The sound of an alarm clock booming across the room made Taehyung flinch awake. A hammering pain slopped through his head right away, his body feeling achingly hot and sore. He swallowed past his burning throat, which was more constricted than yesterday, and a series of hoarse coughs erupted from him.

“Tae?” Jimin sleepily called as he rose to his feet. The sight of his friend in that wrecked condition had his eyes swelling in consternation. “You got sick? When?”

“I was feeling a bit weird yesterday,” he said, voice overly low and croaky. “It got worse during the night.”

“Why didn’t you wake us?” Hoseok cut in as he approached his bed. “What do you feel? Should we go to a hospital?”

“No.” Taehyung wiped his sweaty forehead with his shirt, and he realized the said shirt was drenched in sweat as well. “My throat hurts. And I definitely have a fever.”

“I’ll go buy medicine,” Hoseok said, then hurried to slip into casual clothes.

“He has medicine.”

Taehyung glanced at the opposing bed through his hazy vision. “That’s the hostel’s medicine. And I need cough drops, anyway.”

“I’ll help you change your clothes. You’re covered in sweat.” Jimin headed to the closet and picked shorts and a shirt. He also grabbed a towel, then climbed up into the bed.

Hoseok scurried out of the room, as Jimin started wiping his wet face and collarbones. “Why did you have to get sick now?” Jimin sighed quietly.

“Sorry for ruining our trip.”

“Yah. I didn’t mean it like that. I said it for you. You were so excited about this trip. And I’m sad you’ll miss a few days staying in here because of your cold.” He delicately heaved him into a sitting position and helped him shed his shirt.

“I know... Me too. I hope it’ll pass quickly.” Taehyung changed his shorts as well and lay back down.

“Are you cold?”

“No. The room feels like an oven.”

“I’ll bring you a wet towel.” An extended beep rang in the room, and Jimin scowled at Jay at once. “Why did you turn on the air conditioner?”

“Because I’m sweating as well. It’s too hot.”

“He’ll get worse, Jay. Turn it off.”

“I’ll leave it on for ten minutes, okay?” Jungkook snarled. “Just for the room to cool a bit.”

Jimin nailed him with another glare, then turned to his friend. “I’ll be right back.” He descended the ladder and exited the room.

“Thanks.”

Jungkook, still facing away from him, furrowed his brows. “For what?”

“For caring.”

A huff cartwheeled from Jungkook’s mouth. “I didn’t do anything. Shut up.”

“Don’t be mean to me. I’m sick.”

“You’ll live.”

Taehyung’s weary features brightened a notch with the smile that shone over them. “Yes. And I’ll finally get to see what you’re doing all day in here.”

“I won’t be staying here that much since you’ll be here as well. I want my peace and quiet.”

“Tsk. You’re so secretive. I hate it.”

Jimin entered the room then with a wet towel in his hand. He got into Taehyung’s bed and laid the towel over his forehead.

“It’s so cooling,” Taehyung whispered, closing his eyes at the palliative feeling.

Hoseok didn’t take too long to return either, and he gave Taehyung the bag with the medicine, along with two water bottles.

“Guys. Don’t stay in here for me. I want you to enjoy our vacation.”

“Yah. There’s no way we’ll leave you alone,” Hoseok said in a strict tone that didn’t give Taehyung too much room for debate.

“We’re your friends. We want to take care of you.”

“But I’ll really feel like shit if you stay in here until I get better. All I’ll do is sleep, anyway. I don’t want you to miss the hike today. Go have fun.”

The two gazed at Taehyung with saddened eyes, and Jimin smoothed his hand down his shoulder in soothing caresses. “Still, it doesn’t feel right.”

“He won’t be alone. Just go.”

Hoseok glanced over his shoulder at Jay. “You’ll take care of him?”

“No. I’ll just make sure he doesn’t die.”

A condemnatory moue gleamed in Jimin’s face. “I don’t trust him, Tae.”

“Go for a few hours at least. I want to sleep now.”

“Chim, we should let him rest. Let’s go hiking for two hours and then we’ll buy ingredients for soup on our way back. And if he needs anything, he can call us right away. Okay, Tae?”

Taehyung nodded weakly. He removed the wet towel from his forehead since it grew warm and passed it to Jimin. “I’ll be fine. Have fun.”

“We’ll go hiking again when you get better, Tae.” Jimin offered him a warm smile and another pat on his shoulder. He got off the bed, and the two got ready to leave.

After making sure Taehyung had everything he needed close to him, they took the box with the medicine and exited the room.

“Are we bad friends for leaving him alone?”

Hoseok snorted lightly. “You know how he is. He would really feel awful if we stayed all day in the room with him. I’m not that much in the mood to have fun while Taehyung is sick, but I didn’t want him to feel guilty.”

