❝ JIN MEI XIN'S HOUSE.

@Jin Meixin His brows furrowed as he searched around the darkness of the home, she was nowhere to be seen but he could hear the faint sound of her hiccuping. he figured that she was most likely hiding out of the sheer terror. He hadn't flinched when lightning struck yet again but he heard her ear piercing scream, that alone caused the broad shouldered male to grimace.

"Meixing..?" His voice held no tremor, he was calm and his fever was at bay. It was manageable with the help of the duvet sitting on his shoulders.

Nearing a cabinet, her hiccups did not go unnoticed so his eyes narrowed once he was within a foot. Kicking at the cabinet softly to let his presence be known. "Yah, what are you twelve?" He uttered in disbelief but not in a mocking matter. He wasn't as cruel as strangers made him appear to be. Waiting patiently as his phone beeped, signalling that it was going to turn off; Taekwoon sighed as his only source of light turned off.

@Jung Taekwoon Meixin was so focused on the thunder and the lightening she didn’t realize that Leo was up and about out of bed, he needed to rest if he wanted to leave her but she couldn’t bring herself to go check on him because another earth shattering crack ripped through the house.

She screamed again and sat opened the bottom cabinets to the sink and slowly climbed inside.

She had left this cabinet empty since the day she moved in because when she tested out hiding spots from sound this was the best place. The only problem was, once she was in the doors wouldn’t close properly. She climbed inside and covered her ears as the hiccups began, despite being soft they were still hearable through the cabinets.

She had a very bad habit of hiccupping when she was either nervous, or utterly terrified of something and this being exceptional the hiccups started. Soon it fell quiet and by the time the male made it downstairs, every 15 seconds was a hiccup through the cabinet doors and soft sniffling sounds.

@Jin Meixin There hadn't appeared to be any reception when she brought the phone back, left in the room to ponder what he was to do next; Taekwoon decided he'd give himself some shut eye. At least for another 20 minutes before he'd check the phone's signal but the sleek device was discharging quickly.

Taekwoon's gaze shifted to that of the window.

What began as some high winds and a smattering of rain the previous day till late in the afternoon built into the worst storm in a generation. The wind didn't howl, it screamed. The rain didn't fall it was driven, hard, merciless, torrential. The trees he saw didn't sway, they creaked, bended and moaned as their fine limbs were ripped away and their autumnal leaves became not confetti, but ammunition in the storm. When the power winked out he raised his eyes to the ceiling with a sigh. From the light of the screen of his phone he could at least do some work. Already the temperature in the house had dropped so much he needed the duvet from Meixin's bed, but in the familiar glow of the screen and the clack of the keyboard, he could at least ignore the storm.

Meixin's piercing scream not going unheard; The male neared the door, guided by the faint lighting of dying battery of his phone as he made his way towards the stairs. "Meixin?" He called out, wondering where she was.

@Jung Taekwoon Meixin instead of going to her room went downstairs to the kitchen to make herself something to eat, she hadn’t ate for the last day and a half because of her worry over the fellow in her room called Leo. She decided to make a quick sandwich and go back to her room, soon the rain fall became heavy and the clouds that once covered the sun had reappeared out of nowhere.

When she finished eating she set her plate aside and got ready to go back downstairs to wash the plate when she heard a earth shattered crack echo through the house and at that moment she screamed and curled up on the floor in fetal position and covered her ears.

Another crack and she couldn’t hold it, she began to cry and sob to herself still afraid to both Leo, he was resting he didn’t need to worry over her right now, but she didn’t know she had screamed so loud to the point of disturbing him.

@Jin Meixin Left in peaceful tranquil silence, he shut his eyes for the remainder of the time she'd take to retrieve the phone; His adams apple rising and falling through a faint sniffle. 'Mental note to self, take a taxi when assure of your destination...even if it's a couple blocks away.'

He was at fault for the current situation, he was wasting someones time, his valuable time for the sake of a fever that rattled his core.

He pictured himself assesing and diagnosing patients, tending to emergency patients, keeping up with paper work, prescribing medication and leave for the elder and being useful for someone elses benefit. He missed his place of work but he had to recover soon if he was to open his own private practice. After all, he was the only child and heir of the Jung Hospitals.

