It was 3:27 am when it started; the telltale signs indicating the beginnings of a migraine. Wonshik paused his work for a moment to glance at the clock while shaking his left hand in an attempt to rid himself of the annoying tingling sensation. ‘I can work for another hour at least…’ he yawned and returned to his new composition.

The most challenging part of composing for VIXX, according to Wonshik anyway, was making sure no one was disappointed; both Starlights and his fellow members. Hakyeon loved intricate dances, so Wonshik did his best to create dynamic music; Taekwoon and Jaehwan both enjoyed having elegant riffs throughout and sustainable notes within each song, for Wonshik dividing up the vocal line was always harder than writing it; thankfully, Hongbin was always easy to please, simply giving him a mixture of parts was perfect.

Sighing, Wonshik shook his head trying to readjust to the bright computer screen. Sanghyuk’s was more puzzling, not because he was picky. No, despite how much he tries to inflate his supposedly “mean” personality, all the members knew Hyuk was just a big softie. No, for Wonshik finding a way for Hyuk to spread his wings and try new parts was always difficult.

By 4:15, Wonshik had drafted out part distributions for his new song. Though slightly disappointed with his shortened part, he was pleased with how it had turned out and excited to see how Hyuk would do with the rap verse.

After saving his work, Wonshik turned off the computer and gathered his things. He stood up intending to return to the dorm and sleep for a couple hours before having to return to the studio for dance practice. However, the sudden movement caused him to stumble slightly as the pulsating pressure pounded behind his eyes.

After a moment, when the pain lessened to a softer dull, he propped his bag back against the desk chair. Running his hand through his hair, Wonshik walked to the door and shut off the lights. Basking in the minor relief darkness brought, he opted for sleeping in the studio tonight in the hopes that the few extra minutes of sleep might help fight off the impending pain.

~*~*~

In spite of the drumming at the back of his eyes, Wonshik was able to sleep. At least until a loud knock at the door and the blinding overhead lights woke him up.

“Wonshik-ah, are you awake? Did you spend the night here again? You know how I feel about that. I would rather you come home and get a full night sleep than stay up super late and crash here.” Hakyeon’s voice felt kind of like needles to Wonshik.

“shh.” Wonshik whined, “I’m up. Turn off the lights.”

“Why?” regardless of the question, Hakyeon did as he was asked, “Did you sleep well at least? We brought some food from the dorms for you to eat before rehearsal.”

“Unn,” Wonshik grunted as he sat up, eyes still tightly closed. He paused for a second, as the pain created a surge of nausea, before finally opening them to look at his leader. “I finished at four something. But yeah, I slept alright. Not really hungry, though, Hyung.”

“Four…” Hakyeon sighed in defeat, “You need to get more sleep Wonshikie. And you need to eat.”

“I know, I know, but I have a slight headache,” Wonshik took a deep breath, preparing for the loud music and hours of dancing that was to begin soon.

“A headache? Again?” Hakyeon questioned in worry. Truthfully, Wonshik was a healthy guy. Yeah, he had some allergies, but besides that he rarely ever got sick. Headaches, and migraines, however, were another story. “This is the fourth this month. I think lack of sleep is a trigger, Wonshik.”

“Probably,” Wonshik said as he stood up. The sudden change in position momentarily increased the pain yet again and he clenched his jaw. “The song is done, so I’ll sleep tonight.”

“At least take something for your head before rehearsal. It is just going to make you feel worse otherwise.”

“Nah. You know I don’t like pain medicine it just makes me sick.”

“No, you just don’t like swallowing pills. You have never even taken a proper dose…” Hakyeon shook his head knowing that the younger boy would rather suffer through the next 12-48 hours with a migraine than take anything for it. An outcome that aggravated Hakyeon, and the others, to no end. “Fine. At least practice is going to be shorter today.” Noting the look of confusion Hakyeon continued, “We are working on the song you finished, but Hongbin has to leave early for another schedule. Our manager figured we could have the afternoon off.” He ran his hand through the other’s hair tugging softly.

“Then let’s go work hard Hyung.” Wonshik smiled as brightly as he could, pushing the pain out of his mind.

