Maknae Princess || Stray Kids

56. NABI'S TIME OF THE MONTH

Nabi's Time Of The Month

Nabi wanted to end everything.

She was praying for literal death. It was currently her time of the month and she was suffering because of it. It was uncomfortable and painful, she was even running a light fever. Normally, she'd be fixed in the fetal position, bundled up in bed, or curled in a ball on the couch. But not this time, Stray Kids had to film a dance practice video for their latest music video and so they were all in the dance room at JYPE.

In the beginning, it was awkward and also embarrassing for Nabi when the boys realized it was her time of the month. It wasn't the first time she'd had to explain to a group of boys what periods were and how painful they were to have. When she was thirteen her first period came while she was with Jungkook and the rest of the BTS members during a photoshoot. An experience that Nabi probably will never ever in her entire lifetime ever forget. Not even her own brother knew what was happening or how he could make it stop. He ended up calling their mother and she calmly explained everything.

So afterward whenever it was Nabi's time of the month, Jungkook would drag Taehyung or Jimin with him to the nearest convenience store. Jin would make Nabi her favorite food. J-Hope would comfort, cuddle, and watch movies with her. Namjoon would make sure she drank enough water and didn't try and overdose on painkillers. And Suga would just be around, more often than not getting forced into cuddles and movie marathons because of Nabi's puppy dog eyes that secretly got to him.

During Nabi's trainee days, she at least had the members of ITZY. Naturally, they sympathized with her before doing whatever they could to help her. Yeji and Ryujin would try and distract Nabi. Chaeryeong and Lia would buy heating pads or snacks for her. And Yuna would cuddle with Nabi while the two listened to their favorite songs and shared a set of earphones.

Now that Nabi was a Stray Kids member, even during trainee days when the boys knew nothing and were confused as hell they still tried their best to understand and take care of her. It only got better with time and Nabi no longer felt shy or embarrassed about the topic. She even felt comfortable enough around her members to complain about the cramps, discomfort, and the pain of it. They could never relate to what she was going through but they empathized and tried which was more than she could ask for.

Stray Kids was home, after all.

Nabi felt safe with her members, who were her family too.

"How are you feeling?" Han asked out of worry once the cameras got turned off.

"Terrible," Nabi mumbled.

She'd managed to keep a smile on her face the entire time as she forced herself to get through the practice video. Now that she didn't need to keep up appearances she looked how she felt. Terrible. Weak. Exhausted. She wanted to go back to the dorm, hide away in bed, and let the blankets swallow her up.

Chan stopped in front of Nabi and put a hand to her forehead. "You've still got a slight fever. When we get back to the dorm you need to take your medicine."

"I just need food and sleep," Nabi said.

"Listen to oppa," Chan told her.

Nabi didn't bother to argue and only nodded.

***

Once they got back to the dorm, Chan left to finalize Stray Kids' schedule for their upcoming tour. He had no choice and left Minho in charge like he always did. Although no words were exchanged, Minho knew to keep an eye on the members but both he and Chan knew that really it was every kid looking after each other not just one looking after everyone.

"It's a code red," Hyunjin declared.

"A code what?" Seungmin asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Code red," Hyunjin repeated. "I've established that a code red is what we're calling it when Nabi-yah's on her period."

"Clever, hyung," Jeongin rolled his eyes in amusement.

"I don't think it's that drastic that we need to call it a code red," Seungmin commented.

"Hyung, are you brave enough to say that to Nabi's face?" Jeongin asked. "The pain she goes through every month I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."

"Awe, Innie," Hyunjin cooed at the second youngest. "You're too cute to have enemies."

Jeongin shook his head.

"I'm not blind, I know how much pain our maknae goes through every month," Seungmin stated. "I just meant that shouldn't we leave a code red for something like the end of the world, a natural disaster, or the end of our career."

"Don't think such dark thoughts, Kim Seungmin," Hyunjin gasped dramatically. "And I'm not changing the name. We're experiencing a code red right now. I like the name."

Seungmin gave up, rolling his eyes, and walking out of the room.

"I've got the stuff!" Han announced as re-entered the dorm with Minho and Felix behind him. Since Chan needed to go back to the company the soulmates of the group plus the sunshine went to the convenience store to buy the youngest her needed essentials.

"What stuff?" Changbin questioned in confusion. 

He was sitting on the couch beside Nabi, who was currently in the smallest form he'd ever seen her curled up in. She cradled her stomach with both hands while a dark blue blanket was securely wrapped around her body. He didn't know how else to help her so he sat there as emotional support and soothingly rubbed circles against the middle of her back. Changbin's bear hugs were the best but right now Nabi was in no mood to be hugged. She was in pain, running a fever, and very uncomfortable.

"Heating pad, cooling pad, fever medicine, painkillers, chocolate, mint cookies, banana milk, and ice cream," Felix listed everything off as he set the packet down on the small living room table.

"That's a seriously unhealthy combination, Han-ah," Changbin complained. He then noticed the look Nabi was shooting him and quickly he changed his attitude. "But it's not an everyday thing so it should be okay. As long as it helps Nabi-yah it doesn't matter."

Han and Felix laughed at their hyung before Han stuck a straw into one of the banana milks they had bought. He popped out two painkillers from their bottle and handed the assortment to Nabi. She gladly took them. Minho checked her fever again as she repositioned herself on the couch.

"It's not too bad," he said. "I'll make dinner so long."

"Tteokbokki?" Nabi asked.

"Jokbal," Minho said.

"Hyung and I got all the ingredients for it," Han stated proudly. "I've been craving it for forever now."

"No wonder Lee Know hyung's making it then," Changbin muttered under his breath, making Felix laugh.

"Movie time!" Hyunjin called out as he walked into the room.

"What are we watching?" Jeongin asked.

"Rock, paper, scissors," Han suggested. "Whoever wins gets to pick the movie."

"Okay," they agreed.

Nabi shook her head not even bothering with the game. She doubted that she'd be able to pay attention to it anyway. She'd probably be distracted by the pain or hopefully fall asleep now that she'd taken painkillers. Changbin lost of course and so did Jeongin, Han, and Hyunjin. They included Minho and Felix for the last round but they both lost against Seungmin. The dandy boy ended up being the one to pick what they were going to watch and it was a K-drama that he'd been meaning to watch for over a month now.

Despite it being that time of the month, Nabi was happy and content. She loved days like this or the few hours they got like this. Just their members doing normal things. Watching movies, cooking, and taking care of each other. She liked it the most that the one thing that differentiated her from the boys they didn't make a big deal out of and they'd even normalized it.

Seriously, Nabi just knew how lucky she was to be a member of Stray Kids.