I Almost Spoiled Everything!

The moment  Jean raised his head and saw Casper putting on  a carefree expression,  he felt anxious to know why the latter seemed unperturbed by his current condition.

Just at that moment,  Casper resounded.

"When I saw you looking okay when I walked in, I was surprised. But since I didn't want to botheryou,  I chose to let the matter slide. I knew that a moment like this was coming.  So, I chose to relax and wait for it.  And now that it has come, I want to remind you one thing. Always put your health first whenever your health is at stake."

Casper said as he started clearing the table as they were already done taking their breakfast.

"What exactly are you trying to imply?"

Jean asked through gritted teeth.

"Let me bring you the Painkiller first."

Casper replied as he took away the dirty dishes.

Jean was enraged by Casper's words, but when he heard him mention the Painkiller, he didn't help but let out a stiff smile.

He was a little bit relieved of the pain he was experiencing upon hearing the mention of the Painkiller.

At the moment, he was yarning to have a taste of the Painkiller as if it was a delicacy.

A few minutes later, Casper placed the dirty dishes on the table next to the exit  door,  gave Jean a quick glance and then walked out of the house through  the exit door.

As soon as Casper was out of vision,  Jean slowly straightened himself as he winced in pain. His breathing  became enraged as he struggled to endure the pain.

He couldn't wait for Casper to bring him the Painkiller that he was longing for.

Three minutes later, Casper entered the house from the backdoor while carrying two identical containers  in his hands.

The moment Jean turned and saw this, he was surprised.

He thought that it was going to take Casper longer before he could return. This was because he had thought thar the moment the guy walked out, it was when he was going to prepare the Painkiller. But him seeing him in a span of less than five minutes, dazed him to some extent.

'That was so quick!'

Jean thought to himself as he stared at Casper. Despite the stupor that he was in, he was still able to appreciate the efforts that Casper had put behind his quick response to his current condition.

What he didn't know was that Casper had prepared the Painkiller in advance, just after preparing their breakfast. He did this knowing that Jean would need this the moment he woke up.

'I think the second container is that disgusting thing he referred to as medicine. I don't know if I  am ready to experience this.'

Jean cursed from the inside as he glared at the approaching Casper.

"Take this and get rid of that pain of yours."

Casper said as he outstretched his hand and handed over one of the containers to Jean.

With a grim expression,  Jean lingered. A moment later, he grumpily took the container from Casper's hand.

If it wasn't  for the huddle of taking the bitter medicine that awaited him, he could have pounced on the Painkiller the moment Casper arrived at his spot.

Although he was yet to determine what was contained in the other container,  his senses still confirmed his speculations.

'It is that thing again.'

Jean mused as he gulped down the Painkiller while giving Casper furtive look.

The moment he was done taking the Painkiller,  the pain in his chest slowly subsided and finally  disappeared as if it was never there.

Upon realising this, Jean was giddy with happiness as a broad smile shone his face.

For a moment,  he forgot about the bitter medicine that he was about to take. This feeling was shortlived the moment Casper placed the second container on the table just next to him.

As soon  as Jean saw this, his expression turned serious as he shifted his gaze towards Casper. In the next moment,  he grumpily lowered the empty container in his hands back on the table next to the other container.

"Now you have five minutes before you take your medication"

Casper stated with a raised chin while crossing his hands over his chest.

In response,  Jean snorted as he looked at the container with the medicine with a piercing look. At the moment,  he was wishing that the container  could have just disappeared for him to avoid going through the ordeal that it harboured.

But since the chest pains had reminded him of his awful health condition, he only had one choice. And that was to take the medicine as instructed by Casper.

'I don't know if mum heard any of my words before the call disconnected. She must be worried right now. If I could have known that one moment of disrespect could land me in these, I wouldn't have sneaked out for shopping. But wait...'

Suddenly,  Jean's expression turned sour.

This made Casper who was now sitting in a seat next to him stare at him with a confused look.

"Is there anything wrong?"

Casper asked after a short moment of silence.

With a startled expression,  Jean quickly turned in Casper's direction.

"I was just thinking how I am going to get home"

Jean said while smiling wryly.

"It is okay to think of that. After all, it wasn't your idea to end up in this strange place. But before you continue thinking about that, it will please me to see you take your medication."

The truth of the matter  was that; Jean had lied about him thinking about going home. The thought that had formed in his mind was about his birthday.

This was the very day that he was supposed to celebrate  his seventeenth birthday,  but due to the current circumstances,  there was no room for him to carryout a celebration.

So, the act of him lying about the matter, was majorly based on the fact that the birthday talks could have led to a lengthy discussion about himself, which he didn't find ideal for the condition he was currently in.

With a contorted face, Jean picked up the second container from the table. He then gave Casper a side-long glance before gazing at the the liquid with an alluring smell inside the container.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Jean slowly brought the container closer to his mouth.  With closed eyes, he took a deep breath and gulped down the medicine.  When he was halfway done, he jerked the container  from his mouth as he squeezed his eyes due to the bitterness he was experiencing.

Giving Casper a sideway glance, Jean sighed and gulped the rest of the medicine down his itching throat.

When he was done, he gasped for air as he quickly lowered the empty container  back on the table.

As soon as he was done placing the container on the table,  he turned in Casper's direction only to notice the guy putting on a gentle smile.

"That was impressive!"

Casper said with a nod.

In response,  Jean nodded in acknowledgement but his face remained contorted.

"Now that you are done taking your medication,  I have one thing that I need to clarify about my previous statement."

Casper said in a serious tone.

A little bit confused,  Jean asked,

"Which statement are you referring to?"

Letting out a gentle smile,  Casper blinked a couple of times.

"I think you remember me asking you if you had ever resided in the countryside a while ago"

Coming to his realization, Jean recounted the incident. After lingering for a moment,  he nodded his head.

"But before I asked you about that, you had asked me about where I was coming from, isn'tit?"

Just at that moment,  Jean remembered the question that he had asked Casper,  the moment he walked in the house when he was still searching for him.

"Yes I rememberthat clearly, now."

Jean stated with delight.

"The reason to why I brought both of these matters are closely related. First, I am prettysure that you heard a bang outside before I entered the house."

With a nod, Jean replied,

"Yes. In fact, that sound was what attracted my attention when I was sear..."

Jean was forced to leave his statement midway when he realised that he was about to contradict his previous statement of exercising the moment Casper walked in and found him standing in the living room.

'So, this is how lying is hard. Oops! I almost spoiled everything.'

Jean pondered.

But in the next moment,  Casper asked,

"What was that last part of your statement? I hope you don't mind to come up again because I didn't get it."

When Jean  heard this, he let out a faint smile.

"I was just saying that that time you walked in, I was surprised to see you putting on leathered regalia."

Jean lied through his teeth.

"Oh, it is just because it is cold outside. I need to find you one, too. Now let me explain to you how where I came from and the countryside lifestyle are closely related."

With that, Casper gulped before continuing...

"I went deep in the forest to fetch for firewood and the sound you heard from outside a few moments before I walked in, it was me dropping the firewood in frontof the house. So, the reason I asked you if you have ever been in the countryside before,  was because I wanted to tell you that I had brought the firewood for cooking. 

It could have been somewhatdifficult forme to explain it to you if you couldn't have experienced how firewood was used in cooking. But that wss not the main reason to why I asked you that."

Casper then paused for a moment.

Jean on the other side capitalised on this golden opportunity by increasing his hearing senses so as to capture each and every detail of what Casper was about to tell him.

-<*=*>-