~*~*~

Generally speaking, practice that day went great. Everyone seemed to love the song, and seeing the excitement on Hyuk’s face when he realized he was doing the majority of the rapping was breathtaking. For the most part, Wonshik was able to work through his migraine. However, it was fighting against him. He’d already thrown up once, after hearing the whole song through the loud speakers, a fact which all the members were aware despite his best efforts to make the trip to the bathroom seem harmless.

By the time the five, Hongbin having left for his schedule about fifteen minutes prior, of them loaded into the van, Wonshik could barely see straight; let alone think, speak, or even walk. He remained quiet in the back seat, hunched over with each hand holding a fist full of hair. In some ways, he was thankful he had already been physically ill, otherwise the trip would have been even less pleasant.

Wonshik wasn’t even aware they had reached the dorms until a soft voice tried to coax him out, “Wonshikie, we’re here. Come on, let’s get you inside.” Taekwoon unbuckled the younger boy, “come on,” he repeated placing his hand on the others arm, guiding him out.

Everything was slow and labored. He felt as though he was walking through sludge, but in reality, he was moving at a normal pace with Taekwoon’s help. Each thought Wonshik had was delayed and confused. The pulsing, which had now taken over his entire skull, was interfering with every aspect.

“Take off your shoe Wonshikie.”

“Wha…” Wonshik paused trying to process, “right, sorry Hyung.”

“It’s fine.”

“Give me your hand Wonshik. Let’s get you into the bedroom. Are you sure you don’t want any pain medicine?” Hakyeon grabbed the other’s elbow pulling him toward the room.

Wonshik gave a sound indicating a negative.  

With a sigh, Hakyeon continued to lead Wonshik into the main bedroom. “Let’s get you into some pajamas, yeah? I don’t think you should take shower right now Shikie.”

There was a long pause while Hakyeon rummaged through the closet to find clothes for the composer.

“But Hyung?” Wonshik questioned through a cringe, “This isn’t my room.”

Hakyeon turned back towards the rapper with a pair of sweats in hand, “I know Shikie, but I’d rather you be in here with us tonight in case you get sick again.” Seeing the slow comprehension on the younger’s face, Hakyeon proceeded to help him change into the sweats and get into bed. “Do you want anything? Food? Water?” after a pause, “medicine?” Hakyeon added hopefully.

“Just water please,” Wonshik answered after a pause. “I’m fine. It will be gone by the morning and I’ll be good as new. Like always.”

“Yeah, until you spend another all-nighter and we are in the same spot again,” Hakyeon mumbled under his breath. “I’ll be back with your water.” With that, the leader left Wonshik hiding his face in the pillow and softly closed the door leading back to the main living area.

“Did you manage to convince him to take something for his head?” Jaehwan asked.

Giving a frustrated sigh Hakyeon shook his head, “no. He just wants some water. I just don’t understand why he’s so stubborn.”

“He doesn’t like pills,” Hyuk answered offhandedly from his seat on the floor, eyes only leaving the video game he was playing for a moment.

“He wasn’t sick again was he?” Taekwoon asked.

“Liking or not liking to take pills shouldn’t matter.” Hakyeon gestured his hand in a dismissive manner before continuing to the kitchen. “No, he hasn’t been sick since this morning. Of course, he also hasn’t eaten all day.” He reached into the cabinet grabbing a glass. “Did manager-Hyung say he was staying with Hongbin until he finished his schedule?”

“Yep, it isn’t supposed to be that long of a thing I guess,” Jaehwan answered as he joined the eldest member in the kitchen.

“So we are on our own for dinner then.” Grabbing the pitcher of water out of the refrigerator Hakyeon added, “Anyone have any ideas? We should avoid kimchi though, the scent might get to Wonshik.”

“Chicken.”

Taekwoon gave an annoyed huff and took the glass, now full of water, from Hakyeon. “I’ve got an idea.”

“About dinner?”

“No, about Wonshikie.” Taekwoon paused before motioning to the cupboard, “can you grab the aspirin Hyung?”

“Are we going to have chicken or not?” Hyuk’s voice called from the other room.

