Stay Strong Seventeen

Dino

I hope you enjoy it
Requested by BTS_Armyy_2

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They were practicing really hard for the past few weeks. This tour is huge and they needed every ounce of their energy to go towards the preparations.
And it was tough.

Being the youngest, Dino always had something extra to offer, always energetic and on point. But recently, his sickness was wearing him down.
He was having a bad flu for days, he's been coughing harshly and would go breathless easily. He tried to push himself for far too long and didn't want to miss anything so just he lied to them and kept on lying

"I'm fine" ... "Yes I ate"
"No it's just a headache" ... "Yes I slept fine"

But he only kept getting worse and pretended that everything was fine. He knew that the tour was getting closer and he will get better before it starts for sure but his recovery was going really slow without proper rest. The mere thought of flying and traveling to various places and being jet lagged while being sick made his stomach twist and turn even more than it already was.

He almost gagged at the idea during the meeting that morning. They were going through the tour's schedule, flights, hotels and destinations and it made him go blank

"Chan?" He heard Hoshi call him with a soft voice, he finally snapped and gave him his attention "I've been calling you, are you okay?"

Today? Or in general? because today, he felt the worst

He nodded "Yes, sorry I was lost in my thoughts"

"What are you thinking about really?" Joshua sitting by his side patted his back "Just about the tour, it sounds fun" Dino waved off his Brothers' concerns with an excited smile.

Today was more exhausting than Dino has expected it to be. Giving it his all wasn't close to enough. Surprisingly, he wasn't yelled at, he was treated gently by everyone around him.
Did they know? Was it too obvious? He was coughing again, and Vernon passed him a bottle of water earlier

"Your cough is not going away yet?" Vernon asked concerned

"It did" Dino replied too soon "I don't know I guess I'm just thirsty"

"Okay, just rest if you don't feel well, we can't have you sick during the tour"

Dino nodded and sadly, his mind drifted away for a second, yes he can't be sick when the tour starts, he can't be the reason to rearrange the choreography or the line distribution at the last minute, they can't start thinking about it all over again.

He stopped, for a second before he realized he was staring blankly at the floor for too long. He finished tying his shoes and run behind the others to the big stage area. They were doing sound checks and practicing there today, and it's been hectic.
Not that it was unusual, but it was too much for Dino today.

He was panting badly, and his legs were shaking, he felt his stomach twist and wanted to vomit but there was no time to even breathe. He struggled with his breaths and had to isolate himself for a few seconds in the back corner of the stage just to steady himself.

He looked around and everything was blurry, lights were blinding him and his head felt so stuffy and he couldn't hear a thing. It was already too loud, it's a big stage and they were testing all of the equipments and sound systems plus practice and his ears rang so badly unable to handle it all.

He saw someone coming his way, he couldn't see who. His eyes were unfocused and he tried so bad to listen and stay on his feet but his body wasn't moving, everything was suddenly too quiet and he fell. He fell on the hard wooden floor of the open stage. It only took a second but it felt like an eternity to him. He couldn't feel anything anymore, the lights still blinding his eyes so he closed them for a bit and it turned out that he actually closed for hours.

Jeonghan was taking a break, he usually gets tired easily and he walked over to the back corner of the stage where Dino was heading. The younger looked blank, he was staring aimlessly somewhere and Jeonghan tried to follow where he was looking but couldn't see anything.
He scoffed and walked towards him
« What are you staring at? » he asked but it never reached Dino's ears. Jeonghan noticed the blank expressions, the pale face, the way Dino wasn't responding at all and it felt like Jeonghan just blinked and Dino was on the floor

"What?" He saw him sway a little to the side before he fell flat on his right side, arms sprawled near his head and just ... passed out.

The older run to him, and soon everyone else. He tried to wake him up, doing some first aid before the medical team arrived. They were lucky they were testing everything for the big concert and everyone was on stand by.
When the paramedics worked their way to him, they immediately put him under a ventilator and kept pressure on chest "He's not breathing" they said

Seungkwan was already on his knees, this can't be happening, he can't lose another friend, no, he won't be able to live anymore. Jeonghan was stronger than usual, he run with the paramedics outside and got into the ambulance with him, Seungcheol soon followed but on one else was allowed beyond that.

Wonwoo helped Seungkwan off the floor, he hugged him tightly "He'll be okay Kwan, don't worry, he'll be just fine" having lost his mother recently as well, Wonwoo wanted to believe those words so bad.
Dino will be fine, he'll be home soon

Everyone was worried sick, Hoshi literally had to throw up. Seeing the youngest being rushed to the ICU, was the last thing he expected to happen today. They waited for that phone call, Wonwoo still holding Seungkwan close and Mingyu going in about to comfort both of them.

The phone call came soon enough, Jeonghan's voice was shaking badly. They said that Dino stopped breathing for a few seconds and they can't determine the damages that it might have done to his organs. They had to wait until he wakes up, Jeonghan couldn't lie, he couldn't hide his worry and "Why? Why did it happen?"

"He's been sick for a long time ... the workouts and practice, it's a form of a cardiac arrest" Seungcheol tried to explain sounding better and well composed than Jeonghan
"The doctors are prepared for the worst but not me" he tried to reassure the boy on the other side of the line "He'll be fine I'm sure"

Joshua breathed in deeply "What do I tell them?"

"Tell them that we are waiting for him to wake up, he'll be okay once he wakes up"

Joshua felt his heart clench, he can't lie to them and he can't hide it either
"Okay" ... "Cheol please ... make sure he's okay"

The line went silent for a second "I'll call you once he wakes up"

Joshua walked in and delivered the news, he tried to sound as optimistic as possible but the next phone call made all the difference

Seungcheol and Jeonghan were by Dino's hospital bed. The boy was under heavy oxygen and medication. Jeonghan sniffed and wiped his tears

"He's fine Hannie stop crying"

"Yeah I know but I can't get over it yet"

"The others will be here soon, I don't want them to see you like this ... they'll think something bad has happened"

He nodded wiping yet another tear that escaped his eyes. He woke up, he finally did about an hour ago. The primary checkup came back negative, which is good, nothing as severe as they expected but Dino was still under observation and wasn't leaving the hospital any time soon.

Jeonghan sighed and Seungcheol patted his shoulder
"He'll be fine ... we will be fine" he repeated softly watching the sleeping Dino on the bed.