@Jung Taekwoon She listened to his request and blinked nodding, she assumed he was going to follow her advice earlier and call his mother to come and pick him up or something so she quietly went down the stairs to do just that.

Mei looked around for the cellphone, searching through her couch, recliner, kitchen and then back to the couch. She got on her knees finally seeing that the phone was underneath the couch and quickly grabbed it. Not wanting to be nosy and check if he has messages she quickly goes upstairs and hands it to him.

“Here you go…” She mumbled looking down feeling like a bother again, she wanted to get to know him and figure out what had happened but she was never one to bother anyone so she just let it be for now and slowly made her way back to the door.

@Jin Meixin Diverting his gaze to the door, he in no way wanted to ask the woman for a favor but luck wasn't on his side that day and he was vulnerable.
"I need my phone, it's in the living room."

His voice sounded defeated, as if he previously had an internal battle with himself. Taekwoon didn't want her to think they were close in anyway because he was in a weakened state, she was a stranger and so was he. There would be no more than that and he was sure to leave after making said phone call.

Of course, she was hospitable and quite welcoming but he knew nothing of her past or current situation, vice versa and it was best it stayed that way. He'd sent her a gift and a thank you note and then that would be it.

@Jung Taekwoon Mei was sitting in the other room reading her messages on her phone, the person in the next room was very soft spoken so she needed to be able to hear him as much as possible if he was actually going to call her.

She had just sit down when she heard the soft voice call for her, she got up and walked over and peered inside the room shyly. “Y-Yes?” She actually hadn’t expected him to actually call for her so she was a little relieved when the other did.

@Jin Meixin Taekwoon cast his eyes to the charcoal sky past the floor to ceiling window to his left, his attention held by a golden streak, a crack in the cloud layer where the sun streamed through as fast as water through a cracked dam. The rain was promised, the wind already unleashed, but there would be sunshine and warmth by late afternoon,

Sleep was out of the question and he wanted nothing but to see his mother, although they never had a close bond, her presence was calming. The tonality of her aged voice soothing to his ears as he'd take any given advice into consideration..

Taekwoon hadn't wanted to call the woman but the last place he'd seen his phone was back in the living room; He knew he'd be pestered yet again for 'trying' to leave if he so much as shuffled in bed so he called her faintly. "Meixin."

@Jung Taekwoon Meixin when he actually answered her and didn’t brush her off like some annoyance she smiled happily and bowed in respect.

“its nice to meet you… I hope we get along.” She smiled before standing up and goes into the bathroom to wash her face. She freshened herself up to look presentable again since the tears made her look like a vulnerable disaster she came back out and checked on him once more with the clothes that feel on the floor.

“I am going to be in the next room over, if you need anything just call me.” She said folding his clothes and setting them down on the other half of the bed.

“I don’t want to annoy you or bother you anymore so I will go now.” She promised and got up to leave.

@Jin Meixin Studying her gestures, be it body language and expression; she was very open about her feelings.The pearl-shaped tears that rolled past her cheeks from her wide luminous eyes caused her thick lashes to stick together in clumps as if she'd been swimming ; In a sense causing his piercing gaze to soften somewhat as she apologized yet again for something so trivial.

Whilst being guided yet again to another unfamiliar room, most likely her bedroom, Taekwoon's sigh was resigned and weary once he was lay to rest, As she wrapped covers over his shoulders he wondered how she managed to get him to the couch let alone give him a change of clothes the previous night. She had quite the petite frame.

"Leo." He murmured, his gaze locking onto hers. Lidded, heavy with exhaustion.

@Jung Taekwoon She knew he was agitated and that made her tears run even more, she didn't like to be annoying but his health was really on the line here, she couldn't just let him out when his health was still shifting from bad to worse.

She could careless if this person was a stranger or a close friend she wasn't about to just be heartless and leave him outside, that was just wrong to her. She handed him the clothes with a soft sigh and wiped her eyes like a child.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to start crying like that…" she mumbled looking up at him.

