Author's note: This story takes place during the time Baekhyun and Taeyeon started dating. I'm not sure of the exact time line but I pretty sure Luhan and Tao were still members and hence this story has them in it as well. EXO members are out of character again and again, Baekhyun is put in a bad light, as are most of the others. Of course, it all ends well. Don't read if you don't like Baekhyun or any of the others being unreasonable. Otherwise, hope you enjoy the story.
Disclaimer: EXO belongs to SM Entertainment.
Warning: un-betaed.
Kim Jongdae splashed water on his face in the men's bathroom on the fifth floor. He glared at himself in the mirror, breathing heavily as the anger in the pit of his stomach rose. "Do I look like someone who could betray a friend like that?" He growled at himself in the mirror. "Why won't they believe me?" He wiped at the split lip with his sleeve. They were a group of boys with many disagreements but arguments never got physical. Of course, this wasn't an argument. It was an accusation. Jongdae gingerly pressed at his red cheek, wincing at the sting of the slap and throb from a punch. He gripped the edge of the basin so tightly, his knuckles went white. "I didn't do it." He hissed at the mirror. "IT WASN'T ME!"
Twenty minutes ago…
Baekhyun left the room to answer his phone during their late dinner break. Jongdae grinned cheekily at him, knowing exactly who was calling. Baekhyun stuck his tongue out before the door shut. Jongdae shook his head, chuckling.
Two days ago, Jongdae caught Baekhyun giving Girl's Generation, Taeyeon, a quick peck on the cheek in a, usually, secluded area of the S.M building. Jongdae was there for a little time out for himself but he never thought he would walk into something so big! Jongdae tried to pretend he didn't see a thing but Baekhyun saw him and went white. That was followed by Jongdae being dragged to the stairwell and threatened with murder. It didn't work and so Baekhyun could only resort to bribing. Lunch would be Baekhyun's treat for the next month. Jongdae immediately agreed, knowing full well he would not have said a word no matter what. As an idol, they all knew how much dating someone could do to their career. If they chose the wrong girl, it could ruin both careers. Besides that, Jongdae believed that every member was entitled to a private life. They were idols, but they wanted a normal life occasionally as well and dating was a part of that normal life. He wouldn't tell a soul.
Jongdae frowned when Baekhyun walked back into the room, angry. No…in a rage. The others also sensed a rise in the temperature. He stormed straight up to Jongdae and without any warning threw a punch, catching Jongdae in the left jaw, sending him to the hard, wooden floor.
Chanyeol and Jongin immediately rushed over, pulling Baekhyun back before he could launch at Jongdae again. Jongdae glared at him, wiping at his bleeding lip. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Junmyeon asked as he and Minseok helped Jongdae onto his feet. "Are you okay?" He turned Jongdae to examine his lip. Jongdae pulled away angrily.
"I'm fine!" Jongdae turned to Baekhyun. "You should be asking him that." His expression softened a little at the angry tears in Baekhyun's eyes. "What happened?"
"How can you ask that?" Baekhyun kicked out at Jongdae, narrowly missing him as Chanyeol and Jongin held him back.
Jongdae's anger returned, "Just tell me what the hell I did!"
"Everyone knows!" Baekhyun yelled at him. "You promised you wouldn't tell."
"You should have told me!" A loud, booming voice came from the door. It was their lead manager Youngjun. "I am your manager. Everything you do goes through me."
The team immediately stopped and straightened up, bowing at their manager. "Hyung."
Youngjun stepped up to Baekhyun. "How long have you and Taeyeon been dating?" He asked. The entire group, save Jongdae, looked at each other in shock, but they stayed silent, knowing how serious the situation was. Junmyeon looked at Jongdae a little accusingly, realising why Baekhyun was so angry. Jongdae was beginning to tremble with anger now that he knew what Baekhyun was talking about and by the look of his leader, even he believed Jongdae would let the cat out of the bag. He looked around him and saw that all the members were looking at him the same way.
"Only a month. We kept quiet because we knew how it could affect our groups and we weren't sure about how we really felt." Baekhyun said with his head down.
Youngjun nodded. It was nothing he hadn't heard or had to handle before. What he'd never thought could happen was how the news got out. He turned to Jongdae and without hesitation slapped him hard across the cheek. "HYUNG!" Junmyeon gasped.
Jongdae's hand slowly came up to his cheek. The sting radiating through across his face. The room was silent as Jongdae's eyes came up and met Youngjun's. Jongdae was one of the most respectful of the members. He didn't only respect his elders, he also respected and took care of the younger members. Even Youngjun was taken back by Jongdae's glare. He hid it well though and his hand was ready to come up again for another slap to teach Jongdae to respect him when the young man took a step towards him. "Are you going to ask me if I did it or are you just going to slap me until I admit it?" He stepped to the side and turned his attention onto Baekhyun. "I told you I wouldn't say a word and I didn't. Believe me or not, I don't care."
"No one else knew!" Baekhyun yelled at him.
Jongdae smirked at him, shaking his head. "Go to hell." He stormed out of the room, his rage building up to the point where he thought he would explode.
"Jongdae!" Minseok called, realising the surprised look he had given Jongdae may have looked accusing.
"Leave him!" Youngjun growled. "If he can't admit what he'd done then maybe he's not the man I thought he was." He was disappointed. Jongdae has always been someone who owned his decision and mistakes. This was not like him at all. Maybe he realised how badly he had messed up and couldn't face the consequences. He turned to Baekhyun and put a hand on his shoulder. "The publicity team will manage this. For now, don't answer any calls or respond to any social media." Baekhyun nodded, feeling low. "Taeyeon is angry, I'm guessing." Again, Baekhyun nodded. The phone call he had received was her upset at him for not handling the situation with Jongdae better. "Don't worry. We'll take care of both of you. For now, stay away from each other."
"Yes, sir." Baekhyun bowed with the others as Youngjun left the room.
Sehun looked around at his hyungs, "Why would Jongdae hyung do that?"
Everyone was at a lost. It wasn't like their vocalist to do such a thing. "Who the hell knows? Maybe he's jealous or something!"
"That's not Jongdae and he would never tell anyone." Kyungsoo said without hesitation. "He didn't even tell us!"
"I agree." Minseok seconded, "And if he did, he wouldn't deny it the way he did. He would've taken that slap and accepted it."
Baekhyun growled. "I don't want to talk about it. From now on, don't expect me to interact with him in anyway. We practice together and that's it!"
Junmyeon sighed. He understood why Baekhyun was angry but this was going to be disastrous for EXO. He pulled Yixing and Minseok aside, looking for their advice. "Let it cool down for now. Hopefully, Jongdae comes around." Yixing told him.
"So, you think Jongdae did it?" Junmyeon asked.
"He didn't." Minseok said confidently. "There is no way he did it."
"How do you explain Baekhyun's reaction then? He wouldn't be so angry if he wasn't sure." Yixing reasoned.
Minseok shook his head, not understanding why everyone was condemning Jongdae so quickly. "Baekhyun is emotional right now. He's not seeing straight. Jongdae would never do something like this to him because he knows the consequences to EXO. He would never jeopardise this group and he would never betray us." Minseok left them to think about his words and went looking for Jongdae.
Jongdae stepped out of the bathroom after cooling himself off and headed for the rooftop of the building. He needed some fresh air. It was ten o'clock at night. The others would be leaving for their apartment soon. His phone beeped. It was a message from Minseok. Do you want to talk? I'm here. Jongdae smiled. He could always count on his best friend but then he remembered Minseok's expression when he realised why Baekhyun was so angry. Even he thought he was capable of betraying their trust. He texted back purely because he didn't want Minseok to come looking for him. I'm fine. Just want to be alone.
Minseok read the message on his phone. The team members were getting ready to call it a night. We're heading back to the dorm. Let's go home.
Jongdae shook his head at the message. Home? Home was where his family was. Right now, it wasn't home. You go. I'll be fine.
Minseok sighed as he picked up his gym bag and followed the others out. Call me if you want to talk. Junmyeon looked at Minseok's concerned expression. "What did he say?"
"He told us to go back first." Minseok showed his leader the message.
"Wouldn't want him with us anyway." Baekhyun growled as they waited for the lift. Chanyeol gave his shoulder a squeeze. The younger members were giving their support. Except Kyungsoo, who stood slightly away from them. Kyungsoo was never one to get involved in any confrontations but he still firmly believed Jongdae would never do anything to hurt this team.
"Jongdae hyung will realise that he's wrong. He always takes responsibility for his actions." Jongin said, hopefully.
"Let's hope so." Chanyeol sighed, not understanding how this day ended so badly.
"I don't care if he does admit he's wrong. I won't forgive him." Baekhyun stepped into the lift, his movements stiff. They all walked into the lift. It was the most silent ride home ever.
Jongdae watched their vans leave the building one after the other. Finally, he was alone. Jongdae looked up at the sky. This morning the sky was clear and bright. This evening, it clouded over. There were no stars in the sky and the moon's light was only a gloomy glow behind the clouds. The day's weather reflected his day. It started out perfectly, just as all his days did since EXO debuted. He didn't think everything could come down on him like an earthquake bringing down the strongest building. One moment was all it took to tear apart the bond the team had worked so hard to build. Jongdae rubbed his cheek where he was punched and slapped and smirked. "I guess it was all a lie."
On the other side of the rooftop door, a couple of trainees crouched. "Are you sure about this?" One whispered.
"I heard them. Chen betrayed Baekhyun. He doesn't deserve to be on the team." The trainees in SM admired every member of EXO and aspired one day to be as successful as they were. They were roles models for both, a great idol and a good human being. At least, they were until these trainees overheard the argument in the practice room.
"Still, we shouldn't do this. We could get kicked out."
"No one will punish us. He deserves it. Anyway, all we're doing is locking him out for a night. It's not going to kill him." The trainee jammed a chair under the handle of the door and then bolted down the stairs and back to their training room.
Jongdae didn't know how long he was standing on the roof, looking at nothing…feeling nothing. The anger was gone and it left him feeling empty. He was feeling empty because he came to the conclusion that it was all a lie. All the memories he cherished since he met the eleven other members of EXO became nothing but scenes from a movie. It was touching but it wasn't real. None of it was real. If it was, one of the other members would have spoken up for him but no one did. No one believed him. If they all believed he could betray Baekhyun like that then their friendship was a lie. This was all nothing but one big act. He wanted to laugh. He was so angry at Kris for leaving them but now he realised that Kris did the right thing. He got out before it all came down on him like it was coming down on Jongdae right now.
Rain came down hard. It didn't give warning, it didn't start lightly. Just as there was no warning before Jongdae's life crumbled. He did laugh this time. The weather truly was reflecting his day. He stood in the rain. It felt good. He let it drench him. He let it wash away everything he cared about. He stood there, until nothing was left; until he felt absolutely nothing. He took a deep breath and smiled. From now on, whatever he did, he would only think of himself. He didn't have to think about the rest of the team. From now on, whatever they did, outside of their schedule, would have nothing to do with him. With that decision made, Jongdae moved to head back to the practice room. He frowned when the handle didn't budge. He tried again, harder. The handle was jammed. "Seriously." Jongdae shook his head and pulled out his phone. He almost called Minseok. It was a natural reflex to call his best friend when he needed help. "Hmmph!" He laughed at himself. There was nobody he could call for help. Well, he already decided that he would only act for himself so he couldn't expect anyone to act for him. "Guess, I'll be spending the night here." He huddled in the small area at the door which provided barely enough shelter from the rain. First night alone, ahead of many more.
Baekhyun woke up the next morning with bags under his eyes. He looked at himself in the mirror. He could barely sleep last night. Luckily, they weren't filming the MV for another week. He brushed his teeth and had a shower. Strangely enough, nobody else came in. The team must want to give him time alone. He smiled at their thoughtfulness and then his expression grew angry when he thought of the one member who caused this. He still couldn't believe Jongdae betrayed him like that. He shook his head and left the bathroom. When he returned to his room, his phone was ringing. It was Taeyeon. He was surprised because he was sure her manager would've told her to keep her distance as well. "Hello." He answered, trying to sound sweet.
"Baekhyun…" He frowned at the hesitant greeting.
"What's wrong, Taeyeon?"
Taeyeon hesitated on the other side before answering. "I'm sorry, Baekhyun." Baekhyun frowned. "It wasn't Jongdae. It was my best…ex-best friend from back home."
Baekhyun's face drained of blood at the words. "W…wwhat are you saying?"
Taeyeon sounded like she wanted to cry. "I wanted advice about dating you so I called my best friend back home. I didn't think she would betray me and call the press."
Baekhyun let out a loud sigh, "Are you serious? You told me you didn't tell anyone! Do you know what I did!"
"I'm sorry!" Taeyeon cried.
Baekhyun closed his eyes and took a breath. "It's okay." He tried to placate his crying girlfriend but he couldn't find the words because Taeyon's call last night turned EXO's world upside down and made him commit the biggest mistake in his life. "I'll call you back." He hung up, unable to find words of comfort to his girlfirend. He had more important matters to deal with. He got changed in a mad rush and ran down the hall, knocking on Minseok and Jongdae's room. Minseok opened the door. "Did Jongdae come home?" He asked without preamble.
"Why would he? To get another punch from you?" Minseok answered bluntly, then noticed Baekhyun's pale face. "What's wrong?"
"I need to get to the studio." Baekhyun answered instead, rushing out of the room and down the stairs. "Hyung!" He called out to the manager. "I need to go now." He begged Hyunkyun.
The man frowned at him but nodded. "Who else is ready to go?"
Minseok came down the stairs with Junmyeon behind him. "We are."
The ride to the studio was quiet. Junmyeon worried about Baekhyun. Baekhyun usually couldn't stop talking. It did matter if he was sad, happy, excited or nervous; he didn't stop talking. Something happened this morning and he wasn't telling him about it.
Baekhyun was looking out the window but he wasn't seeing anything. The only pictures in his mind was Jongdae's face. He could see the anger in his friend's eyes, the hurt expression and the cold glare. Baekhyun knew Junmyeon and Minseok wanted to know what was going on but he owed it to Jongdae to tell him first. He believed Jongdae betrayed him but the ultimate betrayal was done by himself. He didn't give Jongdae a chance to defend himself. How could he have acted so irrationally? Everyone said it. It's not like Jongdae so why didn't anyone believe him?
Jongdae shivered. The rain didn't let up until it was almost dawn. The days weren't cold but the night air still had a bite in it. He woke up as the sun rose over the city. He watched the sun rise. It was a new day in his new life; his new solitary life. Jongdae walked over to the edge of the building, rubbing his hands up and down his damp hoodie. It was uncomfortable so he pulled it off. The cool air against his skin was better than the damp material. He stood, leaning his forearms on the ledge, and waited for someone to come up to the roof. He wondered when that could be.
The three members ran to their practice room thinking Jongdae would've spent the night there. They rushed in but there was no one. The room was empty and it looked like it was empty all night. Minseok frowned, "Where else could he be?" He pulled out his phone to called his friend.
Jongdae looked down at his pocket when his phone vibrated. He pulled it out and read the screen. 'Big brother'. Jongdae shook his head. Minseok wasn't his big brother any more. He answered it only because he needed to get to practice and someone had to open the door for him. "Xiumin hyung."
Minseok worried at the hollow voice that answered as well as the greeting. Jongdae never used his stage name when they weren't in front of a camera. He said it felt warmer to use his real name. Jongdae still liked it when Minseok called him Chennie Chennie though because it was said affectionately. "Jongdae, where are you?" He'll have to talk about it later.
"I'm on the roof. Can you open the door for me?" Jongdae hung up without waiting for a reply.
Minseok frowned at his phone. Something was wrong…well, even more wrong than it already was. "Where is he, hyung?" Junmyeon asked when Minseok only stared blankly at his phone. "Hyung?" He called again.
"Sorry." Minseok shook himself. "He's on the roof. He can't open the door for some reason. Let's go." The three of them made their way up to the rooftop. When they arrived at the door, they were shocked to find a chair jammed under the handle. "What the hell?" Minseok cursed angrily as he pulled it away and yanked the door open.
Jongdae turned around when he heard the door but was shocked to see it wasn't only Minseok standing at the door. Baekhyun was there with Junmyeon. There was something in Baekhyun's eyes. Guilt? Regret? Jongdae saw it but he didn't care. At least, that was what he was telling himself. He didn't care because these people standing in front of him were only colleagues and nothing more. "Thanks." He said, walking towards the door.
