Taehyung felt like shit when he woke up. Last night he had gone to bed after a successful concert, leaving his throat a little rough due to screaming too much. At least that was what he thought, but right now he wasn't sure anymore since his throat wasn't the only part of his body that was hurting. His chest felt heavy and constricted, his head was pounding against his skull and his joints were aching and stiff as if he aged 50 years.
He groaned and turned around so he could grab his mobile phone from the nightstand. 11:47am. 'Oh shit, Seokjin will be mad' he shot up when he noticed the time, but the movement made him so dizzy that he almost collapsed on the floor. But thankfully he managed to turn around so he fell back on his bed. His chest was getting tighter and eventually a long and strong coughing fit took control of his body. After a few minutes he was finally done but also drenched in sweat and completely exhausted. He let himself rest for a few more minutes before he made another attempt to get out of bed.
Thankfully the slower approach did the trick and he managed to get to the bathroom without falling over. He had to rest on the closed toilet seat again before he could continue. The steam of the hot shower made his joints relaxed, but it also triggered another coughing fit.
"Tae you ok?" he heard Jimin's concerned voice from the other side of the bathroom door.
"Yeah, I'm fine" he thanked himself that the coughs had stopped in time to answer his soulmate. "I'm almost done" he even added.
"Hoseok-hyung is going to order in, do you want some?"
"Yes that's okay" he replied. Years of living together had his advantages, like he didn't need to tell the other maknae what he would like to eat since the boy already knew his preferences.
"Okay I will let him know" Jimin said and the boy in the shower heard him leaving the room again. Just when he heard the door close, his coughs came back. However, this time the coughing didn't seemed to end, leaving Taehyung gasping for air and too dizzy keep standing on his feet. He let himself lean against the wall and slump down till his butt had reached the ground. 'Maybe I should get some help' he managed to think even though it felt like his head was filled with nothing more than water.
"Jimin" he called weakly. His voice was muffled since the shower was still running at full force. The boy used all his strength lift himself a few inches and turned off the shower eventually. He collapsed back on the ground and coughed a few more times. "Jimin" he tried again.
He waited for a few minutes, but it was clear that nobody could hear him. His hands grabbed the shower tap rather as tight as possible and pulled himself to his feet. Black spots entered his vision causing him to sway. He blinked rapidly a few times and sighed relieved when he saw the spots disappear again. Slowly he walked out of the bathroom and let himself fall back on the bed, not bothering to dry himself first with a towel.
10 minutes later he was startled when his mobile phone pinged. He looked at the screen and read the message of Hoseok saying that the food would be delivered in half an hour. The boy sighed and decided to get dressed, knowing it would take more time than usual. And indeed it almost took another 10 minutes for him to be finished and another 5 minutes before he found the strength to walk towards the living room.
He was panting when he finally reached his destination and his eyes could only look at the comfortable couch. His body was begging for him to stop walking since every part of him hurt. Taehyung saw that Yoongi was seated on the left side, so he had to walked over the other side. He almost fell when his feet was stuck on something he couldn't see.
"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Yoongi yelled angrily at the stumbling boy. "Watch were you're walking next time!"
It turned out that Taehyung had tripped over the charger of Yoongi's laptop, causing the device to nearly fall from the rapper's lap from where he was seated on the couch.
"I'm sorry hyung" the younger one apologized, but his voice was no more than a soft whisper.
"Don't even bother. Those are just empty words" the older one huffed annoyed. "You're grown up now, start behaving like one"
The younger one looked shocked at the words and he felt tears forming in his eyes. "No I'm really sorry" he tried to apologize again, but the rapper closed his laptop with a loud bang and stood up. "Just fuck off"
Taehyung looked shocked at the cursing hyung and watched him grab his coat, leaving the house without saying anything. When the front door closed, the boy couldn't hold back his tears anymore and started to cry. And soon another coughing fit had started leaving him gasping for air and feeling faint.
"Tae!" he heard someone yelling from the hallway and a few seconds later he felt warm hands cup his face. "Shush Tae, breath. Come on you need to breath" Hoseok, it was Hoseok who was talking to him. He really tried to follow his hyung's words, since he didn't want to annoy another member.
