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Jeongin purses his lips as he stares at the clock, knee bouncing with agitation. His fingers are unconsciously dancing over his thigh as he stares at the door. He's been waiting for someone to pick him up from school for over twenty minutes now, after sneezing and coughing his lungs out in the middle of class.
"It's winter, of course everyone is getting sick," the school nurse had said as he sat on the examination table. "I'll get the office to call one of your guardians—"
"I can do that myself," Jeongin offered quickly. His mother had jokingly told him not to get sick after he stayed out in the cold for an hour, and he didn't want to go home with a runny nose and red eyes and get a lecturing.
The nurse agreed, and Jeongin phoned Chan to tell him that he was sick and needed to go back go the dorms.
"Be there soon," Chan had promised.
Well, Jeongin thinks to himself as he sneezes into a tissue and winces at the sharpness against his freezing nose as he roughly wipes it. Soon should be any time now. Hope it's just traffic.
The thought of Chan's car slipping on the ice and crashing into a nearby obstacle had Jeongin worrying, and regrets his impatient thoughts cursing out Chan's lateness. Traffic, he tries to convince himself as his paranoia gets the best of him and horrible thoughts run through his mind. Just traffic.
Right after Jeongin considers calling Chan again, or someone else, the nurse's office door opens and Chan steps inside, carrying a bulky sweater in his arms.
"Hi," Jeongin manages to say before he sneezes into the crook of his elbow. "Sorry."
"How are you feeling?" Chan's eyebrows furrow in concern as he sits next to Jeongin on the examination table and presses a cold hand to Jeongin's forehead. "Wow, you're burning up."
"Yeah," Jeongin lets out a breathy laugh and clears his throat. "Could be better, could be worse. I'm fine, fine enough at least. He coughs and flinches at the sharp pain in his throat.
Chan takes the sweater in his arms and drapes it over Jeongin's shoulders, motioning for him to stick his arms through the sleeves. The material is heavy and warm, and Jeongin welcomes the comfortable feeling thankfully. The jacket sleeves slip over his hands easily and the length gives him more fabric to tuck over his hands to act as gloves, which he does.
"Warm, thanks," he croaks out to Chan in a hoarse voice, throat raw and hurting.
"Come on," Chan stands up and holds Jeongin's hands to help him up. "Let's get you out of here. Dorm's much warmer than this freezing office."
Jeongin's feet have long since frozen up, and the numbness makes it difficult to walk at first. Chan wraps an arm around the sick boy's shoulders and tucks him close, and they exit the nurse's office. The lady behind the front desk nods in acknowledgement as they pass and Chan smiles back; Jeongin tries to say his good-bye's but he doubts his voice reaches any volume above a whisper.
Chan opens the door for the both of them and Jeongin is immediately greeted with a sharp, cold wind against his warm face. The chill weather would be enjoyable for his warm body any other day, but the cold is almost uncomfortable and he tucks his cold hands into the jacket's pockets and tries to preserve any warmth he can get.
"Geez, it's cold," Chan shivers and he pulls Jeongin closer to him. "Hope none of the other members get sick, I don't want to keep any of you quarantined until summer."
"Ha, very funny." Jeongin kicks a rock down the icy street and watches it skid onto the side of the road until it comes to a stop under the bottom of Chan's car. A passing vehicle sends flicks of ice and snow spraying over Jeongin and Chan, who ushers the sick boy into the car in a hurry.
The interior of the car is no warmer than outside, but Chan starts up the engine and immediately switches on the heater full blast. Specks of snow dapple the hood of the car as a soft pattering of snow begins to plague the already chilled streets of Seoul.
Jeongin reaches over to the dashboard and turns on the radio to drown out the sound of his coughing and the distant honking of the traffic just a couple blocks away from the school. The parking lot was still, with the staff and students still being inside, so exiting was not a hard feat at all, save for the icy road that called for slow driving.
