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Practice was usually intense. It was draining and sucking the life out of their energy.
And this week's mission was specially sleep depriving for all of them.
They spent hours listening to music, more hours for parts distribution, and at least half a day for the half of the choreography.
In short, they spent their one precious day using their head and making trials and errors.
The mission was taking a toll on their body but not as much as it was taking a toll on the leaders who all had a heavy responsibilities on their shoulders.
Of course, the members were a big help, but the fact that the leaders chose their own members gave them the idea that they should carry all the responsibilities in the group.
They will ask for help if needed but they were determined to not burden the members. And their members knew that but kept silent. Because leaders were stubborn as fuck. And Euijin was the leader of being stubborn. He may asked Lee Geon and Daewon for help but at midnight, while everyone was sleeping, there he was , at the practice room, practicing his parts, finishing their choreography and polishing everything.
"Euijin hyung, can we take a break?" Daewon asked while panting. The 'Question' team was almost done learning half of their choreography.
"Sure. Take as much as you want then we'll continue our practice till ten. Okay?" Euijin reminded with a wide smile, his face, just like the others, was covered with sweat but his smile still looked refreshing.
"Yes hyung." They all answered before they raced to the cafeteria.
Euijin shook his head fondly before wiping his face with his towel. He waited a few minutes before he took a large gulp on his water and went outside towards a familiar place.
When he opened the door, he can feel all eyes fell on him.
"Euijin hyung!" Chan exclaimed before bouncing on his direction. The younger, without a care of their appearance, gave him a big hug.
"Ah, Chan! We're both sweaty!" Euijin yelped but it didn't stop Chan from crushing him to death.
"Ey, that's fine hyung! You still smell like a baby!" Chan giggled, earning a light smack from the older.
"Yah, that's you. I smell manly." Euijin said, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Sure thing ,hyung. Whatever you say." Hansol shrugged, causing the others to laugh at Euijin's pout.
"You guys, stop teasing the baby." Jun said from behind while he was walking towards Euijin's direction. Chan automatically unlatched himself from the older when Jun reached them.
"Who're you calling baby, Junyoung-ssi?" Euijin asked while stabbing the other's chest with his finger.
"Ooohh!!" Hangyeol and Dongmyeong said.
"You, Ujinie hyung." Jun emphasize before kissing the shorter on his forehead.
"I told you to stop treating me like a girl."
"And I also told you that I'm not treating you like a girl."
Euijin half heartedly glared at Jun who was just giving him a gummy smile. Of course the older knew that. They already talked about keeping the PDA down but Jun insisted that he wanted to kiss him, either on his cheek or his forehead. Euijin chose the latter as there were minors everywhere.
"Whatever. Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving."
The two of them unconsciously
subconsciously laced their fingers together and waved goodbye to the others who were whistling and shouting at them.
"You didn't eat your breakfast again, did you?" Jun asked with a disapproving frown marring his handsome face.
The shorter male looked at him in guilt, not knowing how to answer his boyfriend.
"This is why you look pale. You are not getting the nutrition you needed." Jun sighed while running his hands on his hair.
"I'm fine. It's not a big deal." Euijin tried to sooth the younger but it seems like Jun will not take any of it.
"It's not fine, Ujin hyung. Your health is important."
By that time, the two of them already stopped walking in the middle of the empty hallway. The older of the two sighed and stood in front of the other to rest his head on Jun's chest.
"Sorry, Jun. It's just I woke up really late today and I had to catch up to our practice." he muttered as his eyes closed tiredly.
The taller sighed and put his hand on Euijin's lower back. "You can't always use your aegyo on me, you know?"
Euijin chuckled but didn't say anything.
"I know that practice is important. But between you and me, you know more than to skip our meals. We're idols ,hyung." Jun said while resting his chin on the top of other's head.
"Of course I know that. Believe me, I'm already immune to sickness."
Jun's arm tightened around his waist. He can say that what Euijin was saying was true. And Jun was not happy. Because that's just mean that Euijin was constantly overworking himself that his body already got used to it.
"Come on. You need to eat." Jun said after a moment as the two parted and continued walking.