"Jimin!"
"Hey don't close your eyes" Taehyung snapped open when the dancer tapped his cheek gently. He was focusing so hard on breathing properly that he hadn't noticed his eyes had closed.
"Hy-ungg" he mumbled and leaned into the older one's hands. Hoseok repositioned his arms so he could pull the boy in his lap.
"Jimin!" Taehyung heard the older one yell again, but his mind couldn't understand why. He jumped when a cold hand was pressed against his forehead.
"He is burning up" he heard say to someone else, or was he talking to him?
"We should go to the hospital, he is almost passing out" since when was Jimin standing next to him? And who was almost passing out?
"Hy-ung" was all that Taehyung could say before he felt himself being lifted in strong arms. After a few moments the air suddenly got cooler but he was quickly sat down on a comfortable couch and guided to someone's comfortable chest. Thankfully, the coughing had subdued almost completely but the fit had left him exhausted so he immediately fell asleep.
"When did he got sick?" Hoseok asked when he saw Taeyung fall asleep against Jimin's chest. He was driving faster than usual and looked at the duo through the tiny mirror. Jimin looked concerned at the boy in his arms "I don't know. I went to his bedroom when I didn't see him all morning but he was showering. He sounded fine though"
"Oh shit Jimin, we forgot to tell Yoongi!" the dancer looked shocked behind him for a second before he had to look at the road again. "We should call him when we arrive at the hospital"
"What about the others?" Jimin asked. The older one sighed, the others didn't know what was going on as well since they had left the house earlier to get the groceries.
"Here, take my phone and massage them in the group chat" Hoseok said whilst he handed his own phone towards the other. Jimin nodded and quickly typed something to tell the others that Taehyung was very sick. Almost immediately the phone started to ring, showing Seokjin name on the screen.
[Hobi what's going on!!!]
The oldest one practically yelled through the small device. Jimin quickly held the phone as far as possible from Taehyung since the boy was still sleeping comfortable against him. Sleeping did wonders for the boy since his breathing patron had turned into a normal pace again. But unfortunately they could still hear him wheeze and his skin was getting impossibly hotter.
"I found him coughing and crying on the couch. He has a high fever as well" Hoseok explained and motioned for Jimin to give him the phone.
[Since when is he sick. He was fine yesterday, right?]
"I don't know hyung. But we just arrived at the hospital so I'm going to hang up. I will call you when he is checked by a doctor"
[We are coming as soon as possible] Seokjin said before Hoseok ended the call and parked the car in front of the hospital.
"I'm going to get a wheelchair. Could you try and wake him up in the meantime?" the dancer asked when he had turned around in his seat to look at the 95-liners sitting in the backseat. After Jimin nodded he left the car
"Tae wake up" Jimim said whilst carefully pried the younger one from his chest. Taehyung mumbled something unintelligent and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands.
"Wh-re 'r we?"
"At the hospital" the smaller boy answered. He looked concerned when the sick boy was confused at the response. His fever was probably too high for the boy to understand what was going on around him. Thankfully Hoseok had returned quickly and together they lifted him in the wheelchair.
"The nurse said we can go to room 5"
"We don't have to wait?" Jimin asked surprised
Hoseok shook his head and gave him a reassuring smile. "No, she said it is quiet at the moment"
"Ah thank you" the younger one sighed with relief. He dreaded to be waiting in the uncomfortable chairs with the sick member, but thankfully they didn't have to.
The two dancers carefully wheeled the boy into the hospital and walked towards the room with number '5' on the door. It was a rather small room but it had everything they needed: a bed. Taehyung noticed the comfortable object as well and with a little help of Jimin he managed to climb into bed.
"You ok?" Hoseok asked when the youngest was lying under the thin covers. Taehyung was wheezing since the little effort had left him breathless. The boy turned onto his side so his face was turned towards Jimin who was sitting next to him. The soulmate gently ran his fingers through the boy's long locks as they waited for help.
Thankfully they didn't need to wait any longer since a nurse and doctor came through the door almost a minute later. "Hello boys, how can I help you?"
