"I'm fine, boss, just tired. What are you doing here?" he asked, looking around. This was clearly not the room he usually occupied.
"Well, what else, stay with you. You were sleeping all night, so I stayed with you here. Um, are you thirsty? Do you want some water?" Jason quickly got up from his seat, approached the pantry, and took a large water bottle with its glass. He quickly returned while pouring water into a tall glass, which he then placed on the table beside the bed. He searched through the drawer.
"Wait, the nurse said there's a new straw in here, let me have a look."
Val remained silent, watching his boss, who looked cheerful, put the straw into the glass and offered it to his dry lips. His throat was sore and dry; he was indeed very thirsty.
"Thank you, boss."
Jason nodded. He let Val, who was still lying down, slowly sip the water; he almost choked from rushing too much.
"Hey, slow down." Jason took a napkin and wiped the remaining water from under Val's lips, doing it without hesitation until he saw Val's eyes looking at him.
"Uh, forgive me, was I too fast?" said Jason.
"It's fine, boss, I was just too rushed, um, what are you doing here? Aren't you going to the office? It seems late," said Val.
Jason smiled.
"I'm the boss, whether I go to the office or not; no one can stop me, right? I'll stay until you get better. This room is quite comfortable. I can bring my laptop to work here, and ask Ria to bring documents to sign here; everything can be arranged."
Jason picked up the wet napkin the nurse had left on the table. He used it to wipe the sweat from Val's forehead.
"You still have a fever. Last night your body was so cold, but towards morning your body temperature rose erratically, heh, it must feel uncomfortable, huh. Heh, you have to hold on in times like these, everything is indeed..."
"Don't, boss."
Val's voice stopped Jason's endless speech. Jason looked at Val with wide eyes.
"What do you mean, don't?" he asked.
Val raised his hand, weakly pushing away Jason's hand that was wiping his forehead. He lowered his boss's hand to its place, looking into Jason's eyes for a moment until he averted his gaze.
"Don't pity me, I'm nobody, and you don't need to feel responsible just because I'm sick. This is my own problem. Thank you for your concern, boss, but I want to rest, and you should go back to work. And if you don't mind, I'll take sick leave for a few days, anyway, my internship won't last much longer; it will be over soon, right? So, thank you for the chance you've given me all this time; all these experiences are very valuable, and I will never forget them."
Jason stammered. He lowered his hand to his lap, then put the wet towel back into the basin. Val was right; he had no right to interfere in his affairs, and he was also nobody to Val, who had the right to be there.
"Do you think I pity you?" Jason asked, lowering his hand.
"This is why I don't want to tell anyone, not because I don't want to, it's just that this is my problem, I shouldn't drag others into my unpleasant problems," Val added.
"Am I nobody to you?" Jason interrupted, looking at Val's face for a long time.
Val had no energy to fight him. Even his breathing was heavy, let alone arguing; he just took a slow breath. Jason realized that he might have made the young man uncomfortable with his presence. He should give him some time.
"Um, you can take leave for a few days, don't forget to come back to the office when you get better, everyone will surely worry about you. This afternoon, Anwar and the others will come to visit you. As for the hospital fees, since you got sick while working, the office will cover it; you don't need to think about that," said Jason.
Jason stammered, not knowing what to do after saying that. He stood up and headed towards the restroom.
"I'll wash my face."
Val nodded. He didn't turn at all. He held back from being soft, as he usually was. This was his problem; he couldn't involve his boss, who is not even his relative, in his problems. His time was too precious, and so were his feelings; he couldn't let others worry about his rather concerning condition. This is not something that anyone could accept. Although it's hard, he needs to face it alone.
"Heh," Val could only take a long breath.
***
Back at the office. Jason's mind wandered with the tip of his pen over the documents he had to sign.
Thud!
Jason pushed Rio against the wall, looking at him with wide eyes, showing Val's fallen hair in his hand.
"What is this? What do you want to tell me? Is Val suffering from a serious illness? Why didn't you tell me anything?"
Rio released Jason's hand, pushing him back.
"It was Val's decision not to tell you anything about it, and I didn't know you and Val knew each other," said Rio, pulling his clothes from Jason's grip.
Rio tidied his clothes. He knew and understood how Jason felt after seeing the hair in his palm. His face looked worried and confused. His relationship with Val might not just be a boss-employee relationship.
"Ask him, it's better if he tells you directly. I don't have the right to talk before him. Although I really want the people around him to know what's happening to him, it's his right to decide everything himself. Including telling or hiding his illness. We have to respect his choice."
The door opened from the outside. Ria slowly entered after knocking. The young woman approached her boss's desk somewhat hesitantly, seeing Jason's face, which didn't look good at the time. He was only looking at the report on the desk in front of him with sharp eyes, whether he was actually reading it or his mind was wandering, thinking about other problems.
"Boss, sorry to disturb you, but the President is outside. He's asking if you're busy or not, and you haven't replied to his messages," Ria said.
Jason lifted his head, looked at Ria for a moment, and grabbed his phone. There were calls and messages from his grandfather. Why hadn't he heard them earlier?
"Heh, I have a lot of work, Ria, can't you see I'm busy?"
Ria pursed her lips. She knew her boss was busy, but the big boss still asked her to ask him directly. She was about to turn to excuse herself when she heard a voice from the door.
"Is he so busy he can't talk to his grandfather?" asked the old man, Ian Garber, Jason's grandfather. He was already standing at the door inside his office.
Jason pursed his lips. Did that old man know what "don't cross the line" meant?
"Heh."
Ria lowered her head and excused herself to leave, letting Ian enter the room. The old man looked at Jason for a long time, then approached.
"Are you that busy? Your secretary said you just canceled a meeting with a supplier. What makes you so busy?" the old man asked, sitting in front of Jason's desk, looking at the stack of daily and monthly routine reports he usually checked.
Jason closed the report in his hand, reaching for others beside his laptop.
"If not, what do you think I'm doing now?" he asked. His tone was unenthusiastic at the time, Ian could feel it.
"Is this about your staff?" Ian asked.
Jason lifted his head, looking at his grandfather for a long time. Well, his grandfather had been very interested in Val from the start, and he hadn't had a chance to ask what made him so eager to know Val.
"Did you get the information from the other?" he asked.