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fairyniceyeah · 4 months ago

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⌛🐶 I’m ready for the dark

Title from This World (ATEEZ)

Summary: Yunho is struggling to get through a grueling dance practice. He drops the moment it’s over.

CW: emeto, fainting

Sickie: Yunho Caretakers: Hongjoong + Seonghwa + Mingi + Jongho

It was hot.

And loud.

And Yunho was exhausted.

None of these things usually bothered the dancer much. Dance practice was the definition of heat, music volume on max and some sort of exhaustion. Yunho didn��t have problems with that. He liked dancing and even, if not especially, dancing till he was exhausted and the mirrors fogged up.

They were on their sixth hour of that day’s practice and for once Yunho was glad he was not leading it. The choreographer-noona was nice, talented and she pushed the group in all the ways they needed. She saw every detail, every tiny mistake, from her position at the front of the room - unlike Yunho who would miss mistakes when dancing himself - and she didn’t hesitate to call them out on it.

“From the top”.

“Again.”

“Jongho-ssi, you need to be a bit to the left.”

“Hongjoong-ssi, a bit faster.”

“Seonghwa-ssi, don’t look so scared. If you time it right you won’t run into San-ssi.”

“Yunho-ssi, pick it up.”

⌛

It went like this for a long time and hours blurred together. It was hot. And loud. And Yunho was exhausted. His limbs felt like lead, unable to move right. Jumping was strenuous in a way he didn’t remember it being this morning.

At least he already had the dance down, remembering his every move with muscle memory, so he didn’t have to think about it.

“Hongjoong-ssi, you need to kneel down on three not on four.”

“Sorry, seonsaengnim”, Yunho heard his hyung apologize, “I’m a bit dizzy. I think I need to sit down for a moment.”

All attention snapped to their captain and the choreographer called out “take ten” the moment she spotted his complexion. Hongjoong indeed looked a bit pale and crouched down to the floor the moment she gave her okay. Yunho wiped the sweat from his brow and winced as droplets of the salty liquid dripped into his eyes, burning them, nevertheless.

Seonghwa and Wooyoung were already with Hongjoong, helping him sit down with his head between his knees while Yeosang ran to get some water and a sweet snack. Good. They didn’t need Hongjoong to faint during practice - again. Reassured that Hongjoong was in good hands and knowing not to overwhelm his embarrassed captain, decided to drink something himself.

But when he turned to walk to his bag, a sudden wave of dizziness washed over him, nearly bowling him over. Yunho lifted his hand to his head and took a deep breath. Why was this happening now? He had been just fine earlier when he was dancing. Why was walking an issue?

Slumping down by his bag, Yunho for the first time realized that he felt … off. He couldn’t describe it any other way. The tiredness he was feeling wasn’t post-work out exhaustion but just exhaustion. His head felt weird, heavy and light at the same time. An annoying ache was spreading down his neck and into his upper back.

He wanted to blame the fact that he had slept badly or not enough. But he had gone to bed at a reasonable time and he had even woken up a bit late that morning to Yeosang shaking his shoulder and telling him he had overslept his alarm. That normally didn’t happen to Yunho, he liked being punctual, but they all had weird one-offs. He had been tired then too, achy. A shower and a coffee later he had felt much better, so he hadn’t thought anything of it. Now everything was hitting him again.

It was only an hour left. He had endured six hours of it, one more would be no problem.

“You okay?”

The question startled Yunho badly enough that he nearly dropped his bottle he had been trying to fumble open for some time without success at this point. He hadn’t even realized he had taken it into his hands.

Mingi frowned down at him, holding his own - open - water bottle in his hand.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Just can’t get this stupid bottle open”, Yunho replied. What else was there to say?

Mingi laughed at that, a loud, joyous sound. But for some reason it annoyed Yunho to no end, scraping at his ear drums.

“Give it here, you big baby”, Mingi offered, grinning at him.

Yunho pouted. Mingi was the big baby, not him. But he couldn’t deny that he was thirsty, so he handed it to his best friend, who opened it without an issue.

“You sure, you’re okay?”, Mingi asked then, raising one worried eyebrow.

Yunho nodded. He was fine.

⌛

They continued practice soon after. Hongjoong was still sitting out, sipping on an apple juice and munching on a muffin somebody had found. You know that it happens sometimes, he had said, don’t worry, you know I just need to raise my blood sugar and rest a bit.