"Jongdae…" Baekhyun tried to take his arm, before he could walk past but Jongdae flinched at the contact causing Baekhyun to take his hand back. "Jongdae." He called again, hating himself for causing this rift between them.
Jongdae stopped because it was the polite thing to do and he was brought up to respect the people around him. "How can I help you?"
Minseok turned to Junmyeon, worried about the tone of Jongdae's voice. He could see that his concern was reflected in his leader's eyes. "Jongdae, are you okay?" Junmyeon winced when Jongdae turned his empty eyes to him.
"You mean aside from being stuck up here all night." Jongdae shrugged, "I'm fine."
Baekhyun looked Jongdae up and down, noticing his wet clothes for the first time. "You were here all night?" His eyes widened, shocked. "Why didn't call us?" As soon as the question left his lips he wanted to take it back.
Jongdae smirked at him, "Who's number should I have called? Yours?" He turned to Minseok and Junmyeon. "I guess I could've called one of you but I didn't think to. After all, it was late. Why should any of you come back here?" He shrugged, "We're just colleagues."
The three of them stood there in shocked silence at Jongdae's words. Colleagues? Minseok felt the air leave his chest. The word was like a bullet to his chest. "Jongdae." He gasped.
Jongdae felt a pang as Minseok's voice. He knew he was hurting his best friend. Minseok was a good person but Jongdae didn't feel he could trust any of them anymore. "I really want to get out of my wet clothes." They watched him walk away.
"He called me Xiumin." Minseok said out of the blue as he stared at the door Jongdae left through.
"What?" Junmyeon was confused.
"He never calls me Xiumin because he said it's not my real name. Brothers should call each other by their real names." Minseok wiped away the tear that ran down his cheek. "He never calls me Xiumin."
Baekhyun looked at Minseok. This was his fault. Jongdae was angry at all of them because of how he reacted. "I'm sorry."
"He's acting like we're strangers to him." Junmyeon sighed, looking between the oldest member and Baekhyun. "Come on. Nothing we can do standing here."
Jongdae grabbed his spare set of clothes from his locker and showered at the company's gym. It felt good to finally get out of his wet clothes. As the warm water ran over his body, his mind wondered to the rooftop. He could see his friends' expressions as his words pierced through them. He could see how much his words hurt them but he didn't let himself care. Why should he care about their feelings? After all, they didn't care about his. They're your colleagues. That's all. He repeated that to himself over and over again until he believed it.
The team gathered in the practice room. Baekhyun told them everything. They were devastated. He apologised over and over again. "It's not your fault, Baekhyun." Yixing spoke first. "You reacted…"
"We all reacted badly." Junmyeon interrupted Yixing. He knew Yixing was trying to comfort Baekhyun but what was the point in words none of them believed. "It's going to be hard but we will make it up to Jongdae and we will earn his forgiveness. We'll do everything in our power to earn his trust again because that's what he deserves."
They all nodded. "I'm sorry I pulled you all into this. He shouldn't be angry at all of you. This is my fault." Baekhyun couldn't say any more than 'sorry'.
"You didn't control how we reacted." Yixing wasn't going to let Baekhyun take all the heat. "We're responsible for our own actions."
Kyungsoo hated himself. He knew Jongdae would never hurt of the team members. "I should've stayed here with him."
"I should've looked for him." Minseok seconded. He didn't believe Jongdae would do that either but he and Kyungsoo's silence didn't help. "I'm his best friend. I should've had his back."
"We all know what we should be doing so let's do it. There's no point thinking about what we should've done. Let's just focus on what we can do." Junmyeon sighed at the down-trodden team.
"What can we do?" Sehun, who was the most loyal of them all, hated himself for not trusting Jongdae. "How can he forgive us after what we did?"
"I couldn't." Jongin agreed.
Junmyeon glared at all of them. "Are you not going to try?" He demanded of all of them.
"Of course, we're going to try." Chanyeol spoke up for the first time. He was the first to back Baekhyun because he was his best friend but Jongdae was Jongdae. Chanyeol had always said he was the kindest member. He didn't understand how he could believe Jongdae would betray Baekhyun.
Jongdae walked into the practice room with his water bottle and towel. He glanced over at the corner where the team was talking. They stood up at his arrival but he ignored them and put his things down in the opposite corner to them. He started his usual warm-up as he waited for their choreographer to come in. Jongdae could feel each members' eyes on him. He ignored them but he could see Baekhyun walking towards him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He's just a colleague. He told himself before opening his eyes again and then putting on a polite smile.
"Jongdae." Baekhyun called. Jongdae turned to him with the smile he would give a stranger. Baekhyun winced at the smile. It wasn't real and it was alien on Jongdae who always had a genuine smile when he was with his friends. "I'm sorry. Taeyeon called me this morning. Her friend from back home is the one who told the press about us. I'm sorry I accused you."
The words were supposed to help Jongdae but he had already made the decision to distance himself from the team so the words meant nothing now. "Thank you for telling me. I'm glad you cleared it up." Jongdae was polite at the most. He was saying the right words but that was all.
Baekhyun hated hearing the polite tone and seeing the empty eyes. "Please don't do this." He whispered, desperately.
Jongdae frowned at him, looking amused. "Do what?"
"Get angry at me," Baekhyun begged him, "Punch me but don't do this to yourself!"
Jongdae was confused, "What am I doing?"
"You're keeping it all in!" Baekhyun cried.
Junmyeon quickly walked over with Minseok. They worried Baekhyun would push Jongdae too hard. "Baekhyun!" Junmyeon pulled him away from Jongdae. "Give him some space."
Minseok stood with Jongdae, "Are you okay?"
Jongdae chuckled at him, "Why wouldn't I be? Baekhyun was only apologising and I accepted it. Everything is good now."
"Jongdae…" Minseok couldn't stand the emotionless person standing in front of him. "I…"
The choreographer walked in then, much to Jongdae's relief. "Practice time!" He said, a little too loudly. He rushed over, more than ready to start the day. He prayed their teacher kept them busy enough to prevent any of the team members from talking to him again.
Junmyeon sighed. They had a hard road ahead of them. He nudged this head towards the centre of the room, silently telling Baekhyun to start practice and leave it for now. Minseok dragged himself over. He wasn't sure he could get through today.
As the day went by, Jongdae's body felt heavier and heavier. It was hot which was normal he guessed, because he danced harder than he usually did. His body started to ache but he welcomed it. The more his body hurt the less his chest hurt. He welcomed the sweat stinging his eyes and the gruelling routine. Jongdae didn't want it to stop.
The team hated the gruelling routine. They did their best as always but every time one of them turned and found Jongdae in their line of sight, they would get flustered and make a mistake. Jongdae never reacted but the instructors were getting frustrated. "What the hell is wrong with you, Jongin!?" "Chanyeol! Jongdae doesn't have an infectious disease!" "Sehun, is Jongdae your secret lover? Why do you keep glancing over at him?!" "Baekhyun!" The instructors gave up. "Take half an hour break and return with your heads in the game!" The head instructor ordered before storming out with his co-instructors.
Minseok worried. Jongdae's movement became more sluggish as the minutes ticked by. He was sure the instructors noticed as well otherwise they wouldn't have allowed them a break with the appalling job they were doing. Their teacher was giving them a chance to talk Jongdae into resting. Minseok could tell that something was wrong with his friend. He knew Jongdae didn't want to talk to anyone but he needed to check on him. He needed Jongdae to stop and rest. He'd been dancing hard for the past four hours. "Jongdae," Minseok picked up Jongdae's water bottle, "Drink some water." He demanded. Jongdae stopped and looked at the bottle. He nodded, knowing Minseok wouldn't leave him alone until he did. Minseok examined Jongdae as he drank. He looked pale and clammy. His eyes were glazed over. Minseok sighed. Jongdae was getting sick. "You can't practice anymore."
Jongdae let his bottle hang in his hand and smirked, "Says who? You?"
Minseok nodded, "Yeah, me. You're sick."
"I'm fine." Jongdae countered.
"You spent a night in the rain. I doubt you got any sleep. You need to go home and rest." Minseok reached out to feel Jongdae's brow but Jongdae flinched violently. It was the first glimpse of emotion Minseok has seen from Jongdae today and even though it was anger, Minseok was glad for it. It wasn't healthy for him to keep in his emotions. Jongdae was never one to hide the way he feels. If Jongdae was angry he would show it. Minseok could always read Jongdae like a book.
"I'm fine, Xiumin hyung." Jongdae deliberately used his stage name again to warn him to stay away.
Minseok winced at the name but he let it go because Jongdae's health was more important than his name. "You're going home, Jongdae. There's no way our teacher is going to let you continue practicing anyway. You look ready to collapse."
"I'm not going home." Jongdae growled at him. Because there is no home. He didn't want to get angry but Minseok's concern made him long for the days before yesterday. No…He didn't long for those days because those days were lies. He didn't want to get angry because getting angry meant he cared about what they did and he didn't. He didn't care how they reacted yesterday because the people in this room were only colleagues. Jongdae looked over at his colleagues. He could see their concern and he hated it. "Don't look at me like that!"
"Like what?" Minseok saw an opening and took it. As much as he wanted Jongdae resting, he wanted Jongdae to release his anger more. This empty shell wasn't his best friend.
"Like you give a damn about me." Jongdae hissed at him. "Don't act like you all care." He growled at them as his eyes burned with unshed tears. "Because I know it's a lie!"
"Jongdae." Baekhyun walked towards him but Jongdae stepped back, keeping the distance between them. "We do care."
"Stop lying!" Jongdae yelled at him. "You don't have to pretend anymore. I saw the truth yesterday so drop the act."
Yixing watched as his friend started losing his grip on his emotions. He knew, if Jongdae wasn't feverish right now, he would've kept up the mask he was wearing all morning. "It's not an act."
Jongdae spun his head towards him, "If it wasn't an act then whatever there was between us, it wasn't friendship. If it was, there's no way one phone call could smash it as if it was a piece of glass." He shook his head at the man who had his back in China. "Whatever it was, it meant nothing to any of you!"
"Hyung!" Sehun gasped, "We're sorry."
"Stop apologising!" Sehun jolted at the scream. Jongdae glared at him. Sehun has never been on the receiving end of Jongdae's anger. He didn't know what to do. "Stop lying."
"Please, hyung…" Jongin's voice shook as he begged desperately, "Please listen to us."
"Listen to you?" Jongdae asked in disbelief, "The same way you listened to me?" He accused then smirked, "Oh right, you didn't listen. You didn't even give me a chance!"
"You need to rest, Jongdae." Kyungsoo spoke for the first time.
Jongdae looked at him like a mad man, "You act so well." Kyungsoo felt his heart smash into pieces at Jongdae's words. Jongdae knew what to say to hurt them. Jongdae looked around at the men who surrounded him, "It's never been my area but you all should go into acting as well. I believed it all."
"Jongdae…" Junmyeon tried to explain something that didn't make sense to any of them.
"Shut up." Jongdae breathed. He was losing control.
"You need to sit down." Kyungsoo pleaded with him.
"Shut up." Jongdae said a little louder. He looked around the room for a way to escape but they surrounded him.
Minseok frowned. Jongdae was on the verge of panicking, "We need to get you home."
"SHUT UP!" Jongdae dropped his bottle as his hands shot up to his ears. The water spread across the floor. The room was silent as they watched their brother fall apart. "I don't have a home! You took it away. YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY!" Jongdae took another step back from them.
The team watched in horror as Jongdae's foot slipped in the water, pulling his legs out from under him. The sound of the back of his head smashing against the hard, wooden fall, caused their hearts to stop a beat. "JONGDAE!" Minseok dropped down next to him. Baekhyun came down on the other side. "Jongdae!"
Jongdae's world blacked out for a few seconds. The pressure at the back of his head made him feel like his head was going to explode. He could hear people calling his name but he couldn't get anything to work. "Jongdae." Jongdae's vision cleared first. The first face he saw was Baekhyun's. Suddenly an image of a fist jumped into his mind. He shot up and shuffled backwards until his back hit the mirrored wall.
Baekhyun watched in horror as Jongdae looked around frantically. He knew Jongdae was feeling trapped. "I'm sorry." He quickly got up and moved back. He couldn't help Jongdae. If anything, he was making matters worse.
Yixing looked at Minseok who was kneeling the closest to Jongdae. He stepped up to him and knelt beside the eldest member but even as careful as he was, Jongdae still flinched at his movement. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."
Jongdae narrowed his eyes at him. Not hurt him? How can Yixing say that? That's all they've been doing. Their presence right now was hurting him. Their acting like they cared, hurt him. Everything in this room was hurting him. He was aching all over and his head was throbbing but he was hurting long before now.
Luhan and Tao were talking and laughing as they headed to the practice room. They just got back from their commitments in China and were looking forward to seeing the rest of the team. As much as they loved returning to their homes, they always missed the other members when they were away. No matter where they were, they always felt homesick. Luhan laughed when Tao picked up his pace as they neared the practice room.
"We're back!" Tao announced with his arms in the air.
Luhan's smiled faded when he looked over to the corner where the team was. They were surrounding Jongdae. "What happened?" He pushed past Tao and rushed over. Tao quickly followed. "Jongdae!"
Jongdae turned his attention to the new voice calling his name. He looked up, squinting at the bright lights glaring behind Luhan and Tao causing him to groan as nausea started setting in. He leaned forward and hung his head between his knees, taking deep breaths to ease the feeling. "What the hell happened here?" It was Tao. Jongdae wasn't sure how he should be acting around the two new arrivals. They weren't here yesterday. How would they have reacted if they were? Would it be the same as the others or would they have trusted him? Jongdae didn't know and it made the situation worse. What if they were acting as well? What if he trusted them now only to find out they were lying too?
"I'm worried he has a concussion." Junmyeon pulled out his phone. "I'm calling our doctor."
Jongdae hated hearing that word come out of his leader; worried. "Stop kidding yourself. You're not worried about me." Junmyeon sighed and walked away. The words hurt but he needed to prioritise. Jongdae needed medical help.
"What are you talking about?" Tao looked around the room at the guilty expressions. What happened while they were gone? "Of course, they're worried about you! We're a family!"
Jongdae's head shot up at that. The glare he gave Tao made him take a step back. This wasn't his kind and gentle hyung. Baekhyun covered his face. This situation was getting worse. Jongdae was pushing them all away. The anger in Jongdae's eyes turned to sadness. "Why is everyone lying to me?"
Minseok got up and quickly grabbed Luhan before he could make the same mistake as Tao. "I'll explain everything to you later." He whispered to the man who took care of all of them in China. "I need you to focus on Jongdae. Don't say anything about us. He needs someone to trust. You're the only one left he's not angry at." Luhan looked at him in disbelief. He didn't understand what Minseok was asking him to do. "Just take care of him. Stay with him and don't mention us." Luhan still didn't understand but he nodded. The desperation in Minseok's voice told him how important it was for him to follow his instructions.
Luhan carefully knelt next to Jongdae. "Jongdae, you don't look well." Jongdae blinked at him through his glazed eyes, "You're sick. You need a doctor." Jongdae listened to Luhan speak. "I'll take you."
Jongdae shook his head at him, sadly, pulling his knees to his chest, "I can take care of myself. Thank you."
Luhan frowned at the tone. Why was he being so polite? Minseok worried that Jongdae was trying to distance himself again. He nudged Luhan, urging him to talk more, to get Jongdae to talk to him. "You don't need to take care of yourself, Jongdae. We…" He jumped when Minseok kicked him from behind. He looked back annoyed and then nodded when Minseok warned him silently to only talk of himself and not the team. "I'll take care of you." Jongdae studied Luhan's eyes. They looked so sincere. Then he turned and looked the others in the eyes and saw the same thing. They were lying and that meant Luhan was too. He turned back to Luhan. Luhan couldn't help but flinch at the empty eyes looking at him. "Jongdae, are you listening to me?"
Jongdae pushed himself up, bracing himself against the mirror. Luhan took his arm but Jongdae pulled away, "I told you I can take care of myself." He cursed when the room started spinning. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the mirror until he felt the floor stabilise. Jongdae turned around and started for the door of the studio.
