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Felix coughed, hard, as he sat down at the table and tried to get enough oxygen into his lungs. He’d been feeling a little off for a while - struggling to keep up with the rest of his members physically, using his inhaler sometimes two or three times a day, rather than once or twice a month. It was bad enough that their manager had called his pulmonologist in Seoul about getting him an earlier appointment for PFTs and potentially a new prescription for some kind of new daily medication. Given how much he was struggling, Felix was fairly certain that he was going to need something to keep him from having any more serious asthma attacks.
“You don’t sound good…” Chan commented, using English both to make it easier for Felix and to hopefully keep some of the members from understanding and stressing out about what was going on. Given the fact that Jisung was still most likely asleep, they really only had to worry about Seungmin understanding their conversation in English.
“It’s getting worse,” Felix admitted, closing his eyes. “It’s been bad ever since we moved to the new dorm…”
The group had moved shortly after Levanter promotions - getting away from the bad memories in their old dorm, away from the ghost of everything bad that had happened. Unfortunately, Felix’s asthma had been acting up ever since the move, and it only seemed to be getting worse as time went on.
“What if the problem is the new dorm?” Felix turned towards Seungmin, who didn’t seem to even realize that he wasn’t speaking English, too.
“What problem?” Hyunjin asked, looking up from the bowl of cereal he had been eating. “Are we talking about Felix’s lungs sucking?”
Chan sighed, turning to the rest of the group. “Lixie has an appointment today… his asthma has been pretty bad since the move…” the leader began.
“I think we’ve all noticed,” Minho commented.
“Minnie’s right, though… what if it is the apartment? He had some episodes that were pretty bad before we moved, but they were never this bad,” Hyunjin commented. “And they’ve never lasted for this long before. I don’t know how Lixie is still functioning after dealing with this for so many weeks…”
“We should clean this place really well while he’s gone today,” Seungmin commented. “Like, top to bottom… I know we’re supposed to have the day off, but this is important…”
“But…” Felix began, shaking his head.
“Minnie is right - we have to make sure that there’s nothing in the dorm making you sick,” Minho replied, interrupting Felix before he could properly protest. “Your health is more important than us having the day off right now.”
Felix coughed again, closing his eyes as he fought to get air into his lungs. It was getting more difficult to breathe, and Felix’s head was starting to hurt. “Have you used your inhaler?” Chan asked, putting a hand on Felix’s shoulder.
“I have PFTs today…” Felix began, taking the deepest breath that he could manage under the circumstances.
“You won’t be able to breathe at all if you don’t use your medication, Lix,” Seungmin commented, standing up and heading towards where they kept their dance rehearsal bags. “I’m getting an inhaler.”
“Minnie’s right - you need to use your meds,” Changbin added. “This is already bad enough… if you stop wheezing…”
Seungmin was back faster than Felix had expected, holding both the inhaler and the spacer that had taken up permanent residence on the table next to Felix’s bed in his new room. The youngest of the September boys was quick to put everything together, passing the device to Felix so that he could actually take the medication and give it an opportunity to work.
“Aish… he has an appointment today…” their manager commented, as the man came into the kitchen. “They need unmedicated PFTs…”
“He wouldn’t have made it, hyung,” Minho replied, shaking his head. “You hear how bad he’s wheezing right now… he’s been like that all morning…”
Their manager sighed, shaking his head. “Aish… maybe I should take him to the ER, rather than his doctor’s office,” the man began, as Felix took a second hit from the inhaler. “Have you fed him yet?”
“He just woke up,” Chan replied. “We barely managed to get him to use the inhaler before you got here…”
“Not hungry…” Felix replied, closing his eyes before he coughed again. His chest hurt like hell from the struggle to breath, and he was already exhausted.