So they continued as seven. It was a bit more difficult now, the dance was made for eight and everything looked just a tiny bit off now. Maybe it was just Yunho, though. The earlier dizziness hadn’t vanished, in fact he now saw some members twice at times. It was confusing but Yunho was too tired to care. When he blinked everything returned to normal with his vision, so it was fine. A bit more annoying was the cold water that was sitting heavily in his stomach since he had drunk. It was a bit painful, a bit cramping and a bit nauseating.

But it happened sometimes. It wasn’t the first time a member would need to sit out after eating or drinking too close to doing their extreme sport. It had been a rule to sit down when that happened ever since Jongho had thrown up on San’s shoes years ago. It was just a normal part of idol life.

Just, if Yunho sat out now, with Hongjoong already on the sidelines, then the practice would make no sense anymore. With two members missing the choreography wouldn’t work.

So Yunho carried on.

Despite the heat.

Despite the pain in his neck and back.

Despite the fact that he could barely see what was happening due to the stinging sweat in his eyes.

Despite the deafening music that seemed so much louder than normally, threatening to burst his ear drums or split his head.

Despite the nausea and pain in his belly that were becoming worse with every move.

⌛

“Alright, good job everybody”, the choreographer called out.

“You did very well”, Hongjoong added, having joined them for the last few run-throughs. “Let’s go home for tonight.”

Wooyoung and San high fived each other and collapsed in an exhausted but happy pile on top of Yeosang, dragging their third down with them.

Seonghwa clapped Hongjoong on the back, asking one more time if he still felt faint, which the captain denied.

Jongho and Mingi were leaning on each other, panting but content.

Yunho’s knees buckled.

“Jong-”, he whispered, finding himself falling into the maknae’s direction. It hadn’t felt like his voice was very loud but apparently it was enough for the younger to hear him. It was a bit painful as he collided with Jongho’s shoulder, teeth rattling in his skull but at least he was lowered to the floor and didn’t bash his head in.

“Hyung”, Jongho called, his voice frantic, as he struggled to keep Yunho from falling even further. “Somebody help me!”

His face was swimming in Yunho’s blurred eyesight. Yunho felt his back connect with the cool floor, the contact not painful at all. Then Jongho’s fingers tapped annoyingly against Yunho’s cheek. Hongjoong’s face entered his vision and gentle fingers started carding through his hair. Yunho closed his eyes, the bright overhead light stabbing at his retinas.

Suddenly yelling started up and the tapping on his cheeks became more pronounced.

“Stop.” He wanted to protest loudly. It barely came out as a whisper.

“Don’t go to sleep, baby”, a familiar voice said. Right, Hongjoong-hyung. “Open your eyes for us, okay?”

“Too bright”, Yunho mumbled, turning his face towards the hand that was now caressing his cheek instead of tapping it. It was nice. Comforting.

“He’s slurring and light-sensitive.” Was that Seonghwa? “Did he hit his head?”

Yunho wanted to protest, because Jongho had caught him. But no sound but a small whine left his lips.

“No, I caught him. I mean, he collided with my shoulder a bit but it wasn’t that bad”, Jongho said. His voice came from further away than expected. Hadn’t he just been by Yunho’s side? Who else was there?

Yunho blinked open his eyes, realizing that somebody had dimmed the lights. Still hot tears fell down his cheeks into his hair. Blinking to clear his vision he found himself surrounded by Hongjoong, Seonghwa and Mingi, all with similar faces of worry on their faces.

“There you are, love”, Seonghwa said, smiling down at Yunho. It was his hands in Yunho’s hair. “How are you feeling?”

“Wha’ happ’n’?” The words were difficult to say, like lead was holding his tongue prisoner.

“We were hoping you could tell us”, Hongjoong replied lightly, but even in his confused state Yunho could hear the underlying worry. “You collapsed against Jongho after practice ended. Do you have any idea what happened?”

Yunho tried to remember what had happened. He hadn’t been feeling well, had he? Hot. Loud. Sweaty. Pained. Nauseous.

Oh, God, the nausea.

Now that he remembered, he felt the churning in his stomach and the sourness at the back of his throat.

“Don’ fe’ g’d”, he mumbled, swallowing.

The members discussed something over his head. Yunho was too tired to pay attention. So he just let his eyes slip shut. Now he wasn’t hot anymore but the shivering that was taking over his body covered in cold sweat wasn’t better. His head pounded. His neck felt stiff. Light and sound were exhausting. And he still was queasy.

