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Heeseung first knew something was up when Jake ditched (well, declined) their monthly Ramen and Movie Night, opting instead to go to bed early. Heeseung could see where he was coming from, he could. They had just finished a grueling week of practices, rehearsals, music video shootings, and they were all pretty much tapped out of energy. But, still…Jake turning down ramen and movies was strange, especially since there was absolutely no requirement of staying awake through the entire movie, and they both had mutually agreed on that.
Having decided that something was off, Heeseung went to one of the members who tended to know a lot about a lot, particularly when it was related to one of the members: Jungwon.
“Yeah, something is definitely off. He’s probably getting sick; you know his immune system isn’t the greatest, and there’s a cold going around the building,” Jungwon shared nonchalantly when asked. Heeseung stared at the leader in befuddlement.
“And do you think we should, I don’t know, do something about it?”
Jungwon shrugged, but he did get a contemplative look on his face, which made Heeseung feel mildly more like his concerns were getting addressed.
“I mean, if he’s already been exposed to it, there’s not much we can do other than hope he doesn’t show symptoms of it. We can, you know, encourage hydration and rest, but…”
“It’s Jake,” they said simultaneously. Yep, their resident golden retriever in human form was about as good at resting as a penguin was good at flying; that is to say, not very good at all.
“Hyung, at this point, there’s not much we can do. If he starts showing symptoms we can start doing fever meds and whatnot, but right now we’re just waiting. He’ll be here all weekend, hopefully, so ideally he won’t go anywhere.”
Heeseung nodded sullenly, hearing what Jungwon was saying, but not liking it. He was much more the type to tease and touch, preferring to take care of his members by keeping their spirits up and them comforted with hugs and head nuzzles. Not thinking about them downstairs knowing they probably don’t want to be disturbed at the moment. Heeseung sighed, and settled down to make himself some ramen - in Jake’s name, of course. With what happens to be Heeseung’s favorite toppings.
Everyone in the group knew that Jake had two forms with illness: not and dreadful. It was abundantly clear the next morning which category Jake had firmly gotten into (hint: it wasn’t the first one).
In the kitchen when Jake first appeared was Jay (the early bird), Sunghoon, and Sunoo, the former making toast and the last two had their heads down on the table, hair sticking up. Jake didn’t realize he had an aura of distress around him, but even in his state he didn’t miss all three turning to look at him when he entered.
“Jake-hyung?” Sunoo questioned, watching as Jake gingerly clung to the wall as he moved, as though he needed help moving. Sunghoon winced at the red eyes that tried to focus on Sunoo.
“You need help, Sunoo?” Jake asked quietly, not realizing he was wavering on his feet until a sturdy arm wrapped around his waist. Jake blinked at it, confused.
“Mate, you need to sit down,” Jay said, wrestling the Australian into a chair next to Sunghoon, who immediately scooted over to accommodate for Jake’s instant slump. Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Jay exchanged glances, concern in their eyes as they watched Jake take seemingly 3 business days to process his change in position.
“Don’t wanna sit down,” Jake mumbled, twisting uselessly in his chair, unable to gather enough coordination to stand up against the light resistance of Sunghoon’s arm.
“Here, Jake, put this under your tongue,” Jay said, pressing the thermometer in before Jake had the wherewithal to clamp his teeth together, or something equally as unhelpful. Truly, for how often Jake was sick, Jay declared up and down that he was the worst he knew at being sick.
Jake mumbled, and twisted some more, then gave Jay the poutiest pair of puppy eyes Jay had been subjected to that calendar year, but finally the thermometer beeped. The American’s eyebrows jumped in surprise.
“Sunoo, can you grab Jungwon and get some fever meds? We gotta cool Jake down,” Jay asked quickly, turning to find something for Jake to eat with them.
Jake frowned, tugging on Sunghoon’s sleeve until the taller bent down to make eye contact with him.
“I’m cold, though,” Jake whined.
“You feel cold on the inside, but you got a fever, apparently,” Sunghoon explained, taking in the purple circles under his eyes, the warm red hue on his cheeks, and the glassy way Jake’s eyes were trying to focus on Sunghoon’s.
