#!fever

“Agh,” he complains to himself. “Feet, come on.”

Is he tired? Is that what it is?

Yeonjun reaches his water bottle and unscrews the cap, wondering why his throat feels kind of tight. Not allergen tight, but an odd feeling, almost restrictive, as if something in his throat is what’s giving him issues. With a deep sigh, he subdues whatever may be bothering his insides in exchange for taking a sip.

And it’s an awful idea. The moment the warmed water passed over his tongue and down his throat, he could already feel it threatening to come back for a return visit.

“Come on, come on,” he mumbles to himself, his fingers gripping the water bottle.

As he takes another sip, he realizes quite quickly what he’s experiencing here—and it’s just… nausea.

His stomach feels unsettled, and the moment the water touched it, it shattered something solid in him. His mouth feels wet already, saliva beginning to pool around his tongue. He swallows roughly to subdue it.

It doesn’t work, anyway.

Immediately, the floor doesn’t seem so solid, and neither does Yeonjun’s resolve. With shaky hands, Yeonjun swallows again, and thus begins the internal monologue of: don’t throw up – don’t throw up – don’t throw up–

And it doesn’t work. His stomach immediately summersaults and he barely has time to put the water bottle on the counter before he rushes to the small trash can, hunching over. It’s barely two feet from the ground, but it helps. He gives the can a rough spit, but it doesn’t do anything.

Immediately, Yeonjun is angry. After all these hours of working to get this done and his timing has to be the worst. He doesn’t have time. This is a non-issue.

And his stomach seizes up again. A cramp the size of a tsunami waves across him and cause him to curl down further, bringing the tall member to hover barely over the can. He doesn’t have time to focus on another wave of cramps before he just feels it come pouring upward. Warm, thick, and full of chunks, and it reeks. It felt like undigested breakfast, warm tea and cold rice working its way into the trash can at an alarming rate. Yeonjun feels shaky, so he places his hands on his knees to brace himself as another mouthful rips its way up. The noise he makes is inhumane, annoyed by how his stomach hurts, his his back is throbbing, how he has to deal with all of this in the first place. He didn’t make these plans, for sure; he wanted to be done, go home.

He coughs up another heavy mouthful, breath heaving with each effort. He hurts, aches, and he’s not getting any relief as his body continues to expel everything his stomach may have contained over the past week. Barely another cough in, a hard spit, and he’s back to coughing up bile and stomach acid once he feels himself running empty.

He feels woozy. His vision spins for a moment, and the sound of the choreographer from the speaker goes almost silent for a solid few seconds. Yeonjun’s vision blurs, then returns as another cramp seizes him. Another mouthful. He’s so shaky, he can feel himself almost willing his knees to keep him up while he spits another mouthful.

And after a moment, it stops. He’s spent, exhausted, and he crumples almost immediately to kneeling on the ground. Without a napkin and with no strength to get a tissue from the box on the side table, he merely uses the back of his hand to wipe at his mouth and spits another rough mouthful into the trash can.

“God… that fucking hurt,” he mumbles to himself.

The choreographer’s voice is too loud. The speaker is a little ways away, the remote nearby, but Yeonjun can’t bring himself to make it over there. His head feels too disjointed, almost feeling far too faint. And hot, everything feels so overwhelmingly hot. Sweat plasters his shirt to his back, and the air in the room isn’t cool enough to combat how his temperature must have spiked.

Tilting over, he merely lays down on the floor and pulls his phone from his pocket. When he opens the screen, the bright light brings the nausea back so he turns it back off. Just a few minutes, he tells himself. He’ll just wait, rest a moment, he should start feeling better in a few minutes. His eyes close.

~*~

Yeonjun isn’t sure when he fell asleep or what happened, but he awakens to Soobin’s voice on the phone and a hand gently stroking his hair. He groans, only to hear Soobin’s deeper voice hushing him softly.

“It’s okay, hyung. It’s okay, you’re okay.’

Yeonjun, strangely, believes him. A brief chill runs down his spine, but when he curls in more, he can feel the heat of Soobin’s thigh underneath his head, and the comfort of a thick sweatshirt draped over him. He just pulls his hands into the fabric more. It’s oddly very comfortable here, and with Soobin’s long fingers combing through his long locks, he almost begins to drift off again.

As he settles, he hears Soobin’s voice begin again. He must be talking to someone; Yeonjun’s vision is blurred and teary when he tries to look up, so he gives up quickly and closes his eyes. “Yeah, he just woke up for a moment. Mhmm… he hasn’t since I’ve been here, but he’s not mumbling anymore.” A pause. “Yeah, I’ll wait here.” And then: “Yeonjunie?”

“Mm?” Yeonjun mumbles in acknowledgement. He tilts his face but doesn’t open his eyes.

“Think you’re awake enough to tell me what happened?” The request isn’t unkind and Soobin’s keeping his voice low, almost as if he senses Yeonjun’s growing headache. His fingertips rake along Yeonjun’s scalp and it’s so gentle and comforting that it almost lulls him back to sleep.

“Yeonjunie?”

“’M up…” Yeonjun grumbles. His mouth feels full of cotton. It takes him another moment before he just sighs. “Dunno… tired.”

“I know… were you feeling sick all day?”

That receives a grunt and the smallest of head shakes. Yeonjun doesn’t think he felt terrible all day; actually, things were going well for the first few hours, he’s sure. Soobin doesn’t push him further, but he does pause in his hair rubbing to place a hand on Yeonjun’s forehead. Yeonjun whines, trying to tilt his scalp back to Soobin’s hand, and it gets a small chuckle from the young man as he returns his head to scratching his scalp.

“Yeonjunie?” the older one hears again, but with a soft groan, he merely pushes his head back into the sweatshirt and falls asleep again.

~*~

When he wakes up again, he’s once again struck with an overwhelming urge to vomit. He pushes himself upright, eyes opening to bright white lights, and the nausea rushes to turn his stomach inside out. And immediately there’s a hand on his shoulder, leaning him forward. He can briefly feel a bucket in his hands before he sticks his face inward and gags. But only a stringy mouthful of water and spit and bile escape him. He groans, but it turns into a gag and he manages to cough up a little more bile. With a strained cough, he spits, and feels the edge of a cup placed on his lips.

“Take a mouthful and try to rinse,” Soobin’s voice cuts in softly.

It’s commanding enough but gentle at the same time; even when speaking like authority, Soobin’s voice is always so soothing. He truly is a fantastic leader. Yeonjun just does as he’s told, taking in a sip and relishing in the sensation of cold water on his tongue before he feels something gritty and slimy in his mouth. It’s almost enough to make him gag again, but he shuts his mouth to try and avoid thinking about what it actually is and just spits the water into the bowl. He rinses a second time, before Soobin tells him to just sip slowly.

“What—” but it takes Yeonjun a moment. He still feels dizzy, he thinks; not really any pain, but he doesn’t feel very secure sitting up. His head leans forward, and a gentle hand directs him to a shoulder. Judging by the scent from earlier, it’s Soobin again. “What… did I miss?”

Soobin sighs softly, and brings the cup back to his lips. “Another sip. Yeonjunie-hyung, you’re sick, you know.”

With that, Yeonjun just groans. He doesn’t have the time, but he guesses his body made sure he did.

“Your fever’s going down, though… But this is the third time you’ve thrown up in here. The hospital’s going to keep you to get you hydrated again.”

It is? Yeonjun doesn’t even recall throwing up in here, much less being brought in here at all. That gets him to raise his head, eyes open to face Soobin. As they make eye contact, their leader smiles, relief showing in his eyes. “Feeling more awake? You’ve been out of it for the better part of three hours.”

“What happened?” he mumbles.

Apparently, as Soobin explains, Yeonjun answered his call. When he hadn’t come back for the two to leave or answered his texts, Soobin had called his phone and, half-asleep, he answered and mumbled about his stomach hurting. Soobin pieced his location together by the choreographer’s voice in the background and found him. A medical check in the practice room, a trip to the hospital in the van, blood work, and vomiting three times while asking the same question was what led them to that moment.

But he was lucid now. His skin, albeit pale, was slowly regaining its honey soft color. And he’s being held overnight, IV pushing Tylenol and saline through his veins to keep him hydrated.

With a groan, he merely puts his head back on Soobin’s shoulder, which gets a laugh from the younger leader. “Thanks, man.”

“For what, taking care of you?”

That elicits a small nod while Yeonjun closes his eyes. He’s exhausted, even though he’s been sleeping on and off this whole time.

The boys had been buzzing with excitement since they woke up that morning in the dorm. Hoseok had, unsurprisingly, woken up second only to Seokjin, and the two happily shared a moment over tea as they waited for their manager to bring them breakfast. It was going to be another long day of filming, but they had been rehearsing nonstop for the past few weeks. Hoseok felt good about practice; they were going to do great.

After helping wake up the rest of the boys, they crammed into the bathroom in groups as they rushed to brush their teeth and wash faces and change. The typical days in the Bangtan household when they were grabbing things for a shoot were just consistent noise and jokes, barely even silent when they shoved food in their faces.

"You sure you're not going to finish your rice, Hoseok-hyung?" Jungkook asked as his hand gently wrapped around the small bowl.

"Aish, you food thief! Just take it." Hoseok made a stabbing motion with his chopsticks, slow enough that Jungkook managed to pull his hand and the rice bowl away before the utensils hit the table below. Carbs weren't bad, but they made Hoseok feel heavy on their mass dancing days. He just shoved a piece of pork belly into his mouth and chewed quickly before washing it down with soup.

"Twenty minutes then we've gotta head out!" Sejin called to them from his seat in the entrance way. "Make sure you all eat something!"

He honestly didn't have to tell them twice. Shouting of missing socks and passing shoes, grabbing any last-minute needed items, a missing pair of headphones, water, and Sejin had the gang out right on time. Everything seemed to become a whirlwind from there. They had their choreographer there for any last minute reminders, but Hoseok was also there to make sure everyone remembered. The setting of Boy In Luv's music video had been a school, with most of the dancing taking place in the classroom. The company had rented a school set for the first day of filming, and they were nothing but laughs. Honestly, filming wasn’t as tough, they were extremely prepared. For their first major comeback, they had gone all out with preparations. Long nights of practicing and rehearsals and finetuning, but it would be worth it.

Hours had passed before they knew it. Downtime for set-changes and makeup touchups had been spent playing around for the cameras or checking the footage. Hoseok had been bouncing between goofing with Taehyung and Jungkook, and talking with the choreographer and the camera staff. For some reason, things felt almost… airy.

“Hoseok-ah?” one of the makeup noonas called to him.

He’d been staring at the monitor as the choreographer checked the captured footage again, and although he was also examining it… did he almost space out? The young woman brought him back to earth, and the ground almost felt shaky as he turned to face her. She took a sheet of oil blotting paper out and pressed it against his forehead.

“You’re sweating a little, let me touch you up real fast before next take.”

He found himself smiling, closing his eyes a little as she gently pressed powder on his forehead. The noonas were nice, Hoseok liked their staff. He waited as she swept a brush over his nose and checked his cheeks, blotting out a few oily spots with rice paper. Hoseok always got sweaty if they rehearsed too hard or if it was too warm, but he was actually a little chilled in the room. When she finished, she smiled up at him. “All done.”

The director on set at that moment called out to them, one more take from the middle chorus. The footage looked good, but the producing staff wanted a different angle. Which meant one more time. The team moved back to the front of the classroom and arranged themselves, and Hoseok suddenly felt his footing leave him. He bumped right into Jimin, and both boys laughed it off.

“Okay, ready?” They nodded.

