Chapter Twenty-Six

 

They were finally back in the studio. It was Seokjin’s first day back, he had taken another week longer than the others to get there. But he had been finally cleared by his doctor to be able to start practice up once more. He already had some vocal practice. His voice felt and sounded rusty to him, but he was reassured that it was just lack of use and it would soon be back to normal. Now it was time for dance practice. The others were already inside, waiting for him to join him.

 

“Hey,” he smiled as he walked into the dance studio, closing the door behind them.

 

“Jin-Hyung,” Jungkook grinned, waving at the elder, “Good to see you back,” he added as the others all looked and watched him walk across the room towards the small group.

 

“It’s been a little odd not having you here,” Hoseok said, he had been saying the same thing for the last few days.

 

“I know,” Seokjin said, “It’s been too quiet at the dorm without you all there underfoot.”

 

“We’re not that bad hyung,” Jimin pouted at him playfully.

 

Seokjin pulled him into a hug, “Of course you’re not Jiminie,” he said, squeezing him lightly.

 

“So, what are we going through now?” Taehyung asked their choreographer as he stood by the music station.

 

“Let’s start off with something easy and then pick it up from there. I want to see how well you will be coping before we jump into the more complex dances,” he said, looking at Seokjin.

 

“Of course,” he nodded.

 

“So GO GO, first I think,” he said as he cued up the music, “Right, start your stretches.”

 

The group nodded and started to stretch and get themselves ready for dance practice. It took a little while, Seokjin already feeling the burn in his muscles from their disuse. He dreaded how practice was going to go. They stood up and got into position as the music started. Seokjin could feel himself getting slightly winded with the dance as they moved onto Save Me, it was a little bit more energetic, but at least it wasn’t Fire or Dope.

 

Seokjin could feel the sweat start to drip down his face and neck. As they moved through one routine to the other. They were halfway through Fire when Seokjin stumbled to the floor, out of breath and feeling tired after all the movement. The others stopped and rushed over to him as the music stopped.

 

“Hyung?” Jimin asked, eyes wide with worry.

 

“I’m… I’m alright Jiminie,” Seokjin answered him, “Just doing more than I’ve done in the last three weeks.”

 

“Okay, you need to sit out for a bit and regain a little energy,” Namjoon said as he helped him to his feet and kept hold of him as he took him over to the mirrors and let him sit back down. The others all watching and following.

 

“Yeah.” He agreed easily, “Thank you,” he said as Hoseok handed him a bottle of water. Drinking half or it, he leaned back against the mirrors, “Sorry.”

 

“Don’t have to apologies hyung,” Namjoon said, “We know that it’s going to be a while before you’ll be fully recovered. Pneumonia isn’t the easiest thing to recover from.”

 

Their choreographer walked over to them and knelt down, “Seokjin, this will take time. I saw how much you were pushing yourself to finish going through Fire. And with Dope before then, you did well. Take a good half hour break and we’ll go again with the same routine to see how long you can keep it up. Is that okay with you?” he asked.

 

Seokjin nodded, “Yeah, I’d like to see how bad this is going to be,” he said softly. He didn’t like the fact that he was going to be sitting on the sidelines a lot by the look of it.

 

“Okay, rest up,” he said standing back up and heading over the music station, “The rest of you can get back into position and we’ll go through Fire and Dope once more and then you rest with Seokjin afterwards,” he told them all.

 

Reluctantly the others got up and went to get back into position. Seokjin watched as the music started and they all began the routing. He smiled as he watched them, wanting to be up there, but he could feel his legs shaking. Though that was beginning to fade the longer he was able to sit down and rest. Dope began and he sang along with them, laughing as they pulled faces towards him occasionally. When the song finished they want back over to him. Sitting down and sipping on their water.

 

“You feeling okay now?” Namjoon asked him softly, the others all hearing the question glanced over, waiting for him to answer.

 

“Feeling less shaky now,” he answered truthfully.

 

“Well we have a little more time before we have to start up again,” Hoseok said settling next to his hyung for a bit.

