Summary: Felix is throwing up, feeling terrible. And from the force of it all, his back begins acting up.
CW: emeto, chronic pain
Sickie: Felix
Caretaker: Hyunjin
“Where’s Yongbok?”
“I think you meant to say: Hello, Seungmin, nice of you to let me into your apartment despite not being invited.”
“No, I’m pretty sure I meant: Where’s Yongbok? He texted me that he didn't feel well.” Hyunjin’s reply was maybe a bit clipped, though he didn’t mean it. He did feel a bit bad barging in without even greeting Seungmin. But his primary worry was Felix.
The younger had already looked pale during their earlier DanceRacha practice causing Minho to end it early so they could all get some rest. Hyunjin himself had gone home too, ready for a nap until Felix had contacted him.
Now Seungmin looked a bit worried too, opening the door further to actually let Hyunjin in. “Uh, he came home after the practice but then said he wanted to go to bed and nap. I think that was like two hours ago and I haven’t seen him since. I assumed he was sleeping. Did he say what was wrong?”
“No.” Hyunjin shook his head. “He just asked me to come over, he felt lonely. I’m gonna go check on him.” He pushed past Seungmin, leaving the vocalist behind in the hallway.
“I’m right here”, Seungmin muttered as he closed the door, “nobody would know. Nobody.”
Hyunjin just grinned at the stupid Hawkeye reference.
🧭
His grin stopped when he stepped into Felix’s bedroom. The room was dark, only illuminated by the phone Felix held clutched in his hand. The younger man was curled up under his blankets, only his face visible. Even his hair was covered by the blanket. The air was stale, smelling of sickness, sweat.
“I was wondering where you were”, Felix mumbled.
“First Seungmin criticises me just for coming here and now you are complaining about me being a bit late”, Hyunjin teased. “Should I leave after all?” Contradicting his words he walked closer and sat down on the bed next to Felix.
“Sorry”, Felix said, “I missed you.”
“You saw me two and a half hours ago”, Hyunjin said, reaching out to pull the blanket a bit away from Felix’s face. The dancer felt a bit warm to the touch. “But I missed you too. What’s wrong?”
“I feel sick.”
“I know, that’s what you texted.”
“I mean I’m nauseous”, Felix mumbled, his eyes wide as he looked up at Hyunjin. “Like really nauseous. I haven’t thrown up but it feels like I might really soon.”
“Oh, Yongbok-ah”, Hyunjin mumbled, stroking the long hair back. “Do you wanna go to the bathroom?”
Felix nodded miserably.
Hyunjin carefully helped him sit up, noticing how Felix’s adam's apple bobbled with a swallow, his face turning paler. He wrapped his arm around the younger’s waist, steadying him as they slowly walked to the bathroom across the hall. Hyunjin pushed open the door and helped Felix settle in front of the toilet. He was very glad that Felix insisted on cleaning regularly but he still reached for the bottle of disinfectant and sprayed it on the toilet seat.
Hyunjin grabbed two towels from the shelf and put them down so they didn’t have to kneel on the cool and hard tiles. Felix sluggishly accepted the adjustment but he didn’t move much. It seemed like the short walk had taken all his strength. Now he just leaned forward against the bowl, one arm cushioning his head, the other wrapped around his stomach.
His long blond hair fell like a halo around him.
“Want me to braid your hair?”, Hyunjin offered. He didn’t wait for Felix’s answer. He knew Felix loved it when any of the members played with it - one of the many reasons he enjoyed it long. It always invited other members to run their fingers through it. And indeed Felix shivered a bit as Hyunjin gently grabbed a hold of three strands.
🧭
The result wasn’t very pretty but it was functional.
“I feel so sick”, Felix mumbled, “it’s like I can already taste it in my throat. It’s so bad.”
Hyunjin sighed and gently reached a hand around Felix to place his hand on his stomach, gently rubbing. He could feel it churn under his hand, clearly cramping. “Does that help?”
“Not really. But don’t stop. It’s comforting anyways.”
“Then I won’t stop”, Hyunjin promised.
Suddenly Felix’s whole body jerked in Hyunjin's arms. A burp forced its way up, sounding wet and miserable. Felix groaned and leaned forwards. Then he was sick, vomit spilling from his lips. The sound of vomit hitting water filled the air and Hyunjin had to suppress his own gags. But Felix was more important right now.
The younger couldn’t stop heaving forcefully, the brown chunky liquid coming up in uncomfortably short staccatos. He could barely breathe. Hyunjin caught the glint of a tear rolling down his cheek.
There was another heave and then suddenly Felix screamed. It wasn’t loud or dramatic but a sound of raw pain. His whole body started trembling and suddenly he was in cold sweat.
“My back”, Felix groaned, a sob leaving his lip, followed by a retch and another mouthful of brown sick.
For a second Hyunjin froze. He didn’t expect it but it made sense. Felix’s body was going through hell right now and the way his back twisted and jerked - no wonder he was hurting. He instantly ran a warm hand down Felix’s spine, applying the right kind of pressure he had learned over the years, creating warm friction.
But it wouldn’t be enough.
“Seungmin!”, he yelled.
🧭
It didn’t take long for the vocalist to arrive.
“What…? Oh no”, he said, immediately forgetting his earlier prickliness. “Do you want me to call Channie-hyung?”
“Can you prepare his room?” Hyunjin asked. “His back is acting up so we’ll need the heated pillow. We’ll see what he needs later.”
Seungmin nodded and rushed out.
“Don’t tell Channie-hyung”, Felix mumbled despite the tears falling down as he curled into himself even further. He gave a low cough but his stomach seemed to be done for now. “He’ll just worry.”
“I think that’s what he is getting paid for”, Hyunjin replied. “But I won’t. He can worry his pretty little head another time. I’ve got you.”
Felix sighed. “Can you flush? I’m getting nauseous just, uhm, seeing and smelling this. And I don’t think I can move my arms right now.”
“Of course.”
Once the evidence of sickness was gone, Hyunjin pressed a kiss to Felix’s temple. “Do you wanna go back to bed?”
“Please.”
Careful of Felix’s injury, Hyunjin helped him up, his hand warm and gentle against the younger’s back. Felix clearly was struggling, his walk more of a limp. They were both glad when they reached the bedroom and Seungmin had everything prepared. The heated pillow was turned on, spread on the bed, covers pulled to the side.
Maneuvering around the bucket Seungmin had placed down just in case, Hyunjin helped Felix lower himself down slowly.
Felix sighed once he was laying flat, the position and the heat clearly relieving.
🧭
“Thanks for your help”, Hyunjin turned to Seungmin. “Can you do us a few favors? Firstly, don’t call Channie-hyung, please. Secondly, why don’t you go over to Changbinnie’s and my apartment? Changbin will worry where I am and in case Felix is contagious you can stay there the night.”
Seungmin nodded. “Of course. Rest well, Lixie.”
Hyunjin smiled at him, waving as Seungmin turned to leave. The maknae stopped in the doorway for a moment.
“I swear, if hyung makes one wife joke when I arrive I am quitting this group”, Seungmin threatened.
“I miss you already”, Hyunjin replied dryly.
Seungmin only groaned.
Felix chuckled. Then groaned.
🧭
It was going to be a long night of gentle back and belly rubs for Hyunjin.
A relentless stomach bug sweeps through the Stray Kids dorm, turning every room into a war zone of sickness and survival. One by one, the members fall, leaving only a few to hold the fort.
____________________________________________
Sickie/s: Han, Felix, I.N/Jeongin, Changbin, and Bang Chan
Caretaker/s: Seungmin, Lee Know and Hyunjin ____________________________________________
By late afternoon, the Stray Kids dorm smelled faintly of bleach, peppermint, and despair.
Minho had boiled up a light chicken soup for the fallen members, and everyone had tried their hand at a bowl.
All except for Felix.
“Lixie, please.” Hyunjin begged, prodding at the younger mans shoulder yet again. “You really need to try… you’re dehydrated, you literally have nothing in you.“
Felix just groaned, not making even the slightest attempt at moving. He was sprawled out on Chan’s bed, blonde hair sticking out in every direction and face hidden somewhere in a heap of pillows.
Hyunjin knew the younger could be stubborn sometimes, but this was on a whole new level.
Even more concerning than his obduracy was the fact that even though Felix’s temperature kept rising, his skin felt dry, like all the moisture had been sapped out of him. And well, in a way, it had..
“Yongbok-ah..” It was Minho’s turn to speak now. Sitting beside Hyunjin on the edge of the mattress, he carried a stoic calm the former lacked. “You know how this ends... and we all know you don’t actually want to go to the hospital, so come on now.”
That finally evoked a response.
Felix turned over, peeking out his burrow with a resigned look. “I’m just s-so tired,” he whispered brokenly, eyes blood shot and weary. “I don’t wanna.. huhh.. don’t wanna go back to the bathroom again…”
Hyunjin and Minho shared a helpless, sympathetic glance, the kind that said everything words couldn’t. Oh, how their hearts ached to see him like this.
“We know…” Hyunjin began, running a hand up Felix’ warm back. “We know. I’m so sorry, baby, but a trip to the hospital is longer…”
Minho pressed his lips together in what was supposed to be a half-smile. His voice was soft and unusually sweet when he spoke. “And we’ll help you if you need it, okay? It’s… it’s gonna be okay.”
Felix let out a shaky sigh, burying his face back into the pillows for a moment before muttering, “O-okay… okay.” His voice was small, hesitant, but there was a thread of trust woven through it.
Hyunjin’s shoulders slumped in quiet relief, and Minho let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding.
“Good, that’s good, Felix.” Hyunjin murmured encouragingly, brushing a loose strand of hair from Felix’s forehead.
Minho nodded. “Yeah. No rush. Just… slow and steady.“ he lifted up a spoonful of soup, eyes soft. “Now say aahh..”
—
When the evening rolled around, the dorm was quiet. Too quiet.
Seungmin and Hyunjin had done another round of disinfecting, masked up and feeling exhaustion begin to pull at their bones.
Minho had taken over Felix duty while Chan shuffled around doing the laundry, cleaning up sick buckets, and checking vitals like he was a nurse on the world's worst (and longest) shift.
None of them said it aloud, but it hung in the air between them like a charged storm cloud; someone else is going to fall soon.
…. they just didn't expect it to be Chan.
—
An hour passed, then two.
Bang Chan stayed on his feet, running between rooms like clockwork (even when the other healthy members gathered for a much needed dinner break). He helped Jisung clean up again, swapped out Changbin’s puke bowl, and sat with Jeongin when he cried deliriously for his mum in the middle of a fever spike.
He ignored the first few waves of nausea, brushing them off as stress. He hadn't really eaten properly, so of course his stomach felt off. His head was pounding, but he'd barely had a wink or sleep. His legs trembled, but he'd barely sat down.
Every symptom could easily be explained by the taxing day he’d had…
But the signs were coming in hot, each one more pressing than the last.
It wasn't until Chan dropped the thermometer and had to brace against the wall to keep from falling that Minho caught on. He saw his stumble from the hallway, freezing in place as his eyes narrowed— like a cat with its eyes fixed on a prey.
Chan couldn’t have lied his way out of it even if he tried
"Hyung.” Minho's voice was unusually sharp, demanding his immediate attention. “Stop."
"I'm fine." Chan protested, straightening up again, but Minho was unbending. He wasn’t that easy to fool.
The dancer dropped the supplies he was sorting, eyebrows drawn as he stepped closer. "You're shaking."
It felt like one of those eerie first symptoms in a zombie movie.. right before everything went wrong.
"I'm-" Chan swayed again, his vision momentarily swirling out of focus. For a second, he feared he would keel over, ears ringing, but he didn’t get the opportunity to.
Minho caught him by the elbow, tightening his grip when Chan's knees buckled slightly beneath him. This time, his voice left no room to argue,
"Hyung. Sit down. Now."
Chan allowed himself to be lowered to the ground, but the second his butt hit the floor, everything hit him full-force. The fatigue, the nausea he’d suppressed, the sweat clinging to his back.
