TW// fainting, hospital
Ateez stood on stage as their name was called. It was their first win, and they were so happy. "We promise we will work harder to show you our better selves in the future," Hongjoong promised as the song came on, and they played the encore stage.
After that win, they were more determined than ever to give their best to Atiny. Soon, they were preparing for their next comeback. Excitement was high as well as stress as they worked and wrote and sang and danced and prepared for their new album.
One morning, a few days before the comeback, Seonghwa woke up with a slight cramp in his abdomen. He put a few things in his bag hoping he wouldn't need them but preparing for the worst. He wasn't prepared however for how bad the worst would end up being.
They arrived at the studio and went over the days schedule. They all had an hour and a half of singing practice, a short fifteen-minute break, and then the rest of the day would be focused on creating and perfecting the dance of their title song.
The group excitedly went to the vocal room, ready to begin. The vocal teacher came by not long after and they warmed up their voices and got started. Not long after, Seonghwa excused himself to the bathroom and grabbed a pad from his bag in the practice room on the way. He hid the pad in his pocket and before continuing his trek.
As he had suspected from the cramp that morning, his period had started. Seonghwa groaned in annoyance and cleaned himself up before placing the pad in his underwear and heading back to the vocal room.
The rest of the members didn't know that Seonghwa had not been born into a male body. He always wore his short around the house to hide his top surgery scars and although everyone else would shower with each other when they were in a rush, he would always refuse. Everyone else had always thought that he was just shy to show off his body. No one knew the real reason, not even the company.
The cramps were pretty mild, so he didn't take anything for them. Pretty soon they started dance practice and that was when the cramps started worsening. By lunch time they had gotten pretty bad, but he didn't want his members to ask him questions when they saw him taking painkillers, so he didn't.
About an hour after lunch the pain had gotten so bad that in the middle of a spin that was part of the choreography he collapsed on the floor, his arms wrapped protectively around his middle as tears started pooling in his eyes. "Back up," Wooyoung said as everyone tried to crowd around to help him. "What's wrong?" Hongjoong asked once everyone had backed up. "Hurts," was all Seonghwa said before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped completely to the floor, unconscious.
Hongjoong started panicking and Mingi took him to another room to calm him down while San called an ambulance. When it came, it was agreed that San and Wooyoung would go and Yunho, Jongho, and Yeosang would clean the practice room, go back home and make some food, and join the three in the hospital later with Hongjoong and Mingi.
San and Wooyoung sat in silence in the waiting room after getting to the hospital, waiting for any news. About twenty minutes later a doctor came over to them.
"Are you here with Seonghwa?" he asked.
"We are." Wooyoung responded.
"Perfect. She'll be fine. She just-"
"Wait a minute," San interrupted. "She?"
"Yes, she," the doctor said.
"Park Seonghwa?" Sann asked.
"Yes."
"Born in 1998?"
"Yes. Why?"
Wooyoung pulled up a picture of Seonghwa on his phone and showed it to the doctor. "Him?" he asked.
"Yes, her," the doctor said.
"Him," Wooyoung said again before the doctor continued.
"She is on her period and fainted from the pain of her cramps. She's up now if you wanted to see her."
Wooyoung rolled his eyes and the two went to Seonghwa's room. "That doctor is crazy," Wooyoung said when they got in. "He said you were a girl and fainted from period cramps. The ridiculousness of some people."
"It's true," Seonghwa said quietly. "Well, the period part, not the girl part. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys."
Wooyoung and San just stood there in shock. They were still frozen in place when everyone else piled in two minutes later. "Hey Hwa, how are you feeling?" Yeosang asked, his usual uncaring facade gone for the moment.
"I'm fine," Seonghwa answered. "They put me on painkillers. I just feel gross."
"I would feel gross too if I was covered in blood," San said, finally getting over the shock. Everyone except Wooyoung and Seonghwa turned to look at him confused.
"I would too," Wooyoung agreed.
"What are you guys talking about? I don't see any blood." Yunho questioned.
Seonghwa looked down at his sheets. "Should I explain?" Wooyoung asked him softly and he nodded his head yes.
"Our friend here is on his period," Wooyoung said.
"But only girls get periods," Mingi started saying before realizing what he said and why it was wrong. "Wait," he corrected himself, "you're trans?" Seonghwa nodded his head and a tear slipped down his face. He hadn't wanted everyone to know. He didn't want them to see him any differently.
"Hey," Hongjoong sat next to him. "Don't cry. We still love you. You're still you." Hongjoong seemed to know exactly what to say to calm Seonghwa down.
"Also," Jongho said, "Now that we know, you can tell us in the future so we can take care of you and spoil our hyung!"
Seonghwa smiled and laid back down on the bed. "I'm exhausted," he sighed.
"Sleep," Yeosang told him. "We'll be waiting for you when you wake up. Eight makes one team, yeah?"
"Eight makes one team," the rest echoed and Seonghwa drifted off to sleep knowing his friends had his back and he didn't have to hide anymore.
A/N HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!! I wrote this story a while ago but decided to upload it now for pride month. I have a similar themed story that I hope to upload next week.