The boys moved out of his way as he walked past them shakily. Jongdae kept his expression blank and his eyes on the door. He wanted to get out of there. The pounding in the back of his head smashed against his skull in time with his steps. It was the longest walk of his life and just as his hand reached for the bar, the door opened on its own. Jongdae looked up at the man standing there and froze. It was Youngjun and Hyunkyun. Youngjun looked at the young man he slapped yesterday. "Jongdae."
Jongdae forced himself to stay calm. He waited for Youngjun to move but he stayed in the doorway, "Excuse me, sir, can you step aside?" He kept his voice calm even though he was screaming inside.
Youngjun knew he should apologise for his actions yesterday but his pride wouldn't let him, "Where are you going? Junmyeon told me you hit your head. You should be sitting down, waiting for the doctor. He'll be here shortly."
Jongdae closed his eyes. He didn't know what was worse; his friends' lies or this fake man in front of him. "I'm fine."
"The doctor will be the judge of that. Go sit down." Youngjun snapped, making Jongdae flinch.
Minseok clenched his fist at Youngjun's attitude. How can he stand there all high and mighty and talk to Jongdae like that after what he did? Despite what he thought, he prayed Jongdae obeyed because he wasn't in any condition to be alone.
Luhan had never been so confused in his life. "What the hell is going on? I don't recognise anyone anymore." He stormed over to Jongdae and pull him back, stepping in front of him to face Youngjun. "I don't know what's going on but don't talk to him like that." Luhan didn't know where the courage came from to talk to his elder like this but this man was disrespecting Jongdae first.
Jongdae watched Luhan stand up to their manager for him. Is this an act too? "I'm looking out for him." Jongdae clenched his fist at Youngjun's words.
Luhan turned his head slightly to his friend behind him. He could feel Jongdae tensing up. He shook his head, "I don't think you are. I'll take care of him." Luhan turned to Jongdae and took the confused man by the upper arms, "Don't leave this room. We'll leave if you want but stay here until the doctor arrives. Please." He begged his friend. "You can be angry at me as long as you stay and let the doctor take a look at you." Luhan turned to the others, nudging his head for them to leave the room, then he glared at his managers, "Get out of here." Youngjun bristled at the order and stormed out, leaving Hyunkyun and the others to follow.
Jongdae watched the room empty out at Luhan's orders. He let Luhan lead him over to the couch and sit him down. Jongdae was shaking. The emotions he lost control of not long ago were resurfacing again and it was because of Luhan. He was breaking down his resolve. Luhan wasn't expecting anything from him. He wasn't apologising or explaining or pushing him to talk. He was just there, taking care of him. Luhan knelt in front of him. "Sit here and wait for the doctor. I'll be right outside if you need anything." He got up to leave the room after the others when Jongdae grabbed his wrist.
Luhan looked down at his friend and felt his tears well in his eyes at the lost little boy look. "Don't leave me alone." Jongdae choked, "Please." He shook his head, "I don't have anyone anymore."
"Jongdae…" Luhan dropped onto the couch and pulled his friend into his arms, "You have me." Jongdae shook as he sobbed into his shoulder.
"What did I do?" Jongdae cried, "Why don't they trust me? I didn't do it. I could never…" He shook his head, "I wouldn't…"
Luhan frowned at the broken words. What did they do? Why wouldn't they trust Jongdae? He pulled Jongdae back and looked him in the eyes, wiping away his tears. Jongdae flinched when Luhan's fingers brushed against his cheek and for the first time Luhan saw the bruise. He clenched his jaw. "Who did that?"
Jongdae worried at the fire he saw in Luhan's eyes, "It doesn't matter."
"It does to me!" Luhan shot up and stormed out the door, thinking it was Youngjun who dared to lay a hand on his friend.
"Lu Ge!" Jongdae didn't have to follow him far. The entire team was standing in the hallway.
"Where is he?!"
Junmyeon frowned, "Who?"
"The jerk who punched Jongdae!" Luhan glared at him. "How could you all let him do that? I don't give a damn that he's our boss, he had no right!"
"Youngjun slapped him." Minseok told Luhan.
Luhan looked at him, incredulously, "Do you take me for a fool? A slap doesn't leave a bruise like that." However, hearing that made him even madder. Jongdae was punched and slapped? He frowned when they all looked down at their feet except Baekhyun. Luhan frowned at the happy virus. "You punched Jongdae?" Baekhyun turned his head away but nodded. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" He stepped towards Baekhyun only to be pulled back.
"Lu Ge!" Jongdae pulled at his arm, "Don't."
Luhan spun around, shocked, "I don't care what he thought you did; using our fists is never the answer."
"Please." Jongdae begged him, "I don't want to be here."
Luhan calmed himself down at Jongdae's plea. "Then go back inside and wait for me." He ordered, gently. Jongdae shook his head and immediately regretted it. He stumbled as his head started spinning. "Jongdae." Luhan wrapped his arms around his friend, holding him up. "Take it easy." He whispered.
Jongdae closed his eyes, leaning heavily against his one and only friend, "Can we go back inside?"
Minseok wanted so badly to be the one holding his brother. He needed to take care of Jongdae but knew he would only cause more harm if he did. "Take him back inside, Luhan."
Luhan sighed, knowing Minseok was right. He had to take care of Jongdae. He was his priority. "Are you okay to walk?" Jongdae nodded his head. "Okay, let's go."
Minseok watched them re-enter the practice room. He leaned back against the wall and slid down it. "I should be in there. I always take care of Jongdae when he's sick. I know what he needs." He cried into his arm, "He likes to whine to me."
Kyungsoo sat down next to him, "He'll realise that you never lost trust in him. Don't lose hope."
Minseok only cried harder. The team watched as their eldest broke down in front of them. Baekhyun didn't know what to do. He wanted to run away from all of it but this was all his fault, which meant he had to face the consequences. Somehow, he had to fix this.
Luhan gently laid Jongdae onto the couch. Jongdae groaned at the pounding in his head. "That's enough moving around for you."
Jongdae looked at Luhan through his bleary eyes. He worried Luhan was going to push away his friends. Just because Jongdae only had one friend, he didn't want the same for Luhan. Luhan was already away from his family, he needed his friends, "It's not what you think. Baekhyun had the right to be angry."
Luhan shook his head in awe of this man in front of him, "Don't make excuses for him."
"He was dating Taeyeon in secret." Luhan's eyes widened in shock, "He thought I was the only one who knew."
"Ah…" Luhan sighed. He didn't need Jongdae to tell him the rest. There was only one reason why Baekhyun would punch Jongdae, "The press found out and he thought you told them." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, I admit that he had the right to be angry but he should've known better. You would never do that." He frowned, "The others believed you did it?" He didn't understand how that was possible but he wasn't there so he couldn't say for sure how he would've reacted. "Even Minseok?"
Jongdae closed his eyes. The angry eyes of every member flooded through his mind. He couldn't sort them out. He groaned as his headache went up a couple of notches, "I don't know." He gasped.
"It's okay." Luhan ran his fingers through Jongdae's hair. He'd seen Minseok do this and it always calmed Jongdae. He wished Minseok was in here to tell him what else he could do to help Jongdae. "We won't talk about it anymore. Just rest."
The team waited outside for the doctor to come out. Nobody talked. There was nothing to say. The situation was beyond their control, making them feel useless. The only hope they had was Luhan. Luhan was the only person Jongdae trusted now. They all saw how he leaned on Luhan. It wasn't much but if Luhan could get Jongdae to talk, maybe he can open a door for them to regain Jongdae's trust in them. It was all they could hope for.
Jongdae winced at the light the doctor shone in his eyes. "How bad is your headache; one being not at all and five being very bad?"
Jongdae glared at the doctor when he finally put away his light, "It was a four when you used the torch on me, now it's about a three, I guess." Luhan couldn't help but smile at the pout Jongdae gave. Jongdae was their whiniest member but when he was sick he would only whine at Minseok because he took care of him. It was rare to see Jongdae act like this.
The doctor chuckled and nodded, "Okay. Now, do you remember what you were doing before you hit your head?"
Jongdae's eyes grew sad and nodded. I was yelling at my former friends to shut up. "We were having a short break after our practice." He said instead. The doctor looked up at Luhan for confirmation but Luhan couldn't say for sure.
"It's likely they were. Tao and I were joining them for the practice."
Dr Lee nodded, accepting the answer, "Do you know where you are?"
"SM Entertainment's practice studio."
"Whose birthday did you last celebrate?"
"Kai's." Jongdae answered without hesitation. He couldn't help but wonder if it would be the last birthday he would celebrate with the group.
The doctor nodded, "I'm certain he only has a mild concussion. It doesn't warrant a visit to the hospital but he needs to be watched for the next 24 hours. If his headache gets worse, he starts acting differently or is abnormally drowsy, send him to the hospital straight away." He checked Jongdae's temperature. It was too warm for his liking. "Give him some Tylenol for the fever. It should be enough to keep it down." He put his equipment back into his bag and stood from the couch. "Watch him closely." He ordered Luhan before leaving the room.
Luhan saw the doctor out. "Thank you, doctor."
The team outside bowed as Dr Lee walked past him. Luhan wanted to head back into the studio and slam the door in everyone's faces but that would be cruel and no matter what they did, they were still his friends. He closed the door so that Jongdae couldn't hear him, "Doctor says he has a mild concussion and a fever. I have to watch him for the next 24 hours." He looked at each member and stopped when his eyes fell on Minseok. His friend looked drawn and tired. "You didn't believe it, did you?" Minseok shook his head. "I knew you wouldn't." He pulled the oldest member into his arms, "He'll know the truth. For now, let me take care of him for you. Is there anything I should know?"
Minseok pulled back, grateful for Luhan asking him that question, "Treat him like he's 10 years old. Speak gently. He likes to whine when he's sick but he doesn't do it in front of anyone but me. That's why you need to treat him like a kid, then he'll start acting like one." He chuckled, "I know it sounds weird but he only listens when he's allowed to be a kid."
Luhan smiled, "So I'll finally get to see what you've been telling me all this time."
"Convince him to go back to the apartment but don't call it home." Minseok remembered Jongdae's break down. It's not home. We took it away from him. "Jongdae has trouble sleeping when he's not in his own bed."
"He rarely sleeps in his own bed. We're traveling too much." Luhan was amused at the comment.
Minseok's eyes were sad, "Just like his home, his bed's the same; it's wherever we are."
Luhan squeezed Minseok's arm, "I'll convince him of your trust in him. You're his family."
Minseok shook his head, "Don't push him. Let him rest. If he can't sleep, read him one of Junmyeon's comics."
Junmyeon frowned, "They're not that boring." He complained, a little offended.
"It's not that. It's the protection of the superhero that makes him relax. He says it's what you do for all of us. Protect us." Minseok smiled at Junmyeon's, deer in the headlights, look. "He would never tell you that himself." He turned back to Luhan, "Just like he would never tell you that you take away his fear before an interview or that he follows Yixing's example of being a kind person." Yixing turned away, wiping away his tears, "He'll never admit to Kyungsoo that he regains energy every time you say 'you're working hard' or that he's so proud of Chanyeol's generosity. He'll never admit that he could watch Jongin dance all day, every day, if that were possible or that he admires Tao's courage to cry whenever he wants without caring that everyone is watching." Minseok turned to Sehun, who was already crying, "He believes this group can last way past any idol group purely because of your loyalty to all of us." Sehun slid down the wall he was leaning against, sobbing. Junmyeon knelt next to him, pulling him into his arms. Minseok turned to the last member, "He will never admit to you, Baekhyun, that he doesn't believe this team could go on without you, because you get us through the worst times and make us laugh through the best times."
Baekhyun wiped at the tear that dropped as he let out a shaky breath, "How do you know all this?"
"He talks a lot when he's sick. He tells me everything because he knows I will just listen without laughing or feel embarrassed or deny his words. He talks about his feelings to me but he never remembers." Minseok smiled, sadly, "He'll never admit that he wishes he could've grown up with me. He loves his hyung but he knows I would've spoilt him instead of tease him." Minseok chuckled, "He's right. I would spoil him."
Luhan let out a long breath, "He really does talk a lot when he's sick."
Minseok nodded, "You should go back inside."
"Alright." Luhan turned to the rest of them, "He thinks the world of us. He won't let this break us down."
"We won't either." Kyungsoo promised for all of them.
Luhan knelt at Jongdae's head, gently brushing his fingers through his hair. He smiled when Jongdae opened his tired eyes. "Let's go back to the apartment." Luhan suggested. Jongdae pouted and shook his head. Luhan smiled and remembered Minseok's words; treat him like he's ten years old. That's not hard. He was already acting like one."This couch must be really comfortable. Let me try." He attempted to squash his tall form next to Jongdae, making him chuckle. Luhan got back up, grinning at his friend, "It's not comfortable."
"Yes, it is." Jongdae argued like a little boy.
Luhan shook his head, the way a parent would to their child, "No, it's not."
"Is too."
"Is not." Luhan argued calmly.
Jongdae frowned hard at him. Luhan wanted to laugh at his expression but just as he wouldn't laugh at a little boy, he wouldn't laugh at Jongdae; he was serious, "Too!" It's no wonder Minseok liked taking care of Jongdae. This guy was too cute.
"It's not as comfortable as the beds at the apartment." Luhan nudged his head towards the door, "If you promise to come with me, you can sleep in my room." Jongdae thought hard about that, "I will kick Minseok out." Luhan caught the sadness in Jongdae's eyes before he covered it up. He worried that his efforts to convince him to go home would come to naught because of Minseok's name. "I'll serve you breakfast in bed?" He enticed his friend.
Jongdae's eyes widened at the temptation, "And hot chocolate before I sleep." He wasn't going to give in that easily.
Luhan sighed dramatically, "Deal!" He held out his pinky. Jongdae smiled and hooked it with his own.
"Deal."
Luhan smiled in relief. He was amazed at the change in Jongdae between when he first arrived and now. Jongdae just needed one person to trust and Luhan felt proud that Jongdae was able to find it in him. What happened was a big blow to Jongdae's world. It wasn't easy to trust again after that. However, this was Jongdae, the kindest person he knew. Jongdae's personality was too positive and open to allow any situation change him, no matter how hard he tried to let it. "Come on." He gently helped Jongdae to sit up, allowing him time to adjust while he pulled out his phone. "I'll call Hyunkyun hyung that we're leaving." Instead of calling their manager, Luhan called Minseok.
Minseok answered the phone frantically when he saw the caller I.D. "Luhan!"
"Jongdae and I are heading back to the apartment. Can you get the van ready? We're leaving now." Minseok's eyes widened when he worked out what Luhan was really telling him.
"Got it. We'll disappear and I'll call Hyunkyun hyung." Minseok hung up and quickly ushered the group towards the stairway. "Let's go. Jongdae's coming. He can't see us."
"He managed to convince Jongdae to go home?" Junmyeon asked.
Minseok nodded, "Hurry up!" He whispered desperately. The last thing he wanted was for Jongdae to go back into the studio because of them.
Luhan pulled Jongdae to his feet after getting off the phone. Jongdae sighed in relief when the dizziness didn't come. Luhan deliberately took his time, leading Jongdae out the door. For one, he didn't want to aggravate Jongdae's concussion and two, he wanted to give the team more time to hide. He sighed sadly at Jongdae's expression when they stepped out into an empty corridor. It was a mixture of relief and sadness. Luhan knew Jongdae wanted to forgive his friends. He needed them as much as they needed him but the anger was too fresh, the betrayal was too painful. Luhan brushed his hand up and down Jongdae's back. "I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but it'll get better."
Jongdae nodded, slowly, agreeing with his brother, "You're right; it doesn't feel like it."
Minseok looked through the small window of the stairwell door as Jongdae walked past it. His heart ached at how broken his brother looked. "Get better, Jongdae. It's going to be okay." Minseok whispered to his oblivious friend.
The team waited until Luhan messaged them that they were clear of the building before they dared to leave the stairwell. They walked back to the practice studio and dropped onto the hard floor, mentally and emotionally exhausted. "I think I'm going to stay at one of the dorm rooms for a while." Baekhyun told them, breaking the silence.
"Do you think that's the best solution to this?" Junmyeon asked him. It was a decision he expected from Baekhyun but he knew it was a wrong one.
"He doesn't want to see me. It's not fair for me to stay where he can't get away from me." It sounded logical to Baekhyun.
