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It was December and Japan was a little bit colder than Seoul, but it still wasn't very cold. Especially inside the hotel room they were currently staying in, which had a decent air conditioner. So Hoseok was surprised to see Yoongi shiver a few times while they had been sitting cross-legged on one of the beds, watching videos on his phone.
“Hyung, you okay?” he asked, resting his hand on Yoongi's thigh and squeezing down lightly to get his attention.
Yoongi nodded, frowning a little. He stood up from the bed and grabbed a blanket from the couch, throwing it around his shoulders. “Just cold.”
He didn't give much weight to it, thinking maybe his hyung was actually just cold. But then he noticed grimaces crossing Yoongi's face every few minutes. The older boy kept touching his right side, as if it was bothering him.
“Hyung, you're sure you're okay?” he had to ask again, worry starting to fill his guts. He always worried about Yoongi.
Yoongi bit down on his lip, glancing at Hoseok. "Stomachache." he finally admitted, holding his right side with his hand. He smiled, resting his back against the wall and stretching out his legs, Hoseok doing the same, so they could still watch his phone.
He felt Yoongi rest his head on his shoulder, secretely enjoying how close they had gotten, but it was getting clear that Yoongi wasn't okay. He tried to hide it, but every time he moved, he let out soft groans of pain.
“Hyung...” he tried again, looking down at him and putting down his phone.
“I'm fine, I swear, it's just a stupid stomachache that won't go away.” he muttered, his eyes falling shut. "I tried going to the bathroom, but it wasn't that..." he added, his cheeks flushing a little in embarrassment.
Hoseok nodded, considering their options. "Maybe I can make you some tea?"
Yoongi hummed his agreement, but didn't move to let Hoseok get up from where they were seated.
"Um, hyung, I need to get up..." he chuckled, brushing away the hair that had fallen into Yoongi's eyes. Yoongi still didn't move a muscle and Hoseok was able to get a better look at his hyung. The lights were dim, but he could still see how paler than usual Yoongi was. He rested his palm on his forehead feeling it clammy and warm. "Hyung. You're warm." he whispered, leaning down and touching Yoongi's temple with his lips, a gesture his mum did to him when he was little to check his temperature. "I think you have a fever."
Yoongi sniffled, shaking his head a little. Hoseok peeled him away, shifting on the bed so he could check on him better. Yoongi hissed in pain, holding his right side tightly. “It really hurts.” he whimpered.
Hoseok's brain started to put two and two together, memories from old science lessons coming back to mind along with what had happened to one of his nuna's friends. “Hyung, where does it hurt, exactly?” he asked.
Yoongi looked up at him even if his eyes were barely open. "Here." he pointed to his right side, a little bit over his groin. "It fucking hurts." he breathed out, tilting his head back and resitng it against the wall, closing his eyes again.
If Hoseok was correct, Yoongi probably had appendicitis. He took out his phone form his pocket and texted his nuna, asking for her advice. She replied right away, telling him to get Yoongi to the hospital because he was, indeed, correct. He looked up at Yoongi, brushing his fingers through his sweaty hair, hoping to soften the news he was about to tell him. “Hyung, we need to get you to the hospital.”
If possible, Yoongi became even paler, all the colors completely leaving his face.
Hoseok stood up and was about to call the others to fill them in on the situation when Yoongi grabbed his wrist, his grip as tight as a vice.
“Seok, I don't feel good.” he muttered.
Hoseok looked down at him confused, at first, not sure what his hyung meant since it was already clear to him that he wasn't feeling good. But he understood when Yoongi completely hunched over the bed, throwing up the contents of his stomach on the ground in front of them.
“Shit.” He luckily stepped back in time to avoid getting any puke on his feet, getting back on the bed and kneeling next to Yoongi, drawing circles on his back while he retched, still bent over. “Hey! I need help!! Guys!!! HELP!!” he called out loudly, hoping the others could hear him, since they were staying in the rooms next to theirs. As the retching finally stopped, Yoongi started to whimper miserably, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. “Hey, it's okay, it's okay.” tried to reassure him Hoseok, helping him sit up a little and brushing his hair again. “You're gonna be fine.” he whispered as he let his hyung rest his head in the crook of his neck, still petting his hair.
Namjoon and Seokjin were the first to appear, throwing the door open, quickly followed by the other three. They all just stood in the door-frame, wide-eyed and scared because it probably wasn't a good scene to walk into.
