All I Needed x Michaeng

Part Three

It scares her enough to give in and finally bury her head in her mother's chest after so many years of not wanting to.

"You'll figure it out," her mother whispers once she's got over the shock. Mina aches when she kisses the top of her head. "You always do."

//

"You're sick," Jeongyeon tells her, two days before she's due to return to school.

Chaeyoung feels like there isn't a muscle in her body that doesn't hurt, that her nose will never know oxygen again, that the constant need to cough will never stop.

She also knows that being sick is not something she can afford right now. She feels betrayed by her own immune system for putting her at risk after so many years of being able to fight off anything.

"Shut up," she hisses as she falls to lay sideways on Jeongyeon's couch. "I'm fine."

Jeongyeon clicks her tongue and tries to touch her forehead. Chaeyoung slaps her hand away and glares. "Chaeyoung."

"I'm fine. I just need some Theraflu and maybe some NyQuil or something, I don't know..." Her eyes flutter as she lets her body sink further into the couch cushions. "I'm fine. I'm fine. It's just a cold."

She's sure that it only feels as horrible as it does because she's not used to it. She hasn't had a cold since she was really young and her immune system wasn't like an iron fortress. She doesn't know why she's getting a cold now all of a sudden but it's enough for Jeongyeon to frown at her on the morning she's supposed to be heading back to school and tell her that she'll drive her back.

Chaeyoung tries to refuse but Jeongyeon pretty much packs her bags and puts them in the car. She's not sure if the movement of the car is soothing but she's glad when Jeongyeon pulls into the parking lot by her dorm. She helps her up to her room and Chaeyoung winces a little that Mina's already there. Jeongyeon puts her bags next to her bed as Chaeyoung falls into the pillows. She already feels better and only opens her eyes when she hears Mina speak.

"Hi, I'm Mina," she says stepping closer.

"Jeongyeon. Chaeyoung and I grew up together," Jeongyeon says politely. She has that tone that they all have, treading lightly because they're not sure what people know. "She has a cold and it's completely knocked her on her ass."

"I'm fine," Chaeyoung mutters but she doubts they believe her because she's already falling asleep.

Jeongyeon pushes her hair back and leans over to press a lazy kiss to the top of her sweaty forehead. "I'll see you soon, kid. Promise you'll actually call this time."

Chaeyoung nods but they both know she won't. She hears Jeongyeon say a polite goodbye to Mina and then the room lapses into silence. She feels Mina hovering around by the foot of her bed and Chaeyoung ignores it because she's too exhausted to do anything else.

"Can I get you anything?" she whispers eventually.

Chaeyoung shakes her head and turns over without a word.

//

It's been two and a half days and Chaeyoung hasn't said anything to her. She's been asleep for most of them but she still hasn't said anything. She just sleeps and lies on her bed and Mina doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know what to say to make everything okay.

She's sure that most of it is probably because Chaeyoung's sick but there's also a part of Mina that wonders if Chaeyoung's just really good at holding a grudge.

When she watches Chaeyoung drag herself out of bed on Monday looking like death just threw up on her, she also wonders if it's because Chaeyoung is incredibly stubborn.