and crossed glanced with him for a second before the guy panicked and left. How strange.

Sora put a marker in her book and sat up, deciding to leave towards her classroom. On her way out, she saw that creepy guy sitting on a bench, his gaze was focused on the screen of his phone. She took the opportunity to walk away unnoticed.

After that encounter with Nam-Jun in the parking lot, that creepy dude left her alone. He never tried to approach her again, not even when she was alone, though he still looked at her from the distance from time to time. Either way, she still found him creepy, especially after what Mina and Seo Jun told her about him, so she tried to avoid him as much as possible.

She tried to ignore the uneasiness at the bottom of her belly once she arrived to her classroom.

The fluorescent lights of the auditorium were giving Sora a headache, a really bad one. It was not so bad in the beginning and the bright lights only made her eyes a little dry, but she was in this hellhole for hours, helping with the organization and decoration of the place.

The middle was filled with different robots and frantic students giving them a last check before tomorrow. The students in charge of the decoration and organization were all over the place. The posters were placed on the walls, the small paraphernalia was also plastered on different places of the room. Temporal stands were built and the plaques were already in their places. There were some clubs that decided to make a bit of money by making food and selling food tomorrow and their stands outside were also finished. Only some posters needed to be placed so she was officially done.

This experience taught her something important, the next time a professor tried to talk her in helping for an activity she would kindly and respectfully tell them to go and pleasure a horse.

As if the week was not tiring enough, she sacrificed her free evening for this crap. Sora sighed as she greedily took a gulp of her water bottle and retrieved the small bag of chocolate covered almonds, placing it in her pocket. After that, she sent a text to Nam-Jun, informing him she was ready to be rescued from this hellhole.

That is it, she now only had to speak a little to her seniors and quietly leave the place. She carefully examined the groups and picked the one that looked to be the busiest so she did not need to engage in a long conversation, and walked towards them.

“Excuse me, Chaerin sunbae-nim,” Sora told one busy looking girl that was friends with Mina. The girl immediately turned around and looked at Sora. “I already finished my tasks and they already came to pick me up.”

“Oh, that is great,” the girl muttered and turned around, looking at someone. “Hey, can I ask you a favour?”

“As long as it is fast, my dad can get a bit impatient,” she lied easily and the girl nodded.

“Yeah, it will be pretty quick. You are friends with Lim Yunho, right?” the girl asked and Sora fought with herself to keep on her smile. Why did everyone thought that? Before she could answer, the girl kept talking. “I'm a bit worried about him, he has not been feeling well and I'm afraid to let him drive home, do you mind giving her a ride?”

As Sora thought on a polite way of refusing, making up another lie, another person spoke.

“Yeah, Sora, please give him a ride. You are a good girl, he will be in good hands then,” a guy she recognized form one of her evening classes said and Sora smiled tightly.

Damn it all to hell! The entire group was looking at her, but she could not see the troublesome guy anywhere. She just had to choose this group, right, stupid Sora. Her smile was still as fake as it could get and her shoulders were tense, but she was cornered. She cursed the need to keep up her reputation. In any other situation, she would send them to hell to kiss the devil’s red and ugly behind for all she cared.

“Of course, I don't mind,” she lied, not as easily as the last time. “Where is Yunho sunbae-nim?”

Her cheeks were hurting, but she decided to keep the smile in place.

“He was resting on the bench beside the vending machine on the hallway that leads to the entrance,” Chaerin said, smiling brightly. “I am really thankful, Sora. See you tomorrow!”

Sora waved at her seniors and she left the place, looking for the damn machine because now people knew she was taking that troublesome guy to his house. Damn their petty souls to hell! Well, it was her own damn fault for not thinking on an excuse faster. This would be a lesson in cautiousness for the future.

However, Sora swore to throttle him if he was faking his illness just to laze around and have an excuse not to help.

As she walked down the hall towards the entrance, she noticed a figure leaning against the wall. As Sora approached it, she noticed the troublesome guy’s red cheeks and clammy looking skin. Damn it, he was not lying. Even Sora, in her dishevelled state and wild hair, looked better than he did and that was saying something.

“Sunbae-nim,” she said and the troublesome guy looked at her, though she had the impression he was not really looking at her, just staring blankly. “Yunho sunbae-nim,” she tried again, though this time her voice was louder and firmer. His eyes seemed to focus at last.

“Sorry, I should be helping,” he muttered and Sora frowned, he really looked sick so she actually had to take responsibility for his well-being.

“Come with me, I am taking you home tonight,” she said with a heavy sigh, but the man refused to move.

