Work Text:
He knows. Minho knows he should have told the others that he was sick. He knows he should have at least told Chan that he wasn’t feeling well. And he knows that he should be resting right now, instead of practicing. But, even though he knows all these things, he doesn’t want to tell the others.
Minho had barely slept a wink last night, which was strange, to say the least. Usually, Minho could easily fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. But, no matter how tired he was from staying up late with Felix and Hyunjin to practice, his brain would just not let him give in to the drowsiness.
When Minho awakes the next morning, he immediately lets out a low groan. It feels as though his head is being split into two and he feels a dull throbbing from in between his eyes.
“Whyyyyy?” whines Minho quietly. He vaguely wonders if ramming his head against the wall a few times would lessen the pain.
Now, it’s not like Minho never got sick. In fact, he was probably one of the more likely ones to get sick out of all the members. Felix had deduced that his “immune system hated him” and the same day, Jisung added that he “hoped Minho wouldn’t die at a ripe old age of 32”. Minho had rolled his eyes at them both when they had said that, but maybe Felix was partially right in saying his immune system hated him.
Minho was generally the first to get sick in the dorms and would then spread the sickness to the rest of the members. This meant that when he was sick, everybody else was fine, and then when he wasn’t sick anymore, the rest of the members were. Minho was like a bad luck charm in that way, he supposes.
Whenever he got sick, Minho wasn’t one to complain about it all day and drive everybody insane. He was more likely to let the others know, get some rest, maybe complain about it some, and then get on with his life. Although Minho got sick fairly often, he was also one to get better super quickly. So maybe his immune system just liked to mess with him on occasion.
Today, however, he isn’t going to tell the others. Minho is never one to beat around the bush, but today, he just can’t be sick. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done for the upcoming album and Minho feels the need to prove his worth in Stray Kids and show the members that he can pull his own weight. Besides, he isn’t that sick, is he?
Just then, Chan bursts in through the door. The slam the door makes against the wall has Minho close his eyes once more and want to crawl back under the sheets to hide. In his head, he pleads with Chan to let him sleep just a little longer, but sadly, Chan is no telepath.
“Time to wake up. We need to get ready for our shoot today. And then we have practice in the afternoon,” Chan shouts, trailing off at the end as he moves farther away from the bedroom, leaving the lights on and door ajar.
Minho turns to the side and buries his face into the pillows, screaming in frustration. But he has to get up sooner or later. He pushes himself up on the bed painfully. Then, Minho rests there for a few seconds on the mattress, willing the painful headache away. It is to no avail and Minho sighs deeply, noticing how his throat feels scratchy and raw. He omits a whine, unsure if it’s due to the pain, frustration, or irritation of having to wake up.
Minho knows he can’t stay in bed all day. He has to push through. For the team. And for himself.
Once he stumbles his way to the bathroom, he is met with a horrific sight. His eyes look watery, his nose is a color that could rival Rudolph’s, and his hair is an absolute mess. He looks horrible.
Minho is quick to grab a washcloth from the first drawer of the cabinet and wipe the entirety of his face down. He feels even worse than he had when he first woke up. His nose is stuffy and congested. His eyes are itchy and watery. His headache persists and only seems to be getting worse. And, on top of that, his whole body aches and feels stiff and painful.
Minho has half the right mind to march straight on back to bed and let Hyunjin know that he most likely has a cold and does not want to be bothered for the rest of the day. However, he is reminded of all the work they need to get done today. And he is not about to be the one holding them back and messing it up for the rest of the group.
____________________________________________________________________________
Minho is up next for individual photos at the photo shoot when the sneezing starts. Minho had luckily been able to skip breakfast and avoid his other group members that morning by pretending to take longer to wake up and get ready. During the car ride there, Minho had stayed mostly silent, plugging in his headphones and resting his head on the window. The other members assumed he was just tired and decided not to bother him.
Hyunjin is the only one near him when he begins sneezing. Minho lets out a harsh sneeze and then before he can blink his hazy eyes back into focus, another sneeze follows and he soon is dissolving into a fit of sneezing. With one last wheeze, Minho realizes Hyunjin has moved closer to him and is currently rubbing up and down his back in a soothing manner.
“You okay, hyung?” Hyunjin questions, frowning at Minho in concern.
Minho nods his head, feeling a bit dazed after his sneezing fit. But, when the younger doesn’t look convinced, Minho is quick to blurt out an excuse.
“Yes, Hyunjin-ah. It’s just my allergies. Nothing to worry about,” he reassures, placing a hand on Hyunjin’s back and smiling at him to show he is okay.
