The Tutor

by Kelsi Clayton

  “Okay, yeah, no, it’s time to go to the doctor,” Cheol lifted her up with an arm under her armpit to help her stand to go into the living room so he could put on her shoes. Despite her continued protests, he managed to get her out on the couch and put her shoes on her. FX brought her coat over from the closet and helped her get her arms in and wrapped her scarf around her neck.

  “Just wait here for one minute,” He told her, glancing at FX to let him know he needed to make sure she did as he said. “I’m going to get myself ready and then we will go to the clinic.”

  “But I just need to go home,” She insisted, sounding both determined and exhausted.

  “애인[47] just...just give me one minute,” He pursed his lips, deciding not to argue. He slipped on his shoes, a coat, hat, and mask as quickly as he could before heading back to the living room. Pulling out his phone, placed a call to the clinic to check that they were open and let them know that he was bringing in someone sick and who he was. They said that they would have an exam room ready before he got there and would be expecting them. Stuffing his phone into his coat pocket, he went to collect Claire to head there as soon as the cab arrived.

  In the living room FX was kneeling in front of Claire who was doubled over with her head between her knees groaning.

  “Can I get you some water or something?” FX was asking.

  “No, then I’ll just have something to throw up,” She shook her head once and immediately regretted it, feeling even more dizzy and nauseous than she had a moment ago. “Can I wait outside at least? I don’t know if I’m hot or cold, but in this coat I feel like I’m suffocating.”

  “The taxi is almost here,” Seunghoon assured her from the other side of the room, his eyes traveling between the screen of his phone and the window that looked out onto the street. “You could probably wait outside with her if you want. It’s only a block or two away now.”

  “Okay, 애인[48],” Cheol slipped a knit hat on her head and lifted her into his arms to carry her outside.

  “I think I can walk,” She protested.

  “It’s alright,” He insisted, tucking her body against him as he walked through the door FX held open for them. They came out just in time to see the taxi pull up and flash it’s lights at them. The driver stepped out and came around to open the door for Cheol to put her in the back seat. Buckling her in securely, Cheol closed the door and went around to get in the other side so he could sit with her on the ride. He gave the driver the address for the clinic and asked him to hurry please.

  The trip to the clinic was fast and thankfully the driver knew how to best avoid stop and go traffic on his way there, making it a relatively smooth ride. When they arrived, Cheol was glad to see they had someone waiting for them by the door who quickly ushered them into a private room to wait. Removing their coats and other cold weather gear, he settled her on the exam table and touched her cheek, trying to check on her fever and give her comfort at the same time. She looked somehow pink and pale and altogether miserable and it tugged at his heart.

  “Hello, who do we have today?” A young man, dressed in scrubs and carrying a clipboard full of paperwork entered, presumably a nurse who had come to do intake for the patient.

  “Hello, and thank you for making room for us so quickly,” Cheol said gratefully. “This is Claire Faroe, she works with us at KXO.”

  “I see,” The young man barely glanced up from the paperwork as he prepared to ask the standard round of questions. “What seems to be the problem?”

  “She woke up today feeling sick,” Cheol started dumbly as he was trying to avoid saying he was there with her somehow. “She had a fever and was throwing up when she got up and is dizzy and pretty weak.”

  “What about headache, sore throat, stuffy nose?” He asked as he prepared a thermometer to take her temperature.

  “Yes,” Claire confirmed from the table beside him. The man nodded and stuck the thermometer under her tongue and waited until the machine beeped. He took her blood pressure with the inflatable cuff, writing down the results on the paper again.

  “Hmmm, 38.8,” He muttered, walking back to write it in his notes. “A doctor will be here in a moment to see you.”

  “Alright, thank you,” Cheol said as he watched him head back out of the room. He wanted to hold her hand while they waited, but could hear Seunghoon’s disapproving voice in the back of his head reminding him that they didn’t need any questions being raised any more than they were already going to be at this point. He started to pace back and forth at the foot of the exam table, stuffing his hand in his pockets as he tried to think of innocent answers to potentially awkward questions they might ask.

  “Can you sit, you’re making me dizzy walking back and forth like that,” She sighed.

  “Sorry,” He hurried to take the seat closest to her. She sighed and reached out to pat his shoulder.

  “It’s okay,” She murmured. “I’m fine, you’ll see. They’ll just say I should go home and then you can help me back to my apartment and get back home.”

  “애인, even if they say you can go home,” He told her firmly as he looked over at her. “You’re staying with us for now at least. You can barely hold yourself up, how are you going to get food and make yourself tea and whatever else you need to get better?”

  “You think I haven’t been alone and sick before?” She scolded in a breathless voice. “I’ve survived it before and I’ll be able to again. I can’t get you all sick and I can’t just stay there because you want me to. I should have already called the company and told them I was sick. Someone will probably be looking for me today.”

  “Our manager already tried calling you today,” The confession escaped from Cheol though he knew she was going to be unhappy to hear it. “He called us to tell us we might not be working with you tomorrow because he couldn’t get a hold of you. We had to tell him we knew where you were and that you had gotten sick. He was the one who said we had to take you to the doctor.”

