ISS 2011: FOR STOP27
To: stop27
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Hot Soup and Melted Candy
Pairing/Focus: Dongwoo/Myungsoo/Sungjong
Rating: G
Word count: 2122
Summary: The Infinite boys finally got their well-deserved vacation this time - well, most of them anyway.
Everyone kept looking at the door, where the maknae lay trapped underneath piles of blankets, letting out atomic bomb sneezes that made everyone think twice before entering his room. Howon had even moved out of their room temporarily, sharing Sunggyu and Woohyun’s bedroom just on the brink of the evening. It was only a couple of days before New Year’s, when they would all have another holiday just before starting work early come the new year. Sungjong looked dreadful, his nose and ears burning red, his colds and sneezing endless.
AH-CHOOOOO!!
“Time for his meds,” Woohyun looked up at the clock. Before anyone could say anything, two of their members suddenly got up and started to prepare the items - glass of lukewarm water, capsules on a clean plate. Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at the two, then sent the same look to Woohyun, who seemed to share his sentiment. What was that all about?
The door creaked open, and two figures stepped into his room, bearing a tray with his meds and water, the other holding a bowl of chicken soup. Breathing through his mouth, Sungjong gave them a smike, and sank back into the ocean of sheets as he recalled what happened two days ago.
.....
Two figures sat on the ledge of the balcony, a pink, wool blanket connecting them by their shoulders. The sky was a palette of grays and blues and purples, the sun peeking out from underneath scarce, but fluffy clouds. It looked like sunrise, but it was actually nearing dusk. The black of night was nigh, and it was the only proper thing to do: to huddle together and watch the famed Seoul sunset from their balcony, and talk mindlessly about anything under the sun/moon, while drunk on their medications and fighting the clutches of fever.
Myungsoo had three layers of sweaters on him, and he was bundled up entirely, complete with mittens, double socks, and a large, red scarf, something that always reminded him of Christmas. It was, after all, Christmas eve, and for the first time in two years, the rest of Infinite would be spending it with their families. Only Myungsoo and Dongwoo were left behind - Myungsoo, because his family flew to Switzerland to enjoy the holidays there, and Dongwoo, because he wouldn’t be able to make the journey back home, given that he was suffering from the worst case of flu he’s ever had. On their own, it was the most unfortunate situation, but together, it was rather...
Cosy, Dongwoo thought, as he nuzzled his reddened nose against the younger male’s shoulder, his temples throbbing, dull. His eyes were a little watery, and he hasn’t stopped blowing his nose since they both woke up around noon time. Myungsoo had apparently caught the same virus, and was only starting to show the symptoms, but by the time the sun plunged its nose downwards, he was the one cradling the box of napkins in his hands, the skin of his nose already peeling and reddened.
“It’s getting colder,” Dongwoo mumbled, carefully turning around and skipping off the ledge first. He took Myungsoo’s hand in his, waited for him to slowly slide off from the top, then led them back through the glass door. When he turned around, the younger male was clutching the blanket and the box of napkins to his chest, and he looked just as bad as he did, maybe even worse. Still, he looked picture-perfect despite being sick.
They had barely eaten anything since they woke up, even though there were packets of instant soup and ramyeon left for them, with clear instructions in Sunggyu’s neat handwriting. They had contented themselves with milk and crackers, but Dongwoo had winded up throwing up most of what he ate earlier, with Myungsoo’s hands patting his back gingerly as they spent a good few minutes trapped inside of the bathroom. Thank the heavens, that they were living in their new dorm and not the old one, because Dongwoo wouldn’t have dared wrap his arms around the toilet bowl the way he had clung on to this one. Later on, when Myungsoo started to develop the same symptoms of his sickness, Dongwoo prayed hard that the vomiting fits wouldn’t have to happen to him too, because it was really painful retching like that and having nothing left in his stomach but nasty acid and a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Do you want to eat?” came Myungsoo’s concerned, nasal voice, and Dongwoo could only send him a lopsided grin in answer to that. They were still standing right in front of the balcony door, cool air still blowing at their shivering bodies. “You sound like a cow,” he answered, suddenly aware that Myungsoo was also holding his hand now, so they were holding each other’s hands. The thought made his cheeks grow hotter, though he was already flushed from suffering through the cold weather. He tilted his head to the side, pushing the thought aside, fighting it with logic - besides, they were both wearing mittens - they technically weren’t really holding hands. They were just holding on to each other’s mittens.