“Alright, Minho-hyung,” Hyunjin says skeptically, eyeing Minho from the side.
Minho is grateful when the staff calls his name for photos. He can’t let his guard down like that or they might figure out he is sick and make him rest. And Minho can’t rest. There’s so much to do for the album and he doesn’t want to disappoint everybody.
He quickly hurries over to the woman who called his name, ignoring his itchy nose and achy body.
____________________________________________________________________________
The second time Minho is questioned is by Jisung. After the shoot, Minho insists on going to the bathroom. He has resisted the urge to cough for far too long and also wants to blow his nose before getting back in the car.
Jisung catches him while he is washing his hands at the sink. Minho is too caught up in sneezing to notice Jisung entering the bathroom and calling his name.
When Minho finally becomes coherent enough, he notices a person standing in the mirror behind him. He lets out a little scream and spins around. Once he spots Jisung, he sighs in relief and smiles sheepishly at the younger.
Jisung only frowns in worry and asks, “Are you okay, hyung?”
Minho manages a tiny smile in reassurance and again plays off the sneezes as allergies, claiming that the flowers they used for photos did not help.
Jisung looks conflicted. He knows those sneezes aren’t normal allergies, but maybe Minho was telling the truth. Maybe it was just the flowers.
Either way, he lets it go and walks with Minho to the car without a word.
____________________________________________________________________________
Dance practice. Fuck. Minho probably should’ve thought this through.
His eyes are watery and out of focus and it's not helping that he keeps having to squint them in order to push through the pain being inflicted upon his body. Minho’s head is now throbbing and his sinuses are clogged and painful.
Everyone in the group could probably tell that he isn’t moving right. He feels off balance and really out of it. But if he keeps denying it, then maybe he’ll be able to make it through practice. Besides, it must not be that bad because he can still dance, right?
...Wrong.
The others certainly have noticed Minho’s strange behavior, but chalk it up to be lack of sleep.
Someone finally calls for a water break and Minho stumbles over to his bag to retrieve his water bottle. He slightly adjusts his weight, so he is leaning against the wall, and then closes his eyes. His headache has now progressed into a migraine and he can feel the sharp pain in between his eyes.
Seungmin, who is closest to Minho, slings an arm around the boy and starts rubbing back comfortingly.
“You must not have slept well last night, hyung,” Seungmin says, as more of a question than a statement.
Minho hums in agreement. He can do this. There’s only a little bit more of practice left. He can make it. Minho just has to power through. Besides, it’s not that bad.
____________________________________________________________________________
Minho starts getting dizzy around the second half of the song. They are practicing the new choreography that Felix, Hyunjin, and he had worked on last night.
Minho tries to keep his head clear as he stumbles through the remaining minutes of the song.
Changbin worriedly gazes at him from his left and calls for a break.
“What’s wrong, hyung?”
Minho raises his head with great effort and squints his eyes at the buff blob of Changbin standing before him.
“No, no,” he responds dismissively. “Nothing’s wrong. Just tired.”
____________________________________________________________________________
Fuck. Minho is really screwed now. And just as he is pondering how long he can actually keep this up for, he chokes on his water.
To anybody else in the room, it looked like Minho’s water just went down the wrong pipe. But, in reality, Minho had been unable to suppress the urge to cough and had promptly choked on the liquid going down his throat.
Chan pats him on the back, helping him cough and sputter until he calms down.
____________________________________________________________________________
As they move into position for the start of the song to run the dance from the top, Jeongin comments that Minho doesn’t look too good. However, the music starts right after Jeongin’s quiet confession, so Minho is unable to respond properly.
When they reach the part in the song where the tempo picks up and moves become harder and faster, Minho ends up stumbling. Chan is quick to pause the music and Jisung turns to help Minho up.
Minho quickly pushes away the hands and stands up himself, dusting off his pants.
“Minho,” Chan starts warningly. “You’re a mess. What’s going on?”
Minho can’t hold back any longer. He feels the hot anger course through his body. Although he knows that he is more frustrated with himself and upset because of how much pain he is in, he can’t help the words that he says next.
“I’m fucking fine, Chan. Stop asking me if I’m okay. Nothing is wrong. Stop worrying so much,” he shouts, instantly regretting it.
Minho’s head is throbbing. His throat is scratchy from warding off unwanted coughs. His nose feels inflamed. And his eyes are watery and itchy. But all Minho can feel is the guilt spreading throughout his whole body.