Somebody started tapping his cheek again. Yunho groaned.

“Do you think you’re having a migraine?”, Mingi asked, a bit of hesitation in his voice. “You’re slurring. You seem to be in pain and you can’t tolerate sound and light well.”

… it made sense. A lot of sense.

Yunho hadn’t even spared a thought to what made him so miserable but a migraine? That would explain a lot. The pain. The nausea. The general feeling of bah.

“Yeah”, he mumbled. “Think so.”

Hongjoong hummed in sympathy, knowing from first hand experience how bad it could be. And nearly fainting after practice was probably pretty bad.

“Do you think you can make it home?”, Seonghwa then questioned.

That was the question, wasn’t it? Yunho had no idea.

Collapsing in a heap on the way would probably be very embarrassing but he, now that he first thought of it, wanted to be in a cold, dark room with a comfy bed and maybe Mingi cuddling him. It would not get better than that. But for that he also needed to get home. His thoughts were so fuzzy.

“Yeah”, he mumbled, hoping that it would work.

“Let’s sit up first and see how it goes”, Hongjoong suggested, “how does your stomach feel?”

Oh yeah, that was a good question. Not very good, at all, was the answer. As if his body decided to react to Hongjoong without him having a say, Yunho gagged.

There was a curse and then somebody shoved him into a sitting position. It was enough to also move his stomach up his throat.

“Oh, Yunho”, Mingi whispered as Yunho bent forward and warm sick fell from his lips, the sound of it hitting a bucket echoing back at him. His stomach rolled and his head pounded and then he threw up again. And again. And again.

His heartbeat was drumming in his head and Yunho grit his teeth in a moment of respite, hoping to fight the nauseating pain. Now that he had started vomiting he knew that the real migraine pain would hit soon. What had happened before was just a warning, a mild pain compared to what would come.

He groaned as more rancid throw up splattered into the bin, burning his throat, and he slumped forward even more. A blessedly-cool hand on his forehead stopped his descent head first into his own puke.

Then it was over. Somebody wiped the spit dangling from his lips away and a cold cloth washed away the sweat. Yunho was leaned back and he rested his head against the comforting shoulder of whoever sat behind him. Mingi?

The comforting rumble in the person’s chest clued him in as Mingi spoke. “Ready to go home?”

“Still feel sick”, Yunho muttered, only really realizing when he was speaking that indeed his stomach was still cramping unhappily. Maybe he really was out of it or maybe the nausea he felt was even more in his head and throat than in his stomach, uncomfortable nevertheless.

“We got the bucket here, don’t worry”, Hongjoong said.

“‘Kay.”

⌛

Yunho barely remembered the drive home. He was in a car with Mingi who was combing through his hair in a comfortable motion and Hongjoong was holding his hand, as far as he knew. A manager probably had been there too, because Seonghwa couldn’t drive and the others hadn’t been there. All Yunho could do was cling to the plastic of the bucket, comforted by knowing it was there.

Had he thrown up on the way home? Likely. He didn’t remember it though.

Now, he was in bed, buried under a layer of cool sheets. The room was dark. Mingi was a warm weight by his side. Hongjoong’s fingers were carding through his hair.

It would likely not get better until the migraine went away.

So Yunho slept.

Masterlist links: Fairy's Full Masterlist Fairy's Masterlist - ATEEZ

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fairyniceyeah · 2 months ago

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⌛🐿️🧸 Day 16: Toxin/Poison

@sicktember

Summary: “Are you feeling okay, Jongho?” Jongho wondered what prompted the question. Hadn’t he just established that he was fine and enjoying the tour a lot?

CW: emeto, diarrhea in the context of illness

Sickie(s): Hongjoong + Jongho Caretaker(s): Seonghwa + Yeosang

“Are you feeling okay, Jongho?”, Hongjoong asked as they entered the hotel again.

As tradition dictated Hongjoong would invite a member to dinner each week in order to give them some captain-member bonding time and the possibility to just speak as two individuals not members of the same group. It was greatly appreciated by all of them and tradition was never broken - not even on tours. So Jongho counted himself very lucky that it was his week when they were in LA of all places and Hongjoong had chosen a really good seafood restaurant.

Jongho wondered what prompted the question. Hadn’t he just established that he was fine and enjoying the tour a lot?

