Fluffy ATEEZ Oneshots🧸

Not your day 🌡️

Sickie: Wooyoung
Caregivers: Ateez

No one’s POV.:

Only very little was going Wooyoung’s way today. He was about ready to call it quits and it was only ten AM. How was he supposed to last till tonight? It had started with him accidentally sleeping in, which he shouldn’t whine about too much because the same was true for Hongjoong and Jongho. His dorm mates would’ve woken him otherwise. Somehow, they seemed to find their footing much faster than Wooyoung, who still felt his heart racing trying to get into the flow of the day. Though sympathetic, the group couldn’t really consider their friends struggle, their schedule too hectic to allow room for personal adjustments. Hell, the trio hadn’t even gotten an opportunity to eat breakfast before finding themselves in front of their phones to hold video calls.

Though one fan worriedly commented on it when she heard Wooyoung’s stomach growl over the phone, he did get the whole event over with well. When they were done, San slipped him a protein bar and smiled: “To hold you over till you get an opportunity to have a meal.” – “I-I thought we could eat now?!”, the younger frowned, sinking his teeth into the protein bar. Catching up to him, Hongjoong denied: “We’re headed to an interview, so if you have any snacks in your backpack, better take the opportunity right now. Already kinda late, so there won’t be any waiting time for us.” The leader ignored the horrified look his dongsaeng gave him and scarfed down the apple Seonghwa had given him.

Worried about their friends who hadn’t even gotten the chance to pack any food that morning, the members went through their bags and collected whatever snacks they were carrying to make sure Hongjoong, Wooyoung and Jongho would have something to fuel them for the next one or two hours. It wasn’t much but they’d make do. They had to. Wooyoung’s stomach ached a little as he settled in for the interview, Yeosang next to him, shooting him an encouraging smile. Forcing himself to return it, the younger refrained from slipping his hand under his shirt to palm at his sore middle.

Wooyoung used to get stress stomach aches when he was in middle school, so he blamed the discomfort on the chaos of the day. Knowing this, Yeosang stuck close to him and occasionally rubbed his back in a comforting gesture. Though Wooyoung hid it quite well, Seonghwa caught on that there was a problem because he saw Yeosang acting just a tiny bit more affectionate towards their dongsaeng and made sure to check on the boy too. “Upset tummy”, Wooyoung mumbled, when the eldest asked if anything was wrong with. They were just making their way back to the company for a dance practice session. Resting his hand on the other’s shoulder, Seonghwa worried: “Is it hunger pains?” – “Not sure. Stress probably but the hunger isn’t helping”, Wooyoung winced, finally allowing himself to rub his stomach to try and soothe it.

Usually, the group would be able to squeeze in a little break but today they’d be working with their choreographers, who were also on a tight schedule, so their next break would have to wait for another two hours. Despite the pain slowly morphing into cramps, Wooyoung did his best to learn the new choreography quickly. He was a main dancer after all. Seonghwa encouraged him to sip water whenever he got the chance to but the younger eventually refused, claiming the liquid wasn’t sitting well in his empty stomach anymore. “We’ll have a break soon, so you guys can have a proper meal”, Yunho smiled before showing Jongho the move again. The maknae had trouble focusing and it took him longer to memorize the choreography. He’d have to revise it with Yunho and Wooyoung some other day.

Hongjoong too struggled but being the leader, he fought to hide it, not wanting to leave a bad impression with the choreographers. That could only work so long and he eventually found himself in Seonghwa’s arms, his only hyung manhandling him to the floor. “Sorry- sorry, just- just need a moment”, Hongjoong panted, sitting with his head bowed between his knees. His ears were ringing and he barely heard Seonghwa talking to him. Wooyoung brought him his water bottle, heart aching to see the older looking so faint. At the same time, it was reassuring to know his friends weren’t coping too well with the incident either. He didn’t feel as much as a failure, knowing that even their leader was still affected by it.

When the practice was finally over, Wooyoung remained splayed on the floor, drenched in sweat and still panting heavily. Hongjoong didn’t get up either, slowly sipping from his water bottle as he tried to catch his breath. Jongho leant against the wall next to his bag and dried his face on his towel before shooting Seonghwa a pained smile. “We have a one hour break before we need to perform, so should we order takeout here? You guys don’t look like you got the energy to go out somewhere right now”, the eldest offered, checking their schedule on his phone. “I vote yes”, Hongjoong announced, “’m starving.” Jongho was quick to agree but Wooyoung remained quiet. His stomach hurt… badly.

