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When Minghao was around six or seven years old, he started noticing rashes appearing on his skin whenever he got too hot. At first it hadn’t worried him, but his parents soon noticed and took him to the doctor who diagnosed him with Cholinergic Urticaria. It was a pain living where he did in China, where the days were often hot and they more often than not ate something spicy. Minghao was lucky enough to not suffer from a severe form of Cholinergic Urticaria, but it could still be a complete pain in the ass, especially when he got older.
The symptoms were always the worst when he was either exercising or out on a hot day, but somehow Minghao still found that dancing was his passion. When his parents failed to dissuade him from dancing, they settled for making Minghao take some antihistamines before his dance lessons to hopefully prevent any sort of reaction and keep him comfortable. For the most part it worked, but sometimes he still had to stop and wait for a small reaction to calm down.
It had been a lot worse when he joined SEVENTEEN, yet somehow he managed to keep everything secret. Despite practising for up to twelve hours straight, Minghao was always lucky enough that the antihistamines kept working.
Even eight years after debut, Minghao still hadn’t told anybody other than one of their managers. That manager was now gone, so Minghao was left to himself. Other than taking the antihistamines every morning and lunchtime in the summer, Minghao almost completely forgot about his CU. Sometimes he only relied on his reminders to make sure he took the tiny little pills that kept his skin pale and smooth despite the heat.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end.
Minghao was always excited whenever tours or concerts were announced, especially the bigger world tours where they got to meet fans from all around the world, but Minghao had never enjoyed the travelling. Travelling always meant hot, crowded planes and cramped cars or minibuses.
When they announced their next world tour, Minghao was practically buzzing, impatient for when they would arrive at their first destination and get to meet new fans.
Minghao started packing a few days before they left for Japan after their first two shows in Seoul. As always, he made sure to pack enough Benadryl to last as long as he would need. When the staff asked if anyone had medications, Minghao went up to them separately to let them know in case they had any trouble at airport security.
They got through the first few shows of their tour alright, enjoying their time in all of the different Asian countries they visited. Soon enough they moved onto South American shows, and that was where all of the problems started.
As the tour was taking place in the summer, the heat was almost insufferable. Minghao was thankful he had already taken a pill that morning and didn’t have to put up with any rashes.
When they reached the hotel, Mingha opted to stay in his room rather than head out like most of the others. Junhui also chose to stay at the hotel, but Minghao had a feeling Junhui just wanted to keep him company.
Junhui ordered some food for them, careful not to get anything spicy for Minghao - he knew Minghao hated spice for some reason - while Minghao fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Junhui watched Minghao with a little smile on his face as he got out his phone to play games for a bit.
When the food arrived, Junhui gently woke Minghao and they ate together. They spoke quietly about their upcoming concerts among other things. Minghao was so excited about their concerts, but he knew they would be absolute hell with his CU, although he refrained from mentioning that to Junhui.
The two went straight to sleep once they were finished eating, Minghao making sure the fan was pointing towards his bed to keep him cool. Fortunately Junhui didn’t object.
The next day, the group spent most of their time at the concert venue, preparing for the concert later that evening. They went over the full performance setup before getting a bit of background for their skits.
Soon enough the group was taken downstairs to get changed into their outfits.
Minghao’s heart dropped. They were exactly the same outfits they used in their previous concerts, despite the climate being ten degrees higher at their current venue.
Junhui placed an arm over Minghao’s shoulders. “You alright, Hao? You look really pale.”
Minghao just nodded. “Yeah. Probably just a bit jet lagged.”
He headed into one of the other rooms to get his outfit on - a black tank top with a thick leather jacket and jeans.
Minghao was already sweating and the concert had barely started as they stepped out onstage for the first time to perform HOT. He already knew the concert was going to be absolute hell just from those first three minutes. He could feel the rashes appearing on his arms and how lightheaded he was getting.
As they stepped offstage at the half-time break, Junhui had to grab hold of Minghao to stop him keeling over.
“Woah, careful there.”
Minghao nodded, getting his feet back under himself and steadying himself against the wall to make sure he didn’t fall again. Junhui kept hovering nearby, keeping a hand at the small of Minghao’s back in case he needed to grab him again.
