Mirror, Mirror - Chapter 58.2

Chapter 58.2

The hands wringing a towel in a small basin of water paused mid-motion. In the dim light from a single lamp, Ara caught the twitch of smooth brows creasing.

Leaning against the doorframe, Seol-do let out a small laugh at the unguarded reaction.

“Exactly. It’s not like you’ve ever taken care of anyone before. How am I supposed to just trust you with her?”

“I can do anything. I learn fast.”

“Sure you do.”

“Nam Seol-do.”

“Yeah, yeah. Do whatever you want. Who’s stopping you?”

Seol-do shrugged, raising his hands in surrender.

“Give her another dose of medicine around midnight. Keep wiping her down until the fever breaks, and until her body temperature comes back, don’t cover her up with blankets no matter how cold she says she is.”

“I said I got it.”

Seok-kyung shot him a weary look, jerking his chin toward the door. A silent order to shut up and get out.

“I’m going, I’m going. Call me if it gets worse.”

Clucking his tongue, Seol-do finally left.

Clack. The small sound sealed the space in silence. The room, once humming with the presence of two goblins, fell under the weight of stillness.

Seok-kyung wrung out the towel in his hands until water streamed down and the fabric was nearly dry. His fingers, pale from the cold, flushed faintly red as blood returned to them.

Almost at the same moment he turned toward the bed, Ara squeezed her eyes shut. For some reason, it felt wrong to look. Something in her gut told her to feign sleep, to pretend ignorance.

“Uhhn…”

But the cold cloth pressed against her fevered neck was unbearable.

A soft groan slipped out, her shoulders curling up as she bit hard on her lip to hold herself still.

‘Did he notice?’

“Na Ara.”

‘…He noticed.’

Slowly, Ara forced her eyes open.

Seok-kyung’s gaze cut straight into her flushed face, his eyes sharp as arrows.

Even in shadow, his features glowed, impossibly beautiful as always. From the very beginning until now, his face had been breathtaking enough to steal her air.

“Are you awake? Do you know where you are, and who I am?”

The only difference from usual was that, sharp and disapproving as his gaze was, something almost like concern flickered there.

‘Am I still delirious?’

Ara doubted her own eyes as she gave the faintest nod. Even that slight movement made her vision spin. Heat surged so high that even her own breath burned against her lips.

“Don’t move. You need the fever down.”

Clicking his tongue, Seok-kyung resumed his task.

The chilled, damp towel swept carefully across Ara’s forehead and the side of her neck, then down toward her shoulders that rose and fell in shallow, strained breaths.

As the icy touch grew familiar, relief crept through her body. She was just beginning to savor the coolness when her eyes shot wide with realization.

Her shirt was gone.

No wonder her chest felt so bare. The only thing left was a thin camisole.

“Why… why am I only wearing this?”

Stammering, Ara clutched at the edge of the blanket.

“Humans catch cold if they stay in damp clothes.”

“You undressed me?”

“Who else would? Should I have woken you while you were unconscious and told you to do it yourself?”

His hands never stopped moving as he spoke, sliding the towel along the smooth line of her arm. If they trembled faintly, Ara was too feverish to notice.

What underwear was I even wearing?

Her foggy mind wandered briefly to the absurd, and she flushed at her own shamelessness.

“I’ll… I’ll do it myself.”

The cheeks he had just cooled blazed hot all over again.

Seok-kyung brushed off her protest, pressing down lightly when she tried to pull the blanket higher.

“You can’t. You can’t even lift a finger right now.”

Her lashes fluttered weakly, frustration flashing in her exhausted eyes. She wanted to argue, but his words weren’t empty.

Something inside her body was wrong. She could hardly even drag the blanket up to her chest. Her voice, thin and strained, was the only strength she had left.

“I’m cold. Can’t you stop now?”

“No. Endure it.”

She quickly tried turning her head, as if to coax a little sympathy, but it was useless.

In the end, Ara gave up resisting his grip. Embarrassing as it was, there was no other way.

And truthfully, that cold hand gliding over her skin felt like an oasis in the middle of a desert.

I’m so tired…

The thought drifted through her mind as her eyes slipped shut. Fever and exhaustion tugged at her consciousness in turns.

How long had this gone on?

“What time is it?”

“Eleven at night.”

The answer shocked her enough that her eyes flew open again.

“Eleven? Then what about dinner, everyone must have-”