“I’m too cool for a fever,” Jake said, having decided that enough was enough, went for the next best option of movement: dropping to the floor.
Jay thought his heart would explode with the yell for help that came from the living room, and it was clear that others thought similarly because suddenly his feet weren’t the only ones running to the living room. Jay slid into the room, closely followed by a visibly concerned Sunoo and a half-asleep looking Jungwon, who was blinking awareness into his eyes at the speed of light. The trio found Jake on the floor, weakly fighting against Sunghoon, who had Jake’s feet propped on the couch and was wafting a breeze onto Jake with a newspaper.
“He passed out!?” Sunoo asked worriedly, wringing his hands together, watching as Jungwon came over with bed head and his “leader face” on.
“I don’t actually know,” Sunghoon sighed, running a hand down his face. “He was fine, well, out of it, but fine, then he just slumped onto the ground from his chair.”
“I didn’t fall,” Jake resisted the cool cloth Jay forced behind his neck.
“Jake, you’re fine, it’s just water,” Jay rumbled, using one hand to grasp the back of Jake’s neck as he used the other to wipe the sweat off Jake’s face and neck.
“Jake, you take any meds yet?” Jungwon asked, already dishing out two anti-fever pills because he would bet on knowing the answer.
“No!” Jake said huffily, feet falling from the couch as he made a great escape attempt, thwarted by Sunghoon’s long arms.
“Hear me out, let’s swaddle him,” Sunghoon suggested, working up a sweat in keeping the Australian from whacking his head against the foot of the couch.
“It’d work short term, but we don’t wanna raise his temperature anymore,” Jay said, having found a smoothie in the back of the fridge that was still fresh to help Jake take the pills.
Sunoo wasn’t sure how he could specifically help at first, but he quickly found his place in the chaos of forcing meds on Jake by keeping Niki close and calm and waking up Heeseung, the only one still in bed.
About the time Jungwon was fishing for fever pills, Sunoo had gotten a lump on his back the shape of a tall boy with pouty lips, and could feel the worry pouring off him. Seeing that the situation in the living room was pretty under control, Sunoo decided to pull Niki back up the stairs by the hand.
“Come on Niki, let’s go wake Heeseung up.”
“But, Jake-hyung,” Niki protested, turning to look over his shoulder at his hyung, flat on his back on the living room floor with a visible fever.
“He’s gonna be okay, the hyungs and Jungwon are taking care of him. The meds will do him some good, and we’ll make him drink and eat something soon,” Sunoo reassured the maknae, carefully combing his hand through the maknae’s messy hair, gently working through some knots as he watched him go through several emotions before landing on worry.
“Is he sick?” Niki asked quietly.
“Yeah, he is, bug; probably caught the cold that’s going around the building,” Sunoo soothed. Seeing no more immediate questions coming from the maknae, Sunoo took his hand again and gently led him to Heeseung’s room, making a mental note to figure out what’s going on with the maknae.
Heeseung woke up to Sunoo shaking his shoulder, saying Jake was sick in the living room, with Niki leaning worryingly close to Sunoo. He had an immediate desire to time travel to last night and grind up some cold and flu medicine and stuff it into Jake’s water bottle, so that the entire dorm wouldn’t be up and doing this at such an early time of the morning.
“Hyung, it’s like 9am,” Sunoo said through a smile, like he somehow knew exactly why Heeseung was frowning.
Heaving himself into an upright position, comforter pooling around his hips, Heeseung straightened his pajama shirt, standing up in time to see Niki waver on his feet.
“Niki,” Heeseung yelped, catching Niki under his arms in enough time to prevent a concussion on the bedside table.
“Niki, what’s going on with you?” Sunoo fussed, pressing a hand to Niki’s forehead after Heeseung had dumped the maknae onto Heeseung’s just-vacated bed. “Niki, you have a fever!” Sunoo exclaimed. Heeseung narrowed his eyes in thought, watching as Sunoo fussed and draped Heeseung’s fuzzy blanket over Niki’s shoulders.
“Niki, when did you start feeling sick? How long has this been happening? Any headache or muscle aches?” Sunoo buzzed through questions he’d heard Jay and Jungwon both ask sick or ill members.
