“Emergency?” I asked, waiting for him to clarify.

                Uncharacteristic for Ravi, he seemed at a loss for words, “Taemin,” he began.

                That’s all I needed to hear. I snatched the phone from his grasp, reading the message. Taemin had collapsed after his performance that night, and the text was from a friend asking Ravi for help taking care of him. Apparently his fellow members were out of town for the summer. I looked to Ken, who looked about ready to fall asleep right then and there. “I know where he lives, I can drive,” Ravi seemed to get his act together finally.

                I looked to the rest of the guys in my room, “We’ll be back,” I assured them before dragging Ravi out of my room, heading down to the vehicle lot. “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” I asked Ravi, who still looked a bit shaken.

                “I’m not going to ask Jaehwan hyung to drive anymore, and I have my license. It’s late enough that there shouldn’t be any traffic,” he was rambling now, but we made it down to the lot in no time. Suddenly I turned at the sound of heavy footsteps running.

                “I’m coming with you,” it was Leo. I looked at him curiously. He had never really expressed anything beyond indifference for Taemin. But I decided not to question him. From how things sounded and considering Ravi’s current state, the help would be welcome. I nodded, allowing him to sit in the front seat next to Ravi.

                Ravi was startled when Leo sat in the passenger seat, “Taekwoon hyung?” he asked.

                “Just go, Ravi,” I insisted.

                We drove in relative silence, with Leo occasionally giving Ravi gentle directional reminders. In no time, we made it to a nice apartment building. Once parked, we all quickly got out of the car, following Ravi inside, up some stairs, and to a door that was already cracked open.

                “Kai?” Ravi called frantically into the apartment as we made our way inside. I took the opportunity to look around the dorm. It was much nicer than VIXX’s housing. The common room was incredibly spacious with a nice TV. An open door revealed exercise equipment and what I guessed to be a foosball table.

                Suddenly, a young man skidded on the hardwood floor, coming into view quickly. He was just slightly shorter than Ravi, maybe 5’11”, with dark wavy brown hair. Judging by his general appearance, was clearly yet another idol, but in his current state, he looked wild and tired. “Ravi!” he sounded relieved as he embraced Ravi quickly, “I’m not good at this stuff; I don’t know what to do!”

                “Slow down,” Ravi started, “What happened? Where is everyone?”

                “Everyone’s out of town! He collapsed and some other SM manager brought him back here,” he looked around frantically, speaking incredibly quickly, and finally spotted us, “Leo and,” he paused squinting at me.

                I sighed in frustration, “Where is he?” I demanded, stepping forward.

                Clearly thrown off by my forcefulness, he simply blinked at me for a minute. “In there,” he finally stammered, pointing towards an open door behind him.

                “Come on Leo, let’s go,” I spoke quickly, glancing behind me once before heading into the room in question. When I spotted Taemin, my heart ached. He was still wearing his stage makeup and pants. At least his shirt and jacket had been peeled off, but he was clearly sweating profusely, his blonde hair plastered to his face. “Oh Taemin,” I whispered as I rushed forward, quickly feeling his head and neck. “Leo, he has a fever, can you go ask that guy if there’s any medicine here?” I looked over my shoulder at Leo, who nodded silently.

                With a sigh, I formulated a plan. Disentangling him from the blanket, I pulled off his shoes and socks. His breathing was labored, so I wanted to prop him up. I looked around frantically, finding no obvious solution. With no other immediate choice, I approached him, pulling him up into a sitting position. It had only been a couple of weeks since his debut, but seeing Taemin shirtless like that made it obvious he had lost an unhealthy amount of weight. I moved to sit behind him against the wall, letting him lean back against me. I put one of my legs on each side of him, keeping him still. I could feel his fever everywhere he touched me.

                “What are you doing?” Leo stopped as soon as he came into the room.

                I paid no mind to his tone, “He needs to sit up. Medicine?” Leo stared at me blankly for a moment, making no indications of moving or speaking. “Leo,” I snapped my fingers, getting his attention back, “I really need your help," my voice was gentle, but desperate.

                This seemed to snap him out of whatever inner dialogue he was having with himself. “Kai says he sent Baekhyun out for medicine.” I knew that name. Right, Taeyeon’s supposed boyfriend. But that was a thought for another time.

                “Leo I need you to check the freezer and see if there’s anything loose and frozen,” I ordered, not bothering to even attempt politeness, “Wrap it in a dish cloth. I also need another wet towel.” I paused, “Please.”