Hoseok told the two women everything he knew, but unfortunately it wasn't much since he just found the boy like this. The doctor hummed and looked at the sick boy lying in the bed at the same time. During the short conversation the nurse was taking his vitals and noticed that his oxygen levels were too low.
"Give him some oxygen" the doctor told the nurse and grabbed her stethoscope from her neck when Hoseok was done talking. The nurse nodded and placed a mask over the wheezing boy's face. Jimin helped the doctor to push the clothes to the sides so the woman could listen to his chest.
"Cold" Taehyung moaned in the oxygen mask and moved forwards when he felt the cold object pressed against the back. The other 95-liner shushed him and rubbed the boy's arm to make up for the cold touch.
"He has pneumonia. His right lung is almost completely infected, but the other side sounds good though" the doctor explained when she was done listening. "Since his oxygen levels are too low, I want to admit him and give him antibiotics through IV"
Hoseok and Jimin visibly paled at the news and looked at the younger one with concern. It didn't seemed like the boy knew what was going on as he didn't give any form of reaction. "Can we stay?" Jimin eventually asked after processing the information.
"Yes of course. We will arrange a private room so you can stay as long as you want" the woman reassured him. The two dancers thanked the doctor and looked at the IV stuff that the nurse had collected. Of course, out of the seven members it were the two most scared ones who managed to end up in the hospital with the sick Taehyung. And since Hoseok was the oldest, Jimin looked at him with fearful eyes. The older one swallowed nervously and moved to the other side of the bed so he could help the nurse and comfort the sick boy if needed.
The nurse quickly found a suitable vein and pushed the needle in the skin. Hoseok decided to focus only on the boy in front of him and he was jealous that the younger one managed to fall asleep even though the sharp object just pierced his vein.
"We will be moving you to the other room in a minute" the nurse said when she was done. Hoseok and Jimin thanked the nurse as well before the three of them were left alone again.
"Gosh I hate needles" Hoseok breathed heavily. He didn't noticed that he was holding his breath after he saw the awful big needle. "He must be exhausted" Jimin said sadly and ignored the older one's whines since he was fully focused on the sick one. The other dancer nodded and rubbed Taehyung's back while they waited to be lead towards the other room.
~-~-~
"How is he?" Seokjin asked worriedly when he came running into the room. The remaining boys, minus Yoongi, had arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later and in the meantime Taehyung was brought to the other room.
"Sleeping" Hoseok sighed. "The doctor said it's pneumonia. They are giving him antibiotics and oxygen"
"My poor Tae" the oldest said and got closer to the sick maknae. He took a few moments to observe the boy lying in the hospital bed. The labored breaths stood out the most, but when he looked more closely he noticed the pale colour of his skin and the slight tremors running through the boy's body since the fever was spiking again. The usual hyperactive healthy member looked like a newborn kitten, a sight that the oldest didn't like at all.
"Is he going to be okay?" Jungkook whispered. Hoseok turned his head at the small voice and noticed that the youngest was still standing in the doorway, probably too afraid to move closer into the room. "Come here kookie" the dancer said and motioned for the boy to sit on his lap where he was seated next to the hospital bed. The maknae nodded and moved towards his sunshine hyung, but keeping as much distance from the hospital equipment as possible. Hoseok grabbed the boy's tiny waist and guided him to sit on his lap.
"He is going to be okay. They are taking good care of him" the older one reassured him. He saw Jungkook nod his head in front of him, but the boy was still tense and it looked like he was ready to run out of the room any second. Hoseok grab one of the younger one's hand and placed it on top of Taehyung's warm hand. At first the maknae tensed, afraid that the touch would hurt the sick boy, but when he realized that wasn't the case he relaxed. He even started to rub Taehyung's arm whilst carefully avoiding the IV port attached to the pale skin.
"Where is Yoongi?" Namjoon asked. The boys looked at each other for answers, but it turned out that nobody knew where the oldest rapper was. Jimin grabbed his phone from his pocket and opened the group chat. He scrolled through the messages, frowning when he noticed the absence of the missing member.
