Sympathy Sickness At Its Worst
āāāāāāāāāāāāāāā-
Sickie: Hoseok (and Jimin?)
Plot: When Jimin gets an especially bad bout of carsickness, right next to poor Hoseok, Hoseok thinks he can ride it out okay.
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It had been fine, that is, until the third time the van lurched, and poor Jiminās stomach lurched right along with it, causing him to heave loudly into the flimsy plastic bag he held.
The group was headed to an interview for some magazine, and in Hoseokās opinion, it was RIDICULOUSLY far, considering the circumstances.
Just to have his face caked in makeup, have his pictures done, and then talk to someone about things that were just barely pushing too personal?
And considering the situation now, definitely Nah.
Jimin heaved, pitching forward and burrowing his head into the -unfortunately clear- plastic bag.
A little saliva left his parted, pouted lips, but nothing more.
Hoseok thought it was safe as Jiminās shoulders seemed to relax a little.
But then...Jimin heaved a third time, and all his breakfast was immediately lost to the bag.
There were sympathetic tuts and coos from the others around the poor suffering boy as Taehyung, sitting on his right side, gently held his bangs back and worked small circles into his middle back, letting him know he was okay and it would be over soon.
Everyone felt sympathy for the poor baby mochi.
But nobody felt it more than Jung Hoseok.
He just had to give in to his beloved dongsaeng when he begged for Hoseokās company in the van beside him.
Theyād been getting in earlier, and saying that Jimin was nervous about the drive ahead was an understatement.
For some reason, the only one who could comfort him was his precious roomie, his Hoseok-hyungie.
āHyungie, sit here, with me! Please?ā
Hoseok knew the particular situation was less than favorable for him.
Jimin was sitting at the very back of the van, the spot he saved for Hoseok was smooshed in the corner, as Jimin couldnāt stand sitting by the window.
Hoseok knew the younger was prone to carsickness on long drives, and tried to decline.
āJimin-ah, Iāā He began.
The way his face drooped.
And the small whine of āBut Hyunggg...ā
So he sighed and climbed into the smooshed corner next to his distressed roommate, the younger immediately on him like white on rice.
The drive was only an hour...heād be fine.
Hoseok was so very wrong.
Heād never been wronger in his life.
Was āwrongerā even a word?
Hoseok had no time to think about it, because Jimin was moving quite a bit in his arms.
āJ-Jimin-ah?ā Hoseok felt himself get nervous.
āHyung....Hyung my stomach.ā He whined, looking up at Hoseok and clinging to his arm as if the older was his lifeline.
āWhatās wrong, Jimin-Ah?ā That was a dumb question.
They all knew, as four other pairs of eyes (Seokjin was driving) trained themselves on the mochi from hearing his whining.
āI...Iām gonna...ā he couldnāt even get it out.
He was working himself up, tears filling his wide eyes.
By now Taehyung had ripped out his earbuds completely and was gently petting his best friendās hair.
āBag please?ā He requested of the others.
Of course Yoongi, with his Mary-Poppins sort of duffel bag, produced a clear plastic bag immediately and handed it to Jimin wordlessly.
The poor thing took it with shaking hands.
Jimin was swallowing excessively.
āHyungie...ā he whined at Hoseok.
Hoseok himself had gone pale.
What was he supposed to do?
āTh-there there, Chim.ā
Yoongi took notice of Hoseokās fragile state.
āHobi-yah, youāre looking pale. Wanna switch?ā
Yeah, the car was moving, but Hoseok looked so, so bad.
Hoseok almost took up the offer, starting to rise off the seat, but Jimin clung to him more with one hand.
āHyung, please. Donāt go.ā
Hoseokās heart sank for the ill boy, and he slowly lowered himself back down.
Then there was a lurch as Seokjin tried to maneuver through traffic.
Jimin heaved, immediately retracting his hand and holding the bag firmly.
So firmly, his knuckles were white.
Hoseok gulped, feeling his own breakfast in his throat.
The van wasnāt moving as steadily as Seokjin tried to get to the destination faster to try to avoid the inevitable.
The van lurched a second time as someone cut Seokjin off.
āSeokjinnie-Hyung, please.ā Jimin pleaded in clear distress before another retch sent him flying towards the bag again, the plastic tickling against his slightly sweaty forehead.
āSorry, Jiminie..ā Seokjin glanced back, frowning at Jiminās poor, shaking state.
Hoseok met his eyes in the mirror.
The ā94 liner was white as a sheet but by now, glued to his spot.
Things were ok for a little.
A third jump of the van sent another heave through Jimin, and when nothing happened he relaxed a little, but it was the next of the jostling, the slightest jostle of all, that did it.
Jimin heaved loudly, chewed up bits of...of...whatever heād eaten for breakfast poured into the bag, along with what seemed to be...orange juice..?
āOh, my poor ChimChim.ā Taehyung crooned sympathetically, gently beginning to rub Jiminās consistently arching back.
His breakfast crawled up his throat dangerously fast.
He swallowed again and again.
He wanted to comfort Jimin, his arm hovering over the boyās back but never touching.
The heaves and retches as they ripped themselves from the pit of Jiminās stomach up his throat, the splashing of the puke, not to mention the smell, the shaky sobs from Jimin...it was all too much.
āH-Hyung...ā Hoseok called in almost a warning way, his voice thick.
He wasnāt calling to any specific Hyung, just any of the two.
And for some reason, Namjoon (who technically wasnāt his hyung) was the first to look from the passengerās seat.
But Hoseok couldnāt care less.
āOh, no, Hobi. Not you too.
