𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗦. ❥ a pluto side story.

BONUS.v | agape

➪. AGAPE.
universal love, love for all and everything, empathy.
ALSO USED TO: describe yoon jeonghan and hong jisoo's love.

TAKES PLACE DURING PLUTO

joshua didn't like what he was seeing at all.

he and jeonghan had both noticed it. minghao's... habits. the way he'd deny having extra food, sometimes just pick at his plate, work way longer than the rest of them... not to mention the sound of him throwing up at night.

even if the two of them tried to push him towards having a little more to eat, he'd just reject it. something was off.

jeonghan had told joshua of his concern; something along the lines of "there's an endless buildup, and i want to know when shit's going to hit the fan."

the problem was escalating. neither of the two knew what was going to happen when.

then it did.

jeonghan looked over at his phone ringing, pulling joshua closer to him as he leaned towards it. "it's seungcheol."

"seungcheol?" the younger's eyebrows furrowed. "what's going on?"

"i don't know." jeonghan accepted the phone call, putting the project group's leader on speaker. "hey, cheol."

"i'm on the way to the hospital."

the younger could practically feel the concern that grew on his face, standing up. "what? why? what happened?"

"it's minghao. he fainted."

"what hospital?" joshua asked before crossing the bedroom and grabbing his coat.

"i don't know, but it's the one near the company." seungcheol sounded a little more at peace, now knowing that jeonghan and joshua were going to be there. they were so reliable.

"we'll be there as soon as possible. make sure he's alright." jeonghan and seungcheol exchanged quick goodbyes before the former turned towards joshua. "come on, jisoo. let me get the keys."

usually, project:wonder were driven around by their manager, but they still had their own vehicles for emergencies like this.

he and joshua quickly made their way into the car, jeonghan turning the ignition to get going. the younger checked over the group chat, seeing that seungcheol had told the others about minghao. he sent a quick message about how he and jeonghan would join the project group's leader before opening his maps to find directions.

"i know where i'm going." jeonghan was already heading on the road towards JIK.

"you sure?" joshua's voice was laced with concern, which he held for everything anyone could do. he had to make sure that everyone around him was okay.

the older nodded, driving past the company building. "remember when seokmin sprained his ankle during dance practice? we went there."

"right." joshua had forgotten about that.

though the drive from the dorm to JIK was around ten minutes and the hospital was five minutes away from the company, jeonghan managed to get their in 6 minutes without speeding. hey, concern for the other people on the road!

he quickly put the car into park, getting out alongside joshua. they entered the hospital, finding seungcheol in the lobby.

"is he okay?" "what happened?" "where is he now?" question's exploded out of the couple, but seungcheol managed to calm them down.

"i just found him on the floor in the dance practice room, and based on how he'd been since he joined project:wonder, i figured it was more than it seemed. they hooked him up to some nutrients in room 310, and they had to send me out. we can visit tomorrow, though."

"when are visiting hours?" joshua asked, sneaking in the question before jeonghan could ask the same thing.

"10am to 6pm, i think."

jeonghan hummed. "but, depending on his condition, they might not let us see him."

"right," joshua huffed. "i want to see him. i really hope he'll be okay."

~

minghao was... sort of okay. he was still alive and awake, thankfully, but would't have the energy to do any dancing or singing for a while.

jeonghan and joshua stayed during all of the visiting hours that they could, even if they had schedules. minghao had trusted them with the truth. his truth. all they could do was be with him through it.

eventually, he broke something new to them. "he called me."

"who?" jeonghan asked, as the words were sudden.

"my... ex." minghao picked at a loose thread on his shirt. "the one who helped me be like this."

joshua wanted to question the "helped" and ask about how minghao had been before being affected by his ex, but he didn't. "what did he say?"

"he was telling me how he's "changed" and he apologized." minghao rested his head on his hand, huffing. "he's apologized to me before for things, but he never sounds this geniune. but is it an act? we didn't even technically break up."

"you guys didn't?" jeonghan's eyes widened in shock.

the younger shrugged. "we didn't. the thing is, i don't know if he's lying or not. wonwoo– one of my friends– has been talking to him, and it seems like he's actually better. he wants me to call him back too."

the couple in the room nodded, just taking in the information. the trio fell into a comfortable silence from there, jeonghan looking over at the monitor every once in a while to watch the jagged lines go up and down.

he was alive, and that was all that mattered.

"well, you don't have to make a decision now." joshua said in a small voice. "but if you decide to call him, we'll support you."

jeonghan smiled at his words, taking one of minghao's hands into his own. a soothing gesture.

"you guys are the best," minghao simply said, not adding on. and that was all he really needed to say.

jeonghan and joshua completely understood him.

~

"wonwoo wants me to talk to junhui."

"hm?" joshua continued rolling the cookie dough into balls, ones rolled way to big. he didn't need ginormous cookies shoved him his mouth. "as long as you're comfortable. you should take as long as you need to."

"yeah, i know, but..."

"if you want to call him, then do it." jeonghan entered the kitchen. "if you don't, then you don't have to."

minghao sighed. "you two make it sound easy."

"we don't want to scare you, hao." joshua patted him on the back, despite his hands being covered in dough and flour.

"sometimes it's easier to make easy things hard."

" just let me love you "
― jimin, " serendipity "