"Ahchoo!" Yunho sniffles and clears his throat before continue getting ready. His head already feeling stuffy like there are expanding cottons in it and his mind is hazy.

"Are you getting sick too Yunho ah?" asked San as he walked into the room after hearing Yunho sneezed from the hallway. Yunho shook his head, "Nope. It's the dust. How is Wooyoung and Jongho?" Yunho asks as he is contemplating whether to wear a sweater or a shirt with a jacket.

"Wooyoung's fever is still high but it is lower than last night. I'm not sure about Jongho, you have to ask Mingi." says San and Yunho hum wearing a sweater instead.

"Go get ready Sani ah. The managers are kinda in a bad mood as 2 of our members are sick at the same time and they were fighting with the higher ups at the office to let Wooyoung and Jongho rests until they are healthy instead of forcing them with the schedules and practices so they are kinda angsty this morning." says Yunho and San nod his head and go to the bathroom to shower.

Yunho sighs softly and grabs his backpack before heading out to sit on the couch in their living room. Once seated, he lays his head on the headrest and closes his eyes while trying not to shiver every once in a while. You see, Yunho is sick since yesterday but he only realizes it last night and he was about to tell one of his manager when he heard their managers talking last night in the living room about how the higher ups are getting suspicious about members getting sick one after another and assuming that them boys are faking it so they can skip schedules and practices.

"They should've seen how these boys practice their asses off and how they have little rest doing schedules inside and outside of Korea back to back. How could they say they were trying to skip the schedules and practices. They are literally swimming in it and none of them whines about it. Instead they asked for more schedules and practices."

"Yeah.. It really wasn't a surprise if they suddenly get sick but you know how the higher up is right? They only want to see the outcomes. They don't want to see the making off of the outcomes thus they wouldn't know how hard these boys do their job. I just hope only Wooyoung and Jongho are sick. We really can't manage if there are more. The higher ups will sure to give them a hard time if they find out more members are getting sick."

So, instead of telling the managers, Yunho stayed silent about his fever. He doesn't want to bring more trouble for the group and their managers. It's not like he never lied about not being sick when he is sick before. It's just been sometimes that he doesn't tell anyone if he's sick. He rarely told his member whenever he was sick before because he was supposed to be the healthiest and most energetic in the group, only giving up when he can't stand it or one of the members caught him and told him to rest and stop pretending that he is not sick.

I can't get caught now thought Yunho.

"Yunho? Are you alright?" says Mingi as he walks into the living room. Yunho opens one of his eyes and gives him a thumbs up, "I'm fine. I slept late last night. Usually San would whine at me if it was getting very late and I was still playing games but San was with Wooyoung last night so I've lost track of the time." Yunho lies and Mingi chuckles, shaking his head.

I couldn't sleep last night Mingi ah.. My headache won't let me.. I'm sorry I had to lie.. I don't want to bring more trouble for the group..

"How's the maknae?" Yunho asks and Mingi shrugs, "He's been better. His fever is still there though and the manager had to force him to rest or they won't let him sing for a week." says Mingi and Yunho chuckles. Yunho then played a game on his phone to deceive Mingi as Mingi was looking at him suspiciously and only stopped when he saw Yunho play with his phone.

Yunho shivers as he sits in the chair so his hair stylist can do his hair for the next performance. His stage costume is a bit thin and he can't wear his jacket or his members will catch on that something is wrong with him. It's been half a day and he didn't get caught yet so he is determined not to let his members and managers know about his fever.

Yunho had done his best to be the hyper puppy he is to make it seem normal and nothing is wrong with him though it feels like hell. He had to stop jumping around when his head felt like bursting and opted to play games on his phone even though he can't concentrate on winning at all.

There is no incident today and they successfully done their schedules and Yunho stops being hyper once they are seated in the van. His energy depleted greatly and he had to try his best suppressing his shivers and coughs. He falls asleep once the van starts moving and only wakes up when Hongjoong gently shakes his shoulder telling him that they have arrived at their dorm.

"Are you alright Yunho ah? You usually are still hyper at this time of night." asked Hongjoong softly and Yunho quickly gave him a wide smile assuring his hyung with "I'm fine I'm fine! The aircond was very cool that I fell asleep, that's all~". Hongjoong nods his head and heads out from the van with Yunho tailing from behind.