“I’m fine, hyung”, he replied, “just tired. You know how it is.”

“That is true”, Hongjoong said, interrupting himself half-way through the sentence with a yawn. “Well, see you tomorrow, I guess. Sleep well, good night.”

“Good night, hyung. Rest”, Jongho replied and trudged to the next room, the one he shared with Seonghwa. For a moment he watched as Hongjoong fumbled with the keycard reader, the captain known for losing his card or generally always having issues with it, but he got into the room he shared with Yeosang easily. Jongho waved and entered his room.

Seonghwa was sitting on his bed, freshly showered and hair still dripping a bit, reading on his phone.

“Hey, Jongho-yah, how was dinner?”

“Very good”, Jongho said, “you done in the bathroom? I want to take a shower too.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Once Jongho had cleaned up himself he fell into bed easily. He was exhausted, so much was true. Concert tours were always draining, like he had told Hongjoong earlier. Going to sleep early wasn’t a luxury they had on most days and so, after talking quietly with his oldest hyung for a bit, Jongho dropped off into sleep easily.

⌛

Sleep didn’t hold for long. A glance on his phone revealed that it was only two hours he had slept. As he became more aware he noticed that Seonghwa was talking rapidly on the phone with somebody.

Jongho was about to tell his hyung where he could stick the device in the middle of the night, when Seonghwa ended the call with a concerned: “Don’t worry, Sang-ah. I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Wha’ ‘s go’n on?”, Jongho slurred, body more asleep than brain.

“Hongjoong isn’t feeling well, Yeosang just called me”, Seonghwa explained, running his hand through his hair, silhouette barely visible in the low light coming in through the curtains. “I’m gonna go see how I can help. Go back to sleep.”

“Hm, okay”, Jongho said, turning onto his other side. Maybe he should be a bit more worried about his captain and hyung but as he had pointed out earlier, tours were draining. He was so tired and he certainly didn’t want to get up if Seonghwa and Yeosang had it under control.

Seonghwa slipped out of the room soon after and Jongho tried to fall back asleep. Now, however, as the opportunity presented itself, he couldn’t. He was so hot. Sweat was making the sheets cling to his body. Damn him for drawing Seonghwa as his roommate - his mat-hyung was a cool roommate normally but he was well known for liking warm temperatures. Why had he turned the A/C off? They were in California after all.

The maknae fumbled a bit to stick his legs out under the blanket, hoping that like turning his pillow around, it would cool him down. It did. He shivered. Great. He just wanted to be comfortable, damn it.

Jongho had nearly fallen back asleep, already barely awake, when the door opened again.

“Hyung?”, Jongho asked.

“Hi, Jongho-yah”, Yeosang greeted with a sigh, “sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay”, Jongho assured him, now wide-awake again, and turned onto his back. “I wasn’t asleep, I think. What are you doing here? How is hyung?”

“Hongjoong-hyung said he felt nauseous earlier and went to sit in the bathroom just in case. He really didn’t look good, I have never seen him that pale. Told me to stay away and wouldn’t let me come in or call anybody for help”, Yeosang explained, sounding exhausted. “Next thing I know I am waking up to the lovely sound of puking. He refused to let me in, so I called Hwa-hyung to deal with him.”

“Oh, damn.” Illnesses on tours were always the worst. Jongho still had vivid nightmares of the time Yunho had the stomach flu in Madrid. That had not been fun at all with the heat, the older feeling like he had been dying. Jongho had been quarantined with his then-roommate, trying to help him and yet wishing he was with all the other members chilling at the pool during the day. He wished that fate on nobody, least of all on his hard-working captain.

“Yeah. Are you feeling okay? You were out eating with him, if this is food poisoning…”

Oh, please. No. It would however explain why Hongjoong had asked earlier how Jongho was feeling. Maybe he had already been feeling off back then. Jongho didn’t though, so he was fine.

Jongho felt fine, didn’t he? A bit hot but that was to be expected if one shared rooms with Park Seonghwa.

“I feel fine”, he assured Yeosang.

“That’s good”.

Considering the time of day (or well, night), Yeosang slipped under the covers of Seonghwa’s bed and just fell back asleep. Jongho was a bit envious. He had now been awake for over half-an-hour and he was so exhausted. Yet sleep didn’t come.