“Dul, set!”

~~~

Namjoon wasn't exactly sure what happened. One moment, they'd been dancing while the camera followed them, and the next, the staff was stopping them due to a syncing error. Hoseok had stepped out of place, which was already bizarre given their dance captain was a stickler for details. Nerves, Namjoon had been willing to dismiss it--but as he'd turned his head, he caught sight of Hoseok’s eyes rolling to the back of his skull, and the dancer crumpled almost immediately. His body hit the ground hard.

"Hoseok-ah!"

"Hoseok-hyung!"

"Seok-hyung!"

Son Sung Deuk, their choreographer, was quick to move to their aid, pushing Hoseok onto his back. "Don't crowd him."

Namjoon just stared at his fellow 94-liner, whose face had gone white as a sheet, and he felt terrified. Namjoon and Hoseok had been through a lot together as friends. They were some of BigHit's earliest trainees, and they were two of the first three in the group. They had been roommates and friends for nearly five years now, and they'd already seen each other's good and bad sides. They’d been there for each other’s first worst drunken nights, overworked injuries, seasonal illnesses… But one side Namjoon had never seen was a nearly-lifeless Hoseok looking so ashen. Hoseok had often overworked himself dancing, but not to the brink of collapse, not like this... He wasn't sure what he could do, if there was anything he could.

Faintly, Namjoon could feel a small hand grip onto his arm, and he looked down to realize it was Jimin, whose eyes were wet and worried. Namjoon automatically wrapped an arm around the younger one's shoulders and held him close, a gesture of comfort, but he had to honestly wonder if this was to comfort himself as well.

Sung Deuk felt for Hoseok's pulse, then placed a hand on his forehead to check for a fever. Hoseok, albeit unconscious, was breathing a little too hard for their liking, almost struggling with the strain of trying to keep air going, and the older man began to fan Hoseok with his hand. One of the makeup noonas rushed over with an electric fan and took over trying to cool him down.

"Hoseok-ah, wake up! Come on, kid!" His hand shook Hoseok's shoulder gently, then pat his cheek.

The boys held their breath, waiting for a response. Another staffer hurried over, bringing with her an ice pack which she pressed against his neck. A third behind them, Namjoon noticed, had an AED kit--just in case, it seemed. Namjoon’s blood ran cold—if they needed a defibrillator…

At first touch of the cold pack, Hoseok's head lulled to the side from Sung Deuk's motions, but soon he grimaced, a hand slowly moving to his head. He opened his eyes, but quickly shut them at the light.

"Hobi-hyung!" Jimin and Jungkook both squeaked out.

"Nn... what happened?" Hoseok mumbled, voice slurred in confusion. " 'm not... the dorms."

They all sighed in relief. There was some realization there, that was a good sign. Sung Deuk smiled, patting his hair carefully. "You fainted, kid. Just take a deep breath for me, we're gonna get you some help."

Hoseok frowned, his lips forming the so familiar pouting siot letter even while disoriented and confused. Although his eyes were closed, Namjoon could tell he seemed ready to cry. "It's okay, Hope-ah," he tried to encourage. His voice was trembling. He swallowed it back, for his friend’s sake. "They're gonna take care of you."

"Joon-ah...?" Hoseok asked softly. His hand in his hair balled into a loose fist, and Sung Deuk gently peeled his fingers back and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze in his own.

"Yeah. I'm here, we're all here," Namjoon answered him. Reaching a hand over he smoothed back Hoseok’s hair. His hand stroked his cheek gently, and his older friend seemed to melt under the touch. His face began to relax, turning his cheek towards the touch. It seemed to be soothing, and he was glad that even though he wasn’t sure what caused the sudden ailment, at least it was easing his pain.

The staffer with the ice pack just moved it around as she spoke with Sung Deuk in hushed tones, and the two decided to move him from the floor. “Hoseok-ah,” Sung Deuk called softly, “let’s try to sit up, okay? Joon-ah.”

Namjoon nodded, shifting a little closer. As Sung Deuk pulled Hoseok’s arm, Namjoon moved behind him to help hold him up—and Hoseok’s eyes rolled in the back of his skull again. His body felt almost too heavy as he immediately fell back on Namjoon, and for a moment Sung Deuk watched him carefully. Namjoon was absolutely horrified, holding Hoseok in his arms as if he’d break if he let go.

“What happened?” he could hear Jin asking behind them.

“I think his blood pressure dropped.” Sung Deuk sighed as the realization hit him. He’d seen this in some performers before, especially some of the hardest working trainees. “He probably overdid it and didn’t realize… We’re going to take him to the hospital.”

As Sejin hurried over, Sung Deuk reached to pull Hoseok from Namjoon, but the tall rapper was too concerned to let his buddy go. Their choreographer had to smile, and he reached a hand for Namjoon’s shoulder. “Let us carry him to the car, okay?”

Hoseok stirred at that moment, head falling to Namjoon’s shoulder. With that, Namjoon sighed, nodding. He uncurled his hands and, with Jin’s help, the three of them got Hoseok onto Sejin’s back. Sejin quickly walked with him out of the classroom, the other boys hurrying after him. It was only once they made it to the van did they turn to the group for a headcount. Teary eyes, worried faces…

“Only one of you. He’s going to be just fine, but I don’t need all six of you worrying in the waiting room,” Sejin said to the group.

It was unanimous, and with a gentle shove from Jimin who’d been clinging to his sleeve, Namjoon stepped forward. “I’ll go,” declared their leader.

With a nod, Sejin wasted no time in turning back to help Hoseok into the car. He’d come to once more, and despite being a little disoriented, was coordinated enough to climb into the van and sit on his own. Sejin moved to the front to the driver’s seat and Namjoon crawled in on the other side, but it was then that the Hoseok could see the worried faces of his band members. He seemed confused, but despite the grimace that seemed to take residence on his face, he put on a bright smile for the boys.

“I’m okay, it’s okay,” he told them softly.

“H-hyung,” Jungkook squeaked, before more tears began to fall from his cheeks. Jin pulled him close to his chest. Before they could get too emotional, Sung Deuk buckled Hoseok in and pat his shoulder. “See you soon.”

“Ah… yeah.” Hoseok gave him a shaky thumbs up. And with that, Sung Deuk closed the car door. From there, they decided to call a break for the rest of them. Missing two of them, there wasn’t much else they could do, and the boys they knew would be too worried for their fallen comrade to focus, so their filming staff didn’t make them. With their choreographer leading them back into the classroom area, they went for snacks and drinks, and the staff made sure to check on each of the boys to make sure they were physically feeling okay and staying hydrated. They couldn’t have another one falling apart on them.

~~~

The hospital had gotten to Hoseok quickly. Hoseok managed to stand on his own alright when the driver pulled the car to the front, but he looked pale and weak as Namjoon held his arm. They opted to set him in a wheelchair to lead him in, concerned about his double fainting spells, and the nurse led them to a private room in the back. A brief checking of his vitals showed no illness, but definite signs of overexertion. Preliminary scans showed no concussion, but he was dehydrated enough that the staff had attached him to an IV almost immediately.

Only a few minutes into the bag and color already began to return to Hoseok’s face. Namjoon breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at Hoseok and noticed his friend’s demeanor already perking up a little from the cot he lay on. He still looked tired, but not as pallid, and definitely seemed more aware of everything going on in the hospital. With a sigh of relief, once the doctor left, Namjoon just smacked his arm.

“Don’t scare us like that anymore, Seok-ah!”

Hoseok grinned, looking exhausted but still amused. “I didn’t mean it… I’m sorry, I ruined the shoot.”

“You didn’t ruin the shoot. Sejin-nim said we can always go back.”

Sejin, sitting in the corner, nodded as he typed away on his phone. “We can have the studio for another day. If you’re feeling better tomorrow, Hoseok-ssi, we can try again tomorrow.”

With that, Hoseok’s smile fell and he shook his head. “No, let’s try tonight. I’ll be okay.”

Sejin and Namjoon both frowned at that.

“No way, Seok-ah.”

“Yes way, Joon-ah.”

Both of them frowned at one another, until someone cleared their throat from the doorway. At the sight of the doctor, Namjoon bowed slightly and stepped back. “Doctor, he’s going to need to rest for the day after this, won’t he?”

“I’m feeling better,” Hoseok answered instead.

The doctor chuckled as he walked over. “I know you’re eager to get back, Hoseok-ssi, but we just need to make sure this won’t happen a second time.” He moved over to check Hoseok’s vitals again, pleased to know he didn’t develop a fever. He already ran warmer than normal, but his temperature hovered right at 99F. His pulse seemed back to normal too, which had him smiling. Hoseok watched the check, eyes more aware. “Well… You are stable as he is right now. What I want to do is at least get your blood sugar up, see if that will help as well.” With that, he reached into the pocket of his white coat and handed Hoseok a package of salted crackers and a granola bar. “Eat these.”

Hoseok looked at the snacks and grinned. “Thank you, Doctor!”

The doctor pat his shoulder and left the room, and Namjoon sighed, reaching over to open the cracker pack. “So you just needed water and snacks? Jeez, Hoseok-ah, next time eat the rice at breakfast!”

Laughing, Hoseok shoved Namjoon’s hand back and bit into the granola bar. Not deterred, Namjoon opened the pack anyway and stole a cracker. Hoseok just snacked lazily as Namjoon pulled out his phone and called Yoongi’s cell, amused when it was quickly on speakerphone. After reassuring them that everything was fine, they merely chatted for a few extra minutes as background noise, about their game plan. They still had to wait for the doctor’s clearance for Hoseok to leave, but they couldn’t make any rash decisions yet. The boys knew that. They were just relieved to hear Hoseok awake, laughing along with another terrible joke from Jin.

The doctor returned half an hour later, and after confirming Hoseok’s vitals were still looking good, he gave them the clearance to leave. He heavily recommended they take him home to get some rest and a proper meal later, and orders to return if systems persisted. But they were free to go.

“Guess it was just a fluke,” Namjoon said, ruffling his friend’s hair.

Hoseok swatted his hand away, but looked at Sejin the moment the doctor left the room. Sejin grabbed Hoseok’s uniform jacket and turned to look at him, but the young dancer reached up for it. “We were almost done with filming, right?”

Sejin nodded. “Just the last rose scene with the actress, and the second set before tomorrow’s film change.”

Looking up at him, Hoseok nodded. “Can we go back?”

That had the manager pausing, staring as if he didn’t hear the young man before him. But given Hoseok’s determined look… despite overworking himself to the brink, Hoseok was still ready to give it his all.

Namjoon and Sejin exchanged glances. And Namjoon turned back to his friend. “Hobi—”

“No, let’s go back,” Hoseok interrupted him. “I’m okay, I can finish the dance.”

“But Hobi, you just—”

“And I feel better now. I don’t want to set us farther back.”

Sejin sighed. “It won’t set us back. We can just book the set again; we have time through editing.”

But Namjoon could see the determination in Hoseok’s eyes. When his friend became this driven, it was very hard to say no to him. Namjoon just slumped in the chair, closing his eyes. “Take a nap, Hob-ah. If you’re still doing okay when we get there, we’ll see what Sung Deuk-nim says when we get there.”

That was as close to ‘yes’ as possible. Hoseok grinned and just leaned against Namjoon, eyes closing as he felt Namjoon’s arm drape over his shoulders. Despite his best attempt, he did doze right on his leader’s shoulders. Namjoon waited until he heard Hoseok’s little sleeping sniffle before he opened his eyes, making brief contact with Sejin from the front seat.

“He’s not going to take no for an answer even when we get back, is he,” Sejin sighed.

Namjoon nodded. “He barely listens to me on a good day about rest. But if we work through the evening…”

“I’m sure we can clear your schedules for tomorrow.” Sejin smiled, immediately opening a text message. Namjoon smiled; Sejin kept his promises, he’d make it work out.

~~~

“Pleeeease?” Hoseok begged. He was a lot more chipper when they arrived, apparently feeling loads better after the car’s power nap. The commute wasn’t a far distance, but the traffic getting back in midday Seoul rush-hour took nearly an hour. It was enough time for Hoseok and Namjoon to both catch power naps, but while Namjoon still seemed to be waking himself up, Hoseok was bright-eyed and energetic. Perhaps some of it was an act, anything to convince their choreographer to continue, perhaps it was just to convince himself.

Their choreographer sighed, giving him another once-over. He’d already briefed the others that their dance leader wanted to continue and had pushed them back to the stylists for refreshing their makeup to play it safe. They only had a few scenes left, having finished with their female co-star before Hoseok’s earlier collapse. It would be intense, primarily dancing, but Hoseok’s determination shown too brightly to be ignored.

And he was a softie. He caved immediately.

“Go revisit the stylist-noonas. Joon, you too, your hair’s flattening. We’ll resume in 30 minutes.”

Hoseok cheered aloud. His enthusiasm was infectious, the three maknae joining in on his cheers as he nearly skipped over to the stylist’s room. Jin just looked to Namjoon, who had paused to shrug off his hoodie.

“Are you sure he’s okay?” Jin asked.

“Of course not,” Namjoon grunted back. He just sighed heavily. “But he’s not going to listen to me. We’re just going to have to watch out for him. The doctor said he was okay to leave, so Hob-ah says it was just a fluke.” The two shared worried glances with Yoongi, who’d come over after fixing his shoes.

Yoongi just shook his head. As their second eldest and a great reader of people, they both silently asked for his input. Yoongi thought on it for a moment, then shrugged. “You said Sejin-nim’s clearing our schedule tomorrow, right? It’s worth letting Hobi tire himself out with a job well done. He’ll be stressed out if we don’t let him try, and then we’ll all have to wake up early tomorrow.”

That was true… they’d probably have to continue early, which wouldn’t help any of them. It wasn’t like they had healthy rest schedules, being a rookie group anyway, but if they were getting a clear schedule over pushing through one evening, it was worth trying.

They heard loud laughter coming from the stylist room, and could immediately tell it was Hoseok’s.

“That does it, then.” Jin sighed, pushing Namjoon’s shoulder. “Go on and get your curly chicken feather fixed.”

“It doesn’t look like a chicken feather, hyung!” Namjoon complained, but he hurried over to get his hair fixed as Jin gathered the maknae back over. They were in for a long evening.

