(5) SPRING

 

What started off as a festive winter wonderland melted into the horrendous season of spring. The time when animals were expected to rise from their burrows eager for the new year, were instead replaced by the irritance of pollen filled sniffles and snotty tissues that coated the cabin’s wooden floor.

Flowers that were supposed to bloom and decorate the green grass were crushed under the rain that plummeted to the earth. The birds did not sing with grace, and only the frogs croaked loudly into the air in the dead of night when the boys struggled to dream as thunder boomed in the distance and lightning flashed in the sky.

Nobody could connect the pieces as to why the slushy lake nearly swallowed two of their brothers, but they took it as a bad omen as things began to take a turn for the worse. Many of the boys had fallen victim to the common cold, and although some had the strength of a good immune system to flush out the virus, others weren’t so fortunate. They lay weak in bed for weeks as their body temperatures skyrocketed, stomachs churned from belly aches, throats raged from hot pain and noses clogged from built up mucus.

Baekhyun was one of the first, obtaining a small cold from accompanying a shivering Chanyeol and making the mistake of using his own blanket to cover him up, but only once everyone went to sleep. Kris managed to get sick afterwards, even after his precautions of refusing to even step foot in the same room as any of the sick kids. His usual boasting attitude dimmed down until he didn't speak a word, cutting the house down by another loud voice.

The next unlucky winner to be taken down was not one, not two, but all three of the youngest boys. They all got sick as well, their usual bright and cheery attitudes snuffed out with tears of constricted airways and aching stomachs’. Tao and Sehun were especially quiet, relying on slow hand motions and nods as their temporary source of communication while their throats burned with every wheeze or gulp they made.

Kai, on the other hand, was a special case all on his own, undergoing a very unique personality change. His usual calm and tight lipped self was replaced with a whiny, almost baby-like child.

"I don't like vegetables in my soup!" Kai was practically drowning himself in his own tears as Xiumin shoved soup down his throat, stealthily crushing the softened carrots to get him to eat at least something nutritious. Luckily, the younger’s taste buds weren’t the same as before, the carrots tasting as plain as the boiled chicken broth.

He refused to eat anything unless it was fed to him and clung to whoever took care of him for the day, but his clinginess only ended up getting both Suho and Kyungsoo sick as well.

"I hate broccoli, keep it away from me!" Baekhyun hid behind Chanyeol's sleeping figure as he tossed anything that he could to keep Suho away from him. Another dinner was going by, and Suho was already feeling another migraine after having to stay up with Tao, who wouldn't stop crying during the night due to the pressure in his temples. Suho woke up in the morning with a sore back and an itchy throat to start the day.

"Please, Baekhyun, you won't get better if you don't eat your vegetables..." Suho sighed, rubbing his neck in hopes that his chilled hands would cool the swelling. He sets the soup on a nearby table, rubbing the bridge of his nose, completely given up.

Baekhyun remained hidden behind Chanyeol and was reunited with his disaster starting twin, Kai. The two banded together after having been sick for over a month now, their symptoms seemingly getting better, to only have their condition worsen.

"You will never catch us!" They cried out, breaking into a coughing fit once their voices screeched out into the air. Kai wheezed, dragging himself to the couch to lean against the cushions. Baekhyun’s face reddened the more he coughed, sticking his hand in his shirt and rubbing the middle of his chest to calm himself.

Kyungsoo came running into the main room with a small bowl of carrots in his hand, sweat already starting to bead down the side of his face as he coughed into the sleeve of his shirt. Having a white mask placed over his face, he turned to face Suho with an identical one and gave it to him with a small nudge. "He won't sit still and he won't listen to me. He’s running around and waking everyone up." Kyungsoo growled, his voice hissing through the paper mask.

Just then, Luhan came teetering into the main room with snot running down his nose, rubbing the mucus with his arm before sniffling a little. He had a little blue blanket tucked under his arm and his eyes were red and puffy.

"I don't feel good..." He groaned, his voice dropping into a little whine before his breath hitched.

Suho and Kyungsoo knew the drill and ran off out of reach, watching as Luhan's chest puffed out until he sneezed, spraying snot from his nose into the air. That wasn't all, though, and each and every item in the room began to float before abruptly slamming back to the floor with a loud bang. He repeated the process a total of four times, the room shaking from the ruckus. Glass cups and plates toppled off of tables, shattering to the ground while Baekhyun screamed each time Chanyeol's futon rose up into the air before dropping back to the ground.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Xiumin came stomping out from his room while stripping down into his boxers, frantically pushing away Chen who whined each time Xiumin managed to dislodge himself from him. "It's too hot, Chen! Stop clinging to me!"

"But it's hot, hyung, and you feel so nice..." Chen wailed, rubbing his face into Xiumin's back and admiring the chill of his skin as it presses against his cheek. Xiumin manages to whack Chen away successfully, leaving the boy in the middle of the room to enjoy the cold floor.

Suho ran over to calm the two while Kyungsoo faced Luhan's problem, wiping the boogers and mucus away from his nose before guiding him back to bed. Lay came out a few minutes later with Tao by his side, the boy holding his hand and hiccuping as they made it into the main room.

"I-I froze Sehun and I can't make him go back to normal." Tao was already starting to bawl and his powers were going out of whack, freezing and unfreezing time in different places of the room.

The small books and toys being thrown at Kyungsoo froze up in the air and gave him enough time to move before they sailed past him and scraped against the ground.

Lay Tao's hair as he cried into his shoulder, "What if he's having a nightmare and now h-he can't wake up?! It's all my fault! Make my head stop hurting!"

