SKZ - Hybrid and Omegaverse Oneshots

That's no stomach bug

Sickie: Jeongin (?)

Caregiver: Chan (alpha)

Set during the survival show.

No one's POV.:

As Stray Kids battled through the survival show, they already emotionally prepared themselves to form a pack with Chan as their pack-alpha after their debut. There was one more hurdle aside from the threat of eliminations though. One of the members hadn't presented yet. Though the age difference between Jeongin and Seungmin was pretty small, Seungmin had already presented as a beta two years ago, while Jeongin still had no clue what his secondary gender would be and how it would fit into their dynamics as a group. Chan had once asked the maknae about it, worried why the boy still hadn't presented. Brushing it off, Jeongin declared that he had already seen a doctor about it and it was determined that he was just a late bloomer. It wasn't entirely the truth but the leader didn't need to know that. Since Jeongin's mother too had been concerned, the boy did see a doctor, who determined that it was the trainee lifestyle that was messing with his body and threw his hormones off balance.

As Jeongin tried to juggle school and training, he barely got any sleep. He always had to practice after school, oftentimes till late into the night before having to get up early to attend his classes. The excessive amount of physical activity from the endless hours of dancing combined with the strict diet he had been following to prepare for his debut, put further strain on his body but the only way to solve this problem would be to give up on this career path and choose something boring and less stressful. Jeongin wasn't willing to give up. So what if it took longer for him to present? Still he hated to make people worry about him, which was why he never told the other members why he hadn't presented yet. The one most worried about the boy, was his mom. After the members had moved into a dorm together, she had no way of looking after her son and feared that he would cut down on food even more, now that she wasn't there to remind him to eat. Jeongin himself was excited about their new living arrangement. He was rooming with Jisung and realized that although the rapper was often loud and overly confident, often picking fights, it was all a front and the older often doubted himself. When they talked before sleep, Jeongin found a good friend in his hyung because the other took the time to listen to him.

Chan was also of great help to Jeongin. He knew how tough it had to be on their youngest, who often wasn't able to attend practices due to his classes, so the Aussie met up with him in the evenings to practice together, as did Hyunjin whenever he had the time to. On one of those nights, when Chan and Jeongin stayed in the practice room for hours, completely missing out on dinner, the maknae kept messing up the same sequence of steps. With how tired he was, he was ready to cry from frustration. He had felt even more fatigued than usual over the past few days and in truth, his stumbling came from how lightheaded he felt. When Jeongin once again lost his balance, Chan caught him by the arm and helped him to sit down, frowning: "You okay?" The younger only nodded, harshly scrubbing at his eyes, knowing if he tried to talk a sob would be all that came out, so he held back.

Fetching the younger's water bottle, Chan made him drink a few sips and asked: "Truthfully, how do you feel, Innie?" His dongsaeng shakily placed the bottle on the floor and shrugged. "I'm really sore from all the dancing this past week but I can't stop till I get this right", Jeongin admitted, his voice trembling as he tried to force a smile, "I know I have no right to complain because all of you sleep even less than me but I'm so tired." - "You have every right to complain", Chan stated quietly, "All of us are tired, yeah, but that doesn't mean that your experience isn't valid. How about we go and eat something? Sure, we will choose something healthy that won't completely mess up our diet but if you don't eat well, you'll only get sorer as time passes." Sniffling softly, Jeongin shook his head and played with a loose string on his shirt. Not daring to look the leader in the eye, the younger admitted: "I don't really have an appetite but I'd love to sleep. Can we try to quickly do a few more run-throughs only till I get it right and then go back to the dorm?" - "No", Chan said bluntly, making Jeongin's chest tighten before continuing, "We won't do another run-through. You're exhausted, I don't think that pushing yourself further will help you get it right. Let's go back, so you can get some rest and we can try again tomorrow." Defeated, Jeongin accepted but he felt so ashamed, that he remained quiet as they headed back to their dorm. Jisung was still out when the younger went to bed, making him feel even worse about going to bed earlier than the others.