“Yes, fine. Jaehwan can you order please.” Hakyeon held the medicine out to Taekwoon, “He won’t take those.” He added slightly confused, “you know that.”

Taekwoon placed the water down on the counter, “I know, but he needs to take something. I am done watching him suffer for no reason. Do you have any idea how many migraines he got while we were working on Beautiful Liar?” He grabbed something from another cupboard, “I’m going to dissolve a dose in the water. Maybe he won’t notice and hopefully that will help.”

“That’s a good idea Woonie,” Hakyeon smiled. “I’ll get him some bread too. He shouldn’t take medicine on an empty stomach.”   

“Yes…” Jaehwan wondered out of the room after the phone call went through.

Hakyeon grabbed a dish out of the cupboard, then reached for the half loaf of bread sitting on top of the fridge. After fishing out a slice and placing it on the plate, he turned back to Taekwoon, “How long do you think it will take to dissolve?”

The other gave a grunt, then spoke, “Not long. I crushed them up first.”

The two remained silent while they waited, Jaehwan’s voice filtered in as he finished the order, “The chicken will be here in twenty.”

“I think that’s good enough,” Taekwoon removed the spoon he had been stirring with and allowed it to fall into the sink with a clank. “The water is basically clear.” He then took a small sip, “A bit bitter, but nothing too overpowering.”

“Well let’s hope that he drinks it and that it helps some.” Hakyeon grabbed the plate with one hand and the glass in the other. “Woonie, can you open the door for me?”

The two walked back to the main bedroom, Taekwoon opened the door to allow Hakyeon inside then closed it to block out the light, before retreating to the living room couch.

After a moment of adjusting to the new darkness, Hakyeon quietly moved towards Wonshik and placed the cup on the nightstand. “Wonshik, I want you to try to eat some bread before you drink your water, alright? It’s not good to skip meals.” He said softly as he sat down in the open space near the younger boy.

Wonshik gave a low whine but didn’t really fight back. With clenched eyes, he sat up slightly and shifted so he was leaning up against the wall. He then wordlessly accepted the bread, and arduously began eating it.

Hakyeon looked on, his heart always hurt when s were in pain, “Can I do anything else for you Shikie? A heating pad or ice pack for your head maybe?”

After a moment, once Wonshik’s brain caught up with the conversation, he placed down the mostly eaten piece of bread and glanced towards Hakyeon, “An…a heating pad might be nice. Thanks, Hyung.”

“No problem,” he handed the glass of water to Wonshik. “Drink. I’ll be back in few minutes.” And with that Hakyeon silently left the room in search of the heating pad.

Wonshik took a tentative sip of the water, the bread hadn’t caused any problem but he was being cautious. Once the liquid touched his lips, he realized just how thirsty he was and continued to drink the remaining amount in moments. As he went to place the glass back on the nightstand, his head pulsed painfully as though something was trying to crack his skull. His eyes watered and burned, he released the glass just shy of the table and it fell to the floor with a low clunk.

His stomach turned painfully and another wave of nausea erupted, Wonshik wheezed out a whimpering sound before falling back onto the bed in agony. ‘I must have been sitting up too long,’ his mind sluggishly supplied as his stomach cramped again tightly.

Then he noticed it. Through the skull crushing pressure, the angry sea of nausea eating away at his stomach, and burning pain behind each eye, Wonshik had another problem. It was getting harder to breathe.

He tried to in a breath, it felt small. As though he was trying to breathe through a miniature tube or drink pudding through a straw. Air just wasn’t coming.

Panic struck him, though his mind was still slightly numbed by the pain in his head, and he tried to call for the others.

But nothing.

He laboriously in as much air as he could, his heart was pounding and tears were falling as he managed to stand up. This small victory was short lived as darkness ate the corners of his vision, and Wonshik fell backward knocking a lamp off the table and sending it crashing into the wall where it shattered.

The door opened with a bang as Jaehwan and Hyuk barged in following the crash.

“Wonshik hyung wha-“

“Wonshik-ah”

It only took a moment for them both to notice something was very wrong. Wonshik’s face was ashen, tinged blueish-grey, his eyes were unfocused, and his shoulders heaved with each attempted breath.