“Um, this morning, and no?” Niki mumbled, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders.
“Nishimura Riki,” Heeseung stated. Sunoo’s hands froze and his eyebrows raised, while Niki froze first, then gathered the blanket around him impossibly more, like he was about to hide or make a run for it.
“Dang, the Mom Voice is out,” Jay said from the doorway, having come up to let the three upstairs know that Jake was resting on the couch, having drank some water and had some smoothie and fever meds.
“What happened?” Jay continued, frown fixed on his face as he glanced to those in the room, gaze landing on Niki.
“Niki is sick too,” Sunoo said helpfully when the silence lingered.
“Sunoo-hyung…” Niki whined, looking at his hyung in betrayal.
“Niki, Heeseung-hyung already knows, and you’re not looking too good right now. All it takes is a good look and a few brain cells to put that conclusion together,” Sunoo said calmly, heart still clenching at the defeated look on the maknae’s face.
“Niki, don’t you dare try to make a run for it,” Jay warned threateningly in what had been dubbed as his “Dad Voice”, having seen the way Niki had posed his muscles in a fleeing manner. The maknae shrank deeper into the blankets, pulling his hood up over his head.
“Sunoo, could you go grab the thermometer from the living room, please?” Heeseung asked, voice even in a way Niki hadn’t heard from someone close to him since he had been home. The thought of being home brought tears to his eyes all over again.
“Hyung, no…” Niki said pleadingly, turning his pout fully onto Sunoo. Sunoo sighed, and knelt down to look Niki straight in the eyes.
“Niki, you’ll be fine. Hyungs aren’t gonna do anything to you, just take care of you and scold you for keeping this to yourself, which you deserve, by the way,” Sunoo smiled a little bit, genuinely a little bit concerned about the fear in Niki’s eyes. Sunoo dropped his smile when he didn’t see any positive response.
“Niki, love, you’re gonna be fine. It’s just Heeseung-hyung and Jay-hyung; you know them. Just let them worry about you a little bit, okay? I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Sunoo soothed, forcing himself away from the maknae. He made sure to look threateningly in the eyes of both his hyungs. Heeseung and Jay both saw the message behind the glare, and intentionally softened their demeanors.
Heeseung and Jay both crept closer, Heeseung crouching down to appear as least threatening as possible. He frowned at the legitimate fear in Niki’s face, and he could see that their maknae was having trouble focusing on either of them, a glassy sheen over his face.
“Niki-san,” Jay started, channeling the most calm thoughts he could. “Niki, when did you start feeling sick?” He pulled his hand up to place on Niki’s forehead, pausing as Niki flinched, then continuing. He frowned at the heat he felt, and moved his hand to lay against Niki’s head, rubbing soft circles through his hair.
“Niki,” Heeseung prompted after a few minutes of no answer.
Niki sniffed, looking down at his blanket-covered lap.
“A few days,” he mumbled, a single tear dripping down his cheek.
A few days? Jay questioned internally. He saw Heeseung having the same crisis as he was; having this bad of a fever for a few days wasn’t good, and they certainly should have caught onto it earlier than they had.
“Niki, the fever started a few days ago or you started feeling sick a few days ago?”
“The fever,” Niki replied quietly, sniffling once more. Heeseung looked around, then reached for the tissue box he kept close by the bed for when he had allergies. Jay nudged a trashcan similarly closer.
“Niki, love, what’s going on with you, huh? How were you keeping this under wraps so well?” Heeseung decided to just ask outright, knowing that despite Niki being in Korea for a few years, he still could get messed up with indirect questions. Add that to Niki’s teenage stubbornness, and the hyungs wouldn’t get anything out of the kid.
“I just…started not feeling good but we…we’re getting ready for the comeback soon, and…and there’s so much to do. And, I don’t want to drag everyone down but I just don’t feel good and I haven’t been and manager-ssi said not to bother you and so I didn’t and I took the meds he gave me but they make me feel worse than I do when I’m just sick and-“
“Breathe, baby, breathe,” Heeseung cooed, Niki having worked himself up into a steady flow of tears without realizing it. During Niki’s explanation, that jumped between Korean, Japanese, and a few words in English, Sunoo had dropped off the thermometer. He had stuttered, like he wanted to stay, but Jay asked him to return back downstairs, sensing that another person in the room might not help Niki out.
