Care || n.jm

🧸six🧸

The kids gathered around in the bedroom with the eldest in the middle. In front of each kid was a juice box and a plate of cookies. The lights were dimmed down on them as Mark wrote on the paper with his crayons.

"Why are we here?" Jeno asked, munching on the cookies. "Isn't it cartoon time? Tom and Jerry showing already?"

"I want to read my books." Renjun pouted, his eyes glued to the picture books on the shelf. Jisung sneezed, scaring Donghyuck who was beside him.

"I want cuddles with Noona." Chenle fussed, gripping onto Jisung's hand tighter. He was woken from his nap when Donghyuck pushed him off the couch.

"It's the perfect time for a meeting! Hannie is doing her homework while Hyung is out grocery shopping." Mark reasoned. He held the paper up for them to see and grinned. "I think I know why Hannie hates him and we need to fix it."

"Hurry up and explain then I'm missing Tom and Jerry for this." Donghyuck whined. He loved his cartoons more than them.

"Maybe Hannie hates Hyung because he's too laidback. I have the evidence!" Mark pointed at the very poorly drawn Haneul and Jaemin. "Hannie is very serious and Hyung is a carefree idiot. What if we show that Hyung isn't an idiot?"

"That makes so much sense!" Jeno exclaimed.

"No it doesn't it just says how they're different." Renjun pointed out. "Maybe we're overthinking it."

"If we are then why does Noona hate Hyung? If you don't want Noona and Hyung to like each other then you can leave." Donghyuck asked, sticking his tongue out at him. "Idiot!"

"Talk to me when your IQ is higher than Lele's scream!" Renjun shouted back. Jeno held him back from pouncing on the latter.

"Don't fight!" Mark interjected, getting in between the two. "We need to focus on the problem here!"

Despite the chaos, Jisung and Chenle stayed quiet, watching the older boys argue.

"Ji, are you okay?" Chenle asked softly. The youngest had been sneezing and was off in his own world. Chenle placed his small hand on Jisung's forehead. "You're burning up!"

The four stopped talking and looked at the two. They all looked at Jisung who was pale.

"Noona!" Donghyuck shouted, running out the door and toward the dining room. Haneul, who was trying her best to eat, looked at the frantic boy.

"What's up Hyuck?" She asked.

"Ji is sick!" He responded. He took her hand and forced her to walk to the bedroom. "He's hot!"

Haneul's eyebrows furrowed and walked to Jisung. To her horror, the kid collapsed head first the moment she placed her hand on his forehead. It took her a couple of second to process what was happening.

Haneul took a blanket and wrapped it around Jisung. She carefully took him into her arms before looking over at her brother. "Mark, you're the eldest here. Can you be a good boy and take care of your brothers?"

Mark, although shaken up, nodded. They watched as Haneul ran out the door, Jeno lifting Renjun in order to lock it.

She could feel the adrenaline pump through her veins as she took long strides. After a couple of minutes of running, she found herself in the emergency room.

"What happened?" The nurse asked, guiding her to a bed.

"He passed out and I think he has a fever." Haneul quietly answered, placing Jisung on the bed. She stepped back and let the doctors do their work.

"Did he hit his head when he fell?" They asked. She nodded, pointing to the bruising spot on Jisung's head. "Please take a seat while we run a couple of tests."

Haneul trudged to the lobby as she still tried to catch her breath. Her eyes catch her reflection on the glass. Her hair was an absolute mess, sticking up in different angles. She still had her pajamas on, which was just a tank top and shorts.

She took a seat and tried her best to cover herself, her wrists to be specific. She felt like people were staring at her, quietly judging her appearance.

Her breaths were shallow as her hands began to tremble. The only thing louder than the heart that thumped in her tightening chest were her thoughts that whispered endlessly.

"They're not looking at me. They're not looking at me." She chanted under her breath. She tried to fish her phone out of her pocket but ended up dropping it from how bad her hands trembled. "I... I need to call him."

It was her first time in a year to be in a crowded and busy place by herself.

She tried to reach for her phone as his contact was already open when a warm hand stopped her. He wrapped his jacket around her, putting the hood up. He crouched down in front of her and held her small hands in his.

"I'm here, Princess. Take deep long breaths when I tell you to." Jaemin instructed carefully. He guided her breathing until she finally calmed down. He gave her phone back and took a seat beside her.

"How did you know I was here?" Haneul asked.

"Mark called me and told me you took Jisung to the hospital. This was the nearest hospital to the house." Jaemin answered. He took his wallet out and cleared his throat. "How much did you pay for a taxi? I'll cover the expense."

Haneul shifted in her seat and pulled the hood down to cover her face more. "I ran here. It would take forever for a taxi to pass by the house."

"You ran barefoot?!" Jaemin gasped.

Barefoot?

She looked down at her feet and saw she was indeed barefoot. There were small cuts on her foot along with bruises that were slowly starting to darken. In her rush and worry, she forgot to put at least her slippers on.

Jaemin approached a female nurse. He pointed over at Haneul. "Excuse me but can I get her feet treated? She ran barefoot and got some wounds."

"Sure thing." The nurse left and returned with a first aid kit.

"I can just—"

"Stay put, okay? I'll buy you a drink and some slippers." Jaemin cut off, jogging away and towards the convenience store.

"Man you're so lucky. You have a handsome and caring boyfriend!" The nurse swooned as she began disinfecting her wounds.

"He's not my boyfriend." Haneul clarified. They weren't friends in the first place.

"Oh I see." The nurse chuckled darkly.

Haneul just shrugged. She watched the red haired nurse wrap her foot in a bandage. She was about to fall asleep when the nurse before her changed into a familiar looking child. She rubbed her eyes vigorously and saw that the nurse was back to normal.

"Is something wrong?" The nurse asked. Haneul just shook her head without another word.

Maybe the lack of sleep was getting to her.

A/N

IS THE DEVELOPMENT OKAY I HOPE IT ISN'T RUSHED