  “What do you mean?” She turned to him, looking slightly panic stricken. “What did you tell him?”

  “He called FX when he couldn’t get in touch with you,” Cheol said in his defense. “He just told our manager that you had gotten sick and we didn’t think you should be alone so we had you there. I am not sure about anything more than that since I didn’t talk to him. But it’s fine, I don’t think he thought it was anything too strange.”

  “If he says something to--” She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw. “You should have just said that I had called you to let you know I got sick. This is why I should have gone home. If I just hadn't fallen asleep.”

  “You probably fell asleep because you were already getting sick,” He pointed out. “Thank goodness you didn’t go home. then you would have been all alone and you wouldn’t be here at the doctor’s and who knows what.”

  “I would have been fine,” She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that things had gone differently in some way. “I know this is probably hard on you, but you can’t just drop things because something small is wrong with me. You can’t just stop because I’m sick. We aren’t supposed to be friends let alone--”

  The door to the exam room opened, cutting her off mid sentence. An older woman entered the room looking well put together in her scrubs and doctor’s coat. She looked professional but friendly as she took a seat on the rolling stool that had been tucked in under the table where the computer was set.

  “Hello,” She greeted them both with a nod as she scooted closer to the exam table. “So I hear you aren’t feeling well today. When did you get sick?”

  “She woke up sick this morning,” Cheol answered for her.

  “I see,” The doctor looked between the two of them before making a note of something on the papers on her clipboard. “Does she speak Korean or…?”

  “Yes, just not as well and since she is sick, I thought I’d…” He explained.

  “Well, let’s try with her answering for now,” The woman gav
e him a tight smile. “Now, miss, what are your symptoms that you woke up with today?”

  “Headache, everything hurts, sore throat, tired, nausea, and I have a fever,” Claire listed her symptoms matter of factly in her tired voice.

  “I can see that you actually have a relatively high fever,” She looked down at the paper. “I’m going to take it again just to be sure. Can you sit up so that we can do that while I listen to your heart and lungs?”

  “Yes,” She started to sit up and Cheol hurried to help her into a sitting position. The doctor came over with the thermometer and stuck it under Claire’s tongue. With that secure, she put the earpieces of her stethoscope in her ears and listened to the sound of Claire’s heart and breathing, in a few different places. She took out the thermometer and checked the screen which again said 38.8. Putting her fingers in the hollow to the side of Claire’s wrist, she took her pulse, timing it with the fancy gold watch she wore.

  “Your heart rate is a little high and your blood pressure seems a little low, but nothing too serious,” The doctor explained before pinching the skin on the back of her hand slightly to see how well it snapped back. “Mmmm, I think you haven’t been drinking enough. We’ll give you some IV fluids before we let you go. I do have a few personal questions for you, do you want your friend to wait outside while we go over them? It will just be a moment or so.”

  “It’s fine, he can stay,” Claire sighed, really wishing she could just go back to sleep.

  “Alright then,” The woman cleared her throat as her eyes flicked to Cheol’s face and back to Claire’s before asking. “Are you currently sexually active? Is there a chance you might be pregnant? We need to be sure before I can prescribe anything to you.”

  “Yes, but I don’t think I am,” Claire shook her head. “We’ve been careful I think.”

  “When was your last period?” The doctor followed up.

  “I don’t remember at the moment, a few weeks ago I think,” Claire tried to remember.

  “We’ll just have to run a quick test to be sure, then,” The doctor scribbled a few things down, luckily too busy to take much note of the momentary bug-eyed panic that crossed Cheol’s face. Standing up, the doctor left the room after giving Claire a reassuring smile.

  “Why did she ask that?” Cheol questioned in a hissed whisper after the door shut behind the doctor.

  “They always ask that,” Claire responded, lying back down on the exam table. “It’s a standard question if they are thinking of prescribing you something. Don’t worry about it.”

  After a few moments, the same nurse who had come in before the doctor, came back in carrying everything he needed for an IV drip and a vial to take some blood for the quick pregnancy test they were obligated to run. He was quick and efficient in taking the blood from her arm before he placed the IV needle into the back of her hand.

  “You have nice veins,” The nurse complimented as he taped the IV to the back of her hand to secure it. “Easy to see.”

  “Thanks,” Claire couldn’t think of anything else to say to the strange compliment.

  “This should be done in under an hour and the other test results we should have shortly,” He told her. “Go ahead and relax. The doctor will come back in a little while.”

  “Okay, thank you,” Claire responded, trying to find a comfortable place to leave her IV’d hand as she again heard the door click shut, leaving them alone.

  Cheol had about half a dozen questions bouncing around in his head that he wanted to ask, but he decided it was better for her to rest and kept his mouth shut. He went over to where his coat was hanging and pulled out his phone. There was a message from Kitae letting him know that Changho, Wonjung, and Hyunwoo were back at the dorms and everyone else was already on their way. Hyunwoo had messaged him asking if he should wash the sheets on Cheol’s bed since Claire had been in them while she was sick. Cheol messaged back saying that it sounded like a good idea, but that he didn’t have to do it as it was something he could do himself once they were back from the clinic. Hyunwoo messaged back It’s fine, I can do it now so the bed is clean. I’ll air out the room too so we don’t get sick with her here. Cheol thanked him and put his phone in his pocket.