Jay and Heeseung shared a look over Niki’s head, as Heeseung pulled the maknae into a hug, cradling his head against his chest. Heeseung whispered gentle words into Niki’s hair, feeling the heat of his fever through his scalp.
“Jay, we need to check his temp. He feels really warm,” Heeseung said. Jay nodded, and together they got the thermometer underneath Niki’s arm.
40.1. Heeseung and Jay both sighed.
“Should we give him some fever meds?” Heeseung suggested over the sound of Niki’s still-ongoing crying.
“The crying is making his temperature climb, and we shouldn’t give him any medications because we don’t know what that manager gave him,” Jay ground out. They had some definite work ahead of them, with figuring out what all had been happening with Niki. They had only understood some of what Niki said, Jay understanding slightly more because of his Japanese knowledge, but neither of them felt comfortable with any of their managers until they had cleared up the situation with Niki.
“Hospital?” Heeseung offered up.
“Hospital? What’s going on, hyungs?” Jungwon asked. Jay and Heeseung jumped, not having heard Jungwon come into the room.
“Hyungs?” Jungwon pressed, stress crawling up his spine vengefully.
“Jungwon, we’re going to the hospital. Niki’s been sick for days and taking pills from a manager, except we don’t know what they are,” Jay said clearly, already standing up. Heeseung looked down at Niki, who was still wrapped up in his emotions and crying, albeit more softly now. The fever was probably higher at this point. Heeseung didn’t want to know. Heeseung’s heart broke at the sound of the cries, being able to distinguish the overwhelmedness, exhaustion, and fever undercurrents within the cry.
Jungwon’s eyes widened, and his mouth hung open without a sound. Jay felt bad for their young leader; having to deal with this barely one year into their idol careers wasn’t on anyone’s bingo board.
“We…what? Which manager? What did he take?” Jungwon started spit-firing questions at so rapid a pace Heeseung felt winded listening to him.
“We don’t know, Jungwon,” he said with more patience than he felt. “That’s why we need to get to the hospital. We should probably take Jake too, and get him an IV to get him over whatever he has.”
“Knowing how close they’ve been recently, Jake probably got whatever Niki has,” Jay said tiredly.
The next few minutes was absolute chaos, as the upstairs crew got the still crying Niki downstairs, and the downstairs crew woke Jake up and neatly dodged a battle (loss) with nausea from the quick position change Jake startled through.
They were putting on shoes before Sunghoon thought of something they hadn’t thought of before.
“How are we going to get there? If, we’re not using any of the managers?” He asked. The group froze.
Jake, having been leaning on Sunghoon heavily due to the drowsiness caused by the cold and flu medication he had been convinced to take, sniffled, sneezed, then spoke.
“What about TXT-sunbaenims?”
The group looked at each other for a moment.
“I’m calling Kai,” Heeseung said, pulling out his phone with the hand that wasn’t carrying the bag with things for the ambulatory members of the group.
Kai just finished up reorganizing his closet, stepping back to smile with satisfaction at the new arrangement. It wasn’t often that they had a day off, but it was nice to be gently productive when they had the opportunity to stay in the dorm all day. His hyungs were all having time to themselves, either napping, watching a drama, or doing something else in their own rooms. Kai’s phone ringing interrupted his zen playlist he had been listening to during his reorganization experience.
“Hey Heeseung-hyung!” He answered merrily, always happy to talk with the slightly older. His cheery mood darkened at the faint sound of crying, and he was already striding out the door when Heeseung spoke.
“Kai, we need some help.”
“What’s going on?” Kai asked, knocking then going straight into Beomgyu’s and Taehyun’s rooms.
“Kai? Dude, knock then wait for a moment,” Beomgyu teased, smile falling at the serious look on Kai’s face.