However, his mouth twisted in a small grin.

“You are so forwards,” he muttered, “take me to dinner first.”

Sora’s mouth opened slightly as she stared at him, speechless. Yep, he was definitely ill. The Lim Yunho everyone knew would never make such a racy joke, much less in a place where he could be heard. With a sigh, Sora called Nam-Jun.

“What’s up?” a deep voice greeted her over the phone.

“I have a situation here,” she said, massaging the bridge of her nose. “One of my classmates is sick and I think he is about to faint but I promised to take him home.”

“Really? Okay then. But maybe a hospital would be better.”

To be honest, Sora was also considering that option. “We will see. Please, don't act like a mad man when you see him leaning on me because I have the impression I will have to carry him.”

“Don't worry, noble charming prince. I promise not to attack your fair princess,” Nam-Jun proclaimed dramatically.

“Buffon,” Sora scoffed and ended the call, placing her phone in her pocket. Afterwards, he physically pulled the troublesome guy’s arm and forced him to stand.

“I am fine, I am fine,” he was muttering, but Sora thought otherwise.

She placed her palm on his cheek and her eyes widened in alarm. Her hands were cold, she could acknowledge that. However, the guy was boiling with fever and his eyes seemed to be focused and unfocused on intermittent intervals. Sora was at least sixty percent sure he was not entirely conscious.

With a grunt, she placed his arm around her shoulders and circled his waist with her own arm. The guy leaned on her heavily as she forced him to walk. The experience kind of reminded her of the times she was forced to carry her drunken friends somewhere. A mostly unconscious person mumbling unintelligible things as they dragged their feet and Sora did most of the walking.

Finally, they arrived at the parking lot and Sora forced the troublesome guy to sit on the bench and checked his temperature again. He was still boiling and her hands were now warm. Damn, she needed to call his family because she was not sure how to proceed from here. The logical thing was taking him to a hospital, but then what? Could a stranger check in someone in a hospital?

With nimble hands, she checked on his pockets, looking for the man’s found. Finally, she found it on the inner pocket of his jacket and took it out. It was turned off so she tried to turn it on. It was dead. Great, was not it? This was just what she needed.

Before she could threw a fit, a familiar car parked in front of the bench and Nam-Jun immediately got out of the car.

“He really does look bad,” he said, examining the troublesome guy, who finally went silent and was staring vacantly.

“Let’s take him to the hospital,” Sora said.

She knew next to nothing about medicine, but Nam-Jun had an idea and a lot of practice thanks to his profession. If he said it was bad, then it was actually terrible. She opened the back door of the car and Nam-Jun carefully placed the almost unconscious man inside. Sora ran to the passenger seat and immediately plugged in the troublesome guy’s cell phone on the charger.

They drove in silence and Sora looked back constantly through the rear view mirror to check in on Yunho. He was totally unconscious now.

They arrived to the hospital and Sora opened the door and ran inside, directly towards the front desk, where a nurse was chatting with someone she assumed was the receptionist.

“Please help,” she immediately said, out of breath. “We have someone unconscious in the car, he has high fever and passed out.”

These words were enough for the nurse to start moving and for the receptionist to call a stretcher and more nurses. The rest is history.

As the troublesome guy was taken inside to be treated, Sora dealt with the paperwork. It was honestly the worst part. She had no idea on who to call or who was his immediate family, she had no idea if he had health insurance or what his security number was. She knew virtually nothing about him. In any case, she filled what she could dutifully and, with a heavy sigh, wrote friend on the affiliation. It was a little lie that would bring her a headache, of that she was sure. However, friend was better than classmate.

Then again, many people would consider enough taking a distant acquaintance to the hospital, she did not really need to worry so much. Right. Damn, she hated being so impulsive sometimes and glared at the word she wrote. It was done, nothing to do there.

She wrote her phone number to be contacted and Nam-Jun brought the troublesome guy’s cell phone. It was not entirely charged, but at least it would now work. Unfortunately, she did not have the code and could not contact anyone.

As Sora was being handed the bill that she carefully examined and Nam-Jun waited on a nearby chair, a nurse approached her.

“Hey, I am glad you are still here,” the nurse said, he looked a tad shaggier than he did an hour before. “The guy you brought is finally stable. He had really high fever and we had to force it down, but now it's not that bad. He was clearly dehydrated so he was connected to an IV, his tonsils are extremely sore so he will not be speaking for a few days. We suspect he caught a flu, but we took some tests just in case. Overall, he is now stable but he will have to stay the night under observation.”