A tsunami of pain erupted in his gut, and his head swam in dizzying waves, his vision turning spotty. His hands instinctively flew to his stomach, and he curled in on himself with a shaky gasp.
“Oh no.” Seungmin said warily, crouching beside him with a frown. Where’d he’d come from, Chan didn’t know. "That’s not a good sign…”
Chan gave a weak laugh, voice strained. "Tell me about it.." His skin had gone ghostly pale in the blink of an eye, a cold sweat broken out along his brow.
And before anyone could react, Chan was actively gagging into the same bucket he'd just cleaned out for Jisung.
Seungmin huffed resignedly, sweeping his bangs out of his face and keeping them clear from the line of fire. Minho stayed steady on the other side, his hand pressed flat to Chan’s back as he retched.
The sound of their leader forcefully emptying his stomach echoed down the hall, and amidst the chaos, another groan arose from the sick room.
Minho and Seungmin exchanged a glance— a weary kind that said “here we go again.”
But before either of them could decide who would stay with Chan, and who would respond to the new distress call, Hyunjin appeared in the hallway, looking visibly frazzled.
He spun on his heel, caught between directions, trying to decide where to go first. Who needed him? What could he do? Someone was being sick, but where—?
When he saw Chan on the floor with Minho and Seungmin by his side, gagging into a bucket, Hyunjin froze dead in his tracks.
The colour drained from his face like water from a sink, his heart plummeting straight to his feet.
“Fuck— oh no… no, no, don’t tell me he’s..” Hyunjin tried to mask it, but his voice trembled, fraying at the edges. Hell, he just wanted to sit down and cry.
Seungmin nodded slowly, rising to his feet with a grim expression as he reached for a roll of napkins.
“I’m afraid it’s official…” he said with a sigh. “The boss is down.”
—
By nightfall, the line of causalities was five and counting. And the medics? The medics had been reduced to a crestfallen trio.
Minho had taken over Chan's "command center" with its base in the living room. Second oldest equaled second in command, naturally enough.
Seungmin had started tracking fluid intake and symptoms on a tiny whiteboard, scribbling down temperatures with all the seriousness of a field doctor.
Hyunjin, meanwhile, made fresh cold packs, disinfected surfaces, and stayed juuust out of reach of any coughing, gagging, or suspicious stomach grumbles.
For the most part, anyway. His heart inevitably melted to a puddle whenever one of the sick members looked up at him with those pitiful puppy-dog eyes…
Cool, calm and indifferent? Not a chance. He couldn’t be. Not when they looked at him like that.
Jeongin, in particular, was his Achilles’ heel. If Hyunjin ended up sick himself, he knew it would almost certainly be from his inability to resist coddling the poor maknae.
At 9PM sharp, Hyunjin stood in the kitchen, stirring around the same pot of rice porridge Minho had begrudgingly entrusted him not to burn (he’d only been given the task because Seungmin already had set their noodles ablaze earlier in the day…)
“I hate this.” Hyunjin groaned, earning a soft hum in response from Seungmin, who was sitting with his legs dangling off the counter, snacking on a bag of hot Cheetos.
“This is like those zombie outbreak movies,” The older boy continued, staring into the porridge like it held all the answers he needed. “just with a lot more vomiting and diarrhea..”
Seungmin stopped chewing, narrowing his eyes in a tired glare. “Wow, thanks.” He muttered dryly, dropping a Cheeto back into the bag before shoving it aside. “Guess I didn’t need my appetite…”
Hyunjin shrugged sheepishly, a hint of guilt crossing his features. “Seriously though,” he said, suddenly solemn. “We’re outnumbered here. Our leader has fallen…. Minnie, we won’t survive the week.”
"We will..” Seungmin countered, though his voice was smaller than he intended, not nearly as confident as he wanted it to sound.
Their eyes tracked down the hallway as the way too familiar sound of vomiting echoed through the walls. Fluorescent lights gleamed through the slit of the bathroom door, and a soft voice rumbled from the other side, calm and steadfast.
“You think he needs help..?” Hyunjin asked quietly, stirring around the pot harder, hand shaking from the strain.
Seungmin hesitated, then shook his head. “No. Lino-hyungs got it.. let’s just.. let’s just focus on the porridge.”
-
The bathroom light cast an unbearably harsh glow over the tiles. Chan was slumped against the wall beside the toilet, his forehead pressed to his arm, the other hand clutching the edge of the toilet like a lifeline.
Minho had lost count of how many times he’d been in this same position over the past 24 hours; kneeling next to someone shaking and pale, watching the life drain out of them one heave at a time.
Surely, by now, he could be considered an expert in the field.
He’d already helped Chan through what he hoped was the worst of it, but his hyung hadn’t exactly bounced back… His breathing came shallow and uneven, every exhale trembling and thin with lingering nausea.
“Hey,” Minho’s voice was low, gentle but firm as he crouched beside him. “You done for now?”
Chan made a noise that could’ve been a groan or a laugh; it was hard to tell which. “Define ‘done’..” he said humourlessly, voice raspy and raw from the excessive upchucking.
Minho sighed softly, silently grabbing a towel and running it under cool water before wringing it out. He pressed it to the back of Chan’s neck, feeling the heat radiating from his skin. “You’re burning up...”
“No, no,” Chan insisted, shaking his head weakly. “‘M okay… just… tired.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Minho asked flatly, eyebrows raising. God, how foolishly stubborn this man could be.
Or if not for his stubbornness.. maybe, just maybe, Chan was already so feverish he’d officially lost his grip on reality.
“You’ve been ‘just tired’ since 7 o’clock this morning..” the dancer countered, “Now you’re pale, sweating and throwing up. That’s not ‘just tired’, that’s sick.”
Chan didn’t answer right away— partially because he felt too queasy to speak, partially because he knew Minho was right. He just leaned forward again, elbows braced on his knees and eyes squeezed shut as another wave of nausea rolled through him.
A gurgle reverberated up his chest.
Minho didn’t so much as flinch when Chan retched again, because he had expected as much.
Instead, he reached out, steadying a hand on his shoulder and rubbing slow, grounding circles over the tense muscles. By now, it was instinct driven more than anything.
“Breathe through it,” he murmured. “You’ll be okay, Chan-ah. Just let it pass.”
Chan obeyed, if only because he didn’t have the strength to argue or push him away. The bile burned its way up his throat as he got sick again, stinging vile and bitter through his nasal cavity.
Even when the first torrent dwindled to a trickle, his stomach kept clenching, twisting and turning until every last drop in his stomach had been ejected. How his body still had anything left to give was beyond him.
When the heaves finally eased, Chan sagged back against the wall, his head lolling weakly in Minho’s direction. His hair was doused in sweat, his skin clammy to the touch.
“Sorry…”
Minho frowned, supporting his head carefully against his shoulder as he reached over to flip the toilet lid down. “For what?”
Chan hesitated, then shook his head with a faint, almost childish petulance. “Forget it…’s dumb..”
Minho exhaled sharply through his nose, unamused. “Nope. That’s not gonna work on me and you know it. Speak.”
Chan swallowed thickly, his voice shaky as he spoke. “I just… ‘feel bad for getting sick cuz.. I’m the oldest..” he hesitated again, eyelashes fluttering. “I-I should be taking care of the others…”
“Well, you’re right about it being dumb.” Minho deadpanned, but then his expression softened. “You’ve been doing just that this entire time… taking care of everyone like some superhuman nurse. You can’t help that you got sick too. It was only a matter of time, really..”
He paused, allowing a moment for the words to sink in, then added with a shrug, “Viruses don’t care if you’re royalty. They’ll getcha either way.”
Chan let out a weak huff, leaning into Minho’s shoulder in quiet surrender. Even if he felt like a sack of shit, caught in the throes of the virus, at least Minho could lift a little of the guilt off his chest.
Minho rested his cheek lightly against Chan’s temple, letting the steadiness in his presence do most of the talking. “You’ve done your part,” he mumbled. “Now, let me help you.”
He grabbed another towel, this one dry, and dabbed it carefully along Chan’s hairline, wiping away the sweat.
Chan closed his eyes, letting the words wash over him, and for the first time in hours, he allowed himself to fully exhale.
The sickness hadn’t gone away— quite frankly, it had only just begun, but for a moment, the weight of responsibility lifted off his shoulders. Just a little.
“Let’s get you to bed,” Minho said as Chan sagged against him, looking closer to unconsciousness with each passing second. “You can’t sleep on the bathroom floor. We only have one…”
Chan made a soft, noncommittal sound, halfway between defiance and surrender, but stretched out his arms anyway.
Like a damn toddler, Minho thought with a fond smirk.
It took effort to get him up, Chan was heavy and pliant in his arms, but eventually Minho managed to get him standing, one arm looped around his waist for support.
“Come on,” Minho murmured, a little breathless. “Sick bay for you too, General Bahng.”
When Minho pushed open the door to the sick room, a wave of warm, feverish air greeted them, tinged with the faint smell of disinfectant. Changbin and Jisung were curled up on their respective beds, both deep in restless sleep.
Minho led chan to the third bed, the largest, where Jeongin remained nestled under a mountain of covers. The maknae stirred in his corner, half awake and gazing at the newcomers with hazy eyes. “Oh, no.. Channie-hyung…?”
“Hey, Innie..” Chan greeted quietly, earning a concerned look from the maknae. Jeongin was still pale, but he looked a little better, Minho thought. Though maybe it just seemed that way in contrast to Chan’s rapid decline…
“Move over a bit, Innie,” Minho whispered as Chan settled down on the edge of the mattress, swaying like a boat caught in a swell. “Channie-hyung’s joining you.”
Jeongin blinked a couple of times, dazed but obedient, shifting to the side and making room without a word.
Minho helped Chan ease down beside him, the leader looking halfway asleep before his head even hit the pillow. The maknae’s warmth, even in sickness, was oddly comforting. Chan’s arms wrapped loosely around himself as he curled up on his side, finally allowing his body a moment to relax.
“Alright..” Minho hummed, placing a bucket securely by the side of the bed. “I got the superior bucket for you right here, okay? Now rest up, soldier..”
He adjusted the blanket over both of them, lingering for just a moment— just long enough to make sure Chan was breathing evenly, Jeongin’s hand loosely curled against his arm, before quietly backing out of the room.
11:20PM
The apartment was eerily quiet except for the occasional groan or retch. The sick room, now housing Jeongin, Jisung, Changbin, and Chan, had finally settled into the stillness of night.
At last, Felix too had finally fallen asleep, curled tightly in a blanket burrito back in Chan's bedroom. Now, the three who remained standing finally had a moment to breathe.
Like night shift nurses, they sat huddled around the dinner table, drinking ginger tea and whispering war plans. Seungmin was wiping at the whiteboard, scribbling notes with droopy eyes.
They hadn’t even started talking about how to deal with the night that was so rapidly approaching, dreading the topic as a whole.
All they wanted was rest, but resting while running a poor man’s infirmary was a scarce treat they probably couldn’t afford.
Hyunjin collapsed down in a chair after his last disinfecting duty, resting his forehead on folded arms. “We need reinforcements...”
Minho glanced over from where he was absentmindedly stirring a spoonful of honey around his tea. “There are no reinforcements,” he said quietly. “This is it. We're it."
Hyunjin closed his eyes and mumbled something under his breath that might have been a prayer or a curse. Possibly both.
They sat in silence for a moment longer, listening to the distant sound of groans down the hall. As they grew more persistent, the three men tensed up, ears piqued and senses on high alert.
A door clicked open, feet shuffled, another door closed. Someone retched harshly, the sound echoing harrowingly through the thin walls. It sounded like Chan— again.
With a heavy sigh, Seungmin stood from his chair, but Minho lifted his hand, quietly signaling him to stay seated as he bravely volunteered himself to the task instead.
Seungmin gave him a look, one that practically spelled are you sure? in bold letters, but Minho nodded. He was sure, and Seungmin looked every bit as exhausted as the rest of them.
If he could spare the poor kid, he would.
