O3 | Fever

Hoseok was used to being in the girls' group for PE; he liked the gentle, sweet way they played. It usually happened that way, but not this time. The rules had changed at Big Hit. This year, the boys and girls were separated, with other girls and boys from different grades, respectively.

Because of this, Hoseok never saw the ball coming.

The boys were wild; he'd only let his guard down for a second—one second!—and bam! The ball had hit him in the face. But it was all Yoongi's fault.

The idiot had called him to say something he never caught... ah, damn Yoongi.

Now, because of him, he was on his way to the nurse's office with a bloody nose. The worst part was that Yoongi hadn't wanted to go with him! And it was his fault!

Muttering nonsense about his best friend being an idiot, he entered the nurse's office at the same time Jungkook was coming out; they almost bumped into each other.

"Hey, Hoseok!" "How are you—" Jungkook trailed off mid-question when he noticed the younger boy's nose was bleeding. "Are you okay? Can you tell me what happened?"

Jungkook immediately pulled him inside, making him sit down in a chair.

"Ah, hyung... I..." Before he could answer, the nurse arrived.

"Mr. Jeon, I sent you back to your classroom. Why are you still here? I told you Mr. Kim would be better," the nurse said.

"I found this boy bleeding outside." Jungkook immediately stood up. "I couldn't leave him alone!"

"You should have called me, not started asking what happened!" the nurse exclaimed. "Now, you, put your head forward and breathe through your mouth. I'll get some tissues... and Mr. Jeon, I hope you're gone by the time I get back.

Hoseok did exactly as the nurse said; he'd only been there two minutes and he was already scared.

"I'd better go." Jungkook glanced in the direction the nurse had gone. "If you see Taehyung, tell him the nurse kicked me out in the worst way. Goodbye."

Was Taehyung inside? What could be wrong with him? Instead of worrying about the older man, Hoseok smiled. Jungkook had stayed with Taehyung! That was so sweet and kind of him; he probably hadn't wanted to leave his side, and that's why the nurse had kicked him out.

Ah, how sweet Taekook was.

"Let's go inside." The nurse called to Hoseok, and he followed her. "Sit on one of the beds, stay in the position I told you. If the bleeding continues after a few minutes, call me. There's a girl who just arrived with cramps; you know how dramatic they are." With that, she headed toward the office.

Hoseok sighed; the bleeding had stopped a few minutes ago, while he was talking to Jungkook. He didn't say anything to the nurse because he didn't want her to tell him he could go back to PE.

With the damp cloth the nurse had given him, he began to clean up the remaining traces of blood.

"Nurse, do you think I can leave now?" Hoseok looked up at the sound of that voice. "Hoseok? What are you doing here?"

Taehyung was standing in the doorway of the ward where Hoseok was. The moment he noticed Hoseok's blood, he approached.

"What happened to you?" he asked, taking the handkerchief Hoseok was holding and starting to clean it.

Hoseok's heart began to race.

"I..." Hoseok began. "I was in PE, we were playing basketball when my best friend called me 'Hyung, I swear I only looked away for a second!' And bam! The ball ended up hitting me in the face."

Taehyung started laughing while continuing to clean the younger boy's face.

ㅡHyung, it's not funny!ㅡHoseok pouted.

"I'm sorry," Taehyung apologized. "It's just strange that you're tall and not good at basketball."

"Just because the ball hit me in the face doesn't mean I'm bad at basketball!" Hoseok exclaimed. "I mean, I might be bad at basketball, but that doesn't mean I got hit in the face by the ball."

"Sure." Taehyung continued with a smile. "If you want, I can teach you basketball."

—Do you know how to play basketball?

Okay, that was a stupid question.

"Of course I know." Taehyung walked to the trash can to throw away the tissue. "Don't you know I'm in the basketball club?"

Of course I knew, I just forgot for a moment. I knew, but I wasn't going to admit why I knew.

"Yes..." the younger one replied. "Seokjin-hyung was transferred from that club."

"Uh-huh." Taehyung stood back in front of Hoseok. "Your face is clean, but we can't do anything about your shirt."