"Hyung, give me your phone. Let me check if he had read the message" Jimin said and moved to Hoseok's side. The dancer removed his right arm from Jungkook's waist and dug his phone from his pocket. The 95-liner grabbed the phone and easily unlocked it since everybody knew each other's pin-codes.
"Hyung... he didn't read the message" he said anxiously. "What if something is wrong? Maybe he is sick as well and we left him!"
"Hey easy Jimin. You know how Yoongi can be. He probably put his phone on mute to get some sleep or he is in his studio" Namjoon pulled the younger boy in a side hug and took Hoseok's phone from the small hands. "I will call him ok?"
Every looked at the phone in the leader's hand when he dialed Yoongi's number. After a few seconds not picking up, Namjoon wanted to end the call, but before he pressed the red button on the screen they heard the familiar grumpy voice
"Hobi leave me alone -"
"Yoongi where the hell are you?!!!" Seokjin demanded through the phone. His voice was louder than he intended to, so Hoseok and Namjoon looked worriedly at the sick boy in the hospital bed. Thankfully, Taehyung was sleeping too deep to wake up from the commotion around him, but the two rappers motioned for the oldest to keep his voice down anyways.
"At the studio" Yoong replied annoyed. "You don't have to yell"
"Yoongi, it's Namjoon. Did you read the group chat?" the leader took over since his saw Seokjin boiling with anger at the response of the second oldest.
"No why?"
Namjoon sighed, and looked at Taehyung before answering the small question "Tae is very sick. We are at the hospital"
"You're joking. Tae put you up for this, didn't he?" the boys looked surprised when they heard Yoongi half laugh on the other side of the phone. "Hyung we're serious, why would we joke about that?" the youngest rapper looked at the others, asking them silently if they knew why the boy would respond this way.
"That brat probably forgot to mention that he -" the boys looked even more confused when the rapper continued, but suddenly the call went silent and Namjoon quickly checked if the boy had hung up but the screen showed that the connection was still live. Before anyone could ask if Yoongi was still on the phone, they heard the rapper curse violently and Hoseok instantly covered Jungkook's ears with his hands. The maknae huffed in annoyance and turned his head from the large hands.
"Oh no, you're serious" Yoongi said before he started to curse again. Namjoon looked at the groupchat and saw that the rapper had read the messages, causing the boy to finally understand what was going on and that they weren't joking.
"I will be there in 20 minutes" the rapper said and didn't wait for a response before he ended the call. The boys in the small hospital room looked at each other confused.
"What was that about?" Jimin asked confused. Hoseok and Namjoon shrugged their shoulders, but Seokjin looked furious. "Whatever it was, that boy is in big trouble!" the oldest muttered angrily.
"Hyung calm down, being angry won't solve anything right now" Hoseok said from behind the muscled frame of the boy sitting on his lap. He looked over the boy's shoulder and saw that his oldest hyung still refused to sit down on the chair on the other side of the bed. Namjoon noticed the still lingering anger as well and placed his arm across Seokjin's broad shoulders. "Come, let's talk a walk" he said and guided both of them out off the room.
Jimin looked back and forth between the two leaving hyungs and Taehyung. He didn't know what to do anymore, and looked at Hoseok with big eyes. The dancer smiled at the innocence "Let them be Jiminie. Come, sit" he said and pointed at the empty chair on the right side of the bed. The small boy nodded hesitant and looked back at the now closed door before sitting down next to the sick boy. Hoseok and the maknaes waited in silence for the others to return.
~-~-~
Hoseok head snapped towards the door when he heard the door handle turn. "Hyung, Joon! Tae is awake!" he said before he saw who was coming through the door. To his surprise it weren't the two said members, but it was Yoongi who had arrived earlier than expected.
"Oh hey Yoongi" he said a bit awkward. Jungkook's and Jimin's heads turned as well when they heard the rapper's name. Yoongi immediately felt the tense atmosphere in the room, causing him to shuffle on his feet nervously. Taehyung's loud breaths filled the room's silence and a particular nasty cough made the four boys looked at the sick boy worriedly. The second youngest continued to cough as he tried to say something and his weak hands moved towards the oxygen mask that was strapped against his pale face.