"Day three of the apocalypse. We’re outnumbered,” Hyunjin muttered somberly, holding his head like he was on the brink of insanity. "Five infected. Three survivors. Hope dwindling…”
Seungmin rolled his eyes, taking a long sip of his beverage. “We’ll live one more day, Mr.Hwang.. Innies already on the mend.” His voice took on a more genuine note, hopefulness and determination woven into his words.
“We can do this.”
The silence was heavy, they were all exhausted beyond compare, but a tiny spark of hope was ignited. And they wouldn’t let it fade away.
Not without another fight.
Before Minho got ready to leave the room and assist their fallen leader once more, Hyunjin suddenly reached out a hand, hovering it above the table.
“Nurse-racha?”
Seungmin and Minho exchanged a look before they both reached out, stacking their hands on top of Hyunjin’s in turn. In unison, they sealed a silent agreement, weary smiles tugging at their lips.
“Nurse-racha.”
____________________________________________
— extra scene—
The following day, Jeongin was looking more like himself again, the spark having returned to his eyes. He was still weak, but his fever had lowered significantly, and his appetite was resurfacing.
As his condition improved and his puke risk neared zero, he was roomed with Felix in Chan’s bedroom.
Changbin had finally managed a cracker and some water without immediate regret, and even Felix had replenished some much needed electrolytes thanks to Seungmin’s expertly made Gatorade popsicles.
Jisung had declared himself dead at least twice more, but he was resting, swaddled into an immobilised cocoon on the bed.
Beside him on the next bed lay Chan, resting uneasily as he drifted in and out of fever ridden dreams.
Minho, Hyunjin and Seungmin lingered in the doorway, surveying the room like three generals assessing the damage on a battlefield. For the first time since the outbreak began, they allowed themselves a small, shared sigh of relief.
The worst of it was, hopefully, behind them.
Hyunjin brushed a stray strand of hair from his face and muttered, half to himself, half to the others, “We… we actually did it?”
Seungmin let a small smile tug at the corner of his lips, jabbing his elbow gently into Hyunjin’s side. “Don’t jinx it,” he said. “But yeah… we did it.”
Minho leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, a tired but genuine grin on his face. “Good job, guys.”
For a moment, the room was quiet, filled only with the gentle, even breaths of those still resting.
The past two days had been a bonding experience they wouldn’t forget anytime soon, and in the quiet aftermath, they all felt it deep down.
Blood, sweat and tears— they had made it through.
Together.
And if this didn’t bond them together for life, they didn’t know what would.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you Felix…” Minho said, trying to catch his breath. Minho, Hyunjin, and Felix had spent the morning in the practice room with their choreographer, perfecting the new choreography so they could teach it to the rest of the group. Even though their choreographer left over an hour ago they stayed back, hoping to clean up a few sections before heading home. “You just seem kind of sloppy today. Do you have questions about the choreo?”
Felix felt his heart sink, his eyes darting to Hyunjin for backup only to find Hyunjin’s eyes cast down. He didn’t have to say a word for Felix to know that he agreed with Minho.
To be fair they weren’t wrong. Felix knew that his dancing wasn’t up to standard, but he hadn’t been feeling quite right all day. He had woken up with a tickle in his throat and some congestion in his nose that, at the time, didn’t seem like a big deal. But as the morning progressed he couldn’t help but notice that it seemed to be getting worse.
“Yeah, sorry, I know” Felix said, hanging his head in order to avoid meeting Minho’s glare. No questions. I just need to keep working on it.
Minho nodded and glanced down at his watch. “You can go home if you want, Hyunjin. But I think you and I should stay a bit longer, Felix.”
Felix could feel his cheeks heating up. He knew he hadn’t done well but he hadn’t realized that he had done poorly enough to warrant extra time in the studio. The thought of staying late was unappealing but the thought of keeping his hyung late was downright intolerable.
“I’ll stay, I have notes and the video of the choreography. You both should go and enjoy the rest of the afternoon” Felix replied. Minho took a moment to consider before nodding in agreement. It wasn’t often that they finished work in time to have a full afternoon completely free.
And with that Minho and Hyunjin left, leaving Felix alone in the silent practice room.
*~*~*~*~*~
Felix knew that he knew the choreography. But he didn’t understand why his body seemed to be working against him. It seemed that when his brain said left his body went right.
And then the cough started.
First it was a small cough here and there. An attempt to clear the itch from his throat that had become more prominent as the afternoon wore on. Then it became a steady cough, punctuated by a few sneezes. But once it became incessant and painful Felix knew that he had to call it a day.
He took a seat next to his bag, trying to choke down some water between coughs but was, for the most part, unsuccessful. After a few minutes of digging through his bag he finally located a lozenge and quickly unwrapped it. Knowing that it would only bring him temporary relief he packed up his things to head home.
*~*~*~*~*~
The apartment was silent when Felix arrived home. He wasn’t sure where everybody had gone but he truly didn’t care at the moment. After a quick shower he flopped down on his bed, pulling the covers up tightly over his shivering body. It took only a moment for sleep to take over.
Even his apartment mates barging noisily through the front door didn’t wake him. Upon seeing Felix’s bag and shoes by the door, Seungmin quickly shushed everybody. The fact that Felix was home but hadn’t greeted them at the door was a good indication that he was sleeping.
“He was a mess at practice today” Minho said with a sigh. “I’m glad he’s getting some extra rest. He must be really…” He was interrupted by a series of harsh coughs that had all of them raising an eyebrow.
“Was he coughing like that at practice?” Jeongin asked timidly.
“Obviously not” Minho replied, his tone defensive. He was suddenly overcome by guilt for allowing Felix to stay at the studio alone. He should have known better.
After another round of coughs and a loud sneeze Minho had heard enough. Slowly opening Felix’s door to find his dongsaeng fast asleep. His concern continued to mount, knowing for a fact that Felix must be exhausted to sleep through his ragged fits of coughing.
Placing a soft hand on his shoulder, Minho gently tried to rouse Felix from his slumber with limited success, only garnering a few light coughs. “Felix-ah, wake up. Time to wake up.”
That seemed to be enough to drag Felix back to consciousness. He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes as another coughing fit began. Just as Minho turned around to get Felix a glass of water Seungmin was already there, handing a cold water bottle to Minho.
“I’m sorry, did I oversleep? Is it time for practice?” Felix whispered, his voice gravelly from sleep and illness.
“No, no” Minho replied as he took a seat on the edge of Felix’s bed. “It’s not morning. You must have been in a pretty deep sleep, huh?” Minho smiled sadly as he handed the water bottle to Felix.
“Yeah, I guess I was tired…” Felix said blankly before taking a sip of water, only to swallow awkwardly and begin coughing once again.
“You weren’t coughing like this earlier. What’s going on?” Minho continued to pry but Felix only shrugged.
“I just swallowed wrong” he started but Seungmin cut him off.
“You were coughing in your sleep when we got back so don’t lie.” Seungmin’s voice was stern but had an edge of sympathy. Minho nodded, glaring expectantly at Felix, very clearly waiting for a truthful explanation.
“I don’t know, I’m just not feeling well. I wasn’t feeling all that well during practice then after you and Jinnie left the cough started. So I came home” Felix replied, pointedly avoiding eye contact with his hyung.
Minho nodded before placing a hand on Felix’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm at all. I don’t think you’re running a fever. Maybe just a bad cold? Did you take anything?”
Felix shook his head which instantly sent Seungmin turning on his heel to fetch some cold medication for him.
“Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well? You could have sat out of practice. And I sure as hell wouldn’t have had you stay late.” Minho’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Felix’s response was as anticipated. Limited time with the choreographer. Limited time to learn the choreography. Needing to perfect it all before teaching the other members. Feeling like he wasn’t up to standard.
Minho allowed him to finish before responding. “Up to standard? Yeah I mean you weren’t up to standard because you were sick the whole time. I wouldn’t be up to standard either if I was sick.”
Felix nodded as Seungmin returned with his medication. He put up no argument before swallowing it down, desperate to put an end to his cough.
Minho draped another blanket over Felix before turning to leave the room. Felix relished in the silence for a moment until there was another knock on his door. He rolled over to find Chan peeking his head in, a smile spreading across his face when he realized Felix was awake.
“Innie texted me that you’re under the weather. Maybe this would help?” Chan stepped into the room, proudly holding up a box of Tim Tams. “My mom sent them to me earlier this week!”
Felix smiled as Chan joined him on his bed, handing him a few cookies. He wasn’t sure if it was the medicine, his caring teammates, or the surprise treat but he was already starting to feel better.
Minho opened his eyes to someone standing next to his bed. The figure appeared to be crying, holding his stomach. When his eyes finally came into focus, he saw that it was Felix beside him.
“Hyung I- I really d-don’t feel well.”
“What’s wrong Lix?”
“My st-stomach really h-hurts” he answered through tears.
“Do you think you’re going to be sick?”
At this, Felix just bit his lip and slowly nodded.
“Okay. It’s okay. Let’s go to the bathroom then?”
He said, standing up out of bed, now fully awake.
He lead Felix down the hall to bathroom, turning the light on and guiding him down to kneel next to the toilet. Felix felt his a sharp pain in his stomach, making him dry heave over the bowl.
Lee Know sat next to his sick dongsaeng, holding his hair back. It probably wasn’t necessary seeing that the poor boy wasn’t bringing anything up, but it was nice to not have his hair hanging in his face. He heaved and heaved, but the only result was a torn throat. Minho decided to get him some water, quickly getting up and grabbing a bottle from the fridge and making a dash back to the bathroom, not wanting to leave Felix alone for too long.
He returned to the bathroom to find Felix curled up around his stomach. Lee Know grabbed the thermometer from the cabinet and checked Felix’s temperature.
“37.2. You don’t have a fever, and you haven’t actually thrown up at all. Seems like you just have a stomach ache. Did you eat something funny?”
“No? I ate just like you guys did.”
“Let’s get you back to sleep. Maybe you’ll feel better in the morning.”
“O-Okay”
Lee Know brought Felix to his room, helping him to get comfortable.
“Goodnight Lix.”
“Night.”
Lee Know left the room to get some more sleep of his own.
But Felix couldn’t sleep a wink. The pain was increasing and hurt too bad for that. He laid there, trying to get comfortable. It was useless, as the constant ache turned from a stomach ache to punch to the chest.
When the morning rolled around, Felix felt even worse. But the schedule is busy today, he can’t stay home for a little stomach ache. He rolled out of bed with his alarm and started to get dressed.
He found Lee Know in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal.
“Good morning Lix. Are you feeling better?”
“Yeah. My body must have just reacted funny to dinner.” In reality, his stomach was still killing him. But he didn’t want to worry his hyung over some measly cramps.
“Okay then. Have some breakfast.”
Felix wanted anything but food right now. But he had to eat something or it would be clear he still felt like, for lack of better word, shit.
He settled for a single slice of toast with butter.
After a few bites, he watched Lee Know finish his own breakfast and walk away to finish getting ready, and took the opportunity to quickly throw out his mostly uneaten breakfast.
————————————————————————
Once they were ready to go, they headed out to the car, where Chan went over the day’s schedule. They first had to go to a photoshoot for their next comeback, then have an interview for some youtube channel, and end out the day with a fan call event. Felix was relieved he wouldn’t have to dance and sing all day, and just had to make it through a few not so physically challenging events.
So with that, they started off to the photoshoot. Felix was quieter than normal, which was quickly noticed by Chan.
“Hey Felix, you alright?”
“Yeah I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Oh yeah? How come?”
“Uh- well.. uh”
“He had stomach ache.” Lee Know interrupted.
“But it’s alright now.” Felix tried to reassure his friends. He was okay. Just dramatic.
When they arrived at the shoot, the pain had only worsened. He climbed out of the car, hoping no one would notice how grimaced at the movement. He was glad that no one seemed to see his pained expression.
The shoot ended up going by without much issue, and Felix hid his pain decently well.
Now was time for the interview. He expected it to be decently easy to get through, seeing as most interviews only require him to sit in some chair and talk a bit, so he thought he could manage. He was quickly proven wrong, when the interviewer told them they were going to have to complete a few challenges along with the usual answering of questions. His other members seemed excited at what was to come, but Felix certainly was not.
