Luhan crept in through the front door of the dorm; the short beep of the alarm sent a spike of fear through Luhan's chest, which already ached from the stifled coughs building inside. It was around 9:00 at night. Soccer practice had ended almost forty-five minutes ago. It usually only took Luhan 20 minutes to get home, but fighting this nasty cold and fever, it had taken him significantly longer as he stumbled through the sidewalks of Seoul, coughing and sneezing. The practice had absolutely drained him, and it was just drills! Walking home had exhausted him even further. Sweat rained down his face despite it being mid-November. His breathing was labored and strained. His skin was pale and his normally sharp features drawn.
He kept the door handle twisted as he closed it, trying to make the least noise possible. Once the door was shut, Luhan turned around to face the living room where he was met with the fierce gazes of both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. Sehun was sitting on a chair, looking guilty. 'Brat must have told them,' Luhan thought to himself. His eyes bore into Sehun making the younger boy squirm and lower his head. Baekhyun saw this and immediately snapped at the Chinese boy.
"Luhan !" The boy's eyes darted to Baekhyun's and his glare faded into a look of guilt and shame, similar to Sehun's.
"Where the hell have you been?" Baekhyun demanded. Kyungsoo's eyes shifted up to Baekhyun's face, seeing the vein pop out of his neck. He directed his attention back to Luhan who was now cowering.
"Are you okay, Luhan? You don't look well. You should be in bed, resting," he said gently.
"Hyung, I'm sorry, but I had to go to practice becau-"
"Enough!" Baekhyun interjected. "I told you that you were not to attend practice. You have a high fever and-"
"But hyung, you don't underst-"
"Do NOT interrupt me, little boy! I am your hyung, show some respect! Not only did you disobey me, but you have the nerve to argue with me?"
Before Luhan could react, he heard footsteps approaching them from upstairs. Xiumin and Suho appeared at the top of the stairs, having heard the commotion from downstairs. Xiumin frowned upon seeing Luhan's weakened state. Suho rushed down the stairs, Xiumin behind him, to feel the boy's forehead.
"Luhan! You're burning up," Suho exclaims, his left hand clasped cheek. Luhan tried to shy away from Suho's touch, but Junmyeon was having none of it. "You have exactly 10 seconds to get your little butt back up into the bed, or I'll make you regret it," he said sternly.
"Oh, I'm not done with him," Baekhyun said, inserting himself, before starting to stalk towards the boy around the couch. Luhan backed away inch by inch as tears began falling down his face, and his mouth gaped open.
"Baekhyun, stop," Xiumin said standing between Luhan and the furious Byun Baekhyun. "You need to calm down before any punishment happens. We'll deal with this in the morning." Baekhyun rolled his eyes but backed off.
"Luhan. To bed. Immediately," Xiumin shooed the boy off. Luhan didn't need to be told twice. He bolted up the stairs to the room he shared with Sehun, tears falling to each step. He slammed the door a bit harder than he had intended to and jumped into his bed. He silently screamed into his pillow. He was so frustrated. He already didn't perform well at practice because he was sick and now he was in trouble with Baekhyun.
He scrunched himself into the fetal position in the bed as he cried. Just then, the door creaked open. 'It must be Baekhyun! It's because I slammed the door!' Luhan's thoughts raced, still keeping his head buried in his pillow.
"Hyung?" A small voice pierced through the silence. Luhan looked up. Sehun. His fear and sadness instantaneously turned to rage, his eyes narrowing.
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I had to tell them because-"
"Oh my god! Shut up, Sehun! Why do you have to be such a brat?" Sehun's mouth fell open, but Luhan just continued. "This is why I don't like you, Tao doesn't like you, and Kai doesn't like you. Because you snitch on everyone! God, I hate you!"
Sehun stood in disbelief, his hand still on the doorknob. Tears brimmed his eyes, threatening to fall. He slammed the door shut and ran to what Luhan could only imagine was Baekhyun. He buried his head in his pillow once more. He had expected Baekhyun or Xiumin to burst in at any moment, implement in hand.
