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Ten leaned back in his seat, watching the countryside slowly disappear into residential buildings as they drove closer to Seoul. Kun and Xiaojun’s music video was supposed to have a “carefree, nature concept,” and that was a bit hard to capture in the heart of the country’s biggest city. Ten and YangYang had decided, in the world’s worst-kept secret, to “surprise” the two by visiting them on set. YangYang had shown up to the company building that morning with Renjun in tow and Ten had merely shrugged. The more the merrier.
They had vlogged a bit on the way there to give their production team some content to work with, and as they had promised NCTzens, they truly spent less than an hour at the location wishing Kun and Xiaojun luck before they bounced to hang out for a few hours before heading back to the city. Kun had wished him luck with “babysitting” YangYang and Renjun, but Ten wondered if it was still considered babysitting if he was the one that was causing the most mischief.
“Hyung,” YangYang piped up from the backseat. “Can Renjun come over for dinner when we get back?”
“Sure.” Ten replied, scrolling through his phone. “We should watch a movie later, too. Renjun, you pick what we watch.”
“What?” YangYang yelped. “Why does he get to pick?”
“Because,” Ten replied calmly over the sound of Renjun’s cackling “You always make me watch weird shit and I’m hoping Renjun has more normal taste in movies than you.”
Ten could feel YangYang’s scowl aimed at the back of his head, but he ignored it and let Renjun’s laughter die down into a discussion between the two younger idols about what they would eat for dinner.
Ten tuned them out and opened Instagram, liking a few of the other members’ posts and wondering which pictures from that day he would upload. His stomach gave a noisy growl and he glanced at the dashboard to the GPS to see how much longer their drive was.
Then several things happened at once.
The last thing Ten heard was a full-belly laugh from Renjun about something YangYang was showing him on his phone before their manager swore loudly and slammed on the breaks. Ten looked up to see another car trying to cut in front of them to make a turn, but clearly wasn’t going to make it. Their manager jerked the wheel and Ten felt his center of gravity shift. His phone flew out of his hand and his seatbelt locked painfully against his chest.
There was a screech as their tires skidded across the asphalt and for a brief moment, everything stopped. Their manager had just turned his head to ask if everyone was okay when YangYang let out a cry of alarm. Ten couldn’t even process YangYang pointing over his shoulder; there was another screech, a crunch of metal-on-metal, and the entire car was thrown forward.
The back of Ten’s head collided with the door and for a moment, everything flashed white. Ten blinked furiously, trying to get his vision to clear. There was a ringing in his ears, and something thick and wet was dripping over his right eye. Sluggishly, he wiped it away, reminding himself that head wounds always bled more and that he needed to check on the others first.
Sound was starting to come back, and with it, his eyesight. The first thing he saw was their manager slumped over the steering wheel, deflating airbag beneath him. The shallow rise and fall of his back was the only indication Ten had he was still alive.
"Shit, shit. Okay.” Ten tried to sit up but immediately jerked against the seatbelt. Something painful erupted in his abdomen, but he ignored it. With fumbling hands, he swatted at the latch until the seatbelt released.
He turned to open his door and froze. Even if he could have found the handle in the mangled metal mess that was all that remained of his van door, it wouldn’t have mattered. Ten could see the partially-collapsed frame, the way the hinges where twisted and destroyed.
“Fuck, okay.” Ten turned in his seat. “YangYang? Renjun? Can you guys move?”
YangYang stared back at him with wild eyes. His face was pale and he clung to the seatbelt like his life depended on it—and in that moment it probably did, Ten reminded himself. YangYang’s breathing was shaky, and his eyes flicked between Ten and the seat next to him. “Hyung, I…”
Ten turned as far as he could to look at Renjun. He swore colorfully. Half of Renjun’s door was also crunched inward. His lap was covered in broken glass and he was slumped sideways, the seatbelt being the only thing keeping him upright. His right leg looked trapped between the twisted metal of the door and the back of Ten’s seat. His long, two-toned hair partially obscured his face, but Ten could see that it was already matted to the side of his head as some wound there bled freely.
