Hypoglycaemic Minghao

Awake

Everyone was rehearsing Home;Run when it happened.

They had been going through dances for at least five hours and everyone was exhausted. The pale faces etched with pure exhaustion, the way their bodies slumped the moment the music stopped, was an obvious sign.

They hadn't taken as many breaks as they should have, maybe two or three in those five hours. They were meant to take breaks every twenty minutes. If they had taken those fifteen breaks, things shouldn't have been so bad.

Nobody noticed the way Minghao slumped against the wall, panting breathlessly as he tried to reach for his water bottle with shaking hands. Nobody saw as he slid down the wall and brushed back his hair from his sweaty forehead. The first thing anyone noticed was as Minghao finally went limp against the floor.

"Come on, Hao. We've got to start again in a minute." Junhui called out for him, hoping that Minghao was just tired.

Mingyu was just walking towards him to check when Minghao's eyes opened again, rolled to the back of his head as he started jerking and shaking around.

The room suddenly erupted into chaos.

"Ambulance! Quick!" Seungcheol yelled at Jeonghan, who grabbed his phone and dialled the right number.

Seungcheol knelt by Minghao's side, rolling him onto his side.

Junhui was quick to pass over Minghao's blood sugar kit. Seungcheol pricked the seizing boy's finger and checked the reading.

45 mg/dL

"We need a glucagon shot. Just to stabilise him until the ambulance arrives." Wonwoo ran off to get the shot from Minghao's emergency kit.

"Mingyu, come here and protect his head."

Mingyu slipped Minghao's head into his lap to stop it from hitting the floor.

Seungcheol quickly pulled down Minghao's sweatpants and stuck the needle into his thigh, giving him the much-needed glucagon.

Nobody had any idea how Minghao's blood sugar had dropped so quickly.

Everyone was scared.

What was going to happen to their Dongsaeng?

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Minghao woke up wildly disoriented. His vision was blurry and he could hear something, really loud and persistent like it was trying to drill into his skull.

A groan escaped his mouth and he rolled his head to see someone holding his hand. He felt a slight prickling in the crease of his elbow, taste something metallic in his mouth.

"Hold on, Minghao. We're almost there." A deep yet concerned voice reached his ears.

Minghao rolled his head back and closed his eyes. The sounds were overwhelming.

He finally succumbed to sleep.

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Minghao wakes up for the second time feeling just as bad as the first time he woke. His head is spinning and his vision is blurry, everything too bright to see anyway. The noise has stopped now, and that is something Minghao can be thankful for. His elbow was still sore and as was his hand.

There is someone in the room with him. As his vision clears, he can make out the face of Mingyu, sitting with Minghao's small hand in his large one. He looked insanely concerned.

"Gyu..." Minghao whined, squeezing Mingyu's hand slightly.

"Oh my god, you're awake." Tears formed in Mingyu's eyes.

Minghao nodded. "Yeah... What happened?"

"Umm..." Mingyu thought for a moment, probably gathering his thoughts and words. "You started seizing in the practice room. Your blood sugar was 45mg/dL. You could've died, HaoHao."

Minghao looked up at the ceiling. How long had he gone without eating? Or without eating enough? How hard had he been practising?

"Hao, just on a side note, you do know how to administer your glucagon shots, right?"

Minghao shook his head softly. He heard Mingyu sigh.

"Hyung always does it, normally after I pass out or during a seizure. I've never even seen him do it."

Mingyu sighed and looked away. "You were so close to dying. They're giving you lots of dextrose in your IV. You need to gain some weight HaoHao, or this will get worse."

Minghao shook his head. "I can't. I've tried. I just don't gain weight, it's 'lucky' according to my family, but now it's trying to kill me."

"Okay, Hao. But you need to eat meals properly, not just a quick grab-and-go breakfast. Something nutritious to stop the hypos."

Minghao nodded slowly.

"Seungcheol can teach you next time it gets low. Okay?"

Minghao nodded again. "Can I sleep? I'm tired."

Mingyu placed a hand on Minghao's head, running it through the black messy hair. He was so glad Minghao was alright. He and his friends didn't want to have seen that. They didn't want the image of Minghao seizing in their minds forever. A few members had seen them before, like Junhui, Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Jihoon, but lots of the others hadn't and never wanted to.

It was safe to say that every member of the group slept better after a call with Mingyu telling them Minghao would be okay.