"If that's the case, we all should leave. He's not only angry at you. He's lost faith in every one of us." Yixing knew what his leader was thinking. He needed the younger members, especially Baekhyun, to work it out themselves.
"We can't all leave." Baekhyun protested. "We can't leave him alone with only Luhan to take care of him."
"Why not? It's what he wants, isn't it?" Junmyeon pushed. "We all saw him break down. He doesn't want any of us around."
Baekhyun glared at him, "I know! But it's not what he nee…" Junmyeon and Yixing smiled when the penny dropped, "needs." He sighed, tired. He remembered Jongdae's words before he slipped. "He said it's not his home anymore. We stole it from him."
"Home is wherever his family is. It's not a where, it's a who. That's what he told me in China. Home is where we are." Minseok wiped away his tears, "We took that away from him when we didn't believe him."
"Not you," Baekhyun told him and then turned to Kyungsoo, "Or you. You believed him. You need to prove it to him. He needs more than just Luhan and Tao."
"Jongdae needs all of us to show him he can trust us again." Minseok drilled into Baekhyun, "There's no us and the rest of you. You saw him. He's lost faith in every one of us." He was feeling the same way as Baekhyun at first, thinking he should move out of the apartment until Jongdae was ready to trust him again but Junmyeon and Yixing were right. It wasn't what Jongdae needed. "We broke him so it's our job to fix him."
"How?" Jongin asked, unsure of how to fix someone who was in so many pieces.
"By being persistent." Minseok told them. "By not giving up." He knew Jongdae better than anyone else in this room. Jongdae was stubborn. It would be hard to get him to accept their help but Jongdae was also soft-hearted. He loved his brothers. They only needed to show him that that love was still there. "By staying at his side. He's going to fight us with everything he has. He's going to pretend he doesn't care about us. He's going to distance himself, just like he was trying to do this morning. He's going to try to bury that anger but we're not going to let him because if he buries it, the aftermath is going to be worse than we saw today."
"So that's it? We just stay and annoy him until he gives in?" Chanyeol was sceptical of the plan.
"No." Minseok looked at each of them, "We stay and put him back together piece by piece. As long as one of us can break down that wall he's building between us then the others will get through as well." He looked them each in the eye, "We need to show him he still has a home. We're his home."
That night, Jongdae's fever rose. They were warned by the doctor that it could so Luhan was ready with the Tylenol and ice water. He gently woke Jongdae from his feverish sleep. "Sorry." He whispered to his sick friend. "Take these and then go back to sleep." Jongdae looked at the tablets and nodded. He pushed himself up and took the meds, washing it down with a glass of water. As soon as he laid back down, he was asleep again. Luhan sighed, "You really need to kick this fever, Jongdae." He wet a towel to lay it across Jongdae's forehead. He had gone down to the kitchen to find a cooling pad but Minseok told him Jongdae hated the feeling of the plastic against his skin. The first time Minseok had used it, Jongdae pulled it off and threw it across the room. He's never used it since. Luhan picked up Junmyeon's Ironman comic book and started reading it quietly to Jongdae. It worked almost immediately. Jongdae's tossing stopped. He even turned his head towards Luhan as if trying to get closer to the words. Luhan smiled and kept on reading. Minseok, you really do know Jongdae well. He read until Jongdae fell into a deep sleep. Quietly, Luhan put the book down and left the room. He knew who would be waiting outside for him…Minseok.
"How is he?"
Luhan smiled at him, "He's fine, thanks to you."
Minseok shook his head, "You're the one taking care of him."
"It's the security of a familiar routine that's helping him relax. Everything I'm doing in there is what you would do. He may not see you but he can feel you." Luhan shoved him towards Yixing and Jongdae's room. "Go to sleep. I'll watch him. I already told Hyunkyun that Tao and I are not going in to practice tomorrow. We'll take care of him."
"Youngjun let you off practice?" Minseok looked sceptical.
Luhan smirked, "Who the hell cares what he lets and not let me do?"
Minseok shook his head at Luhan's recklessness, "You know you shouldn't disrespect him like that. He represents the company. You don't want him to hold a grudge against you."
"We're SM's biggest idols right now. He already handled this situation badly. He makes a big deal out of my attitude and him slapping Jongdae would reach the higher ups. He may be our senior but this is the 21st century; respect goes both ways." Luhan fumed every time he's reminded of Youngjun's slap and he wasn't even there to see it. He frowned at Minseok. "How are you so calm about it? You're his best friend."
"He's my best friend. He's my priority. I just need him to recover. Everything else takes a back seat." Minseok told Luhan, sadly. Luhan knew what he was thinking. The best thing Minseok could do for Jongdae was to take care of him but he couldn't even do that.
Luhan wrapped his arm across Minseok's shoulder and led him to Yixing's room, "He will forgive you. Until then, you can borrow my hands to take care of him."
Minseok turned and hugged his brother, fiercely, "I don't know what I would do without." Luhan smiled, rubbing his back.
The next morning…
Luhan opened his eyes. The sun was starting to come through the blinds. He turned onto his side and silently watched Jongdae sleep. He knew it wouldn't be long before he woke up. Jongdae was a morning person. Even when he was sick, he'd still wake up early. Luhan chuckled at the frustrated groan from across the room. Jongdae would still wake up early but not in a good mood.
Jongdae furrowed his brow at the sun coming through the window. He pulled the blanket over his head, "Why can't the sun stay down?!" He pulled the blanket off when he heard someone laughing. "What's so funny?" Jongdae growled at his friend.
Luhan got off the bed and walked over, sitting down on the side of Jongdae's bed. "How are you feeling?"
Jongdae smiled at him sleepily. Even as tired as he was Jongdae could still smile with his eyes. Luhan loved that about him. They all did. "Better, thank you."
Luhan raised an eyebrow at him, "For what?"
"I didn't think I would be able to sleep through the night." Jongdae sat up with Luhan's help. He pulled his legs over the side of his bed and noticed for the first time the items on the bedside table. There was a bowl of ice water and towels, which wasn't really surprising. What was surprising was Junmyeon's Ironman comic book. He hesitantly picked it up, "Were you reading this?" Luhan nodded but didn't say anything. Jongdae looked up at him, unsure, "To me?" He asked, quietly. Again, Luhan nodded. "How did you know?"
"How do you think?"
Jongdae shrugged, turning away from Luhan. "How would I know?"
"I think you do. It's the same reason why I knew not to use a cooling pad, or how to convince you to come back here and rest." Luhan put a hand on his shoulder, "You do know."
Jongdae swallowed the lump in his throat, "Minseok hyung." He choked out.
Luhan nodded, "I was looking after you but it was Minseok hyung watching over you."
Jongdae took a deep breath, "Can you thank him for me?"
Luhan sighed, "Why don't you thank you him yourself?" Jongdae shook his head but Luhan pushed on, "I know what happened and I am 100% sure that Minseok didn't believe it for a second."
"You didn't see his face." Jongdae denied.
"No, I didn't but I don't need to and neither did you. Don't let your eyes deceive you." Luhan begged him, "You felt it last night. It wasn't me looking after you. It was Minseok. Think about it Jongdae. Can someone who knows you so well, believe you could betray one of us?"
Jongdae's fisted the bed covers as the images from that day flooded his mind. His breathing quickened, on the verge of a panic. "I don't know." He gasped.
Luhan frowned at Jongdae's state, "Jongdae?" Jongdae didn't respond. "Jongdae!" Jongdae's hand came up to head in an attempt to stop the memories. "Jongdae!"
Minseok was outside Jongdae's room when he heard Luhan's panicked called. He burst through the door and found Jongdae shaking on his bed, not responding to Luhan's calls. He was close to hyperventilating. "Jongdae." He pulled Luhan off the bed and took his place, hugging his friend to his chest and spoke calmly, contradicting how he was feeling. "Sssshhhh…" He hushed as he combed his fingers through his hair. "Breathe with me." Minseok took a deep breath and waited for Jongdae to do the same.
Jongdae felt the person holding him take a breath. He could feel his heart beat steadily, surely. Jongdae did what he was told.
Minseok smiled when he felt Jongdae breathe in, "Let it out slowly." He followed his own instructions and waited for Jongdae to do the same. They continued until Minseok felt Jongdae relax against him.
Luhan sighed in relief. "He's going to give me a heart attack."
Minseok grinned at the sweat running down Luhan's temple, he must've been really scared. He tried to push Jongdae up to take a better look at him but Jongdae's arms snaked around him, hugging him like he was a lifeline. Minseok was shocked but didn't let go. Luhan smiled, knowing he wasn't needed anymore. He quietly left the room so the best friends could talk privately. "Are you okay?" Minseok asked his brother, gently as he ran his hand up and down Jongdae's arm. Jongdae shook his head against him, turning to bury his face against his chest. Minseok felt Jongdae's breathing hitch. "It's okay to cry, Jongdae. You've never hidden from me."
Jongdae broke down at those words. Luhan was right. Minseok knew him better than his own brother. He would always believe in Jongdae. "Miande, Hyung." Jongdae cried hard, "Miande!"
Minseok hugged his friend, fiercely, letting him cry. His own tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone." Jongdae cried harder against him. "I know you're confused right now. I know you don't know who to trust anymore but I need you to believe that you can always trust me. Remember; no matter what happens, I'm always on your side." Jongdae nodded against him. Minseok sighed at the weight that lifted off his shoulder, "Thank you, Chennie Chennie." He smiled when he felt Jongdae chuckle at his nickname for him. When Minseok felt Jongdae calm down enough, he gently pushed him back.
Jongdae closed his eyes, letting Minseok press his fingers against his brow, "I'm okay, hyung."
"You're too warm for my liking." Minseok countered, "Stay in bed for the day. Luhan and Tao will stay with you, so you shouldn't be bored." He chuckled at Jongdae's pout. Jongdae was doing it again. It was the start of his protest. "You want to get better, don't you?" Minseok asked, gently. "How's your head?" He reached out and grabbed Jongdae wrist before he could reach behind his head, "Don't touch it. There's a big lump there."
"It's not too bad."
"Let Luhan take care of you. He's getting good at it." Minseok reached over and wiped away the last of Jongdae's tear stains, "You're not alone. You never will be. I promise." Jongdae held back his tears as he smiled at his big brother. "Do you trust me?" Jongdae nodded without hesitation but didn't trust himself to talk. "Kyungsoo didn't believe it either." Jongdae didn't know what to say to that. "He defended you to them. He woke up early this morning to make you congee." Minseok smiled hopefully at Jongdae, "Forgive him?"
Jongdae let out a long breath, "Sounds like there's nothing to forgive."
Minseok grinned and got off the bed, "I'll tell him to bring in the congee. I'm going to get ready for the day. I'll see you tonight, okay?"
Jongdae smiled affectionately at his brother, "'kay."
Luhan was sitting with the others in the living room when Minseok came down the stairs to get Kyungsoo. He smiled sadly at their expressions. It was filled with so much guilt and yet held a little hope that Minseok made some progress with Jongdae. Baekhyun wasn't naïve enough to think Jongdae would forgive him but the others were innocent in this. He didn't want his mistake to bring down the bond of friendship they had built. "How is he?" Baekhyun asked for all of them.
Minseok nodded, "He's talking to me." He saw the relief roll off Baekhyun's shoulders. Minseok knew how much guilt he was shouldering and was glad he could relieve a little of it. The others were also relieved but he could tell they were also hoping for Jongdae's forgiveness. "Give him time. He held in all his emotions for a whole day. Yesterday everything exploded on all of us."
"And he was feverish. Yesterday were all emotions." Luhan shuffled Tao's hair, who was sitting next to him still looking like a kicked puppy. "He loves you! I doubt he even remembers what he said to you." Tao hugged his pillow tighter and pouted. Luhan laughed, "Come on! You can't be angry at him."
"Why not?"
"Tao! We're all trying to earn his forgiveness! I would do anything to be in your position right now." Chanyeol shook his head at Tao's immaturity.
Tao glared at him and then relented, "Fine! I'm not angry at him. I'm angry at all of you!" They chuckled at him. That they could handle!
Minseok looked at Kyungsoo and smiled at the innocent man. "Kyungsoo." He called, "I have to get changed. Can you bring up a bowl of congee for Jongdae?"
Kyungsoo sat up, his eyes like a deer in headlights, "What?"
Minseok nudged his head up at the steps, "He's waiting." With that he rushed back up the steps before Kyungsoo could protest anymore.
Junmyeon, who was sitting next to Kyungsoo, gave him a gentle shove. "Go. Hyung wouldn't ask you if he didn't think Jongdae was ready."
"Aigoo! I don't want to make him sick again!" Kyungsoo worried. The situation was still so raw.
"Go on, Kyungsoo." Luhan urged, "Minseok already opened the door for all of you. Make the most of it."
Kyungsoo hesitated, but nodded.
Kyungsoo quietly pushed the door open with his elbow. He was holding a tray with congee and a couple of plates of condiments. Jongdae had his eyes closed so he quietly walked in and gently placed the tray on Jongdae's desk. Jongdae looked so peaceful, he didn't want to wake him. Kyungsoo leaned over and placed a cool hand against Jongdae's brow. He wanted to feel for himself that the fever wasn't rising. He walked back over to the table and picked up the hot congee, stirring a little to cool it.
Jongdae slowly opened his eyes. He had fallen into a light sleep but a cool hand against his forehead woke him. It took him longer than expected to get his eyes to open but when he did he couldn't help but smile at what he saw. Kyungsoo was standing at his desk, blowing at each spoon of congee, cooling it. Kyungsoo was always good at taking care of them. He loved cooking and he was getting better at it. He watched as Kyungsoo tried a little of the congee to make sure it was cool enough. He smiled satisfactorily. Jongdae slowly pushed himself up, groaning at the pounding in his head.
Kyungsoo's head spun at Jongdae's groan. He rushed over when he saw Jongdae struggling to get up, putting the bowl down on Jongdae's bedside table and wordlessly helped Jongdae sit up, adjusting the pillows behind so that he was comfortable. "How's that?" He asked.
Jongdae nodded, "That's good. Thank you." Kyungsoo looked Jongdae straight in the eye. There was no anger in them or pain, aside from the pain caused by his concussion. Jongdae raised his eyebrow when he was the awe in Kyungsoo's eyes, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Kyungsoo was taken aback by the question, "Like what?" He was worried he was asking the same question he did yesterday when he screamed out his pain; Don't look at me like that!
"Like you're amazed." Jongdae answered, a little shyly.
Kyungsoo smiled, "That's because I'm looking at an amazing person who somehow found it in his heart to forgive his friends for doing something horrendous."
Jongdae looked down at his hands sadly, "Not really. Hyung told me you believed me."
"I should've stayed with you. I'm sorry I left you alone." Kyungsoo gave Jongdae's shoulder a squeeze. "You suffered so much because I didn't do what a friend should've done."
Jongdae shook his head. "I wanted to be alone. There wasn't anything you could've done."
"I am going to find out who locked you on the roof and throw them off it!" Kyungsoo growled. Jongdae laughed, making Kyungsoo grin. He picked up the bowl of congee and handed it to Jongdae. "Here, start eating." He went over to the table and picked up the tray, placing it on Jongdae's lap. "There's some pickled radish and kimchi." Jongdae grinned as Kyungsoo used a chopstick to put a little kimchi into his bowl so he didn't have to do it himself.
"Thanks, Kyungsoo." Kyungsoo looked up at him and saw the grin.
"Thank you for being you." Kyungsoo returned. He waited for Jongdae to finish his breakfast before giving him his medicine and helping him lay back down. He felt so light as he made his way back down stairs with the tray of empty bowls.
Jongdae sat in his bed with his laptop on. Everyone was out except for Luhan and Tao. He was relieved Minseok and Kyungsoo were the only ones to come into his room this morning. He was able to face them because after finally looking at the situation calmly, he could see that Minseok and Kyungsoo really did trust him. He tried to think back to the day and to see if he could see the same in the others but no matter how hard he tried, all he saw was anger and betrayal.
Jongdae closed his eyes as his headache got worse from all the images plaguing his mind. He tried his hardest to shut his brain down but it was like the images were on repeat. He put in his earphones and played their new song, hoping to drown out his thoughts.
At the studio, Baekhyun left the practice room to talk to his manager when he overheard another group's manager whispering about the herd of reporters in the lobby. They were there because of him and Taeyeon. Baekhyun slowed down to listen further.