The fist challenge was to partner up with someone and play a word association game where they were given a word and had to say the first thing that comes to mind similar to the first word. If they say the same word, they win. Felix ended up with Han, and the game began. They went from team to team, most teams being unable to gain any points. The word they received was chocolate, and they both somehow responded with “brownie”. The room exploded with a chorus of an impressed “OHHHH” from the other boys in the group. When asked how they did it, they had no idea truthfully, it must be their twin telepathy.
When the camera finally turned away from them, Felix couldn’t help but wince from the pain in his abdomen. It almost didn’t feel centered in his stomach, but instead a little more to the side. Han noticed Felix’s facial expression, and shot him a concerned look.
“Are you okay Lix?”
He said, trying to be as quiet as possible in hopes that his voice would not get picked up on his microphone. Felix decided to give it up, he felt to horrible to keep hiding it like this.
“Not really. My stomach is killing me and I feel weird.”
“Do you think you will be okay for the rest of the interview?”
“I…. I think so. Maybe it’s just a stomach ache and I’ll be alright.” Felix hoped he was right.
“Okay. But if it gets worse, promise to tell us, alright?”
“Alright.”
When the challenge was over, the interviewer asked them a few simple questions before giving them their next challenge. This one was a dance challenge where they would play a song, and have to do the dance to the song, and if they didn’t know it, they would not get the point. As he watched his members attempt the challenge, it didn’t seem like they were getting extremely challenging dances, but it didn’t make Felix any less nervous for his turn. When he stepped forward for his turn, the song “Queencard” started to play and he began dancing. He loves this dance, but it’s a lot of jumping around, and it make his stomach act up again. It felt like he was being stabbed. Like someone was grabbing his abdomen and twisting it. This was hell. Before the song ended, he crumpled to the floor in tears, holding his side.No one really knew what was going on aside from Han, who quickly informed Chan as well. Chan called to the staff to give them a break before kneeling next to his aussie brother, followed by Han and Lee Know, who also figured out what was going on based off the previous night. The other members had no idea what was really going on, but gave them space. At this point, Felix started to feel nauseous and slapped his hand over his mouth, which the boys were quick to react to, carefully helping the sick boy off the floor and to the bathroom as quick as they possibly could. It wasn’t too far, and as soon as they got there, Felix quickly positioned himself over the toilet before letting out a wet belch, followed by a wave of vomit. It hurt so bad. Each time he heaved, the pain got 10x worse. Chan, Minho, and Jisung, we’re all trying to help him however they could, rubbing his back, tying up his hair, anything they thought could help. They had never seen him so sick. Minho put his hand on the boys forehead, and he was burning up.
“You definitely have a fever now. He’s on fire.”
When he was finished throwing up, he leaned into Chan who was kneeling behind him. Jisung reached over and grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped Felix’s face. They heard the bathroom door open, and Hyunjin was standing in the doorway.
“The staff say we have to resume filming now.”
At the same moment, Felix was hit with another sharp excruciating cramp and cried out in pain. Making Hyunjin realize the severity of the situation.
“No way. Tell them we are very sorry, but we need to take Felix to the hospital. We are postponing the rest of the interview or it’s not happening at all. But definitely not today.”
Hyunjin was quick to agree, leaving the room to go explain the situation.
Lee Know called a driver to come get them so they could get Felix to the ER. When the driver arrived, Bang Chan carefully scooped Felix up in his arms to carry him out to the car. It felt like the longest car ride ever, but in reality it wasn’t all that far. Eventually they arrived at the ER and brought him inside. His whole body ached, but of course, especially his stomach. They talked to the lady at the front desk, and she asked his symptoms, and to the best of his ability considering his current state. All he could manage was “It really hurts.” So instead Chan told her what he knew, told her all about the awful pain, the fever, the nausea, and just how horrible his friend was feeling. The woman asked where the pain was located, and Felix just signaled to the lower right section of his stomach, where his hand was already resting.
“That sounds like appendicitis. We might have to operate on you tonight. Can you come with me?” The boys followed her but then she said,
“Sorry but you can’t come with us. We can give you updates when we have them, but you’ll have to wait here.”
“Oh. Okay.” Bang Chan was not sure how he felt about leaving Felix.
“Can you walk Lixie?”
“I don’t th-think so..”
“That’s alright.” The desk lady said, quickly getting a wheelchair to put the boy in. Chan put him down onto it, and with that, she rolled him away.
——————————————————————-
Chan, Minho, and Jisung were anxiously waiting in those uncomfortable chairs for such a long time, it had been hours at this point. It was about to be time for the fan call event, which Chan had already called their manager to have postponed.
“I hope everything is okay. I’m worried about him.” Jisung said timidly.
“He’ll be okay. He’s in good hands in there.”
Minho said, reassuring both Han and himself.
“You guys are here with Lee Felix, correct?”
“Yes we are. How is he?” Chan said, nervously.
“He’s good. It was appendicitis as we thought. We had to do a surgery to remove the appendix.The surgery went well. It was a good thing you guys brought him in when you did. His appendix was very close to bursting, which can be fatal. You can go in there with him if you want, but he’s asleep right now, so try not wake him, he needs to rest.”
“Okay, thank you so much.” Minho said, standing up and already heading off to visit the boy.
When Felix woke up and opened his eyes, he saw all his best friends beside him chatting quietly. Chan had called them the moment they could go in with him.
“He’s awake!” Jeongin said.
The boys all were over joyed that their sunshine was alright.
“How are you feeling?” asked Seungmin.
“I feel alright. A lot better than before. Kinda sore, mostly tired.”
“We’re so glad you’re okay. We were so worried!” Hyunjin said.
“Don’t scare us like that again!” Changbin added.
“Don’t try to hide it if you’re not feeling well, you literally could have died.” Bang Chan said.
“Fine. When do I get to go home?” Felix asked, already sick of the hospital.
“Probably a week or so. You aren’t allowed to dance for a while though, you’ll have to sit during performances for now.” Felix was sad at that, but he knew it was for the best.
For the next week, his members took turns staying with him, always someone by his side. It wasn’t easy, but he was glad he had his members to support him through it all.
————————————————————————
i hope you guys enjoyed this one! it was definitely on the longer side, and it took a looong time to write but i hope it was worth it!
Hi! I was wondering if you’d be willing to write an emeto fic based on the time Felix passed out on the roller coaster.
Chan as the main caretaker (for canonical purposes), but would love for the others to be present & worried as well!
Also cannot wait for part two of nurse-racha, I am invested in the chaos 👀
HELLOO!!!! My first short scenario-story-thing (? No idea what would be the right terminology.. my bad) is here at last
For some reason not having it be a full story (that has been meticulously planned and worked through) is a bit of a challenge for me— but I’m working on pushing a little outside my strict borders 🤣 Just writing the scenario that pops into my head right then and there… so this was a perfect exercise!
(Nurse racha 2 is bound to be posted on Sunday 🙂↕️)
Just a little reboot
____________________________________________
Sickie: Felix
Caretaker/s: Bang Chan
____________________________________________
The wind whipped past Felix’s face, laughter and screams blurring together with the thunderous sound of wheels on steel. His heart pounded against his ribcage, adrenaline lighting up his every nerve— until suddenly, it didn’t.
A strangely familiar fuzziness crept in at the edges of his vision, then his ears started ringing, drowning out everything else.
Before he knew it...
Darkness.
"Felix—?!”
Chan's voice barely cut through the noise of the barrelling coaster as Felix's head lolled forward, eyes slipping shut.
Instinct took over. An arm shot out, pressing gently against Felix's chest to keep him upright as the ride continued along, rattling their bones and hearts alike.
When the cart finally screeched to a halt, Felix blinked groggily as he came to, the buzzing slowly fading from his ears. His voice came out faint, slurred with confusion. "Hyung...? W-what— ooh, I feel.. ‘feel very weird..”
"You passed out for a sec, mate,” Chan said, trying to sound light even as worry creased his brow. His hand was still steady against the youngers chest, feeling the fluttery heartbeat beneath his fingertips. “You good?”
Felix blinked once, twice, then nodded unconvincingly. “‘M fine..”
As they rolled into the station, Felix looked freakishly pale under the bright lights, his hands shaking slightly as Chan helped him undo the seatbelt.
"Take it slow now," Chan murmured, steadying him with an arm around his waist as they stepped onto the platform. Felix tried to offer him a thin smile, but his lips were colourless and trembling.
And the moment his feet hit the ground, like some sick twist of motion sickness put in reverse, his stomach clenched violently.
Oh no.
Felix reached out blindly, vision slipping and the ground swaying like it might disappear beneath him.
“Hyung.. I-I think I'm gonna be-"
Chan didn’t even let him finish, tightening his arm around him and steering him quickly toward a quiet corner.
They barely made it off to the side before Felix dropped down, his lunch spilling onto the ground before him in a few forceful heaves.
Chan held him steady, rubbing a firm, grounding hand along his back as he got sick. Thankfully, the sound of his retching was drowned by the hum of the park, mercifully distant.
When it was over, Felix was shaking, eyes glassy and lips trembling as he sat back on his knees. Chan handed him a small water bottle, crouching beside him on the ground. "Hey, hey… You're okay, mate. Just breathe for me.”
Felix sipped the water weakly, his throat feeling unusually tight. He pressed a hand to his temple, still swaying like a sailor on shore leave. "S-Sorry, hyung. I didn't mean to ruin-"
"Stop." Chan's tone softened instantly, thumb brushing a stray strand of hair from Felix's clammy forehead. "You didn't ruin anything.” He huffed out a humourless chuckle. “You scared me, that's all…”
Felix managed a small, wobbly laugh, but the motion only made his stomach twist harder. “hic—urgh.. guess I wasn't built for rollercoasters…”
Chan smiled, running a hand down the curvature of his spine. "And that’s fine. You're built for other things… like giving your hyung heart attacks."
Felix snorted weakly in amusement, but then his head tipped forward like it was suddenly too heavy for his neck to hold. Chan caught him by his shoulders before he could faceplant into the concrete, eyes widening a bit. “Whoa— Okay, okay, let’s go sit down for a sec, yeah?”
Felix didn't argue. How could he? His vision was still split like shattered glass, still swirling and swaying with every blink, and his limbs felt like jello. He was in no shape to put up a fight even if he wanted to.
So Felix let Chan guide him to a bench nearby, sprawling out across the hardwood and rolling onto his side. His head lolled against Chan’s thigh, still dizzy and trembling, his body weak and slick with sweat. “I feel… so fuzzy,” he admitted, voice barely above a whisper, eyes half-lidded.
“I know, I know,” Chan replied sympathetically, brushing damp hair from Felix’s forehead. Your body’s probably trying to recalibrate. You’re okay, baby, just breathe, I’m here..”
Jisung came stumbling out from another car (admittedly looking a little peaky himself), worry written all over his face the second his eyes landed on them. "Fe.. lix…? W-What happened?”
“He blacked out for a moment, got a little sick from the ride,” Chan said quietly, keeping his voice gentle as he watched Felix’s breath even out a little at a time.
“Aigoo..”
Jisung dropped down on the ground next to the bench, wobbling in a way that told Chan he too was feeling the aftereffects of the ride. He reached out, gently rubbing a trembling hand along Felix’s arm. “So.. maybe we can stick to the kids rides next time?”
Felix squinted his eyes, his head feeling a little less cottony now, and offered him a smile. “Pft.. yeah, maybe…”
Moments later, the others arrived, eyes wide with worry and steps scurrying across the ground. Hyunjin stepped forward, crouching beside Felix’s sprawled form, while Seungmin hovered just behind, glancing between Felix and Chan like he wasn’t sure which one to interrogate first.
The half-conscious one probably wasn’t a great pick.
“Shit- Felix, are you—?” Hyunjin began, voice catching with concern. His hand landed in the younger man’s hair, fingers gently pushing the blonde locks behind his ear.
“‘M okay..” Felix rasped, lifting his hand to give them a shaky thumbs up. “Just… just need a moment.”
“You passed out?” Jeongin piped up, standing off to the other side as they all crowded the bench.
“Just for a brief moment,” Chan assured him, trying to ease the tension as he caught the worry swimming in Jeongin’s eyes.