"Don't worry too much about me, Jun-ah. Look after yourself too. We're just on the same page you know?" Euijin stated softly as his hand gave a little squeeze on Jun's bigger ones.
"Yes but unlike you, I'm good at taking care of myself. And besides, you can't stop me from worrying about you when I can't even stop myself from even thinking of you." The taller chided, causing the older to blush slightly.
"You're really a talker, you kow that?"
Jun just chuckled and winked at him playfully before they entered the cafeteria.
"Euijin-ah!" Donghyun called loudly, their table was few meters away from the door.
"Hyung!" Euijin said with a wave of his hand before pulling Jun towards their table.
"And here comes the married couple." Lee Geon teased.
"What conspiracy is this? The two leaders are teaming up against us!" Feeldog exclaimed in exasperation.
"Why are you so extra, Feeldog-ssi?" Euijin chuckled as he took his seat beside Daewon who smiled at him.
"Whadd'ya want?" Jun asked the older.
"Anything edible."
The younger nodded and started to walk away to get some food as the others didn't even bat an eyelash when the couple smiled at each other sweetly.
"How is the practice going?" Euijin asked the choreographer from the other team when he turned to them.
Feeldog shrugged and took a bite on his sandwich. "We're having some problems but nothing we can't handle."
"Same with the other teams, I guess." Donghyun said while looking at the other tables.
"I don't think so." Lee Geon shook his head slightly before turning to one particular person, causing the others to follow his gaze.
"He's been like that since they started eating." Daewon said worriedly.
"Seyong hyung said he's been like that even before practice though." Kiseok informed the group while biting his lower lip in concern for Kijoong who was unusually quiet while his teammates were being noisy.
"Did something happen? He really looks so out of it." Donghyun asked as they returned back to their plate before they get noticed and creep out Kijoong.
"I don't know. Kijoong hasn't said anything to me." Feeldog said while trying to remember when did they last talk.
"Has Seyong said anything else?" Euijin asked with a frown. He knew Seyong. If the younger even notice that Kijoong was having a hard time, he knew that Seyong will talk to their maknae. Seyong was very observant of his friends.
Kiseok shook his head slightly. "They tried to talk but Kijoong was saying he was fine."
Feeldog frowned at that. "He's clearly not."
"I'm sure Seyong knows that." Euijin assured his friend. "But he can't force Kijoongie to talk."
"Then I'll try to talk to him." Feeldog stated firmly, his inner brother instincts taking in.
Donghun was about to say something when Euijin beat him to it.
"Of course. Just make sure you don't suffocate him ,Kwangsuk-ah."
As the performance came nearer, the boys became busier. All teams looked already finished with their performance and that includes the Question team. With a great help from Daewon who stayed late night with Euijin, they completed their choreography and with the help of Lee Geon, they perfected their respective parts on their song. It was also thanks to the members that everything went smoothly because of how cooperative they were.
But first evaluation came and though they really didn't receive any harsh criticisms, it still hurt Euijin that their everything was not enough. The choreographers asked them to change some parts or just remove them. They were also expecting something to add up because they said that their dance was too plain and not really eye catching.
Euijin felt sorry for Daewon so he asked the younger to 'Please ,just rest. I don't want you to get sick. I'll finish it by tomorrow, don't worry ,Daewonie'.
The younger was too tired to protest but he wasn't too tired to see how drained the older looked. Or how pale he was. Daewon wanted to scold his hyung because he knew that if he was tired then Euijin was ten times worst than he was. Leaders were always ten times more exhausted than they were.
Hell, he even saw Jeup and Seyong face planted on the ground earlier while walking towards their rooms.
But before he can even open his mouth, their small hyung was already playing the music loudly so he just shrugged and went to his room before he can copy Seyong and face planted himself on the floor.
Euijin has been revising their choreography for about three hours now when the door to their practice room opened. The leader stopped the music for a moment before snapping his head towards the doorway because he thought Daewon came back to help him. But he was surprised to see Kijoong, standing there still wearing his practice clothes.
"Kijoongie?" Euijin asked in both confusion and worry. The younger had never approached him before because they weren't really close. This was the first time.
