Side Effects

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It wasn't the first time Nari had gotten a migraine.

They ran in her family, her mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother all having suffered them throughout their lives with varying degrees of severity. But she'd never understood the pain until that first time.

She woke up that morning with a blistering, throbbing pain covering her left eye and left side of her forehead. The lights hurt, the sounds throughout the dorm hurt, everything was too much and she couldn't get away from any of it.

It could've been seconds or minutes that she lay there in pain, unable to think enough to call for anyone, small whimpers escaping her lips and even that sound was frighteningly loud to her. She wasn't sure how long it was until Jake's Aussie accent was registering in her ear, asking her what was wrong and if she was okay.

"Hurts," she cried, throbbing growing worse as her eyes watered.

"Oh baby, what hurts? What is it?"

She whimpered, her hand covering her left eye as her body retracted away from the sound of his voice. He was using the soothing tone they'd all developed their own versions of, the one that calmed her when she was anxious, or having cramps, or couldn't fall asleep. The one that usually made her melt into their arms and relaxed her troubles, but no sound could've calmed her right then.

Nari was unsure what exactly happened next, only that Jake's warmth moved away from her and that triggered the tears to fall from her eyes. She didn't want him to go, she needed someone here to keep her sane while her head split open.

Only, now someone else was gently wiping her tears with their thumbs. She couldn't open her eyes, and the person wasn't speaking, but the way they gently kissed the hand clutching her head told her it was Jungwon.

Her fingers found their way to his hand, squeezing tightly as if it would take away the pain. His lips pressed lightly to her brow bone and temple, placing silent, extremely gentle kisses. Nari wasn't sure if she wanted him to say something or if the noise of his voice would make everything bad again, but he was here and it was better than where she was when she woke up.

Unbeknownst to her, Jay was outside the dorm (Jake had warned them all against making any sound at the moment) calling her mom. Nari hadn't realized it, but somewhere amongst her small cries of pain and whimpers, she'd been whispering "Eomma" over and over again.

A short description of what was happening was all Nari's mom needed to know that her daughter was having a migraine for the first time. After taking a moment to calm herself—she felt awful that her baby was experiencing the pain she'd suffered through for years—she told Jay precisely what needed to happen and not happen.

Long story short, they'd closed the blinds, turned off all the lights, and made the room as cool and dark as possible. Jungwon had stayed behind to care for Nari that day while the rest of Enhypen had schedules, and after some over the counter medication and rest, she was fine the next day.

So yes, this was not Nari's first migraine. But really, what did that matter?

She wasn't sure what time it was—it was still dark out, so at least before 5am, she could've guessed—not that she cared. Her head was pounding relentlessly, her stomach swirling with nausea and the sound of the air conditioner was driving her insane. She needed help.

Only, Enhypen was asleep. Aside from the occasional snore and the drone of the AC, the dorm was silent. She groaned as her phone automatically turned on when she brushed against the screen, the light blinding her.

She curled into a little ball, praying for an escape from the pain. "Niki," she cried. "Niki, please..." The maknae across from her stirred, but didn't wake. She whined in disappointment and frustration, small sobs suddenly escaping her throat.

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