France - The Sun Strikes

Holiday Romance
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//Jongdae//

I lie in bed in the tent for a good hour or so waiting to see if Minseok would really come and wake me up. I tossed and turned, sweaty under the sheets, waiting for him to burst through the tent flap.
But he didn't.

In the end I just got up. Knowing him, he'd probably still be asleep. I tried not to be upset, but I couldn't help but pout as I got in the shower.
My stomach growls as I get dressed, and so I go to find my parents, holding a towel to slowly dry myself with. "Mum?" I call. 
I can't see her anywhere outside the tent, so I assume she's not here. She must be at the shop or the toilet blocks. 
My dad's face pops up from behind the car, and I can hear the American twang of Minseok's dad as well. 
"Hey, son." He smiles. "Your mum is round at Minseok's. There's some croissants and butter on the table for you." 
I nod. "Okay, thanks. Where's Minseok?" I ask as I head over to the table, my lips at the thought of freshly baked croissants.
"He's in bed. Poor kid's got something wrong with him." Minseok's dad replies. "Oh, also; good morning, Jongdae." He smiles.
I blink rapidly. My Minnie is ill? Oh no! 
"Wait. Minseok is ill? With what?" I ask worriedly, brow creasing. 
His dad shrugs. "I dunno. I left before Minhee had come to a conclusion." 
I slice open another croissant and butter it slowly, thinking. "Right. I'm gonna go over there and see how he's doing, is that alright with you, Dad?" I ask, throwing the damp towel over the back of the chair and shovelling the last of my breakfast into my mouth. 
"Yeah, sure. Take your phone, okay, son?" My dad calls, and I throw him a thumbs up before pocketing my phone and hurrying off to find my poor Minnie.
All is quiet outside Minseok's tent. It seems like no one has been up yet, although I can hear the quiet murmur of our mother's and another raspier voice which must be Minseok. 
I pout at just how ill he sounds. It's worse than his usual bubbly, happy voice. I approach the closed tent flap anxiously, wanting to just run in and gather Minseok up in a tight hug. 
"Uhm." I cough loudly. "Can I come in?" 
The voices inside pause momentarily. "Who is it?" 
"Father Christmas." I snort. "Who d'you think it is?" 
"Don't be such a smart alec, Jongdae. Come in." Mum calls with a hint of annoyance. I the tent flap and slip inside, chuckling. 
Mum glances at me, shaking her head. "Honestly, Jongdae." She despairs.
I hug her, still chuckling. "You love me really, though, don't you mum?" 
She laughs. "Of course." 
I turn to Minhee. "Good morning, Minhee." I greet her politely. She only manages a quick smile in return before turning back to face Minseok. He's lying in bed tangled in the sheets, a frown evident by his creased brows. A thin sheen of sweat covers his face.
"What's wrong with him?" I ask worriedly. 
Minhee bites her lip. "I don't know. He woke up like this. I think it's a fever, but I'm not sure - it could be anything." 
I think hard, and suddenly get an idea. "What are his symptoms?" 
Minhee looks at me weirdly, but answers nonetheless. "Uh, he's very tired and weak, he fell over when he tried to get up earlier. He complained of a headache, he's very sweaty, he's drinking constantly and he was retching just a few minutes ago. I think he was trying to be sick. I'm so worried."
In my head, I ticked off all the symptoms. "He has sunstroke." I conclude.
'What?"
"Sunstroke." I repeat. "He was in the sun all day yesterday, right? He's got sunstroke. Headache, weakness, sweating, throwing up? It all matches." I shrug.
Minhee clutches Mum's arm. "Oh god. No, my baby. Oh, and I so wanted to go out today! Now I'll have to look after him." She pouts childishly, glancing at her son.
A cheeky thought forms in my mind. "Why don't I look after him?" I suggest.
"What?" My mum and Minhee exclaim at the same time.
I sigh. "Look, I'll stay here and look after Minseok whilst you guys can go out and go sightseeing or whatever."
Mum frowns. "Don't you want to go anywhere though?"
"Not really, and not without Minseok. I'm not going out with just you grown ups. Plus, I'm quite tired as well. Yesterday was petty intense." I say, recalling memories of yesterday and learning about Minseok's fear of water.
Mum glances at Minhee. "I'm okay with that, what about you?" She asks her. 
Minhee still looks undecided, so I speak up again. "Also, it seems I know more about sunstroke than you, seeing as you couldn't even diagnose it. So I think I'd be better off looking after him, don't you?" I say, feeling rather smug.
Minhee sighs, defeated. "I suppose. Right, well I'm sure you can find your way around the tent without me, and Minseok will obviously help you." She turns to my mum. "I'll go get ready, and then we can go out." She disappears out of the tent. 
Mum turns to me. "You better take good care of him, okay? Be good to your word." She warns. I roll my eyes.
"Mum, I promise I won't let anything happen to Minnie." I reassure her, and she nods, leaving the tent. 
"We should be back around teatime, okay?" She calls, and I yell confirmation back before listening to the sound of her footsteps getting quieter and quieter. 
I turn to look at an adorable sleeping Minseok, and bite my lip.
I've got all today. Alone with him. 

