Requested by kimsjjn

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Jin dropped onto the dance studio floor, drenched in an unbelievable amount of sweat. It was flooding out of his pores while heat radiated off his body.

After another long day of intense dance practice, with Hobi making everyone do the same dance routines over and over again in order to get it perfect, the oldest was absolutely exhausted. They'd been at this for weeks now.

Namjoon came over and offered Jin some cold water. "We did it, hyung! Another day done!"

"Ah...Namjoonie-ah..." Jin sat up and wiped his sweat as he grabbed the water from Namjoon. "We have to do it all over again tomorrow. Then the next day. Then the next. Yah!" He dropped back down to lay on the floor. He looked over to see the three maknae's chasing each other. He had absolutely no clue how the three of them had an ounce of energy left after the day of practice they'd just had. He saw Yoongi and Hobi hanging out by the snack cooler, happy with a hard days work finally over.

Jin closed his eyes, even if he could get a few minutes of a nap in before they headed home, that'd be enough for him to muster the strength to even walk to the car at this point.

"Time to go!" Namjoon yelled to everyone.

"Aish...." Jin groaned. "Help me up." Jin raised his arm to Namjoon. The leader laughed at him.

"Seriously, hyung?" Namjoon giggled as he grabbed Jin's arm and pulled him up.

"Now carry me," Jin commanded.

"Absolutely not!" Namjoon refused, running away from Jin before being told what to do any further. Jin dragged his feet behind the others to the car. His legs were on fire. He usually drove but asked someone else to take over. He really needed to be able to close his eyes. Yoongi drove everyone home and unfortunately the younger members were pretty dependent on their oldest hyung for a lot of things, so when he mentioned needing help to make dinner, everything was a chaotic mess.

They sat around the table and Hobi already started talking about some things they would need to work on during practice tomorrow.

"When do we have to be ready by? For the video shoot?" Jimin asked, slurping up a bowl of noodles.

"We still have a few more weeks of practice before we have to film," Namjoon answered. As the leader, he had the answer to most of the groups questions. Jin widened his eyes in Namjoon's direction. "Do we have any scheduled breaks between now and then?" He was so, so desperate for rest.

"No, we don't." Namjoon didn't show much emotion in his answer, as if this was completely normal to work this hard. They were used to it by now. At least they were supposed to act like they were used to it, anyway.

Jin was struggling the most. Everyone else had plenty of energy even after dinner. The oldest mentioned going to bed early and Jungkook immediately sulked, wanting to spend time with the oldest before the night was over.

"Sorry, kiddo. Hyung needs sleep!" Jin patted Jungkook on the head and departed to his room. Namjoon could tell how much sleep his hyung needed so he offered to clean up his spot at the table.

"Maybe he's getting too old," Yoongi joked as he was helping Namjoon clean. The joke sent Hobi tumbling over onto the ground because he was laughing so hard.

The night progressed and the rest of the members got to bed. They all knew tomorrow was going to be another long day but were aware that all of this hard work was part of the job.

Yoongi tried hard to wake Jin up the next morning so they could get going, but the oldest wasn't having it. He was exhausted. Before opening his eyes he tried to come up with a million excuses as to why he wouldn't be able to go to practice today.

Act sick.

"Ohh....yah...." Jin clutched his stomach under his blankets.

"What's with you?" Yoongi raised an eyebrow as he watched his hyung wither and squirm under his blanket. He tried pulling the covers off. "We have to get going."

"Ahh...Yoongi-ah...my stomach..oh its hurts so bad..." Jin was really trying to seemed convincing, playing the part the best he could.

"Your stomach hurts?" Yoongi felt slight panic. Now was not the time for anyone to get sick. They had a lot of schedules they needed to prepare for. He wasn't sure how to handle the situation so he went and got Namjoon. It was usually up to him what happened when a member was sick.

"Jin hyung?" Namjoon asked as he walked in. "Yoongi-ah said you're not feeling well?"

"No...it's my stomach...I don't know what's going on..." Jin groaned in pain. Namjoon went to put his hand to Jin's head to see if he had a fever but Jin backed away because he knew he didn't have one. "No no, it's okay....but...aish...I don't think...I can't practice like this, Namjoonie-ah."

