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The heat had been unbearable since morning.
Not the normal kind—the kind that slowly wore you down—but the heavy, suffocating heat that sat on Jungwon’s shoulders like a physical weight. The kind that made the air feel thick, hard to breathe, and impossible to escape.
The outdoor MV set buzzed with activity as ENHYPEN moved from one setup to another. Cables snaked across the ground. Cameras reflected harsh sunlight. Stylists hovered with fans blotting papers, already sweating themselves.
Jungwon stood quietly in his position, eyes focused ahead, jaw set as the heat pressed down on him.
He already felt wrong.
His body had started overheating far earlier than usual. Sweat soaked through his clothes, clinging uncomfortably to his skin, but instead of cooling him, it made him feel worse. His face burned, cheeks flushed deep red, while his hands felt oddly weak and shaky.
He swallowed, throat dry.
A sharp headache pulsed behind his eyes—slow at first, then steadily building, each beat of his heart making it worse. His pulse felt too fast, racing unnaturally, and no matter how much water he drank, his mouth felt dry again within minutes.
I can get through this, he told himself. Just don’t slow everyone down.
“Jungwon, ready?” the director called.
“Yes,” Jungwon answered immediately, straightening his posture.
The music started.
At first, everything was fine. His body moved automatically, choreography ingrained into muscle memory. He hit his marks perfectly, expression controlled, gaze sharp for the camera.
But the heat crept higher.
The lights felt blinding now, almost painful. His vision began to blur, colors melting together at the edges. Black spots flickered in and out when he turned too quickly. His breathing grew shallow, chest tight like the air wasn’t quite enough.
Halfway through the take, nausea rolled violently through his stomach.
He clenched his jaw, fighting it.
Just one more take.
Jake, dancing a few steps away, glanced over—and frowned.
Jungwon’s movements were still precise, but something was off. His shoulders were tense. His steps half a beat slower. His face looked flushed beyond normal exertion.
By the time the music stopped, Jungwon’s ears were ringing.
“Cut! Reset for another—”
Jungwon swayed.
The ground tilted sharply beneath him, and suddenly he couldn’t tell which way was up. His legs felt like they weren’t his anymore—heavy, unresponsive. His hands trembled uncontrollably as he tried to steady himself.
“Jungwon?” Jay stepped forward instinctively.
“I—” Jungwon tried to speak, but the word came out slurred.
Then his knees buckled.
“CUT—STOP—!”
Jake caught him first, arms wrapping around his waist as Jungwon sagged forward. Sunghoon was there instantly, grabbing his shoulder, helping lower him to the ground before he could hit it.
“Jungwon!” Jake’s voice cracked.
Jungwon’s skin was frighteningly hot—burning beneath their hands. Sweat drenched his hair, but despite the heat, his body began to shiver violently.
“That’s not normal,” Sunghoon said urgently. “Why is he shaking?”
“Hyung, I feel… dizzy,” Jungwon murmured weakly. His eyes fluttered, unfocused, struggling to stay open. “My head… hurts.”
Then he gagged.
Sunoo reacted immediately. “He’s nauseous—turn him to the side!”
Panic erupted.
“Get him out of the sun!”
“Umbrella—now!”
“Cold towels, ice packs, hurry!”
Staff rushed in from all directions. Someone held a large umbrella over Jungwon while others knelt around him, pressing ice packs to his neck, wrists, under his arms. Cold towels were layered over his flushed skin.
A medic dropped to the ground beside him, checking his pulse.
“His heart rate is very fast,” the medic said sharply. “Skin temperature’s extremely high.”
Jungwon groaned softly, clutching his head. “I can’t… see properly,” he whispered. “Everything’s blurry.”
His words sent a wave of fear through the group.
Jay crouched close, voice tight but steady. “Hey. Stay with us. Look at me. Don’t close your eyes, okay?”
Jungwon tried—but his eyelids kept drooping, his consciousness slipping in and out. Chills wracked his body even as his skin burned.
“He’s shivering despite overheating,” the medic muttered. “This is heatstroke. We need to cool him down fast.”
The word hit hard.
Jake’s hands shook as he held a water bottle to Jungwon’s lips. “Sip slowly, Jungwon. Please.”
Jungwon tried, but his hands wouldn’t cooperate. Water spilled down his chin as he coughed lightly, breathing uneven, chest rising too fast.
“I’m sorry…” he whispered, tears pooling weakly at the corners of his eyes. “I ruined it…”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” Jay said immediately, voice breaking. “Stop apologising.”
The manager pushed through the crowd, face pale. “We’re stopping filming. Get the van ready—AC on full. Now.”
They lifted Jungwon carefully, his body frighteningly limp, and rushed him into the air-conditioned van. The blast of cold air made him gasp, shivering harder as goosebumps rose instantly.
Despite that, his skin was still hot to the touch.
Sunghoon wrapped a blanket around his shoulders anyway, grounding a steady hand there. “Stay awake. Talk to us.”
