hold me ♡ minsung

14. achoo!

♡

NOVEMBER 20

   There turned out to not be much of a crisis in the end, because just like Seungmin thought, no parts of the building ended up on fire (except a small part of the carpet that got singed), and dorm life very quickly resumed, and everyone was able to get back to bed within an hour or two. After that, the day passed without any more unusual events.

   Then, for the second night in a row, Minho was startled awake, but this time it was just by the door opening. He shot up in bed, forcing open bleary eyes to check the door. Though it was too early for the sun to have lit up the room, Minho could make out who the lanky figure standing in the doorway was. Hyunjin. And gosh, he did not look good. 

   "Sorry," Hyunjin croaked. "Didn't mean to wake you." He stumbled in the dark, making his way to his bed. 

   "Why'd you come back down?" Minho asked, his voice thick and grumbly, because Hyunjin hadn't slept in his actual bed in quite some time now. 

   "I have some gunk in my throat, so I was keeping Chan hyung up with my coughing. He's finally trying to sleep, so... I came down." 

   Minho nodded, then laid back down, turning on his side to face the wall. He could hear Hyunjin's comforter rustle, and after that it was all quiet for the next few minutes, and the silence was only broken by a few muffled coughs.

♡

    He woke up to his alarm a few hours later, and Hyunjin was out cold, snoring a little since he was breathing from his mouth. That was weird, because, usually, he woke before Minho. 

   After dragging himself out of his warm, yet uncomfortable bed,  Minho approached the side of Hyunjin's bed, bent down, and called out, "Hyun." 

   A few more tries was what it took for Hyunjin to open his swollen eyes and utter a very groggy, "Huh??" But that was only after  he'd coughed right into Minho's face. 

   When Minho's unhappy, perturbed stare lingered on him, Hyunjin finally became lucid, covering his mouth and immediately mumbling out a string of apologies and pleas for his life. 

   Minho just brushed him off, wiping off his face and telling him not to worry about it. "Anyway, it's 7:30. Did you snooze your alarm?"

   Hyunjin stared blankly at him a moment, then fell back on the bed, sniffling as he laid flat. "Ugh. I feel gross. I'm not going to class today." Minho could tell his nose was blocked by the sound of his unusually nasally, thick voice. 

   "Okay. See ya."

   Hyunjin replied with a drawn-out, muffled grumble. 

   A few minutes later, when Minho was sitting at the table, fitting an apple slice into his mouth, he was getting asked about Hyunjin.

   "Where's Hyunjin hyung?" Seungmin questioned, while the rest of the boys craned their heads toward Minho to hear the answer. 

   "He's in bed. Not coming down."

   "Why?" Jisung and Felix asked, in unison. 

   "I think he's got a cold or something." 

   "Oh, that must be why he left the room last night. I heard him coughing some before I fell asleep," Chan commented. "Hope he feels better soon," he added, tone drooping empathetically.

   When classes were over and Minho came up to his room to study, Hyunjin was asleep in his bed, covered in a blanket of tissues, while a balled-up tissue stuck out of his nose. Minho grimaced at the sight.