The younger had always had a soft spot for Felix, but then again, so did Chan.
“Needed a reboot,” Felix supplied cheekily, earning a low chuckle from the group. Concern still marred their expressions, but the attempt at humour eased the tension just a fraction.
Jisung sighed as his fingers wrapped lazily around Felix’s wrist, keeping them tethered together with a gentle touch. “Yeah, well… you have no choice now, we’re taking the froggy ride next time.”
Felix nodded, “it’s a date..~”
____________________________________________
Honourable mention to this banner bc you can not convince me that cat is not actually him
hopefully I might be able to write more of these short-scenario-things whenever they pop up in my head— it seems more sustainable as of now 🤣
Hope you enjoyed!! And never be afraid to blurt out any ideas you have.. who knows, maybe it gets the gears turning in my head 🫡
A relentless stomach bug sweeps through the Stray Kids dorm, turning every room into a war zone of sickness and survival. One by one, the members fall, leaving only a few to hold the fort.
____________________________________________
Sickie/s: Han, Felix, I.N/Jeongin, Changbin, and Bang Chan
Caretaker/s: Seungmin, Lee Know and Hyunjin ____________________________________________
Keeping a highly contagious stomach bug from doing the rounds was hard enough on a good day. But when one of those dreaded viruses broke out among eight young men sharing a single bathroom?
Now that was a whole other level of difficulty. Once it started, keeping it under locks felt like a near impossible task.
Jeongin was the first one to go down. No one knew exactly when or where he’d picked it up, but somewhere along his way, the norovirus had sunk its nasty claws into him.
At first, he was just a little pale, and said he felt a little ‘off’ one unsuspecting Tuesday morning. An hour or so after breakfast, just before they were meant to be heading out for practice, he was projectile vomiting in the bathroom.
Felix followed soon after. He’d deliberately ignored any warnings to keep his distance in favour of giving the poor maknae some tender loving care.
The result? Painfully predictable, and equally as miserable.
He started looking peaky by mid-afternoon and was locked in a losing battle with the toilet by nightfall. All within the same day.
Under normal protocol, the sick members were to be quarantined in the same room— a feeble attempt to contain the spread, really.
But with Felix… well, with Felix it was different.
They’d learned that the hard way. Putting a sick Felix in a room with other sick people? Now that was just a disaster waiting to happen.
Putting Felix in a room of other sick people didn’t lessen the chaos— if anything, it multiplied it.
The last time it happened (one time Felix and Jisung had foolishly eaten some shady street food during tour) they’d dubbed it, in Seungmin’s words, “a ping-pong match of gags and tears.”
It was messy, it was pitiful, and it was traumatic for anyone and everyone involved.
To put it simply, no one wanted a sequel.
So Felix got a room to himself, usually with a personal caretaker to go with it. Changbin was always quick to volunteer himself.
Changbin sat with him while he got sick, patiently enduring the tears and dizzy spells that inevitably came with. He was steady like that. Rock-solid. The kind of person who could anchor just about anyone through the heaviest of storms.
But when it came to cleanup, Changbin wasn’t exactly a pro. He did his best; mask on, gloves tight, dousing every surface with the bleach solutions Chan had already prepped— but norovirus has a way of laughing in the face of good intentions…
The next morning, their group chat pinged to life just a little too early for comfort:
Changbin: guys…… It got me
Changbin: I’m sick :(
Changbin: Moved in with Jeongin
Changbin: I’m ok though! Sorry </3
Right. Everyone knew he wasn’t okay, but he certainly was a trooper for trying to keep a positive mindset.
With Changbin out of commission, that left five of them: Chan, Hyunjin, Jisung, Seungmin and Minho.
Chan paced the living room like a general preparing for war. Arms locked behind his back and his gait stiff, he waited for Seungmin to join them for an emergency meeting regarding the recent developments.
The others were already gathered on the couch, each and every one of them wearing matching expressions of exhaustion and dread.
The clock on the wall reflected the cruel reality back at them. 6AM.
It was early. Too early. They were barely even awake, having been ushered out of bed in their pyjamas, but there they were— huddled together on the couch like a drowsy litter of kittens.
The hum of coffee brewing in the kitchen filled the silence, punctuated only by the tick of the wall clock. Each second felt louder than it should have.
“Does it usually spread this fast?” Hyunjin asked in a yawn, pulling his pyjama clad legs up on the couch as Minho settled down snugly beside him.
The older dancer gave a shrug. “They could’ve just been exposed around the same time. Some people take longer to show symptoms.”
“Right..” Hyunjin nodded dubiously, his fingers tapping gently against the warm ceramic of his mug. “Still feels really fast…”
“Like wildfire.” Jisung chimed in from the other side of the couch, head resting on Minho’s shoulder and hoodie pulled up over hair that looked like it hadn’t met a brush in days.
“Bingo.” Seungmin agreed once he finally emerged from the kitchen, coffee in hand. He dropped onto the couch with the kind of sigh that said this day was already too long.
If only he knew…
“Alright. Good, everyone’s here.” Chan said, cutting right to the chase. They had no time to waste. “Here’s what we got. Jeongin and Changbin are sharing a room, that’ll be our sick bay for now. Felix is in mine, so I’m taking the couch out here..”
The leader paused for a moment, gazing down the hallway as if he’d heard something. More likely, he was just imagining things— he hadn’t exactly slept well.
“Seungmin-ah, you were the last one to check on them. Status?”
Seungmin peered at their leader over the rim of his coffee cup. He took a sip, then exhaled slowly through his nose.
“I’m not gonna sugar coat it,” he said flatly, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s a mess. Felix fainted twice last night, Innie cried, and Changbin looked white as a sheet this morning.”
Seungmin stretched out an arm behind Hyunjin’s back as he continued relaying what information he had. “Innie’s still seems the worst off so far, fever’s high.” He paused to take a breath.
“Lix and Bin have mild fevers, but Felix has been back and forth to the toilet a lot, and you all know how it goes when he’s dehydrated..” Seungmin mimed a person walking and falling flat to the floor with his hand.
The living room fell silent for a beat, but then they all nodded along in a chorus of agreeing sighs. Yeah, they knew. Unfortunately…
“Okay, thanks Seungmin.” Chan clasped his hands together, scanning the four members cramped together on the couch. “Everyone here still feeling fine?”
Hyunjin offered a thumbs up and a short “yep” in return.
“Never been better.” Came Seungmin’s sarcastic response as he took an excessively long sip of his coffee.
Minho joined in with an ominously nonchalant, “For now”, his head tilted over the back of the couch.
And Jisung— well, Jisung didn’t say anything.
Chan was about to continue speaking on his plan moving forward, but Jisung’s silence threw him off…
Why didn’t he answer?
The leader felt his blood run cold, a frown tugging at his lips. “Han-ah? Are you..” he trailed off, the words dying in his throat.
Jisung was staring dead ahead, his eyes a little sunken and his expression fixed in a vacant stare. There was a slight crease in his brow, barely noticeable, but most certainly there.
Now that he had raised his head from Minho’s shoulder, Chan could get a proper look of his face and…
Oh no.
Something was most certainly wrong.
There was a dullness in his eyes that didn’t bode well, and no matter how much he didn’t want to, Chan had to admit Jisung looked a little… pale…
“Han, hey-“ Chan waved a hand in front of Jisung’s face, finally pulling his attention away from the still air. Up close, he looked even worse for wear.
Chan inwardly cringed, his heart skipping a beat as he pressed the back of his hand against Jisung’s cheek. He didn’t feel feverish, not yet, but…
“You’re looking a little green around the gills there, bud..” Chan paused, already dreading the response as he proposed his question. “You feeling alright?”
Jisung looked up and blinked slowly, as if it took him an immense amount of effort just to process the question. “I don’t know… I-I think..” His face scrunched for a moment, a tug of discomfort pinching his brow. “My stomach feels… funny.”
Chan narrowed his eyes. “Define ‘funny’…”
Jisung straightened up a little, but his moves were sluggish and heavy. “‘Dunno.. like.. crampy?” He paused with a suspicious swallow. “B-but it’s not like ‘I’m dying’ kinda crampy. Just like… ‘I had too much milk’ kind of crampy..”
Seungmin looked at him with a blank expression. “Well, did you have any milk?”
“…no.” Jisung whispered quietly. The room held its breath, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
“Great.” Seungmin drained the last of his coffee and placed the cup on the table with an exaggerated loud clank. “You’re next, then.”
Hyunjin immediately shifted a few inches away, like Jisung himself was a ticking time bomb of germs and contaminants. “Uh-oh.”
Minho, however, didn’t budge. “No kidding,” he looked at Jisung, eyebrows drawn together as his eyes scanned over his sickly features. "Look at him. He's already sweating."
"I'm not sweating.” Jisung protested weakly. Then he wiped his forehead. "Okay… Maybe I'm sweating a little. But it's just hot in here, right?” He looked around the room, eyes getting increasingly desperate as reality settled in. “Right?”
“Nope.” Hyunjin stood up, shaking his head with a bleak expression. He grabbed a disinfectant spray off the table like a weapon, holding it to his chest as he backed away. “Sorry, dude.”
“Hey..” Chan spoke up cautiously, watching in real time as Jisung turned paler by the second. “Hannie, do you think you’re gonna puke?”
When Jisung immediately gave a stiff nod in return, Minho finally moved. Not out of the way, but just far enough to grab the trash bin near the bookshelf. He wordlessly handed it to Jisung with the grim calm of someone passing over a parachute mid freefall.
Jisung quickly took the bin with both hands, shutting his eyes tightly as he leaned over it, lips trembling. “T-thanks…”
Hyunjin, who had steadily edged away from the couch, now stood with his back against the wall as he watched the chaos unfold before him. “That’s four down already.” He glanced at Chan. “We need to isolate him too. Immediately.”
Chan held up a hand to silence him, giving him a stern look. “I know. But let’s take it one step at a time, yeah?”
Jisung already looked miserable enough, Chan didn’t want him to feel like he was being treated like some sort of pest on top of it. That would only upset him further.
The youngest rapper sucked in a sharp breath, a whiny whimper leaving his lips as a string of saliva dribbled into the trash bin. “‘don’t.. hrgg.. d-don’t wanna get sick…”
Chan’s eyes softened with sympathy, but his shoulders tensed again as the muffled sound of someone gagging reverberated down the hallway.
Changbin.
And like a chain reaction set in motion, the sound of Jisung vomiting into the trash bin filled the room. Everyone collectively winced.
Minho sighed gently, holding Jisung’s hair back with one hand while the other rubbed soothing circles along his trembling spine.
Chan opened his mouth to speak again, to try and delegate tasks, but his mind was running too fast for him to catch up.
“I’ve got him.” Minho said instead, cutting through the fog with calm certainty. A saving grace, truly.
Chan nodded sharply, already turning on his heel. “Okay-“ the leader cast a glance at Seungmin, who was calmly assisting Minho from the sidelines— then Hyunjin, who still stood plastered to the wall. “I’m gonna check on Bin.”
And with that, Chan bolted through the hallway like a firefighter responding to a blaze.
The sight that greeted him upon arrival shattered his heart to a million pieces. Changbin was drenched in sweat, slumped to a pale and shaky heap on the bathroom floor.
He hadn’t quite made it to the toilet in time by the looks of it, and now sat slouched against the bathtub, eyes fluttering with every new wave of nausea that hit him.
Chan crouched down beside him, pulling on a fresh pair of gloves with the resigned skill of a man who had been doing far too much bodily fluid cleanup for someone whose job was not supposed to be in healthcare.
“Hey, buddy.” Chan’s voice was soft and steady as he placed a hand on Changbin’s shoulder. “You’re okay. I’m here..” he gently brushed a few wayward strands out of the youngers face. “How’re you feeling?”
Changbin’s eyes fluttered open, and he gave a soft, broken whimper in response. “Ugh.. crappy…”
“Yeah, I can tell..” Chan hummed softly, taking in the alarming pallor of the younger rappers face— so washed out he almost looked green.