"I took you in because dangerous men are nonexistent in this area… Especially when they are falling for their Eomma." She smiled softly at him before she quickly caught him from falling.

"Come on." She lead him to her bedroom and helped him down on the bed before putting the covers over him.

"Do you need anything?" She asked before checking his forehead and grabbed a rag from the table next to her bed and goes into the bathroom to drench it in cold water before coming back and placing the cold damp rag on his forehead.

"What's your name?"

@Jin Meixin Hearing faint foot steps behind him, Taekwoon's hand rose for the door but before he could finally get there he felt the warmth of her hand before he was reluctantly guided back into her home. For some reason the blond found himself irritated given the fact that she was so wreckless in letting a stranger, let alone a man stay in her home, was she not thinking about any morbid consequences?

Her tears brought him to an abrupt hault, welcoming her with nothing but silence as he heard her plea for him to stay; Feeling her lightly tug at his hand, he followed suit into what appeared to be a bathroom till she stopped inside to hand him his clothes.

He had no strength to bicker with the woman, his voice was at a mere whisper and he was in no shape to up and leave just yet. His legs felt shaky and he could barely support the weight of his body yet hishead was the only thing that was feeling heavy. Light headed, the clothes he had at hand wrung loose around his fingers before they dropped to the ground, his weight shifting entirely into the petite woman. "You don't know me, yet you take me in. I have a feeling you don't watch the news often." He mumbled in an almost inaudible tone against her hair. A clear sheen of perspiration causing his fringe to coil against his forehead.

@Jung Taekwoon Meixin as she was in the kitchen heard ruffling noises coming from the living, she thought he was just stretching his legs and was smart enough to not try and leave in his condition, apparently she was wrong because she heard him stumbling down the hall way.

She dropped the plate and quickly walked over to him and grabbed his hand with her soft and warm ones.

"Don't! Its still raining and you can't walk out of here in just trousers and a T-shirt… A-and…" Because the whole ordeal had nearly scared her into a heart attack her eyes began to well with tears.

"P-Please don't leave until your better… Just c-call your mom and have her pick you up… B-but y-you could die out there if you don't rest!" She slowly started to panic not wanting the other to quickly leave while he was still sick.

"H-Here…" She tugged on his hand and lead him to the bathroom and pulled out his clean clothes she washed and handed it to him.

() Poor Mei xD

@Jin Meixin 'Meixing' her name was duly noted.

Taekwoon stretched. He was stiff from a long night on the couch. Standing on tiptoes, shoulders straining back, he felt the luxury of his tensing muscles. Once he was fully composed, although staggering once on his feet, fever still somewhat livid; He saw his reflection past a window pane. Taekwoon didn't recall wearing a white t shirt or black trousers. 'She changed me.'

The world was a blur, and random images seemed to float aimlessly around in the pool of his thoughts, as though they were being blown about viciously by a hurricane. He had no recollection of falling asleep either but a list of symptoms told him he was suffering from light syncope due to lack of sleep and exhaustion. Treading towards the exit, he could clutched at his head with a hand, steadying himself with the wall adjecent to him.

Forgetting for a second that he was in no condition to step out of the woman's house, he hadn't wanted to be there much longer.

@Jung Taekwoon Meixin after setting the bowl down she watched him carefully with curious eyes wondering how on earth this all happened, and she as determined to get answers. She took in the sight of how he seemed to be out of it, his vision fading in and out somewhat which meant he still needed a bit of time to recover.

She ran a hand through her hair not realizing he was examining her intensely until she finally spoke. “Take it easy… with the eyes I mean…” She mumbled flinching a tad.

“My name is Meixin, last night you knocked on the door looking for your mother… but… you kind of got the wrong house… if it wasn’t so obvious.” She smiled softly.

“Eat, you need it if you want to find your mother.” She said before standing up and walking right back into the kitchen and washed the stack of dishes in the sink because she made bowls of soup and cups of tea for his recovery and because they would run cold she would switch them with new bowls and cups.

@Jin Meixin Through inevitable fatigue, Taekwoon took in his foreign surroundings, with further realization noting it was quite opposite to his mother's humble abode; The abscence of her potted chrysanthemums evident.