"No don't touch it Tae" Jimin said and grabbed the boy's left hand to stop him from removing the mask. Jungkook did the same on the other side with his right hand. Taehyung shook his head and continued his efforts to make himself clear "Hy-ung.... s- srry" he managed to mumble while he looked at Yoongi who was standing near his feet.
Hoseok and the two maknaes looked confused between Taehyung and Yoongi. "What is going on?" the sunshine member asked. The last time he saw the saw boys together was last night during the concert, but he couldn't remind that something had happened between them. Judging by the looks of the two younger ones, it seemed like that they were as confused as himself.
Yoongi's eyes were becoming wet when he realized how sick his second youngest donsaeng was. The tears started to fall when he recalled his own words earlier that day. The way he had shouted against the younger one and the things he had said, not realizing that the boy was very sick. 'What kind of hyung am I?' he thought bitterly.
"Hyung?" Jungkook whispered worriedly when he saw the oldest in the room cry. "What's wrong?"
"I'm so sorry Tae" Yoongi voice cracked as his silent tears were becoming turning into loud sobs. Taehyung shook his head again and tried to lift his left hand for Yoongi, but couldn't due to the weight of Jimin's hand on his own. Thankfully, Hoseok did notice the effort and told Jimin to come to the other side of the bed so Yoongi could get closer to Taehyung.
The rapper was hesitant but when the sick boy lifted his left hand again, he grabbed the weak and clammy hand and pulled it close to his chest. "I'm sorry Tae. I didn't mean anything I said" Taehyung mumbled something in response but nobody could hear what he said since the oxygen mask muffled his voice. Yoongi shook his head as well before he continued "I'm a bad hyung. I should have noticed that you were sick and take care of you. But all I did was yell at you"
Hoseok, Jimin and Jungkook looked bewildered at Yoongi's words. "What happened?" Hoseok asked carefully, not knowing if it was the right time to ask it. Yoongi looked guilty at the three boys on the other side of the bed. But before he had the courage the answer the question, Taehyung started to cough violently. The boy doubled over in bed, causing his oxygen mask to shift. Yoongi held the mask in place whilst rubbing the boy's back with his other hand.
"Tae breath" Jungkook said anxiously. The sick boy continued to cough, causing his face to turn red with all efforts. After a particular hard cough he gagged and Hoseok quickly grabbed an empty cup from the nightstand and passed it to Jungkook who was still sitting in his lap. The youngest held the cup in front of the boy's face and when Yoongi lifted the mask Taehyung spit a large green phlegm from his mouth. It seemed to be the culprit since the sick one calmed down afterwards. The ordeal left him breathless and sweating.
The four boys looked worriedly at the second youngest, whose eyes were closing as his energy was drained. "Hyung what happened?" Jimin asked when he was sure that Taehyung was sleeping. Yoongi sighed and sat down in the chair. He dragged his hands over his face, drying his tears before he could look the others in the eyes.
"I was working on that song again" he looked at Hoseok, who nodded as he understood what song he meant. "I was frustrated with the rhythm, and then Tae tripped over the charger causing me to snap"
"Fuck I messed up" he spit angrily and looked at the wall when guilt and shame became too much. He felt the lump in his throat grow when Taehyung coughed again in his sleep. When the other three boys remained silent, he continued
"I yelled at him, maybe even screamed, I don't know actually. All I know is that I left without even looking at him" Yoongi said sadly. "I'm so stupid, how did I not realize that he was sick? I messed up so bad"
The rapper was so engaged with his own emotions that he didn't noticed that Hoseok had moved to his side. The dancer wrapped Yoongi in his arms and hugged him close to his chest. The older one tensed up since he thought he didn't deserved the comfort.
"Breath hyung" Yoongi was confused at the words, but then he noticed how fast he was breathing. He lifted his hands to his face again and then he felt his wet cheeks 'When did I started to cry again?' he thought. Realizing what was going on with himself didn't help since it caused him to panic even more.
"Come on Yoongi, breath with me" Hoseok continued.