“Renjun. Renjun-ah.” Ten tried calling. There was no response.
Ten pushed himself up and broken glass rained down from his lap. He winced as that pain in his abdomen returned and his head swam a bit. “YangYang.” He addressed the only other conscious member of the car.
YangYang wasn’t listening. He was staring at Renjun’s immobile form, pupils blown wide. He was visibly trembling, and he kept opening and closing his mouth as if needing to say something but unable to form the words.
Clumsily, Ten climbed over the middle console until he was crouched in front of the younger, pushing down the nausea that had arisen with his movement. “YangYang, hey, listen.” Ten gripped his knee.
“Listen to me.” He snapped in English.
YangYang whipped his head around and bit his lip. Tears were already leaking down his face and Ten wasn’t sure if it was from pain, fear, or both.
“I’m sorry.” He continued in a softer tone. “But I need your help right now. Can you move? Okay good.” He added reassuringly at YangYang’s halting nod. “Let me try your seatbelt.”
Ten pushed at the latch and let out a sigh of relief as it easily gave. He didn’t fail to notice the angry bruise that was already forming along YangYang’s neck from where the seatbelt had locked against him.
“I’m going to try the door, and I need to get the manager out. You have to check on Renjun, okay? Don’t move him yet, but try to get him to wake up.” Ten squeezed YangYang’s knee tightly to make sure he was still focusing. “Can you do that?”
YangYang nodded and pulled his shaking legs up to let Ten get to the door.
Thankfully, that side of the van was relatively undamaged aside from a cracked window. However, the central automatic system must have been damaged because even though Ten could pull the handle, the door only budged a few inches. He grunted, bracing himself against the back of the driver’s seat and pushing with as much strength as he could muster.
Slowly, the door eased open and Ten all but fell onto the street below. He landed painfully on his hands and knees, giving the world around him a minute to stop spinning before he pushed himself up, heavily relying on the side of the van as he did.
He was vaguely aware of a crowd gathering around them. Other cars were stopped on both sides of the street, and people had collected on the sidewalk. Ten ignored them and tried not to think about what kind of issues would arise once this broke in the news.
Ten yanked at the handle of the driver’s side door and nearly wept with relief as it, too, gave way.
“Hyung,” He placed a tentative hand on their manager’s back. His head was turned away from Ten, but Ten couldn’t see any obvious signs of injury. “Hyung, wake up.”
Their manager started to stir, mumbling something Ten couldn’t quite catch because he was startled by the appearance of a woman at his side.
“I called an ambulance.” She informed him. “And I’m trained in first aid. What do you need?”
“Our manager.” He started. “I don’t think he’s hurt too badly, but I…” Ten trailed off as a wave of dizziness hit him and one of his knees trembled violently beneath him.
The woman reached out a hand to steady him. “Honey, I think you need to sit down—“
“No.” Ten insisted, waving her off. He indicated to their manager, who was just raising his head off the steering wheel. “You help him, I need to check on the others.”
He didn’t look to see if the woman was following his directions, but he turned back to the back seat anyway. YangYang was out of his seat and leaning over Renjun’s still-unmoving form.
“Hyung.” YangYang said desperately as he caught sight of Ten. “Hyung, he’s not waking up.”
“Okay YangYang…shit.” Ten doubled up as a wave of pain ripped through his stomach. One of his knees nearly buckled and he grabbed YangYang’s seat for support.
“Okay,” He hissed, ignoring how YangYang’s worried gaze had now shifted to him. “Let me in, YangYang. An ambulance has been called so you wait out here to bring them over once they arrive.”
YangYang looked unsure at the instructions, but complied anyway. He scrambled out of the van with Ten’s hand on his waist for assistance. “Hyung, he—“
“Just wait for the ambulance, Yangie.” Ten cut him off and climbed back in. He couldn’t tell if the ringing in his ears was a lingering effect of the accident or if the ambulance was already close. He hoped the latter.