“Hyung… taking him into a hospital is a bad idea… with the virus…” Seungmin began, lowering his voice. They all understood what the youngest ’99-liner meant. Although Felix was young and otherwise healthy, they were all aware that if he caught the coronavirus it would not end well - at the very least, Felix would end up hospitalized. If he ended up on a ventilator, it was highly likely that the virus would kill him.
Their manager sighed. “I’m going to call the doctor’s office, get their opinion,” the man replied. “Try to eat something, okay? We don’t know how long this is going to take, and I don’t want you to end up getting sick from not taking proper care of yourself.”
***
Felix ripped off his mask as soon as he was seated in the exam room at the doctor’s office, closing his eyes as he tried to get more oxygen into his lungs. His head was starting to ache from the lack of oxygen, and it was becoming painful. “He’s been struggling all morning - I don’t think that he’s going to be able to handle PFTs this morning,” the manager commented, as the nurse moved to start checking his vitals.
“As soon as I can get him in the system, I’ll get Dr. Park in here to check him out,” the nurse replied, hurrying to check Felix over so that she could get Felix’s doctor. It didn’t take long for her to finish the basic examination, and soon enough the woman was placing an oxygen mask over his face. “I’m going to get Dr. Park in here as soon as possible… just try to relax, and stay calm. If anything changes with his condition, come get us immediately.”
“Thank you,” the manager commented, as he moved to sit next to Felix so that he could keep a closer eye on his condition.
The oxygen helped somewhat, but Felix still couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen to keep himself from feeling as though he might pass out if he didn’t get some kind of relief soon. Thankfully, Dr. Park didn’t take long to come into the room with Felix’s chart. “Right… we aren’t going to waste time with niceties this morning, since I can clearly see that you’re not doing well,” the man replied, typing something into the computer quickly before turning back to the nurse that had followed him into the room. “We’ll start with albuterol, try and get him some relief - I’m assuming that you’ve used your rescue inhaler already this morning?”
“Twice before we got here,” the manager replied. “It helped a little bit, but he’s still been struggling. We’re trying to avoid the emergency room…”
“I don’t want him anywhere near the emergency department, that’s for certain,” Dr. Park replied, shaking his head. “We’re going to try and get this under control here in the office, but as much as this has been happening I’m concerned that it might be something at home causing his symptoms…”
“His roommates are cleaning the apartment right now… we had it cleaned thoroughly before they moved in, but it’s still happening…”
There was a moment of silence, as the doctor nodded. “Maybe it would be a good idea to take him somewhere else when you leave, once we get this attack under control,” Dr. Park replied, as the nurse came back into the room with the promised medication and the nebulizer. “Until we figure out what’s happening, we need to try and keep him away from anything that changed around that time… did you move into a new rehearsal space, or anything like that?”
“No… the only thing that’s changed is the dorm,” the manager replied, shaking his head. The nurse was quick to set everything up, before swapping out the oxygen mask on Felix’s face for the nebulizer. “Aish… I’m going to make a few calls, see if I can find somewhere safe for Felix to stay tonight, until we’ve figured out what’s going on and can find a better solution.”
“Once we get this attack under control, we’ll discuss some of the other things we can do to make things a bit easier in the long-term,” Dr. Park replied. “Just try to relax, Felix… focus on breathing, let the medication do its work.”
***
“You look like shit…” Hyunjin commented, as Felix walked into the dorm to grab a few things before their manager drove him to spend a few days with Mark Tuan from GOT7. It had been the most logical choice, given the fact that the American was also a native English speaker, and Mark’s apartment was closer to both the JYP building and the Stray Kids dorm than anyone else from GOT7. The fact that Chan was close to all of the members of their sunbae group also helped in making the decision, because all of the members of Stray Kids had a relatively close relationship with the older men.
“I feel like shit,” Felix replied, not taking off his mask even as he kicked off his shoes. If whatever was setting of his asthma really was in their dorm, Felix really didn’t want to give it the chance to set off yet another attack when he was being temporarily moved out of the dorm to avoid exactly that. “Manager-hyung is taking me to stay with Mark-hyung for a few days, while the company figures out what’s going to happen next…”
“It’s that bad?” Hyunjin asked, obviously concerned by Felix’s explanation.
