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Taehyun was sick. And it took two days of head aching whenever he saw the light, while coughing his lungs out to come to terms with that. You could say he was a stubborn guy.
But it's fine. I’m fine.
“No, you’re stupid Taehyun, not fine .” came the voice of Kai, his best friend. “Let me see you, take off the blanket. Or I'm calling soobin hyung.”
Taehyun groaned. Till now, he somehow managed to keep him being sick a secret from his group of friends. But he must’ve known they would come looking for him sooner or later. He didn't tell them on purpose though, he was doing a great job taking care of himself. He didn’t want anyone to worry; he didn’t want him to worry.
With huge effort, he managed to turn around and squint at Kai, who looked understandably concerned.
“You’ve seen me.” the blonde answered, voice scratchy and dry. “Now go.” he grunted, throat hurting with the sudden exertion; being unused for a couple of days.
“Nuh uh. Sit.” Kai pulled on his arm, gently bringing him into a sitting position. “You’re burning up Hyun.” he stated, making sure the shivering boy was up in a comfortable position.
Was I? Taehyun thought as he felt his head spin. I might as well be.
“Are you taking any medicines?” he heard Kai ask, and he vaguely pointed in the direction of his bedside table; which must have the bottle of cough syrup he took a few hours ago.
Oh how he hated that syrup. He wouldn’t even have that horrid concoction in his room if not for beo-
“Dummy!” Kai exclaimed. “It’s expired . No wonder you’re getting worse.”
Taehyun snorted. Great. I've been taking expired medicine now. He heard Kai sigh.
“Okay, have you been eating anything at least?” Kai asked as he looked around Taehyun’s room. It was dark and suffocating. The windows were closed and the curtains were drawn. He could feel the stale air.
“No, felt like throwing up.”
Kai sighed again.
“You stay here Hyun, I'll go get some food and medicine.”
“Not like I'm going anywhere.”
“Glad to know you’re fine enough to be snarky.” Kai said cheerfully before putting Beomgyu’s ryan plushie in Taehyun's arms. “Ddubi, take care of Hyunnie okay?” Taehyun snorted again.
Kai slowly made his way out of the room, and made a phone call. He knew taehyun wouldn't like what he was doing right now, but he couldn't take it anymore. He’d rather be held in a chokehold by the shorter than seeing him suffer like that.
***
Beomgyu kicked himself for not finding out sooner. But in his defense, he was used to his boyfriend going MIA at times; whenever there was a last minute paper due, or a test in a couple of days. Taehyun would often go into these zones as Kai would say, and ignore the human population until he was done with his work.
And even though it did cause some rifts between the couple in the early stages of their relationship, they’ve reached a middle ground now. Beomgyu knew not to push his boyfriend too much during these times, and Taehyun always tried to text his boyfriend whenever he could.
So Beomgyu didn’t think much when Taehyun didn't pick up his calls a couple of nights ago, for the blonde texted him back not much later.
And as soon as Kai had told him about Taehyun, Beomgyu immediately climbed the next bus back to their university dorms. Luckily he wasn’t that far away.
Even though Kai had assured him that he made the blonde eat some food and taken care of his temperature; Beomgyu still didn't feel at ease. He wouldn't unless he saw his boyfriend for himself.
Armed with Soobin’s emergency medical kit and some warm soup he bought from their favourite Chinese restaurant nearby, he let himself in Taehyun's dorm.
“Hey Tyun.” he softly called out, eyes wide open as he tried to move through the darkness. “Tyunnie, it’s me.”
“Hyung?” came an answer, which wasn’t the beautiful voice Beomgyu loved. “What-”
“Shh,” he hushed. “I’m gonna switch on the lights, okay?” and only then Beomgyu could see how sick his boyfriend was.
His honey complexion was ghostly pale, lips chapped and dry; it looked like the poor boy had trouble breathing.
“What are you doing here?” rasped Taehyun, sitting up. “What about your-” he was cut off as he felt a pair of arms go around his sore body; and soon enough, he found his body relaxing into Beomgyu’s hug.
Beomgyu couldn't bear to see the younger like that. He was used to always seeing him healthy and strong; Taehyun never fell sick. But here he was, eyes dull and cheeks hollowed.
And he was feeling guilty that he wasn’t there in his boyfriend’s time of need; while the younger always stuck with him, comforting him all the time. Especially during his tough times.
He pulled his boyfriend into his chest, placing his chin on top of his head. Though the blonde had wrapped himself with a thick layer of blanket, Beomgyu could still feel the warmth of his body heat.
“You’re sick, aren’t you?” he said quietly, rubbing his back. “Why didn't you tell me earlier Tyunnie?” Beomgyu asked, tightening his arms as he felt a shiver pass through the blonde.
“I didn't want to worry you.” Taehyun answered. “You worked so hard for the competition.” he mumbled into his boyfriend’s chest, the familiar warmth making him feel better already.
Beomgyu frowned as he pulled back, making his boyfriend whine at the loss of his arms.
“Baby, you’re far more important than any competition.” he said cupping his cheeks, looking into the younger’s red eyes. “You should’ve told me the moment you felt bad, then it wouldn’t have gotten this worse.” The raven haired gently chastised.
He understood where the younger came from; Taehyun himself saw how hard Beomgyu trained for the upcoming matches. Beomgyu was a new addition to their university’s basketball team, and hence had a lot of work to do in order to keep up with the other players; for their team had a reputation of winning every match they played.
“What happened anyway? You came back without playing?” Taehyun still asked, worried. “You might get kicked out of the team.”
“Told Yeonjun hyung. He’ll take care of it.” Beomgyu answered, turning around to look for the soup he brought. “Here, drink this before it gets cold Tyunnie.”
“I’m sorry hyung.” Taehyun said quietly, taking the soup and lowering his eyes.
This is exactly what he didn’t want. His boyfriend literally spilled blood, sweat and tears to get a position on the team. And Taehyun didn't want to stand in his way. He knew his hyung would drop going to the prelims if he told him about it. And he also knew how big of an opportunity this is to him.
The blonde saw stars in his boyfriend’s eyes whenever he talked about playing a match wearing his new jersey, he loved seeing Beomgyu play the sport he loved. And most importantly, he loved seeing Beomgyu happy . But now, Beomgyu couldn't even play his first match as a part of the team; all because of him.
He blinked rapidly, feeling a prickling sensation in his eyes; and he knows that it had nothing to do with his sickness.
“Tyun, hey . Baby.” Beomgyu cupped his face again, his cool palm felt nice on the blonde’s warm cheeks. “Look at me, hm?” Taehyun couldn’t not do that; not when Beomgyu’s voice was so warm and full of love.
What did I do to deserve him? He thought. How did I get so lucky to call this beautiful creature mine?
“Why are you sorry, Tyun? You have nothing to apologise for.” Beomgyu pressed his lips on the younger’s forehead. “I’m just worried that you’re sick and in pain.” Taehyun felt Beomgyu wipe at the wetness beneath his eyes.
“You left your first match. I know how important it is to you, hyung. I don't want you to regret thi-”
“Nothing. If it's for you I regret nothing, baby. I can handle being kicked out of the team, but I can't if something happens to you.
“Hyung-” Taehyun choked out, alarming Beomgyu.
“What is it Tyun?”
“I just-” Taehyun started, his heart singing out of love for the boy in front of him. “I love you Beommie. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, you silly boy.” Beomgyu replied, kissing Taehyun’s nose. “Now hurry and drink your soup. It’ll taste yucky once it's cold.”