“Apparently, Jake and Niki are sick, and they think a manager drugged Niki…or something like that. They don’t want to include a manager yet but need to get to a hospital. They don’t want to give Niki anything for his fever in case it interacts with what he was given but he has a high fever and hasn’t stopped crying for twenty minutes,” Kai rambled. Taehyun was out the door heading for Soobin’s and Yeonjun’s room after the first sentence, and Beomgyu threw outdoor clothes on like the room was on fire.
Not a minute later, Soobin and Yeonjun each had a key to a vehicle, and the five of them were heading out of the dorm.
“Heeseung, it’s Yeonjun. We’re coming in two cars; can someone drive another one? Do you have the keys?”
“Yeonjun-hyung,” Heeseung spoke breathily, like he was sprinting. “Yeah, Jay can drive. We’re getting masks in case this spreads; Jake’s throwing up.”
“Little vomit don’t bother us, Heeseung. We’re pulling up right now,” Yeonjun replied, sliding into park in front of Enhypen’s dorm building, landing only slightly crooked. Soobin pulled up not three seconds later.
After a three-way call had been connected, Soobin started speaking as Yeonjun threw on his blinker like it had insulted his family.
“Okay, game plan:
Yeonjun-hyung, Jay-ah, and myself are driving. Yeonjun, you have the two sick ones, so get there as soon as you can without getting pulled over. The rest will be right behind you. I called ahead for confidential rooms; we’ll go through the staff entrance. We will all need to undergo respiratory tests when we get there; whoever clears first can stay with Niki-ah and Jake-ah.”
“We’re pulling up,” Yeonjun butted in, parking barely within the lines. Two nurses and a doctor came out with two wheelchairs, and Yeonjun and Sunghoon, who had been in the back holding a still crying Niki, hauled the sick pair out and manhandled them into the wheelchairs, dashing inside with all haste.
Sunghoon wasn’t going to lie, seeing healthcare workers running always frightened him, and it was worse when they were running in regards to someone he knew.
There were lots of phrases being thrown around: “potential overdose”, “STAT labs”, “oxygen monitoring”, and Sunghoon somehow found himself pressed into a chair, mask sweaty on his face. A blurry face appeared in his vision, and after a few blinks Yeonjun’s face became clear.
“Sunghoon-ah,” Yeonjun said quietly, watching as Sunghoon fought valiantly against tears behind his mask.
“Sunghoon-ah, it’s going to be okay. The rest of your members are right behind us, and after your respiratory panel clears you can go ahead and sit with Niki-ah and Jake-ah. They’re in good hands right now.”
“Okay, hyung,” Sunghoon breathed out wearily. Yeonjun smiled, getting up to sit next to Sunghoon in the chairs to wait.
Jake’s face lit up when Sunghoon and Jay came into his room, masks still on their faces.
“Hey man, how are you feeling?” Jay inquired, settling into a chair wearily. Sunghoon stayed standing a little longer, reading the signs on the walls, the IV labels, looking around the ED room.
“Umm, I’m doing better I think. My fever is coming down some, and I’m feeling better after so many fluids. They think I have a strep infection, so I’ll go home on antibiotics soon enough. What’s, umm. What’s going on? Sunghoon is, like, pacing, and Jay, you’re never this still unless something bad has happened.”
Jay sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. Sunghoon leaned against the wall, aging years in front of Jake’s eyes.
“Alright, you guys, spill. You two are scaring me now,” Jake reiterated, nervously glancing from one to the other.
“Niki is sick too,” Jay started.
Jake nodded slowly. “Yeah, I remember him being wheeled in here with me. Does he have the cold that’s going around the building?”
A knock on the door stalled what Sunghoon had to say, and Jay walked to the door to peek through the window to see who it was, just in case. The emergency department had been very good about limiting staff and having extra security, but they weren’t about to let their guard down now.
Jay opened the door, and Taehyun walked inside, a mask on his face too. Jake narrowed his eyes at the serious look on his face as well.
“What’s going on? What’s wrong with Niki?” Jake didn’t even consider manners, he was too worried about his friend.
Taehyun replied, hands held up passively.
“Niki is being cared for right now. Soobin is in there with him, and Jay, you’re up next once your panel clears to help with languages and comfort.”
“He’s okay?” Jay asked, standing up like he was able to run across the emergency department.