“I had another asthma attack at the doctor’s office,” Felix replied. “I need to get some clothes and stuff…”
“Hyung… you’re allergic to mold, aren’t you?” Felix turned towards Jeongin as the maknae came out of the room he shared with Jisung. The two had become roommates again when they had moved into their new dorm, because their new room was large enough to accommodate two single beds. It also happened to share a wall with the room that Felix shared with Changbin.
“Yeah… why?” Felix asked, confused.
“I think you should see this,” Jeongin replied, motioning for Felix to follow him. Felix did as he was told, following the maknae into the bedroom. One of the beds had been pulled away from the wall, and Felix could see some strange, dark markings on the top of the baseboards and starting to snake up the wall a few inches. “I’m pretty sure that’s mold… and I think that it’s the bad kind…”
“The bad kind… like the kind that could make all of us sick?” Hyunjin asked.
“Yeah… I don’t know for sure, but I looked it up on Naver and I think it’s the same thing,” Jeongin replied. “I was moving the bed so that I could sweep underneath it, and I found that… and if it’s visible over here…”
“It’s probably way worse inside the wall,” Felix finished. “My bed is right on the other side, too…”
“Aish… then that’s probably what’s been making your asthma flare up so badly the past few weeks…” Hyunjin began. “We need to tell Chan-hyung…”
“I need to get out of here,” Felix replied, shaking his head. “The longer I’m here, the more risk there is that I might have another attack…”
“Go pack some clothes… I’ll get your toothbrush and stuff from the bathroom,” Hyunjin replied, gently pushing Felix towards the door to get started with everything that now needed to be done.
Felix had barely managed to grab a bag and start to shove some random clothes inside before Chan came into the room, with a bag that Felix instantly recognized as his containing his nebulizer equipment. “I thought you might need this, too… I put an extra inhaler and all of the other stuff I normally keep in my room inside, so that you’ll have everything at Mark-hyung’s apartment if you have another bad attack.”
“Thanks, hyung,” Felix replied, relieved that someone else was thinking clearly about everything that was going on.
“I also called Mark-hyung about what to look out for, and what to do if you have a bad attack and need help,” Chan added, putting the bag down on Felix’s bed. “If you forget anything, text me and I’ll make sure that one of us drops it by… until we figure out what’s going on, it’s probably better if you aren’t in the dorm…”
“You should go look at the wall in Jeongin-ah’s room,” Felix replied, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure that’s the problem…”
“What is it?” Chan asked.
“Mold. Enough that you can see it through the wall…” Hyunjin commented, as the man walked into the room with a toothbrush holder and a tube of toothpaste that belonged to Felix. “Changbin-hyung is in the shower, so I couldn’t get your soap and shampoo. But he should be out soon…”
“I’ve got extras in the wardrobe,” Felix replied, shaking his head before heading over to grab what he needed. “I really need to get out of here…”
“Just worry about grabbing the essentials right now… we can bring whatever else later,” Chan replied, shaking his head. “Get enough for tonight, and we’ll take care of everything else, okay?” Felix nodded, taking the deepest breath he could manage under the circumstances and trying to focus on what was actually necessary - pajamas, underwear, and a couple of clean outfits, along with his phone and laptop chargers before he put the devices into his bag as well.
“I think I have everything…” Felix began, zipping the bag closed.
“We’ll talk as soon as I have some more info, okay? I’ll call you once we know what the plan is going to be,” Chan replied, giving Felix a quick hug before hurrying him towards the door to meet their manager.
“Make sure you get some rest, Lix… don’t worry about work or anything like that for a few days, so that your lungs can rest and heal,” Hyunjin commented, following them to the door. “I can help you catch up with the dances when you’re feeling better. Your breathing is way more important than anything we’ll be doing the next few days.”