Namjoon sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew they all needed to be at practice, but also knew that forcing any member to work while sick would only prolong the problem.

"Okay. I suppose it's best you stay home and rest. Overworking you while sick won't do us any good."

Jin tried hard to hide his excitement. He couldn't believe he was actually getting away with this. It's working.

"I will let Hobi hyung know." Namjoon and Yoongi headed to leave the bedroom. Namjoon stopped and turned to him. "Is there anything you need before we leave? Medicine or anything?"

Jin waved his arm. "No no, you go on ahead. I think I will just lay in bed and rest, hopefully I will be better tomorrow."

"Alright, well...let us know if you need anything."

"You'll let the company know I'm sick, right?" Jin asked Namjoon. He greatly enjoyed when Namjoon took responsibility for things sometimes. He had a lot on his shoulders as the oldest of the group, so he was sure as hell glad he wasn't also the leader.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. You get some rest." Namjoon left and let everyone else know Jin was sick. Hobi was a bit annoyed that Jin would be missing dance practice but he knew it wasn't his fault. The maknae's wanted to check on him and make sure he was okay but Namjoon told them not to bother him while he rested.

"Is he okay?" Taehyung asked. He was clearly worried.

"He probably caught a bug or something," Namjoon replied.

"Well I hope we don't all catch it! I don't want to get sick!" Jimin panicked. The others were slightly worried about catching whatever Jin had but they knew only time would tell. They headed out for a long, harsh day of yet another practice.

When Jin heard them all leave, he sighed in relief.

Finally. A break!

He went back to sleep for a few hours. When he woke up he had a couple texts from Namjoon asking how he was feeling and that the maknae's were really worried. He replied saying he was throwing up and laying around in bed trying to sleep, but told him not to worry too much.

All a lie, but Namjoon and the others didn't need to know that.

After a few more minutes in bed Jin got up and did all the things he'd have loved to do on a day off, which they never got. He watched some of his favorite shows, played his favorite video games for hours, and even ordered takeout multiple times, making sure to hide the evidence at the bottom of the trash can. Once he'd done all of the things he wanted, he couldn't help but want to do it again the next day. It was nice finally being able to rest. He felt bad that the others were working so hard but he felt like he clearly needed this way more than them. Late into the night he showered and curled back up into bed just before he heard the door open.

Everyone immediately ran to him.

"Jin hyung!" Jungkook shouted. "How are you? Are you feeling any better? Are you okay?"

"You're so lucky you missed practice today. Hobi hyungie was brutal!" Jimin informed.

"I was just doing my job!" Hobi smiled in defense.

"Jin hyung do you need us to get you anything?" Taehyung asked. Taehyung turned to Namjoon. "Do we have medicine for him?"

"Oh, no. I think I'm okay..." Jin groaned and clutched his stomach, acting as though he was experiencing pain.

"Hyung you should really take some medicine. It will help you." Namjoon left to find anything they might have. Stuff for stomach problems, stuff for headaches, literally anything. When the leader also came back with a thermometer, the oldest panicked a little bit.

"It's really okay, Joonie...I don't need all of that..."

"Well if you have a high fever or something then maybe we need to bring you to the doctor."

"Namjoon..." Jin paused for a moment. "I actually just recently took some of the fever reducers, I can feel it helping a bit. I'm sure I don't have much of a fever."

"Oh, alright. If you say so." Namjoon gave up on trying to give Jin medicine. The maknae's were surrounding him on the bed while Yoongi and Hobi left to go make everyone dinner. Jin insisted he wasn't hungry, which wasn't even a lie considering how much takeout he'd ordered. He was glad everyone was believing him. All according to plan.

Namjoon had finished his dinner early and went to go hang out with Jin in his room. He missed him a lot during practice, it felt weird missing someone from the group for any amount of time. "I know you aren't feeling great but can I stay in here?"