“He’s okay. He’s a little confused because of his fever but they’re drawing labs on him right now. He’ll be here for several more hours, if he’s not admitted overnight. The needles are freaking him out a little bit, but Soobin is very good with frightened kiddos,” Taehyun smiled sympathetically.
“What about the pills he was given?” Sunghoon asked quietly.
“Pills? What pills?” Jake asked hurriedly, getting from the atmosphere that they weren’t talking about multivitamins.
Jay turned around to face Jake head on.
“Niki has been feeling sick for about a week, had a fever for 3 days. Apparently he told a manager, they told him not to tell us and gave him something to help. But nobody knows that those pills were.”
Jake was flabbergasted.
“What?!? Which manager? What on earth is going on? Is he okay? Does anyone know?”
“Jake, you gotta take a breath, you’re on monitors and they’re about to go off,” Sunghoon soothed. Jake took some intentional deep breaths, trying to lower his heart rate and not focus on the monitors on him, nor the IV in his arm.
“Okay, okay. I’m okay,” he breathed, feeling a bit more calm.
Taehyun glanced at his phone when it buzzed, then smiled a little bit.
“Jay and Sunghoon, both your respiratory panels are clear. Jay, keep on your mask, they think Niki has the flu; if you don’t mind going over there to Room D, they gotta get another set of labs on Niki and Soobin thinks another friendly face would help.
Oh, and all of you are off for the next week, minimum. All your managers are being checked out, and the video feeds are being pulled. Police will try to get a statement from Niki soon, but once he’s more coherent. If you all end up needing a manager, BTS-sunbaenims has volunteered two of theirs to be on standby for you all, but you can also call any of us or BTS-sunbaenims.”
Jake blinked, seeing a similar expression on the faces of Sunghoon and Jay.
“Wait, BTS-sunbaenims are involved?” Jay asked questioningly.
Taehyun nodded.
“Kai called Jimin-hyung in the car; they were at the company and were able to pull your managers and get a search started.”
Those in the room breathed for a minute, the barely-debuted-by-a-year idols freaking out a little bit about the involvement of their sunbaenims.
“Okay, umm. I’m gonna head to Niki,” Jay said quietly, still stunned, if the expression on his face was anything to go off of. Sunghoon sat down in the chair next to Jake’s bed, holding Jake’s hand supportingly.
Soon enough, a nurse came inside. Jake was happy to see it was the same one as earlier, and who he had had a few times when he came in during I-Land for fluids and dehydration.
“Hey there,” she said cheerily.
“Hey, Melissa,” Jake said quietly.
“Okay, so you definitely have a strep infection. Have you had one of these before?”
“Umm, several years ago. Not recently.”
“Alright, no worries. Your antibiotics will be at the pharmacy in a few hours. You are, from our point of view, ready for discharge. You can take Tylenol every 6 hours for fever and pain, make sure you push fluids and keep eating. I would advise soft foods at first until the inflammation in your throat starts really going down. Make sure you complete the entire course of antibiotics, even if you feel better before that happens. Monitor your fever, and come back if it reaches 40 degrees or higher. Any questions?”
“Do you know anything about Niki?” Jake asked, hoping Sunghoon retained more information than he did, because all he could think about was Niki.
“I’m not his nurse, so I don’t,” she said sympathetically. “I can show you where his room is, though, and you can ask the nurse to come and talk with you all. I think most of the rest of you are in there.”
“Thank you,” they both said quietly, letting her remove Jake’s IV and gather his discharge paperwork. Jake did better with the IV than Sunghoon personally thought he would, but Sunghoon was willing to guess that Jake’s still present but lower fever and his concern for Niki was blocking out some of the fear of the needles.
The pair ran into TXT in the hall, them saying goodbye for now and reminding them to call before they were planning to leave if they needed a pick up. Jake and Sunghoon could have hugged them in thanks for their help, and Jake did hug Yeonjun and Beomgyu.
