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Jake’s head spun as harsh light bounced off the white maze of backstage halls, their indifferent emptiness a shocking contrast to the frantic whirlwind that had consumed them during the award show. A few quiet murmurs ventured through the thin walls, the only evidence that anyone remained in the nearly-deserted venue. He limped through the corridors, weary eyes scanning the abandoned halls in a desperate hope that medical staff hadn’t left yet. A thrumming ache grew steadily in his ankle, and a particularly vicious throb forced him against one of the walls with a heavy thump. He heard the faint voices in the room behind it grow quiet before there were a few quick footsteps and a door opened a few feet down the hall.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Jake nodded silently in the hopes that he would be left alone, keeping his head tipped down so that his bangs covered his eyes. But then there were footsteps, and a warm hand came to land on his shoulder. Knowing he was defeated but still wanting to retain his dignity in front of whichever sunbaenim had approached him, Jake closed his eyes and brought a hand up to cover his pain-twisted features.
“Hey, are you with me?” and then a little louder but directed away from him, “Jeno, come over here!”
Jake couldn’t stop his eyes from popping open again. Jeno . As in, NCT’s Jeno? Holy shit. And the person in front of him was Jaemin. Holy shit .
“Kid, are you ok?” Jaemin’s tone held an undercurrent of urgency as the senior idol stared into his shocked gaze with searching concern.
“Yes, sorry sunbaenim,” Jake managed as he attempted to bow, stumbling forward by accident as his ankle wobbled underneath him.
“Woah, what’s wrong? Do you need help?”
Jeno had materialized at his side, a strong hand wrapping around his upper arm to steady him as he pitched forward.
“Um, do you happen to know where any of the medical staff is?” Jake asked quietly, returning his gaze to the ground as Jeno’s support stabilized his body.
“I haven’t seen any around,” Jeno replied, “I think they packed up already.”
“Oh, ok,” Jake managed lamely, embarrassment burning his cheeks, “Thanks.”
“Are you hurt?”
“It’s nothing, I’ll be fine,” Jake tried to reassure him, eyes flicking nervously between the senior idol’s face and the floor.
“How about you come take a seat in our dressing room, if it’s a sprain or twist we can get one of our hyungs to check it out,” Jeno suggested, still holding Jake up.
“Thank you but I’m fine, really.”
Jake attempted to stand on his own, intending to politely excuse himself and head back to his dressing room, but a pained gasp tore from his lungs as his ankle screamed unexpectedly at the added weight. His head tilted back to slam against the wall and his hand flew to his mouth reflexively, eyes screwed shut as he swallowed a pained whine.
“Woah, woah, easy there.”
Jake felt Jaemin’s arm loop around his waist while Jeno’s firm grip shifted to his shoulders, their hands staying there as his torso trembled slightly, muscles spasming as he tried to breathe through the pain. Even when the wave of agony had passed mere seconds later, their hands remained as steadying points of contact.
“Okay,” Jake said, his voice breathy and small as he blinked dazedly, “Not fine.”
“Aww, you’ll be okay aegi,” Jaemin cooed as he reached up to thread a hand through Jake’s now-damp hair, a thin sheen of sweat having broken out across the younger boy’s skin.
Jake couldn’t help but lean into the touch, wincing when Jaemin rubbed his fingers carefully over the spot where the Aussie had hit his head on the wall.
“Come on, let’s get you somewhere more comfortable,” Jaemin suggested gently after he finished inspecting the growing bump on the younger boy’s head.
“I don’t think I can walk,” Jake admitted faintly, looking up at Jaemin with tear-glazed eyes.
“That’s fine, we have the muscle man with us,” Jaemin shot a playful smirk at Jeno, “Come on brawny boy. We both know you love showing off.”
Jake couldn’t help but smile slightly at the way Jeno flushed red from his neck to the tips of his ears, his mouth silently forming syllables that looked suspiciously like curse words before he just ducked his head with a squeak of embarrassment. Moments later, the Aussie boy let out a yelp of his own as he suddenly went weightless. Apparently the older idol had decided the best way to alleviate his embarrassment was to just sweep Jake into a princess carry and get on with it. Jake could see Jaemin’s impish smile grow as he took in the crimson face of his bandmate which was rapidly being matched by the rising blush in Jake’s own skin.
“So cuteeee,” the devilish boy grinned sweetly, skipping forward to open the door for them and waving them forward into the dressing room with a flourish, “After you, darlings.”
Jake felt his blush deepen, almost forgetting his pain in flustered confusion.