  Scooting his chair as close as possible to the exam table, he leaned against her, resting his head against her leg as he gently clasped her unencumbered hand with one of his. She looked so small and pathetic and he wanted nothing more than to be able to do something to make her feel better. He couldn’t decide if he thought it was lucky that she had been with him when she got sick or unlucky. It was lucky that she wasn’t alone, maybe, but it was unlucky, to say the least, that their manager had found out they had her there. At least, he thought to himself, he was pretty sure no one had mentioned she had been there overnight. If that had come out, he had no doubt that there would have been a lot more questions than just, have you taken her to the doctor.

  When the doctor finally returned, the IV was nearly done. She entered to see Cheol drop Claire’s hand and lean further away from the exam table as he quickly turned in his seat to face her. She wondered, as she had earlier, just what they were to each other, but years of treating regular and VIP clients had taught her that one shouldn’t ask questions when they didn’t really want to know the answer.

  “The test results are back and you are not pregnant, so nothing to worry about there,” She said as she took a seat. “I’m going to prescribe some flu medication for you so you can get over this as quickly as possible and I will be doing the same for you and your friends in the house. How many of you are there, again?”

  “Nine of us,” Cheol replied.

  “Alright, I will have the nurse bring the medicine for all of you when he removes the IV,” She took one last look over the information. “I think after that you are free to go home. Would you like us to call a taxi for you?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Cheol said, gratefully.

  “Alright, well it will just be a few more minutes, then,” She stood up and tucked the clipboard under her arm. “Let us know if she gets any worse or if any of you get sick. The sooner we know the easier it is to treat.”

  “We’ll let you know, thank you for taking care of her,” Cheol gave her a brief nodded bow as she exited. Claire sighed and looked up at the nearly empty IV and wished she could just go home. She hated hospitals and going to doctor’s offices if she didn’t need to go. It might have been needed today, she admitted, feeling slightly better after getting the bag of IV fluids. Still, she should just go home. Staying at the dorms was just risking getting everyone sick. She would be fine on her own, she just had to convince Cheol of that fact.

  The nurse came in and handed off a bag of packets to Cheol with a few brief instructions on how to take the medicine over the following days. When he was done, he removed the IV needle from her hand, taking a moment to press the gauze pad against her hand before he taped it down to prevent bleeding as much as possible. He helped Cheol get Claire dressed and escorted them to the waiting taxi.

  “Can you just take me to my apartment,” Claire asked Cheol as they pulled out of the parking lot of the clinic. “I promise I’ll take care of myself, I’ll drink enough and eat something.”

  “Just….no.” Cheol sighed in frustration. “Today, no. We can talk about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be okay,” She tried to convince him. “I’ll send you updates, you can come check on me a couple of times a day, even.”

  “I don’t want you alone like this,” He insisted. “I’m not dropping everything, I just don’t want you where no one is checking on you until you are at least a little better.”

  “Fine, but I am going home tomorrow,” With that, thankfully, she let the subject drop, slumping in the seat as she gave up trying to look as well as possible.

  Cheol helped her teeter back into the dorm, removing her shoes for her as they stepped inside before taking off his own. Inside, most of the members had returned and were busying themselves with unpac
king, relaxing, or preparing to return to their normal schedules the next day. Claire stepped into the living room and tried removing her coat, fumbling with the zipper a few times before she could grab it. She made a sound of frustration as it got caught half way down and looked down to see what the problem was. Unfortunately, the change in perspective made the world spin and she found herself tipping over to one side. Thankfully, Wonjung, who had been nearby on the couch, caught her before she did more than lose her footing. She looked straight ahead again and apologized to him for falling into him as she finally got the coat unzipped and started struggling to free her arms from the puffy monstrosity that was trapping her. Cheol came up behind her and took it off for her, also removing her scarf and hat to hang with the other coats in the closet near the door.

  “If you just wait a minute,” Cheol said as he was hanging her things up. “I’ll help you back into bed.”

  “I shouldn’t stay in there,” She shook her head. “I’ll just get you and Hyunwoo sick.”

  “The doctor gave us all medication to prevent that, so…” He pointed out, putting the bag containing them on the coffee table before moving forward to almost literally take Claire off of Wonjung’s hands.

  “At least take me to the bathroom first,” She leaned into him as he started walking her towards the bedrooms. “I need another shower and I want to brush my teeth.”

  “Alright,” He helped her into the bathroom and reluctantly left her there to wash up by herself. Even so, he lingered in the hallway outside, listening to make sure she didn’t slip or otherwise do something to hurt herself.

  When she emerged, looking a bit like a drowned cat, she let him lead her back to his room where he put her to bed with the promise of returning with food and tea in a few minutes. Cheol was grateful that Hyunwoo had actually stripped and changed the sheets while they were away. He would have to remember to actually say thank you to him.

  In the kitchen he found Kitae tending a pot of bubbling porridge on the stove, stirring as he looked between it and a paper with notes on the counter top nearby.