~~~

It wasn’t as long as they’d thought, surprisingly enough. The seven boys gathered around the monitor behind their choreographer while he replayed their last clip of footage. It was clean, insanely clean. Their best take yet! And with that, the cinematographer clapped his hands and dismissed them for the day. With a loud cheer, the group bowed to the staff before they were lined up to film the end of the shooting sketch. Excited to be done, Yoongi went for the camera first, hamming it up with Taehyung. Namjoon glanced over at Hoseok, who looked tired but proud, glad they’d finally finished the filming and wouldn’t need to push anything further. With one final cocky phrase to the camera, Hoseok did his best to look smug, but he hurried off as dots began to swim in his vision again. As the camerawoman moved to film Jungkook and Jimin next, Hoseok found the closest seat and dropped down, sighing.

Namjoon and Yoongi just fanned him with their hands. With a thumbs up from Sejin, Namjoon reached over to ruffle his friend’s hair.

“Come on, Seok-ah, let’s go home.”

“I did, hyung,” Hoseok insists. He’s breathing heavily, the strain of the practice pressing almost like a weight against his chest. He takes a sip of his water and lets the cool liquid rest in his mouth before swallowing it. But only one sip, he couldn’t weigh himself down with water until he felt like he’d accomplished the scene. Setting the bottle back down, Hoseok turns to the older rapper. “Can we try it again?”

Yoongi nods. “Start it from the end of the verse, we’ll launch into the chorus better.”

Hoseok answers with a nod of his own. He presses the forward button until the MP3 sped up to where they needed, then scurries back into his spot. The music begins again, and right at the beat, both boys jump and launch right into the choreography, checking their motions through the mirror before them. It was an intense song, lots of stomping and harsh moves while being quicker than it needed to be for the lyrics. But it was a cover; the band beforehand had put harsh, fast moves for effect. Their choreographer wanted to see if they could tackle it as rookies. The monthly trainee evaluation for January was delayed for the end of the month because of the holidays, so they had time to nail it. But they were determined to do well, and Yoongi noticed one of their hardest workers was his younger companion. Hoseok had a spirit about him that couldn’t be tampered. Truly, he finds it rather inspiring to work with him, even though the days are long and often tiring.

As the song trails to a stop, both boys just drop to sit on the scuffed wooden floor, breathing heavily as the song began to repeat itself through the speakers from the beginning. They’re already drenched with sweat, muscles burning from the intense movements they’ve been doing. And this is only after Yoongi had joined in; Hoseok, some strange form of early bird, had been to the studio for an hour or two already just dancing around, before he’d come back for breakfast.

Honestly, giving him a key to the dance studio was a bad idea. Hoseok spent half his life in that room, had already spent part of the holiday before Yoongi had even gotten out of bed.

It had been an hour and a half already, nearly two… Honestly, Yoongi wants to pass this evaluation but he wants lunch more. “Come on, Seok-ah, you’ve got this in the bag.”

Hoseok shakes his head, but something just looks off about him. He looks uncomfortable, like something was bothering him, and Yoongi doesn’t think it was just the choreography.

“One more time…”

Yoongi sighs. “I’m tired, Seok-ah… Come on, let’s get food and go home.”

Well, to the dorm. Their home away from home. The dancer affixes Yoongi with a disappointed look, teetering on the edge of asking to stay, but instead he sighs. “Okay. Let’s… let’s do cool-down and go back.”

Yoongi smiles, and he can see the younger one tries to return it. Hoseok slips a hand under his shirt and rubs his stomach; maybe it really is just hunger. Hopping to his feet, Yoongi goes to turn the music off, then heads over to help Hoseok to his feet. He feels his friend’s sweaty hand grip his and yanks him to his feet, only to have Hoseok stumble and tilt on edge. He almost drops to his knees but he catches himself with a step forward, both hands pressed on his thighs to keep him upright.

“Hoseok-ah!?”

“Hyung…” Hoseok grimaces. “Y-yeah?”

He’s sweating, and hard. Now, dancing for nearly four hours will do that to anyone, and there’s always times they find themselves in various states of undress from just dancing or working too hard. But something is definitely off. Hoseok’s breathing is rough, even with their short break.

“C’mon… let’s go sit down.”

Hoseok gives a shaky nod and lets Yoongi lead him to the plastic chairs shoved in the corner, dropping onto one of them. He leans forward again, propping one elbow against his knee, his other hand moving back to his stomach. Yoongi doesn’t sit just yet, instead choosing to bring Hoseok his water bottle, fanning him lightly with his own ballcap. Hoseok mumbles a small thanks, but he stays still and just tries to calm his breathing. He manages to calm down enough, but he looks uncomfortable as he sits back up.

“You okay?”

Hoseok nods. “I think breakfast just didn’t sit too well with me.”

Breakfast? But… all Yoongi could recall seeing him was some egg toast and soup. That usually sat well with everyone. Maybe their eggs were going bad. Yoongi reaches over to ruffle Hoseok’s hair, pointing to his jacket. “Let’s just hurry back. Maybe you just need something good for lunch.”

That earned a smile. “Cooking from hyung? I’m so lucky.”

Yoongi loved that smile. At least Hoseok seemed well enough to keep his spirit. And he immediately launched into a soft whine as he picked at his tee, completely damp with sweat, clinging to his chest. He decides he’s showering first, and honestly, it’s for the better; he smells sweaty. The whole room does, and often. Yoongi turns off the music and plugs in their scented dark light from the corner, hoping to take down some of the smell while they’re gone. Throwing on his cap, he leaves his jacket off and fishes for the keys to drive the two back to the dorm.

~*~

Hoseok still isn’t doing much better. Both are freshly showered and changed, and despite his tanned complexion, Hoseok just looks ashen. He says he’s okay, not one for much complaining (he called it professionalism, Yoongi called it being too brave sometimes), but Yoongi brings him a cup of tea when he notices Hoseok just holding his stomach. He figures it’s cramping, probably from too much work and not enough food, so he returns with a small bowl of seasoned rice and a spoon. Something to snack on while he finished the meat. By the time he finished, he finds the bowl of rice half eaten and Hoseok seems a little more relaxed. Yoongi sighs, placing their small row of banchan down before setting down the meat. He’s brought more rice for the two of them.

The way Hoseok’s eyes light up at the sagymeopsal just makes his day. It isn’t much, but Hoseok looks so happy he goes for a piece first instead of his usual kimchi. “Ahh hyung, this is really good!” he compliments, muffled by the meat.

Yoongi can’t help but grin back, nodding shyly as he waves the compliment off. He grabs his own piece and begins to eat. As dinner passes, Yoongi notices Hoseok seems more lively, definitely less uncomfortable than earlier. He eats a lot too, and both boys find themselves flopped on the floor in the living room, idly watching some reality dating show as they breathe through the food.

“I don’t think I can move to clean all this up,” Hoseok mumbles with a laugh. His hand finds his stomach again, bloated from probably eating so much, and he merely rubs up and down to soothe himself. But he looks happy, relaxed; and that’s all Yoongi really wanted. Perhaps today was just stressful from all the dancing. Yoongi makes a note to lecture him later, probably teasingly, but he figures right now, with how peaceful they both are, he doesn’t need to say anything. The two of them fall asleep right there on the rug, neither waking until one of the managers messaged them both late in the evening to check on them.

~*~

“Bored” with four frowny faces is the only text Yoongi receives when he checks on the dancer. His parents convinced him to come home for at least Christmas, and he agrees, especially seeing as he has some gifts for them that he afforded with his part-time job. Yoongi hasn’t spent a lot of time at home; his parents hadn’t been the most approving of his choice to join Bighit and become a trainee, and while they weren’t actively sabotaging him, it was hard to be around them with questioning remarks on if they’d debut and not have any real answers to give them. But he’s been making leaps and bounds in the rap world; he fought hard enough to make it into Bighit, he really isn’t worried. His parents had, thankfully, decided not to dwell and the few days were rather peaceful.

But every once in a while, his mind had drifted back to Hoseok. Hoseok who dragged himself out of bed early the day after their long studio morning to go right back to dancing, who had been putting on good faces up until it came time for Yoongi to head home. Hoseok who had been randomly spamming the chat just because he didn’t have company in their normally hectic noisy dorm. He must have been sad, spending another holiday up in Seoul instead of Gwangju with his family. But Hoseok said it was worth it; he didn’t want his parents to foot more roundtrip fare to get him home for Christmas when he’d only be gone for a few days, and his sister also hadn’t gone home; they could just video chat, he told them.

So Yoongi had decided that morning that he was leaving early. He tells his parents goodbye, kicks his brother playfully, and takes off back to the dorms.

As a bonus, with some extra cash his parents give him, he buys fried chicken. It’s a holiday tradition somewhere, he’s sure. Japan, he thinks? He’s not sure what the origin is but he knows it probably has to do with America. Whatever it is, he’s sure it’ll still be enjoyable.

Opening the door, Yoongi quickly shouts that he’s back, and finds Hoseok laying back on the floor in the living room watching a drama on their television, hand lazily fiddling with a tea bottle. The younger one grins at his arrival, attention immediately shifted. “Hyung! You’re back! Hey!”

Hoseok honestly doesn’t look good at all. Once again, just like he’d caught him in the practice room, he was pale and a little sweaty again, with a hand pressed against his stomach. Maybe it was just hunger again, but given how he was so pale… Yoongi was starting to doubt it.

“Brought chicken too.” Yoongi puts on a smile and sets it down on the table in front of him.

Hoseok’s eyes widen. “You came back early and brought food? Hyung, you must be an angel.”

The two laugh, and Hoseok clears a space on the table and hurries to his feet. He pauses, trying not to stagger; Yoongi’s quick to grab his arm to support him. “Hoseok-ah?”

The younger dancer grimaces, eyes shut as he takes a deep breath. He releases it with a shudder, his hand reaching up to rub at his head. “Sorry, hyung… I got dizzy for a second.”

“You don’t look well… here, sit. Let me get it for you.” Yoongi helps Hoseok back to the floor cushion, handing him his tea again, unscrewing the bottle for him. The bottle is still mostly full. “Drink some, okay?”

Hoseok nods, and goes to sip as Yoongi to the kitchen to grab a drink for himself. There’s not much in their little fridge, but he finds two colas and brings them out. It’s a special occasion; surely, whichever trainee had this will understand. He’s not sure if Hoseok will be up for the carbonation, but he wants to keep the offer there. As he returns, he finds Hoseok leaning forward, rubbing his stomach again.

Yoongi sighs. He’s glad he came when he did; Hoseok doesn’t need to be alone like this. They wait until Hoseok seems to feel a little better, whining as he sniffs the air. “Hyung… the chicken smells so good.”

“But do you think you can eat it?” Yoongi moves his hand to rub at the back of Hoseok’s neck, smiling as he watches his dongsaeng’s shoulders droop. “Is your stomach bothering you?”

Hoseok sighs. “A little, yeah…” But both boys knew Hoseok was lying; he could barely tell a convincing lie on a good day, but he looks downright uncomfortable to be where he is. Still, to prove himself, he reaches over and pulls off a piece and takes a bite. Yoongi watches him closely as Hoseok chews and swallows… and immediately leans forward.

“A lot… come on, Seok-ah, can you stand?”

“I get dizzy… I’m already a little dizzy.”

Shit. Hoseok isn’t a short kid, either. Doesn’t weigh much thankfully, but it’s all muscle. Hoseok’s always been lean limbs and slim muscles, but that doesn’t make him the lightest. Yoongi isn’t going to let them stay there though, not while Hoseok seems to be struggling so hard. He closes the travel box, sure they can put it up later, and goes to help Hoseok to his feet. And Hoseok sways. His skin goes ashen almost immediately, his eyes unfocused, and he knees seem to refrain from shaking by sheer force of will. For a solid second, Yoongi doesn’t think he can catch him, but Hoseok stumbles a step forward just in time.

