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He heard it before he saw it. The gasp, slip, and sickening sound of bone against hardwood. A crunch followed after, and then suddenly four heads were turning, and Yeonjun was swearing obscenely. He was on the ground, reaching towards his ankle, his face screwed up in agony. Soobin paled, skidding to a stop mid-step and running over to his hyung. “Turn off the music, Kai!” he yelled, falling to his knees and grabbing Yeonjun’s hand before he could touch his ankle. Soobin only had to glance at it to know that something was broken. The older’s foot was twisted at an awkward angle, and if the hot tears dripping onto Soobin’s indicated anything, it was that it definitely wasn’t just a sprain.
“Fuck, Soobin, fuck fuck f-fuck,” Yeonjun said, like a mantra. He kept trying to touch his ankle, and Soobin had to hold his hand back, using his other arm to loop around Yeonjun’s shoulders. “Shh, hyung, just try and take deep breaths and don’t move,” he instructed. Kai turned off the music, and Soobin looked up at Taehyun, who already had his phone in his hand. “Are you calling the doctor?” he asked, doing his best to keep his voice steady. It was hard when his boyfriend was whimpering in his ear, soft exhalations of pain. Taehyun nodded, pressing the phone to his ear as he started anxiously pacing. Beomgyu and Kai looked to Soobin for guidance, and their leader struggled to figure out what to do. “Beomgyu, let the managers know what happened. Hyuka, go ahead and go up to the dorms and make sure the path is clear for when we bring hyung up, okay?” he delegated.
His dongsaengs nodded, running off to perform their tasks, giving Yeonjun matching expression of worry. The oldest member had his head resting on Soobin’s shoulder, and he had stopped resisting, breath coming in short gasps as he tried not to express his pain too much. Soobin tightened his arm around his hyung’s shoulders, moving carefully so that the boy could lean fully against Soobin’s chest. “The doctor is coming, hyung, he’ll sort it all out, and you’re going to be just fine,” he attempted to reassure, though he knew his words were empty. Yeonjun whimpered some more, fisting his hand over Soobin’s. “I r-ruined everything, they’re going to h-have to delay the comeback now, f-fuck,” he said, crying harder. Soobin’s heart broke, and he carefully held Yeonjun as the boy cried into his neck, tears dampening his shirt.
Taehyun walked over, sitting down on the other side of Yeonjun and rubbing his arm comfortingly. “The doctor is on her way, she said to just try not to move, and she would splint it back, and we’ll go from there,” he explained. Soobin nodded, and Yeonjun just kept crying. Taehyun looked very concerned, and did his best to make the oldest feel better. Soobin wasn’t sure if the tears were because of the break, or because of what was gonna happen now. They couldn’t move forward without Yeonjun, and if he tried to accelerate his healing, he could have permanent damage. It was a major setback for sure, but it was a complete accident, and Soobin would rather take the extra time for his boyfriend to be a hundred percent better, than risk something worse happening.
When the doctor walked in, Taehyun stood, informing as to exactly what happened. How Yeonjun had simply stepped back, and the angle was just right. How it was a literal freak accident. She nodded along, before putting her supply bag down and kneeling in front of Yeonjun’s ankle. Not two minutes later, management burst in, as well as Kai and Beomgyu. They all shared very worried looks, but management looked more fearful, no doubt already trying to figure how quickly Yeonjun could get back on his feet. But Soobin didn’t pay them any attention, focusing only on his hyung. He helped him sit up a bit as the doctor started to work on his ankle, and he held him tightly when he cried out in pain, fresh tears on his cheeks.
Soobin hated seeing Yeonjun in so much pain, and he hated that he couldn’t make it go away. All he could do was kiss his temple and rub his arm and tell him he was being so strong. He felt absolutely useless, but his heart began to slow as the doctor first wrapped Yeonjun’s ankle, and then slipped the splint over it. It definitely looked a lot more manageable all wrapped up. Once the doctor was done, she turned to speak to both Yeonjun and management, her voice firm. “He needs to stay off of his ankle for at least six weeks, no exceptions, or there will be permanent damage and he may never dance again,” she informed.
At the mention of ‘six weeks’, Yeonjun teared up again, grabbing Soobin’s shirt and shaking his head. “No, our c-comeback is in a m-month, I can’t do that to o-our fans,” he said, the distress clear in his voice. As he made to sit up, everyone in the room shouted out, rushing to stop him, but Soobin held him down, locking his arms around Yeonjun’s waist and pressing his left cheek against his right. “Hyung, shhh, this wasn’t your fault, you have to stop moving,” he whispered. All Soobin wanted to do was cry as well, but he had to remain strong, and be there for Yeonjun.
The older slumped in his arms, hiding his face back in Soobin’s neck. The doctor and management slowly relaxed their postures, and then proceeded to give strict instructions to the members. They were ordered to go up to the dorms and not to leave for any reason while they figured out what they were going to do about the comeback. Food would be delivered, but until then, their entire world was essentially on pause until the solution was found. Everyone nodded assent, and then all of the adults left. Kai went and grabbed both Soobin and Yeonjun’s belongings, while Beomgyu and Taehyun grabbed theirs.