“Can we just go to bed again?” came a rare, childish whine, Myungsoo looking more helpless than ever before. The hand in his tugged harder. Dongwoo’s heart did a double -take, and more than before, he wanted to be the one to take care of the younger male and not the other way around.
“But it’s Christmas,” Dongwoo reasoned with him, and at the same time, his stomach growled in reply. The silliness of it all made him laugh, and he carefully removed his hand from Myungsoo’s and shut the glass balcony door behind them. No longer cold, he started to peel off his mittens, followed by the layers of jackets he was wearing. Myungsoo followed suit silently, pretending to sulk, though he was wearing a smile now. Without their hyungs around, it was safe to leave their pile of clothing on the floor, and Dongwoo led the way towards the kitchen, both of them obviously looking at the same stack of food on the counter.
“I’ll boil some water. Ramyeon it is,” Dongwoo declared, turning to meet Myungsoo’s eyes and going back to where they stored the kitchenwares. He filled a large pot with water and set it on the stove, then went back to where Myungsoo was diligently opening a couple of packs of ramyeon, separating the noodles from the flavour packets. Silently, Dongwoo took out some clean bowls and chopsticks and went ahead to set them on the floor. There was a lot of water, and he didn’t set the heat on high, so it would take a while before it boiled.
More time to lay here and do nothing, he thought, slowly laying himself down on the floor until his back was pressing against the cool tiles. He closed his eyes, and heard Myungsoo walking towards him. It wasn’t until he felt a warm hand in his that he realized that the younger male was also lying on the floor beside him, and Dongwoo subconsciously shifted closer to his warmth.
“This really sucks,” he tried to start another conversation about nothing, but Myungsoo remained silent, though Dongwoo could hear his even breathing. He decided to continue his one-sided conversation, explaining why he thought this year’s holidays were quite sucky - true, he was really grateful for their various accomplishments this year, but aside from that, getting sick on the few days granted to them once in two years really got to his nerves. He ranted on and on to the boy listening to him quietly, one thing that had made him grow fond of Myungsoo over the years. The guy always listened.
Dongwoo opened his eyes and glanced to his side, wondering if Myungsoo fell asleep on him - he met watery brown eyes, and a surprised expression on Myungsoo’s face. Surprise, because they both seemed to remember that they should be attending to their pot of boiling water now and not wasting time listening to Dongwoo rant. The two boys scrambled up and made a run for the kitchen, and started preparing their food.
Which they wolfed down in all of five minutes, noodles, soup, and all. The heater was turned all the way up, and pretty soon, Dongwoo had falled asleep on Myungsoo’s lap, and Myungsoo had fallen asleep with his back against the wall, his hand laying atop his hyung’s shoulder. They lay unmoving, save for the even breathing that made their chests rise and fall regularly. An occasional sniffle could be heard, and the ticking of the clock was audible throughout the room.
At a quarter to twelve, the front door creaked open, and gentle feet treaded into the room. Sungjong caught the two sick boys sleeping on the living room on top of each other, and he carefully left the large bag he was carrying on the floor and made for the bedroom, coming back out with his arms full of soft blankets and pillows.
Dongwoo stirred to the sound of Christmas songs playing, and he groggily patted his sides, hands coming down on fluffy pillows - which he distinctly remembered not being there. It wasn’t Myungsoo’s thigh his head was resting on now, but another one of the fluffy pillows, and he opened his eyes fully, looking at his surroundings. He was still in the living room, and he picked up the scent of something heavenly, something that smelled like...
Hot soup. And melted candy.
He sat up, zombie-turned a hundred and eighty degrees, then found himself staring at an electronic stove sitting in the middle of the room, atop which was a pot, simmering with the smell of medicinal herbs and meat. Two figures were seated around it, Myungsoo obviously the one holding on to a box of tissues, and the other figure, a glowing character sucking on a giant candy cane, whose eyes widened when he saw Dongwoo staring at him dumbly.
What the... what is Sungjong doing here?
“I’m making soup - my mum sent me the ingredients!” came the maknae’s bright voice, and Myungsoo’s eyes twinkled as they met Dongwoo’s, and that was enough magnetic force to drag Dongwoo closer to where they sat, such that the three of them huddled around the heated pot, inhaling the delicious scents of herbal soup and conserving the heat around them. He was still a little dazed, that Sungjong was here, but wasn’t he supposed to be in Gwangju, celebrating the holidays with his family?