The young dancer sighs. “Sorry, hyung… I kind of want to sit down.”

Yoongi just moves to Hoseok’s side. “We’re gonna need to take you to a hospital. There’s no way you can do anything like this.”

What worries Yoongi next is the immediate lack of protesting that came after. Hoseok mulls over the idea, as another grimace of pain washes over his face, and Yoongi just wraps an arm around his waist. He really does not seem to be feeling good.

“Come on, Seok-ah, let’s go.”

It takes a little longer than Yoongi would like to walk Hoseok downstairs from their dorm, but Hoseok goes without complaint. Besides a hitch of breath or a pause to wince, he doesn’t utter a single complaint. But Yoongi can feel how strained Hoseok’s small answers to his questions are, the slight tremble from under his arms. Hoseok’s skin feels so hot under his touch. When they make it downstairs, Hoseok takes to sitting on the side stairs while Yoongi orders a taxi. They’d considered the subways for all of one minute before Hoseok’s footing had slipped, and Yoongi opted against it. A taxi ride wouldn’t be awful on the finances; Yoongi’s sure replacing the sodas will cost more.

~*~

“That was… the worst taxi ride,” Hoseok grumbles as he leans heavily on Yoongi. Yoongi can’t disagree; the drive was rough, the traffic stop-and-go, and he’d taken to holding Hoseok’s hand to keep the younger dancer calm. But Hoseok’s face had taken on a greenish tint, and they weren’t even in the doorway before Hoseok pushes away from Yoongi.

“Seok-ah—”

And… splat. Hoseok leans forward by the trash can at the entrance, eyes screwed shut as he vomits again. Yoongi sighs, moving over to hold him up by his shoulders. He rubs his back with his other arm, trying to keep him calm.

“It’s okay, Seok-ah, let it out. I know it hurts.”

His hand rubs slow circles on his back, grimacing as he feels Hoseok’s back tense as he vomits another mouthful. He’s feeling warmer, and Hoseok can feel the sweat soaking through his shirt. He’s shaking completely now, one hand holding onto the pillar in the front, the other gripping his knee with white knuckles. He looks so weak, so strange, and Yoongi hates it. Hoseok, to Yoongi, has always been a strong young man; he’s always been up to every challenge, takes every job seriously, tackles every challenge he’s faced with his chin up and head held high. He’d dealt with feeling this poorly without complaining about anything. It startles Yoongi to know his friend has been suffering without asking for help at all.

But hyung’s here now. Yoongi’s not going to let him suffer alone.

Once Hoseok finishes, Yoongi’s arm around his shoulders tightens to help him up before he stumbles. Hoseok feels unsteady on his feet and he looks completely grey, and exhausted.

“Think you can make it inside?” Yoongi asks softly. “Or do you want to wait here and I’ll get a nurse—”

The automatic doors open, and a nurse hurries out with a handful of tissues. He hurries over to the pair. “Is he okay? Drunk?”

Hoseok accepts the napkins with a small mumble of thanks, wiping his mouth with the paper.

Yoongi decides to take charge talking to the nurse. He swallows his annoyance that every adult thinks the youth are nothing but trouble, and figures being direct is the best way to solve the issue.

“He’s sick. He’s having really bad stomach pain and a fever now.” Yoongi’s frown grew. “The taxi ride up here was really bad.”

The nurse, thankfully, nods and looks at Hoseok, taking in an initial evaluation. Hoseok is still unsteady but Yoongi’s holding him closely, and the man holds up one finger and hurries inside. He comes back out with a wheelchair. “Come on, let your friend sit here, we can go inside and get him signed in.”

That brings a smile to Yoongi’s lips. Finally, Hoseok will get some help.

~*~

Curled on his side in the hospital’s open room, Hoseok yawns as he looks at Yoongi. “Sorry, hyung, I know this was a lot.”

Yoongi just reaches over to stroke his hair. “That’s stupid, don’t apologize for being sick. Do they need to give you more painkillers?”

Hoseok gives a rough laugh. Through an IV, he’s received some fantastic painkillers, antinausea medication, and antibiotics, and he is completely relaxed under the thick blanket. The hospital is warm, but the medication working through his veins felt cold enough to give him a chill. While he was being examined, Yoongi had called their manager to give him a heads up and the staff promised to reimburse Yoongi for all of his efforts. Feeling a little more appreciated by the staff, albeit a little bashful for the compliments, he’d hurried off the call to return to Hoseok’s bedside.

Hoseok is already looking a little better. He’s not as pale, his cheeks finally taking on a rosier tint rather than the ashen grey he had earlier. He also didn’t look as stressed, but his eyes blink almost more rapidly as he looks at the older rapper. Yoongi reaches a hand over, stroking Hoseok’s hair back.

“Yoongi-hyung?”

“Hm?” Yoongi smiles down, long fingers raking across Hoseok’s scalp. He watches as the younger dancer’s eyelids grow heavy, another yawn escaping; Hoseok brings the corner of the blanket to his mouth and yawns into it again. As he begins to drift off, he mumbles a soft but solid, “Thank you, hyung. You’re the best.”

That startles Yoongi. Looking away as his neck begins to feel hot, he just shrugs. “You’d do the same for me, so… It’s nothin’.”

The smile on Hoseok’s face is the only indicator he’s heard, but neither of them say more.

Hoseok had fun filming the double-dose of run episodes, their second being a watery debate that ended in non-stop splashing and drenching, but he could feel the chill once they were out of the water. Even if the water was so forceful it really almost hurt, after their long morning of tennis battles, it was still a great day. The pool water was warmed, not quite at the intensity of the hot tub but it certainly wasn’t freezing. But they could feel the draft every moment they stepped from the water, the feeling of the air drafting over their soaked clothing the moment they left the safety of the pool.

“Come on, hyungie, time to get out,” Jimin urged, pushing his foot against Hoseok’s. They were still in the pool trying to soak in the last bit of warmth they could after Jungkook pushed them in while horsing around, hair plastered to their necks and foreheads while they bounced across the shallow end.

Laughing, Hoseok tried to grab Jimin’s foot, only to assist in tripping the younger member as Taehyung hurried in after them.

“Come on, guys, let’s get ready to go.”

Suga, with a new towel wrapped around his shoulders, stood from the sidelines. He already worried about all of them catching something, but he definitely didn’t want to be the first. While the pool was relaxing and the hot tub even better, it was just slightly too cold for them to enjoy it to its fullest. Hoseok, ever the one of reason, let go of his roommate in favor of wading towards the exit—but Jimin was quick to jump on his back to shove him in, cackling as Hoseok barely had time to grab his nose to prevent inhaling water. When he came up, spluttering and wiping away fresh water from his eyes, he leaned back in an attempt to dunk Jimin off.

…just kidding about reason, Suga realized. Laughing, he just turned and hurried off to find where Namjoon had gone.

Hoseok sneezed again, small but powerful; it shook his core, his sinuses burning, his nerve endings tingling uncomfortably from his shoulders to his fingertips from the force. It startled him.

“Uh-oh.” Came a voice behind him in the water.

When Hoseok shook water from his eyes, slightly dazed from the force of the sneeze, he caught Jungkook wading over, hands outstretched. Hoseok barely had time to reach back before Jungkook had latched onto his shoulders, slowly dragging him back.

“Jungkookie, what are you doing?” Hoseok mumbled.

“Taking Hobi-hyung to the steps. Come on, let’s go, I’m hungry!”

“We need to shower first,” Hoseok started. “The chlor—clor--… claahh…” And another sneeze, which had him shaking suddenly in Jungkook’s grasp.

Jimin, who’d been lazily wading behind them, sniffled with a frown. “Hob-ah, that doesn’t sound so good.”

“Aish… I just need a hot shower when we get back. You too, Jiminie, your nose is running.”

“Is d’ot!” Jimin protested, but he had to bring a hand to his face to wipe away what he had originally thought was just water. It felt wet but warm, stringy; definitely snot. And disgusting. He turned his head from Hoseok to hide the move, but Hoseok had already begun ascending the stairs, already trying to peel himself out of his soaked tops. On Jimin’s own way out of the pool, he sneezed—and it was enough to drop him back into the water with a melodramatic air about it. Jungkook lost himself to laughter immediately.

 ~*~

 The next morning, Hoseok woke up with two major complaints. His blanket was part missing, and he was hot. The dorm room had felt frigid the night prior which prompted Hoseok to crawl underneath the comforter and the sheets, but his bed felt so warm he began to regret his choices the moment he stirred awake. It felt almost… stuffy. A little gross. As he blinked open his eyes, ready to push back one blanket, he noticed a familiar lump pressed against him that was holding on to his blanket like a lifeline.

“Jiminie?” he mumbled, voice hoarse and thick with sleep. Still as ever, Hoseok recognized that messy blonde hair from anywhere. He and Jimin had shared enough beds that he could tell in an instant.

The room still seemed too dark as Hoseok tried to blink the sleep from his eyes, but he knew something had to have been wrong if Jimin had maneuvered over to his bed that night. Stifling a yawn, he reached a hand over, gingerly pressing his palm against Jimin’s forehead. He could feel heat, but… not too warm? Maybe? Jimin felt clammy to him, which he was sure wasn’t his own sweaty palms. Something still seemed off to Hoseok, but even with his sleep-logged brain he wanted to do something about it. He figured, while he was up, he’d at least check on him, perhaps get him medicine and water to shake whatever he seemed to be coming down with. The older dancer moved carefully, sliding his legs from the covers first so he could slip from the bed without disturbing his younger guest. The floor seemed chilly under his feet, but what startled him awake was how fast the world seemed to sway the moment he stood.

Was he really so tired?

Taking a moment, hand pressed flat against the wall, he just reacquainted himself with his sense of balance before he took another step. He felt… sore, tired from yesterday’s events. Perhaps he just really needed more sleep; Hobi hated not getting enough sleep when he had the chance to. But today’s schedule was light—he could go back to sleep after he took care of Jimin, squeeze in another hour or two. Grumbling, he shook his head; once everything seemed to right itself, he shook the funk from his head and just left the room. That sure was strange. With a soft yawn, he headed over to the bathroom on their side of the hall, as he could hear the shower running in the closer one, moving towards their first aid and medicine stash they had.

Given the seven of them were always prone to falling, overworking, or catching each other’s illnesses, their bathrooms in the dorms were always stocked with various painkillers, bandages and cold medicine or prescriptions for various circumstances. For organizational purposes, Hoseok had placed them all in a plastic container, so different bottles wouldn’t just get knocked over and passed around the bathroom. It still had a crack from the last time Namjoon knocked it over. Pulling over the container closer to him, Hoseok reached in for one of the bottles of painkillers, looking at the specifics on the label. His vision blurred, and he spent a few moments just blinking, trying to will his eyes to focus so he could read the label.

Wow, he must have been really tired…                          

“Hoseok-ah?”

The light turned on suddenly. That would’ve helped, but it had Hoseok grimacing, an odd heavy feeling forming in his head. He didn’t often get headaches from lack of sleep, but he was starting to wonder if an impending one was coming along. He looked into the mirror at the new offender, and was surprised to find Jin standing in the doorway with his toothbrush. The two made eye contact through the reflections.

“Ah… Hyung. Good morning. Using our bathroom?”

“Yeah, Taetae’s hogging the shower in ours.” Jin’s head tilted to the side, a small frown tugging on his lips as he noticed the medicine kit in front of them. “Did something happen? Hoseok-ah, are you okay?”

“Hn? Ah… Jiminie’s sick, I’m pretty sure,” Hoseok explained. “He crawled into my bed last night, but he’s really warm today so I think he’s got a fever.”

“Hm… Well, let hyung help with that.” Jin set his toothbrush down and moved a little closer, brushing his shoulder against Hoseok’s as he slid the container of medications closer to him. “And you?” he asked, head turning to Hoseok directly. “How are you feeling?”

“Ah…” How was he feeling? Hoseok just yawned again. “I think once I check on Jimin, I’m—” but he paused, bringing a hand to his mouth to force out a rough cough. It hurt, an uncomfortable heat overwhelming his chest as he tried to choke out whatever offending phlegm had gripped into his lungs. After a few rough coughs, accompanied with Jin’s hand patting his back, he manages to stop, taking in a harsh breath. He looked up, shaking his head. “Once I check on Jiminie, I’m going back to sleep for another hour.”