But he waited hours and no one came. Not even Sehun had returned. He lay alone in the darkness of the small room. Tears streamed from the corner of his eyes down the sides of his face. His head continued to throb but that was the least of his concerns. Part of him felt bad for going off on Sehun, but every time he felt a sliver of sympathy, rage overtook him as he remembered that he's the one who got him into this mess. Eventually, he fell asleep, though it was a restless sleep. He woke up frequently, tossed and turned, and coughing fits forced him up to catch his breath.
~~~
Luhan's fluttered open as his vision focused on Yixing's face. His smile and gentle eyes were a major contrast to the terror he had encountered last night. Lay stroked Luhan's hair softly and put the back of his hand on the boy's cheek. "Still warm," he said, his expression faltering a bit.
"I talked to hyungs last night and we agreed we should take you to the hospital to get you checked out." Luhan groaned but didn't argue. Lay helped him out of his bed and started to undress him.
"Gegeee," Luhan whined. "I can dress myself."
"Just work with me, Lulu. I don't want you falling over." Luhan scrunched his face but allowed Lay to draw his shirt over his head and take his pants down.
Once changed into fresh sweat and a new T-shirt, Lay ushered him downstairs, where Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, and Xiumin were sitting in the living room. None of them said a word as they stood and headed for the front door. In the car, Xiumin and Baekhyun sat in the front while Luhan sat in between Lay and Kyungsoo in the back. The ride to the hospital was absolutely silent. Not a word was said. The only sound heard was Luhan's occasional cough and wheezy breathing.
As they pulled into the massive parking lot of Asan Medical Center. Baekhyun directed Xiumin through the lot, trying not to get them lost in the mess of cars and pedestrians. As soon as they parked, Baekhyun jumped out of the car, slamming the door shut. Xiumin sighed before exiting as well. Luhan nervously followed Kyungsoo out. Baekhyun glared at him, stare like daggers. He felt so small under Baekhyun. Xiumin grabbed his wrist and led him toward the entrance of the hospital.
~~~
They waited for what seemed like hours to be seen by a doctor. Once, checked into a room, Luhan sat on the examination table, swinging his legs over the edge and looking around at all of the equipment that lined the walls. He was completely unaware of Baekhyun's eyes which were set on him, absolutely unwavering.
"Seems fine now, hyung," Baekhyun said to Xiumin in a matter-of-fact tone, not removing his eyes from Luhan. Attention caught, Luhan turned his head towards Baekhyun and instantly shrank under his sharp glower. Hot tears began to fill his eyes as he cast his head down.
"You can do as you please with him as soon as we get back to the dorm, Baekhyun," the older boy replied. Luhan looked to Yixing, half expecting him to save him from his impending trip over Baekhyun's lap. Lay only provided him with a soft smile of sympathy.
"Hello, my name is Doctor Jo Iseul, sorry to keep you folks waiting," a man in a white coat said, bursting through the door. "Now let's see. Your name is Luhan, correct? Birthday April 20, 1990?" Luhan nodded. "Okay, perfect. Now what seems to be going on today?" Luhan opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Baekhyun.
"Well, he's been feeling sick for about a week. Fever, coughing, sneezing, sore throat, headaches, all of it. Yesterday, he decided to go to soccer practice even though he still wasn't feeling good. He came back drenched in sweat, pale, and obviously exhausted,"
"Hm," the doctor hummed before turning back to Luhan. "Now why would you do that?" he asked, smiling, but the seriousness of the situation still weighed heavily in Luhan's chest.
"I had to go," Luhan squeaked out.
"You did NOT have to go and I told you NOT to go, Luhan," Baekhyun boomed. The doctor raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, hyung's not happy. But never mind that, let's get you checked out," he said. A single tear rolled down Luhan's left cheek as the blood pressure cuff was placed around his bicep and a pulse oximeter on his index finger. A digital thermometer was shoved in his ear, beeping immediately.