“I’m going back home tomorrow morning, you see,” came Sungjong’s instant explanation, as if he could hear Dongwoo’s thoughts quite clearly in his head. “But someone ought to take care of my sick hyungs on Christmas eve, so, here I am,” he said quite breathlessly, but Dongwoo could feel his sincerity, and he could feel Myungsoo’s heart melting into a clear puddle beside his own. They shared a moment of comfortable silence, just taking in slow, measured breaths, until something started buzzing in Sungjong’s pocket, which he took a terribly long time to check.
“Ah... Merry Christmas, you guys~” Sungjong’s lilting voice made both of his sick hyungs smile in unison. “Give me your hands - “ Dongwoo’s shaky hand shot out, and so did Myungsoo’s, and the maknae took hold of them immediately.
“Thanks for co-,” came Dongwoo’s serious tone -
“You didn’t have to-,” Myungsoo started -
“Sssshhhh... Sick people shouldn’t talk,” Sungjong squeezed their hands in his, then beamed at them like he always did. He leaned over to press a kiss to Myungsoo’s cheek, then Dongwoo’s, before settling back down, leaving both as confused and dazed as their medications usually did to them. Did Sungjong just...
“Merry Christmas.”
Dongwoo's cheeks felt hot. He glanced up at Myungsoo. His cheeks were still burning.
.....
“Feeling any better?”
Sungjong shook his head, pressing a clean tissue to his nose and gently blowing, then tossing it into an already-full trash can beside his bed. His eyes were red and watery, just like his nose, just like how Dongwoo and Myungsoo looked like a couple of days ago.
“Sorry that this is all I could make,” Dongwoo murmured, holding out a spoonful of soup - “It’s instant, but it’s sick food - “ Sungjong obediently opened his mouth, letting the warm liquid slide down his throat wonderfully. Myungsoo was sitting on the other side of his bed, a constant presence that never failed to make him happy.
Sungjong offered to take the bowl from his hyung. “You guys.. you should leave.. else you’d get the bug too..”
“But the bug came from us - “ Dongwoo insisted.
“-came from Dongwoo-hyung,” Myungsoo quickly retorted.
“But we’re immune to it now.”
A pause, then a nod.
“Now shut up and finish this soup.”
end
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: Hot Soup and Melted Candy
Pairing/Focus: Dongwoo/Myungsoo/Sungjong
Rating: G
Word count: 2122
Summary: The Infinite boys finally got their well-deserved vacation this time - well, most of them anyway.
Everyone kept looking at the door, where the maknae lay trapped underneath piles of blankets, letting out atomic bomb sneezes that made everyone think twice before entering his room. Howon had even moved out of their room temporarily, sharing Sunggyu and Woohyun’s bedroom just on the brink of the evening. It was only a couple of days before New Year’s, when they would all have another holiday just before starting work early come the new year. Sungjong looked dreadful, his nose and ears burning red, his colds and sneezing endless.
AH-CHOOOOO!!
“Time for his meds,” Woohyun looked up at the clock. Before anyone could say anything, two of their members suddenly got up and started to prepare the items - glass of lukewarm water, capsules on a clean plate. Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at the two, then sent the same look to Woohyun, who seemed to share his sentiment. What was that all about?
The door creaked open, and two figures stepped into his room, bearing a tray with his meds and water, the other holding a bowl of chicken soup. Breathing through his mouth, Sungjong gave them a smike, and sank back into the ocean of sheets as he recalled what happened two days ago.
.....
Two figures sat on the ledge of the balcony, a pink, wool blanket connecting them by their shoulders. The sky was a palette of grays and blues and purples, the sun peeking out from underneath scarce, but fluffy clouds. It looked like sunrise, but it was actually nearing dusk. The black of night was nigh, and it was the only proper thing to do: to huddle together and watch the famed Seoul sunset from their balcony, and talk mindlessly about anything under the sun/moon, while drunk on their medications and fighting the clutches of fever.
Myungsoo had three layers of sweaters on him, and he was bundled up entirely, complete with mittens, double socks, and a large, red scarf, something that always reminded him of Christmas. It was, after all, Christmas eve, and for the first time in two years, the rest of Infinite would be spending it with their families. Only Myungsoo and Dongwoo were left behind - Myungsoo, because his family flew to Switzerland to enjoy the holidays there, and Dongwoo, because he wouldn’t be able to make the journey back home, given that he was suffering from the worst case of flu he’s ever had. On their own, it was the most unfortunate situation, but together, it was rather...
