Before I'm Gone | Stray Kids FF

Sick

Chan POV

"Minho?" I wandered over to him. "Where's Areum?"

"I don't know." He said looking around. "I haven't seen her all day."

We went through the gym class without Areum. It was strange, not having her around in the gym. She normally leads the class or set an example and standard at least. She was normally one of the first ones done the warm-ups. She had every skill down in any sport we did. She was able to do it all pretty well. Of course, she was not the very best at everything, but she had a great attitude and did everything decently well. Without her today, we did not have a demonstrator or someone to set a pace or standard. It just did not feel right.

Later on, at lunch, we still had not seen her. Minho had come to the table last, which was odd since he was normally the firsts. We asked him what had taken him so long. He told us that the class had decided to play around with her since she was not around. They were putting trash in her locker and on her desk and all sorts of things. He had stayed behind to clean it all up, not wanting her to come back and see the trash and unkind things people were leaving in her locker and on her desk.

We had all agreed on going to Changbin and Minho's place that day to see if we could meet up with Areum. We went and tried knocking on her door. She did not respond. A second time we tried. Still no response. We tried texting her, calling her, everything. Nothing. Changbin went inside his apartment and looked from the balcony to see if he could see her. Still, nothing. He said her room lights were on though. Once more, we tried knocking her door and ringing the bell. Finally, I gave up and just punched in the code.

"You knew it this whole time?!" Felix gently punched me. "We've been waiting out here for nothing!"

"I did." I nodded. "She said it out loud once by accident." I opened the door. "I just didn't use it cause it's not right to just barge in."

We went inside to see a messy living room and kitchen. It looked as though someone had raided her house. The master bedroom was empty, so was her guest room and work room. Then, we decided to check the bathrooms.

"Oh my gosh! Chan!" Felix practically screeched.

I ran into the master bedroom's bathroom to find a sickly Areum passed out on the floor shivering in a cold sweat.

~*~

Woojin POV

Chan and Seungmin went out to buy some medication and food. The others were assigned to cleaning up the house. I was left to care for Areum. After picking her up and putting her in the bed, I went to the bathroom and cleaned up the mess that had been made from her trying to get to the bathroom this morning probably. The countertop had many things that were now knocked over, which I fixed and made upright. The mat on the floor was scrunched up, so I straightened it out. After finishing up, I went back to her, to find her forehead feeling feverish. So I went into a closet and found a small towel to use for her. I let cold water run through it before ringing it out and putting it on her forehead. She shifted slightly in her sleep, reacting to the cold towel, but she let it sit there as she drifted off back to sleep.

I looked around the room, it seemed like a nice place but was a little messy. I wondered how much it got messed up just because she was sick. Looking over to her nightstand, I noticed a gift bag. I looked at the name on the card. Minho. It read. It was his birthday today, that was probably meant to be given to him at school or something. She clearly had not been well enough to get it to him. Just then, Minho walked in, a worried look on his face.

"Is she okay?" He asked, coming by and standing on the side of the bed.

"She's sick... really sick..." I replied honestly. "But she'll be alright." I put my hand on her leg which had a blanket as a barrier between her skin and my hand. "Don't worry."

"I'll try not to." He looked around the room. "Oh... what's that?" He looked to the night stand.

"It's for you." I shrugged. "Don't worry, I didn't look inside."

"Should I look at what it is?" He questioned.

"I mean, it's for you..." I shrugged. "You could." I looked at a notification that had come up on my phone. "I'll leave you to it," I said standing up. "I gotta go open the door for Chan and Seungmin," I said as I left.

"Kay, hyung," Minho mumbled, leaving me to chuckle as I walked away.

~*~

Areum POV

I woke up to a hand on my forehead. My eyes opened but shut quite quickly because of the blinding lights. The hand removed from my forehead and a cloth replaced it. The hand made its way to my arm, patting it lightly before it lifted and did not touch me again. One side of the bed rose, signalling that someone had just gotten off of it and was making their way somewhere else. I tried opening my eyes again, but the lights blinded me. I decided to at least try and say something to see if I could get someone's attention.

"Hello...?" I said, a raspy voice coming out of my mouth.

"Areum?" A voice said from the direction of my door. "You're awake?" They seemed to come closer. "Open your eyes if you are."

I shook my head as I tried to get a few words out. "Too... bright..."

"Ah..." I heard footsteps walking towards the wall and soon enough, everything was pretty dark. "Better?"

I opened my eyes and nodded. "Who's here right now?" I said, not even looking at who it was.

"It's me." The voice said, coming closer. "Jihoon." He came closer. "Bora is here too." He put a hand on my arm. "You're lucky the boys found you."

"Wait, what?" I looked at him confused.

"The boys found you passed out in your bathroom." He explained. "Jeongin called Eunji who had my number. She told me to get to your place quickly, so I did. It's been two days Noona. You've been passed out for so long."

"I have?" I asked, looking around.

"You have." He said, making me rest my head. "I'll tell the guys that you're awake okay? They've been so worried about you."

I nodded and let him leave. Which left me to wonder a) how they got in and b) what had happened.

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I'd like to say thank you to A0l1i2c3e4 for supporting my book!

Alright, that's it for today!

See you when I return!

(I'm in a hurry so no long message haha)