Now that he wasn’t distracted by talking with his hyungs, Jongho was for the first time realizing that the A/C was indeed whirring in the warm room and considering how Yeosang, who like Jongho liked it cool, had still buried himself under the blankets he started to assume that maybe the room was indeed cold.

With the realization also came the first agonizing cramp in his stomach that had the maknae nearly whimpering in pain. He curled into himself, pressing his hands to his aching abdomen. It hurt so badly, leaving him breathless. He tried to breathe through the pain anyways, but it didn’t do much.

It was then that Jongho started to wonder if maybe he was experiencing food poisoning, considering that Hongjoong was sick as well. It would make a sick (pun not intended) form of sense. God, he hoped not.

Yet, as if understanding the situation gave his stomach permission to worsen everything, he felt a pressure deep down that he did not ever want to experience. His brow slick with sweat, Jongho groaned, cursing their food choices. Then, a wave of nausea hit, nearly making him throw up then and there.

Jongho barely had any time to wonder if the pain and his messed up bowels were causing the nausea or if he was nauseous from the food itself, before he had to fling himself from the bed and rush to the bathroom.

Though he was embarrassed knowing that Yeosang would be able to hear everything if he woke up (the hotel was fancy, the sound-proofing was not), he had no time to lose or any caution for silence to spare.

He barely managed to close the bathroom door behind himself and sit down on the toilet before everything decided to leave him at once. Jongho quickly had to understand that his nausea did indeed come from an upset stomach and not just the pain. He felt himself sweat badly, body expelling itself violently and loudly. Yet Jongho didn’t have the time to feel embarrassed before his stomach decided that down was not the only way his food wanted to come out.

Jongho gagged violently, leaning over sideways to throw up in the bathtub that was luckily directly next to the toilet. His stomach cramped anew at the terrible position he was in but at least he wasn’t throwing up on the floor.

It was truly disgusting, seeing the waves of pale yellow and chunky vomit splatter onto the previously clean porcelain. Honestly, all of Jongho felt disgusting.

To make matters worse, there was a knock on the bathroom door and then Yeosang’s voice asking if he could come in.

If he didn’t die of this illness Jongho was sure he was going to die of humiliation.

“No”, he yelled between gags, hoping his hyung would respect his wishes. He didn’t think he could ever look Yeosang into the eyes again, if he saw Jongho this way: Pale and sweaty on the toilet, his body evacuating from both ends at the same time. No, he would not survive that.

“If you need help, yell”, Yeosang said and hopefully left to go somewhere far away. Deep down, Jongho knew that Yeosang would never leave when his maknae was this obviously, this violently sick, but he could dream.

Another wave of vomit splashed into the disgusting puddle in the tub but then luckily it stopped. Everything stopped. All Jongho was left with was awful cramps and a still very nauseous feeling in his stomach. Plus a very terrible clean-up.

Just standing up was a problem, his abused stomach muscles hurting and pulling at every movement. In the end, Jongho barely managed to clean himself up, flush and wash out the tub with water. Though he didn’t want to face Yeosang, he knew he had no choice. All he wanted was to sleep this off.

When he exited the bathroom, he saw Yeosang sitting crosslegged on Seonghwa’s bed, typing or playing on his phone. He looked up as he heard the hesitant steps coming towards the second bed, mustering Jongho up and down.

“How are you feeling?”, the dancer asked, his tone carefully void of emotion. Jongho had expected him to sound a bit more worried, if he was honest, and even if he didn’t want any fuss it was suddenly weird. He flushed, looking down.

“Awful. My stomach really hurts”, he admitted, curling into himself.

“I can imagine”, Yeosang mumbled and stood up, reaching up to feel Jongho’s forehead. “You’re really clammy.” And then. “You said you were fine.”

“Cleary I lied”, Jongho snapped. He was in pain and sick and confused and whatever game Yeosang was playing he was rapidly losing.

Yeosang sighed, moving his hand to Jongho’s nape.

“Sorry”, he apologized, “I’m so worried about you, maknae-yah. Why didn’t you say you felt sick too, especially after it was clear that hyung was unwell?”

“It all happened so quickly. I’m sorry.”

⌛

Earlier:

“Sorry, I didn’t know what else to do”, Yeosang said, wringing his hands. “He told me to go to bed but I was on my phone and I got worried when he didn’t come out, so I asked if he was okay. He said he was really nauseous and wanted to stay in the bathroom just in case but he didn’t want my help but now he is throwing up and …”

“Breathe”, Seonghwa interrupted the rambling, wrapping his arms around his shaking dongsaeng. “I got him. Joongie is probably not keen on anybody seeing him like this anyways.”

