Fluffy SKZ oneshots🧸

The wrong place to be🌡️

Sickie: Chan

Caregivers: 2basco

No one's POV.:

Chan had been running himself thin for the past few weeks with no one able to get him to take a break because he insisted he still had to finish this and then he had to finish that and eventually the members gave up on trying to get him to rest. With his immune system ruined by the lack of sleep and irregular eating pattern, it was no wonder the unpredictable winter weather managed to give the Aussie a chill, prompting him to turn the heating up to the highest level inside the studio. Changbin and Jisung always worked in only their t-shirts when they joined the leader because it didn't take long for them to start sweating inside the toasty studio. Although his dongsaengs pointed out how unbearably warm it was on more than one occasion, Chan never considered that it may be his own temperature perception making him feel cold when in reality it wasn't. He just assumed the two were overexaggerating because he had cranked up the heating a bit. They probably just wanted to tease him about being from Australia and not being used to the cold climate as they had said stuff like that on previous occasions.

A dull headache had been his constant companion for the past week already, which didn't surprise Chan with how tense his neck and shoulders were and how long he spent in front of a computer. Considering he missed a few meals, the leader rarely got the chance to take some painkillers for it because he knew they would upset his stomach if he didn't have some food in there. Instead he tried to fix it by drinking more water and stretching his neck from time to time but it only did little to help, while he progressively got achier. Sure, he was tired but he hadn't finished all of his tasks yet, so how could he take a break when he knew the work would just pile up and leave him even more stressed. Some of the nights, Chan opted for sleeping on the couch of his studio, hoping it would save him some time that he'd need to get to and from the dorm. The couch was obviously the wrong place to be if someone had sore muscles but if it'd save him time, the Aussie would gladly take the aches.

What he hadn't intended to get though, was the sluggishness that came with sleeping too little and being too sore to properly coordinate one's muscles. It really had Chan struggling during their dance practice sessions, which the other members noticed but they got brushed off when they pointed it out. The leader just tried to get the dancing over with as smoothly as possible, already praising himself for not passing out at some point through the practice as his head pounded more ferociously. He knew he'd have to clean up his dance moves eventually but for now, memorizing them was enough, so he could go back to the studio and try to keep up with producing.

One night, he woke up with his head resting on the desk, realizing he hadn't even gotten to drag himself to the couch before falling asleep. He couldn't dwell on it for long though, he was thrown into a vicious coughing fit, that left his throat shredded. Catching his breath, Chan dropped his head back down on his arms and winced at the pain in his throat. He had a feeling he was coming down with a cold but why now? Why did that have to happen right when he was the busiest? At the moment he wouldn't get another chance to rest until he had met the deadline for the new tracks and they were close, while him actually finishing the tracks wouldn't happen soon if he didn't power through the remaining time. Since his throat didn't stop burning after a few minutes, Chan sat back up and reached for his water bottle, hoping the drink would soothe it a little. He had to realize though that he had run out of water a few hours ago.

Groaning, the Aussie forced himself to his feet and winced when the change of position made his head pound. Yeah, he really needed some water. Chan had to steady himself on everything he passed as he went to refill his bottle, gripping the walls and furniture tightly. He didn't know why he felt so faint, just that he needed to sit down again as soon as he had completed his quest for water. Stumbling back to the couch, Chan downed a few sips before laying down and resting his legs on the armrest, hoping elevating them would help the dizziness pass. It eventually did but that didn't mean he felt a lot better as his headache got a lot worse, almost as if it had to make up for the relief he had experienced. Chan felt his throat itch but he knew he couldn't cough if he didn't want his head and throat to hurt worse and right now, he was just too tired to bear anything worse. Despite feeling achy and cold, he eventually dozed off on the couch, the room only illuminated by the screen of his laptop.