***
Felix was surprised as Mark Tuan immediately took the bag out of his hand as he was let into the apartment, before the older man started to take his backpack, too. “Chan told me what was going on,” the elder commented, immediately starting to speak in English rather than Korean. “There are clean pajamas in the bathroom… it’s the first door on the left, down the hall. Go shower and change, and I’ll wash all of the clothes you brought with you in case they’re contaminated.”
“I can do it…” Felix began.
Mark shook his head, kicking a pair of slippers towards Felix as he took off his shoes in the entryway. “It’s better if I do it… we don’t want you exposed to the mold any more than absolutely necessary,” Mark replied. “The more you’re exposed, the worse your reactions will get. The faster we can get rid of whatever mold spores might still be hanging around, the better. Bathroom’s the first door on the left… just drop your clothes outside before you get in the shower, so I can add those to the wash, too.”
Felix nodded, smiling at the older man. “Thank you, hyung,” Felix replied, before heading to the bathroom to do as he’d been told. Although he felt guilty letting Mark do laundry for him, Felix also knew that it wasn’t a good idea to argue with the man that had agreed to take him in for the foreseeable future. Mark just wanted to help, after all.
Felix tried to shower as quickly as he could, borrowing Mark’s soap and shampoo. Felix hadn’t even realized that he’d let the older man take his own toiletries when Mark had grabbed both of his bags at the front door. He was just thankful that the older man didn’t seem to favor the excessively strong scents that he’d smelt on some other Idols over the years, many of which could set off his asthma just as badly as the mold he was trying to escape.
Luckily for Felix, Mark had chosen pajama pants that had a functional drawstring in the waistband; although there wasn’t that much of a difference in their heights, Felix was thinner than the American and definitely wore at least one size smaller than the older man. He also couldn’t help noticing the fact that Mark didn’t use a fragranced laundry detergent.
“How are you feeling?” Mark asked, as Felix walked out into the living room in the older man’s pajamas. The elder paused the game he had been playing on his Xbox, sitting up and making room on the couch for Felix to join him.
“Kind of tired… asthma attacks always take it out of me,” Felix admitted, sitting down in the space Mark had made for him. “Thank you for all of this, hyung. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t volunteered…”
“Actually, we had a discussion in our group chat about who we thought you would be most comfortable staying with,” Mark replied, shrugging. “It might have come down to a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide whether it would be me or BamBam inviting you over, because we came to the conclusion that you would be more comfortable staying with someone who spoke English. Jackson did suggest just giving you the passcode for his apartment while he’s out of town, but we all agreed that being alone probably wasn’t the best thing when your asthma is acting up.”
Felix nodded, smiling at the older man. “So I guess you lost?” he joked.
“You’re not a a burden, if that’s what you’re trying to imply,” Mark replied, shaking his head. “BamBam was pretty bummed that he lost, actually. He actually threatened to come kidnap you if you have an asthma attack on my watch…”
Felix chuckled slightly, although he was cut off by a cough pretty quickly. Even though the asthma attack from that morning had ended, his lungs were still pretty unhappy with him. “You okay?” Mark asked, when the coughing finally settled down so that Felix could get his breath.
“Yeah… my lungs just kind of suck,” Felix replied, shaking his head. “It can take a while for things to get back to normal after a bad attack. Which reminds me that I should probably do another round with the nebulizer soon… I’m supposed to do it every four hours until things settle down.”
“Right… I should probably tell you where everything is, then,” Mark replied. “Your room is across the hall from the bathroom… I put all of your stuff, along with the supplies someone from the company dropped off earlier, in there. Except for the prescription, because they said that had to be refrigerated so it’s in the kitchen. Speaking of which, feel free to help yourself to whatever you can find to eat or drink. I have plenty of food, and your manager offered to pick up groceries if we need anything before they figure out your new living situation.”
Felix nodded. “Thanks, hyung.”