“You’re probably the only one who can get through to Hongjoong-hyung at this point”, Yeosang admitted, gesturing helplessly at the closed bathroom door.

“Go sleep in my bed”, Seonghwa suggested, running his hand through his hair, “no use in staying awake here.”

“I will. Thanks, hyung”, Yeosang replied, “I’m sorry, I wish I could be of more help.”

“You called me, that’s help enough”, Seonghwa assured, “if Jongho is still awake, ask him how he feels, please. I’m not sure if I want this to be food poisoning but that’s better than a stomach bug.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Once Yeosang had left, Seonghwa dared knock on the bathroom door. “Joongie? It’s me. Can I come in?”

“Hwa?”, Hongjoong asked, his voice raspy. Likely from getting sick, Seonghwa mused. He really didn’t sound good. “I…”

Hongjoong stopped talking then and for a moment Seonghwa was incredibly worried but then the lock turned. When Seonghwa opened the door, he found Hongjoong curled up on the floor, only a towel keeping him from laying on the tiles. The stench of vomit nearly made Seonghwa gag but he knew he needed to focus on Hongjoong.

The captain was incredibly pale and there was vomit drying around his mouth and on the toilet seat. Seonghwa wouldn’t be surprised if anybody looked up the definition of sick and found a picture of the young rapper there.

“Hey there”, he whispered, kneeling down by Hongjoong’s side, brushing hair out of his face. He suppressed a shudder as he realized that Hongjoong even had vomit caking in his hair. The poor man was really sick.

“Hwa”, Hongjoong repeated his hyung’s name, moving one hand from the tight grip he had on his stomach to reach out for him. Seonghwa grasped his hand gently, knowing that any disgust he felt was nothing in comparison to how awful Hongjoong must be feeling. There were deep lines of pain on his face. “Jongho-yah … is he okay?”

How typical, always worried about the maknae - or any other member than himself - first.

“I’m more worried about you right now”, Seonghwa said, “if Jongho is sick, which I didn’t notice when I just spoke to him, he has Sangie with him. Do you wanna get cleaned up?”

“Not sure if that would make a difference right now”, Hongjoong muttered bitterly.

“Feeling nauseous again?”

“Never stopped.” Hongjoong moaned in pain. “But yeah, uh … help me up?”

In one swift motion Seonghwa managed to hold Hongjoong over the toilet just in time for a wave of vomit to spill into the murky water below. Clearly Hongjoong had been too ill to even flush.

Hongjoong seemed to be mostly empty, barely anything coming up. He shook violently in Seonghwa’s arms and the older was sure he would be crying if he could produce tears.

Seonghwa tore a bit of toilet paper off, wiping Hongjoong’s mouth, then taking new pieces to wipe his whole face. Gently he leaned Hongjoong against the tub, where the leader pulled his knees to his chest, hugging himself.

“Let me just clean up a bit, okay?”, Seonghwa explained. “Then we can see about getting you back to bed with a bucket.”

Hongjoong nodded tiredly.

Seonghwa had barely managed to clean the splatters of puke from the seat and thrown the paper into the toilet to be flushed with everything else, when Hongjoong whimpered in pain. As he turned around, the oldest saw the deep pain on his face and the way Hongjoong was fighting against the cramps assaulting him.

“Are you …?”

“Get out!”, Hongjoong pressed out, teeth clenched.

“What?”

“Out.”

Understanding dawned on Seonghwa and he rushed out, not wanting to make Hongjoong feel any more humiliated than he probably already did.

He blocked out the sounds of Hongjoong facing a very different problem now and texted Hongjoong’s manager. Considering how sick Hongjoong was, they would need medicine or a doctor soon. Then he texted Yeosang asking for updates, receiving an immediate reply:

Maknae is sick too.

Shit. Great.

“Hyung?”, Hongjoong called weakly. Seonghwa felt his heart break - Hongjoong only called him hyung when he was feeling particularly vulnerable and in need of comfort. “Can you bring me new pajamas?”

“Sure”, he called back, feeling awful for the younger. He didn’t want to imagine how embarrassed Hongjoong must have been to ask the question.