“We need to get him to the hospital.” explained Hoseok, shushing Yoongi's whimpers. “Call the manager, the pdnim, an ambulance, I don't know, but...” seeing his friends scared suddenly made him panic. “Please, we need to get him to the hospital.”
Namjoon nodded frantically, turning on his heels and running away, probably looking for the help they needed. Seokjin finally snapped out of it and walked inside their room, sitting on Yoongi's other side, running his hand up and down Yoongi's spine. “What...?”
“Appendicitis.” replied Hoseok, looking worriedly at his hyung. “I think.”
Seokjin nodded. He crouched down in front of Yoongi – careful to avoid the puke on the floor – and held his chin with his thumb and index finger, tilting his head a little so he could look him in the eyes. “Ya, Yoongi-ya.” he called, his tone soft. “I know you're in a lot of pain, but don't pass out on us, okay?”
Yoongi let out a small sob in reply, his fingers fisting in the fabric of Hoseok's hoodie. He leaned down a little, hugging Yoongi to his chest and cradling his head. He wished with all of his heart that he could take away his hyung's pain, make him feel better again. “It's okay.”
Namjoon came back, looking out of breath and flushed. “In here!” he called to someone behind his back. The three youngest members were still standing by the door, wide eyes shaking with fear. They moved out of the way to let their manager and a few other people of their staff get in.
“What's wrong?” asked their manager.
“I think he has appendicitis. He needs to go to the hospital.” explained Hoseok, calming down a little bit now that more help came.
The manager nodded, taking in Yoongi's condition. He gestured for the staff members to come help him get Yoongi, but Hoseok stopped them.
“Can I come too?” he asked, suddenly feeling very protective of Yoongi.
“We can take care of him...”
“Please.” whimpered this time Yoongi, looking scared and gripping hard at Hoseok's arm.
“Yeah, yeah, okay.” conceded the manager, sighing.
Hoseok immediately got to work, lifting Yoongi up and carrying him bridal-style, following the manager out, barely taking notice of the worried faces of the other members.
Everything that happened next was almost a blur. Yoongi's whimpers and cries of pain made him want to cry as well. He just wanted his hyung to not suffer and take all the pain away from him. He kept whispering sweet phrases in his ear, hoping it would help. The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever, but when they did arrive, Hoseok realised he couldn't be with Yoongi anymore. Some nurses came to take him away, the manager following them, while Hoseok was pushed back. They told him to stay in the waiting room, since he wasn't family. Or that's what he could understand from the little Japanese he knew. He wanted to protest, to run after Yoongi and make sure he was going to be okay, but realised he couldn't do much anyway.
He sat alone in one of the plastic chairs in the waiting room, isolating himself from the noise around him. He felt someone touch his leg, making it stop jump up and down. It was his nervous habit. And he was nervous. Very, very nervous.
He looked up to see their manager smiling apologetically at him. “They said they don't really know what's wrong with him.” he said calmly. Too calmly, for Hoseok.
"It's appendicitis." muttered Hoseok.
"Well, unless you got a doctorate without telling me," Hoseok scoffed, frustrated at the situation and suddenly mad at their manager too. Why was he so calm? "I think we should let actual doctors take care of him."
"But..."
"We're flying him back to Seoul, to get a better check up." he explained, patting Hoseok's leg again.
"But he's in a lot of pain!" he tried to reason. "He can't fly on his own!"
"He won't be on his own, don't worry. We'll take care of him."
"But..."
His manager sighed heavily, taking out his phone to check on something. "Just go back to the hotel, kid."
“Please, I want to be there when he wakes up.” he pleaded, feeling tears of frustration fill his eyes.
The manager shook his head, standing up and starting to walk away. “Just go back and wait for instructions. Maybe pack your things. I think you'll be flying back to Seoul too.” he added, before leaving him alone.
As much as Hoseok wanted to yell at him and just go find Yoongi, he still listened to the manager. A member of their stff was waiting for him and drove him back to the hotel.
“Hey!”
“How is he?”
“Is hyung okay?”
He was attacked by way too many questions as soon as he entered his and Yoongi's room. He toed off his shoes and walked to one of the beds, plopping down on it and resting his face in his hands. He felt something covering his shoulders and only then realised he was shaking because of how cold he was. In the hurry to get Yoongi to the hospital, he had forgotten to put on a coat, so he had gone out in just a hoodie.