He stops pretending when he's lying on his bed that night. San is going to take care of Wooyoung so he's bunking in Wooyoung and Yeosang's room which means Yunho don't have to act like he's fine in his own bedroom. He shivered and clutched the blanket as tightly as he could and he had to cough in his pillow so no one would hear him.

Yunho sighs as he could feel that this fever would be a bad one as his cough is getting worse, his headache won't go away, he is starting to shiver out of nowhere and his limbs begin to feel like jellies. He was tempted to go out into the kitchen and sneak some medicines but when he tried to stand up, he fell right back on his bed. Yunho groans and he slid back under his blanket, giving up going into the kitchen and wasting his energy.

I'll just sleep it off. Better to keep my energy at bay for tomorrow.

Yunho fell asleep right away after that, his blanket pooling around him like a cocoon.

--

"Gasp!"

Yunho shot out from his bed into a sitting position only to see the room spinning and his head felt like a rock before he fell back on his pillow. He pants and runs his hand on his chest to calm his heart from beating rapidly because of the nightmare. Yunho groans as he rubs his face a few times. He hates fever induced nightmares so much because every nightmare seems so real that he would jump out of his skin every single time.

"Oh! You're awake. I was about to wake you up. Get ready, the van will be here in 1 hour." says Hongjoong as he peeks his head inside Yunho's room. Yunho nods his head and gives Hongjoong a thumbs up as he doesn't quite trust his voice yet. After a few minutes, he tried sitting up on his bed and luckily the room is not spinning anymore. Now he just has to walk straight without stumbling to the bathroom.

Yunho sighs as he fetches his towel and ready himself to walk normally to the bathroom. He managed to walk without stumbling but once he reached the bathroom and closed the door, he slumped down to his knees as he clutched his head. The room is spinning again. He whimpered softly. Can I really do this today? Should I just give up and tell someone..? But.. I don't want to bring trouble.. thought Yunho.

He stood up slowly a few minutes later after making a decision not to tell his members or managers about his worsen fever. Yunho slowly gets out of his clothes and trudges under the shower, he turns the temperature to warm as he doesn't think he can take the cold water. Yunho then started to shower slowly.

After the shower, Yunho had chosen to wear a long sleeve shirt with a jacket today as he felt colder than yesterday. He shivers as he walks out of his room and goes to the kitchen. Yunho was about to sneak some medicines but he sees Seonghwa in the kitchen thus, he didn't sneak any, he drinks some water instead.

Yunho tried. He tried so hard to suppress his coughing but his throat keeps itching and with how he have to sing and dance at the same time, his throat is beginning to feel sore and scratchy but he didn't cough when the cameras is on him or when he have to sing his parts so he thinks that at least is a win for him.

It was at the 6th performance pre-recording that the members started noticing how Yunho would cough on the stage or after the stage. The managers also noticed that and they are not that happy but they are also worried.

Yunho lays his head on the couch and closes his eyes, waiting for their last and live performance to start. He knew his fever is only getting worse by how hazy his mind is and he had to push himself to concentrate and not mess up the choreography. Yunho loosen up his tie as he felt suffocated a bit before he coughs and takes a deep breath afterwards.

Yunho didn't even realize that he no longer suppressed his coughs, too occupied on staying awake and not messing up their performance. Mingi walked to him and put his hand on Yunho's forehead only to frown when he felt the burning skin of his bub. Yunho didn't even push Mingi's hand away, he unconsciously leaned into it instead, chasing the cool hand that seemed so right on his burning forehead.

Mingi alerts the members and their managers with a tilt of his head towards Yunho and nods at them as he knew the others were suspicious of Yunho's well being since a while ago. One of the managers comes and feels Yunho's temperature before frowning and sighing softly.

"Bub? Why didn't you tell me or the others that you're sick? You're burning up." says Mingi softly as he thread his fingers along Yunho's hair. Yunho hums before murmuring, "I am burning..? I thought I could handle it.. Don't want to trouble anyone.. Wooyoungie and Jongie are already sick, I don't want to cause more stress.."