“Renjun-ah.” Ten leaned over the younger. “Renjun, can you hear me?” He tapped Renjun’s cheeks lightly, then a bit harder. “Please, baobei. Wake up for me.” Ten thought he saw Renjun’s eyes move beneath his lids and he took that as an encouraging sign. He curled his fingers and tentatively pushed his knuckles into Renjun’s chest.
Renjun let out a soft groan and turned his head to the side.
“That’s good. Come on, baobei.” Ten encouraged. “Open your eyes.”
He pushed a bit harder and Renjun weakly raised a hand to swat at his arm. “Don’t…” He mumbled.
“You gotta wake up for me, Renjun-ah.” Ten urged, taking Renjun’s hand in his instead.
Renjun groaned again and his eyes cracked open. “My head…my head hurts.”
He was using Mandarin and he was barely audible and Ten’s head kind of hurt, too, now that he thought about it, but he squeezed Renjun’s hand and tried to focus. “I know it hurts, but you need to try to stay awake. It’s important, okay?”
Renjun let out a noise of discomfort, but Ten could see he was trying his best. His slitted eyes drifted up, trying to find Ten’s face.
“Good job. You’re doing great.” The sirens were definitely closer now, and Ten was suddenly blinded by blue flashing lights. And while he knew they were a sign that help had arrived and he should be grateful, the lights were really making his headache worse and another wave of nausea crashed over him. He had to focus very hard on not throwing up in Renjun’s lap.
The aforementioned boy had closed his eyes again. “No, no no. Renjun-ah.” Ten cried, squeezing Renjun’s hand harder. He thought he heard YangYang’s voice, but it was too far away.
“I’m sorry, hyung.” Renjun muttered. “My head hurts, and I’m…I’m tired.”
Ten wanted to stop him, yell at him, whatever, but an unfamiliar voice sounded from his right. “Ten-ssi? I’m Hyunwoo. How are things looking in here?” A man in a paramedic’s uniform climbed in next to him.
“Renjun, he—he hit his head. I haven’t moved him yet, but he’s struggling to stay awake.” Ten replied, trying to give Hyunwoo space to look at Renjun himself. He grimaced as he moved, clutching at his abdomen.
Hyunwoo gave him a sharp look. “How badly are you hurt? Should I get you out?”
Ten waved him off. “No, please just help him. I’ll be fine.”
Hyunwoo looked like he very much did not believe Ten, but he turned back to Renjun anyway. “Renjun-ssi,” He raised his voice a bit. “Can you hear me?”
Renjun only scrunched his brow and tried to turn his head away.
“We need to get him in a neck brace. Can you help me?” Hyunwoo asked. At Ten’s nod, he pulled a neck brace from seemingly nowhere and leaned back. “You climb behind his seat and hold his head still while I put the brace on.”
Ten half-climbed, half-fell into the back seat and positioned himself behind Renjun, placing both hands on either side of his face. Renjun tried to mumble something as Hyunwoo strapped the brace in place, but Ten couldn’t tell what so he whispered a soft “Shhh, it’s okay. Just try to stay still.”
“Okay.” Hyunwoo started once the brace was secured, grabbing Ten’s attention. “I’m going to get a gurney, but I don’t want to pull him out this way, so my colleagues are going to have to cut the door on his side off.”
Ten swallowed thickly and nodded. He could already see two first responders standing outside the van, waiting for the go ahead. “Okay.”
“It’ll help if you can take your jacket off and cover both your heads. It’ll be loud and there will be sparks.” Hyunwoo instructed, even as he was already climbing out.
Ten nodded and pulled at his jacket with trembling hands. He stared at the dark red stain that covered most of his upper right sleeve from a cut he didn’t realize he had on his arm but chose to ignore it. He put his face down by Renjun’s and pulled his jacket over both their heads. As he did, the pain from his abdomen bloomed farther up into his left shoulder and breathing suddenly became difficult. He didn’t have much of a chance to focus on it, though, before there was a horrible screeching and a bright flickering light coming from his right.
After a few moments, the noise stopped and Ten heard someone say “Okay, you can get up.”