"Why are you standing there? Come in." Euijin said when the younger didn't say anything. He wiped his sweat with his towel and waited for Kijoong to reach him.
"Everything okay?" He asked gently while staring at the taller who had his head bowing low.
"Hyung." Euijin's heart immediately broke when he heard how vulnerable their maknae was. When he looked at Euijin, the older can see how his eyes were getting glassy as if he was crushing inside.
"Come tell hyung what's wrong." Euijin coaxed before bringing the maknae on his chest. He felt tired and he just wanted to sleep but if Kijoong needed his help, he'll stay and even sacrifice whole night for the younger. Because he knew that the worst part of being hurt was not the pain itself, but the fact that no one's willing to help to overcome it.
Kijoong cried on his shoulder, soaking his already soaked shirt but nobody cares. He vented his frustrations to one of the oldest in The Unit. He told him his insecurities and his problems. He told the shorter male his biggest fear and how his motivations left him. And how scared he was.
Euijin listened to it all. He didn't say anything, not even comforting words and just stayed still and listened. He let Kijoong cry his heart out until he was feeling empty and the only thing that they can only hear was small sobs. When Euijin felt Kijoong finished, he faced the boy and smiled.
"It's okay to feel scared ,Kijoongie. It's okay to feel insecure. We're idols but we're only humans. We can feel hurt and frustrated." He said with the most gentle tone he had ever used to a person. "But use those things to push you forward. Don't let them tie you in one place. Break your insecurities like a wall."
Euijin paused to let his words sink on Kijoong whose sobs died down. The older ran his fingers on Kijoong's hair and patted it softly.
"You haven't lost your motivation, Kijoongie. It was still there, waiting for you to pick yourself together."
Kijoong lifted his head from his shoulder and Euijin can see how he looked more carefree and lighter than earlier.
"You think so, hyung?"
Euijin nodded with a smile. "Of course."
Kijoong sniffed and wiped the stray of tears on his cheeks.
"So do I just have to, like, activate it?" He asked innocently, causing the older to laugh.
"Yeah. Something like that."
Kijoong pouted and looked at the other in confusion. "But how do I do it?"
Eujin can't help but to pat his head again like a puppy before he stood up and turned the music on. "Come, let's dance." He said while offering his hand to the younger.
"Why so suddenly, hyung?" Kijoong asked but still accepted his hand.
"Just because."
"What am I suppose to dance?"
The older ruffled his hair fondly and winked. "Whatever you want. Don't think, just dance and let loose."
At first, Kijoong was hesitant to move but when he saw how fluid Euijin's body was while riding to the rhythm, he felt a spark inside him and the next thing he knew was he was dancing. It's almost as if the beat was moving his body on its own and he was clearly enjoying it. Little by little, he can feel the familiar rush of excitement through his veins. His heart was pumping actively and it was as if he was alive again.
Euijin was on the side ,watching the other and relishing Kijoong's expression for a moment before he plugged his earphone on his ears to continue revising their choreography.
The two of them were on their own worlds for hours and it wasn't until they noticed their exhaustion that they stopped. They laid on the floor, both covered with sweat, panting heavily but satisfied with themselves.
"Hyung?" Kijoong asked while staring at the white ceiling.
"Yeah?"
"Thank You. I think you're right. I'm fine now and it's all because of you. The other hyungs were helpful too but I feel suffocated and frustrated for worrying them." The younger confessed without faltering.
"Is that why you came to me?"
"Yeah. You are the only one who's not fussing over me. And though I was hesitant at first I felt comfortable with you the moment you smiled at me. Thank You Euijin hyung." Kijoong gratefully and this time, he was the one who offered a hand to Euijin who enthusiastically accepted.
"No problem kiddo. We're going to be in one group anyways." Euijin joked but Kijoong was sure that he saw the glint on the older's eyes when their eyes met. The younger felt himself laughing for the first time since their mission.
"Yeah hyung."
"Let's go sleep. It's already 5 am and we have to practice again at 9 am."
Something unexpected happened.