“You’re right.” Jimin’s pout remained deep-rooted on his face even until they reached the reception.

Yoongi picked up on their sulky aura and rose from his seat, creases of puzzlement adorning his forehead. “Hey. What happened?”

“Hey,” Jimin uttered. “Taehyung is sick. We wanted to stay and take care of him, but he didn’t want us to miss out on our hiking.”

“Oh. That’s why you’re sulking.” Yoongi reached out to brush Jimin’s locks back, bringing a glimmer of a smile over his pout. “And you’ll leave him alone with a stranger?”

“Jay is a jerk, but I know he’ll help Taehyung if he needs anything,” Hoseok said as he set the box on the counter. “He brought him a whole box of medicine at four in the morning.”

Yoongi’s brows flicked upwards. Only a half-surprised chuckle could emit from him in his dumbfounded state as he stared at the box.

“What?” Jimin questioned when he perceived his surprise.

“Um, nothing. I just didn’t think a stranger would do that.”

“Oh. Yeah, me neither. Anyway, we have to go because we’ll miss our bus.”

“Bye, Yoongi-ssi,” Hoseok smiled.

“Wait.”

The two watched with curious eyes as Yoongi walked around the counter to near Jimin. He engulfed him in a hug and positioned his mouth to his ear. “After my shift, I’ll take a quick shower here and wait for you. Sounds good?”

“Joining you in the shower sounds better.”

Yoongi buried his face into the crook of his neck to obscure his smirk from Hoseok. “Okay then.” He meshed his fingers into his hair and tugged him in a long, savory kiss. “See you later.”

Jimin stole another peck and withdrew. “Bye.”

. . .

Jungkook had been peering into Taehyung’s sleeping face for a while now as he was seated in his bed with his back propped against the wall. The sick man often shivered, and muted, pained hums spilled from him.

He had covered his lean body with the sheet that was thrown beside him during his sleep, as if he were cold, and that puzzled Jungkook. The air conditioner is off. How can he be cold? He’s sweating. He tracked another bead of sweat that dribbled down his forehead, and a sigh thrust out of his mouth.

He got off his bed and took a towel from his closet. He stood still, viewing Taehyung in a moment of hesitation. He forced his legs to advance, and he halted in front of Taehyung’s bed. He rolled to the tips of his feet and braced his forearm on the mattress. He dabbed delicately at his forehead with the cottony towel, drying off the dampness, as his eyes followed his ministrations.

What am I doing? A notion of a smile ghosted around his lips with the tacit snort that leaked from him. He successfully finished his task without waking him up and placed the towel close to him in case he needed it. He grabbed the edge of the sheet and carefully pulled it over his left leg that wasn’t covered.

What was that thing Yoongi’s mother made us when we were sick? His eyes slid to the top left corner in thought. I’ll ask him later.

With a shrug, he returned to his previous position and continued watching the man across from him suffer with a twinkle of gloom in his eyes.

 
Jungkook hastened to lie down when the beep of the door unlocking reached his senses a couple of hours later.

Jimin and Hoseok entered with an anxious atmosphere surrounding them about their friend’s condition.

“He’s still sleeping,” Jungkook whispered, indifferent. “Be quiet.”

“I’ll go make the soup,” Jimin said, and Hoseok passed him the bag with the groceries before he took off.

“He didn’t wake up at all?” Hoseok asked as he gazed at his friend.

“No.”

Hoseok removed his backpack from his shoulders and sat on his bed with a sigh. A few minutes of pure silence and stillness later, he heard Taehyung shift in his bed and darted his eyes at him.

Taehyung supported himself on his forearm to gulp down another aspirin with big sips of water. His need to relieve himself prompt him to sit up and crawl towards the ladder.

“Tae. Where are you going?” Hoseok approached him, ready to help him.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” he croaked out. The mild dizziness wandering around his head and his weakened body made his attempt to descend the ladder more difficult.

“Let me help.” Hoseok signed him to lean his torso towards him, and he fastened his arms around him when he complied. A groan spewed from him as he took his whole weight on him, his legs almost giving in, but he managed to land his friend to the floor safely. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Taehyung held onto Hoseok’s shoulder until he stabilized himself. “No. It’s okay.” He dragged his feet towards the door and soon disappeared.

“Just go with him,” Jungkook muttered, forehead puckered in a scowl. “What if he collapses?”

“He said no,” Hoseok fired back, irritated. “He hates it when we pressure him. So shut up. You don’t know him.”

Jungkook’s only response was a vexed sigh.

Although it took longer than usual, Taehyung made it back to the room. Hoseok opened the door since he didn’t take the card key and ushered him to his bed.

Taehyung attempted to climb up to his bed, but an unexpected flash of dizziness had him sagging against the ladder.

Jungkook jolted to a sitting position in alarm, as Hoseok rushed to steady him. “Lie down in my bed, Tae.”

