Author’s Notes: Notes on unclear subjects will have parentheses along with an asterisk and a number. Example (*1), (*2)

It had been raining non-stop for the last couple of days. Within the middle of the week, the downpour had ceased. In the aftermath, cement pavements and alleyways were flooded, resembling that of small river canals. Even with the overflow of water in the streets, adults still went to work, and students still attended classes like a normal day. The city was always lively no matter what weather.

Though Jungha had been an eyesore to Mickey prior to last week, the two were now officially friends. Jungha made sure to see Mickey at least once a day at school and Mickey slowly became accustomed to his quirky behaviors. Despite the fact that Mickey did not mind being alone, he always wanted to have a close brotherly bond with a guy friend. When he was younger and lived in the rural areas, Mickey did not have many friends due to his quiet nature. He envied the boys who would play sports together and eat out afterwards. During those times, Mickey could only watch from afar and imagined what it would have been like.

That morning, before heading to his class, Jungha went to room C-2 to see Mickey. He whistled in the hallways with his hands in his pockets. Unfortunately, when Jungha made it to class C-2, Mikey was nowhere to be found. The excited look on Jungha’s dashing face became blank, wondering where his friend was. He assumed Mickey was late for class, and not wanting to be tardy himself, Jungha left. During lectures, Jungha texted Mickey, asking where he was that morning. He waited for a response, expecting the name of a certain boy to pop up on his phone, but it never came.

Half the day was over, and Mickey still did not reply back to the message. Jungha thought this was strange and decided to go back and check out room C-2 again on his break. To his surprise, Mickey was not there, nor was his schoolbag or any belongings.

Where did that guy go? Is he trying to avoid me? Jungha wondered.

Puzzled, he went back to his classroom to seek out Rain. If anyone knew where Mickey was, his best guess was her.

Jungha stood by Rain, who was still siting in her desk, “Where’s Mickey?”

Rain looked up and removed her headphones from her ears, “Huh, what did you say?”

“Where did Mickey go? I don’t see him today. Did something happen?” A sense of urgency could be heard in his voice as if he had lost sight of a child.

Rain fanned the imaginary steam coming from Jungha, “Calm down. Your friend is sick today, so he stayed home. Sheesh, why are you so worked up about it?”

Jungha’s sharp brows knitted together, “He’s sick?”

Rain yawned and elaborated more to the worried boy in front of her, “He was working at the market all evening in the cold rain yesterday. He didn’t feel well this morning, so my aunt called the school and is taking care of him today,” she then sighed, “That means I’ll be running the stall today…”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            At home, Mickey was laying in his floor bed with a fever. Every sensory part of his body was burning hot from head to toe. His muscles felt exhausted, with a needle-like pain jabbing at it. Unable to get a good rest half of the time, Mickey would be wide awake with his eyes closed. The thoughts in his head spun radically, while being thrown into a constant state of dream and reality.

            Mickey was suffering in absolute pain until he could feel the back of someone’s hand touching his forehead. The contact of the cool hand on Mickey’s warm skin, slightly alleviated his discomfort. Mickey’s eyelids were too heavy for him to open at that moment. The sensation and feeling from the person’s touch felt like his grandmother. She must have come back home from the garden to check up on him.

            Mickey used whatever strength he had left to speak, “Grandma… what are you doing back home?”

            A male voice chuckled out loud and answered, “Do I look like your grandma to you?”

            Confused, Mickey peered to see who it was, “Huh…?” his vision was blurry at first, but soon made out the individual, “Jungha? Why are you here?”

            Jungha’s big hand was still on top of Mickey’s head. Mickey quickly brushed it off and got up from his bed, sitting up straight. As the bed sheets slowly fell from Mickey’s upper torso, it exposed his bare skin. The boy was shirtless with small strands of cotton cloths wrapped around his wrist and ankles. A strong herbal smell permeated from the bandages, which was probably a medicinal mixture applied on those areas.

            Jungha gulped in silence with his throat beginning to dry, while dark pupils dilated at the marvelous sight. He sat with his legs crossed with his hands between them, leaning over to see Mickey.

            “Rain told me that you were sick. So, I came to check if you were doing okay,” he stated.

            Mickey stretched out his arms, relieving the tension from sleeping all day, “I just caught a cold, that’s all. I’ll be better by tomorrow and be back to school. You didn’t have to trouble yourself and come all the way here. How did you even know where I live?”

            “Rain told me, and your aunt let me in!” Jungha then grabbed a plastic bag behind him, “Here, I got you some congee. I asked the chef to infuse the broth with some herbal medicine, so you can get better. Eat it now when it’s still hot.”

            Jungha unraveled the bag and held a bowl of congee(*1) in one hand and a spoon in the other.

            He scooped a generous amount of the porridge and brought the spoon to Mickey’s mouth, trying to feed him, “Here! try it!”