It was already lunch and Kijoong's team was on a break. And actually, all teams should be on a break but Kijoong can't see his favorite person on the cafeteria. All Day and Question teams were remarkably absent and when he asked Feeldog about it, he said something about practice. So Kijoong decided to finish eating and visit Euijin and watch their practice.
While walking, Kijoong saw no staffs anywhere and he suddenly remembered that they have a meeting. For the next and last mission.
Kijoong was walking through the corridor when a door on his left slammed open to reveal a very worried and slightly angry Jun from All day team. He didn't seem to notice Kijoong, who jumped in fear, in which he should be thankful for, as the leader ran passed him and towards the Question team practice room. Kijoong's blood turned cold as his eyes met Chan's worried one.
"What is it, hyung?" he asked shakily.
"Euijin hyung, something happened to-" Chan started but Kijoong didn't let him finish and followed Jun with a pale face.
When he got there, he saw Jun dismantling all the cameras around them before going over Euijin whose nose was bleeding really badly while his teammates were panicking around him. Kijoong's eyes widened in both shock and fear when he saw how weak Euijin looked while sitting on the floor, trying his best to keep his eyes open.
Jun pinched the older's nose while tilting his head forward. He saw a towel beside Euijin, snatching it before wiping the blood that dripped from his nose. Euijin groaned as his mind can barely recognize the taller male beside him. Jun cursed and helped Euijin to comfortably rest his head on his chest while he was in between Jun's legs, sitting sideways.
"Hey, babe? Come on, stay awake." Jun said softly while supporting the shorter's limp body using his other hand on the older's back.
All he received was a pained and tired groan from the other.
"Can you hear me, Ujin hyung? Hey, you can't sleep." Jun ushered.
"Jun-ah, we should bring him to the clinic." Daewon fussed nervously, watching how Euijin's eyes rolled back on his head. Kijoong squeaked when the older finally gave up trying to keep himself awake.
"Help me get him on my back. We should keep his head forward or he'll choke on his own blood." Jun instructed as Daewon and Lee Geon helped their unconscious leader hop into the taller's back. Both of them can't leave Euijin's side.
"Keep pinching his nose hyung."
Daewon nodded and did what he was instructed while his other hand was supporting Euijin's back.
"Has this been caught in the camera?" Jun asked before he can step out.
"I don't think so." Ungjae answered, his eyes still glued to their leader.
"Euijin hyung was in the blind spot of the camera. You already turned them off when we managed to get him into a comfortable position."
Jun nodded solemnly as his face hardened. "Good. I don't want them to use this as their entertainment." He said before he left with Daewon. All of the people inside either winced or backed away at Jun's tone and expression.
Kijoong had never seen that expression on Jun's face before. Like he was ready to kill someone just to protect the smaller male hugging him from the back.
And he had never been so worried about someone until now. Because he felt like he should be a part of the blame for this.
Daewon was left outside the clinic as it was too crowded with two nurses, a doctor, and Jun beside Euijin. He can't help but to beat himself up for letting their Euijin overwork like that. But he knew that his hyung would just laugh at his silly thought so he shook his head vigorously to clear his head. What he should worry about was Euijin. And Jun.
Goodness, he never thought he would see Jun act like that. The younger was clearly worried. Earlier, as soon as he saw Euijin, his eyes popped open and the blood drained from his face. It's a good thing that he kept clearheaded unlike them who froze on their spot when they saw Euijin's nose bleeding while he was resting on the side.
Their first instinct, of course, should be to call a doctor but they were all reminded by a voice on the back of their mind that IF something happened concerning Euijin, the first one who should know about it was Jun. And they were glad they called the taller first. Because he knew exactly what should they do. He managed everything in one swift motion as if practiced.
The door opened and Daewon quickly stood up. The doctor and nurses went out, telling him he can come in. He nodded thankfully before stepping inside to see a scene that he can only see in those kdramas his friends loved to watch.
Euijin was lying on the hospital bed, covered with white blanket, and still unconscious. There was an IV on his arm and thankfully, that was it, no mask, no oxygen tank beside him. It means it was nothing serious.
Jun, on the other hand, was sitting beside the bed, holding Euijin's free hand with his right while his left was caressing the older's hair.