Jin’s arm draped around his shoulder to give the younger rapper a hug, but he paused and moved his hand back, pressing it against the back of Hoseok’s neck. At the offending heat, he brought his other hand up to Hoseok’s cheek, pressing the back of his fingers to clammy skin. Hoseok didn’t bother fighting him off, not bothering to entertain his concern, and just continued to rummage through the kit until he could find the thermometer.

“I think you’re also sick… It’d explain why you’re so sweaty. You’re really clammy.”

Hoseok just shook his head. “Jiminie was too hot is all,” he answered. “Jin-hyung, I’m okay--” But his breath hitched. His sinuses suddenly burned, and it’s all the movement he could do to turn his head away before letting out a loud, nasally sneeze onto his own shoulder. His nose felt wet instantly, and he screwed up his face in discomfort, leaning over to grab a tissue.

Jin’s frown grew in intensity, and as Hoseok wiped his nose, the older one turned him to face him, looking closer at his face, catching view of the glassy look in Hoseok’s doe eyes. Despite his determination, Hoseok merely looked too dazed to stay on his feet for long. “Seok-ah… Come on, listen to hyung.”

Hoseok sniffled, blinking almost owlishly at Jin. “I’ll take something later, but I’m fine.”  With a soft laugh, Hoseok shook his head and stepped back, grabbing the painkillers and thermometer on his way back to his room. Jin watched after him, frowning heavily.

“I’m going to get you both some water.”

“I already have water,” Hoseok called after him, but he grimaced at how harsh it felt against his throat. He pointedly ignored Jin’s pressing stare and scurried back into his room, crawling back onto the bed. Leaning over, he gently pressed his weight against Jimin, resting his head against the younger dancer’s. “Jiminie, wake up, wake up,” he said softly in a sing-song voice.

Jimin grimaced, but immediately turned his face towards his pillow to cough roughly as he tried to clear away any phlegm that settled into his chest during his slumber. Hoseok eased off, dropping the pill bottle on the bed to pat Jimin’s back until the fit ended. It took a minute, but by the time the fit ended, Jin was back with a water bottle, Hoseok slowly urging Jimin to sit up while Jin brought the cool water to his lips. Barely awake, Jimin sipped at the water slowly, his small hand reaching up to grab it from the older vocalist. After a few seconds, with Hoseok just rubbing circles against his back, he handed it back, taking a deep breath with it.

“Sorry, hyungs…” Jimin mumbled. He brought a hand to his face to rub at his eyes. “I didn’t feel great last night… I was cold.”

“You’re sick, Minnie.” Jin ran a hand through his hair, then pressed a hand against Jimin’s forehead, taking a moment to gauge his fever himself. His eyes widened, which had Hoseok tilting his head in confusion. “Your fever feels really high, too…”

“It didn’t feel that bad when I checked earlier,” countered Hoseok, though the exasperated frown he received in response had him shrinking back. He glanced around, a little surprised to find another water bottle and cough syrup on the side table. Turning his lips inward, he handed the thermometer over when prompted, and Jin removed the cap.

“Under your tongue, please. And no talking until it gets a reading.”

Jimin blinked in surprise, glancing between the two of them. “You guys came prepared… Wasn’t expecting that.” But he did as instructed, letting Jin position the thermometer in his mouth before closing his lips around it. Hoseok turned his face away to let out another sneeze, grimacing as the sensation set his nerves temporarily aflame. Still holding the tissue from earlier, he just wiped his nose again.

“Did—”

“Don’t talk.”

Jimin’s lips closed back over the thermometer, but his eyes turned to Hoseok as they waited. Jin pointedly avoided looking at Hoseok. Once the small device beeped, Jin moved it from Jimin in order to gauge the reading: 38.8°C. Jin read it aloud as he stood from the bed.

“Not dangerously high, thankfully… If we stay on top of it, it should go down. Feeling anything else besides the fever, Minnie?” Jin questioned his dongsaeng.

“This dumb cough… my head hurts a little, but the painkillers will help with that.”

The eldest nodded. “Alright… I grabbed cough syrup too. Take that while I go wash this off.”

As Jin left the room, Hoseok leaned over Jimin to grab the cough syrup, frowning when he noticed the two small dosage cups tucked on top. Jimin seemed to notice them too, looking over at his roommate.

“Did I get you sick, hyungie?” he asked softly.

“You didn’t, Jiminie, so cute of my precious roommate to worry about me!” Hoseok cooed playfully, though the rasp to his voice was evident to the younger man given his little pout. The older dancer worked on finding the proper dosage for the syrup. But as he attempted to read, his brows furrowed; for some reason, they words weren’t focusing as well, but it was probably due to the lower lighting. He brought it closer to his face, but his eyes watered a bit trying to stare too closely.

Jimin’s own clammy hands gently eased the bottle from his grip, a soft look in his eyes. Hoseok could see a look of worry; he didn’t like that at all. “Let’s just wait for Jin-hyung for that one. Where’s the painkillers?”

Oh, those he had. Hoseok picked up that bottle and opened it with slight strain, but paused as he turned his face away with another sneeze. He sniffled, then knocked out two tablets to hand to Jimin. The smaller singer tossed them into his mouth and washed them down with a large swig of the water, then glanced at his roommate again.

“What, Jiminie?”

“Are you just going to pretend you’re okay all day?” Jimin asked softly, pouting once again.

“W-what?”

Jimin didn’t get a chance to answer before Jin was back, sitting down near Jimin’s legs. He leaned over, holding the thermometer to Hoseok. He had his stern face on, something the others hadn’t seen in a long while. Jin was a rather easygoing member, usually more playful than anything, unless there was something truly bothering him or if he was concentrating too hard. “Humor me.”

“Jin-hyung, this is ridic—” Jin cut Hoseok off by pressing the thermometer in his mouth.

“Under your tongue.”

“Ji—”

“And no talking!”

With a frown over the small device, Hoseok pulled the thermometer from his lips and merely climbed from the bed to clean it. What he didn’t expect was to catch Jimin’s hand gripping his own, tugging him back down. It was almost embarrassing how easy Hoseok stumbled back, eyes wildly blinking as his view changed suddenly. He frowned, and the uneasy sensation from earlier returned almost full force. Jin wasted no time pushing the thermometer back in his mouth, but he sat still with a small huff, waiting. Jin busied himself with filling both dosage cups with liquid, handing Jimin one of them. Once the thermometer beeped, Hoseok pulled it from his lips and frowned at the reading: a 39.1°C. Jin quickly snagged it from him before he could erase the reading, which had him sighing.

“Hyung, I’m fine,” Hoseok insisted.

Jin just handed him the second cup. “Drink up.”

With a sigh, Hoseok just nodded, drinking the small cup like a shot. It burned just as badly going down, but far less satisfying, than soju. As Jin collected the cups, he handed Hoseok the second water bottle and left the room again.

Jimin sighed, flopping back on the bed. He definitely looked worse for wear, and Hoseok brought a shaky hand up to run fingers through his hair. Jimin smiled softly. “Hyungie… Since we’re both sick, we should just nap all day. Cuddle me?”

With a grumble, Hoseok just crawled his way back onto the bed next to Jimin, pushing away the covers on his side. With this fever, Jimin felt like a furnace and it was extremely easy to overheat. Hoseok didn’t sip the water, merely held onto the bottle pressed to the side of his chest; although he wouldn’t admit it, the cold temperature in his hands felt nice to just hold onto. Jin didn’t say much else, merely reached over to ruffle both of their heads before standing.

“Go ahead and rest, okay? I’ll stay in today. If you need anything, call hyung.”

Jimin smiled up at him before tucking his face into Hoseok’s neck, yawning loudly. Hoseok merely pulled him close and let his eyes flutter closed. He didn’t even remember falling asleep.

 ~*~

 Waking up was a startling affair. Still half-asleep, Hoseok barely registered the feeling of someone pulling him upright, and he bumped his head immediately against someone’s knee.

“Whoops, sorry, Hob-ah.”

“Yah, Namjoon-ah! Be careful!”

Faint coughing from Jimin, then the immediate sound of retching. Hoseok opened his eyes to see Jimin hunched over the side of the bed, Jin rubbing his back gently while looking at someone over Hoseok’s head. Namjoon, Hoseok guessed, but he couldn’t understand how Namjoon ended up standing over him. And then the overwhelming scent of vomit just attacked his nose, overpowering the scent of sickness that had begun to permeate the room. He felt hot, and sticky, and feeling Namjoon’s large arms holding him up by his armpits didn’t help.

“You awake, Hobi?” Namjoon asked. “We’re gonna have to help you two shower after this.”

Grimacing, Hoseok brought a hand up to rub his eye—only for both Namjoon and Jin to yell at him to stop moving. He paused, hand lifted upward—and it was wet. A warm, sticky wet, and smelled sour… He was quick to realize it was vomit, in its gross and putrid glory. Jimin let out another heavy, loud retch, and Hoseok’s own stomach flipped at the sound of liquid splashing into something plastic. Hoseok didn’t do well with vomit on a decent day, barely being a step above sympathy puking, but the uncomfortable warmth and the heavy odor in the air was more than enough to make him nauseous immediately. He whimpered, mouth already beginning to salivate uncomfortably.

“Yaaaah, Hoseok-ah, let Namjoon get you to the bathroom first! Namjoon--”

“I got it!”

The younger rapper came into view as he stepped to Hoseok’s left side, letting go of the dancer in order to flip the blanket to the side. Hoseok could see the liquid already seeping through, and his shirt was drenched in sweat and speckled in leftover stomach bile. He felt gross… His stomach rolled immediately. Namjoon wasted no time in pulling Hoseok to his feet and off the bed, ignoring the dripping mess from his hand as he ushered him to the bathroom. Hoseok wasted no time dropping to his knees when they made it past the door, not even waiting for Namjoon to turn on the light before he gave in to his body’s demands. The pressure forced bile from him like it had been waiting for hours, the cramp in his stomach twisting to empty the contents. He didn’t eat much, so he was startled when one mouthful became three, which soon were too many to count. Just what did he even have in his stomach to expel so harshly? His shoulders shook with exertion, cleaner hand trembling as it gripped the edge of the commode so tight his knuckles were white. All the while, Namjoon knelt beside him, wiping his messy hand with a wet wipe before just rubbing his back, reassuring him that he was okay, to just let it out and he’d feel better soon. It felt almost never-ending, each few seconds forcing out another painful retch as he tried to cough up whatever he could have eaten in the past week, his esophagus on fire. His back hurt, tense from the strain, and he could barely feel his fingers.

It took a long few minutes before the cramping let up, and Hoseok, extremely winded and drained, rested his head to the side of the bowl. He’d needed a shower anyway; this wasn’t the worst. Namjoon sighed softly, more of relief than anything.

“Nothing else in there?” he asked.

“Nn-nn. Joonie… that felt bad.”

“It looked bad.”

Hoseok could feel Namjoon easing his face away, hearing the sudden roar of the toilet flushing before him. He let him go, and Hoseok’s cheek found the porcelain again while he just let his eyes fall closed and listened to the ruckus happening around him. Namjoon swearing softly as he messed with the cleaning wipes, probably cleaning up whatever mess Hoseok may have made of around the toilet. He could hear the shower running, and Namjoon soon tugging the toilet paper roll—the entire roll, judging by the sudden clanging of metal—from the ring. It didn’t take long for Hoseok to feel toilet paper wiping at his mouth, and he pouted at the feeling.

“Sorry, we should probably rinse your mouth out before you shower, but let me get this extra off your face.”

“Can I shower here?” Hoseok muttered.

With a soft laugh, Namjoon just helped him remove his dirtied clothing. Hoseok leaned back to realize Namjoon also seemed to be shirtless, and opened his eyes to find that his friend had already stripped to his own boxers.

“Wha…?”

Namjoon laughed softly. “You’re really not in any condition to shower by yourself, Hob-ah.”

That earned him a pout. Hoseok wanted to believe he wasn’t so incapacitated that he needed help… but given how the fatigue seemed to stay settled in his bones, he knew his friend was right. Namjoon was at least kind about it as he helped him move into the shower, taking extra effort to massage Hoseok’s scalp as he conditioned his hair just to help him relax. Hoseok didn’t even feel shame as he let the shower’s water splash against his clammy skin. He let Namjoon sponge away grime and sweat from his body, and the gentle scent of the soap already brightened up his mood. Namjoon urged him out before he got too relaxed, helping him dress in fresh pajamas. Upon closer look, Hoseok realized that neither the pants nor the oversized shirt were his, but they felt nice nonetheless.

