The worst of it had lasted four days not twenty-four hours but even now, over a week after he’d embarrassed himself by throwing up in the cafeteria Jaemin still didn’t feel one hundred per cent better. He still more often than not found himself waking up with a headache and even though it had been a whole three days since he’d been physically sick there were times when just thinking about food made him feel queasy. He’d mentioned this to Renjun over breakfast that morning which in hindsight had been a mistake because Renjun had been acting weird ever since. Jaemin kept catching him staring at him, then when Renjun realised he’d been caught he would open his mouth as if to say something only to shake his head and snap it shut again before going back to whatever it was he’d been doing. As a result the atmosphere in the apartment that day had been a little awkward to say the least which was the reason Jaemin was trying to make his shift at the bar stretch on for as long as possible.

“Have you finished cashing up yet?” Lucas asked. Lucas was the other bartender on shift with him that night and he’d just come back from checking the toilets for the last time, a job that Jaemin had been down on the rota to do. However as well as being colleague Lucas was slowly becoming a friend too so Jaemin had found himself telling him about how awful it had been to be ill and how he was only just starting to get over whatever virus he'd had, and Lucas has selflessly offered to switch. He'd check the toilets if Jaemin cashed up. Jaemin had tried to protest but Lucas had been insistent and he'd though it would be rude to keep arguing.

“Nearly.” Jaemin told him,  even more grateful now that Lucas had insisted they switch. He really was a life saver. He was starting to feel a little sick again and he was confident checking the toilets wouldn't have helped that. 

“Oh come on Jaemin,” sounded a voice from his left, “we’re going to be here all night at this rate.”

Jaemin looked up at his cousin who was sitting on a nearby bar stool idly swinging his legs, and scowled. “Why are you even here?” He asked. Donghyuk was not an employee, he could get up and leave anytime he liked if he was that bored but no, he was sitting there, whining at him to hurry up. Jaemin was already feeling tired and more than a little irritable and it was something he could really do without.

Donghyuk seemed unconcerned by the glare Jaemin was sending his way. “Well originally I was just going to come in and say hi, I wanted to catch up with my favourite cousin, you know?”

Jaemin snorted. That would be a little more believable if firstly, the person Donghyuk had made a beeline for first hadn’t been Lucas and secondly, if Taeil, Jaemin's older brother didn’t currently hold the title of ‘Donghyuk’s favourite relative’ another rough translation being ‘the relative Donghyuk could wrap most easily around his little finger’.

Again Donghyuk ignored the disbelieving expression on his cousin’s face and carried right on. “And then I decided I had to stay and watch.”

Lucas frowned in confusion. “Watch what?” he asked.

“Jaemin.” Donghyuk told him. “He’s been so out of it tonight, I just wanted to watch and make sure he didn’t drop something or spill a drink on someone.”

But Jaemin wasn’t buying it. “Don’t pretend you stayed because you were worried. You stayed because you were hoping I would drop something and it would give you an excuse to laugh at me.” He amended for him.

“Why do you always assume the worst of me?” Donghyuk protested.

And not for the first time Jaemin wondered why Donghyuk had never embarked on an acting career. He looked genuinely offended and there was no way that he was, laughing at him was one of his favourite pastimes and they both knew it. “I’m not assuming the worst of you, I just know you, that’s all.” He told him.

“I am worried.” Donghyuk insisted. “It’s not like you to take time off work. And you still look sick, all pale and washed out. So if anyone shouldn’t be here, it’s you, not me.”

“Wow, thanks.” Jaemin said shortly. What was it with people telling him he looked awful lately? “It’s nice to know you think I look like crap, but I’m fine. And in case you've forgotten, I work here, you don’t. And we’re closed. I should kick you out.”

“Are you hearing this?” Donghyuk asked Lucas, eyebrows raised, tone incredulous.

“Jaemin, you don’t look like crap.” Lucas said, in an attempt at being the mediator. “But you do look tired. And you told me earlier that your stomach was still acting up. Maybe you should take a couple more days off. I know you don’t like asking for stuff but I can talk to Taeyong for you if you want.”

Taeyong was their manager. He co-owned the bar with his husband Jaehyun but it was Taeyong that dealt with the more day to day side of things, like managing the rota . And while Lucas was partly right, Jaemin really didn’t like asking people for things, he felt comfortable enough around their boss that if he really needed more time off he wouldn't be scared to let him know.

“Honestly, I don’t feel that bad. Whatever it was I’m mostly over it.” He assured him. “But thank you, for offering.”

“Where’s my thank you?”

Jaemin didn’t know why Donghyuk sounded so indignant. He also wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be thanking him for. “Thank you for taking time out of your day to come to my workplace and annoy me.” There, that would do.

“I didn’t come here to annoy you, I came here to make sure you were okay.” Donghyuk argued back. “Lucas, tell him he’s lucky to have a cousin who cares enough about his wellbeing to be sitting here at God knows what time in the morning when he could be at home and in bed.”

“You’re lucky to have someone who cares about you that much.” Lucas told Jaemin without hesitation. 

“You don’t have to humour him.” Jaemin told him. Humouring Donghyuk would only give him license to be even more of a pain. “If you think he’s a nuisance you can tell him he’s a nuisance.”

It looked like Donghyuk was about to argue with him some more but Lucas beat him to it. “I don’t think he’s a nuisance, I think he’s great.”

“You hear that? I’m great.” Donghyuk said smugly.

“Great?” Jaemin echoed, raising a questioning eyebrow. Lucas had obviously lost his mind.

“Yeah. It’s fun having him around. And the fact he’s worried about you, you have to admit that’s kind of sweet.”

“If you knew him properly you wouldn’t be saying that.” Jaemin informed him. “He’s not sweet, he’s a brat.”

“You’re a brat.” Donghyuk huffed. “I’m a delight. Ask anyone I work with, they’ll tell you.”

Donghyuk worked as a care assistant at a retirement home and yes, if you asked any of the residents there they undoubtedly would tell you he was delightful. Donghyuk knew how to charm people, he always had. ‘Cheeky’ that’s what they would probably call him, or ‘a character’. It had been the same at school. His teachers had all found him adorable meaning he’d been able to get away with almost anything if he just apologised with a smile. “They don’t know you well enough either.” Jaemin countered. “You’re a nightmare.”

“What do you think?” Donghyuk asked, turning back to Lucas. “Am I a delight or am I nightmare?”

“I think maybe Jaemin’s right,” Lucas answered after giving it some thought “I don’t know you well enough yet to say.”

Jaemin picked up on the ‘yet’ before Don