"Okay, so, SPO2 is normal, that's your oxygen saturation. Blood pressure and heart rate are a bit high, but that's likely because of your temperature. You're at 38.5," he said, taking the blood pressure cuff off. "Has he been taking anything for the fever," he asked, turning to Baekhyun and Xiumin.
"Yes, I've been giving him fever reducers all week," Xiumin stated.
"Beautiful," the doctor replied, removing his stethoscope from around his neck. "Okay, Luhan, I'm going to listen to your lungs now." Luhan nodded. The stethoscope drum felt cold and hard against his skin; like a rock. He breathed in and out as the doctor instructed, trying not to cough.
"Okay, lungs sound clear. I'm going to order a few blood tests just to check your vitamin leve-"
"No!" Luhan interjected. He was terrified of needles, ever since he was a kid.
"Luhan!" Baekhyun snapped. "Yes, that will be fine, doctor."
The doctor smiled before turning to head out the door. Luhan didn't want to be left alone with his hyungs. The doctor was so nice... up until the blood test thing. But his hyungs didn't say a word. Shortly after, a nurse walked in with a needle and a few vials.
"Alright, Luhan, would you like to sit or lie down?" the nurse asked. Luhan opted to lie down, hoping it would help with the rolling nausea that had built in his stomach. He winced as the needle slid through his skin. He could feel the blood leaving his body, spurting out into the vials.
Once done, Luhan sat up on the bed. The nurse left with the vials of warm blood in hand. The room was silent until the doctor returned. With him he had what Luhn saw were more needles. A dread built up inside him. This sucked.
"Okay, Luhan, your vitamin levels are very low and I can confirm that you have influenza," he started. "These are vitamin shots, they will help you recover your strength. They are to be administered every night for the next few days. Now, you can't administer them yourself because of the site they must be administered in. I will demonstrate." Great. Just great. He was getting another needle. And even more needles over the next couple of days.
"Luhan, could you lie on your stomach for me?" the doctor asked kindly. 'Where the hell was this needle going?' Luhan thought. Reluctantly, he lay down on his stomach.
"Okay, so this type of vitamin shot has to be administered into the dorsogluteal muscle. This is the muscle at the top of the buttocks."
'Buttocks??? Like my ass??? Fuck.' Luhan's mind raced.
"Luhan, I'm going to expose the site so I can administer the shot." Before Luhan could react, he felt his sweats and boxers being pulled down to the middle of his ass. "So the site is right here," he said, tracing a circle around the top of Luhan's cheek. "Then, you simply just uncap the needle and insert it in." Luhan felt the needle enter his skin and then his muscle. It hurt. The needle slid out of his skin.
"Thank you so much Doctor Iseul," Kyungsoo spoke.
"No problem. Just make sure he rests until this passes, and continue to check his temperature regularly," the doctor replies, handing the box of syringes to him.
Lay helped Luhan back off the bed and back to the car. Walking was harder now because of the soreness that spread across his left buttcheek. Sitting in the car was also not exactly painless. But he knew this was just the beginning of it all. As they pulled up to the dorm, Luhan's nervousness washed over him like a wave of lightning. Lay grabbed his hand and held it tight. As they walked to the door, Yixing leaned into him and whispered into his ear.
"Just listen to your hyung and everything will be okay." Luhan nodded.
Once in the door, Baekhyun's voice boomed over the quiet dorm. "To my room. Now, Luhan." He wasted no time in obeying the command. Chanyeol was lying in his bed when Luhan arrived.
"Oh, hey Luhan," he said, standing up and walking towards the boy. Luhan eyes were already filling with tears and he looked scared. Chanyeol tussled his hair and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "You'll be okay, Luhannie." With that, he left Luhan alone in the room. Baekhyun had not specified where he wanted Luhan to wait in the room. Luhan imagined he would want him in the corner with his arms on his head. So, that's where he went.
A couple of minutes later, Luhan heard the door to the bedroom open and someone sat on the bed. No, two people. Xiumin, maybe?