Yunho didn't even try to lie anymore as he knew Mingi would know right away so he told them the truth. The managers sigh softly and they were about to stop Yunho from performing but the stage manager suddenly calls for ATEEZ to remind them to get ready as they will be up in 5 minutes.

Yunho opened his eyes and saw the concerned face of his members and managers and he hated it. He really hates giving trouble to the group. "I'll be fine to perform. It's the last one anyway. I can manage this. I promise." says Yunho softly and even though the others wanted to protest, they knew they couldn't as their performance is about to start.

Seonghwa forced Yunho to drink some water before going up to the stage worried that the younger will be dehydrated while performing and Yunho obliges silently. The performance starts and everyone is doing a great job but they can't help but to glance at Yunho whenever they could to make sure that the sick boy won't suddenly pass out on the stage.

Yunho had tried his best to concentrate while on the stage. He concentrates on dancing while singing and trying not to stumble. He's only thinking of finishing the performance smoothly because if he faint or something, he will be in a lot of trouble from the higher ups. They are already cranky because 2 of the members can't perform when they are at the peak of their rookie life so if more members are not available to perform, it will sure make them angry.

They finally finished their performance and are getting out of the stage for the other group to perform, there are stairs at the end of it that they have to walk down to before they can go to their waiting room. Everyone is walking down the stairs with Yunho at the end of the line and he seems to be swaying dangerously and breathing heavily.

It was only a few steps away for Yunho to reach the floor but he starts to see black and white dots in his visions once they finished their performance earlier and he can't seem to concentrate anymore. Without seeing where he is supposed to put his feet, he fell after his ankle twisted because he missed the flat platform.

The manager was going to get them after the performance, so he swiftly walked out of their waiting room to fetch them at the stairs and he saw it all. The way Yunho sways and breathes heavily on top of the stairs, the way Yunho blinks a few times to walk down the stairs and how he twisted his ankle and fell.

"Shit! Yunho! Someone hold him before he falls further down!" shouted the manager as he ran towards them. Mingi had been the closest and he quickly turned around when their manager had shouted but Yunho had already fallen down a few steps. Mingi rushed to stop Yunho from falling down further and he panicked when Yunho had already fainted by the time he got to him.

Mingi don't know what to do. Should he pick Yunho up? But will it be alright? Is Yunho hurt somewhere from the falling? He hesitated to even touch the taller one at first but decided to pick Yunho up gently without jostling him too much and quickly walk to their waiting room, the others hot at his tail.

Mingi put Yunho on the ground as the manager had instructed him to before he looked over to Yunho to see his face properly.

"Boys, give him some space, he needs air. Someone go get the oxygen can. Help me remove his shoes and socks but be careful, I think he sprained his left foot." says the manager and San is quick to help him take Yunho's shoes and socks off. Mingi had loosen Yunho's tie and unbuttoned his shirt and the manager that had fetched the oxygen can had put it on Yunho's mouth, pumping it a few times.

The other members can't do anything but to stay away a little bit as their manager had instructed adorning a concerned face.

"Shouldn't we take him to the hospital manager hyung?" says Seonghwa and one of the managers who was on the phone just now frown and sighs, pinching his nose bridge. "We can't. The higher ups won't let us. The only thing we can do is to bring Yunho back to the dorm and we will call a doctor to come by and take a look at him."

"What the.. Why won't they let us bring Yunho to the hospital??" says Hongjoong.

"You know how they are boys. They don't want the public thinking that something bad is happening in the company and you guys already had 2 members sick, so adding another one will only bring more suspicion. I don't agree with them but I can't deny their orders either. I'm sorry but the only thing we can do is bring Yunho back and call a doctor." says the manager and all of the members minus Yunho huff but they didn't protest anymore.

Yunho whimpered suddenly, making Mingi look over to him in a flash. "Bub?" says Mingi softly as he can see Yunho's eyes fluttering open. Yunho whimpered again, closing his eyes after the lights made his head pound.

