THE BANGTAN BUNCH

SICKIE; JIN

It's early; that much you can tell when you wake up on a Friday morning. It's also much too bright in your small—and oddly spacious—room yet you very vividly remember drawing the curtains before heading off to bed the night before. Groaning, you press a clammy and heavy palm to your forehead, finding it hard to stretch your eyes open with the sun mercilessly beating down against your eyelids and yet, when you eventually manage to snap them open, your room is shrouded in the tranquil and dim glow of the morning.

Swallowing the thickness of sleep weighing down your tongue, you push yourself to sit up on your mattress, alarmed by the way your head immediately lolls against your shoulder, your stomach performing sickening flips within you. At this point, you're not even surprised to hear another pained groan fall from your lips.

But you can't just sit and do nothing about it so you press your bare feet against the rough carpet of your room, hovering ever so slightly off your bed to test the waters. You sway but it's bearable so you begin the treacherous journey to the kitchen, the plaster walls of the house acting as your guide.

Your steps are dangerously clumsy and your body feels achingly weak, alarm bells blaring both literally and metaphorically within your mind, helping you realise that there's something terribly wrong but it also leads you to realise that it's a school day which means Jin will be busying himself in the kitchen with your lunch.

All you have to do is get to him, he'll make all the pain go away.

You swallow down the acidic bile that rises up your throat and keep trekking forward, knowing very well that you'll find the sight of Jin slaving away at the stove a welcome one. Your lungs close in on themselves and your skin begins to bead and drip with cold sweat, making it harder and harder for you to remain upright let alone walk a few more steps.

"Y/N, you awake?" you hear from what you assume is the kitchen but the voice is muffled and leaves your ears ringing as if the noise itself is piercing through one ear and out the other, leaving you whining in agony.

You don't even feel your neck stretch up so that you can attempt to focus on Jin's blurred figure coming into view but what you do feel is a sudden influx of cooling relief numbing your limbs until you feel utterly weightless.

Overwhelmed, you give in to the sweet feeling of nothing and fall to your knees.

*

Your sense of time is distorted beyond understanding as you slowly stir awake with a pained groan. Habitually, your eyes blink furiously in order to make out your surroundings which, you soon realise, is a cluster of seven worried faces hovering beside a bed that you recognise as not yours.

Jin, the closest to you, presses gently against a damp towel resting on your forehead. "Sweetie, you okay?"

His voice floats by you in a whisper and his smile is soft and reassuring, exactly the time of smile to ease your throbbing headache.

"No," you croak pathetically, jutting your lips out slightly, "I feel so sick. What happened?"

Jin clicks his tongue as if he's about to start scolding you, "You passed out in front of the kitchen with a fever higher than I've ever seen before so I rushed you into Hoseok's room and called the guys to watch you while I phoned your school."

You feel as if you're in the clear until his eyebrows furrow in concern milliseconds after he finishes speaking, "I can't believe you would try to walk if you were feeling that bad, you should've just called me!"

"Sorry, Jinnie," you whine, blindly reaching for his hand, "I just wanted to get to the kitchen so you could help me."

He brushes your hair back, kissing the top of your head while making note of how hot your skin feels against his lips, "I know, bun, I know."

Your six brothers take up whatever space they can on Hoseok's bed, patting your legs and sharing looks of sympathy as you writhe in pain, feeling helpless as they know that they can't do much to make you feel better.

Taehyung, however, finds himself utterly frustrated by this point as he abruptly clears his throat, "I'll call in at work and tell them I won't be coming in."

The others immediately agree, swarming around the place in search of their phones to call up their bosses but Jin stops them with a stern shake of his head. The sight of everyone freezing in their spot would be comical to you if it weren't for the slow churning of your stomach so you manage a humorous exhale, lips curling upwards cautiously.

"It's okay," Jin reassures, reaching over to ruffle Jungkook's hair proudly, his eyes gleaming gorgeously with the same emotion. "You can go to work and I'll stay here with Y/N."

