Stay Strong Seventeen

Lee Chan 1

Scoups ran his cold hand over the younger's forehead again, he sighed, he can't recall how many times he did that for the past 15 minutes, maybe a dozen times?
And every time he did, he wished that the boy wouldn't be this warm and it only felt like he was getting warmer and warmer as time went by.

Scoups cursed under his breaths "Where the hell is he?" Their manager was taking too long to come back with the doctor for God knows why, he didn't even call them for any update.

Coups' feet where getting numb, he was standing in his exact spot for more than 20 minutes now so he decided to take a seat next to Dino on the bed.
The boy being feverish, he was in and out of sleep, his cheeks flushed and lips parted and his breaths seemed heavy.
Dino could feel something sinking next to him so he stirred, not even opening his eyes to know who it was

"Hyung?" He whined sleepily gaining the immediate attention of the older

"Hey baby, are you up? Sorry did I wake you?"

The maknae mumbled something that his leader couldn't hear but then he almost pleaded

"Don't go"

S.coups heard it loud and clear, he leaned a little toward the boy holding his hand

"I won't, I'm here"

With that Dino released a painful sigh, he groaned fidgeting under his blanket trying to find a more comfortable position and went back to sleep only seconds later.

Jeonghan came in with yet another bowl of iced water only to find S.coups sitting down next to Dino looking at him profoundly

"Don't blame yourself" Jeonghan said out of nowhere making Scoups break his long gaze over Dino's face

"What?"

"I know what's on your mind so don't blame yourself"

Jeonghan walked put down the bowel of water on the night stand right next Dino's bed and heard S.coups sighing

"Then why does it feel like it's all my fault?" the leader said frustrated, disappointment obvious in his voice

"It's OUR fault, all of us" Jeonghan put a reassuring hand on his Scoups shoulder and pressed hard on it "We should have known better" ...
"Our manager called, he's on his way, he'll be fine I'm sure"

Scoups nodded "Once this is all over, I'm going to call for an emergency meeting"

With that being said, Scoups went back to his silent mode for a few more minutes watching as Jeonghan placed the cold wet compress over Dino's forehead again and waited until the silence was finally broken by the doorbell.

Finally, Jeonghan and S.coups jolted their heads up alarmed. It must be the doctor, the could hear Hoshi shuffeling to open the door for them.

The manager and the doctor finally stepped inside the bedroom, Jeonghan gently stroke Dino's cheeks calling his name a couple of time woking him up.
Chan stirred and groaned at first rejecting the older's attempt to get him to sit up a little but with S.coups's help they managed to freshen him up and make him sit

The doctor greeted the boys but asked them to exit the room until he was done with his checkup.

They hated waiting outside, they'd rather be with their Maknae instead and as they waited in the living room, everyone else started to join them sitting randomly next and around them

"We need to talk"
Scoups announced and he sounded really serious and they all gave him all of their attention

"He was sick for a long time and no one even noticed, how can that be ?"
S.coups lifted his head to find all seventeen members staring right back at with guilty eyes and no answers

"I'm serious, I keep blaming myself and I can't accept the idea that no one knew"
He stopped a little to look at the shocked expressions of the rest "We were not there for him"
The atmosphere became even more depressing, no one could look the leader in the eyes, they felt guilty, they should have known better, paid more attention and maybe went a little easier on him when he said he was tired.
Nobody said a word after that, they just waited for the doctor to come out thinking of the different possible ways things could have been better.

They waited for more than 30 minutes before they heard the bedroom's door creek open and they stood up nervously at the sight of the doctor coming out with an uncomfortable look on his face

"How is he doctor?" Jeonghan was the first to ask as the rest of Seventeen members stood behind him including Seungcheol

"He's stable now"

Sighs of relief were heard from all over but the doctor's expressions didn't change at all and they sensed that there was more to this

"I hooked him on IV drips, he's very dehydrated, his fever is draining every bit of his energy so I endorsed him with Ibuprofen and did an overall check up" ...
"To be honest, things doesn't look so good"

The doctor paused now looking at their worried but attentives faces

"Dehydration, fever and muscle pain, all of these combined. He's extremely overworked and burned out. His body is giving in, he's still too young to handle such a burn out and it will be difficult to bounce back.
I'm putting him on strict bed rest for the next three days at least, and this is a list of medication, vitamins and minerals he must take, he need to make sure he eats healthily and sleeps well.
I'll pass by tomorrow to see how he's doing. For now, just keep a closer eye on him, his fever should be subsiding soon"