Okay, that did not sound terrible.

“You should go home. Tomorrow we will check on him and decide if he can go home or stay another day.” the nurse said, smiling at her.

“Thank you,” Sora said, bowing politely at the nurse and at the receptionist. “Uhm, I'm not entirely sure how to contact his relatives, what should I do now?”

The nurse raised his eyebrows and looked at the receptionist.

“She already put herself as the one responsible for the patient,” the receptionist said and the nurse nodded.

“Well, you can bring him some clothes and toiletries tomorrow. We will call you in case we discharge him.”

“I will do so, thank you,” Sora said, bowing once again and finally walking away.

She knew she should have approached another group, but she had to approach that guy’s friend and end up saddled with him. Brilliant, just brilliant!

“Ready?” Nam-Jun asked, placing an arm around her shoulders as she guided her outside. “Come on, it is time to go home and sleep a bit. You can tell me the whole story in the car.”

Sora groaned and covered her face, knowing he would tease her nonstop for this incident. It was decided, this week totally sucked and it was still Thursday.

Yunho woke up when he felt someone probing his face. He tried to move, but his arms felt like lead and refused to cooperate. He groaned when he opened his eyes, even though the light was dim, his bleary eyes were too sensitive right now.

“Be careful. You must be thirsty, here,” he felt someone helping him to sit and pushing something against his lips.

Yunho opened his eyes with unnecessary carefulness and looked at the glass of water. Curious, he didn't notice how parched he was until now. It felt as if he hadn't drunk a drop of water for days. Immediately he chugged the water down, almost choking a few times in the process.

“Calm down, how are you feeling?” the woman dressed in white asked.

At last, Yunho’s brain decided to cooperate with him. A nurse, his brain provided.

“Like hell,” Yunho managed to say, though he noticed now how sore his throat was. He collapsed back to bed, sleep sounded like a marvellous thing right now. “What happened?” he asked, though he doubted the nurse understood his raspy voice.

“You fainted and were brought here last night,” the woman said, checking on his arm. Yunho looked that way and noticed the needle attached. “You had really high fever and it could have been really dangerous if left untreated. You are really lucky to have such a caring girlfriend.”

It took a few moments for the words to process in his mind. Wait, what?

“She came early in the morning. Left you some clothes, toiletries, and I think she also left you food,” the nurse said, signalling at a bag that was certainly not his resting on a chair.

The nurse kept poking him, or checking, Yunho corrected himself. He did wonder who brought him to the hospital. He remembered feeling like chopped liver last night and telling Minho and that girl from the Fashion department. But even that memory was blurry. The last thing he remembered was stumbling towards the closest bench. Though he had vague memories of someone pulling and moving him around, but he really couldn't remember who.

“Your phone is charging on the night table, do you want me to bring you something?”

“More water please,” he croaked, wincing at his raspy voice. Seeing the woman’s confusion, he pointed the glass of water and she nodded.

“If you feel well enough to go to the bathroom by yourself, it is that door. If you don’t, press this button and Nurse Kim will come to help you.”

Yunho nodded and watched as the nurse left the room. Carefully he tried to get out of the bed. It hurt like hell and he moved like an old man with knee and hip problems, but he walked. With curiosity, he opened the bag on the nearby chair. There were clothes neatly folded inside and he looked down his body. The sweatpants looked way warmer than the thin hospital gown and the sweater also looked inviting. He took those out and almost blushed when he saw the underwear and the socks over another change of clothes.

None of it was his, but he would rather be cosy and ill than uncomfortable and miserable, so he took them. He eyed a makeup bag and frowned at it. It was black and there were pastel pink and golden cats printed on it. He opened it with curiosity and found a small bag of wet wipes, a toothbrush, a small toothpaste container, a hand towel neatly folded, a palm sized tube of moisturizer, lip balm, a small jar of face moisturizer and cleanser, and some other things he didn't really bother to examine.

That makeup bag was awfully well thought out, at least in Yunho’s opinion. He also took it out of the bag. Then he saw two silver thermoses and opened one out of curiosity. It smelled strongly of ginger. He took a sip and burnt his tongue in the process. Definitely ginger tea, he would appreciate it when it was a bit less scalding. He also noticed there was something folded in the bottom of the bag but he was no longer in the mood to investigate.

Once he was feeling a bit more like a human and less like chopped liver, he went back to his bed with his phone in hand. His eyes were bleary and he felt as if he worked out for hours and was later trampled by elephants. Everything hurt and he was tired.

As he fell asleep once again, he did wonder who brought him the bag.