Reminder: Bora is the little dining space that Soo and Jongin use.

Lupitherosis is not a real thing.

I feel like I should say this: Kyungsoo's parents had him young in my story. I thought I mentioned that before, but I guess I didn't. Later they'll show up, so if they are described as pretty young you'll know. <3

And I really like this fanart. So it's here. Credits go to the rightful owner.

Chu chu chu~

Jongin had a tendency to overeat before his episode.

He burped and leaned back in Bora's couch, hand laid tenderly on his abdomen. "Crap. Aaaugh."

Kyungsoo watched with a cocked eyebrow. "What did I tell you?" He sighed as Jongin let out another belch.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm bloated." 

Kyungsoo picked up Jongin's empty plates and stacked them. "I'll send these to the kitchen. You stay here and digest for a little while."

The dining hall was as packed as usual, being six-thirty and prime time for dinner. Kyungsoo sidestepped two freshmen--Woozi and Dino, Kyungsoo recalled from some distant corner of his mind with a little smugness over the fact that they were shorter than he was--and waved a quick hello to the Mamamoo girls, who waved back with dazzling smiles.

Meanwhile, Jongin stared at the back of his boyfriend weaving through the crowd and sighed. A hollow feeling crept up in his gut, and Jongin whimpered.

Kyungsoo stopped, hand still lingering on the plates he had placed on the kitchen rack, and cast a look over his shoulder in the direction of the wolf hybrid. A twinge started in his stomach, and he turned quickly to push through the crowd.

Jongin was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, shivering and sweating and frighteningly pale underneath his golden skin.

"Kai?" Kyungsoo laid a hand on his shoulder and shook gently. "You okay?"

Jongin's teeth clattered, the sound frighteningly like iron plates. "N-no, I'm--can we g-go see Yongh-hwa?"

Kyungsoo's breath hitched in his throat. "Yeah. Of course. C'mon."

Yonghwa wasn't in the office--his door plate said he would be back at eight--but Amber was patrolling the halls, muttering under her breath until she saw Kyungsoo running in, face red and breath shallow.

She caught him by the shoulder. "Hey, Soo," she said. "What's wrong?"

"Jongin. I don't know--I don't know what's wrong. He's just--I don't know!"

Amber pushed through the front doors, which had just swung closed from Kyungsoo's hasty entrance. Jongin was sitting on the concrete, hands gripping the sides of his head and a guttural noise tearing from his throat. The nurse receptionist was kneeled at his side. 

"His pulse is very high," she said, looking up at Amber. "And he's shaking like crazy." The nurse held one of Jongin's wrists gingerly, and it quaked in her hand. 

Kyungsoo moved closer, and Amber held an arm out in front of him. "Kyungsoo, go to the lobby and wait there. Mari and I'll do what we can."

Mari stood up and ushered Kyungsoo back inside the building. "He's going to be okay, okay?" She gave Kyungsoo a comforting smile. "There's water and some crackers on the counter, if you want any."

Amber staggered in, helping Jongin limp down the hallway to Yonghwa's office. Mari patted Kyungsoo's knee and followed them, stopping to make a call on the health center phone in a hushed voice.

Jongin's face was ghostly white, even with his tanned skin. After sitting him down on a couch, Amber checked his pulse; it was unhealthily high. Sweat beaded under his bangs and his eyes fluttered.

"Am-Amber," he whimpered. "What's h-happening?"

She sighed and sat down on the rolling chair in the corner. "I don't know, kiddo. Yonghwa's going to be back from his meeting soon. He'll figure it out."

Jongin leaned back against the back of the couch, hands clenched to a tight white over his abdomen. "M-maybe it's withdrawal."

"Maybe. We'll see."

Mari came in, a small pill bottle in her hand. "I called Yonghwa. He's going to be here in about fifteen minutes. He told me to have you take some of this first." She took Jongin's hand and dropped a single blue pill into his shaking palm. Jongin swallowed it without the water Mari offered.

Meanwhile, Kyungsoo paced in the waiting room. Half the bowl of crackers left out for him was gone, mindless eating fueld by nerves. The ticking of the clock in an otherwise silent room was maddening, and finally Kyungsoo stepped outside for fresh air.

A light breeze had kicked up, and the sky overhead was being hidden behind increasingly dark clouds. Kyungsoo stood on the stairs under the concrete awning, watching as the blue turned into grey. The side door slammed to his left, and Kyungsoo caught Yonghwa's frantic voice from inside. 

Amber leapt to her feet. "There you fing are! Took you long enough, you piece of--"

Yonghwa put his hand over . "Save it for later." He turned towards Jongin. "Hey, Kai."