"Sure," Jin agreed. The oldest lay there while Namjoon sat next to him playing a game on his phone. Not only did Namjoon miss him, but he also knew the members healed a bit faster from their sickness when they got a lot of nurture and love from the other members, so that's also what he was trying to do because he was stressed the hell out that Jin was sick in the first place. There was way too much to do to fall behind, but Namjoon didn't address his frustrations to Jin because he knew that wouldn't help either of them anyway.

The best part for Jin was the fact that because he was acting so sick, he got away with it for days.

Constant rest at home while the others went to work.

It was the same thing multiple days in a row. Sleeping, playing video games, and ordering more takeout. He'd never felt so rested and revived and after a few days figured he could now return to work feeling refreshed.

When the others got home that night, absolutely exhausted, Jin said he was starting to feel better. "I think I should be okay to go back to work tomorrow."

"Finally!" Namjoon screamed. He pulled Jin into a hug. "We were going to make you go to the hospital if you didn't get better soon. It's been days."

"Aish..it must have been a bug or something."

"Well make sure you get plenty of rest tonight, hyung!" Hobi playfully patted Jin on the back. "You're going to have a lot of choreography to go over tomorrow!" Hobi's statement made the three maknae's giggle knowing the hell Jin was about to be in for.

"I don't want to hear it from you three!" Jin yelled as he pointed at them.

"Yeah, he's definitely feeling better." Yoongi smiled, knowing Jin was already acting like himself again.

Jin joined them for dinner but he was so full from all of the takeout he'd ordered throughout the day so he pretended he still wasn't all that hungry.

"You haven't eaten in days, hyung," Namjoon pointed out. "You should try just a bite."

"No, no it's fine." Jin still refused. He couldn't imagine taking another bite.

Everyone called it an early night because once again, they had another hectic schedule. They went to bed with lighter hearts knowing their Jin hyung was finally starting to feel better.

Morning came quickly, and the first thing Jin realized as soon as he opened his eyes was that he felt sick as hell.

No. Oh no.

He got up and ran to the bathroom, getting sick into the toilet. Immediate tears poured out of his eyes. This can't be happening. How the hell is this happening right now?!

He bent over and clutched his stomach, as it was aching and grumbling terribly. Sharp pains were shooting across his insides. He started whimpering loudly.

Namjoon was the first one awake and heard a commotion in the bathroom, he knocked gently then let himself in. He was met with Jin who was red in the face and full of tears. He looked awful.

"Hyung?!" Namjoon cried as he ran to Jin, he grabbed Jin's arm when he noticed his hyung was having trouble standing. "What's going on?"

"Oh...Joonie...it hurts...." Jin cried. He sat down on the bathroom floor in pain. "I don't know what happened."

Namjoon immediately grabbed a wash cloth and poured cold water on it. "Stay here and don't move." He placed the wash cloth on Jin's forehead and then went to grab some of the medicine he'd left out. Jin's stomach hurt so badly that he knew he wouldn't even be able to stomach the meds.

"Damn, hyung, you're burning up now. I wonder what's going on, weren't you feeling better last night?" Namjoon was extremely worried. At this point, to his knowledge, Jin had been sick for way too long and it was time to go to the hospital. Jin dropped his head into Namjoon's chest and sobbed. Everything hurt so badly. He felt as though he'd been hit with a ton of bricks right in the stomach all at once. His head was pounding fiercely. Even the bathroom lights were making it hard for him to keep his eyes open.

"I'm so sorry." Jin continued to cry loudly. Not only because he felt severely sick for real this time, but because he was also plagued with extreme guilt for having lied. He'd already taken too much time off while the others worked really hard and now he knew he'd have to take even more time off. He knew it was all wasted time.

Namjoon pulled Jin into a tight hug and rubbed his back. "It's okay, hyung. Relax and take deep breaths. No need to apologize, it's not your fault you're sick. I do think it's time to see a doctor though, please? I'm really worried, well we're all really worried about you."

Jin agreed to go. He knew this was only the first day of actually being sick but he was willing to find out what the problem was as quickly as possible so he could actually get back to work. Namjoon helped him clean off some of the sweat that was dripping down his face, and once the oldest was done with everything he needed to do in the bathroom, Namjoon helped him back to his bed.

