He gets fussy if any of s are tired or sick or feeling down, has blankets on stand by if anyone in the dorm is feeling chilly during the night. The others poke fun at him for it, call him 'wife' and complain about his nagging, but they're always quick to shut their mouths whenever he threatens to move out, so he doesn't feel too bad about it.

 

Comebacks and promotions are always accompanied by health problems, idol life as it is. Crash diets, overworking, constant traveling and physical exertion all combine to make a pretty volatile cocktail of ways to get sick or collapse. Taeil himself has actually been feeling a bit under the weather, since the comeback was announced, really. His nose has been running for a week and his pulse beats especially strongly in his temples, like a hammer on his skull. 

 

This is the main problem of being a caretaker; there's nobody to take care of you when you're the one needing it.

 

Thankfully, Taeil has found the perfect solution.

 

A boyfriend.

 

Jiho is protective almost to the point of smothering, which Taeil honestly doesn't really mind, especially during days like this.

 

His sinuses feel full of fluff, his eyelids are droopy and swollen, and minute shivers zip up and down his body at random jolting his limbs like a black-and-white movie monster. 

 

He sends a quick text to Jiho, asking to be picked up, and isn't surprised when he gets one immediately back, saying that he's on his way.

 

A blanket over his shoulders, feet shuffling over the floor in his special sick day sweatpants, Taeil says goodbye to Jaehyo and Kyung at noon, and makes his way to Jiho, waiting for him in the apartment complexes garage. The walk is exhausting, his muscles tremble kittenishly after the obstacle of the four flights of stairs he has to climb. By the time he gets to the actual carport he feels worse than ever, stuffed up and miserable.

 

Jiho's car isn't hard to find, ostentatious as it is, and he hobbles toward it as fast as his slippers can take him.

 

It's almost a fall, him climbing in, and Jiho steadies him with a broad hand on his arm as he maneuvers his feet in and shuts the door.

 

"Jesus, you really are sick, huh?" He says concernedly, smoothing Taeil's hair off of his damp forehead as he starts to pull out onto the street.

 

Taeil just nods, and lets his body sink back into the buttery leather of the car's luxurious interior. 

 

He dozes as Jiho drives, lulled by the heater and the thrumming of the accelerator whenever Jiho makes a turn. It's a short trip, however, and by the time they arrive at Jiho's place he doesn't feel a mite more rested.

 

Jiho supports him with a shoulder as they board the elevator, and Taeil sends up a quick prayer of gratitude that Jiho lives in a building with a working one. Once inside the actual apartment Taeil sheds his slippers, readjusts his blanket, and marches toward Jiho's kitchenette. He wants some soup, dammit.

 

'Hey, hey, hey, slow down, hyung.' Jiho's voice is soft, as are the hands that bracket Taeil's sides as Jiho catches up to him. 'Let me take over for once.'

 

'And let you poison me with your cooking? No thank you,' Taeil huffs.

 

Jiho sighs at him, whispers something to himself that sounds like 'stubborn little-', and changes tactics.

 

Swiftly, before Taeil can fight back, Jiho scoops him up to his chest, and carries him over to the counter. Head spinning from the change in height, Taeil limply allows himself to be set delicately on the counter next to the sink.

 

"Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it,'"Jiho says with a little smile. 

 

Taeil frowns at him, squinting. He deliberates on whether or not he should demand to be let down for a moment, but quickly abandons his ideas of mutiny, and surrenders.

 

'Do you have any chicken broth?'

 

Jiho's smiles broadens, and he presses a kiss onto Taeil's bangs.

 

"Of course I do."

 

Taeil watches as Jiho fills a pot to simmer on the stove, pouring salty broth into it and covering it with a lid. Taeil directs him on how to boil the noodles and cut the chicken , laughing until he coughs at the disgusted faces Jiho makes while handling the raw meat. Jiho is a good student, listening to all of Taeil's instructions to the letter, refilling his glass of ice water whenever his throat gets dry and scratchy, kissing his knuckles to wake him whenever he dozes off.

 

By the time the soup is done, boiling and shooting steam through vents in the pot's lid, Taeil would swear that he's already starting to feel better, just because of Jiho's presence.

 

Not that he'd ever tell him that.