You hum in agreement, your heart swelling when you realise that Jin only said that because he knows how much you hate being a burden for everyone so you'd be more at ease with only having to make one of them go out of their way for you instead of them all.

"You sure?" Jungkook murmurs, directing his question at you instead of his older brother, flashing you the most gentle smile you have ever seen.

You offer him a reassuring nod, wincing as you immediately regret the gesture, trying to stop the room from spinning wildly as you say, "Go to work, guys. Jinnie will take good care of me."

Reluctantly, the boys put their phones away and decide to head off to work, bidding you goodbye with kisses to the cheeks, orders to get better soon and even promises to bring you back something good when they get home.

Eventually, the house descends into silence as the front door clicks shut, leaving you alone with just Jin. He crouches down to readjust the towel on your forehead before instinctively leaning down to press his lips to your cheek.

With a worried sigh, he leans up against the doorframe, looking down on you with a mix of concern and love clouding his pretty eyes. "Get some rest, sweetheart. I'll go call the doctor."

*

The hours drag by lazily, acting as yet another reminder that you're both sick and bedridden until further notice. Luckily, Jin enters your room with his usual cheerful and warm demeanour and a tray of steaming food.

Your stomach grumbles in both longing and denial.

He sets the tray down on Hoseok's bedside table with a click of his tongue, turning to face you with his hands on his hips. Of course, he didn't expect any less of you considering you never take being sick seriously but he had hoped that you'd at least lay down after fainting earlier, not sitting up in bed, waiting for him to speak. So he does, "I thought I told you to rest."

"I did," you defend yourself with a soft sigh, "but then my head started hurting."

He listens intently with furrowed brows, leaning over to flatten his cold palm against your forehead. You lean into his touch, your body almost habitually sagging in relief of the burning pain as your lips part to sigh.

"Your fever is still high," he mutters to himself, worriedly, before rushing over to drag Hoseok's desk chair to the side of the bed, picking up the tray to balance it on his knees. "You okay to eat?"

You glance over at the contents on the tray, nodding as the delicious appearance of the food begins to make your stomach grumble louder. Jin can't help but shake his head fondly, reaching over to hold a spoon to your dry lips.

You savour the feel of the hot liquid sliding down your throat and hum in pleasure.

"The doctor said," he starts casually, spooning you another mouthful of food, swiping his thumb against your bottom lip to catch a bead of soup, "that you might have caught the stomach bug that's going around. He said to make sure you drink lots of water and take Vitamin C and get lots of rest—Oh, I forgot your water, I'll be right back."

He leaves in a rush as you press a hand to your stomach, finding the way your two bites of food mingle in with the emptiness of your stomach beyond uncomfortable. Everything churns together and your head spins but, still, you rip the blanket off your legs and pull open the door, barreling into walls as you burst into the bathroom, heaving into the toilet as everything from last night and lunch leaves you.

Jin gasps from somewhere behind you, his breathing heavy as he skids towards you, pulling your hair away from your face and rubbing slowly at your as he crouches down beside you. "Let it out, bun, thatta girl."

Eventually, you sag against the floor, panting for air with tears streaming down your face, struggling to regain your composure, barely even able to feel Jin's hand smoothing down your hair and cupping your cheeks. With shaking hands, he pulls you in for a comforting hug.

"Jinnie, it hurts," you whine childishly, moulding into his embrace as he lowers his lips to your ear to whisper sweetly, "I know, I know."

It's not long before Jin is tucking you back into bed, guiding a glass of cold water to your lips. You settle yourself down with a content sigh as Jin grabs the tray again and rests it on his lap, looking over at you with a reassuring grin. "Sleep, honey, I'll be right here when you wake up."

You roll onto your side to face him properly, holding out your hand with a small pout. He immediately laces his fingers with yours, his eyes glimmering in a way that makes his love for you stand out underneath the bright light as he rubs your skin slowly.

"Thank you," you mumble, eyes fluttering shut as you fall asleep, exhausted. He picks up the spoon and begins eating, not letting go of your hand once.