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Hanbin wasn’t feeling particularly well.
He’d woken up to an unpleasant, queasy feeling in his stomach that he’d initially attributed to nerves, the stress of the competition or maybe even hunger, but as the morning progressed, it became clear that it was more than likely a bug.
However, as the leader and main vocal of the Say My Name team, Hanbin wasn’t going to afford himself the luxury of taking the day off to rest. With only 28 people left in the competition, it was more crucial than ever that he worked as hard as possible to deliver a flawless performance, both for himself and for his team.
Sitting out was absolutely not an option, but he knew that his teammates would make him rest—by force if they had to—if they found out he was sick.
So, there was only one option; nobody could know that he wasn’t feeling well.
For this plan to be successful, it was crucial he avoided two things at all costs: one, throwing up during practice (obviously), and two, Zhang Hao.
Why? Because if anyone figured out that he was sick, it would be him.
***
The first few hours of practice had been fairly successful; no vomiting, and no sign of Zhang Hao.
The nausea had thankfully eased up a little bit, but Hanbin’s stomach was still unsettled, and dancing wasn’t particularly helping it feel any better.
He’d made sure to force a smile onto his face the whole morning, and despite a few questioning glances from Jiwoong, nobody had seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.
“Another run through?” Matthew asked, flashing his signature grin.
“Sure,” Hanbin smiled, reaching down to restart the track. However, as he stood back up, he felt the room spin and his stomach begin to tighten.
He gritted his teeth as he moved into the first formation, hoping the feeling would soon subside.
For the first half of the song he was able to keep it together, but by the end of the second chorus, his stomach was cramping painfully and he felt liquid rising up his throat.
He swallowed thickly, focusing on his breathing and telling himself to hold out until the end of the song. Just one more minute.
Hanbin felt more and more lightheaded every second. By this point he was just going through the motions, focus completely shifted from executing the choreography to willing himself not to throw up.
30 more seconds. 20 more seconds. 10 more seconds.
When the song finally finished, Hanbin fell to his knees, vision fading in and out of focus. He honed in on his breathing, exerting every ounce of effort he could to calm his stomach.
“Are you alright, Hyung?” Yujin asked, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
Hanbin nodded. “Yeah, just tired. Good job guys, let’s take a short break,” he said through gritted teeth, desperately resisting the urge to lose his breakfast all over the floor.
He shakily pulled himself up off the ground and walked calmly out of the room, but as soon as the door closed behind him and he was out of view, he stumbled out into the empty hallway, gagging.
Hanbin leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, trying to keep his breathing steady. The hallways began to spin dizzyingly and he allowed himself to drop to a seated position, hoping it would quell the nausea.
He sat there for a few minutes, trying to calm himself down. Although he started to feel a little better, he wasn’t quite sure if he’d be able to go back to practice. But then again, the longer he stayed here, the more questions his teammates would have, and he definitely didn’t want an interrogation.
He’d been hiding it well enough so far. If only he could hold on for just a little longer—
“Hanbin? Are you OK?”
Hanbin jumped slightly in surprise and looked up to see Zhang Hao standing over him with a quizzical expression, arms folded.
Uh oh.
“I’m fine, Hyung. Don’t worry about it,” Hanbin mumbled in reply, averting his gaze to the floor.
Hao simply raised an eyebrow in response, reaching out towards Hanbin’s forehead. Hanbin tried to duck out of the way, but he wasn’t quick enough to avoid Hao’s hand.
As Hao gently brushed Hanbin’s hair aside and placed his hand on his skin, Hanbin found himself leaning into the cool touch instinctively.
“You’re burning up. You’re clearly not fine,” Hao said.
“I’m just hot from practice,” Hanbin replied.
Hao sighed, kneeling down to face him at eye level. “Nice try. Now, tell me what’s really going on.”
Hanbin stood up abruptly, legs wobbling. “Actually, speaking of practice, I really need to get back there—“
Suddenly, the room began to spin again and Hanbin’s stomach lurched violently, threatening to send its contents all over the floor. He pressed his arm against the wall to steady himself, gagging a little into his fist. He shouldn’t have tried to stand up so quickly.
