Jeongmin yawned widely as he headed to the water purifier with a mug in hand. Jabbing the red button on the machine, he waited for the mug to fill with hot water before placing it on the dining table. He looked over at the numerous tea canisters that he had bought earlier that day. Reaching out uncertainly, he picked one up and scrutinized its label, then put it back down and picked up another canister.

“Probably should have researched which tea is best for sore throats before buying all of this,” he mumbled. He repeated his earlier administrations, unable to decide on a type of tea.

“Aish, I’ll just use this one.” He plucked a random canister from the array of teas and popped it open. In the middle of taking a tea bag out, a hand reached over his shoulder and grabbed another canister.

“This one is better.” Donghyun shook the container in front of Jeongmin’s face. “The one you’re holding doesn’t do much besides act as a stimulant.”

Jeongmin took the tea the older one offered, murmuring ‘thank you’ as he opened the canister and took out a tea bag. Dunking it into the mug, Jeongmin stared at the water, waiting for it to become the golden color that tea was supposed to be. Donghyun sighed and tugged on the string, making the tea bag bob up and down in the water.

“You’re supposed to do it like this.”

“Oh.” Jeongmin took the string from Donghyun while the latter went to the coffee maker for his morning coffee. “When do I take the bag out?”

“You can leave it in the mug if you want.” Donghyun watched black coffee pour into his mug. “If you don’t want to leave it, then take it out when the tea starts tasting bitter.”

Jeongmin paused in pulling on the tea bag’s string and took a sip of the tea. The bitterness caught him by surprise and he coughed, nearly spilling tea all over the table. “Ugh, that’s so bitter!”

Donghyun took a sip of the tea. “No, it’s perfect. You can take it to Hyunseong now.” With that, the leader took his cup of coffee to the living room, leaving Jeongmin to gawk at the golden concoction sitting innocently on the tabletop.

Jeongmin looked scandalized. He couldn’t wrap his head around how anyone could drink this tea. It left a horrible aftertaste and made his tongue feel dry, and he had only taken one sip! There was no way he was going to give this Hyunseong, who was currently lying in bed with a fever and a sore throat. It would probably just make the sick idol even sicker.

Maybe there was something he could put in it to mask the bitterness. Jeongmin searched the kitchen, finally settling on either some honey or a spoonful of sugar. He ultimately decided on the honey, squeezing several drops of the thick substance into the tea. After stirring it, he tasted the tea again, nodding when he noticed the bitterness was dulled by the sweetness of the honey.

Carefully carrying the mug, Jeongmin made his way to the room he shared with Hyunseong. “Hyung, are you up?” he called as he opened the door.

Hyunseong was already sitting up when Jeongmin entered. The younger smiled as he approached the bed, his eyes turning into small crescents at the action. “How are you feeling today?”

“Horrible,” Hyunseong croaked, wincing at his rough voice. Jeongmin lifted the mug of tea to his roommate’s lips. Without being prompted, Hyunseong drank the hot liquid, finishing it off quickly. Jeongmin placed the empty mug on the bedside table and adjusted the cold pack on Hyunseong’s head.

“Thanks, Jeongminnie.”

Jeongmin patted Hyunseong’s head gently, being mindful of Hyunseong’s headache. “You should sleep now,” he urged, “I’ll make some soup for you if you feel better when you wake up.”

Hyunseong hummed in acknowledgment before dozing off to the tender threading of Jeongmin’s fingers through his hair.