maze of memories. | lmh + hjs ✓

t w e n t y - t h r e e

warning: vomit (?)

{2 days later}

"what do you mean, you threw up?" jisung frantically questioned. minho, who was sitting beside him, placed his hand on jisung's, trying to calm him down.

"its just... i think it's just a stomachache, maybe from the fish yesterday? can you call jihyo noona?" seungmin winced. the kind woman had been staying with them in an extra first floor guest room to ensure that seungmin made a full recovery.

"wait here." not wanting to waste any more time, he sped down the stairs to alert her. he made his way downstairs, seeing him sitting down with chan with a mug in hand. "seungmin's not feeling real good, can you come!?"

at this, jihyo's expression dropped. she set down her mug and rushed upstairs, jisung right behind her. barging into the room, she was met with an empty bed, a worried minho, and retching sounds coming from the bathroom.

"oh my..." jihyo shooed the couple out, leaving both jisung and minho very worried. chan was standing outside, looking anxious. "anything?" he asked, glancing over to the left.

"no, he was fine a few hours ago..." jisung muttered. what if seungmin was-

"it'll be okay. this is seungmin we're talking about! he'll be fine." minho cut off jisung's thought, attempting to add a small bit of enthusiasm to his voice. "yea... i hope." jisung replied, hand unconsciously reaching for his.

minho broke into a smile, intertwining their fingers. "just wait... we'll all be okay."

///

"wait... you can tell the others i got food poisoning and all, but not hyunjin, please tell him that i'm recovering nicely. but don't let him see me yet." seungmin said between pants. "please?"

jihyo sighed. "you know, he begged me to let me see you."

seungmin choked, flinching as he clutched his stomach. "he did?" jihyo nodded. "i hope things really work out with you two. in the meantime, i'll follow your request."

gratefully smiling, seungmin thanked the older. "you can let the others in, right?" jihyo frowned. "only for a short while. you should probably rest, but if we keep it short it shouldn't be that much of a problem."

"okay." seungmin quietly muttered. "i'm such a bother. fainting and now this?" jihyo twisted her head to look back at the younger. "trust me... you're not a bother to anyone."

///

hyunjin sulked on his bed, staring at the wall. he knew that just beyond that grey barrier, lay seungmin. he groaned, falling back. waiting all day inside of his room for jihyo's reports on the other was not fun.

"hyunjin?" jihyo spoke from behind the door. "come in!" hyunjin sat up again, eager for the few minutes where she would tell him seungmin's condition. it was the least hyunjin had of him, and the least jihyo could do for hyunjin.

jihyo pressed back a sigh. she knew that lying to hyunjin wasn't what she wanted to do... but seungmin had requested it. telling herself to stay true to the patient, jihyo opened the door.

"how is he?" hyunjin immediately asked, hope filling his eyes. "he's... fine. recovering well, no other symptoms." jihyo lied through her teeth, trying to remind himself that seungmin would be perfectly alright. 

"oh, good." hyunjin said in relief, plopping down on the chair that was positioned in front of the wall. "can i see him now?"

"no, not yet. seungmin said he didn't want to see you." jihyo gently informed the younger. "but i thought he was doing much better-" hyunjin protested.