"Luhan, come here," Baekhyun's voice carried across the room. Luhan turned to find Baekhyun and Kyungsoo sitting on the bed. Kyungsoo never spanked him. The most he had ever gotten from Kyungsoo was a slap on the back of his hand. Next to them was a wooden spoon and a wooden rattan cane. Seeing these, Luhan backed himself up into the wall.
"Luhan, if I have to come get you, you're going to get my belt too," Baekhyun said. Luhan slowly walked towards the older boy, hands behind his back. He stood between Baekhyun's knees and Baekhyun placed his hands on Luhan's waist.
"I told you that you were not to go to soccer practice, Luhan. He had a fever and you were very obviously still sick. Why did you choose to disobey me?" he asked calmly. It was the first time Baekhyun had been calm since he got home yesterday.
"I didn't want to let my team down," Luhan replied.
"So you chose to let your hyung down, by sneaking out and lying? Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Luhan bowed his head in shame. Baekhyun was right. He had let his hyung down, and even more concerning, he had broken his trust. Baekhyun had always been there for him when he was sick or needed a shoulder to cry on.
"Nothing to say, huh?" Baekhyun shook his head before standing up. "Alright then. Let's get started dongsaeng. I want you to bend over the bed and drop your sweats and underwear."
Luhan obeyed without a word, tears now flowing freely. Baekhyun picked up the rattan cane and swished it through the air. It sounded sharp and made Luhan flinch. He buried his face in the sheets of Baekhyun's bed, feeling the softness on his face. Kyungsoo wrapped his hand around Luhan's, bracing him.
"How many, hyung?" Luhan asked.
"As many as it takes until I feel you've learned a lesson, Luhan."
"Please, hyung, I'm sorry," Luhan begged, glancing back fearfully. Baekhyun met his gaze with a steely one of his own.
"All I can tell you, Luhan, is that you'll be much sorrier before this is over."
Without another word, the cane swished through the air and landed directly in the center of Luhan's bottom. The boy sucked in a sharp breath at the burning sensation. Baekhyun allowed just enough time for the strike to absorb into the skin before cracking the cane down again. Luhan tried to count the strokes, trying to stay focused on something other than the pain, but after 5, it became too much. He practically screamed with each thrash, muffled by the blankets that were stuffed into his face.
"Hyung! Please stop!" he sobbed. But his pleas fell on deaf ears. Baekhyun continued to land strike after strike onto Luhan's exposed bottom. The boy's sobs echoed through the room as fresh tears fell down his cheeks. The sequence of an icy burn turning into a hot blazing stripe continued back to back. Kyungsoo rubbed his hand and his shoulder, trying to calm him down a bit.
"I won't disobey you again! I promise!" Luhan choked out between muffled sobs. But still, Baekhyun continued.
"You most certainly will not," Baekhyun said, letting another crack of the cane fall to Luhan's red bottom.
After another dozen, The sound of the cracking cane stopped, though the burning sensation over Luhan's bottom did not. It felt like it was on fire, the individual stripes merging into a larger throbbing ache. In addition to Kyungsoo's hand, which was still on his shoulder, Luhan felt Baekhyun's hand rubbing circles into the small of his back.
"You took your punishment well, Luhan. Hyung is proud of you," Baekhyun said softly once Luhan's breathing calmed a bit. He then helped him up into a standing position and placed a hand on Luhan's backside. The boy winced but did not pull away, he needed the contact of his hyung. He grabbed a tissue from the bedside table and brought it to Luhan's face to clear the tears away. Only after did he use both of his hands to cup Luhan's face.
"Did you learn your lesson?" he asked sternly.
Luhan nodded again, sniffling. "Y-Yes hyung. I w-won't disobey y-you a-again, I p-promise." His throat was raw from crying so hard.
"Good, but we still have one more thing we need to talk about," Baekhyun said, turning to Kyungsoo. Luhan's eyes darted between the vocalists, fear rising in his chest. Kyungsoo motioned him to stand in front of him. Luhan slowly made his way between Kyungsoo's knees.