Cosy, Dongwoo thought, as he nuzzled his reddened nose against the younger male’s shoulder, his temples throbbing, dull. His eyes were a little watery, and he hasn’t stopped blowing his nose since they both woke up around noon time. Myungsoo had apparently caught the same virus, and was only starting to show the symptoms, but by the time the sun plunged its nose downwards, he was the one cradling the box of napkins in his hands, the skin of his nose already peeling and reddened.
“It’s getting colder,” Dongwoo mumbled, carefully turning around and skipping off the ledge first. He took Myungsoo’s hand in his, waited for him to slowly slide off from the top, then led them back through the glass door. When he turned around, the younger male was clutching the blanket and the box of napkins to his chest, and he looked just as bad as he did, maybe even worse. Still, he looked picture-perfect despite being sick.
They had barely eaten anything since they woke up, even though there were packets of instant soup and ramyeon left for them, with clear instructions in Sunggyu’s neat handwriting. They had contented themselves with milk and crackers, but Dongwoo had winded up throwing up most of what he ate earlier, with Myungsoo’s hands patting his back gingerly as they spent a good few minutes trapped inside of the bathroom. Thank the heavens, that they were living in their new dorm and not the old one, because Dongwoo wouldn’t have dared wrap his arms around the toilet bowl the way he had clung on to this one. Later on, when Myungsoo started to develop the same symptoms of his sickness, Dongwoo prayed hard that the vomiting fits wouldn’t have to happen to him too, because it was really painful retching like that and having nothing left in his stomach but nasty acid and a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Do you want to eat?” came Myungsoo’s concerned, nasal voice, and Dongwoo could only send him a lopsided grin in answer to that. They were still standing right in front of the balcony door, cool air still blowing at their shivering bodies. “You sound like a cow,” he answered, suddenly aware that Myungsoo was also holding his hand now, so they were holding each other’s hands. The thought made his cheeks grow hotter, though he was already flushed from suffering through the cold weather. He tilted his head to the side, pushing the thought aside, fighting it with logic - besides, they were both wearing mittens - they technically weren’t really holding hands. They were just holding on to each other’s mittens.
“Can we just go to bed again?” came a rare, childish whine, Myungsoo looking more helpless than ever before. The hand in his tugged harder. Dongwoo’s heart did a double -take, and more than before, he wanted to be the one to take care of the younger male and not the other way around.
“But it’s Christmas,” Dongwoo reasoned with him, and at the same time, his stomach growled in reply. The silliness of it all made him laugh, and he carefully removed his hand from Myungsoo’s and shut the glass balcony door behind them. No longer cold, he started to peel off his mittens, followed by the layers of jackets he was wearing. Myungsoo followed suit silently, pretending to sulk, though he was wearing a smile now. Without their hyungs around, it was safe to leave their pile of clothing on the floor, and Dongwoo led the way towards the kitchen, both of them obviously looking at the same stack of food on the counter.
“I’ll boil some water. Ramyeon it is,” Dongwoo declared, turning to meet Myungsoo’s eyes and going back to where they stored the kitchenwares. He filled a large pot with water and set it on the stove, then went back to where Myungsoo was diligently opening a couple of packs of ramyeon, separating the noodles from the flavour packets. Silently, Dongwoo took out some clean bowls and chopsticks and went ahead to set them on the floor. There was a lot of water, and he didn’t set the heat on high, so it would take a while before it boiled.
More time to lay here and do nothing, he thought, slowly laying himself down on the floor until his back was pressing against the cool tiles. He closed his eyes, and heard Myungsoo walking towards him. It wasn’t until he felt a warm hand in his that he realized that the younger male was also lying on the floor beside him, and Dongwoo subconsciously shifted closer to his warmth.
“This really sucks,” he tried to start another conversation about nothing, but Myungsoo remained silent, though Dongwoo could hear his even breathing. He decided to continue his one-sided conversation, explaining why he thought this year’s holidays were quite sucky - true, he was really grateful for their various accomplishments this year, but aside from that, getting sick on the few days granted to them once in two years really got to his nerves. He ranted on and on to the boy listening to him quietly, one thing that had made him grow fond of Myungsoo over the years. The guy always listened.
