8. Peppermint – Chaejin/Seyong; 1.446 words; PG.

It was with a small groan and sneeze that Chaejin woke up the smell of something minty in the air, quickly giving up in trying to sit down just as his arms and whole body started aching from the subtle move of slightly putting his weight on one of his arms. Blinking sleepily he tried to focus his eyes and try and make sure that he was really smelling something peppermint around or if it was just his cold playing tricks on him. And was there something making noise around the dorm or was it just the pounding of his head?

Waiting a bit to his body finally wake up, Chaejin sat down with another groan and looked around, wrapping the blanket more tightly around his body before standing up and sluggishly walking to the kitchen from where the sounds seemed to come, as well as the smell even if now it wasn’t as strong since his nose was already starting to get stuffy again. He was supposed to be alone in the dorm since after Insoo noticed that he was sick he somehow convinced everyone to leave and enjoy their free days as he stayed at home enjoying the cold no one seen it coming since it had been so long since he last got sick. But really, all he could think is that he was grateful it was after their promotions ended.

Blinking once he got to the kitchen, he watched as one of his hyungs – that was supposed to be out somewhere – walked around the kitchen, to focused on whatever he was doing to notice him on the door. All that focus broken once Jinseok let out a loud sneeze, making the other give a jump and almost drop the pot that was on his hand. Turning around to check on the sound Seyong widened his eyes at seeing the maknae at the door and quickly put the cocoa powder down to walk quickly to him and push him to the living room again

“Yah Jinnie-ah! What you are doing up? Go back to the couch! You can’t be up, you are sick! Weren’t you sleeping?” He started nagging at the younger, making him sit down again and wrapping the blanket more against the younger, making sure he was properly covered before placing a hand on both of their foreheads, biting his inner cheek when noticing he was still a little too warm “you still have a small fever, I’ll go finish what I was doing and bring you medicine okay? How’s your head? Throat? Is it time for you to take the cold medicine again?” He started rambling, making Chaejin’s head start to spin at too much questions thrown at him.

Trying to make the older stop talking he got one arm out the blanket and waved in front of the others face, getting his attention after a second “weren’t you supposed to be somewhere doing something to enjoy the free day hyung?” he spoke softly, now that the older pointed out, his throat was slightly hurting, scratching when he talked. The reply he got was just a shrug and “I was planning on staying home today actually, just making a small trip to the grocery store to buy snacks for the day, lucky you I guess”. Blinking Chaejin tilted his head at it, he was really sure he had other plans but maybe it was just the cold affecting him again, nodding he put his arm back on the blanket and wrapped himself again on it, then blinking again he turned to look at the kitchen “…weren’t you heating  something on the oven hyung?”

Seyong took a while to understand what the younger spoke, paying too much attention at how the pink haired maknae looked cute even when sick and the voice too soft for him to understand at the moment he spoke, but after it finally crashed him what it meant he stood up quickly and widened his eyes, running to the kitchen to try and see if he could still save what he was doing. Leaving a bewildered Chaejin sitting on the couch looking at him as he left, before he shrugged and looked at the tv, knowing that there was a small probability of the older giving him one of “umma’s Insoo” naggings at moving after he told him not too. Slightly looking at the kitchen from time to time to try and see if he could see what the older was doing as soon as all the clinking and noise started again and the smell of something minty filled the dorm again.

It didn’t take too long for him to come back to the living room though, now that the maknae was awake, Seyong started to try even harder to get the peppermint hot chocolate right, too much of the peppermint sticks he had gotten before coming back to the dorm were already gone – on his stomach and the sink since he got it wrong a lot of times while being too worried for the sick maknae at the couch sleeping. After finally getting it right though, he put the last sticks on the two mugs and walked back to where Chaejin was sitting watching tv, or pretending to do it if the sideeyed glace he caught leaving the kitchen was something. Sitting beside his maknae he offered the younger the bigger mug, causing him to blink confusedly while picking it up and taking a sniff of it, finally catching where the mint smell was coming.

“What’s this for?” He asked, blowing softly at the hot chocolate before taking a small sip and humming happily, feeling warmer at that moment then the whole day. He really loved hot chocolate… With peppermint it seemed that it tasted even better.

“You always tell us how you love hot chocolate… And I remembered how last time you got a sore throat peppermint seemed to help you a bit so I… Thought of mixing it up” He mumbled softly, taking a sip of his own drink trying to hide that his cheeks were pink “Actually I saw it somewhere and knew that it worked so I just tried making it..” The only reply he got was a small hum as the other listened and took his time in drinking the hot chocolate, paying more attention to the drink then what the older was talking actually, but Seyong didn’t care as the maknae looked more relaxed at that moment then all day. Suddenly remembering the medicines the moved one hand to hold Jinseoks wrist, to stop him from drinking it all, whining softly the younger turned to look at his hyung with a small pout, the cold making him more childlike then anything especially if it involves hot chocolate. Chuckling softly Seyong tried to carefully make the younger move the mug down ‘cute’ “You still need to take the meds so maybe you should leave some of it to drink after them? So the taste that stays on your mouth is the hot choco and nod the meds…” Still pouting but seeing the logic of it Chaejin nodded and just held the mug with both hands, seeing that he agreed the older stood up and went to pick up the cold medicines and came back with them and water. Making sure the younger took them he nodded at him, chuckling when the younger quickly went back to sipping the now not that hot chocolate, glad that his treat ended up being that good.

After both ended the drink, they started to the small peppermint sticks while watching some random movie on tv, both not noticing that they fell asleep until all the other members showed up again – sooner than expected to check on the maknae – and woke them up, not before taking some pictures of how both of them somehow ended up snuggling closer and one having his head on the other shoulder while the other had his head rested on the one head. All three teasing the two all night and then nagging and complaining how they didn’t get any hot chocolate when they are sick and especially not with peppermint. To which the younger only went to bed and pulled the older to stay with him. Stealing the leader bed to cuddle since the others were too small being bunk beds, blaming all on that he was sick and that Seyong was the nicest hyung at the moment. And as they fell asleep again, the would later never talk about it but, both changed their favorite smell to peppermint and swore that they could smell it even when sleeping.