Work Text:
Kibum should have known something was wrong the minute he woke up and Jonghyun was still in bed. Instead, he nudged the older boy with his toe.
“Jjong, get up,” Kibum murmured. When Jonghyun didn’t even stir he frowned, poking his calf harder. “Jonghyun.”
Jonghyun’s eyes opened, blinking blearily at him. He opened his mouth to ask a question, presumably either what the hell Kibum was doing or what time it was, but all that came out was a broken croak. Jonghyun sat straight up at that, his hand flying to his throat. Kibum sat up more slowly, his eyes flitting between Jonghyun’s wide, horrified ones.
Jonghyun opened his mouth once more, and again his voice refused to form any words, only broken sounds. He jumped from the bed and Kibum followed him into the kitchen as he pulled out a paper and a pen, scribbling a sloppy, Kibum what happened to my voice?? on it.
Kibum had the brief urge to tell him a sea witch stole it, but he couldn’t make fun of Jonghyun when he was this worried. He took a couple steps closer, putting his hand on Jonghyun’s bare chest and feeling his heart pounding wildly beneath his fingers. Kibum put his arms around Jonghyun, resting his chin on the older man’s shoulder.
“It’s okay,” Kibum said. “Tea with honey and I’ll call the manager.”
Jonghyun shook his head, half-frantic with fear. He pulled away and wrote on the paper again. I have to sing today!
“I know. It’s okay, Jjong. Sit down and I’ll make the tea while I call.”
It took a little bit of coaxing, but at last Jonghyun sat down, his knee jiggling with nerves and his fingers clenching around the warm mug. Kibum kept his hand on Jonghyun’s shoulder while he dialed, waiting for the manager to pick up. He promised to be right over as soon as Kibum got the words “Jonghyun” and “voice” in once sentence.
“Did the tea help?” Kibum asked, sitting at Jonghyun’s side. He took Jonghyun’s free hand in both of his, running his hands over the knuckles. Jonghyun gave him a weak smile and opened his mouth to speak, but all he heard was another pathetic croak. He let out a heavy sigh and dropped his head into his hands. Kibum ran his fingers through the hair at the back of Jonghyun’s head. “It’s going to be fine.”
There was a sharp knock on the door and their manager came through with a doctor in tow. Kibum stepped aside as the doctor asked Jonghyun a number of rapid-fire questions, to which he scribbled short answers, his face looking more and more morose as the questioning went on. Sometime during the process, the rest of the band had woken up and wandered into the living room, watching the commotion with interest. At last the doctor finished his examination and leaned back.
“Your voice should return in a few days, undamaged, as long as you rest it completely for at least two days. After that, I will want to see you again.”
Jonghyun’s mouth gaped open and Kibum would have found it funny if he hadn’t known how potentially devastating the loss of his voice could be. He wrote on the paper again, holding it up to the manager. Performance?
Their manager shook his head. “I’m sorry, but no. I’ve already called the company and they’re canceling. Long-term, your voice is more important that this one live performance.”
Jonghyun held up the piece of paper, already covered in writing and crossed-out words. Okay.
“I’ll make sure he rests,” Kibum said, putting his hand back on Jonghyun’s shoulder. Jonghyun lifted his hand to cover Kibum’s.
Eventually the manager and doctor left after a few more warnings to make sure he rested and the other three boys headed back to their beds to catch a few more hours of sleep. Kibum pulled Jonghyun to his feet and away from the half-finished mug of tea.
“Come on, oh voiceless one. Let’s do some relaxing since you got us the day off.”
Jonghyun followed him a few steps and then stopped, pointing at his throat with a hopeless, lost expression.
“You heard the doctor,” Kibum said, putting his arms around Jonghyun again, this time tucking the older man’s head against his shoulder. “It’ll come back. People lose their voices all the time, Jjong.”
Jonghyun stood there for a few more seconds and then pulled away, reaching for his phone. He typed in, Not everyone needs their voices like I do.
Kibum read it and nodded. “I know, but there’s nothing we can do right now. Let’s watch a movie and see what happens. If it’s not better in a couple of days, we’ll worry then, okay?”
Jonghyun nodded and let Kibum lead him to the couch. Kibum sat down beside him, hitting the button on the remote to play whatever DVD they’d left in. While the title screen was loading, Jonghyun curled up on the couch, resting his head in Kibum’s lap. Kibum settled his hand in Jonghyun’s messy hair.
Before too long, Kibum could see Jonghyun’s eyes begin to flutter closed and he leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Goodnight, Jjong.”
Jonghyun’s hand searched for a few seconds until it found Kibum’s other hand and he interlaced their fingers, giving a brief squeeze. Kibum smiled down at him, the movie more or less forgotten.
“I love you, too. Get some sleep.”