Hypoglycaemic Minghao

Alone

Ambulances were always a pain in the ass. Paramedics didn't know Minghao's preferences. Junhui couldn't count the number of times Minghao had been restrained by paramedics and medical staff during seizures, and it always led to a very horrible awakening for him.

Watching Minghao jerking and kicking on the floor of the practice room was awful and the paramedics were supposed to help, not pin Minghao to the floor until the seizure stopped or they were forced to drug him.

The paramedics did exactly as Junhui screamed at them not to. One paramedic pinned his legs to the ground, the other his arms. The seizure was a violent one, either way, that was the reason they'd called the ambulance in the first place. The seizure was too violent to get him still enough for his emergency injections.

"No!" Junhui screamed, being held back by Mingyu and Wonwoo. "No! You're hurting him!"

Once he was pinned well enough, one of the paramedics stuck a needle into his leg, forcing some drugs under the skin. Less than a minute later, Minghao was lying lax against the floor, the paramedic fixing an oxygen mask and an IV line while the other prepared the gurney.

Even the way they lifted Minghao onto the gurney wasn't all too gentle, and the straps looked too tight around Minghao's body.

Junhui wanted to go with Minghao, but Seungcheol insisted on going and Wonwoo was holding Junhui down at the other end of the room, recognising that Junhui was close to running across the room and punching one of the paramedics.

As soon as the paramedics and Seungcheol left, the remaining members headed back to the dorms, an uncomfortable and anxious silence surrounding them.

———————

Minghao woke up in a very familiar setting to him.

His wrists were cuffed to the rails of the hospital bed, and there was a familiar pricking in his forearm. His head felt like it had been crushed between two trucks and his muscles were filled with a deep ache you didn't get from hours of practice.

Judging by the cuffs, he was in the hospital for another seizure. He must have slept through the postictal phase.

Minghao let out a deep breath, opening his eyes as the oxygen mask over his face fogged up with his breath.

Minghao tried to reach the oxygen mask to pull it off but the soft cuffs stopped him. He let out a loud whine, feeling a slightly rough hand on his shoulder.

It was Seungcheol, trying to stop him from pulling at the restraints.

Minghao whimpered. "What happened?"

Seungcheol sighed. "You had a seizure during practice. It was all really sudden. We called an ambulance. The doctor said if you hadn't received the AED there was a chance you'd never come out of the seizure. Minghao, you need to take much better care of yourself. I've been nagging you for years, since your first hypo. You need to eat better, sleep better and monitor yourself closer. If you can't do that, I'm going to talk to management and see about getting you some closer management, and if that doesn't work, I will put you on hiatus until you can gather the sense to take care of yourself. I'm fed up with having to watch your seizures. It breaks my heart every time I see you being carried away on a gurney. I can't keep watching you having seizures. It's an awful thing to watch and I'm sure it's much worse to actually go through a seizure so please stop doing this to yourself."

Minghao had stopped looking Seungcheol in the eyes the moment Seungcheol's tone changed to slightly scolding, and tears filled his eyes when Seungcheol started sounding... almost broken. He sounded so tired.

Minghao sobbed when Seungcheol was done, letting the tears flow down his face, further smudging his already ruined makeup.

"You have to stay here for the night. I'm allowed another hour here and then I have to go home. I'm going to ask the doctor to give you scrubs instead of the gowns. Consider spending the night at the hospital alone your punishment." Seungcheol said before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.