Heeseung came and waved TXT off with Jake and Sunghoon, then walked them to Niki’s room. Jake and Sunghoon eagerly donned new masks, and went inside. The room was dark, with several chairs in various corners of the room. Blankets were draped on the chairs, and there were several trays of food and drinks on the table as well. Sunoo was laying on the bed, leaning against the head of it, as a flop of pale hair was the only thing of Niki visible underneath the thin blanket he appeared swaddled with. Jake looked at Niki, then looked at him longer. Jake didn’t realize he had zoned out, thinking about all the worst case scenarios he could with the limited information he had, until a familiar hand guided him to sit on one of the chairs. Jake looked up and saw Jungwon smiling gently at him, before wrapping a thin blanket around his shoulders.
“How are you feeling, Jake-hyung?” Jungwon asked quietly. The whole room heard the question, though, as the only sound was the consistent beep of the IV pump and the heart monitor.
“I’m doing okay. I have a strep infection, so I’ll need antibiotics for 10 days. They should be ready for pick up at the pharmacy soon. Tylenol for fever and pain, lots of fluids, etc.”
The members nodded, glad for the familiar diagnosis and nothing too horrible.
“What’s going on with Niki?” Sunghoon asked, gently running his thumb over the exposed fingers of Niki’s hand. Sunoo smiled faintly, continuing to rub his hand gently through Niki’s sweaty hair.
“He has the flu, so he’ll be down for the count for about another week. Apparently, the managers are all under suspicion. RM-sunbaenim is going to text us the numbers of the managers we are being assigned from their staff” - every aware member in the room could feel their heart rate increase at having RM-sunbaenim texting them directly, even in such a situation - “Other than that, the panel for what Niki was given will take about a day to result. If he is still stable in a few hours, then they will probably send him home, and have him come in Monday to primary care to review and figure out what to do next.”
A few hours later, Niki proved stable enough to be discharged later that afternoon. Although he was still miserable and feverish, the healthcare staff seemed certain he would be okay for the next day and a half until their primary care appointment Monday morning.
“Niki, are you okay?” Heeseung asked the sad looking teenager laid down in the back of the vehicle, feet in Sunghoon’s lap and head in Sunoo's.
“Sleepy, hyung,” Niki responded, the same response he gave the last time someone in the vehicle asked.
Soobin smiled from the driver’s seat, carefully turning the vehicle into the parking garage.
“Almost there, everyone.”
“We really appreciate the offer to stay with you all tonight,” Heeseung said quietly. The concept of being welcomed into TXT’s dorm for the night, just so they wouldn’t feel so creeped out in a place that had so much chaos that morning, was a previously unthought of one, but a very appreciated one.
“It’s still no problem, but you’re welcome,” Soobin replied, the same answer he had given at least two other Enhypen members that trip alone.
Soobin parked and started unloading his group of exhausted Enhypen members. Thankfully, the younger members of TXT remembered to keep the door unlocked, so Soobin was able to guide Heeseung, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and a noodle-like Niki inside without hassle.
“Hey! There’s clean pajamas and slippers on the table by the door, just take a pile, both bathrooms are empty for showers, and there’s soup and ginger ale in the kitchen,” Kai called from the kitchen, Taehyun peeking out of the living room, arms piled high with blankets.
“Come on, food, showers, then sleep,” Soobin gently prompted, sending Sunghoon and Sunoo upstairs to shower one after the other, keeping Heeseung and Niki on the main level.
Niki was given a meager portion of soup with about a sprinkle of rice, but even that proved to be a challenge with his throbbing headache, sore muscles, tremoring hands, and upset stomach.
“Niki, don’t force it, okay? You can always try again later,” Yeonjun approached gently, making sure the younger saw him coming before wrapping a gentle arm around Niki’s shoulders.
“Hyung, I don’t feel good,” Niki said weakly. Yeonjun felt his heart go out for the kid, and the wavering voice made Niki seem younger than he already was.
“I know, baby, and I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to go through any of that, and especially without the support of your members. But we’re gonna take super good care of you, and you’ll get over this and be okay on the other side,” Yeonjun tried to encourage without promising too much, but he was completely convinced that Niki would be okay, even if they had to get him there by the force of their wills.
Niki said something in response, and Yeonjun’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration trying to determine what the younger had said.