Right in the middle of Yoongi's panic attack, the door opened with Seokjin and Namjoon coming in the room. The two boys looked shocked at the sight in front of him. At first they didn't expect to see the oldest rapper in the room, let alone crying and hyperventilating. And Taehyung's condition didn't help as the boy was still looking flushed and his breathing sounded more forced when then had left the room.
"What the hell happened?" Seokjin demanded and looked at the panicking rapper with a mix of anger and concern.
"Jimin, Kook. Could you watch over Tae for a moment?" Namjoon asked, but also leaving no room to deny the question. The two maknaes nodded their heads nervously, as they perfectly sensed the tension in the room. "Hoseok and Yoongi, you're coming with us" the leader then said and grabbed Seokjin's arm, pulling the oldest out of the room as well.
Thankfully, the family room was across the hallway so Hoseok didn't have to support Yoongi for too long as the small boy continued to breath fast. Namjoon closed the door after all four boys where in the room and motioned for everyone to sit down.
"Yoongi please, take a deep breath. 1... 2..., 3.. out" Hoseok guided the other rapper to match with his own breathing patron. The sunshine member didn't know if it was the exhaustion or the change of room, but he was glad when he noticed that Yoongi was finally calming down. Seokjin and Namjoon waited patiently for the said boy to collect himself before they demanded answers.
"I'm so sorry" Yoongi finally said, breaking the long and awkward silence. Hoseok tightened his grip around the boy to convince him to continue. The rapper looked at the boys in front of him and sighed before he started to explain what had happened earlier that morning. Seokjin's and Namjoon's facial expressions went from anger to realization to worry when they noticed how bad Yoongi blaming himself. Of course they were angry at him yelling at a obvious sick donsaeng, but it was nothing compared to the anger that the boy was feeling himself.
"Yoongi, what you did wasn't right, but you made it very clear you know that as well" Seokjin said after the boy was done talking. "And please know that Taehyung getting sick isn't your fault"
"Hyung why do you keep working on that song? This is the third time" Hoseok asked
"Third time?!!!" Seokjin and Namjoon yelled at the same time. Hoseok winced at their reaction and felt sorry for the rapper in the middle of this, so he quickly explained himself before the other two got angry again. "No no not like that. He didn't yell at anyone before. What I meant that last week I noticed that Yoongi was working on the same song nonstop until way past midnight, leaving him sad and exhausted"
Yoongi looked down at his hands and nodded his head to let the other boys know that the dancer was telling the truth. "It happened again two days again" Hoseok continued.
"Yoongi..." Seokjin sighed sadly. The boy's behavior was no surprise for them , but it still pained the others when they noticed that the rapper was falling into old bad habits again. "I can't let you do this, not again. You're not allowed to work on that song for a month" he said, and motioned for Yoongi to keep quiet when he saw that his oldest donsaeng was starting to protest "- or I will destroy your laptop. Your choice"
The rapper knew he didn't had a choice. He already had messed up today, so going against the oldest wasn't a smart thing to do. Against his will, Yoongi nodded defeated and apologized again for his behavior. The three boys forgive him and pulled him in one big hug.
"Come let's get back to Tae" Namjoon said, placing an arm around Yoongi's shoulders. The rapper nodded and together they walked back to the room. When they entered they were met with two sets of big scary eyes of Jimin and Jungkook.
"It's okay" Namjoon assured the younger ones and gave them a reassuring smile. The two boys weren't completely convinced so they looked at Yoongi to confirm the words. The rapper still looked sad but he managed to smile as well and nod his head showing that the leader was right.
Taehyung's breathing had cleared a little bit during their conversation in the other room, leaving the atmosphere in the room lighter as well. Yoongi moved towards the chair on the right side of the bed again, and Jungkook and Jimin made room for Seokjin and Namjoon on the left side. The maknae easily found Hoseok's lap again, who had sat down on the couch and Jimin sat down next to him. The six boys watched Taehyung closely in silence and they were glad to see that to see how his breathing was improving and his oxygen levels were rising during the course of the day. It had taken another two days before the sick member was discharged from the hospital, and Yoongi had never left his side in the meantime. After a month the rapper was officially allowed to continue on his song, but instead on working on it again, he deleted it without any second thought.
"Never again" he thought and pressed the delete button.