As Minghao changed into his next outfit - a long-sleeved white shirt with a bright red jacket and trousers - his whole body started trembling. That definitely caught the attention of the other members.
Jeonghan and Joshua both rushed over to Minghao as he stood up all too quickly and almost lost his balance.
“‘M fine… ‘M fine.” Minghao said, barely registering the way his voice slurred, too focused on the way his vision swam as he looked around the room.
Jeonghan raised his eyebrows. “Someone fine wouldn’t be shaking. Or wheezing.”
Oh, Minghao hadn’t even noticed that.
Minghao started shaking his head, but it didn’t do anything to help when his legs gave out. Jeonghan and Joshua both caught him and helped him to the floor as Seungkwan ran off to get some medical staff and Seungcheol followed after him. Junhui rushed forward to check on Minghao while the other members were respectful enough to clear out of the room when Seungcheol directed them too, despite their worry.
“CU…” Minghao whispered, voice weak and barely audible to the other members. “I have CU.”
Junhui grabbed his phone to figure out what Minghao was talking about as some staff members entered with Seungcheol.
The first thing they did was to get an oxygen mask pressed over Minghao’s face. They obviously thought Minghao had heat exhaustion, removing his jacket and shoes, and starting to fan him to get him cooled down.
Minghao shook his head. “No… Not heat stroke. CU.”
He knew they could barely hear him over the oxygen mask, but felt relief wash over him when Junhui started talking.
“He has CU. He's allergic to heat, pretty much.” Junhui said, showing the medical staff the website he had found.
Minghao could barely register anything anymore. He could vaguely feel Jeonghan holding his hand, Seungcheol carding his hands through Minghao’s hair and the medical staff speaking about an epipen.
After that it all went dark.
———————
The next time Minghao was aware was chaos.
There was a sharp pain in his thigh which made him cry out and flinch, Jeonghan was still holding his hand and Junhui grabbed Minghao as he sat up and tried to get up in his distress.
“Sit back down, Honey.” Jeonghan said, voice soft. Minghao could still hear the twinge of fear as he spoke.
Minghao struggled in Jeonghan and Junhui’s arms as he tried to figure out what was happening around him. There was an oxygen mask pressed over his face and one of his trouser legs had been rolled up, revealing nasty hives and a tiny bleeding wound. His jacket, sneakers and socks had all been removed, as had all of his jewellery. His uncovered arms were covered in bright red hives, spreading all the way up to his neck.
Minghao stopped struggling to close his eyes, rest his head on Jeonghan’s shoulder and take a breath. Junhui grabbed his shoulders, scared he’d fainted.
“Hao? Come on, Honey.” Junhui whispered, voice soft as he gently ran his fingers over the hives on Minghao’s neck.
Minghao opened his eyes and looked up at Junhui, reaching up to him with shaking hands. “Hui?”
Junhui nodded, looking more than relieved. “Yeah, Hao. It’s me. Just me and Hannie. Some staff are here too. You’re shaking from the adrenaline they gave you.”
Minghao nodded as much as he could and closed his eyes to take some deep breaths.
Junhui gently readjusted the oxygen mask over his face as Jeonghan moved forward to bring him into his arms.
“‘M tired.” Minghao mumbled.
Junhui nodded, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of Minghao’s face. “Okay. It’s okay to sleep now. Get some rest and we’ll keep an eye on you until you wake up.”
Minghao let Junhui and Jeonghan get him lying down comfortably on the nearby couch before he let his eyes flutter shut and quickly fell asleep.
———————
Minghao woke up back in their dorm that evening, cuddled up with Junhui in their bed.
Junhui opened his eyes just as Minghao woke up and smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Minghao whispered back, letting Junhui pull him closer.
“You feeling better now? We brought you back home because we couldn’t wake you up. You were out like a light.”
Minghao nodded. “I feel much better now.”
Junhui smiled and put his head back on the pillow with a sigh. “I love you.”
Minghao chuckled slightly, resting his head on Junhui’s chest and pulling Junhui’s arm across his waist.
Minghao curled up against Junhui and closed his eyes, the feeling of Junhui’s hands carding through his hair helping him fall asleep.