"Mingi, pull him up into a sitting position. Gently." says the manager as Mingi is the closest to Yunho right now. Mingi obliges and puts an arm under Yunho's neck before gently hauling him up into a sitting position. Yunho lay his head on Mingi's shoulder after he was hauled up, trying his best to open his eyes but failed as he kept seeing the room swirling around him. Mingi can feel the heat from Yunho as the taller lay his head on his shoulder and he was about to ask Yunho if he's hurting anywhere because of the fall earlier but Yunho had suddenly coughs and doubled over.

Mingi had to hold Yunho up as he coughs and after his coughing fit stops, Yunho breathes heavily and swayes so Mingi gently pulls Yunho towards him and lays Yunho's head on his shoulder again. San had taken the oxygen can and brought it to Yunho's mouth, pumping it a few times as Mingi looked at San thankful for his quick thinking.

"I don't think the pup will be able to answer any of our questions, hyung." says Hongjoong after he observes the younger and sees how dazed he looks right now.

"I was about to ask him if he's hurt somewhere else.. I guess we have to check it ourselves. San, since you're already here, help me touch his body and Mingi will have to tell us if Yunho flinch or something." says the manager and they nod their heads.

San had started from Yunho's head as he was quite sure that there was a bump there and true enough, when he ran his hand towards Yunho's left side of his head, Yunho flinched a bit and whimpered. Mingi had to whisper sweet nothings in Yunho's ears to ease his pain and confusion. "A bump here" says San before he checks Yunho's face and neck. San went down further to his collarbone and chest before going over to his ribs. Fortunately Yunho didn't flinch or whimper so San continued to check until his thighs and still Yunho didn't respond to any of it.

Before the manager gently squeezed his left ankle.

Yunho screamed. He can't stop himself from screaming when he feels the scorching pain from his ankle and only stops when the manager has let go of his ankle. He still whimpered though because he still can feel the lingering pain and with him having a high fever, the pain seems to intensified tenfold, thus the scream.

"Is it broken??! If not why did Yunho scream like that??!" Seonghwa asked as he panicked himself seeing everyone's puppy in so much pain.

The manager shakes his head, "No it's not broken thankfully but it is badly sprained. If it's broken, his ankle would have turned blue by now. He's having a fever so he's feeling more pain than usual."

Yunho is still whimpering and has turned his face towards Mingi, burying it in the crook of Mingi's neck and Mingi looks down as he feels his neck is getting wet. Yunho is crying and it breaks everyone's heart seeing him cry. Mingi gently wiped Yunho's tears with his thumb while whispering sweet nothings to Yunho. "It's okay bub, you're alright.. Don't cry.. We'll have someone to fix your ankle and fever okay? Stop crying bub, you will only worsen your fever this way.. I'm here I'm here.."

"H-hurts.." says Yunho weakly and Mingi shush him by kissing his temple.

"The van's ready. Let's go." says the manager and they quickly grab their things and Yunho's while Mingi picks Yunho up bridal style and they all quickly walk to their van.

The ride is silent. Everyone is worried and keeps checking on Yunho. Yunho had shivered in Mingi's hold after a few minutes as he weakly pushed himself closer to Mingi for his body heat. "C-cold.." Yunho says weakly and Mingi is quick to pull the taller closer as Yeosang found a blanket in their van and quickly draped it over Yunho.

Mingi had been careful not to bump Yunho's feet as Seonghwa and San helped him and Yunho out of the van after they arrived at the dorm. The short distance walk to their dorm from the van is quick and silent too. Yunho had stopped whimpering a while ago but everyone can see that he is still in pain.

Mingi puts Yunho down on his bed while San is taking out some clothes for Yunho to wear comfortably in their closet. The manager had told them that he had already called a doctor and told him about Yunho's condition and the doctor would arrive in half an hour. Mingi is about to go and help San choose Yunho's clothes but Yunho had grabbed at Mingi's wrist weakly preventing him from going anywhere thus Mingi went to sit on the bed and start to undress the taller one instead.

Undressing his shirt is easy, the problem is his pants because Mingi and San are afraid that they will jostle his sprained ankle too much while getting the pants out. After discussing for a bit, Mingi asked Yunho softly, "Bub? Can you hear me?" and Yunho nods his head after a few seconds albeit weakly. "We need to get you out of this pants, do you think you can endure it a bit when we pull it