“My head’s pounding,” Jungwon whispered. “It hurts so bad…”
The medic nodded grimly. “Severe headache, confusion, nausea, rapid pulse—classic heatstroke. He pushed himself too far.”
Silence filled the van, heavy and shaken.
Jake looked down at Jungwon, eyes glossy. “You don’t handle heat well. We know this. Why didn’t you say something?”
Jungwon swallowed, throat tight. “I didn’t want… to be a problem.”
Heeseung shook his head sharply. “You passing out in the sun is the problem. You matter more than any shoot.”
As the van pulled away, Jungwon lay back, exhaustion crushing him, fear finally catching up. He’d been so close to collapsing completely. Too close.
But through the pain and dizziness, he felt it—hands steadying him, voices refusing to let him fade, warmth that had nothing to do with the sun.
“I’ll say something next time,” he whispered, barely audible.
Jake squeezed his hand gently. “You better.”
And as the van sped toward safety, filming forgotten, Jungwon finally let himself rest—knowing he didn’t have to endure things alone anymore.
——
The van didn’t head toward the dorm.
Jungwon realized it slowly, through the haze of dizziness and pounding pain, when the streets outside the window began to look familiar in a different way—taller buildings, quieter roads, tighter security. The air-conditioning blasted steadily, cold enough to make him shiver uncontrollably, while ice packs were replaced again and again against his neck and wrists.
“Where… are we going?” Jungwon murmured, voice weak and hoarse.
“To the medical center,” the manager replied from the front seat. “Inside HYBE.”
Jungwon’s unfocused eyes widened slightly. “The… company hospital?”
“Yes,” Heeseung said firmly, leaning closer so Jungwon could see him clearly. “They’re already ready for you.”
Jake was still holding Jungwon’s hand, grounding him when another wave of nausea rolled through his stomach. Jungwon gagged softly, face twisting, and Sunghoon immediately helped turn him to the side.
“Easy, easy,” Sunghoon murmured. “You’re okay.”
By the time the van pulled into the underground entrance of the HYBE building, Jungwon was barely holding his eyes open. His thoughts felt slow, tangled, slipping away from him no matter how hard he tried to focus.
The doors opened, and everything sped up.
Medical staff were already waiting—stretchers, monitors, calm but urgent voices. Jungwon was transferred carefully, cold towels never leaving his skin.
“Heat exposure duration?”
“Symptoms?”
“Nausea, confusion, shivering, severe headache—possible heatstroke?”
“Yes,” the manager answered quickly. “Collapsed on set.”
Jungwon barely registered being wheeled through familiar hallways he’d walked a hundred times before—except now the lights were too bright, the ceiling spinning gently above him.
Inside the medical wing, he was moved onto a bed almost immediately.
Cold gel pads were placed along his torso. A cooling blanket followed. Someone slipped a blood pressure cuff onto his arm, another clipped a monitor to his finger.
“Temperature’s still elevated,” a nurse said. “Heart rate’s high.”
“We’ll start IV fluids,” another voice replied.
Jungwon flinched faintly as the needle went in, then relaxed when cool fluid began to drip into his vein. The relief was subtle at first—but unmistakable.
His breathing slowly evened out.
The violent pounding in his head dulled to a heavy ache instead of a sharp, blinding pain. The burning sensation under his skin eased, replaced by deep exhaustion and lingering chills.
He became aware of the members again when the fog lifted just enough.
Jay stood closest to the bed, arms crossed tightly, jaw clenched in worry. Jake sat beside him, still refusing to let go of his hand. Sunghoon hovered near the foot of the bed, watching the monitors like he could will them into behaving. Sunoo stood quietly off to the side, eyes soft but shaken.
Heeseung lingered near the window at first, unusually silent, watching everything with a protective stillness. Ni-ki stood nearer to the wall, hands tucked into his hoodie sleeves, trying to look composed—but his eyes never left Jungwon. Every small movement, every shift in the monitor’s sound, made his posture straighten instantly.
“You scared us,” Sunghoon said quietly.
Jungwon swallowed. “I didn’t mean to…”
“We know,” Sunoo said gently. “But you were really bad.”
The doctor returned not long after, expression serious but relieved. “Heatstroke, but caught early. That’s important. If he’d stayed out there any longer, this could’ve been much worse.”
The words made the room go quiet.
“He’ll stay here for observation,” the doctor continued. “IV fluids, rest, no schedules. His body needs time to recover.”
“No filming,” the manager said immediately. “No activities.”
Jungwon’s lips parted instinctively. “But—”
Heeseung cut him off with a look. “No buts.”
Jake squeezed his hand a little tighter. “You don’t get to argue when you almost collapsed from heatstroke.”
Too tired to fight, Jungwon let his eyes close again.
This time, when he drifted, it wasn’t from dizziness or pain—but from relief.
-
The room was dim when Jungwon woke again, the harsh brightness from earlier replaced by soft, indirect lighting.
For a moment, he didn’t remember where he was.
Then he felt it—the slight pull in his arm from the IV line, the coolness of the gel pads still resting against his skin, the faint hum of medical equipment.
Right.
The HYBE medical center.