He grabbed a pair of comfy clothes from Hongjoong’s suitcase and knocked on the door. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Hongjoong had wrapped a towel around his lower self, shaking in the cold. His trousers lay abandoned, wet from a poor attempt at cleaning, in the tub.

Seonghwa rushed over to Hongjoong, handing the fresh clothes over, looking away but holding onto Hongjoong’s shoulder to help his balance as he changed.

“I’m sorry”, Hongjoong whimpered once he was changed.

Seonghwa shook his head and pulled him against his chest, feeling Hongjoong take shuddering breaths. “There is nothing to be sorry about. You’re sick.”

“I mean, I … Hwa, I’m dizzy.” Hongjoong interrupted himself, a wave of panic in his voice and clutching Seonghwa's shirt frantically.

Seonghwa held him more tightly, knowing that Hongjoong was prone to fainting and that the best way to help him was to lie down flat. But it was too late. As he laid Hongjoong on his back, feet propped up against the tub, the captain’s eyes fluttered shut and he went limp.

They needed a doctor now.

⌛

Now:

Their conversation was interrupted as Yeosang’s phone began to ring. Jongho managed to catch a glimpse of Hongjoong’s manager’s name before Yeosang lifted the phone to his ear.

“Yes. Yes. Yes, alright. Be there soon.” Yeosang hung up.

“Hongjoong-hyung fainted. They are taking him to the ER to get some meds and fluids. The manager wants you to go too before anything happens.”

Jongho felt his eyes fill with tears against his will. He didn’t want to go to the hospital. All he wanted was sleep. But he knew to not challenge a manager’s decision in the middle of the night, especially since he had no good defense for himself. So he just nodded, resigned.

“It’s probably for the better”, Yeosang comforted, wrapping the overwhelmed maknae in his arms. “You’ll feel better with some fluids and meds.”

The ride to the ER was more than unpleasant. Jongho had given up on sitting straight within a minute and had slumped into Yeosang’s side. The only thing that kept the maknae sane was his hyung’s embrace, he was sure otherwise he would have freaked out with his symptoms in an enclosed space with no bathroom near.

Hongjoong, while he had woken up, was incredibly sluggish. He was laying stretched out in the backseat, head on Seonghwa’s lap.

By the time they pulled into the parking lot, Jongho was in extreme pain again, holding back barely an option. Yeosang pulled him into the building and to the nearest bathroom with only seconds to spare. Red-faced and humiliated in Jongho’s case and very worried in Yeosang’s, they reunited with the manager twenty minutes later.

“They already took Joongie to a room to give him meds and fluids”, the manager explained, sighing. “Seonghwa-yah is with him. I’m going to get a nurse, you’ll be admitted too, Jongho-yah.”

Jongho bit his lip, turning his face into Yeosang’s shoulder to hide. He didn’t want to be prodded by nurses and doctor’s all night, he just wanted to sleep. He didn’t know how to deal with the situation anymore but cry in his hyung’s arms.

“Do they know what is wrong?”, he heard Yeosang ask. The older was tenderly stroking Jongho’s hair, seemingly very aware that he was the only thing keeping the maknae from breaking down.

“Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning”, the manager replied, “apparently they have been getting cases all evening and night. A batch at the seafood restaurant they were at must have accidentally been contaminated.”

That was when the tears started to flow.

⌛

Getting an IV took ages, despite a doctor being available immediately after the manager had gotten a nurse. They had led Jongho into a private waiting room but with the overwhelming situation, Jongho was barely able to sit still for longer than a few minutes before having to rush back to a bathroom. With how badly he was dehydrated it was difficult to find a vein for the IV.

It hurt and Jongho had given up on being embarrassed by the time he was crying on Yeosang’s lap while the young doctor carefully spoke to him while placing the IV, chatting to keep Jongho distracted.

By the time Jongho was wheeled into a private hospital room, hiding his face in the pillows and clutching Yeosang’s hand as the bed he was laying on was pushed through the vast hospital halls, Jongho felt emotionally numb.

He looked up when he felt another familiar hand hold his other one in theirs.

“Hwa-hyung?”, Jongho asked quietly, blinking up at their eldest. His brain was too foggy to even question why Seonghwa was suddenly there.

“Hi, baby”, Seonghwa greeted him, placing a kiss against Jongho’s forehead. Normally Jongho would have hated it but right now it was the most comforting feeling ever. “How are you feeling?”

