Hypoglycaemic Minghao

A Change

Something Minghao was used to was waking up and feeling that it was going to be a bad day.

Minghao could tell his blood sugar was low from the moment he opened his eyes, but it didn't seem to be bad so he just took three dextrose pills before hopping in the shower.

He felt a bit better by the time he was dressed and had woken Junhui up, moving to the kitchen to eat breakfast with his bandmates.

After breakfast, Minghao did something he wasn't used to, pulling Seungcheol to the side to talk to him.

"You okay, Hao?" Seungcheol asked, ruffling Minghao's hair playfully.

Minghao nodded. "Yeah, my Addison's disease is just flaring up a bit today and I know we have a big concert. I still want to do the concert, but I really don't want to pass out on stage. Is there anything you can do?"

Seungcheol sighed, taking a minute to think. "I'm not sure. Why don't we speak to the managers before the soundcheck? I'm sure they can find something."

Minghao smiled, taking Seungcheol before attempting to leave, only for his wrists to get caught by Seungcheol.

"Well done, by the way. You don't usually tell us when you're struggling. Thank you."

Minghao bowed his head slightly before Seungcheol let him go and get ready.

Everyone was at the venue in under an hour, getting all their mics sorted out before the soundcheck.

Just before they all went up on stage, Seungcheol pulled Minghao over to their manager and explained what was happening and what Minghao wanted.

Their manager sighed, glaring at Minghao. "Alright. I know you're desperate to get up on stage so how about you sit for the performances? That way out can sing and interact with fans without pushing your disease over the edge."

Minghao smiled widely, throwing his arms around the manager. "Thank you so much. I'll do that if that's okay." He then hugged Seungcheol. "Thanks, Cheol. I get to interact with Carat!!"

He sounded so excited as he moved away from the two and headed to where they were getting ready to start their sound check.

During the soundcheck, Minghao stayed seated. It seemed to be worrying Carat, so Minghao asked that a statement be released before the actual concert to ease their minds.

The soundcheck went well, Minghao taking a few dextrose tablets to make sure nothing could go wrong and soon enough, they were all ready for the actual concert.

While they were all getting their makeup done, Minghao kept receiving compliments on how grown up he was being, considering he'd usually rather keep things to himself and let the others deal with it when he passed out. They were relieved to see Minghao taking things into his own hands.

Before they headed on stage, Minghao was separated from the group to be told that should he need to leave the stage, he could do so at any time, something he couldn't usually do.

Minghao thanked them before getting into his position on a chair on a stage life before he was raised onto the stage with the rest of his members, greeted by a crowd of happy faces and Carat Bongs.

———————

Much to Minghao's relief, everything during the concert went well.

The last part of the concert was the encore stage where they were to perform Aju Nice over and over again. This was the central part of the concert where Minghao could take part.

Unlike all the dancing parts, this was when he could walk around the stage, do tiny dances and most importantly, interact with fans.

Minghao started the encore stage behind everyone else, walking along as they all ran off onto the stage, but once he was at the front of the stage, he quickly got involved with the rest of the members, doing the Aju Nice dance in tiny, singing along and of course, saying hello to as many Carats as possible.

Minghao kept sitting on the edge of the stage, swaying his legs and nodding his head to the music while another member tried to play with him, usually Junhui or Mingyu. They kept grabbing his shoulders and crouching behind him, messing with his bucket hat and filming videos on their phones. Minghao enjoyed the attention, playing along and even treating Carat to a quick kiss with Junhui.

By the end of the encore stage, Minghao was buzzing with adrenaline and not ready to leave, but Junhui took his hand and walked back to the back of the stage, where all the other embers were saying their final goodbyes.

Just as the others were, Minghao waved to the crowd and said a few sweet words before the two huge screens moved together and hid them from Carat.

Minghao turned to Junhui, letting his boyfriend guide Minghao to their makeup room to get his blood sugar checked.

The reading came up as 79mg/dL, on the lower side but a good reading. Junhui made him eat some snacks anyway, which he didn't complain about.

Once he'd had some snacks and they were all changed into their comfy outfits to head home, they filed out to the van and headed home.

Minghao tucked into Junhui's side as the elder let Minghao take an earbud so they could watch a movie together.

"Thank you, Junnie. You know, for letting me go up on stage. It felt good. I'm glad to know I have that option on bad days."

Junhui ruffled Minghao's hair. "I'm just glad you got to do what you love, HaoHao."

Junhui pressed a kiss to the crown of Minghao's head and then they fell into a comfortable silence, watching the movie on Junhui's phone screen.

Half the group was asleep by the time they got back to the dorms. While Seungcheol and Mingyu woke everyone up, Junhui and Minghao slipped out of the van and up to their bedroom to avoid the hassle of helping the other members organise themselves.

Once they were in their room, they dropped their bags at the foot of the bed and got changed into pyjamas, Junhui just wearing a random shirt and boxers while Minghao put on some silky, warm night clothes.

The two climbed into bed, Minghao embraced in Junhui's warm arms, face tucked in Junhui's neck.

"I love you, Hui. Thank you for taking such good care of me." Minghao whispered.

Junhui smiled. "I love you too. I'll always take care of you." He said, voice soft to Minghao's ears.

They were left in silence, comfortable and warm silence, both glad that Minghao had finally made a good decision and was starting to take some pressure off Junhui and take care of himself.