Changbin curled in on himself with a wince. “Stomach hurts a lot…“ his voice was hoarse, and the shivers running through him made it hard to get his words across. “B-but it’s a little.. little less intense now that I finally got to throw up..“
“Yeah?” The oldest frowned softly, heart clenching in his chest. “Think you’re done for now, or..?”
Changbin hesitated, then shrugged his shoulders with a small grimace. “Maybe… for now, I think, yeah.. sorry ‘bout the mess, hyung…”
Chan offered a gentle smile, shaking his head lightly. “Don’t mind that. I’ve got it.” He squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry you’re feeling so sick, Bin.. just hang in there for a minute, okay? I’ll get you back to bed soon. Promise.”
“Mhm..”
Chan started cleaning up the spillage, too preoccupied and concerned to be disgusted by any of it. His main priority was Changbin, and getting him back to bed as quickly as humanly possible.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, followed by a barely audible voice filtering through it.
“Hyung..?”
It was Felix. Oh fuck.
Chan threw some paper into the toilet, finishing off the last swipe of disinfectant against the tiles before answering in English. “Yeah, Felix, what’s up?”
The door clicked open and the younger Aussie appeared on the other side, his forehead pressed against the doorframe like that alone was keeping him from toppling over.
“I gotta..” Felix gestured weakly to the toilet, and the reluctance to voice his needs told Chan all he needed to know.
“Right.” The leader said, gazing back to Changbin who was now halfway dozing off against the bathtub. “Just give us a sec, Lix.”
“Binnie~” Chan crooned softly, shaking the rappers shoulder. “Ready to go back to bed, big guy? I’ll help you.”
With some effort, he got Changbin to his feet and led him toward the door, where Felix was still swaying, looking alarmingly pale.
“You gonna be okay on your own, mate?” Chan asked uncertainly as they passed by the younger, though the answer already seemed abundantly clear.
N to the O to the P to the E.
The weak hum he gave in return was not at all mollifying, and Chan scowled deeply as Felix’s eyes remained shut, the doorframe no doubt leaving indents in his forehead.
“Ooookay…” He paused for a moment, eyes darting down the hallway and lighting up with relief once Seungmin appeared.
Without even needing to say a word, the second youngest member scurried over (no doubt seeing the desperation in Chan’s eyes), giving the situation a brief look over before nodding.
“I’ll take Binnie back to bed.” Seungmin said firmly, slinging one of Changbin’s arms over his shoulder as he braced himself to support him.
Chan barely had time to thank him before the pair was off, and he was able to concentrate fully on the half-conscious kid before him.
“Oh, Felix...” He wrapped an arm around the younger man’s chest, like a railing keeping him from tipping off the edge of a bridge. “Lixie, hey, you with me?”
“Ugh.. yeah— s-sorry..” Felix lifted his head off the doorframe with a pitiful groan, eyelashes fluttering. “I-I need the… toilet..”
“Okay.. I got you.”
Chan secured an arm around Felix’s waist as he guided him to the toilet, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from visibly wincing when he swayed precariously on his feet.
The younger man was clearly teetering on the edge of consciousness, but Chan wouldn’t let him go down that easy.
Even if Felix moved like a tipsy pirate, staggering like a Jack Sparrow incarnate, he would be there to catch him. Always.
“Alright, easy does it now…” Chan murmured, gently lowering him onto the toilet seat.
Felix let out a tiny, embarrassed whine, eyes squeezing shut as a hiccup caught in his chest. “Chris—ugh—h-hyung… y-you don’t have to stay…”
“I know,” Chan replied simply, crouching beside him and brushing back the damp fringe clinging to his forehead. “But I’m going to.. sorry, mate, but I’d rather not have you crack your head on the tile, yeah?”
Felix didn’t argue after that. He barely managed a nod before curling around his midsection, trembling from the effort of holding himself upright.
The whole ordeal was far from pleasant, but Chan remained unfazed, brushing the hair from Felix’s face and muttering reassurances to help him through. “You're okay,” he whispered as the younger let out a half-choked sob. "You're doing really well, Lix."
Tears streaked Felix’s freckled cheeks, adding a shine to his otherwise dulled complexion. "H-hurts.. hurts so bad, hyung... my stomach feels like it's eating itself."
"I know, baby,” Chan soothed, pressing a cool hand to his forehead. His temperature was creeping higher by the second... “But you're doing great. Just breathe for me, okay? In and out… it’ll be over soon."
Time seemed to dissolve after that. Every time Chan tried to get up to fetch something— water, a cold compress, anything, Felix whimpered and reached for him, nearly faceplanting more than once.
So Chan stayed, sitting cross-legged on the bathroom floor with his back against the tub, watching as Felix tried and failed to keep upright on the toilet.
Now, Felix had a bucket tucked in his lap, his head practically dipped into its hollow as he hiccuped and breathed shakily into the plastic.
It had been a while since the last bout, and by now Chan was more worried the kid would fall asleep there, cutting off circulation to his legs. Felix was all emptied out, but the poor guy was clearly too scared— and weak— to move.
"You need to rest," Chan murmured, voice tired yet laced with warmth. "You've got nothing left to give, Lix.”
Felix sniffled, tilting sideways until his head braced against the sink. "It feels like my insides are liquefied," he whispered hoarsely, words barely audible. "This is the worst day of my life."
Chan let out a soft, almost inaudible scoff, moving closer to rub circles along his back again. “That’s what you said when you dropped your rank in League.”
“I meant it then, too…”
“Right..”
Chan’s eyes flicked to the doorway, knowing the rest of the apartment wasn’t any more tranquil than they were.
Somewhere down the hall, others were still struggling through their own waves. The apartment was still alive with misery, solid proof that the war was far from over.
And he knew, without a doubt, that there was just a matter of time until someone else needed their precious bathroom…
—
A few doors down, Seungmin had managed to get Changbin tucked back under the covers. He’d fetched a fresh set of towels, a cool compress, and a water bottle that was likely to remain untouched until the worst of the nausea waned.
Hyunjin met him in the doorway, handing over a stack of clean pillowcases. “For Innie. He soaked through his again… I’ll be right back.”
Seungmin nodded listlessly and headed back inside the room with yet another task added to his agenda. Changbin had settled for now, but Jeongin…
Jeongin was but a miserable sight.
He was curled up beneath three blankets, his face blotchy with the unmistakable flush of fever and the pallor of someone thoroughly wrung out. The younger boy barely even stirred when Seungmin shook his shoulder.
Only when he shook again, a little firmer, Jeongin finally groaned. “Hyung…?” He drawled, turning over with sluggish effort.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Seungmin crouched down beside the bed, effortlessly slipping a thermometer between Jeongin’s lips and watching the numbers rise. Once it beeped, he grimaced.
38.8°C
Still way too high.
Like Hyunjin had stated, Jeongin’s pillow was thoroughly dampened with sweat, the sheets marred with dark patches. His body was fighting against the virus with everything it had, and the evidence of battle shimmered like crystals against his skin.
Seungmin reached out and brushed Jeongin’s hair back from his forehead, scowling gently. “Hey, you need to drink something, mister... Even if it’s just a few sips.”
Jeongin made a pitiful sound, clearly not eager to drink anything, but just as clearly not in any shape to argue. Even so, his obstinacy shone through.
Seungmin sighed. "Please?" he asked softly, nudging a straw against Jeongin’s lips, but he stubbornly turned his head away.
From across the room, Changbin suddenly mumbled, “Tell him it’s a juice box. He’ll do better if he thinks it’s a juice box…”
Seungmin snorted under his breath, rolling his eyes. “Seriously? We’re not bribing him like a five-year-old.”
“Speak for yourself.” Hyunjin said from the doorway, walking in again with a bowl of cold packs and a resigned expression. “At this point, I’d give him a lollipop and a sticker if it meant he drank something.”
Seungmin couldn’t bring himself to disagree with that logic. Their maknae was dehydrated, feverish and disoriented— if there was any way to hoax him into drinking water, of course he would do it.
And to his surprise, Changbin’s trick worked like a charm.
For some reason he couldn’t name, a delirious Jeongin was far more inclined to drink juice rather than water. A fact Seungmin never knew of, but was grateful that Changbin (strangely enough) did.
Jeongin took a couple of sips of the so called ‘juice’ before reclining back down with a displeased look. “That juice sucks… tastes like nothing..”
“Really?” Seungmin prompted, eyebrows raised. “That’s strange.” He couldn’t keep the amused smile from ghosting his lips as he swiped his thumb over Jeongin’s flushed cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ll file a complaint on your behalf.”
The maknae seemed pleased by that, a soft sigh slipping past his lips. “Mm, thanks, Seungmin-hyung…”
“Anytime, Innie… anytime.”
—
Back in the living room, Minho was holding a damp towel to Jisung's face, one Hyunjin had handed over in passing just a few minutes prior.
The younger man was curled into a fetal position on the couch, a new, clean bucket close to his chest and his hoodie now discarded in a sweaty pile on the floor.
He had been sick twice more since the first round, but for now, it seemed like the waters had stilled.
Minho carefully adjusted the towel to rest over his forehead, eyes scanning over the younger’s pinched features. “Feeling any better?” he asked, voice low.
A pitiful groan was the answer he got as Jisung’s fingers tightened weakly around the bucket. “No. Worse. Everything hurts now…” he mumbled. “My stomach, my back… even my eyeballs, hyung.”
“Eyeballs?” Minho echoed, pressing his fingers to Jisung’s reddening cheeks. “Yeah, that checks out. Probably the fever… fevers.. fevers cause eyeball pain sometimes.”
Jisung paused for a moment, like the statement was grinding around in his brain, before peering up at Minho with glassy eyes. “Wait.. really?”
Minho paused, staring back at him. “Uh… dunno,” he admitted with a shrug. “Maybe— probably. I just thought that’s what you wanted to hear.”
After a beat of stunned silence, Jisung groaned again, slinging an arm up to cover his eyes with melodramatic flair. “I’m dying.” he whined, curling tighter into himself like it would shield him from the onslaught of discomfort.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t, and it didn’t, but whining did help a little.
Minho didn’t react much to his dramatics. He just kept smoothing the cool towel across his skin, calm and composed. “You’re not dying, Jisung-ah.”
“We all are..”
Minho paused again, blinking once, twice, three times. “Fair point.” He decided. “But you’re gonna survive this. I can’t let a stomach virus be the end of you, that’s just.. embarrassing.”
Jisung snorted weakly. “Fair point..” he echoed back, voice small.
As Minho moved the cool cloth to his neck, he shivered, teeth chattering. “Yah—I'm cooold..." Jisung whined, trying to swat him away to no avail.
Minho remained steadfast, holding the rag in place as he argued matter-of-factly, “No. Actually, you're being cooked from the inside out.”
The silence that followed was punctuated by a few soft, uneven breaths, and then another groan that came from somewhere deeper in Jisung’s chest this time.
Minho caught the beginning of another queasy shift in his expression and immediately lifted the bucket closer, rubbing slow circles between his shoulder blades as Jisung lurched forward again.
"Shhh, l've got you.” Minho murmured, his tone gentle despite the grim situation. “Just let it out. You’re okay…”
Ten minutes later, the three other members on caretaker duty filtered into the living room, one after the other.
In last came Chan, stripping off a couple of gloves and a mask before disposing of them in a bag. He sauntered over to the couch with a solemn look on his face.
“How is he?” The leader gestured vaguely to the Han Jisung shaped lump nestled under the blankets.
“Feverish, in pain and dramatically complaining about it, but… I think he’s half asleep now.” Minho reported back plainly.
Seungmin took a seat on the armrest, scowling at the pitiful mound of man. “He already looks just as awful as the rest of them. It sure progresses fast…”
“Let’s just hope it passes just as quickly.” Chan murmured under his breath.
“Hate to be that guy, again, but we really shouldn’t have him out here.” Hyunjin butted in, nodding to the space around them.
The living room was supposed to kept sacred for as long as possible, a no-contamination zone, but unfortunately, it seemed they were already way past that..
Jisung had been holding on valiantly despite his whining. But after throwing up three times, and now visibly shivering through the blankets, even Minho had to concede it was time to move him from the common area.