Seokjin had sat right next to him, gently rubbing his back over the blanket he had put on him to give him some warmth. “That bad?” he asked, his eyes filled with worry.
"I don't know..." he sighed in frustration, scratching his cheek. "The manager said it's not appendicitis, but they're flying him back to Seoul to get another check up..."
"On his own??" cried out Jimin.
He finally looked up, taking in how the others were all in his room, looking almost sick with worry. Jimin's eyes were red and puffy, which meant he had probably been crying. “Hyung will be alright.” he tried to reassure them. “He won't be on his own. They'll... they will take care of him...” He attempted to smile. He was probably trying to convince himself more than his friends.
"But..."
"I know." Hoseok replied, making eye-contact with Jimin and smiling sadly at him. "There's not much we can do." he sighed, standing up and dropping the blanket. "We should start packing, the manager said we're also flying back soon."
The others just nodded their heads, doing as told. They didn't speak much in the next few hours, too scared to voice their worries. They did fly back to Seoul after Yoongi, but when they arrived, it was already night and their staff drove them to their dorms instead of the hospital. Namjoon called their manager for updates, coming back with a worn-out expression on his face.
“Can we go see him?” asked immediately Taehyung, biting down on his lip and fidgeting with his hands.
"Hoseok-ah, you were right, it was appendicitis. He already has had surgery and he's resting now." explained Namjoon. "It's too late for visits, now so we'll see him tomorrow."
"But what if he feels alone?" protested Taehyung.
Namjoon attempted a smile, scratching the back of his neck. "Um, they called his family. He's not alone..."
“But we are his family.” whispered Jimin.
Hoseok let out a soft laugh. It felt wet even to his ears, but he didn't care. They had all been on the verge of tears even after arriving to Seoul and getting some comfort from the familiarity of their dorms. And Jimin was about to cry again, so he stood up and wrapped him in a tight hug. “Ya, ya, Jimin-ah, don't cry.” he soothed, his fingers squeezing down on Jimin's taut shoulder muscles. “Hyung will be alright, I promise.” he leaned away, without letting go completely of Jimin but so that he could look at the others as well. “I bet when we visit him tomorrow he's gonna act all grumpy because he has to stay in a stupid hospital bed and about how awful the hospital food is and how itchy the sheets are...”
“Hoseok's right.” agreed Namjoon, stepping closer to a still wide-eyed Jeongguk and ruffling his hair before hugging him sideways. “He has his phone with him. He will text us as soon as he's feeling better and then we'll visit him tomorrow.”
“We should get him flowers!” suddenly piped up Taehyung, clapping his hands.
“That sounds nice, Tae.” said Seojin, smiling softly at him.
Taehyung grinned, taking out his phone and typing on it. “We need to find the perfect flowers for hyung!”
“Maybe I can bring him some of my comic books.” spoke up Jeongguk. “He's always saying he wants to try reading them but never has the time. Maybe it will help him pass the time.”
“That's an amazing idea, Guk.” Namjoon patted him on the back, before letting him go.
The three youngest members suddenly seemed calmer, Jimin getting dragged into Taehyung's flower research, as they left the room. The other three older boys stayed back, looking fondly after them.
Seokjin was the first one to break the silence. “Hoseok-ah.”
Hoseok looked at his hyung, who got up from the couch and hugged him tightly. “What...?”
“You did a very good job.” whispered Seokjin.
“Yes, thank you, Hoseok.” added Namjoon, smiling at him.
“For what?” asked Hoseok confused.
“You took good care of Yoongi, yesterday.” explained Seokjin.
Hoseok shook his head. “You all would have done the same...”
“No, trust me, I would have just started screaming for help if he had puked in front of me.” replied Namjoon.
Both he and Seokjin arched their eyebrows, knowing too well that's not what would happen. Sure, Namjoon wasn't the best nurse and him panicking would result in something getting broken, but he would still do his best to take care of his members.
“Anyway.” said Seokjin, clearing his voice to get their attentions back. “You did a good job.”
Hoseok just nodded his head, humming in reply.
“Even now, with the kids...” continued Seokjin. “They were so scared earlier. You managed to calm them down. Even Jiminie.”
“Yeah, you're very good at calming people down. I think your stage name really fits you.” Namjoon smiled, his dimples finally showing again. He hugged Hoseok, whispering in his ear. “Our Hope.”