“Finally got in your pants, Namjoooon,” Hoseok laughed breathlessly.

That got a chuckle out of his friend, who just toweled his hair for a few seconds before walking him down the hall. As they passed his shared bedroom, Hoseok found himself squinting over his shoulder in surprise. “Mm… Joonie?”

“Jin-hyung’s letting your room air out a little more,” Namjoon replied. Instead, he was led right into Namjoon’s own room, and the taller rapper helped ease him into bed. With a soft sigh, Hoseok pressed his face right against the pillow. Feeling considerably cooler, more comfortable, and on one of Namjoon’s feathersoft pillows, he was already doing better. The fellow 94-liner draped a blanket over him and straightened it out, then, to be safe, pushed his desk trash can to the side of the bed. “Rest for a while, okay, Hobi?”

Hoseok didn’t need to be told twice. Eyes closing, he fell asleep easily.

 ~*~

 Hoseok awoke feeling way too warm. With a grimace, he lifted a hand to push the blankets away, only to find that he apparently had been hugging some sort of companion. Confused, he paused, lifting his head up as he squinted forward.

From there, he saw Yoongi, earphone in one ear, phone in a hand with stylus in the other, He seemed to be jotting down notes. Yoongi absently placed the stylus in his mouth and moved his hand to Hoseok’s hair, petting it gently. The notion had Hoseok moving to drop his head against Yoongi’s chest, his arm still draped across his stomach. He hummed softly.

“Hyung?” Hoseok mumbled.

Yoongi’s hand didn’t stop petting his hair. “You’re awake, Seokseok-ah?”

Hoseok gave a slight nod. “It’s hot in here.”

Yoongi looked down, and his hand moved from ruffling his hair to covering his forehead. “Shit… you missed a dose. You need more medicine.”

Shaking his head, Hoseok let out a whine. “I don’t wanna be asleep anymore. Yoongiiii…”

That got a chuckle out of the older boy. “Come on. Meds, a little bit of juk, and maybe we can crash in the living room for a bit—”

Before Yoongi could finish discussing the game plan, the door to Namjoon’s room swung open carefully, and Jin’s head popped in. Hoseok turned to look at him, putting on a smile.

“Hey, you’re up! See, Jimin-ah? He’s okay, he was just resting in here.” His voice remained low and soft, and Hoseok had to smile at how careful their eldest hyung was being. As Jin moved back, Hoseok could see Jimin peering in, eyes tired but delighted to see him.

“Hobi-hyung!” Jimin wasted no time in crossing the room, immediately draping himself over the two on the bed.

Hoseok fought back a grimace and smiled, small hand reaching over to ruffle Jimin’s hair. Jimin’s extra weight pressed against his tender stomach and just made him feel warmer, but he was glad to see his roommate. “Jiminie, feeling better?”

Jimin sighed dramatically. “Only a little bit… I’m sorry I threw up on you.”

At that, Yoongi laughed, hand reaching over to gently shove Jimin’s shoulder. “Better get out before you throw up on this bed too.”

“Hyung, don’t tease me, I’m sick,” whined the small vocalist. He received another shove in response.

But with a laugh, Jin merely headed in to tug Jimin back to his feet, promising they’d visit again later. As they left, Hoseok could hear Jin convincing Jimin to return to bed now that they’d seen Hoseok, and the gesture made Hoseok feel warm inside. It was nice to know that Jimin cared for him even as they were; he just hoped the others were taking as good care of Jimin as they were of himself. He was sure they were, especially if Jin was there. Jin was the best.

“What’s that make me,” Yoongi asked, “Chopped liver?”

Hoseok laughed, not realizing he’d spoken out loud. “You’re my best hyung.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Yoongi chuckled at that, bringing a hand back up to stroke Hoseok’s hair. As Hoseok began to relax against him, the older rapper nudged him with his shoulder. “Come on, Seokseok-ah… Food and meds. Food and meds, and then you can sleep again.”

‘I love you baby’

‘I know is late but I ad a nightmare and I miss you, cannn you just tell me yu love me? Just so I kno you’re okay??’

‘unless your’e sleeping, plees slee\[‘

So, so many typos… Hoseok wasn’t the type to be hypervigilant on his texting, but he was far better about typos than a lot of them. But to see so many… a nightmare? The grogginess from his eyes begins to fade over the message. In the corner, he sees a flashing ellipses appear and vanish quite a few times. Was Hoseok still typing? Namjoon sits upright and just sends his own simple response:

‘I love you, Hobi, my sunshine.’

And then:

‘Are you okay?’

The read marking pops up immediately, followed by a typing indicator, but the only thing he receives is a small emoji heart. Hoseok up after two in the morning meant nothing good… Namjoon doesn’t bother to change out of his pajamas. He unplugs his phone from the charger and moves to slide on his jacket, before heading to the front foyer to grab his wallet and keys. Slipping on his shoes, he locks up and hurries to his car.

What was he even doing? In the middle of the night, going off of vague messages from his boyfriend who hasn’t said anything else. A heart isn’t an answer, not in the least; Namjoon merely hurries down the roads, the streets as relatively deserted as usual on a weeknight, and he’s quick to slide into the guest parking and make a quick run to the 24-hour shop next door. Hoseok and Namjoon have already traded keys, so Namjoon merely lets himself in to find Hoseok’s shoes kicked off haphazardly in the doorway.

Peculiar…

“Hob-ah?” Namjoon calls out softly.

He gets a low groan in response, coming from the living room of his boyfriend’s apartment instead of his bedroom. Being 2:46 in the morning, Hoseok should have already been asleep, completely tuned out from the world until his alarm went off. But Namjoon could see an abandoned mug on the kitchen countertop (already something very un-Hobi-like, he always liked having a clean kitchen in the mornings) and the television’s lights still on, and moves in to investigate. There, Namjoon finds Hoseok, in all his rundown glory, curled up on a cushion on his plush couch, huddled with a blanket pulled over his head. Hoseok turns when he hears Namjoon walking, eyes a little startled.

“Hobi, sweetheart?”

Hoseok blinks owlishly, confused over his boyfriend’s arrival. “Joonie bug? It’s late, what are you doing?” His voice is raspy and almost a little nasally, mixed with sleep and… what sounded to the beginning stages of a cold. That doesn’t sound good.

As Namjoon approaches, he can see the dark bags under Hoseok’s eyes reflecting sickly from the television light. His eyes also don’t miss the mixing bowl and plastic bag on the center table, or the opened soda can. Hoseok really must not have been feeling well, but he definitely did try to prepare. When Hoseok catches Namjoon frowning at the bowl, he leans his head back on the couch.

“My tummy hurt earlier, that’s all…” he mumbled. “But Joonie bug…”

“You texted me. So I, uh.” With that, Namjoon just holds up the bag. “I wasn’t sure what you had but I brought soup. It’s, uh… it’s my best hangover soup, but I wasn’t sure what happened.”

But the sight of it makes Hoseok grin, toothy and full of heart. And then he sneezes, hard and loud, and it makes Namjoon jump. The skin under Hoseok’s nose reflects in the light, and he’s quick to grab a tissue, blowing his nose with it. So… sick and not drunk, well that’s good to know. Kneeling next to him on the floor, Namjoon strokes Hoseok’s hair away with his free hand to press a palm against his forehead, sighing when he feels a pressing heat against it. To be safe, he slides his hand down to the side of his neck to make sure, a small, pitying smile on his face.

“Oh Hob-ah, baby, you’re sick… You should have called me earlier.”

Hoseok lowers the tissue. “I felt okay earlier…”

“Did you, or are you just telling me you did?” Namjoon questions, moving his hand upward to pet his hair. His long fingers rake along his boyfriend’s scalp, featherlight touches brushing gently. Hoseok seems to melt under his touch, his eyes already fluttering closed.

“…I didn’t feel okay earlier…” his boyfriend mumbles. “That feels nice…”

Laughing softly, Namjoon nods despite knowing Hoseok can’t see it. But he knows he appreciates the comfort, and he wants to give it while he’s here. He can already see the sleepy drooping from the older one’s mouth, the relaxed nature taking over almost instantly from the gentle notions. He knows if he keeps going, Hoseok will fall asleep quickly, and it hurts him that he has to stop. He ruffles his hair instead, smiling when he sees Hoseok’s cute little nose scrunch up in displeasure.

“Nooo… keep petting me,” he whines, his small hands reaching up to hold Namjoon’s wrist in place.

Namjoon chuckles again. “Did you take any medicine? Or… eat anything?”

“Joonie… pet me…”

“Will you answer me if I pet you?” Namjoon’s fingers resume rubbing along Hoseok’s scalp, and he receives a satisfied hum in response. He decided not to push him too much; after all, his boyfriend was sick, and it was the middle of the night. But… he wasn’t going to sleep on the floor by the couch. He moves his hand away and goes to put the soup in the fridge, fetching a water bottle instead. He moves into Hoseok’s room and is still pleased to see it’s clean. Pulling the blanket back, he sets the water bottle on the side table and heads back out.

His attempts to move Hoseok receive just a whimper, but he somehow manages to get his boyfriend to his feet. Namjoon keeps his arm wrapped around his waist and helps him relocate into his room. He dragged the mixing bowl in with them, setting it on the floor by the side of the bed. Then, as Hoseok begins to whine about the bed being cold and lonely, Namjoon shucks off his hoodie and curls up next to him, pulling the ailing man into his arms. Hoseok is too warm in Namjoon’s grasp, but he merely uncovers his arms and closes his eyes, letting his boyfriend’s congested breaths fill the air.

 ~*~

 Namjoon is used to nights where he hasn’t fully slept, where he’s taken a thirty-minute power nap to get him from Day 1 to Day 2 with a mug of coffee and nothing but adrenaline and work to keep him going. But after his nap from earlier, and his nap again with Hoseok in his arms, he’s completely disoriented when he feels himself shoved to the side, the room immediately filled with the sound of retching. Namjoon blinks his eyes open as his hand stretches over to rub Hoseok’s back, trying to comfort his boyfriend as he mentally reminded himself of his location.

His sweetheart was sick, and apparently resting did not help. He sees Hoseok sitting up, the mixing bowl double-lined with plastic bags in his lap as he weakly attempts to throw up whatever was in his system. Hoseok looks pale and even in the weak light of sunrise attempting to peek from the windows, Namjoon can see his hands trembling. That’s enough recollection to have him sitting up, arm moving to wrap around his boyfriend’s shoulders, helping hold him up as he whispers encouraging words to him.

When Hoseok finally stops, Namjoon brings his hand up to wipe stray tears from his cheeks before he moves the bowl back, but not away just yet. Hoseok takes a deep breath, a pout on his lips as he scrunches his eyes closed.

“Want to rinse your mouth out, baby?”

“Gross…” Hoseok mumbles. Namjoon hands him a towel to wipe his lips, then the water bottle. With a sip, Hoseok swishes it around in his mouth and spits it out into the mixing bowl, then repeats the process when he feels like once wasn’t enough. All the while, Namjoon uses a corner of the towel to stroke at his face, and whether Namjoon’s wiping away sweat or tears, Hoseok can’t quite tell. Lazily, Hoseok’s hand holding the water bottle just moves to rest on his leg; he’s not sure if he’d make it trying to put it back on the table, but he really just wants to lie back down.

“Think you’re okay, for now?” Namjoon whispers. When he receives a nod, he returns the mixing bowl to the floor and moves the towel back to the bedside table. Gently gripping Hoseok’s hand, Namjoon brings the water bottle back to his lips and instructs him to sip. Hoseok takes a few weak sips before he lowers it back, pressing his face into Namjoon’s shoulder. Namjoon can feel the radiating heat from him, and he can tell for sure that his fever is just climbing.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, Hobi,” Namjoon laughs, “I need to yet some medicine in you first.”

Whining, Hoseok just shakes his head. He’s tired, Namjoon knows, but he’ll only get worse trying to wait it out.

“Let me make you some tea. I know you won’t eat anything big but let’s get something in you or your stomach will hurt more later.”

He gets a whine from it, but merely kisses Hoseok’s cheek and helps lower him back onto the pillows. “Rest, sweetheart, I’ll wake you in a few.”

“Cuddle with me,” Hoseok mumbles, bottom lip pouting out.

Namjoon just kisses his forehead. “I’ll never get up if I do that.” With a soft chuckle, he crawls over him and heads out, taking the bowl with him. Replacing the lining, he returns that before heading into the kitchen. Instant coffee for himself, but kettle-boiled yujacha for Hoseok. And a small bowl of rice and crackers, just in case he could get him to eat something. Carrying everything back into the room on a small tray, he sets it down before he tries to wake up Hoseok, just to make sure he doesn’t make a mess of everything.

