I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story

13.

As soon as he opened the door and entered, Jian sat Sehun on the sofa and searched for wet wipes. The cute little feet were a mess of dirt and dust.

He carefully wiped them clean with wet wipes while checking for any injuries. Fortunately, there were no wounds, but the feet were cold, so he rubbed them between his hands and blew warm breath on them.

By the time the feet had warmed up somewhat, Sehun’s tears had also stopped. Jian made eye contact with the child and spoke in a gentle voice.

“From now on, don’t go out barefoot like this when I’m not home. Just wait at home and I’ll be back soon. And I’m sorry for leaving without telling you today.”

How frightened he must have been. Feeling as though he could sense the child’s emotions, Jian caressed the cheek where tears remained and gently bumped their foreheads together.

Worried the child might feel scolded, Jian smiled, and the child silently reached out to grasp his clothes. The pale fingertips conveyed a determination to never let go.

Jian soothed the child by stroking his head until he truly fell asleep. How long he watched the sleeping child’s face, he wasn’t sure.

Just as he felt his eyelids getting heavier, his head tilted forward, and when he opened his eyes again, it was morning.

Sunlight streaming through the window tickled his face. Moreover, there was a weight on his stomach. As he frowned and opened his eyes, he met an alert gaze.

He seemed to remember sitting below the sofa, but somehow Jian was now comfortably lying on the sofa.

The child, sitting on Jian’s stomach, had been staring down at him, and when Jian opened his eyes, he smiled brightly.

Jian reflexively smiled back. Seeing the angelic child first thing upon waking made him feel good, despite his fatigue.

“Did you sleep well?”

As he stroked the child’s hair and spoke, his voice came out hoarse. Jian cleared his throat and sat up.

A blanket slid down from his chest. He couldn’t remember bringing a blanket. With a hopeful feeling, he grabbed the blanket and asked the child.

“Did you cover me with this blanket, Sehun?”

Nod, nod.

The round head moving earnestly was cute. Imagining the small body struggling to drag the blanket over made Jian want to punch the empty air.

“How thoughtful. Thank you. I slept warmly thanks to you, Sehun.”

His body must have been quite tired. He had slept until morning without waking once.

Well, he had swept through monsters and collected items in the dungeon for three hours, which was essentially hard labor.

As he rotated his stiff shoulders to loosen up his body, he noticed the child’s face was still red.

Surely not…

Jian quickly placed the back of his hand on Sehun’s nape. A hot sensation met his skin.

As he feared, it seemed the child had caught a cold. To think he had been sleeping soundly while the sick child was here. Filled with self-reproach, Jian tugged at his messy hair as he got up.

Despite the raging fever, Sehun showed no signs of discomfort and just looked up at Jian. But on closer inspection, his flushed face and more labored breathing than usual were noticeable.

“Come here.”

When Jian spread his arms wide, Sehun nestled into his embrace without resistance. Jian carried Sehun to the bedroom.

As soon as he laid the child on the bed, Sehun tried to get up immediately. His large eyes were full of anxiety.

“I’ll just buy some medicine and come right back. I’ll be quick. You know the pharmacy across the street, right?”

In truth, it was too early for the pharmacy to be open, so he might have to go further, but prioritizing reassuring the child, he told a white lie.

“Please stay with me…”

But it wasn’t enough to convince the child. With eyes brimming with tears, Sehun tightly grasped Jian’s sleeve.

“I don’t want to be alone…”

At the child’s words, Jian bit his lip. The fever didn’t seem likely to break easily without medicine, but he couldn’t turn away from the child begging him not to go. What to do?

With no other choice, Jian brought a blanket and wrapped it around the child.

Perhaps reassured that he wouldn’t be alone, the child nestled quietly into Jian’s arms. Thus, Jian, carrying Sehun, went to find a pharmacy that was open early, without even wiping the sleep from his eyes.

When he opened the pharmacy door, an elderly man glanced at Jian and Sehun before bringing out a syrup medicine.

“This works wonders for children’s fevers.”

“Is it a fever reducer?”

“Yes.”

After carefully checking the box’s surface just in case, Jian paid for it. Thinking it would be best to give the medicine before leaving, he sat on a chair in the pharmacy.