Totally kdrama worthy. Daewon felt like he shouldn't be seeing any of these. Because they were too sweet and the way Jun was looking at Euijin made Daewon felt unloved. Which was stupid by the way. But he can't help but feel like an intruder.
"Oh, hey hyung." Jun said to him for the first time that day.
"How is he?" Daewon asked softly before standing beside the younger, his eyes looking over Euijin's appearance to assess his condition.
"He's fine now. The doctor said he overworked himself to death. His immune system became weak these days because he's not eating right. He's also running a slight fever for a few days now so his body gave in. The only thing that kept him standing was his adrenaline." Jun answered quietly.
A lump formed on Daewon's throat when he heard that. He knew that Euijin's condition was not good but he didn't know it was this bad.
"I should've known. I should have noticed how weak he was earlier. I'm sorry ,Jun-ah." he bit his lip to keep himself from crying like a baby.
The younger shook his head slightly before looking at him for a brief moment.
"No ,it's okay hyung. I know him like the back of my hand. He's stubborn and won't listen to anyone when it's about him. I know you can't do anything." Jun gave him a weak smile.
Daewon sighed as his eyes stung a little.
"I wish he could just trust us ,you know." He stated.
"He trusts you, believe me. But his sense of responsibility is too strong for him especially, he's one of the oldest." The younger assured before kissing Euijin's hand. "He's an idiot and would rather hurt himself than hurt others. That's why we're together. To keep him from doing that all over again."
Daewon smiled at Jun and sighed in relief.
He's glad.
"I'm happy, you're with him. I don't have to worry that much when you're beside him. He became my older brother, you know. And I know you're both happy and that makes me happy too."
"Thank you ,hyung. Trust me, I'll never let go of this hand, ever."
"I know." Daewon smiles meaningfully as a small groan interrupted them.
"Hey babe." Jun called sweetly before planting a kiss on Euijin's knuckles.
"J-Jun-ah?" Euijin whispered, his voice hoarse from sleep and his mind was slightly disoriented.
"Water?"
Euijin nodded as Jun gently lifted his head and helped the other drink. Daewon's heart fluttered when he saw how careful and gentle Jun was. Like Euijin was made of glass. If he's not a straight, he would've crush on the younger.
"Are you hurt somewhere?" The younger asked while wiping the drops of water from his chin. His eyes were staring at Euijin with full of love.
"My head hurts." Euijin groaned.
"That's why I told you to stop overworking yourself." Daewon chided slightly.
"Daewonie." Euijin said, surprised by the other's presence.
"Stop overworking yourself, Euijin hyung." He scolded the older.
"I'm not overworked!" Euijin protested.
"Yes you are." The two other boys answered simultaneously.
"From now on, you're sleeping with me." Jun announced, causing Daewon to choke and Euijin to sputter in embarrassment.
"No buts. I won't let this happen again. We're sleeping together. Fuck camera." Jun said firmly, squeezing his boyfriend's hand, silently begging him.
"Yah, Jun! Language!" Daewon scolded as Euijin's eyes softened at the look of worry of Jun's face. He suddenly felt guilty for making the younger worry about him when he should be thinking of the competition.
"Okay."
Daewon's eyes widened at him. "Gosh, you're both going crazy."
"Hey, we're not doing anything wrong." Euijin protested but a blush was prominent on his cheeks.
"Aside from cuddling and maybe kissing." The youngest in the room chirped brightly.
"Yah, Jun! Who says we're doing any of that?"
"Who says we're not?"
"Goodness! Just don't let us walk in on you." Daewom said in exasperation.
Jun smirked at him. "Don't worry, we'll lock the door."
"Jun!" Euijin exclaimed with red face. And Daewon wasn't looking any better.
"You're really cute when you're blushing like that, Ujinie."
"Goodness! I'm outta here!" Daewon exclaimed with a tomato red face as he almost ran away from them.
"You shouldn't joke like that. You know how prude he was." Euijin accused.
"I'm not joking, baby." Jun smirked before winking at him, causing the older to sputter and blush brightly for the rest of the day.
If anyone who visited Euijin noticed this, they didn't comment on it especially when they caught a glimpse of Jun's mischievous expression.