Gun came home at 11 p.m.
He felt apologetic for making Yeo Ri wait for so long the day before that he made an effort to return earlier.
The lights were off but he was hungry. Before checking up on Yeo Ri, he decided to have dinner. However, surprisingly, Yeo Ri hadn't made any.
'That's rare,' he thought. Yeo Ri often made sure that there was at least rice and soup for dinner, so seeing nothing on the dining table perturbed him. He wondered if she was not feeling well. His mind flashed back to her pale lips. Had she been feeling sick since then? His brows creased.
There were two packets of instant noodles on the kitchen counter, so he cooked a portion for himself. He downed the food ravenously; it had been a few hours since he ate and he had walked back all the way home from the study room, so he cleared his food instantly.
"Yeo Ri, are you hurt somewhere?"
Upon entering their room, the first thing Gun noticed was Yeo Ri who was curled up in bed already. "Yeo Ri?"
"...Mm. Sorry, I'm a bit tired today..." Yeo Ri croaked. Her voice was hoarse and she hoped that Gun wouldn't notice it.
"Yeo Ri?!" Hearing her voice, Gun couldn't help but worry. "Are you okay?"
Yeo Ri's face was deftly hidden by her hair and the pillow. She had no confidence in keeping in her tears at his question, so she buried her face deeper into the pillow. "It's nothing," she lied. "I'm just... tired."
Gun tried to put his palm against her forehead to check her temperature, but Yeo Ri shook him away.
He felt like there was something that was not right, but Yeo Ri did not want to open up to him. He was reluctant to leave her be. "...Tell me if there's anything wrong, okay?"
"Mm, I will." Yeo Ri tried making herself sound more cheerful, "Oh, yeah, Oppa, there's some spicy rice cakes in the fridge. Warm it up and eat it while you study."
Gun smiled wryly at her words. Even when she's sick she was still thinking about him. "My baby is such a kind girl," he lamented, "what am I going to do with you?"
Yeo Ri offered him a faux-laugh, "I'm sleeping. Good night, Oppa." Underneath the blanket, silent tears ran down her face.
"Okay. Good night." Gun patted the rolled up girl, then left her to rest.
That night, Yeo Ri fell asleep, the stress wearing herself down.
Gun waited for a few minutes, making sure that the girl was asleep. He knew she didn't want him to worry about her but he couldn't help it. She was his one and only little sister, after all.
He took out his phone and dialled a number. However, the person on the other side did not pick up.
Gun did not give up. He called the number again and again, until they finally accepted his call.
"What?! What the f*ck do you want, sh*thead?!" Hyuk's callous voice shouted from the other end.
Gun frowned at his tone, but left it be knowing that there was something more important on the line. "Hey, are you still at work?"
"So what if I was, you little sh*thead?"
"I think Yeo Ri's sick. Can you pick up some medicine for her? Please, do me a favour. I'll pay you back." Gun begged. It was rare for him to lower his head to Hyuk though the man was his older brother.
"...What?" Hyuk, as soon as he finished listening to Gun's request, stilled. He couldn't help but release a sound of surprise. Yeo Ri was sick? The uncomfortable feeling of uneasiness invaded his body.
"That stupid little... why didn't she take care of herself more, f*ck!" He mumbled angrily. He roughly ruffled his hair and rubbed his face. "F*ck!"
He had been on his way home when Gun called. Seeing who it was, he did not bother picking up the call, but Gun kept calling him nonstop and he soon got annoyed by it. Hyuk cursed himself for not picking up the call faster.
Ignoring the traffic light, he quickly doubled back, finding his way to the nearest pharmacy.
Unfortunately, it was nearing midnight and the pharmacy was long closed. He searched frantically for another pharmacy, but his search was futile.
"Ah, the convenience store!" An idea appeared in his mind. He remembered that convenience stores also sold medicine. He mentally hit himself for being so stupid.
There was at least five convenience stores in their town, so he immediately changed his destination to the closest one.
"Give me some cold medicine. And painkillers," he stormed into the store impatiently, scaring the cashier.
"T-they're over there," the cashier pointed towards a shelf.
Hyuk had no time to spare so he quickly glanced at the shelf and picked out some meds that he thought would be good enough, then paid for them. He didn't bother to wait for the cashier to give him the receipt and his change, and immediately left.
In less than ten minutes, he reached home.