"Sounds like they think Chen let the cat out of the bag. They want to get the real story."
Baekhyun clenched his fist. How did all of this get out? He knew how everyone found out about him and Taeyeon but who told them about what happened that day!? He stormed back to the practice room, glaring at everyone. He was about to ask who did it when he realised what he was about to do. They were in this mess because of he didn't stop to think. He couldn't do it again.
Junmyeon saw the anger in Baekhyun's eyes before he reigned it in. "Baekhyun, what's wrong?"
Baekhyun looked at them all looking at him with concern. He scrubbed at his hair, frustrated at himself. Why was he always so quick to condemn his friends? They only ever take care of each other. Yixing got off the floor and walked up to him. "What's going on?"
Baekhyun shook his head, "There are reporters downstairs. They want to know about me and Taeyeon and they think Jongdae's the one who told everyone."
"A-sssi!" Chanyeol cursed, "Where are they getting all their information?!"
"I don't know but I think I should go out there."
"What?!" They shot to their feet. Yixing grabbed his arm and pulled him further into the room. "Don't even think about it! Youngjun hyung wants you to lay low. He wants this to die down on its own."
Baekhyun pulled his arm out of his grip angrily. "If they were only writing about me I wouldn't care but if I don't go out there they're going to write about Jongdae! I've already caused him enough pain, he doesn't need this!"
"Baekhyun." Junmyeon spoke calmly, hoping to project it onto his friend, "Sit down and let's figure this out together." Baekhyun hesitated but knew his friends were right. He needed to think this through.
Jongdae was about to drift off to his music when a beep came over the song. He jolted a little, wondering what the notification was. It was a news site. He had set his notification for this site because it was a good one for celebrity news and it was a part of his job to know about the things happening around him. Jongdae clicked on the icon and was shocked to see a crowd in the foyer and outside the SM building. The reporter was having trouble talking without getting pushed by fans. "This is Chin Miyoung from ETY news. We are currently outside the SM Entertainment building waiting for EXO or their manager to reply to the rumours that there is a crack within the biggest K-Pop idols, EXO. Rumour has it that Baekhyun and Taeyeon are dating and that Chen was the one to leak the news. If this is true then there is definitely going to be a crack that could turn into a devastating earthquake."
Luhan and Tao were listening to the news, angry at what they were hearing. Tao glared at the reporter. "How can she say that? It's not true! Youngjun hyung should sue them!" Luhan sighed, worried about their teammates in the building. Could they even get home tonight? He sat back frustrated when he realised he should be worried about someone else.
"Crap!" Luhan knew Jongdae kept a close eye on celebrity news. He rushed up the stairs and barged into his room. One look at Jongdae told him he was too late. "You shouldn't listen to that." Jongdae pulled out his earphones. "You know it's not true."
"Why is this happening?" Jongdae asked, sadly. "I didn't tell them anything. They know where the source came from. It's not me."
Luhan closed the laptop and moved it aside so he could sit on the bed. "Our managers and the team will handle this. They won't let the press print lies about you."
Jongdae shook his head, "Unless a bigger story comes around I don't see…" His eyes widened when he realised what was going to happen. "I need to get to the studio!" Jongdae told Luhan as he struggled to get off the bed. "I need to clear this up."
Luhan grabbed him by the shoulders, not letting him get up. "You're not getting out of this bed." He ordered.
Tao, who was standing at the door, worried, "Minseok hyung made us promise to keep you in bed."
Jongdae grabbed Luhan by the arms, "We have to go there. All of us." He pleaded with Luhan to listen to him.
"Junmyeon will handle it." Luhan assured him.
Jongdae groaned when he shook his head, denying what Luhan was saying, "This is something we have to do together. If they walk out there…" He closed his eyes at the pounding in his head.
"Youngjun won't let them walk out there. They'll be eaten up by those sharks." Tao was sure of it.
"And you're in no condition to handle the press anyway." Luhan winced at the pain he saw on Jongdae's expression.
"I don't trust him to do the right thing and I know Baekhyun. He's going to go out there and he's going to tell everyone what happened." Jongdae urged them to listen.
Luhan sighed. He knew Jongdae was right. Baekhyun was feeling too guilty to not do something about the rumours surrounding Jongdae. "And the team won't let him do it alone so they'll go out with him."
Jongdae looked at Luhan, hopeful he can get Luhan to drive them there. "If the team goes out without me, the reporters won't believe a word they say. Missing members will only add to the rumour." Luhan scratched his head, torn as to what to do. "Please, hyung!"
Luhan finally nodded against his better judgement. "Let's go." Jongdae was right about one thing; EXO answering questions at this time without Chen would be disastrous. However, he wasn't going to drive them there without taking precautions. He told Tao to help Jongdae to the car while he made a call to a manager he trusted; Hyunkyun. "Hyung! We're on our way with Jongdae. Make sure the security guards are there to greet us!" He hung up straight away, knowing that if he let their manager talk, he would forbid them to come.
The team had sat and talked about the pros and cons of confronting the crowd in the lobby. In the end, they decided together that they had to face the firing squad as one. The decision was simple. They could let Jongdae take the fall for this or head downstairs and try their hardest to convince everyone of the truth; Jongdae didn't betray them.
Hyunkyun was in crisis mode when Luhan called him. It was the shortest call he's ever had and the most terrifying. What was going on? First the team here decides to confront the cameras and now the rest of the team decide to do something equally as stupid. His boss was in a meeting with the big boss to solve the problem so it was left up to him and the rest of the team to deal with this. He and Minwook hyung took the lift down to the lobby with the team. He knew the security team was already there and the event's team were setting up a makeshift press conference in the lobby. If they were going to do this, it will look professional. He ordered the security team to ensure the fans were pushed back off their property and seats were provided for a select group of reporters. Others were forced to watch from outside the building.
Baekhyun could feel the sweat on his palms. He was holding a piece of paper Hyunkyun had given him, telling him the only things he could talk about. Baekhyun wanted to scrunch it up and throw it out but he respected his managers. However, it wasn't going to stop him from going out there and telling the world what he did. He didn't care what it did to him. He only cared that the heat was taken off Jongdae. Junmyeon looked at him and could see what he was thinking. "Telling everyone that you punched Jongdae isn't going to do any good. Stick to the script."
Baekhyun glared at him, "What's the point of me going out there if it doesn't clear Jongdae?" He shook the paper at Hyunkyun and Minwook. "I might as well not go out there!"
"We don't want you to but you boys are stubborn!" Minwook growled at him.
"Baekhyun's right. What's the point of this if we're just going to dodge the questions?" Chanyeol backed his friend.
"Just stick to the script!" Hyunkyun warned them. He looked at his watch. Luhan was going to be here soon with Jongdae. He was hoping Jongdae's appearance would calm the waters. As much as he worried about the young vocalist, he was more worried about what his teammates were going to do when they walked up to the mic.
EXO stood at the microphones. Junmyeon stood with Baekhyun to keep him under control. Minseok, Yixing and Chanyeol stood at another. The two EXO-M members were ordered to keep Chanyeol back. The youngest members stood nervously on the last mic. Hyunkyun pulled off Junmyeon's microphone and spoke first. "I understand all of you have questions but please allow the members to tell you the truth before you start bombarding them with questions." He put the microphone back on and nodded to Junmyeon to talk.
Junmyeon took a deep breath before speaking. "Hello, everyone. I understand there are a lot of rumours floating around regarding Baekhyun and Taeyeon. On this matter, I will let Baekhyun tell you himself the truth of it. As leader, I would like to address the rumours revolving around Chen." His eyes hardened as he looked around at the foyer. "Chen is our brother. He would never do anything to hurt any member or the team. So, I am standing here begging you to have mercy and not publish lies about him."
"If he is really innocent then why isn't he here with you. Where is he and where are Luhan and Tao?" Hyunkyun shook his head. So much for waiting until the end to ask questions.
Baekhyun glared at the reporter and tried to push Junmyeon aside to talk but Minseok rushed over and pulled him back. "Don't." He whispered. He was as angry as Baekhyun but Minseok knew Jongdae wouldn't want Baekhyun to take the heat.
Yixing kept a grip on Chanyeol's arm, "Don't do anything stupid. It's not what Jongdae wants." Chanyeol glared at him but nodded.
"He's not here because he isn't well." Junmyeon answered, ignoring the struggle behind him, "Luhan and Tao are taking care of him."
"That's convenient!" A reporter called out.
Baekhyun shoved Minseok's hand off him and pushed Junmyeon out of the way. Junmyeon sighed. He knew this was going to happen. Baekhyun was letting his guilt guide his actions. "No! What's convenient is one of you know the real source behind Taeyeon and I but has decided that making Chen the scapegoat is a better story! Taeyeon's ex-friend is the one who told you about us! But if you want a better story then write about me. Jongdae…"
"Is right here!"
Luhan had to drive carefully to get through the crowd outside the SM building. Jongdae's headache grew as he worried over his friends. He was listening to the press conference on ETY's live broadcast from his phone. It didn't take long for the reporters to start attacking. He looked out the windscreen. "Come on!"
Luhan finally stopped the van in front of the building and the security guards were immediately outside to keep a path clear for the members to get through. As soon as the door opened, Jongdae was immediately confronted by a myriad of flashes. Pain shot through his head. His arm came up to shield his eyes at the same time he felt arms around him, guiding him to the front door. He knew it was Luhan and Tao. He kept his eyes closed until they finally came to a stop. He knew he was in the building when he heard Baekhyun's voice, "But if you want a better story then write about me! Jongdae…"
Immediately he knew Baekhyun was going to say something that would make himself look like the villain. It wasn't what Jongdae wanted. "is right here!" Jongdae called out, loudly to ensure Baekhyun heard him. Another frenzy of flashes started from the reporters inside. Jongdae groaned, his arm coming up again. Luhan and Tao shielded their friend as they walked him up the middle aisle.
Minseok winced at Jongdae walking up to them. The flashes must be hell on his concussion. He was about to yell for the reporters to stop taking pictures but Baekhyun beat him to it. "Please stop taking pictures. Jongdae has a concussion. Your flashes are irritating it!" The flashes continued.
Minseok grabbed Jongdae and pulled him into his arms, turning him so that his back was facing the reporters. "Don't open your eyes yet." He ordered his friend, protecting him as best he could. The other members, aside from Junmyeon and Baekhyun, surrounded them to protect their injured friend. Even the dumbest reporter could see that the rumours around Jongdae couldn't be true. The team protected him the way a family would.
Junmyeon took the microphone from one of the other stands and raised his voice. "Stop taking pictures or this is over!" The shock of Junmyeon's temper silenced the crowd and the flashes. He let out a sigh of relief. "Jongdae was injured yesterday during practice. He has a concussion and your flashes are making it worse. He's here because he knew his absence would only ignite the rumours. Despite our protests, he insisted on coming but he can't talk if you don't cooperate." He didn't lie. Jongdae was injured yesterday during their practice session, he just didn't elaborate on what was happening at the time.
Minseok pulled back and took Jongdae by the head, looking him straight in the eyes. Jongdae's eyes seemed clear and focused. "Are you okay?" Jongdae nodded. He was scared and worried but he knew what he had to do. "Make it quick. You need to rest."
Jongdae turned and looked each member in the eyes, "I'm okay." Like the Red Sea, they parted for him but as soon as he stepped up to Baekhyun, they immediately surrounded him again.
Baekhyun turned to look at the man beside him. "You should be in bed." The words were broadcasted over the mic.
"And let you take all the limelight?" Jongdae shook his head, "I don't think so." The words drew a few chuckles from the reporters. Jongdae turned to speak directly into the microphone. "Good morning. It's rare for me to cause such a ruckus here at headquarters." He sighed exaggeratingly as if he were disappointed. "I thought I already established that I was the kind member in EXO. How did this rumour start?" Again, he gained some chuckles. Junmyeon smiled at his friend. Jongdae had come long way over the years with handling the press. He watched as Jongdae sobered and turned to Baekhyun, "We're friends." Baekhyun felt his eyes tear up at the simple words. Jongdae turned back to the reporters. "There are so many stories out there about a woman coming between best friends. It didn't happen here and it won't ever happen with any member of EXO. We're a family and family will always come first. So please, when you report this, don't turn it into a cliché." Jongdae frowned when the sea of reporters started blurring.
Baekhyun grabbed Jongdae's arm when he felt Jongdae sway beside him. The other members' hands shot out to steady him as well. "Jongdae." Baekhyun whispered.
Jongdae's hand came up to his head, trying to stop the spinning. He broke out into a cold sweat. "I'm okay." He closed his eyes and turned, resting his forehead on Baekhyun's shoulder. "Give me a second." The flashes started again. This was a photo everyone around the world wanted to see; a member leaning on another for support. Jongdae and Baekhyun didn't know it but this would be a photo which would wash away any doubts about the team.
"Keep your eyes closed." Baekhyun whispered to him.
Junmyeon stepped up to the microphone again. "As you can see, Chen really isn't feeling well so if you don't mind, we'd like him to rest. I'm sorry to cut this short, but Chen's health is our priority."
"What about Baekhyun and Taeyeon?" Someone called out.
Baekhyun sighed, he didn't want to let Jongdae go but he needed to rest and this was his mess to handle. He turned to Minseok and Yixing, who were standing closest to them, "Take him upstairs. I'll handle the rest." Baekhyun tried to hand Jongdae over to them but the vocalist had a tight grip on his sleeves. He frowned, "Jongdae…"
"No!" Jongdae refused to let go. "We're not leaving without you." He insisted breathlessly.
Baekhyun sighed, not understanding why Jongdae cared if the reporters ate him alive or not, "I'm not alone. Don't worry."
"Baekhyun's right, Jongdae." Minseok spoke gently to him, "You need to rest." Jongdae shook his head a little too hard, groaning at the nausea. Minseok worried and tried to pull him off Baekhyun but he wouldn't budge. He was holding on for support as well as through stubbornness. "Jongdae!"
"We are one!" Jongdae replied, loud enough for the front row of reporters to hear.
A woman in the front row stood from her seat. She'd been reporting on EXO since they debuted. They were kind and polite young men who didn't deserve to be treated like this. She was touched by this show of unison. EXO deserved better than what they were getting. They have endured hard times and given the press more respect than they deserved. Chen was sick. They could all see that. She got enough for her story. She walked to the middle of the aisle and bowed to the team. "Thank you for clarifying the rumours. I will report it truthfully."
Junmyeon smiled, grateful to her. To his surprise, it was like a domino effect. Slowly the flashes died down and the reporters started to leave. "Thank you!" Junmyeon bowed, showing them his respect as they left. The other team members followed his example until the lobby emptied out.
"Thank goodness!" Baekhyun rubbed Jongdae's back, "They're gone!"
It was like Jongdae's body had waited for the situation to be over before giving in. Baekhyun felt Jongdae's hands loosen. He was glad at first until Jongdae started falling. "Jongdae!" Jongdae collapsed into Minseok's arms. "Jongdae!"
Jongdae was still conscious but couldn't respond to his friends. He felt himself get pulled to his feet. He tried to take his own weight but his body refused to obey his brain. Minseok and Yixing had Jongdae's arms pulled across their shoulders. They all got in the lift and headed up to the practice studio where they would wait for the paramedics. Jongin and Sehun ran ahead to open the doors and get the couch ready. Baekhyun took off his jacket and laid it over his friend after they laid him down. "Jongdae."
Luhan grabbed one of the towels sitting on a chair and started dabbing at Jongdae's brow. "I told you this was a bad idea." He felt his forehead, "A-ssii! He's burning up again!"
Baekhyun turned to their leader, "We needs the hospital."
Junmyeon shook his head, frustrated at their bad luck. "There was a bad accident on the freeway involving two buses and ten cars. Hospitals are full. They won't be able to check on him even if we drive him their ourselves."
"Are you serious?" Baekhyun stood, rubbing his face. "This is not happening. He needs help." He gestured at Jongdae with his hand.
"Hyunkyun is calling our doctor. Hopefully he can get here soon. Traffic is bad at the moment." Junmyeon sighed at Jongdae's pale face. "Try to keep him cool."
"I'll get ice water." Yixing needed to do something
"Is he going to be okay?" Sehun asked softly. He'd never seen his brother so pale.