A blessing in the form of Jay-ah came in, wearily with the strap of a backpack over each shoulder.
“Yeonjun-hyung, this smells good,” Jay started, not expecting Niki to also be in the kitchen, still wrapped up in the blanket they had…borrowed…from the hospital, with tears in his eyes, hands shaking, and pallor on his face.
“Jay-ah, he’s okay; got him to eat a bit of something,” Yeonjun reassured the distraught American, only continuing gesturing for Jay to go ahead and grab some food then sit down on Niki’s other side.
“We were talking about how he didn’t feel good but wouldn’t be left alone for his next several lifetimes,” Yeonjun began. “Then he started saying something in I think Japanese, and I’m not fluent in that.”
“Ah, yeah, he still struggles with Korean, especially when he’s tired,” Jay nodded, realizing he should have probably expected that particular language barrier to crop back in.
“Niki-san, how are you doing? Was the soup good?” Jay asked quietly, giving the younger his hand to hold when a blanket-wrapped one reached for his.
“Hyung, don’t feel good,” Niki said quietly. Jay frowned, lifting his other hand to gently determine that Niki’s fever was still holding on with a pretty good grip.
“You can get some more meds in about an hour,” Jay encouraged softly.
Silence reigned in the kitchen as Jay quickly ate, Yeonjun sat and held Niki, and Niki…just tried not to cry.
“Aww, Niki bud, what’s up?” Jay swooped in with all his dad energy at the first tear.
“Did I make Jake sick? I didn’t want to get anyone sick, they just said to not tell you all but I guess I shoulda but-“
Jay interrupted Niki with a hug, Yeonjun backing off so the members could have their own moment.
“No, Niki, you didn’t get him sick. It’s just unfortunate he got taken out at the same time. But he has strep, that’s a bacterial infection in the back of his throat, and you have the flu, that’s a virus.”
Niki’s eyes narrowed.
“I have the flu?”
“Yeah, love, you have the flu, and you’re still working on getting those pills out of your body, whatever they are,” Jay reminded gently. Heeseung had texted that Niki was pretty out of it on the way to TXT’s dorm, but Jay hadn’t been prepared for having to remind Niki about what all was going on.
Jay didn’t realize he had gone back to Korean out of habit until Soobin encouragingly spoke up,
“Jay-ah, remember he’s pretty tired and still kinda out of it. We reminded him in the car, too. That’s not something to be super worried about right now.”
Jay took a deep breath, forcing his residual adrenaline to escape with his exhale.
“Niki, do you want to go shower? The downstairs one is free right now, and Kai put a chair in there so you can sit down,” Soobin offered, knowing that every time he was in the hospital, or even visiting, he always had the need to shower multiple times.
Niki somehow managed to shower, or at least get wet and feel cleaner, but required a helping hand with hair and the zipper on the hoodie he had borrowed from Soobin.
“Here, Niki, let me help,” Kai said quietly, having come back to check on the maknae of Enhypen after the shower had been off for ten minutes without audible movement. Niki dropped his head in defeat, tiredly swaying on his feet. Gentle hands brushed Niki’s hair, and pulled the hood up over the barely damp strands of hair after zippering the hoodie that everyone in TXT liked to steal from their leader.
“Thanks, hyung,” Niki mumbled. Kai recognized the Japanese “thank you”, and he smiled, thinking that although the situation was truly awful, the youngest debuted idol he knew was adorable.
“Anytime bug. Let’s go to the living room, okay? We set up mattresses and blankets and cartoons.” Kai tempted Niki gently, letting the younger lean into him as they traveled. It wasn’t long before all of Enhypen were showered and decently fed. The TXT members collaboratively decided that their younger brothers were staying at least all weekend, if not longer. They could only imagine how frightening it would be to have a manager, someone they were all told to trust and tell everything to, be the person to try and take you down. Taehyun shivered at the very thought.
“You okay, hyung?” Jungwon asked, lifting his head from where it had planted only a few moments prior, as he had been the last of the group to shower.
Taehyun smiled gently, encouraging the younger to settle down for the night. “I’m fine, Jungwonie. Lay down your head and rest your eyes; tomorrow will come soon enough.”