The trip to the dorm was uneventful, with Jeongin's sneezing taking up the otherwise calm air. Chan takes a safer, longer route back to the dorm, and the streets are not as busy as the normal way would be. Jeongin thanks Chan for this on the inside, as his motion sickness is considerably worse considering his already nauseous state and he couldn't stand being stuck on a jammed road with an urge to vomit.
As they pull up into the parking lot of the residency, Jeongin can see through the windows on their floor, curtains pulled wide open. He can't see anyone, however, and figures they must be cuddled on the couch.
The inside of the building was way warmer than the outside, and the trip to and from the elevator to the dorm was fortunately not unbearable for someone in a state like Jeongin. Chan kept him close and only let go to dig his keys out from his sweater pockets to open the door.
Stepping inside, Jeongin was greeted with the strong smell of chicken broth and cinnamon. Despite the two contrasting flavors, the aroma was not at all disturbing in the slightest. Rather, it reminded Jeongin of home. Not at all a wild though, considering how this was his home.
"Hey!" Woojin peeks his head out from an open cabinet and waves to the recent arrivals. "Feeling alright, Jeongin?"
Jeongin gives Woojin a thumbs up, fist almost completely hidden by the long sweater sleeves. Chan locks the door behind him and takes off his jacket, draping it over a kitchen chair.
"Go take a warm shower, Innie," Chan suggests, although it sounds more like an order to Jeongin. "We made soup and hot chocolate for after you get out."
Jeongin nods and walks down the hall, saying his greetings to Hyunjin, Felix, and Seungmin who voiced their sympathies from their spot on the couch. Changbin is getting out of the bathroom when Jeongin grabs a fresh load of clothes from his closet and waits for the shower, and playfully darts away as if Jeongin was infected with some sort of disease. (In a way, yeah. He was.)
Peeling off his school uniform, Jeongin steps into the shower and stands under the stream of hot water, washing all of the bad feelings away. His throat is sore, his nose is still running, and his body feels icky, but hey, at least he's got some of the germs off him.
He stays in the shower for what seems like ages, and only realizes just how long it was when Jisung comes to check up on him. Confirming his consciousness, Jeongin shuts off the water and wraps himself in a towel. The bathroom is steamy, great for the congestion, and the mirror is fogged up. Jeongin wipes his hand along the misted glass until he can see his reflection clearly, and changes as quickly as he could to hurry up and get out of the bathroom.
His sweatpants, he realizes, are actually Hyunjin's, but Jeongin can't bring himself to care. After all, they do share clothes all the time.
Rubbing a towel through his hair one last time, Jeongin unlocks the bathroom door and makes his way back to the living room, where the rest of the members are gathered in front of the TV, watching some sort of animated movie.
Jeongin's arrival is greeted with concerned looks and encouraging smiles; Woojin stands up, stepping over Minho's head, and beckons Jeongin towards the kitchen.
"Here, I'll get you some soup." Woojin grabs a ladle and scoops a hefty amount of chicken and vegetables into a bowl. "It's chicken noodle with vegetables."
Jeongin thanks him and gratefully accepts the food, and grabs a mug of hot chocolate from the counter where Woojin points. He makes his way back to the couch to join the others, where his presence influences the changes made to the seating arrangements, and he's given a spot in the middle of the couch, guaranteed cuddling to be ensured.
Curling up between Chan and Minho, Jeongin sets the mug of hot chocolate on the side table next to the couch and tucks his legs close to his chest, gently blowing over the steaming bowl of soup to cool it down.
Minho wraps an arm around Jeongin's shoulder, having no fear of sickness himself, and Jeongin leans closer into the warm embrace.
Listening to the sound of the TV blaring in the back of his head and the sight of the snowfall outside the window, Jeongin moves his legs to drape over Hyunjin's shoulders and gulps down a spoonful of soup, a comfortable feeling of warmth washing over his body.
Warmth that only the embrace of his family could ever give to him.