Hoseok looked at his sports shirt; several drops of blood had fallen on it.

"It doesn't matter," the younger boy murmured. "I have another shirt in my locker..."

"Mr. Kim, didn't I leave you resting?

" The nurse appeared in the doorway. "And has your bleeding stopped yet?"

Hoseok nodded.

"I feel better now... I can go..." Taehyung murmured.

"Of course not." The nurse shook her head. "Now go lie down, at least until recess... and you." She turned to Hoseok. "If you want, you can stay until recess, just make sure she doesn't leave." The nurse left again.

Taehyung sighed and went to lie down on one of the cots in that room.

"And you, hyung... Why are you here?" Hoseok turned towards the older man's stretcher.

"I have a bit of a fever, it seems I'm going to get the flu." Taehyung sat down. "Come sit with me." The dark-haired man gently knocked on the side of his head, signaling Hoseok to sit next to him.

Without stopping to think, Hoseok went to sit next to his hyung.

"Wouldn't it have been better to send him home?" Hoseok questioned.

"I don't want to go home." Taehyung rested his head on Hoseok's shoulder. "I'll probably get depressed there and things will only get worse."

Since when did they have this much trust? The younger one didn't have time to feel embarrassed or try to push Taehyung away, as he could feel the heat from his fever. Stepping back only slightly, he placed his hand on Taehyung's forehead.

ㅡHyung, it's really hot!

"I get told that often." Taehyung smiled.

"Ah, hyung, please," Hoseok huffed. "This isn't the time to joke around... I think it would be better if you went home to rest."

Taehyung separated from Hoseok, looking at the younger boy with a pout.

"Okay," he replied. "I'll text my mom to come pick me up..." Taehyung turned to look away. "...but you have to agree to go to the party tomorrow..."

—Ah, hyung! Are you still on about that? Now you just need to worry about resting! Don't even think about parties! It's better if you don't go, that way you'll recover faster.

"Okay..." Taehyung took out his cell phone, ready to call his mom. "But at least agree to go out somewhere sometime."

"Okay, hyung." Hoseok sighed, giving in. "But I called his mom now."

Taehyung smiled, then immediately dialed his mother's number.

"Remember your promise," the older boy murmured, his cell phone pressed to his ear. "Mom," he began. "Remember when I told you this morning I'd feel better later? Well, I guess that didn't happen, and now I feel worse. Could you come get me?" Silence. "Okay, I'll wait for you outside. The nurse said I could go at recess... Yes, Mom, thanks."

"Was your mom home?" Hoseok asked.

"She's always at home." Taehyung nodded. "My dad's the one who works; she prefers to stay home gossiping with her friends."

"He's lucky, hyung," the younger one murmured.

—And your parents... what do they do?

Hoseok thought about it for a moment. Would it be a good idea to tell personal things to someone he'd only spoken to twice? Well, he knew a lot about Taehyung, and the older man knew nothing about Hoseok...

"My parents are divorced," Hoseok replied. "My mom works all day, so she's never home... my dad owns a company."

"Really?" Hoseok nodded. "Did you want to stay with your mother, or did the judge decide?"

"I wanted to," Hoseok replied. "I felt like I'd be lonely with my dad, so I decided to stay with my mom... although I think I'm still the same..."

Before Hoseok could continue speaking, the bell for recess rang. Taehyung huffed, getting off the cot, and Hoseok followed him.

"Someday you can invite me over so you don't feel lonely." Taehyung smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind, hyung..." Hoseok returned his smile.

Before they could say goodbye, eight girls appeared out of nowhere and began bombarding Hoseok with questions, oblivious to Taehyung's presence. They seemed genuinely worried about Hoseok.

Yoongi told us what happened.

Are you okay?

Did he leave your nose crooked?

A flood of questions flooded Hoseok, but he paid no attention to any of them as he was focused on watching Taehyung walk towards Jungkook, who was carrying the dark-haired man's backpack, and they began to walk together.

And for the first time, Hoseok didn't feel happy seeing his favorite couple together.

Uhhh, what's happening to Hoseok?

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