Sehun, who had been resting his cheek limply on Jian’s shoulder, looked up at him with feverish eyes.

“Bear with it a little. The pharmacist said this medicine will bring your fever down quickly, Sehun.”

Jian stroked the soft cheek as he took the medicine out of the box and opened the cap.

As he poured the medicine onto the white spoon included, a thick reddish liquid flowed out. It had a bitter yet sweet smell.

“Ah.”

When Jian brought the spoon to Sehun’s lips, Sehun hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth to take the medicine.

“Ugh…”

The furrowed brow was pitiful, but following the instructions, Jian gave him one more spoonful.

Wondering how bad it tasted, Jian tried a bit of the medicine left on the spoon, and his brow furrowed just like Sehun’s.

It would be better if it were just sweet or just bitter, but this was neither here nor there, making it terrible.

No matter how effective it was, with such a taste, children would surely cry and make a fuss as soon as they tasted it.

Sehun stuck out his tongue, which still had the awful taste on it, and made a face as if about to cry.

“He’s taking it well. Give him this.”

The elderly pharmacist, who had been watching the two with a pleased expression, approached and handed over a children’s vitamin jelly.

Jian thanked him and put the jelly in Sehun’s mouth. Seeing the face that had looked ready to cry at any moment become peaceful, Jian felt more at ease too.

Just then, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror on the wall. A vagrant was blinking back at him. The tips of Jian’s ears turned bright red.

One cheek had a pressure mark, there were traces of drool at the corner of his mouth, and sleep in his eyes.

Moreover, not just one, but three strands of hair were sticking up like antennas. Anyone could see he looked like he had just jumped out of bed.

“Ahem.”

Embarrassed, Jian stood up with Sehun in his arms and bowed to the pharmacist.

“Thank you very much. Take care.”

“If you’re grateful, why not buy one of these? Give him one every day. It’s very good for growing children.”

The wrinkled hand discreetly held out a large box. It was the vitamin jelly Sehun had just eaten.

Seeing the advertisement on the box claiming it contained all the nutrients a child needs, Jian paid for it as if mesmerized and left the pharmacy.

After returning home, he laid Sehun, whose large eyes were heavy with sleep due to the medicine, on the bed. As he raised his upper body, Sehun rubbed his sleepy eyes and grasped Jian’s clothes.

“Big brother…”

There was no strength at all in his voice. Jian checked the child’s temperature with the back of his hand. As the pharmacist had said, the medicine was effective, and the fever had come down considerably during their walk home from the pharmacy.

“I still have a fever…”

Jian’s lips curved into a smile at the childlike whining. Knowing it meant ‘don’t go’, Jian gave up on opening the café and lay down next to Sehun.

Only then did a relieved smile spread across the child’s face. Jian lay on his side, supporting his temple with his palm, and patted Sehun’s chest with his other hand.

“I’ll stay right here. So you can sleep without worry.”

People tend to become especially soft-hearted when sick. Even Jian, who usually endured well, would sometimes secretly cry on days when he was ill, letting out all he had been holding in.

He still vividly remembered the day he cried with his hands clamped over his mouth, buried under a blanket in the middle of summer, afraid his sobs might be heard.

Seeing the child, who on the first day didn’t even know what being sick was and couldn’t cry properly, now expressing himself like this made Jian proud.

Even after the flickering eyelids had fully closed, Jian continued moving his hand for a long time.

He felt sorry for the customers who might come to the café, but right now, sick Sehun was more important.

“Yawn… I’m getting sleepy too.”

Come to think of it, he hadn’t slept much. Looking at the child sleeping with an angelic face made him keep yawning.

Finally unable to resist the drowsiness, Jian lowered the arm supporting his head and quietly rested on the pillow.

Soon, different breathing sounds mixed in the bedroom.

Around the time Jian’s breathing deepened, Sehun silently opened his eyes and turned to face Jian.

The child carefully reached out and gently touched Jian’s long, lush eyelashes with his fingertips, then touched the round nostrils, plump lips, and cheeks as fair as his own.

Moving closer, Sehun clung to Jian like a koala and pressed his face against Jian’s chest, listening quietly.

Thump-thump.

The steady heartbeat sounded pleasant. Sehun precisely poked the area where the heart was with his fingertip and whispered softly.