Immediately, he felt Hao start to rub gentle circles into his back. His other hand reached over to brush the sticky hair out of Hanbin’s eyes, and Hanbin made eye contact with his friend’s concerned gaze.
“Hanbin-ah. No more messing around, OK?” Hao said softly. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Fine,” Hanbin sighed, lowering himself back down into a seated position. “I haven’t been feeling well all day. But it’s no big deal, just a stomach bug or something. I should be fine to go back to practice if I wait it out for a bit.”
“Hanbin. You almost puked just from standing up. You are not going back to practice today. Would you rather miss out on a few hours of rehearsal, or throw up in front of all the Star Creators because you didn’t let yourself recover?”
Hanbin paused for a moment, seriously contemplating the question. “Hm… well, when you put it like that… I think I should probably get back to practice.”
Hao blinked at him, flabbergasted.
“Sung Hanbin. You’re not going anywhere today except your bed. No buts.”
Hao’s gaze was gentle and concerned despite his firm warning, and Hanbin noticed that his lips had formed into a cute little pout. It was enough to make him crack a little smile, even though he felt awful.
As determined as Hanbin was, he couldn’t bear to see Hao so worried. And maybe—though he’d never admit it—he did need to rest after all.
“OK Hyung, fine. You win.”
“Good,” Hao smiled. “I’m going to go tell the rest of your team, and then you’re going straight to bed.”
***
“Thank you, Hyung,” Hanbin smiled as Hao tucked him under the duvet. “But you didn’t need to come all the way back here with me.”
Hao scoffed. “If I’d left you alone, you would have gone right back to practice.”
“By the way, the others totally knew there was something wrong with you all morning. Jiwoong-Hyung said he could tell from the moment he saw you.”
Hanbin just chuckled in response, defeated, watching on fondly as Hao gently placed a glass of water and some tablets on the bedside table. He felt rather touched by his friend’s concern, as over-the-top as it seemed.
“These tablets should help with your fever, and I’ve warmed up a hot water bottle for your stomach as well,” Hao said, sitting himself down on the edge of the bed. “And uh… there’s a bucket over there too, just in case.”
“Thanks, Hyung,” Hanbin smiled, reaching over to squeeze Hao’s hand gently. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”
“Are you feeling any better now?” Hao enquired.
“A bit less nauseous, but… still gross,” Hanbin sighed.
Hao nodded slowly. “Well, I guess I should head back to practice. You probably don’t want me hanging around pestering you all afternoon, anyway,” he said, poking Hanbin’s cheek affectionately.
“Plus, I suppose I trust you not to run off on me now that you’re finally in bed.” He gently unclasped his fingers from Hanbin’s, standing up. “Get some rest. I’ll see you in a few hours—“
“Wait!” Hanbin said with a sudden urgency, grasping Hao’s hand again.
Hao turned around, surprised. “Huh?”
“I… actually, can you… stay with me for a bit?” Hanbin asked meekly, his face red with embarrassment.
“Oh?” Hao said, lips curving up into a smirk. “It seems that Mr Stubborn likes being doted on after all.”
Hanbin pouted.
Hao just laughed, lifting the duvet and sliding in beside Hanbin without hesitation. “I’ll stay for a bit longer,” he said, cuddling up next to him. “Just don’t throw up on me, OK?”
“I’ll try. Tie tie, Hyung.”
***
“My stomach hurts so bad,” Zhang Hao complained loudly, curling up into a ball on Hanbin’s bed. “I feel disgusting.”
“I know,” Hanbin said, rubbing Hao’s back sympathetically. “I’m really sorry. I tried my best not to give it to you, but…”
“I guess we’re even now,” Hao said with a pout, patting the spot next to him on the mattress in invitation.
“I guess we are,” Hanbin grinned, laying down next to him.
Hao nuzzled his face into Hanbin’s neck and grasped his hand, placing it under his t-shirt onto his stomach.
“What are you doing?” Hanbin asked, amused.
“You owe me for looking after you,” Hao replied.
Hanbin laughed, moving his hand in soothing circles over Hao’s tummy. “Sure. Just don’t throw up on me.”
“Fine. Tie tie.”