"Rest for now, I will let the others know what's going on."

Jin curled up under his covers, shaking because he felt like he was freezing, but sweating because of his fever. It didn't take long before all of the members rushed into his room in a frenzy.

"Jin hyung?!" Jimin screamed as he made his way to his bedside. "It got worse? You're feeling worse?" He turned to everyone else, "Hospital, right? He needs to go!"

"We will bring him," Namjoon reassured.

The ruckus around him was making his head hurt. He kept his eyes clenched shut trying to remedy the pain that everything around him was causing.

He overheard Namjoon and Hobi talk about cancelling practice completely so that everyone could go with Jin to the hospital.

"I won't be able to focus on anything else anyway. Not with hyungie so sick," Jungkook admitted. He sat next to Jin on the bed and placed his hand on his back. It was on fire.

"Jeez.." Jungkook sulked.

Taehyung and Jimin grabbed a small trash can to put near the bed when they could tell Jin was going to get sick again, and he did rather quickly.

"Well, let's stop wasting time, he needs to be seen sooner rather than later and we may have already waited too long." Yoongi headed for the door while the others all helped the oldest up. Jin wrapped his arm around Namjoon's neck and let his leader guide him to the car. The three maknae's and Hobi trailed behind holding things Jin might need. The trash can, the medicine, water bottles, blankets.

When they got to the hospital they were glad to see that their hyung was admitted quickly. He kept falling in and out of sleep in the hospital bed, absolutely exhausted. Everyone felt incredibly terrible, a million scenarios and possibilities of worst case scenarios running through their minds.

Namjoon was running his hand through Jin's hair. He knew he needed to lean on Jin a lot for things, him being the oldest. He also knew that Jin relied on him a lot in return, as the leader, as well. He was doing the best to offer as much comfort as he knew his hyung needed.

Their hearts hurt watching their oldest hyung get a bunch of IV's and wires hooked up to him, but they knew the doctors were all there to help.

"What do you think is wrong with hyungie?" Jungkook asked, eyes ridden with worry.

"Well, the blood tests will help us figure that out," the doctor replied.

"Is he going to die?" Jimin asked without hesitation. He needed answers and he needed them now.

The question made Jin nervous. "I sure as hell hope not..."

"Relax," the doctor said. "He's not going to die. It could just be a stomach flu or something, but again we will run some tests."

The doctor needed a bit more information about when his symptoms started and he said this morning.

"No, they started a few days ago. He's been sick for a while," Taehyung informed.

Jin sighed. He knew he needed to be honest with the doctor, which meant admitting what he'd done. He turned back to the doctor. "The symptoms started this morning."

The members looked at Jin, silently confused. The doctor departed to go run the tests.

"Why didn't you tell him you've been sick for longer?" Yoongi asked.

Jin hesitated for a moment and then dropped his gaze away from everyone. "Because I haven't been sick. Not until this morning. I'm sorry. I lied about it before but this morning I woke up actually sick. Karma is a bitch I guess."

When he didn't hear anyone reply, he slowly raised his gaze to them, his chest full of anxiety.

"You were lying to us this whole time?!" Hobi yelled. The sudden shout sent a piercing pain through Jin's head.

"What the fuck, Jin!" Namjoon yelled next.

Jin buried his face into his hands and began crying. "I'm really sorry, everyone." He immediately tried to defend why he'd done it. Through tears he went on a rant. "I was just so tired! Exhausted! All these damn practices got to be too much! I mean where is the rest?! When we do catch a damn break?! I was at my own breaking point. I just needed a few days!"

"We're so behind because of you!" Hobi screamed. "We have all been working our asses off for days on end while you just lounged around because you were tired?! We're all tired!"

Jin didn't have a response. He felt the members had every right to be this angry. He looked to the three youngest and they were silent, but he could see the extreme disappointment in their eyes.

"I-I don't know what else to tell you except I'm really sorry."

"Yeah, you should be sorry!" Jimin finally spoke up, releasing his own frustration.