Jongdae groaned as he forced himself to open his eyes but the light in the room made him shut it again. "Jongdae." It was Minseok. "Turn off the side lights." Jongdae felt the room darken and so attempted to open his eyes again. "Is that better?"
Jongdae squinted at his best friend, "I feel sick."
At first, Minseok thought he was talking about feeling unwell until he saw how green Jongdae was looking. "Oh crap. Sit him up!" Sehun pushed Jongdae up from behind while Jongin helped him from the front.
Luhan saw what Minseok saw at the same time. He looked around and emptied out the nearest gym bag. "Here!"
Minseok grabbed it and held under Jongdae's head just in time. Jongdae promptly threw up in the bag. Junmyeon winced as Jongdae threw up in his bag. "That's okay. I can get a new one."
Luhan frowned, confused until he realised what his leader was talking about. "Ahh…sorry man." He gave Junmyeon a slap on the back. "It was the closest."
Junmyeon waved away the apology, "Better than him throwing up on the floor." He winced at how sick Jongdae sounded, "There goes all his breakfast."
Minseok waited patiently, ensuring Jongdae was done before putting aside the bag. He smiled his thanks to Jongin when he was handed him a handful of tissues and water. "Here." Jongdae wiped his mouth and took a few sips of water. "Are you feeling better?" Jongdae shook his head miserably. "Well, maybe next time you'll think twice about rushing out of the house with a concussion." He sat on the couch, next to his friend, knowing Jongdae was feeling sulky. He smiled when Jongdae tucked himself against his side. Jongdae was too exhausted to care that the entire team was watching him.
"My head hurts, hyung."
Junmyeon sighed at the pain in the soft voice, "Doctor's on his way." He kneeled in front of the vocalist and gave his knee a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for coming. I wasn't sure how to handle the press." Jongdae opened his tired eyes and saw how exhausted his leader was. "I'm sorry I let you down. I wasn't being the leader you needed."
Jongdae wanted to reply. He wanted to tell him that he was the best leader EXO could ever have but he couldn't get past the image of his leader that day. Junmyeon had his doubts about him as well. "Aaah…" The heel of his hand pressed against his temple as his headache went up a notch.
"We really need Dr Li." Junmyeon reached up to feel his forehead. "Fever's getting worse. Lie him back down."
Minseok nodded and gently got out from under Jongdae. Jongdae whimpered at losing his pillow. "You really are the biggest baby when you're sick." He lowered Jongdae, resting his head on the arm of the couch.
Yixing returned with the bowl of ice water. "Here." He held it out to Minseok, pausing when he saw that Jongdae looked worse than when he left. "What happened?" He knelt at the head of the couch, unconsciously taking the towel off Minseok and wiping at Jongdae's brow and neck. Minseok remembered how Yixing stayed by Jongdae's side when he came down with a bad case of food poisoning in China. He always took care of Jongdae while Luhan watched Minseok. Jongdae sighed at the cool cloth against his skin. It felt good. "How far away is the doctor?" He heard Yixing ask someone.
"I'm okay." Jongdae groaned, "Just stop talking."
"Doctor is still a few hours out. He was called in to help with the accident." Junmyeon answered, "He told us to keep him cool and don't let him get up."
"I'll get him a pillow and blanket. If he's going to stay here that long, he needs to be comfortable." Baekhyun was about to leave when his phone rang. He looked at it. It was Taeyeon. Baekhyun looked over at Jongdae and saw Jongdae looking at him. His phone must have woken him. "Sorry." Baekhyun hung up the phone and left to get the blanket and pillow.
Baekhyun stopped outside the room, leaning back against the wall in the hallway. His hand came up to his shoulder where Jongdae had rested his head against at the press conference. He never thought Jongdae would lean on him again but he did and it felt good. However, seeing the way he looked at Junmyeon told him that he was not ready to forgive them yet. Tears started running down his face at the thought of Jongdae never forgiving him.
Chanyeol was worried about his best friend and Jongdae was in good hands. He left to find his friend, surprised that he didn't get far at all. "Baekhyun." He sighed as his friend started sobbing. "Oh Baekhyun." He pulled Baekhyun into his arms. "It's going to be okay. Somehow, it's going to all work out."
"How?" Baekhyun asked once he got his emotions under control. "You saw him yesterday. It was like he had lost his mind."
Chanyeol nodded. He remembered. "I also saw him today. He had your back. I don't know how but Jongdae is finding a way to work with us. The least we can do is make it easier for him."
"The best way to do that is for me to stay away from him." Baekhyun wiped away his tears and took a deep breath, "I need to get the blanket." He didn't want to talk anymore.
Chanyeol let him turn away before calling to his back, "Jongdae needs his friends. You can't run away. You saw what he did today. Even after everything we did, in the condition he's in, he still came to stand with us! Jongdae's not giving up, neither should you!"
Baekhyun stopped. He knew Chanyeol was right. Jongdae's presence today meant he still had a chance to earn Jongdae's forgiveness but he didn't think he deserved it. He turned to tell Chanyeol exactly that but his best friend already went back into the room.
Four hours later…
Jongdae slept restlessly in the practice room. He drifted in and out of consciousness. Each time he came to, one of his friends were tending to him. They helped him to drink some water and kept him cool with ice water. When he was asleep, he was dreaming. A few were bad ones of that day. The slap. The punch. The stares. The accusation. But the bad dreams were cushioned between good memories. The day they met. He remembered how excited and nervous he was. The others were so cool and he was just Kim Jongdae. He remembered the shock of finding Baekhyun in the shower with him. The guy had zero concept of personal space. He remembered their arguments and then Junmyeon decided that the best way of deciding anything was with scissor, paper, rock. It was like he was watching a movie of his life since they met. He remembered how much he missed his Korean friends when he was in China. He remembered the security he felt when Yixing and Luhan were around. Eventually, the bad dreams were drowned out by the good memories. He had a lot of good memories. The next time he woke up, Baekhyun was taking care of him. He didn't say anything as he helped him sit up to take some water. Looking around, he saw that the others were asleep around the room.
Baekhyun laid his friend back down once he was satisfied with the amount of water he had. He didn't know Jongdae was much more awake this time. "Do you remember the day we all met?" Baekhyun froze at the voice. Jongdae frowned when Baekhyun didn't answer. "Don't you remember?"
Baekhyun shook himself of his shock and nodded, "Of course, I remember. We were the newest to SM. You barely said anything to anyone."
"I get shy around people I don't know."
Baekhyun chuckled, "And then you get really loud once you get to know them."
Jongdae smiled, "Did I ever tell you how glad I was to walk in there with you?" Baekhyun shook his head, surprised, "I was really nervous but you weren't. I stuck with you because it was so much easier to talk with you around." He closed his eyes as he felt the heat around them return.
Baekhyun watched Jongdae's eyes glaze over. He soaked the towel in the ice water and folded it over Jongdae's brow. "Go back to sleep."
Jongdae shook his head, "I don't want to be angry anymore." He sighed, "Help me not be angry at you."
Baekhyun wiped at his eyes, trying to hold the tears back, "How? I don't know how to not be angry at myself. You're my brother. I punched you! I can't ask for your forgiveness because I don't even know how to forgive myself."
Jongdae was suddenly more aware at Baekhyun's words. His friend sounded like he wanted to do something stupid. "Promise me you'll stay and try."
"What?" Baekhyun asked, confused.
"Don't give up on me." Jongdae's little burst of energy faded, leaving him weak. "Promise me." His eyes drifted closed.
Baekhyun laid a hand against Jongdae's warm cheek, sobbing at Jongdae's words. He buried his head in Jongdae's shoulder, crying so loud and hard, it woke the others. "Baekhyun?" Chanyeol knelt next to his best friend. "What's wrong?" He asked as he gently pulled him off Jongdae. Baekhyun turned and hugged Chanyeol so tight, it hurt. "It's okay." Chanyeol rubbed his back. "It's going to be okay."
Luhan moved to Jongdae to check if anything was wrong. "His fever's still there but he seems to be sleeping comfortably."
Baekhyun sniffed, finally getting his emotions under control. "He was talking to me about the day we met. He seemed better."
"Then why were you crying so hard?" Luhan didn't understand. He thought it was because Jongdae was getting worse.
"Because he wants to forgive me, but he doesn't know how to. He asked me not to give up on him." Baekhyun didn't understand, "Shouldn't I be asking him that? I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn his forgiveness if I had to. I would never give up, but he has every right to forget he ever met me."
"That's what he's asking for, Baekhyun; for you to never give up." Junmyeon smiled at the man on the couch. "He's remembering the good times. I think all he needs is time and for us to remind him that we're worth the risk of trusting us again."
"I'm not giving up." Sehun promised.
"Neither am I." Jongin seconded.
"None of us will." Yixing was determined.
"Good because Jongdae is as stubborn as he is kind. One works against us but I'm willing to bet his kindness will override the other." Junmyeon smiled at them. "He's our Chennie."
Jongdae was woken up rudely by a needle to his arm. He squinted at the needle coming out of his arm and then followed the hand holding the needle up to the horrible person's face. He gave a low growl and glare, igniting snickers to ripple around the room. He pouted. He didn't like being laughed at when he was sick. "What was that for?" Jongdae growled at the doctor. He also didn't have manners when he was sick.
Doctor Li shook his head, "I'm disappointed in you, Jongdae. You're usually much better at taking care of your health. It's a good thing, your friends are very good at taking care of you. Your fever is 39 degrees. The needle will bring down your temperature."
Jongdae rubbed his arm where the needle entered. His mind was too addled with the fever to find an argument. He knew he would have one if he wasn't sick. "Why are you picking on me?"
Minseok shook his head at his 'ten-year-old' friend. "Will he be okay now?" The doctor wasn't happy with Jongdae's condition when he first saw him.
"Once the fever passes, he'll be fine." Dr Li turned to the team. "If his dizziness doesn't go away by tomorrow night, I want you to take him straight to the hospital." The team told him about the dizziness Jongdae was showing since he woke up. It wasn't unusual but shouldn't last more than two days. "Wait another hour for the injection to take affect and then get him home and in bed." He pointed at Jongdae, "Stay in bed. No more outings."
Jongdae's brow furrowed and Minseok could tell by his face that he was ready to throw a tantrum. "I'll watch him, Dr Li. Thank you." He bowed as the doctor packed his things and left. The door to the room slowly closed. Once it did, he silently counted to three, each finger popping up, then closed his eyes, wincing.
"Stay in bed! That's all he ever says!" Jongdae whined. He tugged the blanket over his head and turned onto his side, his back to his friends.
Minseok grinned at the others who were silently laughing. It wasn't often they got to see this side of Jongdae. He sat down on the couch and gently shook Jongdae's shoulder. "I'll stay home with you." He knew what reaction he would get from Jongdae which was why he always said the same thing every time Jongdae complained about staying in bed.
Jongdae pulled off the cover and turned onto his back, pouting. "It's okay. You can't stop everything to stay with me."
Yixing smiled. He wondered if Jongdae remembered the same conversation happening every time he was sick. Minseok told him they had the same conversation but Jongdae never seemed to remember it. "The managers let us stop practice for you today. I don't see why they wouldn't let Minseok hyung stay with you tomorrow." Yixing knew their managers would give them a lot of leeway because Youngjun was feeling guilty.
Jongdae shook his head, "It's okay." He wanted to tell them he would probably be sleeping all day so staying with him would be boring. However, his eyes grew heavy. Jongdae hated feeling drowsy. He frowned as he tried to fight the sleep. "What time is it?" He mumbled with his eyes barely opened.
"About 8pm."
Jongdae gasped and shot up. He immediately shut his eyes at the pain that shot through his head, "Aaahhhh…" He groaned, his hand moving to the back of his head where the pounding was.
Minseok grabbed his wrist and gently pulled his hand down before he could touch the lump there. "Don't do that. It'll make it worse." Minseok smiled as Jongdae rested his forehead against his shoulder. He does it a lot when he's sick and miserable. "That'll teach you to move so fast." He said in a gentle tone which belied the words.
Jongdae barely remembered the day but the time where he was conscious enough to take some water, he remembered the members sitting around him, either resting or watching him. He didn't remember seeing them practice. "I've been here all day." He let out a long, tired breath, "You've wasted a lot of time on me."
The room went silent. By the tone of Jongdae's voice, it sounded like he didn't deserve their care or he didn't understand why they did it. Baekhyun sighed. He wondered how long it would take for them to convince Jongdae that they cared about him unconditionally. He wished he could prove it. "We didn't waste even a second. Taking care of each other is what we do. We always have."
Jongdae's head came up. He looked Minseok in the eye, begging him. "Can you take me home?" He spoke as if he didn't hear Baekhyun. It was clear to Baekhyun that Jongdae didn't remember their conversation or if he did, he was pretending it never happened. "I don't want to take up everyone's time anymore."
Junmyeon could see everyone deflate at the words. They were all hoping everything would start settling after the press conference this morning but Jongdae still wasn't acknowledging them. Situations where they were in disagreement, he would usually get them all to sit in a circle and talk until everything was resolved and they were all laughing again but it was different this time. One, this wasn't just a disagreement and two, Jongdae's fever was still too high. "We'll take you home soon. You heard the doctor. He doesn't want us to move you until the medicine kicks in."
"Ne, go back to sleep and we'll wake you when it's time to go." Yixing told him.
Jongdae groaned in frustration, "Why does the doctor have such annoying instructions!?"
Minseok smiled at him, sympathetically, "Be a good a boy and go to sleep."
"Fine." Jongdae let out a long breath. "You don't have to wait for me."
Minseok was about to lie him down when someone pushed in front of him. It was Baekhyun. He grabbed Jongdae by the head, ensuring Jongdae looked him in the eye when he spoke. Jongdae asked him not to give up on him so he wasn't going to. "We do have to wait for you because We Are One! I know to the public, it's just what we say but we've always lived by it!" Baekhyun felt Jongdae pull away but he didn't let him. "I know I let you down. I'm going to prove that 'We are one' still means as much to me as it does to you. Our friendship…this family…was never a lie."
Jongdae wanted to stay angry. He didn't think he would ever believe a word that came out of Baekhyun's mouth again but he could see the truth of it in Baekhyun's eyes, he could hear it in his voice. Baekhyun watched as Jongdae's eyes softened before they glazed over. "I'm tired." He complained. Baekhyun sighed and let him go, thinking Jongdae would lie back but instead he leaned forward and rested his head on Baekhyun's shoulder. "My head hurts." He mumbled as he drifted off against Baekhyun.
"Oh…" Baekhyun froze, shocked, "What…" He frowned, confused at what was happening.
Junmyeon grinned. Baekhyun did it. He knew, somehow, Jongdae found a reason to forgive Baekhyun in his words. He let out a short laugh in relief, wiping at a tear. He didn't even know he was crying. Out of all their hardships, this was the toughest one yet but he knew they could get through it now. If Jongdae could forgive Baekhyun, then he would forgive them all. "Lie him down, Baekhyun. He can't be comfortable like that."
Luhan stepped up behind his leader and have his shoulders a squeeze. They watched as Yixing and Baekhyun laid Jongdae on the couch. "We're going to be okay."
Junmyeon felt the weight around them lift. He looked around and could see that the others felt it as well. They were all watching the scene in front of them, warmed by their friends taking care of Jongdae. Yixing checked his forehead for a temperate. "It's going down. I think we can take him home in half an hour."
Chanyeol smiled at how comfortable Jongdae looked. It was as if a weight was lifted off him as well. "I don't think I have the heart to wake him." He frowned at the hard floor. It wasn't comfortable and they've been sleeping on it all day.
Sehun watched Chanyeol curiously. Something was going through the man's head. He walked up to his tall friend and stood next to him, looking at the spot on the floor Chanyeol was staring at. "Is there something wrong with the floor?" He whispered in his ear, making Chanyeol jump three feet away and fall to the floor.
"SSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!" Everyone in the room was glaring at them.
Sehun was laughing silently, "Reaction king indeed."
Chanyeol glared at him and got up, rubbing his sore bottom. He wanted to smack the maknae over the head but instead turned to the others, "Do we have inflatable mattresses around here?"
Jongin thought about that, "I think we still have them from camping shoots. Wae?"
"I don't want to wake him." Chanyeol gestured to Jongdae. "We can all sleep here if we have the gear."