                He simply nodded and was off again. Meanwhile, Ravi and the young man from earlier had slipped into the room. “Mira,” Ravi sighed, relieved, “thanks for helping.”

                “Duh,” I said simply, not even bothering to look at him.

                “This is Kai,” Ravi awkwardly introduced the young man I had been so rude to earlier.

                “Hi,” he said hesitantly, “Nice to meet you.”

                I sighed a little, looking up at them, “Sorry for earlier.”

                He waved his hands, “No, no,” he insisted, stepping forward, “I’m glad you’re here. Taemin talked about you all the time.” He paused, looking at his friend, “Is he going to be okay?”

                “Yeah,” I admitted, holding Taemin steady as he began to squirm slightly, “He’s clearly exhausted to the point where he’s caught a cold or a flu or something.” Suddenly Leo pushed past Kai, handing me a towel-wrapped package of frozen vegetables and a cold dish towel. “Perfect, thank you, Leo. Can you get me another wet washcloth with warm water, please?”

                He simply nodded and was off again, “Wow,” I heard Kai say in wonder, “You’re awfully brave ordering him around like that.”

                Ravi laughed a little, “She’s the boss of all of us for now.”

                I rolled my eyes, returning my attention back to Taemin, whose face was contorted in pain. I reached up to touch his burning face, “I can’t believe he let it get to this.” He was breathing heavily, but it was more even now that I was propping him up. Taking the cold, wet towel, I draped it across his collar, meanwhile pressing the frozen veggies to his forehead, being careful to keep a layer of cloth between the bag and his skin.

                “You’re good at this stuff,” Kai spoke up, clearly intrigued by what I was doing.

                I chuckled once, “It’s nothing special, but you boys are useless.” When I saw them frown, I shook my head gently, “Not just you. My dad and brother are the same way.”

                Leo showed up shortly, handing me the warm washcloth, “Anything else?” he asked, clearly taking his role as my assistant very serious now.

                “Thank you Leo, I think this is enough for now,” I said as I carefully began removing Taemin’s makeup with the warm cloth. The three young men simply stood, watching us together until the sound of the front door distracted all of them.

                “Kai!” a new voice carried into the room. Yet another, shorter young man entered the room, stopping on a dime when he saw all of us, “Woah, what’s all this?”

                Kai laughed nervously, turning to the new arrival, “Hi Baekhyun hyung. I panicked and called Ravi. He brought help,” he gestured to us, and Ravi waved happily.

                “Right,” he said slowly, turning back to Kai, “I didn’t know what you needed, so I just bought a bunch of stuff.”

                “Perfect,” I spoke up, “Can you bring that over here, please?”

                He approached me, and a look of recognition crossed his face, “You’re Mira, aren’t you?” he handed me the bag as he spoke. I balanced the cold back on Taemin’s head, taking the bag with my now freed hand.

                “I am,” I said simply as I rifled through the various medications he bought. I didn’t recognize the labels. I grew fruatrated, “Leo,” I looked past Baekhyun. I didn’t even need to ask, he took the bag from me, “Find one that has fever reducers in it. Aspirin or ibuprophen, preferably.” I looked back up at Baekhyun, “It’s nice to meet you," I added quickly.

                He took the hint and stepped back, giving me some space. Leo returned with a spoon full of purple liquid. “This should help him sleep, too,” Leo spoke softly.

                Baekhyun turned to Kai, “I can’t stay,” he said apologetically.

                “It’s okay, I think we’re okay now,” Kai said with a little smile, “Thanks hyung.”

                “Thank you, Baekhyun,” I called, “for getting these things for Taemin,” I did my best to sound as sincere as I felt. “And say hi to Taeyeon for me,” I added before turning my attentions back to Taemin and the dilemma of getting him to take this medicine. I heard Kai giggle as Baekhyun hastily made his exit. “Taemin,” I spoke softly into Taemin’s ear, “I’m about ninety percent sure this is going to be nasty. I’m sorry in advance.” Setting the now room-temperature washcloth to the side, I reached up to hold his chin. I had gotten most of his makeup off, but I knew better than to try and get his eyeliner. I gently put pressure on his jaw, getting him to open his mouth just a little, gently spooning the liquid into it. He began to squirm, and thank goodness for Leo, as he jumped forward, holding Taemin’s shoulders to keep him steady. Taemin coughed violently once he had swallowed the medication, his eyes briefly fluttering open. “Shh,” I tried to soothe him, “relax.”