“Hobi… baby, I have tea…”

Namjoon receives a whine, and Hoseok’s face crumbles, tears welling in his eyes the second he opens them. Namjoon spends a few minutes just stroking his hair, trying to calm him down before he works himself up. “Come on, sweetheart… don’t cry, nothing’s wrong. You’re okay. It’s just tea.”

“Tea?” Hoseok mumbles. He shakes his head, fist moving to swipe across his eyes, wiping away slowing tears. His voice cracks as he talks, but the younger man can see realization dawning on his face. “Don’t want tea…”

“It’ll help your tummy,” Namjoon coaxes, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek. Hoseok squints, trying to hide his face as his cheeks flush. With a soft chuckle, Namjoon moves his hand away to press another kiss to Hoseok’s warm face, then another. “Come on, baby, just a little bit.”

“Don’t kiss me, Joonie bug, you’ll get sick.”

“I’ll kiss you again if you don’t drink the tea.” Namjoon crawls back onto the bed, sliding under the covers, and Hoseok immediately curls up to his side. Laughing, Namjoon just pulls his arm. “I will, even if you cling to me.” He manages to get a grumbling Hoseok to finally sit up with his help, curled up against his chest with the tea cup in his hand. He sips cautiously, as if every sip is uncomfortable. Namjoon strokes his hair gently. “Want to try some rice?”

With a groan, Hoseok looks up at him, lips pursed in a pout. “I’m being tortured, Namjoonie.” Hoseok whines. “Rice is too much… you’re too much.” He takes another sip of his tea.

Laughing, Namjoon just shakes his head. The rice was a stretch… they can try again later. “Fine, fine. Finish your tea and—”

“And nothing?”

Nodding, Namjoon presses a kiss to Hoseok’s crown. “And nothing. Medicine and then we’ll go back to sleep.”

Thankfully, Hoseok cooperates. Namjoon helps him take two cold pills and tucks him back into the bed, pulling the blanket up to his chin. With a small smile, Hobi curls up next to him and falls asleep within a matter of seconds. Despite being warm to the touch, he curls up next to Namjoon in his sleep, an arm lazily draped over his waist. Namjoon wastes no time in messaging his TA, asking him to assign the next week’s assignment early on the boards. He writes a small notice announcing his calling out of work and the plan for the rest of the week, shoots a quick message to the teacher’s line calling out, and then just puts his phone on silent.

"Hobi-ah! Hobi-ah! You didn't even get up! Come on, it's time to go."

The fan was gone, and the noona who had been there, but an uncomfortable chill had taken over its place as Hoseok squinted his eyes open. The sweat felt caked on his face, like crust gathering at his eyes. His limbs felt like lead, and it took him a few moments to register the voice. Honestly, he couldn't place the light trill until he saw Jimin appear before him, the younger singer's hand finding his shoulder.

"Come on, hero. Sejin-nim found us a ramen restaurant."

Hobi groaned. Food, while advisable and very necessary, just felt like an uncomfortable afterthought. He wasn't in the mood to eat, much less get up, but given the temperature drop in the room he kind of wished he had grabbed his hoodie.

"Jimin, have you seen my jacket?" was what Hoseok attempted to say. It came out more along the lines of, 'Jimiiii, m' jacket?' But Jimin's expression seemed clouded as he looked at him.

"You're cold? But it's so warm here..."

Hoseok nodded. He finally pushed himself to sit up, but the effort it took had him leaning forward to drop his head against Jimin's arm, his back protesting. He just felt so sore. Did he overdo it at the concert?

"Hobi... You're kinda warm."

"Mm... no, cold."

Hoseok really needed to wake up more. He normally felt tired after concerts, but this just felt painfully excessive. He lifted his head, looking towards the floor when he spotted a fresh water bottle. Perfect. Taking the water bottle, he opened it and just drank a solid third. It was lukewarm, which wasn't the tastiest, but it felt needed, refreshing. Maybe he was just a little dehydrated, some food and good sleep would help.

"Hobi... are you feeling okay?"

"Just tired, Jiminie... Just really, really tired."

---

The mere idea of dinner didn't seem to sit well with Hoseok either. He hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep until he felt Jin shaking his shoulder gently. He blearily opened his eyes to find Jin leaning over him, a smile growing on his hyung's face once they made eye contact.

"Come on, Hobi, dinner!" Jin cheered lightly.

With just a grown, Hoseok shut his eyes again. He really didn't want to get up. His head and his limbs felt like led, and his stomach just felt uncomfortable. But Jin's strong arms tugged at him until he budged from his seat, and he had no choice but to get up and follow along. Once out of the car, Jin paused to look at him for a moment, his grin faltering.

"You look... I don't know. Are you okay?"

"I think I just went harder during the concert than I usually do," Hoseok mumbled. He leaned over, his head dropping on Jin's shoulder. Jin promptly wrapped an arm around his side, hugging him close to him. It was comforting, warm in a way Jin always was, firm and supportive and kind. Hoseok smiled, eyes blinking heavily. "Hyung, don't let me go, I might fall asleep here."

That brought a soft, hiccupy laugh out of Jin. "Aaahhh Hobiiii, don't fall asleep standing! At least get some soup!"

Jin didn't let them dawdle longer in the cold air and he walked Hoseok inside. Limbs barely dragging along, Hoseok followed Jin to their private back room where the remainder of the band had already been seated. The room was cold, and Hoseok could feel a chill the moment he slid into his chair. He could already feel Jin's eyes focused back on him--his eldest hyung, always so observant over the smallest of things--but he pointedly stared towards the menu and attempted to focus on it.

That was until he felt two hands grip his beanie, but the hands merely pulled the hat further down to cover his ears. That.. made a lot more sense, honestly. It was warmer, having the beanie pressed snugly onto his neck, but the light material against his ears muffled the noise of the restaurant. When Hoseok looked up, he caught Jin's light smile before the older man turned to his own menu.

"It's kinda chilly in here," came Jin's only explanation.

Hoseok couldn't fight the small smile off his own face as he returned his eyes downward. He honestly was not hungry, which wasn't too surprising for him. After concerts, Hoseok usually felt rather peckish but never outright starving. A bowl of ramen or a salad could hold him over until breakfast, when he was prepared to eat everything under the sun. With a small yawn, he took a sip of the water provided and tried to tune into the conversation happening.

It was another animated night of Jungkook and Taehyung reenacting something goofy that had occurred during the concert when they were allowed to just let loose and have fun. Today's silly song had been Love Maze, which had ended up with an impromptu dance move between Jungkook, Hoseok and Jin, and Hoseok smiled down at his menu as he recalled the memory. The concert had honestly been a ton of fun, and ARMY had loved it. It had just taken too much out of him. Had he gone overboard? He couldn't even remember, but he didn't regret it regardless. He heard his name passed around, and an arm wrapped around his shoulders. Hoseok didn't waste time leaning into the embrace, humming softly at the sudden warmth... Jimin, he was pleased to see.

"Rest on me, hyung, I'll nudge you when the waiters come," Jimin spoke softly.

Hobi nodded, and as much as he wanted to just rest his eyes, he couldn't help but fall asleep on his roommate's shoulder.

---

"I think he has a fever," Jin said softly over his dinner.

Jimin had moved Hoseok from laying on his shoulder to resting his head against his thigh, and Hoseok's mouth had fallen open a bit from the change. His breathing was raspy, and as Jimin placed a hand on his cheek, he frowned as he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I think so too," Jimin answered. "He probably pushed himself too hard at the concert, he seemed completely exhausted when it was done."

"I was wondering about that," Namjoon chimed in as he sipped a beer. He fiddled with the plastic bag of Hoseok's to-go order of ramen--they just ordered it to-go when they first picked their meals, no one wanting to wake the dancer. It was late, and it wasn't completely uncommon for them to be too exhausted to eat, but it was a rare occurrence to see their leading dancer and team sunshine so drained. Being sick just made more sense. "Hoseok's usually still fussing over everyone after a concert, I was downright concerned when I caught him sleeping."

"Hopefully it just passes by tonight," Jin mumbled. "It could just be overheating. We worked hard during the concert."

The others nodded in agreement. Namjoon couldn't help but reach a hand to Hoseok's cheek and press his fingers against soft skin. Maybe it was just temporary, he had to tell himself; but the heat radiating against him worried him nonetheless. "I'll stop by a drugstore on the way back just in case. I don't think we've got anything in the hotel, do we?"

Jimin and Jungkook both shook their heads. Usually at least one of them had extra painkillers or various cold or throat lozenges, but he imagines they left everything in the hands of the staff. The energy seemed to dwindle after that; they were all tired, but having their J-Hope asleep and as cause for concern, they didn't seem to be as in the mood anymore. They quickly finished, and as Yoongi took care of the payments, Namjoon and Jimin tasked themselves with waking the poor young man.

"Hobi, c'mon, we're going back," Jimin tried to coax. For the first minute, Hoseok didn't respond at all, but it wasn't until Namjoon's hand tugged on his arm that he groaned, something small and pitiful.

"Hobi, c'mon." Namjoon tugged his arm again, and Hoseok tried to pull away as he blinked open his eyes.

Wait... He glanced over, taking in the decor of their booth in the shop, to Namjoon's face, brows scrunched in worry and lips pointed downward, and it dawned on him that he was still in the ramen shop. Namjoon was just relieved to see realization slowly coming back to him, as Jimin's hands found his shoulders and helped him upright.

"Come on, let's go to bed," Jimin murmured. "We're tired."

We. Collectively. Less room for Jung Hoseok to argue, and Jimin knew it. If he were to point out that Hoseok was tired, he probably would have gotten an argumentative response, something along the lines of being able to finish the night if they had more tasks, or wanted to explore. But we meant it continued more than just him, went to names he wasn't even familiar with and asked for 'rest'. We tonight meant the entire band. And honestly, it wasn't a complete exacerbation--he himself was feeling drained, and he could see exhaustion drooping on all of his hyungs. How Jungkook and Taehyung were still going strong was beyond him.

"Back to the hotel?" Hoseok asked, voice small and shaky. He just stared owlishly between Namjoon and Jimin, as if trying to discover some forbidden secret.

"That's right, Hobi," Namjoon answered. "Come on, back to the hotel."

The next morning, Hoseok just felt worse. That Monday was their first day off, and usually the staff let them partner or split up and explore the city. They didn't get a lot of opportunities during the weekends of the concert, but the next two days, if not spent in the rooms, were often spent shopping and seeing fun sights. Hoseok remembered vaguely telling Taehyung he'd go with him to the aquarium last night, he thinks (did he imagine it?), and he remembered something about a really neat store downtown, but the rest seemed vague and disjointed. Did he really agree to go out today? With limbs that didn't seem to move on their own anymore? This was difficult...

His head felt completely stuffed with cotton, heavy and plugged up like no other. His nose was stuffy, sinuses enflamed and swollen--and it came with not only a dull headache but an uncomfortable fog that seemed to just cloud his thoughts. His ears didn't feel like they worked right. Really, none of him felt right. Not completely focused, all he could think were two words upon waking: 'So tired'. He could barely breathe, and after two very uncomfortable, forced sniffs, he merely opened his mouth to take in more air.

Hoseok's phone buzzed next to him. Then twice, three times.

Groaning, he stretched a hand out to find where it had moved to last night, limb moving lazily across the comforter. Honestly, Hoseok doesn't think he charged it at all, but it definitely came from somewhere around the bed. However, after a few minutes of futile searching, he merely gave up and allowed the uncomfortable haze to take him under.

The brief nap didn't seem to last long at all. There was some sharp knocking, and someone's deep voice calling his name, rather cautiously. A minute or so later, he heard the lock click and the door slid open.

"Hobi, you alive yet?"

Ah, Namjoon. Hoseok forgot he'd given him the extra room key.

Hoseok groaned, turning to the side. His mouth felt dry, and his limbs were heavy. He didn't want to get up yet, that felt like too much energy. And for someone who could run nearly nonstop on one Americano? That was saying something.

"Hobi? You're still not feeling great, Hoseok?"

With an incoherent grumble, Hoseok nodded. He hadn't even opened his eyes, didn't want to risk upsetting his head even further. There was a thick, consistent pounding that he immediately wanted to sleep off. He heard Namjoon's steps approach and stop, and soon long fingers had begun carding through his fringe. Then Namjoon's cool hand pressed against his forehead, and Hoseok shivered--why was he so cold?