There was woman sitting beside Taekwoon. He figured she must've been sitting there for several minutes; He saw her as a brownish blur to the left, registering the shift as she crossed and uncrossed her legs. Movement like rustlings in a hedge, furtive, almost not there. He turned his head, slightly, briefly, to look at her. There was a shyness to her, hesitation in her body movements and a softness in her voice.

"Who are you?" His eyes were narrowed, rigid, cold, hard.

Taking in her features, his piercing gaze locked on her as if he were trying to decipher her very being; From what he could tell, her eyes appeared to be the color of unvarnished oak with deep mahogany flecks, sculpted upon her creamy face like dazzling jewels. thick black hair cascaded down her delicate skin like midnight waves on a sandy beach. Cherry lips, crystal white teeth: she truly was a beautiful sight to behold.

He couldn't recognize the woman.

@Jung Taekwoon Meixin had woken up early that morning and was cooking breakfast for the both of them, she made soup for him in order for him to defrost and if he wanted anything more she made pancakes and placed them in a plastic container.

She had switched the teas because since it wasn’t touched for a while she wanted to make sure he got enough warmth out of the tea so she was pour the old one down the drain. She heard the leather in the living room shift a bit and it sounded like the male had actually woken up from his deep slumber.

She tried her best to make as little noise as possible since rest was a crucial part of the healing process with illness. She walked over with a bowl of soup and placed it down in front of him and placed the spoon in side before running a hand through her hair. “A-Are you okay now?” She asked, it was obvious she had been worried half to death with the way how everything had happened last night.

@Jin Meixin Trembling while wrapped in profound sleep, Taekwoon wasn't aware for sometime of his purturbed sleep.

During the long working hours of the week he wanted nothing more than to lay down and be enveloped by the warmth of silence due to a persistent headache and flashes of a fever but he wasn't going to cease work so a fellow doctor- a close colleague chose to reschedule the males shift a week ahead so could rest.

He woke not long after to the faint scent of tea lifting himself up so he was propped up against the couch, his smoldering gaze, simmering like rich strong brazilian coffee although lidded fell upon the mug before he reached for it ; cradling it with two hands and let the warmth of the mug defrost his fingers.The burning sensation in his throat grew more when he pressed the rim against dry, cracked lips. A single droplet traced its way inside his mouth, savouring the taste. Thick saliva lined the inside of his mouth immediately sapping any moisture that entered.

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@Jung Taekwoon “Eomma? I’m not…” but the other had kept slipping in and out of consciousness, she wondered what a handsome guy could have been doing out there in the cold for so long to the point of delusion.

She gulped lightly terrified for the mans health feeling him burn up. Soon she heard him groan loudly like he got struck with something until finally, he passed out. “Oh no nonononononono don’t you dare.” She began to tear up because she had never been put in this position before, it was utterly terrifying but she refused to leave the males side.

She checked if he was breathing and sighed in relief when all he did was actually pass out, nothing else. She quickly pulled his boots off and his socks and tossed them to the front door, grabbed the dry white shirt and pulled his shirt off and dried him as much as possible before slipping his arm through the shirt.

Next came his pants, she mature enough to not get flustered over such a thing since this was such a serious matter, she unbuckled his pants and yanked them off and slipped the shorts on him thankfully his boxers didn’t seem all too wet. When she finished she got up placing his head on her lap and continued to dry his damp hair.

She grabbed a ice patch and placed it on his head and neck to bring down the heavy fever and sighed softly. Soon she left him to rest but couldn’t bring herself to leave him alone so she slept on the recliner chair after leaving a cup of tea for him on the coffee table.

@Jin Meixin Body aching, cheeks burning with the flush of fever; there was no strength in his voice, just a whisper. "E-eomma..don't leave me.." The world was on pause for him as he took in shallow breathes, existing from moment to moment.

He could recall very little but the presence of the woman he thought to be his mother as he stumbled into her warmth, guided seconds later to the comfort of a leathered couch, he felt the softness of a towel as he was dried with upmost care by the woman; shifting in and out of conciousness.