"Do you know what else you would be in trouble for?" Kyungsoo asked.
"N-No hyunggggg," Luhan said, breaking down into a sob.
"No idea, huh? Nothing you could have done wrong or someone you could have treated badly?" Luhan shook his head quickly. What was he talking about? Baekhyun had already punished him for disobeying. What else could he be in trouble for?
"Do you remember what you said to Sehunnie last night, Luhan?"
Luhan's eyes went wide. That brat had run to them. He knew it! His eyes narrowed and a frown creased his face as his fists tightened.
"Luhan!" Baekhyun snapped, delivering a sharp smack to the boy's backside.
"Ow! Hyung!" Luhan cried, bringing his hand to his stinging cheek.
"Just so you know, Sehun didn't tell us what you said to him. I heard it from your own mouth. In fact, he begged me not to punish you for it and to just let you get away with it," Baekhyun explained. Guilt filled Luhan to the brim. He had treated Sehun pretty badly. He was just so frustrated with the maknae. He always told on him.
"Come on, Luhan. Let's get this over with," Kyungsoo said, picking up the wooden spoon from beside him. Luhan had completely forgotten about its presence. He was wholly focused on the dreaded cane. "Over my lap, Luhan."
The boy shuddered but draped himself hesitantly across Kyungsoo's lap. His jeans felt rough against his lower half. Kyungsoo placed a gentle hand on the small of Luhan's back. "You're doing so well, Luhan. After this, we're going to go into the living room for a little talk with the rest of the members and then you can rest."
"P-Please hyung, n-no more," he begged miserably.
"Ssh, I know you can take them like a good boy, Luhannie, We'll be done soon. I promise." Kyungsoo gave Luhan's bottom a light pat. "Are you ready?" At Luhan's shaky nod, Kyungsoo lifted his hand and brought the spoon down with a crisp crack. Luhan cried out wretchedly at the bite of wood meeting his already punished flesh. The next stroke came quickly, eliciting another howl from the helpless boy. He dissolved into hitched sobs. His knees buckled weakly but Kyungsoo's lap held him firmly in place.
"You're doing so well, almost over now." The spoon came down twice more in rapid succession on Luhan's sit spots, making him yelp in agony. Now, he paid more attention to Luhan's thighs, ensuring he wouldn't sit comfortably for a while. Luhan started to push himself off of Kyungsoo's lap, knees bending as he tried to stand.
"No, no, dongsaeng. We're not done yet," Kyungsoo said to Luhan's dismay. "If you try to get off my lap again, hyung will start over. Do you understand?"
"Yes, hyung! I'm sorry."
Kyungsoo pulls Luhan's cheeks apart, accessing the soft flesh between them. He brings the wooden spoon down to the inside flesh and Luhan screams. His cries become more hoarse and his throat grows raw. Kyungsoo places a few of these brutal swats before setting the spoon down beside him again,
"All done, Lulu," he says gently, rubbing the boy's back. He picked the boy up, cradling him so that his bottom rested between his legs. He made sure that the Chinese boy's backside did not touch teh rough fabric of his jeans, only the soft sheets of Baekhyun's bed. Kyungsoo held the weeping Luhan gently as the last of his tears subsided into hitching breaths. The boy's entire body vibrated with exhaustion and residual soreness.
"You took your punishment so bravely," Kyungsoo soothed, massaging Luhan's heaving back. "We're very proud of you."
Once Luhan had calmed somewhat, Kyungsoo helped him stand on shaky legs. Luhan whimpered at the renewed ache the movement caused, hands flying back to clutch protectively at his blazing backside. Baekhyun pulled Luhan into a hug, the first hug he had gotten from the older boy in what felt like an eternity.
"Good job, Luhan. Have you learned your lesson now?"
Luhan nodded tiredly, sniffling. "Y-Yes hyung. I-I'm s-sorry I was b-bad. I w-won't disobey y-you again, and I-I won't b-b-be mean to Sehunnie. I p-promise."