"You're still warm... guess you didn't sleep it off like we hoped," Namjoon murmured.

Sleep it off? Hoseok had to take a moment to try and recall what made him feel so lousy in the first place. He remembered falling asleep at dinner, but even returning to his room seemed hazy. Brows furrowed, Hoseok merely looked at Namjoon, eyes squinted, as if trying to search for the answers. He wasn't sure what happened--hell, he wasn't even sure if Namjoon knew. But the look on their leader's face, that heavy-set frown and pensive eyes, Namjoon certainly must have figured it out.

"We should have had you take some medicine last night." His hand raked through Hoseok's sweaty bangs, pushing them from his forehead. His touch was gentle and cautious, and his simple motions lulled Hoseok into closing his eyes, nearly dozing again. He could just figure it out later, really... This felt nice.

"Ah--" Namjoon's hand froze. How long had it been? "Hobi, wake up!"

"Mm?" Hoseok grunted in response, but didn't move from his spot. Namjoon's hand moved away, the younger boy scooting back a little. With a frown, Hoseok moved a hand over to grab Namjoon's wrist. His grip was clammy and warm, not strong at all, but he didn't meet any resistance. Hoseok dragged Namjoon's hand closer, ignoring as Namjoon's fingers whacked his sore nose, resting only when he dropped the hand right atop his head.

'Keep going,' The message was clear. 'Don't stop, it feels nice.' Being sick made sense. It honestly explained everything: the headache, the clamminess, the chills. Even exhaustion--a concert wouldn't take this much out of him, would it?

With the chuckle from Namjoon, but those familiar fingers soon find themselves pressing into his hair again, and Hoseok decides he doesn't care. He lets himself succumb to sleep once more.

---

That was unexpected. Hoseok relaxed far too fast under Namjoon's hand, and only seconds seemed to pass before he could hear soft, congested snoring from the older '94-liner. That was worrisome, especially since Hoseok didn't seem to have a problem yesterday. Did this all come along after the concert? Or had he been hiding it? It took Namjoon a moment as he tried to recall the details of the day, but with last-minute arrangements, costume changing, makeup, stage rehearsal... There was no way to tell.

Worried, he moved his hand to Hoseok's shoulder and shook, concerned Hoseok may have actually passed out in weakness. Hoseok grimaced at the shaking, trying to tuck himself further into his blanket. Okay... so he just fell asleep. Namjoon sighed, and with another ruffle of Hoseok's hair, he pulled out his own phone and immediately scrolled through the contacts to their beloved eldest hyung. He didn't even bother with text and pressed the 'dial' button immediately.

Seokjin didn't take long to answer at all. "Joon-ah, my friend! Where are you? You're missing breakfast, I'm going to eat your share if you don't come for it!"

That got a soft snort out of Namjoon. "There's a reason. Do you have the medicine in your room? I think Hobi's sick, he hasn't gotten out of bed."

The joking tone to Seokjin's voice dropped immediately. "I was afraid of that... Does he have a fever? Is he coughing?"

"He feels like he has a fever," Namjoon answered. "Haven't heard any coughing or sneezing, but he went right back to sleep really quickly."

Seokjin sighed. "Hopefully it's not too bad yet... Hang on, I'm gonna finish up here and grab the bag in the room. Just keep an eye on him until I get there."

"Alright, hyung, I'll be here."

As they disconnected, Namjoon sighed and opened up the group chat, then closed it. No use worrying the others yet. Instead, he switched to the chat with their manager, sending a quick message about his teammate's condition. The near-immediate response he received offered help if they needed it, and just said to keep him updated. Namjoon sent a thumbs-up response before drawing over the chair from the hotel's desk, dropping into it.

Leave it to Hoseok to save getting sick for after the concert. At least it was convenient timing.

"You need to tell us when you don't feel well, you silly," he mumbled, though a fond smile fell as he reached over to pet Hoseok's hair. With his free hand, he just opened up the internet and mindlessly checked his emails.

Thankfully, the wait wasn't long at all. Fifteen minutes later, and Namjoon let in a worried Seokjin who had a bag from the hotel's convenient store, a cup of something hot, and a small RJ pouch from his room. Namjoon picked up the pouch.

"Seriously, how much RJ stuff do you own, hyung?"

"Aish, Joonie, don't worry about how much RJ stuff I own!" Jin bickered playfully as he pulled items out of the bag. Fever patches, cough syrup, pepto, a bottled sprite, a few tea bags from downstairs, and even some cracker packages. Namjoon peeked into the RJ bag to find throat lozenges, painkillers, bandaids... even a small thermometer.

"The thermometer is from Sejin-nim," said Jin, and he held his hand out.

Namjoon handed it to him. The last minute inventory was a pretty good set. "Guess... let's wake him up again and see what he's feeling."

Jin nodded. He kneeled next to the bed and gently shook the dancer. He moved the blanket back, and sighed at the forlorn look the younger one gave him.

"Seokkie-ah! Come on sunshine, wake up for a little bit."

Jin?

Hoseok hummed in confusion as he attempted to turn himself onto his back. His blanket felt positively stifling now, and he was getting sweaty. He grimaced, honestly feeling uncomfortably warm as he tried to push it away. Jin helped by pulling it down to his waist, but soon that large hand pressed against his forehead again.

"You're not kidding. He's roasting. Seok-ah, how are you feeling?"

Hoseok's eyes opened, but he grimaced and shut them again. Everything seemed to spin the moment he tried to look, and it turned his stomach immediately. He curled in on his side, bringing a hand to his head.

"Bad headache?" Jin asked softly.

"Mmhmm..."

"Feeling anything else? Sore throat, upset stomach? Give us something to work with."

"But... day off," Hoseok croaked. His voice sounded hoarse, and he looked completely drained. "No working."

Namjoon snorted. "You got jokes on your sickbed. Can't be that bad."

With a smile that soon turned into a grimace, Hoseok shook his head.

...then promptly leaned over the bed and vomited. Jin barely moved back in time, but didn't manage to avoid side splatter on his shoes. Namjoon was quick with grabbing the wastebin from the desk and moving it under Hoseok's face, grimacing as the dancer gagged up another hot mouthful of sick. Jin moved to the side of the bed, rubbing Hoseok's back.

"There, just get it out..."

And get it out he did. Hoseok barely had time to take a breath in before he heaved forward again, choking out mouthfuls of thick, clustered vomit. Jin held him up by his shoulders when he noticed Hoseok's arm shaking under his own weight holding him up, and he continued to mumble reassurances until he began to slow down.

"Deep breath in, Seokkie," Jin coaxed, pulling Hoseok back from the basket. "You're done. You can't have that much more in you."

Hoseok frowned. "I--" Hoseok grimaced, voice raw. He took a moment before trying again. "I got it on you, Jinnie?"

"No, I'm fine." Jin stroked his hair. "C'mon, rinse your mouth out and then you can lie down again."

Namjoon already had a water bottle open, and Jin took it from him to help Hoseok take a sip. After swishing it around, Hoseok spit it out in the trash bin before collapsing onto the pillow behind him. Grimacing, Namjoon carried the bin to the bathroom and grabbed a towel and the bathroom's bin. He placed the towel on the mess, siently apologizing to the cleaning staff, and attempted to clean it up a little. Bile was gross, especially when it had an especially sick smell to it, but it wasn't the worst he's dealt with. He didn't get sick sympathetically--honestly, it was a small blessing, given how often colds and bugs passed around them. He'd grabbed a washcloth, and secretly handed that to Jin. Jin flashed him a grateful smile and began to wipe his shoes off.

"Well, that made for an eventful morning. Hoseok-ah, I guess in a little while, you should try some tea and then medicine. It's going to hurt your stomach more taking it while empty."

Groaning, Hoseok reached for the blanket and pulled it back to his chest. He just felt chilled to the bone now. He just wanted to sleep, see if perhaps it would go away on its own. He didn't realize he had been mumbling it aloud until he felt Jin's hand comb through his hair and his hyung sighed.

"Seokkie, that's not going to help at all. Come on, just a few sips."

"Nooo..." But it sounded small and pathetic. And Jin wasn't going to have any of it. Without much prompting, Jin's hands wrapped around his shoulders and guided him up, moving him to lay against his shoulder. But before being handed anything, Hoseok could feel something cool tapping his lips.

"Open up, put this under your tongue."

That didn't require much. Hoseok obliged, eyes closed, leaving it for Jin and Namjoon to handle on their own. Namjoon though, had frozen in his clothing, as he caught sight of the numbers climbing up. And up. 38... 38.5... 38.9... 39...

"Aish, Hoseokkie..."

It finally beeped, blinking on 39.3 C.

"It's this high already?" Jin pulled it from Hoseok's lips. "Joonie, grab one of those compresses for him. Hobi..."

Jin moved, and Hoseok grimaced again--Jin had leaned over, and his sense of balance shifted with him. He righted himself, and Hoseok, and lifted the mug to his lips. "Here, drink."

With a soft whimper, Hoseok carefully took sips of the tea. The warmth came with a strangely comforting feeling, soothing on his throat and actually settling against his empty stomach. It was weird, but he had to appreciate it. It wasn't long before he could feel the cool gel sensation against his forehead as he felt Namjoon smoothing a patch against his forehead. It was chilled and uncomfortable, but as he shivered, he could feel Namjoon setting another one on at the nape of his neck.

"Aigooooo," he whines.

Jin just laughs and strokes his hair. "You're really sick, Seokkie. These should help."

But before Hoseok could get comfortable, Jin jolted him again. "Try to take a pill before you fall asleep."

There was a whine of apprehension that surprised even Hoseok, and he looked up at Jin with unsure, squinted eyes. Namjoon had turned off the light again, leaving just a bit of light from the hotel windows. That definitely helped with the headache, but Hoseok wasn't sure if he was ready to try a pill.

"Try? Try for Hyungie?"

There was another whine, but Hoseok held a shaky hand out, curled fingers trying to uncurl. He'd try, at least once. Namjoon was quick to pop a cold and flu tablet from the packaging and place in his hand, and Jin placed a water bottle to his lips. Hoseok made quick work of swallowing the pill, before laying down. He made a beckoning hand again.

"Eh? But you took it, Hobi-ah, you're okay."

Hoseok's fingers clashed again. Namjoon laughed, but Hoseok was too exhausted to gripe about it.

"He wants you to give him your hand," Namjoon translated the gesture.

"OH. Oh, okay." Jin placed his hand in Hoseok's, and Hoseok moved the hand to the top of his head. An unspoken request--pet my hair please. Namjoon chuckled, but he wasted no time in running his fingers along Hoseok's scalp, lulling the dancer back to sleep.

Unfortunately, dozing only lasted a few seconds before his stomach flipped, and Hoseok's eyes widened. He didn't want to throw up again, not on the floor at least... As he attempted to sit up, he swayed the opposite way and found himself suddenly braced in someone's steady arms. The wastebin was handed to him, and he tilted his head down, a mouthful of bile and the little water he drank escaping into it already. Gasping, he pressed a hand over his stomach as a painful cramp waved through him, bringing with it another mouthful. Hoseok gagged and coughed out another long stream, of leftover food from somewhere deep within him and stomach acid. It honestly hurt his throat, and he could feel his eyes stinging with tears from the pain.

Jin's arms just held Hoseok tightly as his body convulsed, a nearly gutteral sound escaping as he retched. There really wasn't anything left in him, and yet his body felt like it needed to purge out whatever viral affliction was plaguing him.

From Namjoon: "Hobi, take a breath!"

Hoseok retched again, then opened his mouth and tried to just take a breath in. It came in as a strangled gasp, mouth open as spit drained from his lips. Another attempt and he managed to settle the urge to vomit again, at least. Namjoon borught the water bottle back to his lips.

"Here, rinse."

Ah... Hoseok followed the instructions easily, letting Namjoon hold the bottle as he brought it to his mouth and swished the liquit about, before spitting it in the can. Namjoon moved the trash can to the floor and ran a hand through Hoseok's sweat-damp hair as Hoseok slumped against Jin.

"It's okay, you stopped," he said softly. "So... I guess that was too much."

Hoseok whimpers. "I'unna lie down..."

Jin laughed but helped ease him to the pillow, draping the covers over his shoulders. He lay on his side, grimacing as another cramp rippled through his stomach.

Jin rubbed his shoulder softly. "Try to rest while you can, okay? We're staying here with you."

"Mm... okay. Don't leave." And with that, Hoseok let sleep overtake him once again.