His body felt… different. Not good, exactly. Just heavy. Drained. Like someone had unplugged him and left him to recharge at 10%.
He shifted slightly.
A chair scraped.
“Hyung, you’re awake.”
Ni-Ki’s voice—quiet, immediate.
Jungwon turned his head. Ni-Ki had clearly been dozing, but he was upright now, eyes wide and alert. Heeseung stirred from the chair beside him. Sunghoon looked up from where he’d been staring at the monitor like it personally offended him.
Sunoo leaned forward gently. “How do you feel?”
Jungwon swallowed. His throat was still dry, but not painfully so. “Tired.”
Jay let out a breath that sounded like he’d been holding it for hours. “Good. That means you’re not delirious anymore.”
Jungwon blinked slowly. “Was I…?”
Jake gave a weak, almost disbelieving laugh. “You tried to argue with the medic about finishing the shoot.”
Silence.
Jungwon’s eyes widened faintly. “I did not.”
“You did,” Sunghoon confirmed. “You said, and I quote, ‘We can just move me into the shade between takes.’”
Even in his exhaustion, Jungwon felt embarrassment crawl up his neck. “I don’t remember that.”
“Exactly,” Jay said quietly.
That sobered him.
The doctor’s earlier words echoed in his mind—If he’d stayed out there any longer…
Jungwon looked down at his hands. They weren’t trembling anymore. The redness had faded from his skin. His pulse didn’t feel like it was trying to escape his chest.
“I thought it was just normal heat,” he admitted softly. “I didn’t realise it was that bad.”
Sunoo’s expression softened. “You were burning up, Jungwonie. You were shaking but still hot. It was scary.”
Jake shifted closer. “When you said you couldn’t see properly…” His voice faltered slightly. “That wasn’t normal.”
Jungwon remembered that part. The way the world had melted at the edges. The way the ground had tilted.
The fear.
“I really thought I could push through it,” he whispered.
Heeseung leaned forward, elbows on his knees. His tone wasn’t angry. It was controlled—careful. “You don’t have to push through everything.”
Jungwon gave a small, tired smile. “I’m the leader.”
“And?” Heeseung shot back gently.
“And leaders don’t slow things down.”
Jake’s grip tightened around his hand again. “Leaders also don’t collapse.”
That landed.
For someone who carried responsibility so quietly, Jungwon rarely let anyone carry him back. But today he had. Literally.
“I didn’t want to be weak,” Jungwon admitted, voice barely above a breath.
Jay shook his head immediately. “Heatstroke isn’t weakness. It’s your body shutting down.”
“You weren’t being strong,” Sunoo added softly. “You were hurting.”
The room fell quiet again—not tense, just honest.
Jungwon stared at the IV line for a moment, watching the clear fluid drip steadily into him. Each drop a reminder that his body had needed help.
And that help had come.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” he said finally.
Jay stood and stepped closer to the bed, resting a hand lightly on Jungwon’s shoulder. “Don’t apologise for something like this.”
Jake nodded. “Just promise you won’t hide it next time.”
Jungwon hesitated.
Then he nodded back. “I promise.”
The doctor entered shortly after, checking his vitals again. “Temperature’s back to normal. Heart rate’s stabilized. That’s good.”
He adjusted something on the monitor before looking at Jungwon directly. “You were lucky. Heatstroke can escalate quickly—organ damage, loss of consciousness. You were on the edge of something much more serious.”
The words settled heavily in Jungwon’s chest.
“But,” the doctor continued, “You’re young, healthy, and you were cooled down quickly. With rest and hydration, you’ll recover fully. But no schedules for a few days.”
Jay answered before Jungwon could even think about protesting. “Understood.”
The doctor gave a small nod and left.
A few days.
Jungwon would normally argue.
Today, he didn’t.
His body felt like it had run a marathon in the sun without warning. Even sitting up slightly made him dizzy.
He leaned back into the pillow.
Jake finally relaxed enough to rest his forehead lightly against the edge of the bed. “You really scared me.”
Jungwon looked at him, something soft blooming in his chest that had nothing to do with the cooling blanket.
“I’m still here,” he said quietly.
Sunghoon huffed lightly. “Yeah. And we’d like to keep it that way.”
Sunoo smiled faintly. “Next time it’s hot, we’re forcing extra breaks. Even if you say no.”
Jay nodded once. “Leader or not.”
Jungwon let out a tired breath that almost turned into a laugh.
For the first time that day, the heat felt distant—like something that had happened to someone else.
Here, in the quiet of the HYBE medical room, surrounded by the steady presence of his members, he felt safe.
He shifted his hand slightly in Jake’s grip. “Thank you,” he murmured.
Jake looked up. “For what?”
“For not letting me disappear.”
Jay’s jaw tightened briefly, emotion flickering across his face before he masked it. “You’re not allowed to disappear.”
Sunghoon nodded in agreement. “Not on our watch.”
Jungwon closed his eyes again, not from dizziness—but from peace.
This time, when he rested, it wasn’t because his body was shutting down.
It was because he knew they would catch him if he ever fell again.