//Minseok//

I wake up feeling groggy and dizzy. I rub my eyes and yawn loudly.
"Minnie? Is that you? You awake?" I blink rapidly, shutting my mouth mid-yawn.
"Jong - Jongdae?" I say in surprise. 
He sits on the edge of my bed and sends me his signature bright smile. "Yup. No more, no less." His eyes crinkle as he smiles and it's all I can do to muster the energy to smile back. "There's that smile." Jongdae coos.
"Shut up. Do you have some water? I'm really thirsty." I croak, suddenly realising my throat felt as dry as a desert. I clutch at my throat with one hand and reach for Jongdae's drink with another. He glances at it, and passes it to me.
"Drink up, Minnie." He says, and I grab the glass desperately and glug down the cooling liquid. I sigh, feeling better already, before handing the glass back to Jongdae.
But once I'd quenched my evident thirst, another thing became apparent to me. I'm drenched in sweat from my head to my toes and my hands are sticky and horrible. I can feel my hair plastered to my forehead, and the humidity of the mediterranean really starts getting to me.
"J-Jongdae... What's wrong with me?" I mumble, trying to wipe away the sweat from my forehead but failing, because of the sweat covering my hands.
Jongdae pushes my hands away, and cradles them in his own. "You're quite ill, Minnie." He frowns. "You seem to have caught sunstroke yesterday."
I nod. It would make sense. "Where's my mom?" I ask worriedly. "And why are you here?" 
Jongdae pouts. "You don't want me here?" He fakes a tear, sniffing.
I chuckle and cough. I place a reassuring hand on his

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Comments

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FlowerBaozi
#1
I really love this story. I can imagine Jongdae with British accent and all. And the bonus chapter is definitely a BONUS with capital letters! Thank you so much!
Gracebook99 #2
Chapter 11: I really like this story and all but I just wanted to rip my hair out at the cpr bit. Like Firstly when a person comes out of the water you check for breathing and if their not breathing then you start cpr but he started it when he was still breathing irregularly. Then you had him do chest compressions first but when a person has drowned in water you start with rescue breathing THEN do chest compressions. Also because you can break or bruise their ribs during chest compressions he should be in a hella lot of pain even if chen was doing it wrong like he basically just got punched in the ribs 30 times. Other than that it was a great story thanks for writing it just as a lifeguard I felt compelled to correct this.
SarahlovesTaeKook #3
Chapter 30: ty attempt? This was amazing
I loved this story so much and this bonus chapter was all I needed for it to be perfect
Thank you so much for your amazing work <3
Dragon63 #4
Chapter 30: awwww
i love the ^^
it was so hot, and the chapter in general was amazing :D :D
thank you so much for this bonus chapter!!!!
amber-panda #5
Chapter 30: DUUUUDE IM SCREAMING THIS IS BEAUTIFUL ILY
wonhaebunny_
#6
Chapter 30: This was really well written (and adorable too) so props to youu
The was great, no need to worry
SarahlovesTaeKook #7
Chapter 29: OMG I am so ready that is all I've been waiting for