“wha-“ Hyuk stood motionless. Panic, confusion, fear all whirling around in his head.

“Won...” Jaehwan’s mind was reeling as he knelt down by Wonshik, he placed a hand gently on the other’s arm, “You are having trouble breathing.” He muttered, eyes wide and anxious.

A moment later Hakyeon and Taekwoon appeared at the door, investigating the noise.

“Call an ambulance!” Jaehwan’s voice greeted them.

Hakyeon and Taekwoon were frozen, but Hyuk seemed to break through the haze and scrambled past the eldest members forcibly pushing them aside as he rushed to his phone.

In doing so Hyuk managed to bring Hakyeon and Taekwoon back to the present.

“What’s going on?! What broke? Is he bleeding?” Hakyeon voiced before fully entering the room.

“He’s not breathing! He is barely breathing! I don’t know! I don’t know!”

“What?!” Taekwoon rushed to Jaehwan’s side. Wonshik’s breathing was barely audible, his eye half-lidded and unfocused, “Wonshik? Wonshik, can you hear us?”

“Both of you back up a bit, give him room,” Hakyeon ordered from the back.

“I don’t know! He had a migraine earlier today and then a lamp broke and…and he’s not breathing! What do we do?” Hyuk’s voice reappeared, rushed and frantic, at the door seconds before his body, his eyes still wide and frightened, tears leaking without consent. “O..ok. They say to make sure he is sitting up and…uh…and just try to keep him calm…”

“CALM?! He’s barely conscious!”

“Jaehwan! That’s not helpful! Go wait in front of the building for the ambulance.”

“But Hyung!”

“Go.” Hakyeon left no room for an argument.

“They are only a block away now…” Hyuk’s voice broke, “is he breathing at all?”

“Not much. He’s not responding.”

“No…his eyes are open a bit, though…” Hyuk bit his lip, “ok…” he ended the call.

The sound of Wonshik’s chest contracting, demanding oxygen, filled the room. A rhythm that was fading.

Then in a flash, they heard the front door open again. Hyuk quickly moved aside, as the two EMTs moved past.

The eldest members shifted to either side giving the paramedics room to work.

“His name is Wonshik, correct?” without waiting for a response the man continued, “Wonshik, I am going to put an oxygen mask on your face. Then we are going to carry you out to the stretcher.” He glanced at the other worker who had been taking Wonshik’s blood pressure.

“80/50, we need to go.”

They strapped the mask to Wonshik’s face and carried his limp body out to the front door where the stretcher was waiting.

The remaining members followed closely, unsure of what to do.

“Can we, or one of us go with him?” Taekwoon asked as the paramedics began strapping Wonshik to the stretcher.

“Only one of you. The others will have to find their own way. We need to get him to the hospital now.”

Hakyeon looked toward the other three members, each had so much hope in their eyes, “Taekwoon, go with him. I’ll get the rest of us to the hospital. Jaeh-“

Hakyeon’s voice faded out behind him as Taekwoon rushed after the fast moving paramedics. They soon reached the ambulance that was near the entrance.

Once they lifted Wonshik inside the older of the men called back, “Get in…”

“Taekwoon,” he gave his name as he entered the back of the vehicle.

“Taekwoon, please take a seat,” the man motioned to the bench like area opposite of where Wonshik lay.

The other paramedic had already hooked Wonshik, who was now completely unconscious, up to the IV. “Jae, he’s not getting any oxygen. We got the call nearly eight minutes ago…”

The man continued, but Taekwoon’s mind blurred. ‘Had it really only been eight minutes? What happened…’ his thought process was interrupted as Jae, the older man, moved to help his coworker.

“We need to intubate.”

“What?” Taekwoon mumbled, “What’s…”

“We are going to try to get him breathing by putting a tube down his throat,” Jae answered calmly while still doing his job.

“Taekwoon, does Wonshik have any allergies?” The nameless man looked up from his position at Wonshik’s head. When Taekwoon remained quiet, he continued, “Jae, I think he is having an extreme allergic reaction to something. There is no way to get him intubated without reducing the swelling.”