It happened so suddenly. His heart began to race as his chest tightened; it felt as if the center of his head -- right behind the nasal cavity -- was being pulled. A rush of sound roaring through him as he clutched at the couch before black clouds pressed their way into Taekwoon's vision.

The male had fallen unconcious, suffering the avid symptoms of syncope and was nowhere near waking hours.

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@Jung Taekwoon Meixin, in the middle of making some tea could almost hear the sound of soft thunder. Her heart pounded because it was one of the things that drove her into fear the most. She hated lightening and the sound that came after it was horrible. As she was trying to compose herself and kept focusing on the hot beverage before her. She couldn’t help but feel like something was tugging at her to go to the door.

Hearing a soft knock and groaning on the other side it sounded like a zombie was trying to break in and eat her but because she reads way to many books her imagination sky-rocketed to what the creature could be behind her front door. She walked over and peered out the window through the shades and gasped when she saw a tall person not properly dressed for this weather knocking on her door.

She quickly unlocked the door and turned off her security alarm so that if he did bang on the door the cops wouldn’t be alerted. Once she opened it the drenched male flew in nearly close to being unconscious. “Are you okay?! Why are you outside in this weather and not even properly dressed!?” She asked worriedly and held him up. She closed the door behind her and set the alarm on again as the doors automatically locked once she shut it. The guy was absolutely heavy, but thankfully the stacks of books in boxes that she carriers close to everyday seemed to have prepared her for this very day. She pulled and dragged the man into her living room and plopped him down on the leather couch and quickly grabbed a towel from the hall closet and began to dry him off.

“Come on… please wake up you are scaring me…” She whispered worried sick for this person and started to dry his hair to prevent him from getting sick. She looked over seeing the spare clothes and wondered if she was a psychic or not because she also had tea prepared for this.

@Jin Meixin His breath quivered in short, quick gasps every time he inhaled, his lungs having no choice but to painfully and rigidly take in the chilled air around him. He couldn't seem to stop shaking either. Sometimes it was rough, other times he could manage, but every time he'd get close to sleep, a new spell of violent shaking would force him awake. Feebly rubbing away at his arms in a sickly attempt to cease the unsettling chill that continued to run down his spine and made his skin crawl.

All he wanted was to sleep with his curtains drawn all day.

The temperature had dropped noticeably in the past few days, but the onset of rain and a northern wind had made it icy. With no break in the greyness above; the chance of a let up was slim to zero. It was going to be a rainy day and no amount of pleading with the gods was going to change that. Struggling to get on his feet, he figured the touch of his mother's homemade porridge would help calm the fever.

Wearing nothing but a cashmere sweater and jeans Taekwoon set out of his loft with phone at hand; His mother's home was but a couple blocks south of his loft so driving was out of question. Moments later there was the scent of mist, so ever-present in the autumn but so rare for late winter.

Stepping off a sidewalk and into shaggy grass he felt the squelch of the mud and ice beneath as he quickened his pace, the grey sky restlessly grumbled.The cold icy rain piercing his paled and warm skin as his posture weakened by the weight of his soaked clothes. The quality of darkness shifted in the sky but the rain kept pouring.

Twenty minutes passed before he could finally stand, his vision blurred through locks of golden hair adhered to his forehead as he struggled to compose himself at the door. "O-open the door.." knocking softly, waves of heat coursed through his blood, a cold sweat glistening in his gaunt features.

@Jung Taekwoon It was a late afternoon, just had hit dark where she heard the sound of rain starting to pour. Luckily the store was closed up today and she enjoying her time in the living room on her laptop and drinking tea. A few sponsors she had for her bookstore was sending her packs and packs of books that she would have to organize once they showed up but she never complained, this was her dream afterall. Being in a nice and quiet space, watching people reading and buying books that brought her utter joy since she wasn’t out in the city all day. As she was typing she somehow felt the urge to get out some spare clothes, she didn’t understand why but she did so anyway, grabbing a big white t-shirt and some shorts and wondered if she should change her pajamas. She shrugged and ignored it before going into the kitchen and make some more tea, she felt like she was going to have a long night.