Dongwoo opened his eyes and glanced to his side, wondering if Myungsoo fell asleep on him - he met watery brown eyes, and a surprised expression on Myungsoo’s face. Surprise, because they both seemed to remember that they should be attending to their pot of boiling water now and not wasting time listening to Dongwoo rant. The two boys scrambled up and made a run for the kitchen, and started preparing their food.
Which they wolfed down in all of five minutes, noodles, soup, and all. The heater was turned all the way up, and pretty soon, Dongwoo had falled asleep on Myungsoo’s lap, and Myungsoo had fallen asleep with his back against the wall, his hand laying atop his hyung’s shoulder. They lay unmoving, save for the even breathing that made their chests rise and fall regularly. An occasional sniffle could be heard, and the ticking of the clock was audible throughout the room.
At a quarter to twelve, the front door creaked open, and gentle feet treaded into the room. Sungjong caught the two sick boys sleeping on the living room on top of each other, and he carefully left the large bag he was carrying on the floor and made for the bedroom, coming back out with his arms full of soft blankets and pillows.
Dongwoo stirred to the sound of Christmas songs playing, and he groggily patted his sides, hands coming down on fluffy pillows - which he distinctly remembered not being there. It wasn’t Myungsoo’s thigh his head was resting on now, but another one of the fluffy pillows, and he opened his eyes fully, looking at his surroundings. He was still in the living room, and he picked up the scent of something heavenly, something that smelled like...
Hot soup. And melted candy.
He sat up, zombie-turned a hundred and eighty degrees, then found himself staring at an electronic stove sitting in the middle of the room, atop which was a pot, simmering with the smell of medicinal herbs and meat. Two figures were seated around it, Myungsoo obviously the one holding on to a box of tissues, and the other figure, a glowing character sucking on a giant candy cane, whose eyes widened when he saw Dongwoo staring at him dumbly.
What the... what is Sungjong doing here?
“I’m making soup - my mum sent me the ingredients!” came the maknae’s bright voice, and Myungsoo’s eyes twinkled as they met Dongwoo’s, and that was enough magnetic force to drag Dongwoo closer to where they sat, such that the three of them huddled around the heated pot, inhaling the delicious scents of herbal soup and conserving the heat around them. He was still a little dazed, that Sungjong was here, but wasn’t he supposed to be in Gwangju, celebrating the holidays with his family?
“I’m going back home tomorrow morning, you see,” came Sungjong’s instant explanation, as if he could hear Dongwoo’s thoughts quite clearly in his head. “But someone ought to take care of my sick hyungs on Christmas eve, so, here I am,” he said quite breathlessly, but Dongwoo could feel his sincerity, and he could feel Myungsoo’s heart melting into a clear puddle beside his own. They shared a moment of comfortable silence, just taking in slow, measured breaths, until something started buzzing in Sungjong’s pocket, which he took a terribly long time to check.
“Ah... Merry Christmas, you guys~” Sungjong’s lilting voice made both of his sick hyungs smile in unison. “Give me your hands - “ Dongwoo’s shaky hand shot out, and so did Myungsoo’s, and the maknae took hold of them immediately.
“Thanks for co-,” came Dongwoo’s serious tone -
“You didn’t have to-,” Myungsoo started -
“Sssshhhh... Sick people shouldn’t talk,” Sungjong squeezed their hands in his, then beamed at them like he always did. He leaned over to press a kiss to Myungsoo’s cheek, then Dongwoo’s, before settling back down, leaving both as confused and dazed as their medications usually did to them. Did Sungjong just...
“Merry Christmas.”
Dongwoo's cheeks felt hot. He glanced up at Myungsoo. His cheeks were still burning.
.....
“Feeling any better?”
Sungjong shook his head, pressing a clean tissue to his nose and gently blowing, then tossing it into an already-full trash can beside his bed. His eyes were red and watery, just like his nose, just like how Dongwoo and Myungsoo looked like a couple of days ago.
“Sorry that this is all I could make,” Dongwoo murmured, holding out a spoonful of soup - “It’s instant, but it’s sick food - “ Sungjong obediently opened his mouth, letting the warm liquid slide down his throat wonderfully. Myungsoo was sitting on the other side of his bed, a constant presence that never failed to make him happy.
Sungjong offered to take the bowl from his hyung. “You guys.. you should leave.. else you’d get the bug too..”
“But the bug came from us - “ Dongwoo insisted.
“-came from Dongwoo-hyung,” Myungsoo quickly retorted.
“But we’re immune to it now.”
A pause, then a nod.
“Now shut up and finish this soup.”
end