                I glanced up at Leo, who met my eyes. He seemed relieved somehow, but I wasn’t about to go interrogating him at a time like this. “He’s lucky he has you,” is all Leo said before letting go of Taemin’s now still shoulders.

                “I take care of my friends,” I spoke softly, giving him a tiny smile, handing Leo the spoon back. I flipped the frozen pack, pressing the cold side back onto his forehead. I looked over to see Kai and Ravi sitting on the floor next to the bed, watching in worry. “Ravi,” I caught his attention, “Can you call Hakyeon and let him know what’s going on? We left a bit suddenly.”

                He nodded, pulling out his phone, dragging Kai with him out into the common room, leaving Leo and I with the now sleeping Taemin. “Have you always known about this stuff?” Leo asked, coming to sit on the edge of the bed next to me.

                “Yeah,” I gave him a little tired smile, “Since we didn’t have a mom around, I was the one to take care of my dad and brother whenever they got sick.” I rotated the cool towel on Taemin’s neck before speaking again, “This is a classic case of over-exertion.”

                Leo nodded a little before looking at me again, “I’m glad none of us have ever gotten this sick.”

                I shook my head, “Man, if one of you got sick while I was here,” I laughed a little, “I guess it depends on who,” I gave him a little smile, though his face was slightly furrowed in confusion. “The three youngest would be easy, I think," I began to explain. "N would be more worried about me than himself, Ken would make it seem like he was dying no matter how minor it was,” I looked up at him again, seeing a smile spreading over his face, “And you,” I started, laughing once, “would probably fight me the whole way, insisting you weren’t sick or that you didn’t need help.”

                To my surprise, he actually laughed at this, his small smile breaking into a full grin, “Normally I’d say you’re right,” he looked away from my face, instead looking at the rest of me, cradling Taemin with my whole body, “but I think I’d let you.”

                I blinked at him. “Really?” I asked in disbelief, looking at the limp body in my grasp.

                “You clearly know what you’re doing,” he pointed out, his wide teeth showing in his smile.

                I relaxed, laughing a little, “True.” Taemin relaxed against me, his breathing coming in slow, even intervals. “I think he’s finally asleep,” I whispered.

                Leo shifted, leaning against the wall next to me, balancing precariously at the very edge of the remaining bed space at my side, “You still can’t move,” he pointed out.

                Ravi and Kai returned then, “How is he doing?” Kai asked, clearly concerned for his friend.

                “Sleeping,” I said simply, smiling slightly.

                “That’s good, right?” he asked earnestly.

                I couldn’t help but chuckle a little, “Yes, it’s good.” I looked to Ravi, “Did you get a hold of Hakyeon?”

                He nodded, “Yeah, he said as long as we don’t get in trouble with SM, we can stay as long as we need to.”

                “I dare someone to come in here and ask me to leave,” I grumbled. The rest of them laughed at this, and the atmosphere in the room relaxed considerably. The only thing I knew about this Kai fellow was that he was part of SM, and to be honest, I was fine keeping it that way, at least on a professional level. On a personal level, the only thing that mattered was that he was clearly a very close friend of Taemin. The four (conscious) of us simply passed the time, sitting and talking casually. At some point, Leo fell asleep as well, his head resting heavily on my shoulder.

                Ravi noticed, laughing at me, “Halley, if only those fangirls could see you now.”

                “I would be murdered,” I muttered, but I couldn’t resist grinning.

                Kai joined in, “I mean, you’re straddling one of the most well-loved guys in the pop music industry, with the chic mysterious power vocalist from VIXX sleeping peacefully on your shoulder,” he changed his voice to sound like a documentary narrator.

                It was hard to suppress my giggle. I didn’t want to risk waking Leo, so I bit my lip to hold it. “But I’m also sweaty from his fever and very uncomfortable.”

                “Priorities,” Ravi pointed out with a little smirk, crossing his arms on the bed, resting his chin on them, “Since Taekwoon hyung is derelict in his duties, can we help?”

                I looked at the two eager faces, and nodded, “These aren’t cold anymore. Can you put this back in the freezer?” I tossed the towel-padded veggie bag to Kai, who managed to catch it.

                Ravi scrambled to his feet as well as I handed him the wet towel. “Want me to re-soak this?”

                I simply nodded, and they were both quickly gone to do my bidding. I sighed gently, careful not to make any sudden movements. Reaching up with my arm not burdened by Leo, I Taemin’s still damp hair, doing my best to keep it out of his eyes, “Never do this again, Taeminnie,” I whispered, “You have great friends, but they’re kind of useless, and I won’t be around forever.” I pressed a gentle kiss to his head, sighing as my lips came away damp from sweat. I guess having good friends was a lot like family. Even though Leo and I had been joking about what would happen if any of them got sick, I was being honest. I would drop whatever I was doing if they needed me. Clearly Taemin was included in that list.