It took some prodding from Seonghwa and Hongjoong but Wooyoung eventually let himself be talked into having some rice, despite his cramps. To his relief, the first few bites soothed his stomach and he finally realized just how starved he was. “Woo, slow down”, San warned, watching worriedly as the younger scarfed down his meal, “You’re going to make yourself sick.” Shooting the older a frustrated glare, Wooyoung whined: “I’m starving, leave me alone. This is my first proper meal today and it’s already late afternoon.” – “Woah, no need to get defensive. Just saying that it’s a risk having so much food in such a short time span and so soon before performing”, San appeased, defensively raising his hands. Though he understood his friend’s point, Wooyoung didn’t manage to slow himself down. He had gone hungry for too long.

The meal seemed to restore his energy and Wooyoung settled into his seat with a satisfied smile, buckling his seatbelt. They’d only have to shoot the performance before their schedule would conclude for the day. He hadn’t thought himself capable of dancing anymore after practice but now he was confident that he could. Sure, he had eaten a little more than he usually would in one sitting and he felt the waistband of his jeans dig into his tummy but he hoped his stage outfit would conceal that somehow. Despite San’s warning that he'd feel sick, quite the opposite was the case. Wooyoung felt better than he had for most of the day, his stomach finally content and the hunger pains eased.

He wasn’t all that lucky with his stage outfit though and couldn’t help but feel self-conscious with the way the tight pants made his full middle look squishy. That couldn’t be helped now though and Wooyoung remained standing while they waited to be called up. Sitting down was just too uncomfortable in these pants and they didn’t squeeze his stomach as much when he was standing. Only this performance, the dancer reminded himself. He’d be back off that stage and in a pair of comfy sweatpants soon. His bed was waiting for him at the dorm and this dreadfully chaotic day would soon be over. He could only hope to wake up on time the next morning.

So deep in thought, Wooyoung almost missed them being called up and startled when Yeosang’s hand appeared on his arm to guide him to the stage. Ugh, for some reason, Wooyoung didn’t feel like dancing anymore all of a sudden and dancing in such a tight outfit when his stomach was already so full also didn’t sound too appealing. It wasn’t like he had a choice though, so he stifled a burp against his fist before stepping out in front of the cameras. He got this!

Running on adrenaline, Wooyoung wasn’t bothered by his clothes at all. He didn’t even feel them till he struck the ending pose, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, his stomach turning as if he was still dancing. With every breath, his waistband dug deep into his tummy. His stomach lurched and Wooyoung barely managed to fight off the urge to gag. Not even waiting for the director to signal that they were done, he turned and clamped his hands over his paling lips before rushing off stage. He had just made it to the steps when his throat contracted with a gag. Stumbling down the steps, Wooyoung made it out of sight and retched into his hands. Tears sprung to his eyes and it took a second for him to see the trashcan in front of him.

Wooyoung clutched the trashcan a staff member had thrust into his hands. He hadn’t even caught his breath before it was cut off by a wave of sick. A hand appeared on his back and someone steadied him when he doubled over again. Over the ringing in his ears, Wooyoung thought he might’ve heard the other members get of stage but he couldn’t be sure. He also didn’t get a break to look up and check, his stomach too busy trying to turn itself inside out. “Come on, sit”, someone instructed softly and Wooyoung shakily stumbled along before someone pushed on his shoulders to ease him down in a chair. That had come not a moment too late because his knees already felt like jelly and he didn’t know how long he would’ve remained on his feet without losing his balance.

When Wooyoung finally got a moment to breathe, he glanced up at San with watering eyes, shooting the older a pleading look. “Not gonna say it”, San sighed, pulling up a chair. He sat down next to Wooyoung and rubbed his back through the next round. By the time Wooyoung was done and spat into the trash, trying to get rid of a string of saliva, Seonghwa stood in front of him, holding a water bottle and tissues. He handed his dongsaeng a tissue to wipe his lips with and smiled sympathetically: “Today’s really not your day, is it?” Tiredly cleaning himself up, Wooyoung shook his head and accepted a tiny sip of water before handing the bottle back. He placed the trashcan onto the floor between his feet and rested his head in his hands.

The day had been awful but a small smile crept onto Wooyoung’s lips, despite the headache he had developed in the last five minutes after throwing up. No matter how awful the day had been, it was over now. He had his sweatpants in his bag and only needed to get changed before they could ho home. Home, where his bed was waiting for him and he could go to sleep confident that the next day would be better.