Jaemin & NCT - Fever
When Jaemin was sick he wanted nothing more to be left alone. Just some peace and quiet and solitude.
He had started feeling uncharacteristically tired during their practice the day prior, and, despite his best efforts, he couldn’t quite shake the dizziness that would continue plaguing him the entire day. Jeno had encouraged him to turn in early so he could get some extra rest and be prepared for work the next day, but instead he woke up with a pounding head, aching muscles, and the fever to match.
“Why won’t you let one of us stay back with you?” Renjun asked, a skeptical look in his face as Jaemin pulled his covers over his head.
“Because I just want to sleep” Jaemin responded begrudgingly. “So please just go so I can do that.”
Renjun nodded before grabbing a bottle of water and placing it on Jaemin’s bedside table.
“Please call me if you need anything. Don’t be stubborn” Renjun reminded Jaemin as he pulled the door closed.
Jaemin didn’t respond, in far too sour a mood to say much of anything before dozing off again.
*~*~*~*~*~
Jaemin found his nap interrupted by the front door slamming, followed by Haechan whisper yelling at Jisung for not being careful to be quiet. Every ailment that he had woken up with had only gotten worse since he had fallen asleep again that morning.
Jeno opened Jaemin’s door to find him shielding his eyes with his elbow.
“Sorry, we woke you up, didn’t we?” Jeno asked, getting only a glare from Jaemin for asking an obvious question.
“Close the door please” Jaemin said hoarsely causing Jeno to swiftly shut the door and approach Jaemin, resting a hand on his forehead.
“I meant ‘close the door’ with you outside of it” Jaemin groaned as he turned his back to Jeno. “What time is it anyway? Why are you back so soon?”
“It’s noon, the dance instructor didn’t want to teach anything new until you came back so we got released early” Jeno replied, taking to the back of Jaemin’s head.
Jaemin sighed heavily. “Okay. Thanks for checking in on me. But I’m tired and…” His thought was cut off by Mark and Renjun joining Jeno by his bedside.
“Renjun said you’re sick, I wanted to come check on you” Mark said as Jaemin rolled back over to face them. “You’re really flushed. Do you have a fever?”
“I don’t know, what do you think?” Jaemin retorted, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
“Open” Chenle said, showing up out of nowhere, holding up a thermometer in front of Jaemin’s face.
“What are you even doing here?” Jaemin mumbled around the thermometer.
“Mouth closed, Jaem” Mark said softly as they waited for the beep.
“I wanted to help take care of you” Chenle replied, taken aback that Jaemin would question his presence.
“It’s pretty high” Mark said as he read the thermometer following a succession of small beeps.
Jaemin took a deep breath, his patience wearing thin. “I know” he said, convinced that if he said anything more he’d live to regret it.
“Do you want a cool compress?” Mark asked, laying his palm over Jaemin’s forehead again.
Before he could even answer, Jisung had popped his head in the door.
“Are you okay hyung?” he asked sheepishly. “Can I bring you anything?”
Once again he was unable to respond as Chenle cut in this time.
“Can I lay in your bed with you to keep you company hyung?”
“No! Please leave me alone. I’m sick. I’m tired. I want to sleep. If you don’t live here just go home. If you do live here go somewhere that isn’t here. Please.” Jaemin recognized the harsh tone of his voice but felt that nobody was even letting him get a word in edgewise let alone listening to him. Being so frustrated was sapping the precious little energy he had left, leaving his head spinning uncontrollably. But it seemed to get the point across as the members muttered well wishes and left him to rest.
*~*~*~*~*~
Jaemin was able to enjoy a few more hours of sleep before being awoken once again by the members gaming in the living room.
“Jisung what are you doing” Chenle shrieked in a voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard, followed by his dolphin laugh. Jaemin could feel his aggravation increasing again.
The way he saw it, he asked for very little and he always made sure to accommodate everyone else. And now here he was, sick as a dog, wanting nothing more than to be able to get some rest in his own home, but even that seemed to be too much to ask.
Climbing out of bed on his unsteady legs, the earth seemed to spin a little too fast, leaving Jaemin dizzy and uncomfortable in his own skin, which honestly felt even hotter than it was when he had gone to sleep a few hours ago.
Gathering his strength he made his way to the door and down the hall before sinking against the wall with a thud, grabbing the attention of the rest of the members.