                Ravi and Kai returned, handing me the cool wet towel to place over his chest again. “Sorry Mira,” Kai spoke sadly, “I didn’t see anything else frozen in the freezer.”

                “It’s alright,” I spoke quietly as I straightened out the towel, “He’s been asleep for a couple hours now,” I felt his neck again, “He’s cooling down.”

                The two of them settled back down again, leaning against the bed. We did our best to keep the conversation going, but eventually Ravi faded as well. I was surprised it wasn’t sooner, he was pretty well known to be a frequent and heavy sleeper. It was simply a testament to his dedication to his friend. That just left me and Kai. “Thanks for being here,” he said again, his voice growing weary.

                “Of course,” I replied quietly, “Taemin and I have only known each other for a short time, but somehow we’ve ended up becoming really close.”

                Kai nodded against the blanket of the bed, “He consider you a good friend, you know. He adores you,” he spoke through a repressed yawn.

                I smiled warmly, “I love him like my own little brother,” I admitted.

                “Man,” Kai laughed once, “good thing he’s not in love with you, or that’d be a horrible thing for him to hear.”

                I bit back a laugh as well, “Good thing,” I repeated. “I think I’m too assertive for him anyway,” I mused aloud.

                “That’s what he said, too!” We shared another quiet laugh together before settling into another comfortable silence. “I’m sorry Mira,” he said suddenly, “I don’t think I can last much longer.”

                “Get some rest. I’ll be okay,” I insisted, giving him my best reassuring smile.

                He returned the smile, “Good night, then.” Almost instantly he was out, curled up on the floor. And then I was alone, fighting to stay awake. Every now and then one of them would shift in their sleep. Leo huddled closer, relying on me more and more for support considering how close he was to falling of the bed. In these close quarters, I allowed myself the pleasure of watching his face as he slept whenever I could. If I weren’t so worried about the owner of the body collapsed against my chest, I might have been nervous or more enamored with Leo. But despite how handsome I found his face and how adorable I found his little sleepy noises, my attention was never away from Taemin for more than a brief moment at a time.

                My patience was rewarded when Taemin started to stir, his face scrunching up in discomfort. “Taemin?” I asked quietly, reaching to hold his shoulder. He flinched slightly at my touch, clearly not expecting me to be there. “Taeminnie, it’s me, Mira,” I preemptively spoke so he would be less surprised when he came to. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked around, groaning slightly as he lifted his head.

                “What?” his voice was hoarse and he was clearly disoriented. I gave his bare shoulder a little squeeze, causing him to glance at me, his eyes finally opening fully, “Halley?”

                I smiled, “You’re alive,” I spoke, sounding quietly excited.

                “What happened?” he groaned, “Wonsik, Jongin, and Taekwoon?” he took inventory of the sleeping boys around his bed.

                With a little sigh, I began to speak, “Apparently you collapsed after your performance, and somebody brought you here with Kai. He’s useless with this stuff, so he called Ravi, who is also useless at this stuff, so he brought me. And I brought Leo as my assistant.”

                “Huh,” he said simply, clearly still too groggy to process all of that.

                “You should go back to sleep,” I said softly, pulling him back against me, “You had a nasty fever.”

                He looked at me properly for a moment after examining his position, a little toothy smile appearing on his face, “You’re amazing, you know that?”

                I smirked smugly, “I do know that, in fact.”

                He settled back against my (slightly cushioned) chest, sighing comfortably, “Do you need me to move?”

                “No, no,” I insisted, “you’re fine right there.” I gave him another kiss on his head, “Just sleep.”

                Humming slightly as I kissed him, he nestled his face into my neck, rotating his body just slightly to get more comfortable. He really was just like another little brother. I felt the familiar surge of protectiveness as I held him close. There was something about Taemin that was so pure and innocent, that the thought of him suffering was heart-wrenching.

                He fell back asleep relatively quickly, and the relief that he was doing okay washed over me. I suddenly felt extremely tired. I took a chance and let my head rest against Leo’s, given it was the closest thing I had. Luckily, he was far enough gone not to notice. Soon after, I was out cold.