“No, I can’t sleep under another bed. It feels suffocating. I’m okay,” Taehyung breathed out, then faced the ladder again. He was most certainly not okay, and he needed to lie down before that dizziness would steal his consciousness.

He put his foot on the first stair and held onto the bars. Light groans fell from his lips as he crept up a single step.

“Help him get in that bed,” Jungkook snarled, impatience oozing from his rumbling voice.

“Do I look strong enough to you?” Hoseok shot back, then spurted forward as he saw Taehyung fall back down, exhausted.

“I can’t... I can’t do it,” Taehyung murmured. He dropped his head as sweat trickled down his face, along with another type of liquid that burned his eyes.

Muted whimpers waved across the room, accompanied by sniffles, as Taehyung broke into frustrated tears. And Jungkook’s patience and self-restraint crumbled at once.

He hopped off his bed and landed in a deep squat to lessen the pressure on his knees. With two strides of his long legs, he was standing behind Hoseok, who held the crying man. “Move.”

Hoseok twisted his head to aim an inquiring stare at him. “What?”

“Move,” Jungkook repeated crossly, and shoved him aside himself. He crouched down behind Taehyung and tapped the inside of his left calf. “Open.”

“Uh?” Taehyung’s disoriented state didn’t help at all to the comprehension of his request.

Jungkook forced his leg to the side. “I’ll lift you.”

“Yah! What if you drop him?” Hoseok asked in disquiet.

“He’s what? Sixty kilos? I don’t even lift sixty for warm up because they’re that light for me.” He sneaked between his legs and looped his arms around his thighs, clutching them. His very naked, svelte thighs with a skin so smooth as a rose petal. “I’ll, um, lift you now.”

Taehyung’s big doe eyes locked on the top of his head, which was between his legs. With no idea what to say, he gently settled on Jay’s shoulders. The next moment, he lost the earth from beneath his feet, and the top bed came to the level of his knees.

Jungkook neared the bed as much as possible and released his hold on his thighs. His palms tingled — the feel of his tender thighs lingered on them. “Get off now.”

Taehyung bended over the bed and supported his weight with the minimum strength he had left. A sharp breath escaped him as he sat on his butt. “Thanks.”

The sound of his voice sounded rather distorted in Jungkook’s ears. His mind couldn’t function anymore. Because right in front of his eyes, just inches away from him, were Taehyung’s bare thighs. Sure, he had seen them before, but only from afar. He hadn’t touched them until today. And fuck, something utterly strange was happening inside him.

An absurd urge to run his tongue all over them and mark them hazed even more his blinded senses. Electricity surged down his limbs in an overriding torrent, warming his blood and sending heat in his groin.

He was lost — his brain fell out of touch with reality and raw desire conquered every single conscious thought.

And Taehyung saw it. Despite his exhaustion by his fever, he could easily discern where his gaze was so fixedly focused on.

He slid down the bed carefully, and his shorts rode up his thighs, revealing more of his skin. Yes, he did it on purpose. And he didn’t regret it at all, not even when Jungkook jolted back and bolted out of the room.

Hoseok gaped at his friend, trying to let everything that had just happened sink in. “Did he... Did he eye-fuck your thighs, or am I delusional?”

Taehyung chuckled meekly as he lay on his side. “I don’t even have the strength to be happy about it.”

“Why would you be happy? You don’t even know what he looks like.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Taehyung curled into a ball and closed his eyes, a tiny smile embellishing his traits. If I make him want to have sex with me, I’ll see his face, right? He can’t fuck me with his mask on. And I’ll learn a bit more about him. How do I make him want me?

With the nonsensical thoughts that spiraled in his head, his consciousness slowly withered, but Hoseok didn’t let him fall asleep again.

“Chim is making soup for you. Eat first and then sleep if you want. We also bought fruits.”

“Thank you, guys.” Taehyung located the towel beside him and used it to wipe the drops of sweat that emerged on his forehead again.

“Whose towel is this?” Hoseok questioned.

“Isn’t it yours?”

“No. And I’m sure it’s not Jimin’s either.”

Taehyung eyed the unfamiliar towel through his squinted vision, but he felt too tired to mull over it more.

Jungkook gave light slaps on his cheeks as he strode towards the private bathroom, which only he used with his three hyungs, cursing himself internally. He unlocked it and shut the door, then bumped his head against it. His hand came to squeeze his aching erection, and his eyes fell closed with a throaty moan of bliss at the simple touch.

It had been months since the last time he had gotten hard because of someone, and even more months since the last time he had sex. During the past four months, he didn’t even think about sex, and the only times he got hard was when he woke up with the usual morning wood.

⚠️🍆✋🔞

Fuck, the image of Taehyung’s mouthwatering thighs drove him insane. He imagined sliding his cock between them and cumming all over them, and his hand started rubbing his erection absently.