“No….he’s not allergic to anything…other than pollen,” Taekwoon gave a delayed answer. ‘He’s so pale…he’s so pale,’ his mind continued to supply on loop. Once again Taekwoon was forced back into the present when Jae injected Wonshik with something.

It wasn’t instantaneous, but it happened very fast. Although for Taekwoon it didn’t feel that way. Within seconds of the injection, Wonshik’s body convulsed. His chest contracted, desperate for air which was now flowing, and his ashen skin took on a pink glow within moments.

“Wonshik…” Taekwoon muttered again.

“The airway is clear. Hold him steady Jae, let me get this tube in case epinephrine isn’t enough.”

Taekwoon looked on as the men placed a tube down his friend’s throat, his brain trying desperately to processing the last fourteen minutes.

The man at Wonshik’s head once again spoke after looking at the digital readouts, “He’s stabilizing.”

The driver called back, “Nearly there. Probably two minutes max.”

“Roger.” Jae turned back to Taekwoon, “So, you said Wonshik didn’t have any allergies, at least not that you are aware of, correct?”

A nod.

“And when your friend…uh…Sanghyuk,” He read from a nearby tablet, “called he said that Wonshik had been suffering from a migraine since early this morning and that to his knowledge Wonshik had not eaten anything all day, is that correct?”

“Uh, no…we…we got him to eat a piece of bread,” Taekwoon paused to watch his friend’s chest rise and fall, “We also…got him to take some aspirin.”

“I see…”

“We put it in his water, ‘cause he’s stubborn…”    

“Alright, thank you Taekwoon.”

The next few minutes were filled with the quiet movements of the paramedics and the soft hum of the engine.

But for Taekwoon, it was filled with Wonshik’s chest rising and falling.

~*~*~

Taekwoon had been waiting in the cold sterile lobby for only five minutes when Hakyeon arrived with Jaehwan and Hyuk.

“Woonie,” Hakyeon pulled the slightly younger boy into a one armed hug before sitting next to him. Jaehwan and Hyuk sat in the chairs directly opposite facing the eldest. “Have they said anything?”

Taekwoon took a deep breath, feeling the warmth of this fellow members fill his lungs, “Not since we got here. They said it looked like an allergic reaction while we were in the ambulance. It hasn’t been that long since we got here.”

“An allergic reaction? To what?” Hyuk furrowed his eyebrows, “He hasn’t eaten anything…”

“We got him to eat some bread.” Hakyeon supplied equally puzzled.

“That wouldn-“ Jaehwan’s comment was interrupted by the ringing of a phone.

Hakyeon spewed apologies toward the annoyed looking receptionist, “I forgot to silence it…sorry.” Before answering, “Hello?”

“Hyung!? Where are you? Why is the dorm unlocked? And the lamp- What happened? Is everyone with you?!” Hongbin’s panicky voices rambled through question after question.

“Shhh. It’s alright Hongbin-ah. Is our manager with you?”

“Yeah..” His voice cracked slightly.

“Take a deep breath, alright? Something happened to Wonshik-“

“What?! What Ha-“

“Hongbin, please. Just listen for a minute.” Hakyeon glanced at the others near him before continuing, “Tell our manager we are at the hospital. The one nearest the dorm.”

There was a muffled, still tinged frantic, response on the other end as Hongbin did as he was told. “Ok…ok, we are on our way now. What happened to Wonshik? Is he alright?”

“Good. We’re in the main lobby toward the back.” Hakyeon paused again noticing the back door open. He looked, in hopes that whoever opened it was bringing news of Wonshik, but they were simply emptying the trash by the elevator. “Wonshik had some type of allergic reaction. At least that’s what the paramedics said. We had to call an ambulance because he wasn’t breathing.” a horrified whimper from Hongbin prompted Hakyeon to continue, “Barely…he was breathing, just not well…”

“Is he okay now?”

‘That is the question,’ their leader thought in silence, not daring to speak it aloud. “We are waiting to find out. Hyuk, Jaehwan, and I got here just minutes ago. We don’t know anything else…”

“They got him breathing…” Taekwoon muttered, “In the ambulance. He was breathing.”

“Did you hear Taekwoon, Binnie? Woonie says Wonshikie was breathing in the ambulance. Alright? We are just waiting to hear more from the doctor.”