 

Seokjin stood up twenty minutes later when their choreographer had decided that they would go through Dope. He got into position as the music was cued and off they went. First time through it Seokjin was fine, same with the second. He could feel his lungs protesting the heavy breathing as he went through it the third and fourth time. He barely even started through the fifth when he started coughing, his lungs straining against the exercise he was doing. Yoongi was closest to him and stop him from falling to the floor.

 

“Okay, let's stop,” their choreographer said, stopping the music.

 

Seokjin wasn’t coughing for long, but it left him out of breath just the same. He settled down against the mirror once more, the others all gathered around him, worry on their faces.

 

“Do you think we pushed him too far to fast?” Jungkook worried.

 

“No, you didn't,” Seokjin said, “I need to get back into the rhythm of practice, and the sooner we start the better I can get a handle on what I can do and cannot do,” he finished softly, giving Jungkook a reassuring smile.

 

“You sure?” Taehyung asked him, worry in his eyes.

 

Seokjin nodded, “Yes, now I’ll rest and know how many routines I can go through before I need to break again. As I recover more I’ll be able to do more and more,” he said softly.

 

“Let's see how long you need to rest before getting back to it, last time I gave you half hour,” came the voice of their choreographer from the other side of the room.

 

The rest of dance practice was testing and seeing what Seokjin could do and couldn’t do. He sang during some of the routines, noticing that it took more out of him and ended up doing less when he did both together. Four hours later and the day came to an end. Seokjin was shaking and tired, wanting nothing more than his bed so he could sleep for an hour or two. The others were to stay behind for another two hours while Seokjin could go home. He wasn’t happy about it, but he knew that if he didn’t he would be taken home by one of the others.

 

“I’ll make dinner tonight,” he said tiredly as he got up.

 

“Not tonight hyung,” Yoongi said as he looked up at him.

 

“You’re all going to be at practice for a while longer, I may as well do so,” he said, he had been doing so while he had been at the dorm alone all day.

 

“Yes but we can see how tired you are, so go home and have a nap,” Yoongi suggested to him.

 

“I can still cook,” Seokjin protested with a frown and the beginnings of a pout on his face.

 

Jungkook went over to him, wrapping his arms around him, “We know hyung, but you’ve just had your first day back, and while it's only been a half day of dance practice, you’ve had almost a full day of singing practice on top of that,” he said softly, “I can feel you trembling. You need to rest hyung,” he finished, worry slipping into his voice.

 

“Sleep for a bit, Hoseok and I have cooking duty tonight,” Yoongi told him softly.

 

Seokjin didn’t look happy, but he had to admit, if only to himself. “Fine,” he murmured, though he had plans to try and cook something for them at least. He could always sleep for a little bit and then do something.

 

“We find you cooked you’ll be in trouble hyung,” Yoongi warned him, eyes narrowing at him.

 

“I won't,” he said softly, giving the younger a nod, “I’ll go home and sleep for a while,” he said.

 

“Good,” Namjoon nodded.

 

Seokjin gathered his things, not too happy with going home early, but he had been told by his doctor that he should only go for seven hours at the very most. And he had been here for almost eight now. He made his way out, finding Sejin waiting for him in the lobby to take him home. “You don’t have to, I can always walk, or get public transport,” he said, pulling his face mask up.

 

“It’s fine Seokjin, let's get you back to the dorm so you can rest,” he smiled leading the way to his car.

 

Seokjin followed and it wasn’t too long before he arrived at the dorms front door. He unlocked it and went inside, locking it back up. The others had keys so they could let themselves in. Taking off his shoes and slipping into his slippers he made his way to his bedroom, letting his bag fall to the floor just inside the room. He fell onto his bed and closed his eyes, planning to set an alarm to wake him, but falling to sleep before he could do so.

 

XxXxX

 

That first day for Seokjin set the tone for the rest of the month and the weeks to follow that. Over time he got better and better, taking longer and longer to get out of breath and tired. The others crowded him a lot during it as they worried about his health whenever he started coughing or became too tired and his legs shook beneath him. The few times he had fallen during practice had scared them enough for them to make him rest for a day afterwards. Seokjin had been pulled out of one show when he had collapsed from exhaustion the day before since he had spent the whole day practising without rest. He had to also leave from one fan signing when he became so tired and lethargic that he almost fell asleep while talking to fans. But slowly he was recovering.