Jisung was the first one up, rushing to Jaemin’s side, trying to help him up.
“Did we wake you up?” Jeno asked grabbing Jaemin’s other arm.
“Stop” Jaemin muttered too quietly for anybody to hear as they continued to try and get him to his feet.
“Stop!” he said louder this time. “I’m dizzy, let me rest here for a minute.”
Jisung and Jeno instantly took a step back before Renjun stepped in, placing a palm to Jaemin’s cheek.
“I’m sorry” Renjun whispered to Jaemin, who now had tears welling up behind his eyes, much to his embarrassment. He was exhausted, in pain, beyond uncomfortable, and now had been woken up twice by his members being careless.
“Guys, turn off the game” Renjun said softly, turning to Chenle and Haechan who were sitting wide-eyed on the couch, then he turned to Jisung and Jeno. “Get me a glass of water and a cool cloth please. And a couple of fever tablets. Then decide where you want to go for dinner, okay?”
The members were quick to disperse, leaving Renjun alone with Jaemin.
“It’s okay to cry, Jaem. You’re really sick. I’m so sorry that we’ve been so inconsiderate today.
Jaemin hid his face in his knees as Jisung approached with the water that Renjun had requested, followed by Jeno with a cool face cloth and tablets. Renjun thanked them quietly before they slipped on their coats and shoes, making themselves scarce as Renjun had ordered them to do.
“Can you take these for me?” Renjun asked, handing the tablets to Jaemin while holding the compress against his forehead. “There, that’s it” he whispered encouragingly as Jaemin swallowed. With just the two of them left in the apartment Jaemin was beginning to calm down.
“You can say no, but would you mind if I checked your temperature? You feel really warm” Renjun waited for Jaemin to nod before getting up off the floor to grab the thermometer. Upon his return he wordlessly placed it under Jaemin’s tongue and draped the cloth over the back of his neck while they waited.
“Yeah, it’s up almost a degree from earlier” Renjun advised as he took the thermometer and read it. “The medicine will help though. Can I help you back to bed?” Jaemin nodded again and slowly stood up with Renjun’s help. Within moments of Renjun putting him back to bed he was out like a light.
*~*~*~*~*~
It was late the next time Jaemin woke up. It was also quiet much to his relief. As he opened his eyes he noticed Renjun asleep on Jeno’s bed. Not wanting to wake him he slowly got up, feeling slightly less feverish than before but still absolutely rubbish, and headed to the kitchen to get some water.
“Hey, Jaem, what are you doing out of bed?” Jaemin heard a soft voice from the living room.
“I’m thirsty, and Renjun is asleep” he replied. “What are you doing here, Doyoung-hyung?”
Doyoung had already closed his book and was guiding Jaemin to the couch, his hands securely around Jaemin’s shoulders, who was clearly not so steady on his feet.
“Renjun called. He told me what happened” Doyoung said, sitting Jaemin down and feeling his cheeks and forehead with a frown. “You scared him with this temperature of yours, and I can see why” he added, leaving Jaemin on the couch to grab a glass of water and the thermometer.
Doyoung was relieved to find Jaemin’s fever a little lower than it was when Renjun had called him a few hours ago. “Looks like it’s down a bit, but it’s still higher than I’d like it to be” Doyoung stated, more so thinking out loud than speaking directly to Jaemin. “Once you finish your water I’ll put you back to bed.”
Jaemin rested his head on Doyoung’s shoulder as he sat down next to him. Doyoung continued to encourage him to take some small sips of water before sensing that his dongsaeng was starting to fall asleep again.
“Alright, back to bed with you” Doyoung said, rubbing between Jaemin’s shoulder blades. “Take your time, don’t get up too fast, okay?”
Once Jaemin had gotten himself back to his room, Doyoung pulled his blankets back, allowing him to lay down before pulling them back up and laying a cool cloth over his forehead again.
“Anything else you need?” Doyoung asked softly, not wanting to wake Renjun.
“Just sleep. Thank you, hyung” Jaemin said with a yawn.
“Get as much sleep as you want, Jaem,” Doyoung replied. “And don’t worry. Nobody’s coming back here tonight. They’ll be staying at the 127 apartments tonight and, after Renjun told me what transpired today, Taeyong made sure that all of your members have a full schedule tomorrow, so nobody here to bother you.”
Jaemin smiled as he dozed off, relived to finally have some peace and quiet and solitude.