He carefully slid the jacket off both him and Renjun to find Renjun looking much more awake now. He stared up at Ten with wide, terrified eyes. “What’s…what’s happening? Ten-ge, what’s going on?”
“It’s okay.” Ten hoped Renjun didn’t mind that he was answering the Mandarin question in Korean, but it was the only language he could think in at the moment. “We were in an accident and you hit your head, but we’re going to get you out, okay? The neck brace is just a precaution, but try not to move too much. No, don’t do that.” Ten gently pushed Renjun’s hand away as he tried to pull at the neck brace. “I know it’s uncomfortable, but you have to leave it alone.”
Renjun obeyed and took a shuddering breath. “Yang…?”
“He’s outside. He’s okay; he’s probably getting looked at by one of the paramedics.” Ten answered just as a gurney appeared outside the now-doorless van. “They’re going to move you, now, okay? They’re going to take care of you. I’ll be right behind.” He assured as Renjun’s eyes grew even wider when three paramedics materialized and prepped him to be transferred to the gurney.
Ten could tell Renjun was in pain, but the medics were swift and efficient, and Renjun was placed on the gurney and whisked away in no time, already getting devices strapped to him. Ten breathed out a deep sigh of relief and stumbled out of the van. He had been right; YangYang was sitting on the back of an ambulance while another medic shone a penlight in his eyes. The younger looked up as Ten emerged and his face quickly fell into an expression of distress.
Ten wasn’t sure why until he realized he was using the van to support most of his weight. He tried to take a step but one of his knees buckled and we went down hard on his hands and knees. He looked up to see YangYang try to stand up and go to him, but the paramedic pushed him down, probably telling him to wait there. Ten couldn’t tell because apparently his hearing had gone and everything sounded like it was underwater. He squeezed his eyes shut again as the flashing blue lights of the ambulance assaulted his retinas. The deep breaths he was taking were the only things keeping him from vomiting all over the pavement.
He opened his eyes again to see the medic who was helping YangYang kneeling next to him. Her mouth was moving.
“…What?” Ten asked in a daze.
“I said let’s get you checked out.” She turned and waved to one of the other first responders to get the gurney out of the other ambulance.
“No,” Ten waved a shaking hand. “The oth…YangYang and Renjun…you have—“
“They’re already being looked at. They’re in good hands, see?”
Ten tried to focus his gaze in the direction she was indicating. YangYang was hovering by one ambulance, watching on with a worried expression as a police officer tried to ask him questions. Renjun was being loaded in the back of the other ambulance, and Ten could see that he was still awake and responding to one of the medic’s questions.
“Oh, good. Tha-that’s good.” Ten nodded.
“Can you tell me your name?” The medic in front of him asked kindly.
“Ten.” He mumbled back. The relief he felt in seeing both the younger idols conscious and responsive was palpable. He sank down until he was laying on his side and let his eyes slip closed.
“Ten-ssi, I need you to stay awake for me, okay?” The paramedic said. Her voice held a tinge of panic.
“No, it’s okay.” Ten replied. “I’m just going to take a quick nap.” He wasn’t sure if she understood him because his words sounded slurred even to his own ears, but he was too tired to care.
The medic was saying something, louder now, and she seemed unhappy at Ten’s choice of sleeping location, but Ten was fading fast. He couldn’t keep up with what she was saying.
“Just for a little bit.” He whispered. He blinked his eyes open one more time to see a gurney roll to a stop next to him. He agreed that it would probably be more comfortable to sleep on that than on the ground, but he couldn’t do much about it because his eyes slipped closed again and he was gone.
A soft mumbling of voices pulled Ten from his sleep.
Sleep? He didn’t remember falling asleep. The last thing he remembered was being in the car with Renjun and YangYang…
Oh right. Shit.
Reluctantly, Ten cracked one eye open. He squinted against the harsh light to see Kun sitting on an uncomfortable looking plastic chair next to his bed. Behind him, Johnny stood with his hand on Kun’s shoulder, muttering something under his breath. It must have been something reassuring, because he had that look on his face that he always had when talking to one of the younger members, and Kun was looking a bit distraught.