                When I finally came to, soft light was coming in through the window nearby. I lifted my head off of Leo’s soft hair, my neck creaking from the awkward angle. Ravi had slipped off the bed, curled up on the ground. Kai was practically face-planted on the side of the bed, his face ungracefully squashed from the pressure. I stretched my neck a little more before checking on Taemin. He was still sleeping peacefully, his body rotated slightly so he was slightly curled up against me. I was still incredibly tired, but the arrival of morning meant that Ravi, Leo, and I needed to leave before our presence here was discovered. I sighed heavily, unsure of the best way to wake them.

                Luckily, just that motion of my sigh was enough to cause Leo to move, slowly opening his eyes. He inhaled sharply as he lifted his head, meeting my gaze. “Mira,” he spoke, his voice husky and unusually low.

                “Good morning, Taekwoon.”

                He looked around, glancing to the three sleeping young men before looking out the window as I had moments ago. “We need to go home,” he spoke plainly as he gently slid his legs off of the bed.

                “I know,” I sighed again, “Do you think you could get those two up?”

                He simply nodded, going first to Ravi, who he simply picked up and propped up until he woke with a start. “Leo hyung?” he asked as he looked around. Suddenly awake, he jumped up. “Taemin?”

                “He’s fine,” I insisted, “but we need to go home. Wake up Kai, I’ll work on this one,” I nodded to Taemin who was already beginning to squirm against my chest. I combed my fingers through his dry but slightly sticky hair. “Taeminnie,” I crooned into his ear again, and he made a little grumble sound as he lifted his head.

                A little smile crossed his face as he sat up, “Hi Mira.”

                “Hi Taemin,” but my smile faded, “Ravi, Leo, and I need to get home before it gets too late in the day. You have to promise me that you get some rest. Baekhyun bought out the entire pharmacy for you, so please take medicine if your fever starts to come back, got it?”

                His smile only grew, “Yes, of course.”

                “And don’t hesitate to call or text me if you have an issue,” I went so far as to point at him for emphasis. “If I hear from Ravi that you’ve fallen ill again, I’m going to lecture you so hard you’re going to hate me.”

                “I could never hate you,” he smirked slightly. Clearly he was feeling better.

                I rolled my eyes, “Promise me, Taemin.”

                “Okay, okay, I promise.”

                Kai had just finished stretching, “Neither of us have schedules today. I’ll stay with him.”

                “Thank you, Kai,” I said politely as Taemin sat forward, allowing me to scramble out from behind him, stretching my aching legs. I turned back to Taemin one last time, leaning forward to kiss his forehead, “Feel better soon, alright?”

                “Yes, Mira,” he nodded obediently, laying back in the bed with a huff.

                As we began to make our way out, I stopped at Kai, “Please call Ravi if something else happens, okay?”

                He nodded with a smile, “You got it.”

                I paused one last time, "And Kai, it was really nice meeting you," I added, resting a hand briefly on his shoulder. His smile grew as we turned to leave again, and he gave us a little wave as he shut the door. The three of us quickly made our way back to the car, driving back to Jellyfish in silence. It was only once we had parked back in the familiar lot that Ravi let out a long breath. 

                “Thanks for helping,” he turned to look at me, and then to Leo next to him, “both of you.”

                “I’m glad you didn’t do this alone,” I spoke softly as I slipped out of the car.

                Leo and Ravi followed close behind me, all three of us shuffling our feet slightly as we slowly made our way into the building. Once we made it to the second floor, nearing my room, Ravi paused and sighed, “We are supposed to do dance stuff today, right?” his voice was clearly exhausted.

                “Ask Hakyeon if we can push it to afternoon,” I proposed, looking between both of them, "We all need some sleep." I knew there would be no way I could help with something as focused as choreography without a little sleep, at least.

                Ravi sighed, “I’ll see you guys later,” he spoke as he slipped down the hall, leaving Leo and I in front of my door.

                “Thanks for your help today,” I smiled a little up at Leo.

                He nodded, thinking, “You didn’t get to sleep much,” he pointed out.

                I smiled, “I’ll be fine,” I assured him. I had just a little more work to do before I could take a nap.

                Leo thought for another moment before a little smile crossed his face, “If you get sick, we’re all doomed.”

                Stopping in my tracks, I looked back up at him. It had been an unexpected thing for him to say, but I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re right,” I shook my head, “That’s a good point. I’ll go get some sleep.” He left me at the door to my room, giving me just a little nod as he continued down the hall. As I got ready for bed, I considered the scenario- me getting sick, the rest of them frantically failing at taking care of me. I chuckled to myself as I went to lay down. Hopefully one of them had the sense to call someone useful. All I could do was hope it never came to that.