We canāt have you losing it too. Weāre five minutes away. Hold on.ā He tried.
āJ-Joon-ah..ā he was in clear distress.
He wouldnāt make it much longer.
Namjoon took in Hobiās greenish tint and pale, blotchy skin before turning to look at Yoongi.
āAnything in that magical bag of yours to stop sympathy sickness?ā He asked hopefully.
āTo stop sympathy sickness weād need to dispose of the entire sickie.ā Yoongi nodded slightly towards Jimin nonchalantly.
Then he rummaged in his bag and pulled out a mint, giving it to Hoseok.
āSuck on it. Donāt chew.ā
He was always so calm in situations like these.
Because heād had his fair share of them.
Hoseok obeyed, taking the mint and removing it from the plastic.
He sucked it for a little but soon the sweet became too much and he gagged on the taste, spitting it out.
The gag triggered another series of small gags, which caused Jimin to gag again.
The two were feeding off each other.
Hoseok felt the acidic reincarnation of his breakfast make its way up his throat.
He was going to mess up the van, and his pants, andā
He felt the van stop and looked up.
They were in the parking lot of their destination, and Yoongi and a very worried Jungkook were already out of the way.
Hoseok was gonna wait for Jimin and Taehyung to remove themselves from his path but he just couldnāt.
He just jumped the seat in front of him, jostling his poor stomach even more, and leapt quickly out of the van, running as if his life depended on it.
The boys of Bangtan had seen Hoseok run before.
He was scared of a lot of things, and when fight or flight kicked in, flight usually won.
But in all their years, theyād never seen Hoseok run so fast.
He could probably win a gold medal in olympics for his current speed.
Yoongi of course knew what would play out next.
āIāll go after him.ā He quipped simply before speeding away to catch the younger.
Yoongi found Hoseok in a bathroom the poor sympathy sick boy had managed to locate just in the nick of time.
Literally the nick of time, Yoongi observed, as the stall door was wide open and Hoseok was crouched uncomfortably in front of the porcelain bowl.
Hoseok was trying to avoid the unavoidable, swallowing hard and gripping the bowl with white knuckles.
He was terrified of being sick.
Yoongi gently came in behind him.
The tone of Yoongiās deep, velvety voice was soft but startled Hobi anyway, which made him jump.
His stomach lurched and he heaved, hard.
It was immediately productive, and his breakfast poured from his lips into the toilet bowl in a thick, brightly colored stream.
āOh, Hope-ah..ā Yoongi gently rubbed his back in a calming way.
In his mind, it was very pathetic.
He tried to keep from puking again, swallowing back the next, toe-curling retch that brought chunky remnants of breakfast with it and sent prickly goosebumps down his arms.
He let out a quiet, pained sob.
His throat hurt, his stomach hurt...and his heart hurt. For Jimin.
āShh. Youāre ok. Just let it happen.ā Yoongi coaxed, trying to get him to let it out so he could just feel better.
Hoseok pitched towards the toilet again, spewing with such force that he nearly knocked his head on the toilet lid.
āOh, G-God, Hyung it h-hurts...ā he choked out in sobs, which only caused him to hurl again.
Yoongiās heart went out to him.
He hated seeing Hobi like this.
āYouāll feel better soon.ā
Soon Hoseok was reduced to painful, breathy dry heaves, but it was an indication that he was done.
He sighed in relief and shakily tried to flush the toilet, but Yoongi ended up having to do it for him.
Hoseok tried to stay put together after that, but one look at Yoongiās concerned features took him, and he was crying all over again.
Yoongi let Hoseok hug him.
āI-Iām sorry, H-Hyung...ā
āI caused an I-inconvenience...Ji-Jiminie must f-feel sooo bad...ā Hoseok continued to fret.
āShush, you.ā He said finally, his tone holding no anger, but kindness and concern instead.
āYou know Jiminie gets carsick. But you stayed with him anyway to console him. This was bound to happen.ā
Yoongi shushed his quivering dongsaeng, his brows scrunching slightly like they usually did when he was trying to be sincere.
āItās over now. Relax.ā He cooed.
Eventually Hoseok did, and Yoongi helped him up when he was ready, leading him away to the sink to rinse his mouth, and once that was done they went to find the others, Hoseokās pale, ghostly form leaning almost fully on Yoongi.
He still felt a little queasy, but only gave hallow hiccups now.
A little later, during a break between shoots, Jimin cautiously approached Hoseok, who was still with Yoongi.
Hoseok, feeling much better now, looked at his younger.
āWhatās the matter, Mochi?ā
He was a little worried Jimin had come to complain about him getting sympathy sick or worse...he was gonna get sick again.
āIām sorry I made you sick, Hyungie. I really am. I...I couldnāt help it.ā
Jimin muttered, walking over fully and burying his face into his Hyungās chest.
āAh, my Jiminie. Donāt apologize.ā Hoseok crooned with a small smile, petting the youngerās hair and enveloping him into a warm hug before peppering the top of his head with kisses.
But I donāt think I can sit by you on the way back...ā
āItās okay, hyung.ā Jimin muttered.
āI wonāt make you.ā
āHugs? I want in!ā A particular voice whined.
āTaehyungie.ā Hoseok decided.
Taehyung dived into Jimin and Hoseokās hug, pulling Jungkook and Jin with him.
Namjoon smiled at the cute scene, letting his members pull him in.
Of course they really had to tug on Yoongi, who gave his famous look, but hugged anyway.
Hoseok smiled, letting himself melt into their touches.
Knowing his members, his family, knowing his fellow Bangtan Boys cared for him as much as he cared for them?
It was all he could ever want and more.
