Fluffy ATEEZ Oneshots🧸

Persistent fever🌡️

Sickie: Mingi

Caregiver: Yunho

No one's POV.:

It had been almost a week since Mingi had come down with what had originally seemed like a bad cold. His throat feeling scratchy along with the general fatigue was not enough of a reason to keep the rapper from attending his schedule. As time progressed though, Mingi developed a fever and spent most of the nights coughing his lungs out, barely getting any sleep. That was how he soon found himself stuck in his room while the other members were out working. He had set up the humidifier in his room and tried to sleep as much as he could. Yunho had brought him tissues and cough drops, always making sure the younger also had some water on his nightstand before they'd leave for the day. Though Mingi was usually glad to have a room to himself, he did eventually start to feel isolated. The members sure did check in on him when they got home and before they'd leave but they'd sneak in and out if he was asleep, so he rarely ever saw them.

As his temperature tended to fluctuate over the course of the day, Mingi tended to have two or three hours after eating a late breakfast and taking his medicine, that he could actually be up and do stuff. Since none of the members were home, he chatted with them during their breaks and watched dramas while they were busy. Bundled in his blanket, Mingi would sit in the living room, sipping his tea as he glanced at the screen. He could only do that for so long though before his eyes started to water, the thudding in his head growing more intense, making it impossible for the rapper to keep ignoring his symptoms and forcing him to take another nap.

Dinnertime was approaching and knowing his groupmates would be out late, Mingi shuffled to the kitchen to heat up some soup. A shiver ran down his spine and he pulled the blanket around his shoulders tighter as he leant against the cabinets, weakly stirring the pot in front of him. He hated this. Mingi snapped out of his thoughts as his phone started to buzz. Originally, he had silenced it, so he wouldn't be woken up from a nap but feeling lonely, he was desperate to wake up for any call from his friends. "Hey, how're you holding up?", Yunho greeted not sure whether he should be happy about his friend being awake or not. Clearing his throat, Mingi replied quietly: "I'm okay, just heating up some soup for dinner." – "That's good, should also be time for another dose of medicine", the older smiled, "What have you been up to today? Were you able to get a decent amount of sleep?" – "I-I think I slept enough", the rapper sniffled, lifting the corner of his blanket to rub his nose, "Not in one go but I took lots of naps. Watched TV too till the screen irritated my eyes."

Though it was clear that Mingi still wasn't feeling well, Yunho was relieved to see some improvement. For a day or two, the younger hadn't even been able to watch TV, too sick to do anything really. "How's your day going, hyung?", Mingi rasped, lowering the phone, so he could muffle a cough into his blanket. When Yunho was confident his friend could hear him again, he commented: "That still doesn't sound good. Work's alright today and I'm glad we won't be getting home all that late. Might see you in a few hours." If Mingi was still awake by the time he came to check on him but Yunho didn't want to say that out loud, afraid the younger would try to stay awake for him. "Hyung, can you- can you wake me in case I'm asleep when you get back?", the rapper asked hesitantly. Sure, he knew he needed rest but he was tired of being alone all the time, wanting to talk to his friend face to face for a bit before both of them went to sleep. Yunho hesitated but realized this was better than Mingi staying up late, so he sighed: "Yeah, I can do that. Under one condition that is. You need to promise me you'll at least try to get some more sleep before we get home." The younger was quick to agree, though disappointed that Yunho had to end the call as his break was over.

Mingi sat on the couch, legs pulled close to his body as he felt his skin prick with goosebumps. He could tell his fever was rising by the way he felt progressively colder. Good thing he'd take medicine once he had finished his soup. Sadly, the warm meal didn't help Mingi feel any warmer but placing the bowl into the sink, he decided he could take a warm shower before going to bed. He quickly rinsed down his medicine before shuffling to Yunho's room to steal one of his hyung's hoodies. Once he had compiled a cozy looking outfit, Mingi stepped into the bathroom. Shuddering as the cold air hit his skin, he undressed and hurried to get in the shower, so the water could keep him from freezing. The sudden warmth made his skin tingle but as the minutes passed, he felt more and more comfortable. Mingi braced one hand against the shower wall as he coughed, the steam loosening the congestion in his chest. Though his nose started to run, it didn't take long for him to breathe a little easier.