They all gathered around Soobin and Yeonjun, and helped as Soobin very carefully lifted Yeonjun bridal style, minding his ankle. The boy wrapped his arms around Soobin’s neck, and rested his head on his shoulder. The tears had stopped for now, and he was only sniffling, eyes puffy and cheeks stained. Beomgyu walked behind Soobin, while the other two flanked either side, and together they all made it up to the dorm safely. Soobin went to Yeonjun’s single room, and carefully lowered him onto his bed. Yeonjun let go of Soobin, and started to curl in on himself, hugging his chest tightly. Soobin looked over his shoulder, at the three younger boys watching with worry, and waved them off.
Taehyun nodded, before pulling the door closed. When they were alone, Soobin turned back to Yeonjun, gently grabbing his knee as he attempted to automatically bend his leg. “Careful, sweetheart, don’t move your leg,” he said, voice softer. Yeonjun barely glanced at him, a broken expression on his face. Soobin sat on the bed, brushing the boy’s hair out of his eyes and wiping a few stray tears off of his cheeks. Yeonjun wasn’t looking at him now, eyes trained at a spot on the wall, and Soobin wasn’t sure what to do. “Does it still hurt very badly?” he asked, a bit hesitant. Yeonjun didn’t answer for a minute, and when he did, his voice was monotone, void of any emotion. “Doesn’t matter,” he replied.
Soobin swallowed, staring at his boyfriend for a moment, before he stood up. “I’ll go get the painkillers, they might help with the swelling,” he said. When Yeonjun didn’t reply, he turned and left, rushing to his and Kai’s room. The maknae was there, but when he opened his mouth to inevitably ask questions, Soobin had to cut him off. “I’m sorry, Hyuka, I have to get the medicine to hyung, but he’s okay, I promise,” he said quickly, grabbing the little orange bottle and departing before Kai could respond. Yeonjun was in the same position when he came back, still staring at the wall.
Soobin closed the door, grabbing Yeonjun’s water bottle and going to sit next to him again. “Hyung, can you please take the pills?” he asked quietly. He shook two into his hand, holding them and the water bottle towards his boyfriend. Yeonjun glanced at them, before taking them, swallowing quickly and giving the water bottle back. As soon as he did, he went right back to staring at the wall. Soobin sat there awkwardly, wishing he knew what the boy was thinking, or why he was closing himself off so much. Soobin want to comfort him, hold him, make sure he was doing everything he could to be a good support system. It was hard when Yeonjun wasn’t being responsive. If this is how the first hour was going, Soobin didn’t know how they were gonna make it through six weeks.
“Yeonjun,” he said, dropping the honorific. “Can you p-please look at me?” At the slight edge of desperation, Yeonjun reacted. He turned, eyes locking with Soobin’s, but lacking the depth they usually carried. Soobin felt his own eyes tear up, brain finally unable to fight the stress, and he moved closer, taking Yeonjun’s hand in his own. “We’re going to be just fine, stuff like this h-happens, and it was a complete accident,” he said, feeling like a broken record. Yeonjun blinked, but he did squeeze Soobin’s hand a little, which was a good sign. Soobin sniffled, before cupping Yeonjun’s cheek with a shaky hand. “You just have to let me take c-care of you, alright?” he whispered.
Yeonjun swallowed, a light shine of tears over his eyes, before he looked down, face crumpling again. “I just d-don’t want you or the others to be u-upset with me,” he confessed. Soobin’s face fell, and he shook his head immediately, turning and lying down next to Yeonjun. He pulled the older into his arms without moving his ankle from its spot, and went to stroke his hair. “You’re not, baby, you could never disappoint any of us,” he reassured, voice breaking. Yeonjun exhaled shakily against Soobin’s collarbones, but he held onto him, one arm looping around his abdomen. “I fucking hate this, Soobin, I h-hate it,” Yeonjun cried, fisting Soobin’s shirt again.
Soobin could only nod, resting his cheek on top of Yeonjun’s head, closing his eyes. “I know, hyung, me too,” he whispered. “But we can’t change what happened, and we just have to do everything we can to get you healed,” He felt Yeonjun nod, and he leaned back a bit, slipping a finger under the older’s chin and tilting his head back just a little. “I love you, okay?” he asked, searching his eyes. Yeonjun blushed just the slightest amount, before he nodded, flattening his hand over Soobin’s chest. “I love you t-too,” he replied. Soobin nodded then, and leaned forward to connect their lips.
They kissed softly, Yeonjun whimpering a bit, and Soobin pulled back, reaching behind him to adjust the pillows a bit. “Let’s just take a nap, and we can work out everything when we wake up, okay?” he suggested. Yeonjun only nodded, shifting just a bit to press closer into Soobin. The taller laid flat on against the pillows, and made sure the older was comfortable, kissing the top of his forehead. “We’re gonna get through this,” he breathed, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.