Han Jisung had become yet another health hazard in the Stary Kids dorm.
“Yeah… we need to get him in with the others.” Minho said softly, brushing a few damp strands of hair off Jisung’s forehead.
Hyunjin nodded, arms folded over his chest. “Well.. the third bed’s set up for him in the sick room. All ready for him when you are.”
Minho sighed, glancing down at Jisung’s flushed, half-conscious face. Then, he looked at Chan expectantly, awaiting his final call.
Chan didn’t look thrilled about more manhandling, but he didn’t argue either. The lines under his eyes had deepened over the past day alone, and there was a persistent tension in his jaw that hadn’t eased ever since Jeongin had gone down. He just nodded once.
“Okay. Yeah.. Let’s just get it over with.”
Between the two of them, Minho and Chan helped Jisung to his feet. He wobbled immediately, letting out a tired groan and pressing the bucket to his chest like a comfort item. “D’you think I’m gonna die, hyung?” he mumbled, half-asleep.
Minho rolled his eyes, exasperated. “I already told you you’re not... But if you throw up on my shirt, I will kill you.”
That earned a small snort from Jisung.“Mmm’kay.. gotcha.”
The sick room, formerly Jeongin’s, now resembled a disaster relief zone more than a bedroom. Changbin was tucked into bed at one side of the room, still ghostly pale. Jeongin was buried under a mountain of covers on the other end, slick hair clinging stubbornly to his forehead.
Felix had been moved back to Chan’s room after his last bathroom trip, to keep preventing the number of active gagging noises in one room from exceeding a safe limit.
As they passed the threshold and Jisung stumbled inside the room, Jeongin cracked an eye open. “Hannie-hyung..?” He mumbled, then groaned. “Oh god, not you too..”
“Heeey guys… I brought snacks.” Jisung croaked, gesturing weakly to the bucket.
Changbin wheezed out a faint laugh before wincing again, curling in on himself. “Ew, Jisungie, ew.”
Minho guided Jisung over to the third bed, which so far had been used to hold the supplies. He watched the younger member flop down and helped him get comfortable, tucking the bucket beside him before standing back up. “Alright, try and get some rest.”
“Death is eternal rest..” Jisung mumbled suggestively.
“Yah— quiet with the death talk already.” Minho groaned, half-heartedly jabbing a finger into Jisung’s shoulder.
“He hangs out with you too much.” Chan noted, and Minho couldn’t find it in him to argue. After all, he had a point…
As Jisung started drifting off, Minho ruffled his hair once more and glanced at Chan, who was still lingering in the doorway. “You good?”
Chan blinked at him, like the question hadn’t registered at first. “Huh? Oh, yeah… just… thinking.” He took one last, long look at the three members curled up in various stages of misery, and rubbed a hand over his face.
And as he turned and quietly shut the door behind him, Chan wondered, just for a moment, when he’d wake up from this hellish nightmare.
____________________________________________
After seeing Felix look borderline traumatised when asked what it was like for 8 people to be sharing 2 bathrooms in the old dorm, I thought…. Why don’t we make it 1 bathroom? Just for fun 😎(I also mixed it with a request I got for all five of them sick, hehe.. jackpot.)
So here I present to you Stray kids + a singular bathroom dorm + a norovirus outbreak ❤️🥳 part two will be coming soon 🙂↕️
Overnight, Felix’s voice has deserted him. When he wakes up with his limbs feeling like lead, his head like slush, there’s only one thing he needs.
Seungmin.
And even when he can’t communicate the way he usually does, they always find a way.
____________________________________________
Sickie: Felix
Caretaker/s: Seungmin
____________________________________________
Felix knew he was sick from the moment he opened his eyes, maybe even before— if that was even possible.
To say he felt unwell was an understatement, yet claiming that he felt like he was dying seemed a bit too melodramatic. Still, his body ached and burned in a way that landed him somewhere uncomfortably between the two.
He tried to swallow, but his throat felt raw, each attempt scraping painfully and yielding only the faintest scratch of a breath.
As he tried to make a sound, just to test it, nothing more than a broken rasp came out, thin and useless.
For a long moment, Felix lay still in his bed, staring at the ceiling as the whites moved in squiggly shapes before him. The air felt too heavy, the silence too deafening.
Part of him just wanted to fall back asleep, to conk out until whatever was plaguing his body had been taken care of, but rest felt impossible when every breath sliced through him like a hot knife.
More than anything, though, Felix really hated being alone in it.
The room spun a little when he sat up, his blankets tangling around his legs like they were trying to keep him hostage in bed.
Maybe they had the right idea.
But Felix was stubborn, and the thought of lying there alone with nothing but the silence and the fever pressing down on him made him restless. He needed comfort, he needed company.
He needed Seungmin.
Dragging himself upright, Felix swayed before catching the edge of his blanket, using it like a cape wrapped clumsily around his shoulders. His moves were sluggish and slow as he moved down the hallway, feet barely lifting off the floor.
By the time he found himself in the kitchen for a pit stop, Felix realised— much to his relief— that Seungmin was already awake.
The faint smell of coffee still lingered in the air, the way it always did when Seungmin got up first. Felix didn’t care for coffee himself, he hated the bitter taste of it, so he opened the fridge to see if anything might spark his appetite.
His eyes scanned the rows before landing on a simple juice carton hidden away behind some protein shakes. He grabbed for it with shaky hands, blinking against the fog invading his vision.
It was a tropical fruit juice; cold, sweet and apparently a great source of vitamin c, it seemed like the perfect solution. Maybe it would cure him.
Taking a swig of the juice, his initial spark of hope dwindled, and disappointment washed over him in a slow, torturous wave.
Nothing.
Felix couldn’t taste anything at all, not even a shred of sweetness reaching through the bland film on his tongue. It was like drinking water with an acidic burn added to it. Not something he ever would’ve purposefully opted for.
With a dissatisfied pout on his face, Felix shut his eyes against the headache pounding in his skull, pressing his forehead against the side of the fridge. He dropped the juice carton on the counter, a weak, frustrated sigh slipping past his lips.
“…Lix?”
From the corner of the room, a familiar voice suddenly broke the silence. Seungmin stood in the doorway, hair mussed up, mug in hand. “I was about to say good morning, but…” he trailed off, raking his eyes over Felix’s hunched posture. “You look like hell.”
The words were blunt, but not unkind— just an honest observation declared in a very Seungmin way.
Felix turned towards him, eyes bleary and lips parted as if trying to answer, but any attempt to speak only made his throat tighten further.
All he managed was a croaky sound that made Seungmin’s brows knit immediately.
Giving it a second try, a pathetic squeak scraped its way out his throat before dissolving into a dry cough, and Felix grabbed onto his throat as if to hold it together through the fit.
“Oh,” Seungmin hurriedly set his mug down with a soft clink, his expression shifting from confusion to concern in the blink of an eye. “You lost your voice?”
Felix nodded miserably, shoulders sagging like it truly was the most disheartening discovery of his life.
The hair on his head was a messy, blonde halo, his cheeks too flushed and puffy. He somehow looked younger like this, small in his oversized hoodie, sleeves dangling past his hands…
Seungmin sighed and crossed the kitchen, pressing the back of his hand to Felix’s forehead without hesitation. Felix couldn’t help but lean into it, eyes fluttering shut against the gentle coolness the touch provided.
“Aigoo, you have a fever,” Seungmin murmured, confirming what Felix already knew himself. He hesitated for only a second before slipping an arm around Felix’s waist, steadying him. “Why didn’t you just text me? You really shouldn't be walking around like this..”
Felix gave a halfhearted shrug, the slight lift in his shoulders enough to make him wince from the soreness. His head felt too heavy to hold up, so he leaned against the nearest thing, which now just so happened to be Seungmin's shoulder.
Seungmin enveloped him in his arms, holding him steady as he pressed against him, seeking out all the comfort he could. Another sigh. “Alright,” Seungmin started, “You need to lie down. Bed or couch?”
A very small part of Felix wanted to protest— he didn’t want to be a bother, he hated the thought of dragging anyone else into the heaviness, but the warmth of Seungmin’s body against his was too comforting to pull away from.
With a forlorn sigh, he lifted two fingers to give his answer, and Seungmin nodded in return.
It was simple, really.
Felix was sick, he felt like crap, and he needed some comfort. He knew that. And Seungmin knew it, too.
Felix let himself be guided out of the kitchen, only his muffled sniffles betraying the complaints he couldn’t voice. His steps were still unsteady, each wobble braced by Seungmin’s arm locked securely around his waist.
When they reached the living room, Seungmin nudged him gently toward the couch. “Lie down.”
Felix didn’t need to be told twice. He silently obeyed, curling onto the couch cushion with a quiet shiver. His stomach twisted uneasily around the flavourless juice, and he buried his face in the pillow as if that could calm the nausea that was creeping higher in his throat.
God, his head really hurt. As did his throat, his stomach, his arms and legs.. his back. Everything.
Felix couldn’t help but notice how the chills seemed to run through him like an electric current, starting deep in his core and reverberating out into the very tips of his finders.
It was a sign of his fever, he knew, the body's natural response to the invading pathogens that had stolen his voice from him.
Still, there was something strangely foreign about feeling so out of touch with his own body.
A moment later, a gentle weight settled across his trembling frame, and Felix squinted an eye open to see Seungmin adjusting a blanket snugly over his shoulders. “This okay?” The younger asked softly, almost whispering. “You’re shaking..”
Felix gave a faint nod, knowing he wouldn’t get much out of trying to talk again. He tried to smile, but it looked way too forced to be appeasing.
Seungmin lingered for a moment, eyebrows drawn with concern as his hand pressed back against Felix’s forehead, just to double check.
“You’re really burning up,” he muttered, almost to himself. But when Felix looked up at him with glassy, apologetic eyes, Seungmin shook his head and smoothed his hair back with a gentle sigh. “Nu-uh, don’t give me that face. It’s not your fault, Lixie.”
Felix bit his tongue, lashes lowered, but Seungmin’s quiet scrutiny left him feeling transparent. It struck him then, in a way both grounding and terrifying, that he didn’t really need a voice when it came to Seungmin.
Because somehow, Seungmin always just knew what was going on in his head.. he always understood.
Felix wanted to say something, though. Wanted to thank him, or apologise for being so needy, or explain that he didn’t know where he’d left his phone— but he couldn’t. Not verbally, at least. Frustration pinched his brow. Seungmin noticed.
“Wait here.”
Too tired to resist, Felix let his body sink into the cushions as Seungmin disappeared from the room, a faint hum of acknowledgement rumbling in his chest.
A few minutes later, Seungmin returned to the living room with a small notepad and a thick black marker. He waved it gently within Felix’s line of sight, placing the cap of the marker against Felix’s hand.
“Here,” Seungmin said, a small, proud smirk tugging at his lips. “Now you can communicate without ruining your throat any further.“
As Felix shifted to push himself a little more upright, Seungmin jokingly added, “…though, if you start writing dramatic poetry about your suffering, I’m taking it back.”
Felix’s laugh came out silent— just a crinkle of his eyes and the smallest puff of air— and he eagerly uncapped the marker. His hand wobbled a little as he wrote, but he managed to scrawl a couple of messy words across the first page:
thank you
Seungmin’s gaze softened, though he still huffed like it was no big deal. He shook his head, rolling his eyes affectionately. “Don’t thank me. Isn’t this part of the contract? In sickness and in health, right?”
Felix peeked up at him, one eyebrow raised. His hand moved the marker across the notepad again, writing in lazy strokes.
Isn’t that marriage?
Seungmin laughed softly, brushing his fingers against Felix’s warm, freckled cheek. “Yeah, well… marriage, roommates, it’s all the same..” he shrugged, rubbing his hand up Felix’s arm.
“Don’t think too much, now.. just… sleep. Drink water...” he paused, a small smile still grazing his lips. “And don’t wander around the house like a lost ghost. Capeesh?”
Felix nodded solemnly, nose red and eyes glossy. His throat still ached too much to speak, but he let his fingers peek out from his oversized hoodie, brushing lightly against Seungmin’s sleeve.