His words were all over the place, but Lay pressed his palm to Tao's blazing forehead in an attempt to try and calm him. He pressed his fingers lightly to his neck and chest to find that the rest of his body was scorching as well.

Lay spent countless nights changing cooling packs on all of the sick ones, waking up early in the morning to warm up pots after pots of soup for everyone to eat. There were always at least two or three people that were able to help out around the house, but now with eleven sick boys, he was left outnumbered.

All Lay could do was Tao's back comfortingly as he howled about how he wanted to sleep, but how his stomach wouldn't let him, growling for food every hour until his sobs slowly ceased and he passed out. His hand sat atop Tao's head, his thumb pushing away the sweaty strands of hair that were clumping together. He rubbed softly against his temples to try to ease his pain.

"Please, Lay, make it go away..." Tao groans, his complaints dying down as he leaned into Lay's chest. Everyone turns to watch with heart wrenching expressions, the room growing quiet as the only member who wasn’t sick caresses one of the youngest.

Tao may not have been in the worst pain, but seeing him in such a state would make anybody want to go up to him and do whatever it took to take those tears away. Not worrying about Tao getting him sick after being coughed on by Kai so many times, Lay leaned in with his eyes closed to press a soft kiss to Tao's forehead, letting him lean into his touch.

Once he looked up, all Lay could see was a blur of boys running towards him as his eyelids grew heavy, sleep pulling him in. He dips to the floor with enough consciousness to let him fall safely before he completely blacks out.

"Lay? Are you okay? Wake up!"

Jolting up with a sharp inhale, Lay focused his eyes and examined his situation. He’s lying in his own bed, Tao beaming at him to the right as he pounces lightly on the white bedsheets.

He rubbed the sleep out from his eyes, nearly mistaking the scene as a dream from the way the sunlight peered out from behind his face. Tao’s lips are curved into his cat-like smile, color returned to his skin and eyes shining brighter than ever before. He shifts his position and rests his back against the wall, the corners of his eyes tearing as he suppresses a yawn."Tao? What are you doing here?"

"I came to wake you up!" He chirped, jumping up from the side of the bed. “I’m all better, thanks to you!”

“Thanks to…” His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and after much thought, he throws his blanket off to the side and slips off the bed. Tao’s feet patter softly as he exits the room, Lay following shortly behind him into the living room.

Sure enough, everyone else was still sick and moping around with blankets wrapped around their bodies, snot running down their noses as it plopped onto the blankets below.

"Stop running, y-you're kicking up dust." Kyungsoo wheezed, making a weak attempt to cover Luhan's face as he napped in Kyungsoo's arms. Lay looks around before crouching down next to him.

"What happened yesterday?" he asks, impatiently waiting for Kyungsoo to clear his throat.

"You were with Tao when you passed out, so we carried you to your room. Good to see you not sick, though." He said, almost jealous as Tao skipped around the room happily.

"Why isn't he sick? This isn't fair!" Kai complained, glaring at Tao who gave a coy smirk back at him.

Lay watched as the two bickered and wandered over to Luhan who was still asleep in Kyungsoo's arms. His lips were a tinted blue, light sweat covering his forehead and neck as he wheezed lightly. Lay places two fingers to his forehead tentatively, squinting his eyes until he sure enough felt something churn in his stomach.

continued to watch his hands glow as the same warmth enveloped them, just as they did yesterday. All of a sudden, everything is black and white, save the transitions of a light blue to a bruising purple that covers certain places on various bodies scattered throughout the room. His own body was a sky blue hue and he took note of how Luhan’s body had purple blotches located at his nose, throat and chest cavity.

While taking a peek at his chest first, Lay eyed out what seemed to be Luhan's lungs. The two organs darkened against the rest of his body, puffing quickly from exhaustion. His eyes trailed up to his neck, nose, and head where everything heated up from his illness. Taking in the clues and his personal theory, Lay concludes that he’s able to see specific points of pain on each persons’ body.

Kyungsoo's jaw drops when he focuses on the other, gasping, "Lay! Your eyes…!"

His irises bloomed with an emerald glimmer along with his hands, reflecting softly on Luhan’s sweaty forehead as his ragged breaths turned smooth and calm. He holds his breath, gnawing his lip as he hopes that what he predicted would be correct.

Once he withdrew his hand from Luhan's head, he slumped his shoulders forward with an exhale. Snapping out of his daze, he slaps his hands against Kyungsoo’s cheeks and squeezes them tightly, his lips puffing out and eyes squeezing shut as Lay oozes a green glow from his palms and fingertips.

The process continued until he finishes up with a light brush to his forehead and throat, and once he removes his hand, Kyungsoo just stares. Lay’s hopeful eyes keep his own wide, and when he begins to take note of the liveliness that disperses throughout his body, his eyes drip salty tears. The burning sensation in his throat is replaced with a cool one, his head and chest ridding of the pain within seconds. Lay gave a feeble smile before crawling over to Kai who was creating too much of a racket for the ones who slept miserably.

He let his fingers warm up against Kai's temples until his constant jabbers stopped and he slowly closed his eyes, curling up in his blanket and drifting back into the state of unconsciousness.

As everyone except Tao, Kyungsoo and himself slept, he quickly got to work before anyone could have woken up. He went to Suho first and pressed his palms to his back before wandering over to Xiumin next, waving and rubbing in green before placing a thin blanket over him to keep him covered. Despite his efforts to keep them asleep, everyone began to awaken to witness his last miracle of the night.

His eyelids drooped as he crawled towards the worst of them all- Chanyeol. The whole month had passed without a word from the younger, his body shive