“Don’t mind him,” Jake could feel Jeno’s chest rumble as he spoke, “He likes to mess with people.”
“Can you blame me?” Jaemin swooped in, “He’s so cute!”
Jake yelped as Jaemin pinched his cheeks, eyeing him indignantly as Jeno settled the Aussie down onto a couch in the NCT dressing room.
“Leave him alone, Nana,” Jeno sniped as he patted the Enhypen member’s head.
“What, jealous? Want me to pinch your cheeks too?” Jaemin batted his eyelashes obnoxiously.
“Yeah, no thanks,” Jeno deadpanned, “How about you get one of the hyungs? Like we were supposed to?”
Jaemin snaps his fingers like the thought just dawned on him, pointing finger guns at Jeno with that chaotic smile of his, “Ahhhhh right, right! Good idea~”
As Jaemin pulled out his phone and made a call, Jeno settled onto the couch next to Jake, who had been watching the scene with an attempt at a composed expression that couldn't quite hide his astonishment.
“Sorry about him,” Jeno eyed his group member with exasperation, “He’s a bit much.”
“It’s fine!” Jake assured his senior, trying to stop his growing nervousness from appearing on his face as he looked around the dressing room.
Jake felt the older idol’s arm wrap around his shoulders.
“You can relax, we invited you here,” Jeno comforted him.
Jake just ducked his head and murmured a shy “thank you,” turning his attention to the hem of his shirt as he fidgeted anxiously. Jeno didn’t press further, just sitting quietly with him as they let Jaemin’s voice fill the space.
“Awesome, thank you hyung!” Jaemin was cheering enthusiastically into the phone speaker, “Bye!”
Jaemin whirled around to face them, smiling in satisfaction.
“Johnny-hyung is gonna come over and check you out.”
Jake couldn’t help how his eyes widened slightly at those words. In his opinion, Johnny was easily the most intimidating out of all the NCT members. The idea of the man being forced to go out of his way to come over and inspect the younger idol’s ankle was distinctly terrifying, and Jake couldn’t help the hint of fear that crept over his features. Jake saw Jaemin’s brow furrow at his expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, um, my ankle hurts,” Jake tried to cover quickly, but Jaemin just stared at him as Jeno raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
“Really!” he insisted.
Jake felt Jeno sigh next to him, but before either boy could press any further there was a knock on the door and Johnny’s head poked through the frame.
“Hi hyung!” Jeno and Jaemin greeted him with matching smiles.
“Hey kids,” Johnny grinned back as he sauntered into the room.
Jake felt his throat tighten as the tall man’s gaze fell on him.
“So you’re the injured one, eh?” Johnny shot him a warm smile, “Ankle, right?”
Jake nodded silently, doing his very best to be swallowed by the couch’s cushions.
“Alright, let me check it out for you.”
Jake couldn’t help but feel a rush of relief as Johnny calmly ignored his obvious apprehension, kneeling down next to Jake’s leg without a word about the tension running through the younger boy’s body. Johnny’s hands were surprisingly gentle for someone so giant, the grasp on his foot light and careful as the more experienced idol started the routine for a sprained ankle. Jake did his best to answer the questions asked of him as his ankle was twisted tentatively from side to side, eliciting involuntary flinches every time it was pushed a little too far.
Finally, Johnny stepped back and carefully placed Jake’s leg so that it was propped up on the table.
“Alright kid, you got a nasty sprain right there. I can’t tell the specifics, but you really shouldn’t be walking on that thing and you need to get a real medical professional to check it out.”
Jake just nodded exhaustedly. He wasn’t surprised. The checkup had left his ankle throbbing with a hot pain, the joint continuing to swell. He must have been broadcasting his discomfort more than he realized, as he heard Johnny make a small noise of sympathy before the couch dipped down beside him and a hand came up to rub the back of his neck.
Jake jolted in surprise at the touch before sinking involuntarily into the comforting sensation. He saw Jeno smirk slightly at the sight.
“See, he’s not so scary,” Jaemin teased gently.
Ah. So they had figured it out. Jake felt himself flush red as he fixed his gaze on the couch, body stiffening due to his increasing embarrassment at the way he had sunk into Johnny’s touch.
“Oh, stop bothering him,” Johnny waved them off with mock irritation, “He’s cute.”
The new rush of blood to his cheeks warmed them till they felt like they were on fire, and Jake covered his face with his hands, trying to hunch down and hide in the sofa. But before he could, Johnny wrapped his arms around the Aussie’s form and pulled his fellow English speaker’s body to rest against his.