“Let’s just keep practicing,” he mumbles, quieter this time.
None of the others say a word and tears of guilt, pain, and frustration build in Minho’s eyes.
____________________________________________________________________________
This time, dancing through the choreography is different. Halfway through, Minho can feel his knees falter underneath him, and his head feels dizzy, trying to hold back the coughs and sneezes itching at his nose and throat.
Soon enough, Minho knows he can’t handle it anymore. He’s not going to make it through the end of practice. He should have just told Chan in the morning. He knows he should have told them all that he was sick.
During the dance, they switch positions a lot, and currently, Felix is standing slightly in front of him. So, Minho clutches onto Felix with all his remaining strength.
The younger is quick to turn back to his hyung, confused as to what he is doing and concerned because of his behavior.
Minho is somewhat aware of Felix speaking words to him, but he can’t differentiate his words right now and they all sound garbled and far away.
He feels Felix tighten his embrace, when the darkness finally consumes him, pulling him quickly into unconsciousness. And he is vaguely aware of Felix’s panicked face, calling the rest of the members, as Minho passes out in his arms.
____________________________________________________________________________
When Minho wakes up again, he is surrounded by comfy blankets and laying on something soft and squishy. As he sleepily blinks his eyes open, seven pairs of eyes are instantly on him and he lets out a yelp in surprise.
“You passed out, Minho, and halfway scared Felix to death. Why didn’t you tell us you were sick?” Chan demands.
Minho blinks a few times, trying to comprehend what Chan just said. He passed out? Oh- Oh yeah. Everything comes rushing back to Minho and he tenses up on the couch.
“I- I-,” he stutters.
“Spit it out, hyung,” Changbin mutters bitterly, although, Minho can sense the worry hidden underneath his tone.
“I’m sorry. We were just- really busy and- and I didn’t want to get sick. I honestly didn’t even think it was that bad though. Just a cold,” he says, looking with pleading eyes up at the others.
“Sorry, I- I just didn’t want to hold us back. I need to pull my own weight. And- and show you guys- that I belong in Stray Kids,” he continues, looking away in shame.
“Min, you should’ve told us. And you are pulling your weight. Yes, we’ve been working hard on the upcoming album, but your health is more important,” Chan reprimands.
“And you aren’t holding us back, hyung,” states Seungmin, with a frown directed towards Minho.
“Yeah, hyung. You belong in Stray Kids. We wouldn’t be the same without you,” adds Jisung, earnestly.
“Minho-hyung,” starts Felix. “We know you belong in Stray Kids or you wouldn’t be here.”
“But, your health always comes first, Min-hyung. Don’t be giving me that bullshit of not wanting to ‘hold us back’ or ‘delay the release’,” Changbin mimicks Minho’s voice. “Taking a few days rest is not going to set us too far behind.”
“And even if it does, that’s not the end of the word, hyung,” adds Jeongin.
Minho smiles at their responses and slowly nods his head in agreement.
“I’ll let you guys know next time. I promise. And I-“ Minho is interrupted by a sneeze and he groans exhaustedly, laying his head back down on the pillows of the couch.
“Serves you right for lying to us,” Changbin mutters, causing the others to snicker.
“Hey!” Minho weakly protests, but there is a smile on his face, giving him away.
He knows that next time he will not hesitate to tell the rest of his members. Being sick and needing rest isn’t something he can control, and that’s not going to cause them to think he doesn’t belong in the group or is holding them back.
Minho makes a promise to the others, and to himself, to always tell at least one other person when he isn’t feeling well. And he knows that the others will always be there to reassure him and take care of him when he needs it.
“Now someone get me some medicine,” he growls playfully.
Jisung laughs, smacking his shoulder, while Felix walks to retrieve the medicine in the cabinet.
It’s just a cold. Minho isn’t going to die. And he doesn’t need excessive care and comfort. But, he feels better now that the others know, and appreciates them for always caring for him so much, even when he’s a mess of sneezes, coughs, and snot.
(A little while later, everyone is snuggled up on the couch, watching Ponyo on the TV. Minho still feels like shit but is overall doing a lot better with the medicine and two boxes of tissues placed next to him.
"You know," Seungmin starts slowly. "This is why I sleep with actual clothes on, instead of just my underwear."
"Hey!" Minho calls sleepily. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asks with a pout, glaring at Seungmin, who sits two people down from him.
"I'm just saying, hyung. You only sleep with underwear on. This is why you get sick so much," Seungmin claims.
"Ya!" Minho yells, as the other members all dissolve into laughter and small chuckles.)