Myungsoo collapses back onto his bed, letting out a groan of sheer, miserable frustration at the realization that he has run out of tissues yet againー a grand total of four times now.

The past several days have been nothing less than miserable for Myungsoo, each hour a repetitive blur of sickness, soreness, and dehydration that becomes increasingly more painful with every minute. He’d tried in vain to stay hydrated, medicated, and properly fed for the first few days, constantly sipping tea and nibbling on crackers and toast while dutifully checking the clock every few hours for his next dose of medication. But the awful cough that he woke up with this morning has left his throat feeling so sore and raw that even eating and drinking is a challenge, and Myungsoo has spent most of his day propped up on pillows and staring at his laptop while willing himself to work through the pain and accomplish his schoolwork.

He had even been mildly successful (Myungsoo is using that term lightly, as managing to type out only a few pages of thesis in half a day would normally be considered less than ideal) until his hand had blindly d for the tissue box only to find that the precious resource was once again depleted. That triggered what can only be described as a small tantrum, with Myungsoo huffing heavily and heaving himself backwards onto his bed to wail in frustration at the walls of his empty apartment. He can barely breathe as it is, and Myungsoo knows that without tissues he will last maybe four or five minutes before he begins feeling suffocated by his own congestion. But the siren song of his own exhaustion has been tempting him back into sleep for a longer period than he would like to admit, and he feels himself melting back into the mattress even as he logically acknowledges that falling asleep without tissues by his side will only force him to wake up and get out of bed for more, anyway.

He could, of course, always pull himself away from the safety of his blankets and stagger his way to the linen closet to replenish his supply. But that would interfere with his current plan of pouting at the ceiling and telepathically willing more tissues to appear, and Myungsoo can’t quite bring himself to emerge from the comforting warmth of his cocoon of blankets and sheets just yet.

Woohyunnie hyung had always that Myungsoo was far better at tending to others than he was at taking care of himself, and Myungsoo now finds that he can’t help but agree. (The fact that he’s temporarily lost all motivation to behave like a functioning adult due to an empty tissue box conflicting with his own tiredness is pretty undeniable evidence.) And yet, Myungsoo can’t help but think it’s somewhat fitting. He’s managing to successfully double major in math and photography while maintaining Dean’s List status, is enthusiastically dedicating his free time to freelance photography and is making good money from it, and is somehow able to find time to devote to his relationship with the incredibly charming boyfriend that he is honestly lucky to have…

And the thing that ultimately causes Myungsoo to short-circuit entirely, scowling at the ceiling like a three-year-old instead of acting like the rational and highly motivated adult that he is, turns out to be an empty box of tissues.

Of course.

The sound of Myungsoo’s apartment door being suddenly swung open breaks him out of his reverie, and Myungsoo volts up to a sitting position at the instant realization that there could only be one person stepping through the door. (There’s only one person who Myungsoo has ever given a spare key).

He’d never intended for Woohyun hyung to visit him while he was sick, or to even know about his being sick at all. Myungsoo would never outright lie to Woohyun ーhe loves and respects his hyung too much for thatー but Myungsoo had gotten sick on the same day that Woohyun had planned to leave Seoul for his hometown to visit his parents, and he had wanted to ensure that Woohyun wouldn’t needlessly fret over him all throughout his trip. He had also wanted to ensure that his hyung wouldn’t make the impulsive (and very Woohyun-esque) decision to cancel his trip and drop everything to care for his boyfriend, a possibility that Myungsoo had felt the urge to prevent at all costs.

He is perfectly capable of taking care of himself without any assistance, Myungsoo muses idly, pointedly ignoring the still empty tissue box perched precariously on the edge of the bed. A simple sickness that will be gone in a few days’ time doesn’t warrant Woohyun worrying for him all throughout his vacation or cancelling his trip to come and care for him, frustrating lack of tissues be damned.

“Myungsoo-ah! Where are you?” Woohyun questions from the hallway, his characteristically rich voice echoing off the walls of the small apartment as he calls out into the empty space. “I came back early from relaxing in the countryside for you, you knowー you should be happy to see me!”

Myungsoo sighs raggedly, belatedly realizing that he has no choice but to answer his boyfriend’s call. “I’m in here, hyung,” Myungsoo answers reluctantly, throat scratching painfully as he attempts to raise his voice. He had made sure to decline all of his boyfriend’s calls in favor of only texting for the past few days, afraid that the hoarseness of his voice and the occasional cough would give him away. But now that Woohyun is back early from his trip, Myungsoo realizes that omitting any account of his illness had only managed to delay the inevitable, and he would now have to deal with the full force of his slightly older hyung’s characteristic worrying turned up to the power of ten.

And then multiplied, exponentially. By a million.

“Yah, you can’t even get up to greet the boyfriend who misses you so much he cut his vacation short for you?” Woohyun jokes from the entryway. Myungsoo can hear the telltale sound of Woohyun laying down his jacket and keys on the counter before making his way to the bedroom, the sound of his heavy footsteps coming down the hall causing Myungsoo to grow slightly more anxious with each step. He’s managed to suppress most of the guilt that he initially felt at the thought of omitting things from his hyung for so long, but now that Woohyun is so close-by he can’t suppress the tiny, painful spasm of his heart at the thought of his boyfriend being upset with him. “Ah Kim Myungsoo, you really areー”

Woohyun stops short at the doorway, voice cutting off abruptly and body pausing rigidly as he takes in the sight of his boyfriend’s watery eyes and pale face peeking out from where Myungsoo has guiltily hidden himself under a nest of bedsheets.

Myungsoo senses rather than sees the exact moment that Woohyun gains understanding of the situation, an intense array of emotions passing over his naturally expressive face until finally settling into a familiar mask of worry. “Welcome back, Woohyunnie hyung,” Myungsoo greets from beneath his barrier of blankets. His voice is muffled by the bedsheets and his throat is itching intensely as he resists the urge to cough, but Woohyun’s eyes have him pinned down with the weight of their worry and he finds himself needing to fill the silence. “I’m glad that you’re back, hyung. Iー” Myungsoo pauses here, the sudden resurfacing of his lon