“Shit, I want to fuck him so bad,” Jungkook released in a drunk murmur. He shed his clothes and mask on impulse and entered the shower. He let the warm water run beside him as he leaned against the cold wall with his back.

He wrapped his fingers around his veiny cock and gave it a few tight pumps. He smoothed his thumb over his slit, smearing the drops of precum around the bloated head. His stifled moans resounded through the shower as he imagined having Taehyung on his knees in front of him with his mouth wide open and his tongue lolling out, waiting to get stuffed.

Jungkook would praise him for taking his cock so well in his throat, and Taehyung would moan around him and leak a puddle at the praise.

The movement of his hand increased, just like the rhythm of his heartbeat. The next imaginary scene his brain invented was dragging his mouth all over his thighs and massaging them. He couldn’t even envision how heavenly it would feel to fill him to the brim with his cock, but the fantasy of cumming on his smooth thighs and then licking them clean surged him over the edge.

His face screwed into a frown of utter rapture as he kept thrusting into his hand, his legs shaking by his looming release. That dream-like sensation soon crashed over him, and he moaned as cum spurted from his reddened cock, painting the wall across from him.

Jungkook grunted throughout his release, which seemed endless for a second, and squeezed the head, watching the last beads of cum drip down. His whole body burned at the ecstatic aftermath of his orgasm, heart still hammering in his ears.

He slid under the running water to cool his flared up state and brushed his now wet hair back. He took a hold of the shower head and aimed it at the wall to clean the sticky liquid. After he was sure it wasn’t visible anymore, he put the shower head back in its place and reached for the shampoo.

🏳️🤍🌸👍

The only thing in his mind throughout his shower and even when he headed to the reception was how the hell could he fuck that gorgeous man without revealing his face? Because at that very moment, he craved to bury his cock balls-deep in his mouth and hole more than he craved anything else.

Forcefully pushing back his lewd thoughts, he stood in front of the counter and greeted his hyung with a nod. “What was that thing your mother made us when we were sick?”

Yoongi raised a brow at his bizarre question. “Why?” His eyes gleamed in understanding a second later, and a loaded smirk dangled on his lips. “So you can make it for your precious Taehyung?”

Jungkook’s dour expression registered his discontent at his crisp mockery. “Shut up. I just can’t hear him cough anymore. It’s so annoying.”

Yoongi snickered, shaking his head. “It was a medicinal herb. Remember the taste, right? Disgusting, but at least it worked miracles.”

“Do you have it?”

“Of course not,” Yoongi scoffed.

“Go buy it.”

“Yah. I won’t leave my post just to go buy that for a stranger.”

“Should I go then?”

Yoongi pressed his lips into a thin line, his gaze filling with opprobrium. “Don’t you dare.”

“Then go.”

Yoongi muttered a curse as he snatched his wallet and phone and shot a piercing glare at Jungkook before leaving.

 
It only took him about eight minutes since the pharmacy was close, and he was soon entering the hostel again. He shoved the bag into Jungkook’s chest, and the other grinned teasingly.

“Thanks,” he said in a feigned sweet tone and bundled off.

“You’re acting weird, and you know it!”

Jungkook paid no mind to his hyung’s whisper and resumed his way to the elevator. Upon reaching the second floor, he walked along the hallway, but he slowed to a stop at the recognition of Jimin’s voice that came from the kitchen.

“He really did that?”

“I don’t know,” Taehyung sighed. “Now that I think about it, I had the notion that someone wiped my forehead while I was sleeping. You know, that moment when you’re partly conscious but not enough to open your eyes and you just fall asleep in seconds.”

“It sounds too good to be true,” Hoseok sneered. “I mean, he’s a jerk to us. Even the box thing was too hard to believe. And when he helped you get to your bed? I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

“He probably doesn’t want us to know he cares. He doesn’t want to seem soft.” Taehyung stuffed his mouth with the delicious soup Jimin made for him and cleared his sore throat.

Their attention swung to the presence that swept in from nowhere, and they all watched intently as Jay threw the bag he was holding onto the table.

“Drink this. Twice a day until you feel better.” Jungkook detected the fondness that bloomed in Taehyung’s eyes and obliterated it a second later. “And before you start with your delusional thoughts again, I only gave you this because your cough is annoying as fuck.” He then vanished before anyone could make a sound.

He was unreasonably uncouth to him, and he was well aware of that. Minutes ago, he was fantasizing about all possible ways he could fuck Taehyung, and now he was fortifying the wall he had built between them with his behavior.

It was because there wasn’t a way to gain what he craved without revealing his face. So the only thing he could do was be harsh to him and pray that his sudden want for him was temporal.

───⭒───༺🎭༻───⭒───

Surprise double update as a thank you for 1k reads!! You guys are amazing 💜