Work Text:
jeonghan didn't quite remember when the cough first started. he had woken up one february morning, and it was just there. as if it were just any other sickness, his mom took him to the doctor's office.
"it's just the flu," he was told, "it'll go away in a couple days."
it didn't.
after a week and a half of coughing, his mom took him back to the doctor. this time he was told he never had the flu.
"i'm going to prescribe these steroids. it's five days worth. that should get rid of it. if not, let's get you back in for a chest x-ray."
the medicine didn't exactly work. it made the cough a little better, yes. but the cough still didn't go away. he went back in for an x-ray. he was fine. there was nothing wrong.
the coughing eventually slowed on its own, stopping completely one day. everything had seemed to go back to normal. until it hadn't.
in march, the world as he knew it shut down. there was no more going out with friends. there were no more soccer practices. nothing. only being home alone.
and then it was back. one summer day, the coughing started again. and he couldn't stop. back to the doctor he went, this time feeling worried about it being the virus. it wasn't.
he was prescribed more steroids - different ones this time. ones that should actually do something. spoiler alert: these ones didn't help either.
the cough ran it's course, and jeonghan was absolutely exhausted. it took everything out of him, yet seemed to be absolutely nothing.
the third time he had the cough, he went to a different doctor. this one gave him a shot and provided him with a temporary inhaler. that worked, for a little while.
but with how frequently this cough came and went, it just wasn't possible to do a shot seemingly every other week.
so the doctor prescribed him different steroids. these ones finally worked. it seemed like he finally had a cure.
until it came back.
"it's like it comes back everytime the weather changes," his mom explained, "it's awful."
he was given the steroids again. and again. and again, every time the cough made an appereance. for three years, jeonghan made trips to the doctors office everytime he showed any sign of coughing. it was managable, for a while.
but he just wanted answers.
"we are going to send him to an allergist. i think that's your best bet at getting a diagnosis."
so they went. jeonghan got allergy tested. nothing. jeonghan got tested for asthma. nothing. it seemed like there was no answer. no diagnosis. just coughing. everyday. for the rest of his life.
he tried sinus rinses. no help. he tried reflux medicine. didn't do anything.
everyday was getting harder. he was so sick. sick of coughing. sick of people staring at him. sick of being physically drained.
it was hard for him to continue playing soccer. what once was his life goal was now a chore over anything. all jeonghan wanted to do was lay in bed.
mental breakdowns were a constant. tears upon tears were shed. he was so tired.
"i can't do this anymore."