Before I'm Gone | Stray Kids FF

Bad Food

I groaned as I listened to Seungmin bugging me to go back to the apartment and check up on Areum and Haneul. It was already the next day and we had texted them asking if they were alright. Haneul had said she was staying over at Areum's and that the rest of us could stay at Chan's place for the night and that we did not have to visit them. We had decided to listen to them, but now, Seungmin was asking me to go check up on them. I told him that if they needed us, they would call. Yet, he insisted, telling me that they had not replied to anyone's texts so maybe something bad was happening. Eventually, he got Felix, Jeongin and Jisung worried and they started asking me to go check on her.

"Fine!" I huffed as I stood up and got my shoes on. "I'll check on them."

They all cheered at winning. They asked if they could come but I said no. I did not need more nagging. In the end, Changbin ended up coming with just because he wanted to go home.

Once we got there, Changbin headed towards our apartment while I went to Areum's. Knocking on the door, I waited for them to open it. Being the impatient person I was, I would knock every few seconds. When they did not respond after the fifth attempt, I went in with the code that Areum had accidentally shared with me a while ago.

"Areum?" I said aloud. "Haneul?" There was no answer. I took off my shoes and walked into the living room, calling out their names once more.

"In here..." I heard a faint voice coming from the master bedroom.

I walked to the door, there was no one there. Heading inside, I noticed that the room was a mess. Reminding me of the time that I had come by when Areum was sick.

"In the bathroom..." The weak voice said loud enough for me to hear. I turned towards where the bathroom was, freezing up at the sight in front of me.

Areum sat on the bathroom floor. She was wearing a white oversized t-shirt and a black pair of shorts. She was bent over the toilet, throwing up the contents in her body.

I quickly went towards her and grabbed her hair to pull it away from her face as she continued to gag. Taking out my phone, I called Woojin.

"What's up? He answered after a few rings.

"Can you hurry over?" I asked. "Areum is throwing up and-"

"On my way." He cut me off and I heard rustling on the other end. "Where's Haneul?"

I looked down at Areum who was just starting to stop throwing up and was sitting up. "Other washroom, also throwing-" she gagged and went back to throwing up.

"Also sick." I replied.

"Alright, I'll bring Jisung and Chan too." There was a pause. "Never mind they're all coming." Right then, he hung up. I decided to call Changbin as well to have him come over. He answered and said he would be there right away, he just needed me to open the door. Areum had stopped vomiting for a moment and was wiping the sides of her mouth a little while breathing in deeply. She then told me to go help Haneul instead while waiting for Changbin, and to just leave her since she thought Haneul was in a worse condition. I did as she asked me to.

Just as I was heading out, Changbin's knock came at the door. I opened it up and he asked me where Areum was, once I told him where, he headed there immediately and helped her out as best he could while I handled Haneul. Soon after, Woojin and Chan arrived, but without the other guys.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked as I followed Woojin after switching places with Chan.

"Getting medication and stuff." He said as he walked towards Areum and telling Changbin that he could help Areum. She was no longer throwing up but was too weak to get up or do much more. Next to that, she was a bit of a mess too. Woojin carefully picked Areum up, who was too delirious to take notice at this point, and brought her to the bed in her room. He gently lay her down and put the covers over her. Woojin went over to the other bathroom to check on Haneul and Chan. Chan had just finished cleaning her up and was picking her up to put her on the couch in the living room. She too, was too weak to comprehend what was going on.

The rest of the guys came soon after with all the things that Woojin had told them to get. He asked Hyunjin, Changbin and me to make soup while Chan and he looked after Haneul and Areum. Jisung was with Haneul and Jeongin was with Areum. Seungmin and Felix were cleaning up the house which had been a mess when I came. After a while, we got everything done and took a break, sitting on the ground in the living room in silence.

"What do you think made them this sick?" Felix asked as he fiddled with his fingers.

"Maybe when she said she wasn't feeling well, she wasn't lying?" Seungmin suggested, reminding us that we had thought they were lying and just needed some girl time.

"I doubt it." Changbin said as he ran a hand through his hair. "Plus, we have to figure out how both of them got sick together at the same time and just as bad as the other."

"True." Hyunjin agreed as he looked over to the couch where Chan was sitting with Haneul's head on his lap, Jisung sitting at her feet.

"Maybe it was something they ate." I pointed at the table. "There was a whole bunch of food here when I came."

Just as we were about to discuss more, running footsteps caught our attention. Haneul had risen and ran to the bathroom, quickly bending over the toilet as she gagged. Chan was quick to react and went over to her immediately to hold her hair back from her face while Jisung stood and went to get water from the kitchen.

"I really don't think they're sick." I said to Changbin. "It seems like they ate something bad, it doesn't seem contagious either."

"Yeah..." He turned his head as we heard footsteps from the master bedroom. Jeongin was coming out of it and was headed to the kitchen. I saw him find a cloth and wet it before going back to the room. Deciding to follow him, I stood and went in to check on Areum.

"Is she okay?" I asked, leaning on the doorway.

Woojin looked up from putting the cloth on her forehead. "I don't know." He said, clearly unsure of her condition. "She seems to need to throw up a lot, but there's nothing for her to throw up really. It's affecting her."

I nodded in response as I watched her chest rising unevenly. It made me regret not taking care of her better. She was my classmate and neighbour, yet I had not done enough. It was eating me up from the inside. Sighing, I thought back to the time that us boys and her had our first meet up. I remember following her outside and overhearing her say that she had been lonely. In the end, she and I had a conversation. It was then when I found out a little about her. Of course, she never let on to very much but I got a glimpse into her life. She would often ask about me, but I always refused to answer. She would be respectful about the topics we touched. Most of all, she was still very caring. It always surprised me. It hurt me that I could never seem to return the favour. I never really seemed to care, but I did not want to make it seem like I did. I knew that if I did, it could affect the group and her. She seemed to be very much against us caring for her anyways. I did not want to get on her nerves.

Areum's hand went out from underneath the covers and reached weekly out in Woojin's direction. She knew he was present. I saw a smile appear on his face as he put his hand out and intertwined it with Areum's. I watched as her eyes fluttered open and she looked to Woojin.

"Areum, what happened?" Woojin asked softly, still holding her hand.

"I think I ate something bad." She said weakly. "Haneul too."

"Are you okay now?" Jeongin asked, concern filled his voice.

"I'll live." She simply said.

"Who gave you the bad food." I spoke up, wanting the answer.

"Um..."

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So it's only the third week of school and bro i'm stressed.

Oh well

See you in the next one I guess.

Edit: 2/14/2020

So like I said in the Chapter "Kisses" I will be adding some shout outs because I can't seem to catch up on them.

The shout out goes to ioooiooooooooo! Thanks for your support

^I hope the user is right, I'm not sure XD