Jin continued to try and defend himself. He looked directly at Hobi. "You never let us take proper breaks when we rehearse. We get one sip of water and then its right back to dancing! I didn't know what else to do, Hobi-ah. All I needed was a break." He then turned to Namjoon. "I'm so sorry. I was so exhausted."

Jin started crying so hard that he started throwing up again. Seeing him actually be sick for the time being did make the others feel bad for being so angry, but they also knew they had the right to be. Jin laying in a hospital bed gave Namjoon a slight change of heart.

The leader sighed. "Alright well, sick or not before... He's sick now. I think we all need to relax a bit and we can all be angry later, but for now us all screaming isn't going to help him. Not to mention, he's right. He got his karma."

The others agreed to calm down for the time being.

The doctor returned and said it was food poisoning.

"From what? He hasn't eaten in days." Yoongi narrowed his eyes and glared at Jin. "Unless...you have."

Jin felt his whole face turn red and Yoongi knew he'd been caught. "Jin!"

"I'm sorry!" Jin cried.

"So it's just food poising? He won't die?" Taehyung asked.

"He will be fine. He just needs rest and a lot of fluids." The doctor was quick to release Jin to go home. He offered some stronger medicine that would help with everything but what it really came down to was Jin was just going to have to deal with and pass through the sickness at home.

At home, despite their anger, the members still did a great job taking care of him. It only made him feel all the more guilty. He told them he didn't need looking after and they should all go get rest too, but they insisted.

Jin was sick for days, for real this time and everyone felt terrible with how sick he was. Namjoon had to rearrange a bunch of schedules at work because of it, but he knew it's what needed to be done. He still spent most of his time hanging out in Jin's room, offering his presence as a comfort. The members anger slowly subsided over the few days Jin was sick because they understood why he'd done it. They admitted that if it were them in that situation they probably all would have done the same exact thing.

And then finally, finally....Jin was on the mend.

His stomach pain and exhaustion was subsiding, he was eating again, and his fever was gone. Namjoon let him have one extra day off after that so he could rest before what was going to be an insane amount of catching up.

The night before Jin was going to be returning to work, the members spent the night hanging out and discussing some of the stuff he'd have to work on. It was clear Jin was a bit worried but Hobi told him not to worry too much. Yoongi ushered the maknae's to bed when Jin said he wanted to speak to Namjoon and Hobi alone.

The three of them curled up on the couch.

"I owe you two the biggest apology. As the dance leader and the leader of the band, I shouldn't have lied to you guys. I know all the extra stress it caused. I'm really sorry. I guess my head got fuzzy and I thought I was doing the right thing for myself."

Hobi hugged Jin. "I appreciate that, hyung. To be honest, I was thinking about what you said in the hospital and I think you're right. I'm so focused on perfection that I don't give everyone proper breaks, and I'm sorry for that. I'm going to change that. Everyone's health is important and I can't put performing ahead of that. Even when people are clearly exhausted I tend to ignore that and push them too far, so I'm sorry too."

Jin felt his heart lighten up. He really appreciated that Hobi was willing to change the work ethic even just a smidge to help the team out. He turned to Namjoon. "Joonie?"

Namjoon shrugged. "It was stressful but I'm glad you're okay. It's weird seeing you sick and I don't like it. I appreciate the apology as well. Other than that I suppose I just ask that you be honest up front next time."

"Yeah, I know I should have been. That was my own fault. Do you think the maknae's are all really mad at me? What about Yoongi?"

"They're over it. You know those four are usually the most forgiving. I wouldn't worry about it." Namjoon stood up and grabbed Jin's hand. Hobi started giggling .

Jin slowly stood up. "What's so funny?"

Namjoon started smiling. "You should get to bed, hyung!" The leader started laughing along with Hobi. "You've got a lot of work to do!"

"Aish..." Jin couldn't help but also giggle. He understood the consequences of his own actions. As much as didn't want to think about all the work ahead of him, he knew he owed it to everyone to catch up on everything he'd missed.

It's the least I can do for insanely forgiving members who deserve it all. Who deserve my effort. They all work so hard. I will too. ㅋㅋㅋ

[The End]