It was the smallest plea, but Seungmin noticed, cocking his head with wordless curiosity shining through his steady gaze.
Felix scribbled with the marker again, slower this time, almost hesitant, before turning the pad toward his roommate.
Dont leave.
Seungmin went still for a beat, his expression unreadable. Then he exhaled, long and quiet, and shook his head with that same gentle smile lingering on his lips.
“Of course not. I wouldn’t dream of it..” Seungmin said warmly, waving his hand in a silent gesture for Felix to scoot over.
Once he did, Seungmin stretched out beside him on the couch, arms reaching out to grab a controller off the coffee table. “I was thinking of playing a little anyway. That okay with you? I’ll mute.”
“Mhm..”
Felix tucked himself closer, his head resting against Seungmin’s chest so he could hear the steady rhythm of his heart. It was grounding— slowing the restless spinning in his head, easing the clawing ache that gripped his body.
The faint trace of Seungmin’s cologne filled his senses; warm, clean, and comforting, woven into the very fabric of his hoodie.
It wrapped around Felix as easily as the blanket did, softening the churn of nausea in his stomach until he could almost forget it was there to begin with.
Seungmin looped an arm loosely around him, letting his voice drop to that soft register he only used every so often, when it was just the two of them. “Go to sleep, angel. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
Felix’s lashes fluttered, his chest loosening in a quiet sigh of relief. For the first time since waking, he didn’t feel so unbearably heavy, so desolate and frail. He still felt sick, sure, but wrapped in Seungmin’s steady warmth, Felix felt safe.
And with that, he let the tug of sleep pull him under, hoping that maybe this was the magical cure he needed all along.
Not some juice he couldn’t even taste, but Seungmin— always Seungmin.
____________________________________________
Another dorm fic, as ordered 🕺🏽 short and sweet, but not my best work.. I think 😆😭 work and studies have already been overwhelming, but I’m trying my best to stay afloat.
Hope you enjoyed this, I love them both so dearly 🥹
Hi, I your fics and your blog so much! I got into SKZ a few months ago and have since binge read everything you've written and can't wait to read more (especially the finale of Breaking Point, omg the ANGST)
If you're currently open to requests, l'd love to see an emeto fic with Felix as the sickie based on that one live where he chokes on the noodles- I feel like being around the table with all the members is a perfect set up for commotion & chaos & lots of concern & caretaking (wow, alliteration)
Would love HAN and/or Seungmin to be the main caretakers since they're the ones helping in the video, but maybe with a little bit of love from everyone since they're all there. Otherwise feel free to do your thing, interpretation / inspo from the video can be very loose, I just wanna see my boy Felix miserable & getting loved on :))
First of all, thank you so much❤️ I really hope you enjoyed the finale of Breaking Point😎
I haven't had a lot of motivation, time or energy to write lately, but wanted to write a shorter and maybe a little more lighthearted story, so here I am!🤩
Enjoy a little fic based on the video where he choked back in 2021, with Seungmo and Hannie as main caretakers✨
PS: Y'know what the funny thing is? Another person in my inbox have actually requested something based on Felix choking as well 😂 (this man is a danger to himself lmao help him😔)
“WRONG LEVER!”
Sickie: Felix
Caretaker/s: Stray Kids ( main Han and Seungmin)
____________________________________________
It started as a typical live, really. The table was loud, and the eight young men surrounding it were even louder.
Cooking lives had long been a fan favourite, and it was a format that the members genuinely enjoyed as well. The hours passed in a blissful whirl of laughter, teamwork, and taste tests.
And the end result was always a treat to enjoy in each other’s company.
Bowls of steaming food were filled and passed around, chopsticks and spoons clanking eagerly against the ceramic as everyone dove into their meals. The atmosphere was light and teasing, buzzing with laughter and overlapping chatter.
Felix was quiet for a while, hunched over his own dinner bowl with starry eyes and eager slurps. He wasn’t trying to be quiet, he was just so focused on the food— and hungry… really hungry. In fact, maybe a little too hungry.
Because in the blink of an eye, something went wrong.
Felix coughed.
Not just your average ‘noodle gone down the wrong pipe’ kind of cough either. This was sharp and sudden, his body jerking forward and a hand clapping over his mouth as it quickly unraveled into a harsh fit muffled against his palm.
For a moment, a slightly uncertain laughter broke out around the table, but the giddiness quickly dwindled when Felix continued to struggle.
Seungmin reacted first, his eyes snapping wide with concern. “Woah— woah, hang on.”
The second attention was brought to it, he was up and about, grabbing a roll of tissues off the countertop.
Behind him, Jisung was just as brisk, rushing to grab a glass of water before returning it to Felix with a concerned look.
Felix continued to cough. Hard. His eyes stung with tears as his stomach lurched from the strain, tossing his meal around like it was flipping a coin— ready to land one way or the other.
“Try to breathe. Small sips.” Jisung coaxed, holding the water out in front of him. Felix made no move to grab the glass, still far too busy getting something out. “You okay?”
Felix opened his mouth to answer, but all that came out was a gaspy hiccup and a cough so wet-sounding it made Jisung visibly flinch.
“Oh—oh-Okay, camera off— NOW!“ Jisung snapped, his voice cutting through the commotion with a sense of gravity that sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
Jeongin practically launched himself back from the table, nearly knocking his own bowl over in his scramble to block the camera with his body.
Luckily, the staff member understood the assignment and quickly shut the video off.
Jisung gripped his shoulder firmly, his thumb tracing slow, grounding circles while Felix fought against the growing panic and nausea in his chest.
If there was a lever system in his body to control which pipe food went down, Felix had no doubt in his mind— Kronk pulled the wrong lever.
A sheen of sweat had already beaded across his nape, his eyes wide as his vision flickered.
Was this how he was going to die? Choking on a damned noodle?
Jisung pounded a firm hand flat against Felix’s back, hoping to help dislodge whatever piece of food had strayed into his airways.
Felix‘s coughing changed again, this time ending in a deep gulp and a gagging noise that made the whole room freeze.
“O-oh g—“ Felix whimpered. “I-I thi-“
And then, before he could even voice a warning, it happened.
With a sudden belch and a wrench of his whole body, Felix’s dinner made a swift, ungraceful exit.
Jisung barely had time to jump his feet apart before he was vomiting onto the floor between them, splashing his socks in the process.
The retching was loud and wet, echoing embarrassingly off the walls and making Felix’s face turn red from both the strain and sheer humiliation.
“Oh my god, Lixie.” Jisung whispered shakily, rubbing his back in gentle circles. “You’re okay, you’re okay—uh.. Just get it out, baby, don’t fight it.”
Felix hiccupped, lips trembling, before another wave forced its way up— quick, violent, and entirely out of his control. His hands gripped the edge of the table for balance, trembling and whiteknuckled.
Seungmin hovered behind them now, one hand steadying Felix’s shoulder while the other held his hair back from the line of fire.
“Easy, Felix… You’re not choking anymore. You’re okay.” Seungmin murmured, voice low and calm like he was speaking to a skittish animal. “Breathe.”
The rest of the members had gone silent, some a little paler than others, as they watched the scene unfolding before them.
Felix whimpered, trying to push away the hands and the attention, but his strength had left him somewhere between the third gag and the nausea now curling in his gut.
By the time the heaving subsided, he was slumped on Jisung’s arm, trembling, face pale and damp with both sweat and tears. He tried to speak but all that came out was a tiny, hoarse, “M’sorry…”
A collective scoff echoed around the table—not condescending, but slightly exasperated in a way that was threaded with nothing but care and affection.
“You do not apologise for that, you weirdo.” Jisung muttered affectionately, carefully pulling Felix closer and cradling his head against his shoulder. “Y-you literally just choked, dude. You’re lucky it came back up.”
No one saw the tears pricking Jisung’s eyes, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.
“Exactly.” Seungmin agreed, grabbing some tissues and wiping Felix’s mouth with a gentleness no one ever expected before it was suddenly there. “You’re not supposed to inhale noodles, by the way..”
A soft chorus of chuckles rumbled around the table, snickers bubbling up in shared relief.
Felix let out a breathy huff of his own, partially amused, partially embarrassed.
“Must’ve been lost in translation, huh?” Changbin added to the quip, standing quietly at the opposite side of the table with his eyebrows pulled to a frown.
Felix gave a weak laugh that dissolved into another cough. His nose burned from the lingering bile, and he gratefully blew into the tissue Seungmin handed him.
“Yeah…” he croaked back. “Must’ve..”
Chan nudged Jisung to the side, tossing a wad of paper towels onto the mess on the floor before turning to Felix with a gentle look. “You alright now, mate?”
“Yeah, yeah..” Felix nodded, but he winced slightly as he rubbed a hand over his sternum. “My chest just hurts a little.”
Chan opened his mouth to answer, but didn’t get any further before..
“Well yeah, I bet it does.” Hyunjin blurted out, looking mildly horrified in his seat. “You just fought a noodle and almost lost, Felix.”
A short burst of laughter erupted around the table, and Felix ducked his head with an exasperated sigh. Even so, he couldn’t ignore the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips.
“Next time, maybe I don’t know… chew?” Minho added flatly.
Felix flashed them a thumbs up, a shaky grin forming as he finally caught his breath. Now that his life wasn’t flashing before his eyes, he could appreciate the humour in it, truly.
“Yeah… thanks… I think I’ll—ugh..consider that.”
“It’s either that or we’re gonna have to feed you mama bird style.” Minho continued, giving room for a vivid imagery all of them would rather have been without.
Hyunjin gagged on instinct and shuddered, turning away like the words themselves had personally offended him. He slapped Minho’s arm.“EW.”
Felix visibly cringed as well, another groan tearing from his already burning throat. “Too soon, hyung, too soon..” He whined, but the others just laughed in return.
Minho smirked, already on his knees beside Chan helping mop up the mess. “I told you not to eat that fast though.” he muttered, his voice noticeably softer now. “You kids never listen, huh?”
Felix looked down at him, but the sudden visual reminder of having tossed his cookies across the kitchen floor made his insides twist all over again.
He shut his eyes tightly, inhaling slowly through his mouth and wrinkling his nose as the nausea crept back up.
“Hey.” Jisung snapped his fingers in front of him, training his gaze onto himself. “Eyes on me, okay?“
Whether he was afraid of Felix passing out or vomiting again, he wasn’t sure, but Jisung wasn’t about to let any of that happen. He wasn’t taking any chances.
“How about we move to the couch?” Seungmin suggested, nodding toward the doorway. He glanced at Chan and Minho, who worked in quiet, efficient tandem, then met Jisung's eyes. “Let’s go sit down for a bit.”
Felix, for one, couldn’t find a single good reason to argue.
Getting out of the kitchen, away from all the sounds, smells and sensory input, sounded like the best idea anyone had ever had.
—
A little while later, Felix lay curled up on the couch, tucked into a cocoon of blankets. A damp cloth rested on his forehead, and although his stomach was still sore and churning, the worst seemed to have passed.
“You’re lucky you’re cute when you’re pathetic.” Minho mumbled as he tucked the edge of the blanket under Felix’s chin.
Felix only groaned in response, a small pout forming on his lips. “Heeey..”
He was laid on his side, head nestled in Minho’s lap and legs slung over Jisung’s. On the floor beside him sat Seungmin, observant and gentle as ever before.
Changbin had given him a foot massage, Chan kept checking in on him every five minutes, and Jeongin had filled up a tall glass of water for whenever he could stomach it.
Felix let out a tired sigh, head tipped back against Minho’s thighs and his whole body sagging with newfound weariness. He rubbed a hand over his stomach, feeling the remaining gurgles beneath his fingers.
All this commotion because of one stupid noodle…
“I’m never eating ramen again.”
“No one believes that.” Seungmin deadpanned, switching on the TV like he’d already put an end to the conversation.
Jisung adjusted Felix’s legs across his own lap, smiling at him from his side of the couch. “You couldn’t quit ramen even if you tried.”
Felix stilled, staring up at the ceiling for a few fleeting seconds. Then, with a resigned sigh, he shut his eyes in quiet surrender.