Junmyeon looked around and could see that they all thought it was a good idea. "Jongin, Tao, Sehun and Chanyeol, why don't you go find the stuff." He turned to Luhan and Kyungsoo, "Let's go get dinner. Jjangjangmyeon and dumplings sound good?" The others nodded. Looked like they would be staying the night. They took off to complete their tasks. Before Tao left the room, he pulled out Jongdae's meds from his pocket and handed them to Yixing. Yixing ruffled the taller boy's hair. Tao was a big kid most of the time but he was very thoughtful as well.
Minseok smiled proudly at his brother, brushing away Jongdae's fringe. "You have the biggest heart."
Yixing squatted at Jongdae's head and sighed, "I hate that we broke it."
Minseok squeezed his shoulder, "Don't think about that. It's over. Do you remember the first time Jongdae got sick in China?"
Yixing let out a chuff, "Are you kidding me? We all knew but he wouldn't admit it until he was throwing up on the studio floor."
"Yeah, but it was after your talk to him that he started taking really good care of himself. Do you remember what you said?" Minseok asked, even though he was there to hear it.
Yixing nodded, "I told him that he needed to look after himself because EXO was counting on him; looking after himself meant he was also taking care of EXO."
"After that, not only did he learn to take care of himself, he learnt to take care of all of us." Minseok smiled proudly at Yixing. "I may be his best friend but he listened to you even more than he listened to Kris and Luhan. He admires you."
"Which makes what I did even worse. He must be disappointed in me." Yixing tucked the blanket around Jongdae's shoulders, then gently brushed the back of his fingers against his flushed cheeks. "How can I think you could do that?"
Jongdae felt the cool fingers against his cheek. He heard the sad voice. It was Yixing. Jongdae recognised all his brothers' voices, even when he was barely conscious. Yixing was sad. Jongdae opened his eyes, blinking owlishly at Yixing. Yixing smiled sadly at him. "Xing Xing Ge."
Minseok and Yixing chuckled at the nickname. It was Kris's fault that Jongdae called him that. If he didn't call Jongdae, Chen Chen, Jongdae wouldn't have thought of calling him Xing Xing. "Why are you awake?"
"You're sad." Jongdae told him. Yixing pulled his hand away but Jongdae grabbed it and held it against his cheek, "That feels good." Yixing grinned at the content look on Jongdae's face. Jongdae smiled at him, "That's better. I don't like it when you're sad." His eyes drifted closed again.
Yixing shook his head at him, "Did he actually wake just to make me feel better?"
Minseok grinned proudly, "Like I said, he learned to take care of all of us from you."
Yixing smiled, "No, it's because he has a kind heart." He caressed his cheek with his thumb before taking his hand back. "Get better soon."
The group sat in a circle around the dumplings with their bowl of noodles. On the table in the corner were containers with boiled rice and tofu and bean paste soup. It was for Jongdae when he woke up. He hadn't had anything to eat since this morning and that was thrown up after the media circus. They chatted quietly to each other, careful not to wake Jongdae. Their inflatable mattresses and sleeping bags were set up around the room.
Kyungsoo and Minseok cleaned up after their dinner, throwing the rubbish in the large bin in the floor's coffee room. When they got back Jongdae was sitting up on the couch looking extremely grumpy. "Oh no…I know that look." Minseok winced.
"Me too." Kyungsoo hesitantly stepped up to the couch, then looked over at the corner where Baekhyun and Chanyeol were preparing the tray of dinner for him. He laughed, knowing Jongdae wasn't impressed with the time they were taking even though there was no way it was taking long. It was only take out after all. "They're moving as fast as they can." He said tentatively.
"Not fast enough." Jongdae grumbled.
"We'd do this faster if you weren't glaring. It's making us nervous." Chanyeol called back.
Baekhyun picked up the tray and walked it over to him. "If I drop this, it's your fault." He called out to Jongdae. He sounded annoyed but he was grinning. Minseok knew why. It felt like everything was back to normal. They all watched with smiles on their faces as Baekhyun placed the tray on the small box in front of him. Jongin found it and decided it made a good table.
Baekhyun watched in concern as Jongdae reached out a shaky hand to pick up the spoon. He casually picked up the spoon and bowl, carefully spooning the soup into the rice before handing it all to Jongdae. Jongdae smiled shyly and took the bowl. He tucked his arms tight against himself to stop his shaking but even then, they could still see it. They turned away, making themselves busy so not make Jongdae feel self-conscious. It took a painstakingly long time but Jongdae was able to finish the bowl on his own and looked considerably better for it. Minseok took the tray away while Yixing sat down next to Jongdae. "Feeling better?" Jongdae smiled, politely and nodded. Yixing felt a pang in his heart. There was still a little way to go before Jongdae would start feeling comfortable with them again.
Jongdae looked around the room, frowning. He had only just noticed that the practice studio was turned into a campsite. "What's going on?"
Yixing looked around the room and smiled at how comfortable everyone looked on their mattress. "We're staying here tonight. Isn't it obvious?" He got up to get something for the corner table.
"Why aren't we going home?" Jongdae asked them all.
Luhan grinned at his use of the word 'home', "Nobody wanted you to have to travel back home and you looked so comfortable on the couch."
Jongdae was still confused, "You can still go home. Your bed is more comfortable than those." He said of the mattresses.
"But this is more fun." Tao grinned.
"Yeah, and we're not leaving you here." Minseok told him as he sat down beside him. He promised himself he would never leave Jongdae here alone again.
Jongdae looked down at his hand, suddenly very shy. "You don't have to do this. I can go home."
That was the third time Jongdae used the word home. Jongdae was slowly healing. "You can because it's your home." Junmyeon smiled affectionately when Jongdae ducked his head shyly after finally realising he was accepting the apartment as his home again, "But you're tired and the walk and car ride can't be good for your concussion. Sleeping here is the best for you so it's the best for us."
Yixing gave him a glass and a couple of antibiotics. "Here, you haven't taken tonight's ones yet."
Jongdae's eyes widened at his meds, "How did these get here?" He popped them in this mouth and washed them down with Yixing's help.
"Tao had the foresight to grabbed them before leaving the house this morning." Yixing told him.
Jongdae looked around for the second youngest, "Thanks, Tao."
Tao smiled and waved away the thanks, "As long as you know you love me best!" He said, earning him a pillow in the face from Chanyeol.
"Hey!"
"Jongdae loves us all the same!" Chanyeol argued. He was about to ask Jongdae to confirm what he said when he saw the look on Jongdae's face. For a second, Chanyeol thought everything was normal again. They've been getting these fleeting feelings all night.
Minseok saw the down look on Chanyeol's face when Jongdae wouldn't look at him. Minseok also saw a look of guilt on Jongdae's expression, like he felt bad that he couldn't confirm what Chanyeol said. He knew it wasn't because Jongdae didn't love them, just that his emotions were all over the place. Minseok wrapped his arms around his brother's shoulders, "Everyone knows he loves me best." Jongdae turned to him, smiling gratefully. He tucked himself against his big brother, feeling the warmth and security from him. Minseok turned to Chanyeol and saw the sad yet grateful smile as well. He looked down at his friend, "Are you getting tired again?" Jongdae nodded miserably against his shoulder, "Lie down." Minseok moved over to the end of the couch and patted his lap. Jongdae sighed as he laid his head on Minseok's lap and relaxed. It only took seconds for him to fall asleep.
"Are you going to stay like that all night?" Junmyeon asked him, worried that Minseok wouldn't be getting any sleep. None of them slept well the past couple of nights.
Minseok shook his head, smiling at the leader's concern, "I'll wait until he's in a deep sleep and then I'll slide out."
Baekhyun scoffed at him, propping his head up on his hand. He was lying on his mattress. "Some best friend you are. I would've stayed the whole night."
"You're just stupid." Minseok blurted out, shocking even himself.
Baekhyun's eyes widened. He pointed at Minseok, threateningly. "When he wakes up, I'm going to tell him you think staying up all night for him is stupid."
Yixing laughed, "He'd probably agree."
Minseok tried to contain his laughter, "I know, right?"
"You're all just heartless. How can you risk waking him up? Look at him." Baekhyun smiled himself as he did. Jongdae always looked so peaceful when he slept. Baekhyun sat up on his mattress as he thought about what brought them to this point. "I'm thinking of breaking it off with Taeyeon."
Everyone in the circle sat up, surprised at the announcement. Luhan frowned, "You've barely started with her. Don't you want to see how everything goes?"
Baekhyun shrugged, "I don't know but I do know that our relationship has hurt this group enough." His eyes fell on Jongdae who was oblivious to the conversation around him. "He's been hurt enough. If we keep going, the fans, the press…everyone is going to watch us like a hawk and some idiot gossip blog or magazine is going to try to bring back Jongdae's part in all this." He shook his head, "I like Taeyeon but it's not worth the risk of pulling Jongdae into it all."
Luhan sighed, "If you want to break it off with her because you don't think you're compatible or it won't work out then fine, go ahead. That's your choice, but Jongdae wouldn't let you break up with her for him. If he is the main reason why you want to break it off then don't."
Baekhyun looked like he was getting pulled in different directions, "But it could hurt…"
"Luhan's right, Baekhyun," Yixing told him, "You'll hurt him even more if he finds out you broke up because of him."
Baekhyun groaned, "But this all feels so wrong now. I can't even talk to her."
"It has only been a few days since this all blew up. Give it some time to die down and then call her." Junmyeon advised, "Youngjun manager told you to lay low for a while anyway."
Baekhyun clenched his jaw, "And who the hell cares what he says?" Every time he thought about the slap he gave Jongdae, he wanted to punch something. A murmur of agreement rippled through the room.
Junmyeon sighed, "I know he reacted badly but he always has this group's best interest at heart."
Chanyeol shook his head, "No, he has this company's best interest at heart and the annoying thing about it all is Jongdae will let it go and he gets away with slapping him."
"Come on, we all reacted badly that day. We can't blame him for reacting the same way."
"I can!" Kyungsoo growled. "Don't expect me to talk to him any time soon."
"Me neither." Minseok seconded.
Junmyeon felt the same way as any of them but he was the leader and a part of that job was to keep this group going and the managers were a part of it. "Anyway, Baekhyun, Luhan's right. If you want to break up with Taeyeon, make sure it's for the right reasons."
Baekhyun dropped back onto his mattress, "What are the right reasons?"
"Don't think about it. Once Jongdae recovers, this will sort itself out. I promise." Junmyeon smiled at him reassuringly. Baekhyun pulled his blanket over his head and groaned. "Alright, let's try to get some sleep." He looked over at Minseok, "Can you get out?"
Minseok nodded and gently lifted Jongdae's head, sliding a pillow to replace his lap. Jongdae snuggled into the pillow, barely stirring. Minseok tucked the quilt around his shoulders before lying down on his own mattress. "Good night, everyone."
It was close to dawn when Jongdae woke up. He was feeling cooler and much more comfortable than he'd been yesterday. He smiled to himself, finally feeling like he was getting closer to getting back to his normal self. That is until he pushed himself up. His head reminded him he wasn't ready to dance and sing just yet. Deciding against sitting up, he turned onto his side, hoping to go back to sleep. He didn't know he would turn to find the most touching scene. The whole group was asleep around the room. He vaguely remembered a conversation about wanting to go home but it was all a blur. He couldn't help the tug at the corner of his mouth. The pounding in his head slowed as his eyes moved from one member to the other. Luhan was on the left. They weren't the closest of friends but Luhan was a good brother who took care of all of them. Ever since Kris left, he stepped up and watched over EXO-M members. Jongdae wasn't sure he could've got through this without him. He stayed with him and fought for Minseok until Jongdae saw the truth. Sehun was young. He was easily influenced but he was the most loyal of them all. Jongdae knew he must be hating himself for not trusting his brother. Jongin was one of the most emotional of all of them. Baekhyun's anger that day would've hit him hard. He felt it and responded as if it had happened to him. Chanyeol was Baekhyun's best friend. He would always have Baekhyun's back. Jongdae smiled when his eyes fell on Tao. He felt bad for what he said to Tao, who was their most sensitive. He would have to treat the boy to his favourite meal once he recovers. Junmyeon, their leader and good friend. He took care of them and guided them in the right direction. He encouraged everyone to talk but he wasn't perfect and it wasn't fair for Jongdae to expect that of him. Jongdae smiled at his big brother, Yixing. Yixing was one of the most talented and kindest member. He was the one who looked after him in China. Jongdae respected Yixing which was why he always listened to him and looked to him for advice. It was hard not to ask Yixing for his wisdom in the past couple of days. He knew Yixing would know what to do but how couldn't he ask for advice from someone who was a part of the problem. Jongdae needed his brother back. He sighed contently at Minseok. His best friend and brother. Jongdae didn't know what he would do without Minseok. With Minseok, he could be himself, he could whine, yell, complain, be a baby and Minseok would accept it. Jongdae knew Minseok was the one person he could always count.
Sigh…
Baekhyun…
Baekhyun was someone he admired. He was such a natural in any situation. On the day they debuted, Junmyeon was their leader and spoke the most but Baekhyun was able to answer questions as well. Jongdae remembered how sweaty his hands were and how dry his mouth was. He prayed all night that the host wouldn't direct any questions towards him. He didn't say a word but he watched Baekhyun speak so naturally in front of the camera and wished he could do the same. Jongdae wasn't sure he could forgive Baekhyun until last night. He didn't remember much of anything but he remembered one word from Baekhyun. Family. EXO wasn't just an idol group. They were a family and family could forgive each other for no other reason than because they were a family. Jongdae wasn't going to let this family fall apart and he knew Baekhyun wouldn't either.
Baekhyun stretched as he woke. He turned to Jongdae and was surprised to find Jongdae looking at him. At first, he thought to make an excuse to leave the room until he realised Jongdae wasn't angry. Baekhyun slowly got out of his sleeping bag and crawled over to his brother. "Hey." He whispered, hesitantly reaching out to check Jongdae's temperature. When Jongdae didn't pull back, he brushed back his hair and pressed his hand against his forehead. He smiled in relief at the cool touch, "Your fever finally broke. How do you feel?"
Jongdae smiled, "Better."
"How's the headache?"
"It's okay. It's still there but it's not that bad." Jongdae told him honestly. "Can you help me up?" He asked hesitantly.
"Sure." Baekhyun moved him slowly. He knew moving too fast would aggravate Jongdae's headache. "How's that?" Jongdae closed his eyes and leaned back, nodding. Baekhyun sat down next to his friend. "Do you need anything? Water? Breakfast?"
Jongdae let out a long breath and leaned over until his head rested against Baekhyun's shoulder. "I forgive you."
Baekhyun froze at the words. He didn't dare to believe it. "Please say that again." His voice trembled.
"I forgive you." Jongdae said again, louder.
Baekhyun turned and wrapped his arms around his brother. Tears dropped as he let those words sink in. He felt Jongdae's arms tighten around him. "I don't know how you can forgive me. I don't know where in your heart did you find a place to accept me again but I promise you, you won't regret it."
"I know I won't because you're my brother."
"Thank you!" Baekhyun cried. He heart was so full at that moment he couldn't think of any other words to say but, "Thank you!"
The others woke to their voices and found them on the couch in each other's arms. They knew then that everything would be alright. They got out of bed and surrounded the two in a big group hug.
Jongdae slept on and off on the couch while the team practiced. Their teacher could see the difference in their dancing. They were full of energy. This was the group he was used to working with. It was unsettling for many in the company who worked closely with EXO to see the members the way they were. EXO were a great group who always worked well with everyone in the company. Nobody wanted to see a rift in the team. This teacher, in particular, was glad everything was resolved. He couldn't work with a group whose head wasn't in the practice. However, he could also tell, they weren't completely in it because their attention was always drawn towards the member on the couch. He was against Jongdae being here, particularly because he didn't think it was good for his recovery. Then he realised if he made Jongdae go home, the group's mind wouldn't be here at all. He wanted to strangle them every time Jongdae woke up or groaned because one of them would stop practice and tend to him but as soon as he saw how caring and gentle they were with Jongdae, he calmed down. He couldn't get angry at them for taking care of their own. He called for an early night and sent them all home with the explicit instructions that Jongdae stays home until he recovers.
One week later…
Jongdae walked into the practice studio after his appointment with Dr Li. The doctor cleared him for a modified practice session with his brothers. It meant he could practice with them but only half an hour at a time and he couldn't put too much effort into it. That was hard, because no EXO member did anything at half-mast. He paused a step when he saw that Youngjun manager was in the room as well.
