I woke in that strange twilight before dawn, the room still wrapped in shadows but somehow lighter than it had been when I'd fallen asleep.
The fever had broken. The burn beneath my skin cooled to something bearable, and for the first time in days, my head felt clear.
I lay still, trying to piece together fragments of memory that felt more like dreams.
The soft click of the door opening sometime in the night. Whispered voices, barely audible.
The gentle tug of my blanket being pulled higher, careful hands adjusting it around my shoulders.
Had that really happened?
I breathed in slowly, and there it was—the faint scent of clean soap and toasted chestnuts clinging to the fabric near my face.
Yuhyun's scent, warm and protective even in trace amounts.
The memory surfaced, hazy but real now. Someone checked on me in the darkness and made sure I was covered properly. The touch had been so gentle I'd barely stirred.