“How cuteeee~” Johnny cooed, prying Jake’s hands away from his face before bursting out laughing at the wide-eyed, red face of the younger idol. “Oh my god, you make the best faces kid,” he wheezed.
Jake just groaned in embarrassment as Jeno and Jaemin joined in on the laughter, resigning himself to the situation. After the three senior idols were done entertaining themselves, Jake felt their concern-tinged attention return to him.
“I’ll carry you back to your dressing room, okay?”
It was technically a question, but the steel in Johnny’s voice told him it was a command. So he just nodded in quiet acceptance and turned to give Jaemin and Jeno the best bows that he could given his seated position, thanking them for helping him.
“Oh, it was nothing,” Jaemin waved him off, “Enjoy getting princess-carried by the real muscle man this time. Trust me, he’s 10x more impressive than Jeno. Much better stamina.”
Jake really didn’t know what to do with that or the wink followed, but Jeno’s indignant shout and the following squabble saved him from having to respond. That is, until Johnny spoke up.
“You ready, princess?”
Jake whipped his head around in shock, both at the words and the fact that they were in English, only to regret the action the moment his eyes met Johnny’s gaze. He couldn’t help but stare for a moment before he was startled out of his paralysis by the amused smirk that curled its way onto Johnny’s face as the older boy evidently tried his best to hold back his laughter.
“Sunbaenim~!” Jake whined petulantly, “Stop it!”
“Right, right, sorry,” Johnny put his hands out in a placating manner, but Jake could see the mirth still dancing in his eyes. “Unfortunately for you it seems that I will have to carry you like that. A piggyback ride would risk bumping your ankle, and I’m a little tall for you to use as a crutch.”
Jake winced, but couldn’t deny the older man’s logic. With a forlorn sigh, he resigned himself to his fate and reached up toward Johnny.
“Let’s just get this over with,” he said quietly.
Johnny smiled sympathetically as he carefully situated Jake in his arms, ensuring that the younger idol was securely positioned against his chest. “Sorry kid. I know it’s embarrassing, but we don’t have many other options since Jeno and Jaemin need to get to their van. As a matter of fact, oi! You two need to stop screwing around and get going! Mark is gonna be worried if you two are missing for much longer.”
Jeno and Jaemin’s heads whipped around, their expressions becoming sheepish as they heaved themselves off the ground where an all out wrestling match had broken out.
“Right, sorry hyung,” Jeno apologized before smiling at Jake, “Get better soon!”
“Yeah, heal quick kiddo,” Jaemin ruffled Jake’s hair before grabbing his stuff and dragging Jeno out of the room and down the hall, “Bye!!”
Johnny started down the hallway toward the Enhypen dressing room. “Your members are still in your dressing room, right?”
“Yeah, Heeseungie-hyung and Jay were gonna wait for me,” Jake was grateful that Johnny had switched to English for him. English was always a comfort to him when he was tired or in pain.
“Good, you’re going to need your group’s help for a little while. You hurt that ankle of yours pretty badly.”
Jake groaned at the words, defeated dread curing in his gut at the idea of being sidelined so soon after his debut. Performances would have to be rearranged, accommodations made, treatment paid for, fans placated, and special content organized. The company was going to be pissed .
“Hey, no, don’t feel bad. Here, get down for a second,” Johnny put Jake down carefully, helping the younger idol lean against the wall before meeting his eyes seriously, “Injuries happen sometimes. They’re stressful, and embarrassing. I mean, when Taeyong got hurt he was a mess for, like, a while. And rehab is a bitch, I’m not gonna lie,” he huffed out a laugh. “It’s really gonna suck. But you’ve got to find a way to deal with it. It isn’t something your members can fix. It’s in your mind. You’ve got to find the mindset that lets you shoulder this, okay?”
Jake let out a long, slow breath. Johnny was right. In fact, he was dead on.
“Okay.”
The senior idol seemed to search his face for a moment before nodding once, evidently having found whatever he was looking for. The pair continued down the rest of the hall in silence, Jake hopping this time, having insisted on making it into the dressing room on his own terms. And if Johnny had to catch him a few times, well, no one would ever know.
Stopping in front of the door to his dressing room, Jake twisted back to face his senior.
“Thank you, sunbaenim.”
It was genuine, and paired with a small smile.
“Of course, kid. Get better soon.”
A large hand ruffled his hair before the tall figure turned and vanished down the hall. As Jake turned and opened the door to the room that his group members were waiting in, he took a deep breath. He could get through this. But it was up to him now.