Minseok walked up to him and swung his arm over his shoulders, "What did the doctor say?" He led Jongdae towards the group but Jongdae stopped.
"Doctor said I can practice but only for half an hour at a time and I must go home by five." Jongdae told them. "You guys finish talking. I want to talk to our teacher." He moved towards the door when Junmyeon called out.
"Jongdae, Youngjun hyung was updating us about the Taeyeon situation." Junmyeon told him, "You should listen." Jongdae knew Junmyeon was trying to help him get back on track with their manager but he wasn't ready. "Baekhyun and Taeyeon are cleared to date publicly."
Jongdae smiled at Baekhyun, genuinely happy for the two. "That's good. About time. Baekhyun, you really need to take her out for an expensive dinner." He frowned at the sad smile Baekhyun gave him. Something was wrong. He'll have to speak to him later. He turned back to Junmyeon, "You can tell me all about it later, right? I really want to talk to our teacher about my practice schedule in the next week." He turned to Minseok who looked worried. Jongdae smiled at him. "I'm okay." He whispered. Jongdae turned to leave the room when Youngjun called out to him.
"Jongdae." Jongdae closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He really didn't want to talk to Youngjun right now. He plastered on a polite smile and turned around. He couldn't help the real smile when he saw that his brothers were all standing. It was a silent warning for the manager to not move any closer to Jongdae. "I want to apologise for my actions that day. I was wrong."
Jongdae didn't know what to say to the apology. He never expected it. He nodded his acceptance of the apology because he couldn't make himself talk. Jongdae automatically looked to Yixing and Luhan. In China, whenever he got stuck for words or nervous, Luhan and Yixing would jump in to help him. It seemed he was reverting back to those early days, seeking his older brothers' protection.
"We understand you have a job to do." Yixing spoke for Jongdae. "We'll take care of Jongdae." It was a promise as well as a threat. If anything of this kind was to happen again, they wouldn't be so lenient.
Youngjun had to smile at the protectiveness the group was showing. They were like a pack of wolves. "I'll leave you to your practice. You can all go home at five today but tomorrow, you're straight back to your normal schedule." He walked out without another word.
Minseok smiled at Jongdae, "Do you still need to talk to our teacher?"
Jongdae winced, embarrassed, "Was I that obvious?"
Luhan chuckled, "Only to us."
Yixing nudged his head towards the couch. "Come sit down. We're having a break. Lunch should be arriving soon."
Jongdae smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you for talking for me."
"Hey, I know that look." Yixing rubbed his back as he led him to the couch. "You gave us that look a lot back in China."
"We promised you then that we'd jump in as long as you needed us to." Luhan sat back down on the floor.
Minseok sat down next to him, "Yeah, you guys were our guardians in China."
Jongdae laid his head on Yixing's shoulder, "Still are."
Yixing sighed. He wished he was Jongdae's guardian that day. Jongdae's head came back up at the sigh. "What's wrong?" Yixing smiled at him and shook his head. He didn't want Jongdae to worry about him but it was too late. "Tell me."
"You couldn't rely on me that day." Yixing told him, honestly, "I wasn't there for you."
Jongdae looked around the room and realised they were all holding onto some guilt from that day. "I'm not holding onto my anger so please don't hold onto your guilt. I'm fine. I promise. Anyway, I didn't react well that day either." He smiled sadly at Minseok and then at Kyungsoo, "If I was thinking clearly, I would've seen your faiths in me. I wasn't alone that day." He looked at Luhan gratefully, "Thank you for helping me see that." Luhan made two small love hearts with his fingers, sending them to Jongdae. "Anyway, enough about that day. It's in the past. We got through it and we're stronger for it." He turned to Baekhyun with a cheeky smile on his face. "I want to know where Baekhyun is taking Taeyeon on their first public date."
Baekhyun tried to look smug, "I'm not telling." He wasn't fooling anyone.
Jongdae sighed, frustrated, "This was supposed to be a happy day for me! I finally got cleared for practice but first, I see our manager, then Xing Ge's feeling guilty and now you're iffy about Taeyeon!" He got off the couch and started storming towards the door, "I'm going home!"
Chanyeol jumped up, "Wae?"
"Because this is depressing!" Jongdae complained. He was almost at the door when someone grabbed his arm. He turned around to find himself face to face with Baekhyun. "What?!" He growled at him, looking sulky.
Baekhyun couldn't help but smile, "I miss your whining." Jongdae's frown deepened and turned back to the door, "I'm joking!" Baekhyun laughed, pulling his brother into his arms.
Jongdae sighed and hugged him back, "Are you going to take Taeyeon out?"
Baekhyun pulled back, "I can't look at her without thinking about me punching you."
Jongdae shrugged, "Proves you really do like her, otherwise you wouldn't have reacted so strongly."
Baekhyun scoffed, "Trust you to find a positive in that."
"So, are you going to ask her out, officially?"
"Yeah, Baekhyun, just ask her out!" Chanyeol called out, "You shouldn't keep a girl waiting."
Baekhyun grimaced, "She might not answer. I've been hanging up on her."
"Aigoo!" Baekhyun jumped at the slap over the head from Jongdae. "What's wrong with you?"
"What?! I wasn't in the mood to talk to her."
"You're an idiot!" Jongdae pointed at him with a warning, "Don't talk to me until you call her." He walked back over to the others, leaving Baekhyun on his own. They were all looking at him, expectantly.
"Wae? Hyeonjae?" Now? They didn't say a word, only glared at him. "Ai! Fine! Pushy people. Can't mind your own business." Baekhyun pulled out his phone and walked out of the room but not before hearing Jongdae call out.
"Your business is our business!" Baekhyun smiled. It was nice hearing Jongdae's cheery voice. He missed it.
Jongdae stood on the rooftop of their apartment, enjoying the soft cool breeze. He loved the roof. It was a place he could be alone or have a chat with the members. It was their place; free of cameras and managers. Tonight, he wanted to be alone. It wasn't because of the other members, he needed to do some thinking. Jongdae didn't like the way he behaved with Youngjun today. He liked to face and resolve his problems but today, he tried his hardest to avoid them. The man apologised to him and he still couldn't bring himself to talk to him. Jongdae sighed, "Since when did you become a coward, Jongdae?"
"You know, talking to yourself is a sign that you're going crazy." Jongdae jumped at the voice behind him. It was Luhan.
"Lu Ge." Jongdae smiled at the man who was his rock during the worst time of his career. "What are you doing up here?"
Luhan smiled and shrugged as he rested his forearms on the ledge, next to Jongdae, "We missed you after dinner. I offered to come look for you. Are you okay?"
Jongdae smiled curiously at Luhan, "What makes you think I'm not?"
"Minseok noticed how quiet you were at dinner time." Luhan admitted, "He's very attuned to your moods."
"I'm surprised he's not here." Jongdae smiled affectionately at the mention of his best friend.
"He asked me to come. Said you might want to talk to me." Luhan turned to Jongdae, "Is he right?"
Jongdae didn't know how Minseok could know that he wanted to talk to Luhan. Maybe Luhan was right and he really was just very attuned to his feelings and thoughts. "He is." Jongdae smiled at Luhan, "I don't know if I would've survive all of this without you."
Luhan shook his head, "It was just good timing. To tell you the truth I don't know how I would've reacted if I was here that day. Anyway, it was Minseok who guided me in what to do. He really is your best friend."
Jongdae watched Luhan as he spoke. He wondered if Luhan knew how much his friendship meant to him. "Remember how you told me I didn't give you a good first impression because I rarely spoke." Luhan frowned but nodded, unsure of why Jongdae was bringing this up. "The truth was I was intimidated by you. You were so confident and smart, not to mention extremely talented. I always watched you and Xing Ge closely because I knew I could learn so much from you."
Luhan smiled a little embarrassed at being put on such a high pedestal, "You are the most modest person I know. You're as talented as any of us. Your voice is beyond amazing."
Jongdae ducked is head at the compliment, "In China, you and Xing Ge were my lifelines. Minseok hyung was my confidante but you and Xing Ge were always there to catch me when I stumbled. I'm not sure I've shown you how much I appreciated everything you've done for me."
Luhan ruffled Jongdae's hair, affectionately, "You show us every day by putting everything you have into practices, interviews and performances and by taking care of everyone."
Jongdae frowned, neatening his hair, "Stop complimenting me and let me finish!" Luhan chuckled but nodded for him to continue, "What I'm trying to say is I know we're not the best of friends but I rely on your advice and guidance. I need you."
Luhan reached over and pulled Jongdae into his arms, "I will always be ready to listen whenever you need me to."
"Thank you." Jongdae tightened his arms around his friend before he pulled back, "Can I ask you something?"
Luhan nodded, "Of course."
Jongdae sighed and turned back to look out over the town, "I don't know how to behave around Youngjun-ssi anymore."
Luhan smiled sadly and put an arm around Jongdae's shoulders, "The truth is, I don't know either. None of us are happy with him but I do know one thing; we interact with Hyunkyun and Minwook hyung the most. We don't need to deal with Youngjun directly." He rubbed Jongdae's neck, "For now, you shouldn't worry about him. He's the one who was wrong and he knows it. We only need to be polite around him, that's all."
Jongdae winced, "I feel like a coward, trying to avoid him today."
"Don't. You had every right to not want to be in the same room as him. You wouldn't be human if you could forget what he did." Luhan wanted to punch the man just thinking about him slapping Jongdae.
Jongdae smiled, feeling better now that he talked about it, "Thank you, Lu Ge, for everything."
Luhan nodded, "You're welcome." He nudged his head towards the door, "Let's go back downstairs. The others are trying to torture Baekhyun into telling them where he plans to take Taeyeon."
Jongdae chuckled, "I can call Taeyeon and ask her. Baekhyun told me how bad she feels about everything. She'll tell me whatever I want."
Luhan's eyes widened in mock disgust, "Using a girl's guilt to your advantage! That's despicable!" Then he grinned, "I like it." He said, making them both laugh.
The team sat around the living room, enjoying each other's company. They laughed and bickered over beers and snacks. Chanyeol and Baekhyun started throwing cheese sticks at each other until Junmyeon warned them that they will be cleaning up the mess while the others sleep. Jongdae laughed when Chanyeol stuck his tongue out at their leader.
Jongdae pulled out his phone when it beeped. Minseok leaned over when he caught Jongdae's eyes widen at what he was reading. "What's so interesting?" He asked in a whisper.
Jongdae showed him the message, "Baekhyun is taking Taeyeon to Sabiru. He booked a private room."
"Waaa!" Minseok looked at Baekhyun in awe, "I wonder if he's earning more than us?"
Jongdae nodded, narrowing his eyes at Baekhyun, "I'm never treating him to a meal again."
Luhan watched the two's suspicious actions and snuck over. "What are you to up to?" He whispered in Jongdae's ear. Jongdae didn't take his eyes off Baekhyun, who was too busy trying to shove food in Chanyeol's ear to noticed, as he showed Luhan his phone.
"Sabiru?" Luhan read. He didn't know anything about the restaurant.
Junmyeon heard the word and sat up. "Sabiru?" He said loud enough for the whole room to hear. "Who's going to Sabiru?"
Baekhyun frowned at the look Jongdae and Minseok were giving him. "What?"
"Sabiru?" Minseok asked simply.
"You can afford Sabiru and you keep asking me to treat you to dinner?" Jongdae complained. He pointed at Baekhyun, "I'm never paying for your meals again."
"How did you know?" Baekhyun complained.
Jongdae grinned cheekily, waving his phone at him, "I have Taeyeon's number after she called me to apologise."
"Why would she tell you?" Baekhyun pulled out his phone and texted his girlfriend.
"She likes me." Jongdae boasted.
"Did you make her feel guilty?" Luhan nudged him, cheekily. Baekhyun glared at Jongdae.
"Ani!" Jongdae shoved Luhan, "I texted her and she replied. That was it. It's your fault! If you made it a surprise, she couldn't tell me!"
"You are so nosey!"
"Don't change the subject! I'm not buying you meals anymore." Jongdae repeated.
Baekhyun pouted, "But I won't have money after my date with Taeyeon."
"You should've thought of that before you decided on Sabiru!" Junmyeon laughed.
"It's my first public date! I can't take her to MacDonalds! Cameras are going to be everywhere." Baekhyun complained, "Anyway, you said I had to take her somewhere expensive to make it up to her." He accused Jongdae.
"I said expensive, not extravagant." Jongdae refused to take the blame for anything.
Baekhyun got up and waved his hand at Minseok to get him to move aside. Minseok gave him a dirty look before moving over a couple of centimetres. "Aiya!" Baekhyun squeezed between them, giving Jongdae his sweetest smile, "Come on! If you keep treating me I'll take you to Sabiru once I save up enough money again!" Baekhyun enticed his friend.
Jongdae shot off the couch and took a couple of steps back, putting his hand out, "No thank you! You already told the world that I was your ideal type, I don't need the world thinking we're going out on a date! The reporters would have a party!" Jongdae slowly moved away from him, putting distance between himself and Baekhyun. He sat down next to his leader, snaking his arm under Junmyeon's and hugging it.
Junmyeon grinned at him, then turned to Baekhyun, "Leave him alone. I'm sure the company will be happy to provide you with meals until you replenish your bank account." Jongdae snuggled closer to him, sticking his tongue out at Baekhyun.
Baekhyun hmphed, "I'll be eating buns for months!"
One week later…
Jimin and Minmyeon peeked through the door of EXO's practice studio. It was the first day Jongdae was allowed to return to his usual schedule. The young trainees could see that everything was back to normal for their idols. "Well, are we going in or not?" Jimin whispered to Minmyeon.
Minmyeon sighed. He wanted to walk away but he remembered what Jongdae once said during an interview. I always own my decisions. "Let's go." He knocked at the door and pushed it open, hesitantly.
The team stopped their practice, turning to the door. They were surprised to see the two trainees standing at the door with their heads down. They bowed to them, "Aniyounghaesaeyo, sunbae."
"Aniyoungsaeyo." Junmyeon smiled, "What are you doing here?"
The boys shuffled their feet as they fought to find the courage to own up to what they did. "Joesonghamnida" They bowed again.
Junmyeon was confused, "Wae?"
Jongdae was surprised when the boys turned to him, looking guilty, "We're the ones who jammed the door on the roof." Jongdae's opened his mouth in shock. Minseok growled at the revelation, making the boys take a couple of steps back. Jongdae reached out and placed a gentle hand on Minseok's shoulder, shaking his head at him. Minseok sighed. He could tell Jongdae was ready to let it go.
"Why did you do it?"
Jimin looked down at his feet, "We thought you betrayed Baekhyun. We wanted to teach you a lesson."
Baekhyun let a long, loud breath, frustrated that they couldn't seem to put this behind them completely, "Please don't tell me you're also behind the press thinking Jongdae's the one who told about me and Taeyon."
"Ani! Ani!" The boys quickly denied. "We knew we were wrong the next day. We wouldn't do that!"
Jongdae smiled at the boys, "What you did was wrong but it tells me you two are loyal and that's a trait that will get you far in this industry. If you want to make it up to me, then work hard and debut. I'm looking forward to seeing both of you on stage."
The boys looked at Jongdae, amazed at what they were hearing. Baekhyun laughed and walked up to them, putting his arms around their shoulders, "I know. He's pretty special." He smiled at Jongdae who was rubbing the back of his neck, uncomfortable with the compliment. He led the boys back to the door. "Go back and don't let Jongdae down." The boys turned around and bowed one last time before running out.
Jongdae turned to Kyungsoo, who was glaring at the door, "Glad you didn't throw them off the roof." He grinned when Kyungsoo turned to him.
"Still might!"
Jongdae chuckled at Kyungsoo's protectiveness, "They're young. They didn't know what would happen."
"Yeah, everything went wrong that day. Those boys played a miniscule part in it all." Junmyeon told him.
"If they weren't the ones who told the press about us then who do you think it was?" Chanyeol asked them.
"For all we know, it could've been our publisher. They deal with our exposure to the public. Good or bad publicity keeps us in the limelight." Junmyeon reasoned. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. We handled it and here we are." He put his hand out, grinning at the others. One by one, they slapped their hands on top, "We are strong. We are One! Saranghe!"
"Saranghae!" They chorused.
The end