“Awful”, Jongho whispered, “tired.”

“Sleep.”

⌛

Hongjoong couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this sore when he woke up. His stomach hurt and his head was pounding in time with his heart.

“Good morning, Hongjoong-ssi”, a woman’s voice greeted him. He blinked open his eyes, wincing at the bright light, to look up to what appeared to be a nurse. “My name is Nali, I’m a nurse here.”

Hongjoong was still incredibly sleepy, his head filled with what felt like cotton, so he was glad the nurse was speaking Korean. They were in LA, weren’t they? He truly was in luck, except for, you know, the whole hospital thing.

“Good morning. Where are …?”

“Your manager drove your friends back to the hotel, he should be back soon”, the nurse explained, “Jongho-ssi is asleep next to you.” She gestured to the other side of the room where Hongjoong could spot his maknae curled up under the covers, face slack in sleep and still very pale.

“How is he? What…?”

“You’re both still a bit dehydrated and might experience some slight nausea and diarrhea the next few days”, the nurse explained. “Let me take your vitals and then we can see about waking Jongho-ssi up.”

Numbly, Hongjoong nodded. The nurse seemed happy enough with his vitals, blood pressure a bit low but not as bad as he had experienced in the past. Indeed did he feel a bit nauseous still and he was glad for the kidney dish resting on the bedside table even though he didn’t feel like he would be sick in the close future.

“Can I wake Jongho-yah?”, Hongjoong asked just before the nurse turned to the still knocked-out maknae. “He isn’t really a fan of strangers … no offense.”

“No, of course. Go ahead. Just take it slow.”

Hongjoong slowly sat up, breathing through the slight vertigo he felt. He slipped down from the bed and, clutching the IV stand for support, wobbled over to Jongho. He was grateful for the chair at his bedside, sinking into it with a sigh. He was much more exhausted than he would have imagined from the barely five steps he had taken.

“Maknae-yah”, he whispered, “wake up, baby.” He ran his hand over Jongho’s upper arm, hoping the stimulation would help. Jongho looked so young in his sleep and yet, so exhausted.

It took some time until he woke up but then Jongho mumbled a sleepy: “Hyung?”

“Hey”, Hongjoong replied, “try to wake up a bit, hm? You’re in the hospital and a nice nurse wants to take your vitals.”

Jongho yawned and slowly opened his eyes.

Hongjoong gestured at the nurse to start looking him over. If they waited until Jongho was really awake, they might sit there awhile. He always needed a bit extra help waking up when he was not feeling well.

By the time Jongho seemed truly able to understand where he was, the nurse was mostly done.

“What happened?”, Jongho asked, sounding painfully confused, “I remember feeling awful but … where are Sangie-hyung and Hwa-hyung? Aren’t you also sick, Joong-hyung?”

“Manager-hyung drove them back to the hotel”, Hongjoong explained patiently, intertwining their hands, “I feel much better than last night. How about you?”

“My stomach hurts”, Jongho mumbled, “what made us this sick?”

Right, that Hongjoong didn’t know yet either. He turned to the nurse expectantly.

“You both have Diarrhetic Shellfish poisoning. A seafood restaurant uptown apparently got a tainted batch.”

Hongjoong felt horror was over himself. He had chosen the restaurant.

“God, I’m so sorry, Jongho-yah”, he apologized, feeling even more terrible as he saw how long it took the younger one to puzzle the information together.

“Not your fault”, Jongho finally said, “you didn’t know and the food tasted good. I thought you chose it very well.”

“He’s right”, the nurse said, “nobody could have known. The restaurant didn’t either until the first cases started to come in. Just focus on resting. Do you want help getting back to your own bed?”

Hongjoong was about to nod, knowing he was never going to make it on his own, but then Jongho scooted a bit away from him. “Stay, hyung. Cuddles.”

It was so un-Jongho-like that Hongjoong for a moment wondered if he wasn’t hallucinating it all, but the honest and yearning look in Jongho’s eyes decided for him. Jongho hated hospitals and strangers and sickness, and Hongjoong couldn’t fault him for wanting to be close to his hyung when he was still obviously feeling so bad.

So, until the manager came back with Yunho and San to take them home, Hongjoong and Jongho stayed cuddled up on the bed together asleep, the maknae resting his head on his hyung’s chest.

Masterlist links: Fairy's Full Masterlist Fairy's Sicktember 2024

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