            Taken back, Mickey adverted his head, “What are you doing? I’m not a baby, I can eat on my own.”

            Jungha humorously smiled, handing over the utensil, “I was just being nice. You looked so helpless ha-ha. I thought maybe you needed the assistance.”

            Unamused, Mickey took the spoon and blew on the congee. Once it was at a desirable temperature, he ate it. The taste was bland as one would expect from plain rice porridge. The mild flavor was perfect for anyone who was sick. Since it was easy to stomach down and replenish the body.

            Mickey grabbed the bowl from Jungha’s hand and placed it on the floor.

“Thanks for bringing me food.” He said, taking in another mouthful.

            Pleased to see Mickey enjoying what he brought for him, Jungha cheerfully replied, “It’s no problem. That’s what friends are for, right?”

            Mickey nodded and continued to eat. The aromatic smell of the herbs in the congee entered in Jungha’s senses, causing his stomach to grumble loudly. Jungha was such in a rush to see Mickey that he had forgotten to eat.

            Mickey spooned out a large portion of porridge and brought it to Jungha, “Here, eat some too. There’s too much, I can’t finish it.”

            Jungha slightly pulled back teasingly, “Ey?! Why is it that you can feed me, but I can’t?”

            Embarrassed, Mickey scoffed, retracting his hand, “If you don’t want to eat it, that’s fine.”

            “Hey, hey, hey! I was joking. Come on, I want to know what it tastes like too. I haven’t eaten anything since lunch.” Jungha playfully said and opened his mouth.

            Jungha’s charming eyes gazed over Mickey waiting for the boy to feed him. Mickey began to slowly feed Jungha. Right before Jungha was about to take his first bite, Mickey cleverly pulled the silverware away. A devious grin surfaced on Jungha’s face as he watched Mickey laugh.

            Jungha swiftly grabbed Mickey’s wrist that held the spoon, and pulled it closer to his mouth, “You think you’re slick!? Give me some!”

The two teenagers wrestled for a bit, Mickey unwillingly to let up so easy. Not long after, Jungha used all his might to yank Mickey’s hand close enough to taste the porridge. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Both were somewhat startled and turned to see who it was.

“Mickey, Grandma called for me to massage you with the silver bar (*2).” Nanami said, in a soft caring tone.

She held a tray that had a bowl of warm water, a silver metal bar, and a soft white towel on it.  Jungha made space for Nanami as she set the tray down by Mickey’s bed. She carefully wrapped the silver bar with the towel and twisted it into a knot.

During the time Nanami was preparing to soak the cloth in water, Jungha interrupted, “Um, auntie. If you don’t mind, I can do it instead. That way you can relax.”

Surprised by his offer, she giggled, “Oh? Do you know how to do it? If not, it’s alright.”

Jungha persistently persuaded her, “Of course I know! I’ve used that on my mom many times. I’m an expert.”

Nanami giggled again at the boy’s adamant gesture, “Alright, I’ll leave this here and you can help massage Mickey. Thank you, Jungha.”

Nanami left the room, leaving the two alone once again. Jungha’s eyes followed Nanami until she was no longer in sight. He looked back at Mickey, who was glaring at him now.

“What?” Jungha said with lewd intent.

Any opportunity Jungha could get to feel Mickey’s fair skin, he would take it. No matter how shameful it was. Jungha dipped the cloth sealed bar into the warm water and squeezed the excess liquid.

“Turn around, let me do your back first,” Jungha ordered.

Mickey got up and sat the other way, in a slight crouching position. Jungha began to pound the bar on Mickey’s back, hitting him with not much force. They way Jungha was massaging was very light and inconsistent.

Mickey halted him for a moment, “What are you doing? You have to really hit me with the thing.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Jungha responded in a concerned manner.

Mickey turned around, “Jungha, do you even know what you are doing? Have you ever done this before?”

Droplets of water fell from Jungha’s head, “Well, I’ve seen it done once or twice on TV. Doesn’t that count?”

“Let me show you.” Mickey placed his hand on top of Jungha’s.

Mickey used his hand to guide Jungha on how much pressure to use, pounding at his upper chest with a heavy force, “Like this.”

After a couple minutes of lessons, Jungha was ready. Mickey laid down, while Jungha skillfully used the silver bar to rub against Mickey’s body. With the rhythmic motion Jungha was going, it would have lulled Mickey to sleep, if not for how painful it was. The scene between them was a true sign of friendship, teaching and helping one another out.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author’s Note:

(*1) A type of rice porridge or gruel eaten in Asian countries.

(*2) Using a pure metal or coin to rub on one’s body is traditional eastern remedy. It’s believed to absorb the aliments and impurities from one’s body. Depending on how sick the person was, the bar would change color after taking in the negative energy. The colors could vary from orange or to dark shades of black and blue.