"H-hi, Yonghwa."

"He had the meds?"

"Just the low-dose tranqs."

"Good." Yonghwa tapped his forehead. "Prep 300 milligrams of the usual. Is Kyungsoo out there?"

As if on cue, Kyungsoo appeared at the doorway. "I'm right here."

Yonghwa smiled, tired lines appearing briefly around his eyes. "Can you stay here while I check on Jongin? Just to keep him calm."

"Of course."

Kyungsoo sat on the couch beside Jongin and held the wolf hybrid's trembling hand.

"You're going to feel better," he said quietly. 

Jongin nodded.

Yonghwa looked into Jongin's eyes, checked his throat, read off symptoms and had Jongin agree or disagree to them. Kyungsoo gave Jongin's hand a squeeze with each one. 

Finally, Yonghwa sighed and sat down on Amber's vacated chair. "It's not an episode," he said. "Kai would know. I highly doubt it's withdrawal, though it's true that the monthly dosages can do some harm. We'll need a blood test on that. And he doesn't have a fever, so he's not sick."

Amber raised an eyebrow. "So what the h is it?"

"I don't know." Yonghwa wheeled the chair back to his computer. "I'll have to look it up."

Jongin whined. 

Kyungsoo patted his cheek. "We'll figure it out."

"I'm thinking," Yonghwa said slowly. "That it's lupitherosis."

"What is that?"

"It happens in predator hybrids sometimes. They've been suppressed for too long, and, well...a wolf needs to hunt, right?" Yonghwa frowned. "It's possible. It's very possible."

"Look it up before you preach it," Amber said, folding her arms.

Yonghwa sat in silence for a while, staring at his computer screen, before biting his lip and leaning back. "Nausea, vomiting, chills, sweat, sudden extreme emotions, hallucinations, early or prolonged episodes..." He looked up at Jongin, who watched with wary eyes. "Sound familiar?"

"F ."

Jongin finally fell asleep at ten-thirty, his shallow breaths gradually lengthening into deep sighs.

Yonghwa touched Kyungsoo's shoulder. "How about you get some sleep? You have class tomorrow, right?"

Amber stretched on her toes and grunted. "I'll walk you back to the dorm."

Kyungsoo yawned and nodded.

The wind and remnants of rain were sobering, light needles tapping on Kyungsoo's cheeks and ears. Amber sniffed.

"You know," she said slowly. "I really admire you."

Kyungsoo looked at the slightly shorter woman. "Huh?"

"You've got all of your own s going on, and you're here taking care of Kai. That's kinda...that's amazing. Really is."

"Oh. Th-thank you."

Baekhyun was sitting on the steps of the boy's dorms, chin resting on his folded hands. His tail slapped the concrete hard, and when Kyungsoo and Amber came up the gravelly pathway, he leaped to his feet.

"Hey, Soo," he said, trying to smile and falling short of his usual effervescence. 

Kyungsoo stopped short. "You okay?"

Baekhyun held his attempt at a smile for a moment, then let it fall into a strange frozen grimace. "I, uh...yeah. But...but you might...not be."

Amber put a hand in her pocket, probably reaching for the pocket knife that Kyungsoo learned--the hard way--she always carried.

"What does that mean?" Kyungsoo gave Amber a warning look.

Baekhyun pursed his lips. "I just...I, uh, there's someone inside who wants to talk to you. But I don't think you should--Chanyeol is already--"

Kyungsoo pushed past his friend, trying to see through the roughed-up front window into the common room. A few vague dark figures moved behind the dust and scratches, and Kyungsoo prepared to push through. At the moment his fingertips brushed the metal doorknob, the door opened in, and Kyungsoo backed away.

A petite woman with waist-length black hair drawn back in a curled ponytail and large sunglasses that took up half her face--despite it being almost midnight--stormed out, brushing by Kyungsoo with disproportional strength and adjusting the collar of a navy blue blazer. Chanyeol followed, hand outstretched, then noticed Kyungsoo standing off to the side, staring after the woman. The very, very familiar woman.

"Hey, Soo..." Chanyeol said, voice trailing off. He put an arm around Kyungsoo's shoulders and tried to steer him inside. "Let's, uh--"

The woman stopped and turned, eyes unreadable behind her dark shades.

Kyungsoo opened his mouth, then snapped it shut.

For a moment, no one moved.

Finally, the woman took off her shades and met Kyungsoo's eyes, brown against gold. A web of crinkles lined the corners of her eyes, and a familiar tired tightness hung in her lips.

Kyungsoo swallowed.

"Hi, Mom."