The fearful edge in Hongbin’s voice seemed to have waned, “Good. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“See you then.” With that, he ended the call and silenced the phone.

“Are you boys here for Kim Wonshik?” A short grey-haired elderly woman approached minutes later.  

“Yes.”

“That’s us.”

“Correct Ma’am.”

She smiled warmly, “Your friend will be fine. We ran a few tests to determine exactly what caused the reaction, we should have the results within the hour, and he needs to spend the night here for observation. Just so we can make sure that everything is out of his system.” She glanced down at her chart.

“Hyung!” Hongbin’s voice abruptly sounded from the main doorway. He jogged over the startled nurse, the boy’s manager not far behind, “Sorry…” he added awkwardly once he joined them.

She cleared  but continued to smile nonetheless. “So, as I said, Wonshik needs to stay the night.” She seemed momentarily confused by the appearance of the new boy, “Let’s see.” Glancing down at her chart she spoke again, “We have removed the intubation tube, but we are going to keep him on oxygen for the night. He seems to be breathing fine on his own, it is just a precaution.” She adding noting their concerned looks. “He’s awake, exhausted, but awake. There seems to be no brain damage, despite the duration of oxygen deprivation. Which is great news. Please, don’t look so sad. There appears to be no complications from the incident. He is, however, still suffering from a migraine. Nevertheless, the doctor does not plan on giving him anything for the pain until we can pinpoint the source of his reaction. Are there any questions before I bring you to his room?”

“Boys, why don’t you go on ahead?” Their manager suggested. “I am going to call the company and let them know what is going on. Hakyeon, can you message me the room number?”

Hakyeon nodded as the members followed the nurse. Wonshik’s room was on the third floor, only a few meters away from the elevator. The nurse motioned for the boys to go on in, as she continued past them, likely to another patient’s room.

The five members opened the door somewhat slowly and entered the well lite room. Wonshik was sitting on the bed closest to the window. His skin was no longer an unhealthy shade, though his eyes were a tad red. He smiled weakly at the five, his cheeks pushing the oxygen filled tubes up just a touch before they returned to their proper position. “Hey…”

~*~*~

It was the aspirin. The group found out around eight in the morning the following day, while Wonshik slept soundly in his hospital bed surrounded by s. Wonshik was severely allergic to aspirin, and according to the doctor likely to be allergic to most of the over the counter pain medication available.

~*~*~

It was 11:43 pm when he was interrupted. Wonshik’s life resumed as normal shortly after he returned from the hospital. It wasn’t like anything changed; he never likely taking pain medication anyway and now he had an excuse not to.

Some things had changed, though, which is why there was currently a second knock occurring on the studio door. “It’s open.”

“Wonshik, come on it’s time to leave,” Taekwoon called out as he entered the cluttered room.

“I’m not finished with this track yet.” Wonshik cracked his neck to the side, “It should only take another few hours.”

“No. When you stay up late looking at that computer, you get a migraine.” Taekwoon walked over, removed Wonshik’s hand from the mouse, and saved whatever project the younger was working on. Before closing the program, “That’s the rule remember. You don’t get to put yourself in the position to be in pain.”

“You guys are being ridiculous.” Wonshik lamented again for the hundredth time in the last couple weeks. In his opinion, they were being silly. Granted he wasn’t the one that watched a friend suffer, but he had been staying up late for years. It made no sense for that to change simply because he could die from taking a pain pill. A pain pill he never intended to take in the first place. Not that he was angry at them. He understood why they wanted him to take the aspirin, but really had they listened to his requests in the first place…not that he’d ever say that out loud; they felt guilty enough.

“Don’t care.” Taekwoon reached into the bag he’d been carrying and pulled out a bottle of water, “Here. You’ve been in working for hours already. We are going home.”

Wonshik took a deep breath, ‘it is nice to breathe,’ His mind added. “Alright.” He took the bottle and drank a bit before commenting, “You aren’t responsible for what happened, Hyung. I’m here and I’m fine.”

Taekwoon shook his head but smiled, “yeah, yeah. Come on. Let’s go.”