"I know you won't," Baekhyun pressed a soft kiss on his damp forehead. "Now, Xiumin wanted to have a group meeting, so let's not keep him waiting," he said, starting to redress the boy.
Luhan internally groaned, not wanting to be around Tao, Kai, or Sehun after he had just been punished. They would laugh or make sly remarks, but he knew he had no choice in the matter. He could only hope they would contain themselves.
Heading down the stairs, which opened straight into the living room, Luhan saw that all of the other members were already there. Tao was sitting on Kris's lap, while Kai and Sehun sat on the floor looking at what Luhan presumed was TikTok. Xiumin smiled at Luhan as he, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo sat on the couch. Luhan winced at the contact with the material of the couch and Kyungsoo pulled him in closely.
"Okay, now that we're all here, it seems that we need to have a talk about taking care of ourselves." Luhan shrunk at that. The whole group was here because of his disobedience.
"Now, do we go out and do strenuous activities while we are sick?" Xiumin asked, mostly directed at the younger members. Tao shook his head while Kai and Sehun replied 'no' in unison. Xiumin trained his attention to Luhan, who hadn't answered.
"No hyung," Luhan responded, eyes welling with tears.
"Good. It is important to take care of ourselves while we're sick so that we can get better as quickly as possible."
Xiumin went on to talk about just how important it really was, but Luhan wasn't really listening. His eyes were fixed on Sehun, who was oblivious to the attention he had garnered. Luhan felt really bad for what he had said to the maknae the night before. Sehun was just trying to make sure he was okay and he had said horrible things to him. And even after that, he tried to save Luhan from his punishment.
"Alright, Luhan, let's get you to bed, and we have to do your shot," Baekhyun said, breaking teh boy from his trance.
'Oh yeah, the shot...' Luhan thought. Yet another needle.
Once they were upstairs, back to Luhan's and Sehun's room, Baekhyun instructed Luhan to lie on his bed face down. This would hurt especially considering the soreness raging in his bottom. Baekhyun prepared the needle just as Doctor Iseul had told him to. Luhan winces and lets out a pitiful cry as the needle is slid into his left cheek. It hurt like all good hell on top of the all-encompassing soreness from his spanking. Baekhyun removed the needle from Luhan's cheek, but before he could pull the boy's pants back up, Sehun, Kai, and Tao popped into the room. Luhan's head whipped around at the intrusion. He was humiliated.
"Hey! Didn't I say to wait until I came back down?" Baekhyun questioned them, quickly pulling Luhan's pants to his waist.
"Sorry, hyung," they all said in unison, heads bowed. "We just wanted to check on him, we haven't got to see him for so long," Kai pleaded. Baekhyun shook his head.
"Five minutes, then I want you all out. He needs to rest still," Baekhyun said, pushing past them towards the stairs. The three of them then turned back to Luhan, who was still lying on his stomach, face buried in the sheets of his bed.
"Hyungie? Are you still mad at me?" a voice asked him. It was Sehun. He still hadn't apologized to him. Luhan turned his face to lie on the side of his head.
"No Sehunnie. I'm sorry for the things I said to you..."
Sehun's face lit up. "That's okay, hyung! I'm just glad you're not mad." He walked towards the bed, Tao and Kai behind him. He sat gently on the edge of the bed. The other two boys joined, carefully avoiding jostling the elder.
"We really missed you, hyung," Kai said softly.
Sehun touched his arm. "We wanted to come check on you and also...bring you this!" He produced a book from behind his back.
Luhan gasped. It was the next volume in his favorite manga series. "How did you know?"
The boys all beamed. "We pooled our money to get it early as a 'get well' gift," Kai explained.
Tears welled in Luhan's eyes. He pulled them each into a gentle hug. "You're the best. Thank you so much, really."
They hugged him back, laughing happily at his reaction. In that moment, all bad feelings melted away, replaced by love.