“Wow.” Ten croaked, closing his eyes again. “The two loves of my life weeping over my sickbed? I must be dreaming.”
There was a beat of silence before Kun’s exasperated but relieved “oh my god” followed by a barely-there whack to Ten’s arm.
Ten feigned shock as his eyes flew open again. “Kun, hitting someone who’s bed-bound in a hospital? And they call YangYang the devil of the group.”
Johnny smirked. “Yeah, I’ll tell Taeyong he’ll be fine.” He pulled out his phone to text their leader. “I should also tell a nurse you’re awake.”
“How are you feeling?” Kun asked as Johnny slipped into the hall. “Do you need anything?”
“Is there water?” Ten asked, glancing around.
“Sure.” Kun poured him a cup before raising the bed a bit for Ten as he took small sips. “Do you…do you remember the accident?” Kun asked tentatively.
Ten nodded. “Where are Renjun and YangYang? I remember them being awake and out of the car but…”
“They’re okay.” Kun assured him. “YangYang has some cuts and bruises and suffered some whiplash, but he wasn’t on the side of the car that got hit, so he’ll be fine in a week or so. Renjun has a concussion and a fractured wrist, and he needed stitches on his leg, but he’ll be okay. He’s home now but he’ll be out of schedules for a few weeks.”
Ten nodded. He sighed. “Are the Dreamies mad at me?”
Kun frowned. “Why would they be mad at you?”
Ten fidgeted with a loose thread on the blanket covering his lower half. “Renjun was with me. I was supposed to look after him.”
Kun reached forward to grab one of his hands. “Ten, the only way you could have done anything was if you had been able to see the future. So unless Kai-hyung has been teaching you some EXO-level superpower shit that you didn’t tell us about, you have nothing to feel guilty about.” He gave Ten a small smile. “The Dreamies aren’t mad at you, they’re worried. I don’t know that Jisung and Jaemin have slept or eaten since you came in. In fact, Johnny’s probably going to text them right after he texts Taeyong.”
“What do you mean haven’t eaten or slept? How long have I been in here?” Ten asked.
Kun’s expression fell a bit and he searched Ten’s face. “It’s been just over two days, Ten. You…you needed surgery. Your spleen was ruptured and they had to remove it.”
Ten let his eyes wander down to his stomach that was covered in a hospital gown. Now that he was a bit more awake, he could feel a dull ache in the upper left side of his abdomen.
“It’s not life-threatening.” Kun continued. “And it won’t affect your current life too much. You can still perform and stuff, you’ll just be at a higher risk of getting sick because your immune system is weaker now. You’ll have to be a bit more careful during flu season.”
Ten continued to stare down at his spleen-less abdomen. “Wow, a whole organ removed…that’s got to be at least a few pounds, right? Do you think our trainer will be happy?”
“Ten this is serious.” Kun scolded.
“I know.” Ten sighed and leaned back against the pillows. “I know it is. It’s just a lot to take in right after waking up from the best sleep I’ve had in months.” A thought occurred to him and he sat up straight. “Our manager…what happened—“
“He’s okay, too.” Kun answered. “He also had a concussion and a few cuts from broken glass, but he’ll be okay. He’s on leave now.”
“Did he get in trouble?” Ten asked apprehensively.
“No, he’s on medical leave. They reviewed CCTV footage of the accident. It was completely the other driver’s fault. They tried to cut it and take a left turn and forced the manager to swerve to avoid them. The police already apprehended them.”
Ten nodded and settled back again. “Okay, good.” He let a beat pass. “How was the rest of filming?”
Kun gave him an incredulous look. “You were just in a serious car accident and woke up to find you’ve had your whole spleen removed and you want to know if I enjoyed the rest of the music video filming?”
Ten shrugged.
“It was fine, Ten.” Kun huffed out a laugh. “It was great. And it quickly dropped to the bottom of our priority list once we got the call that you guys were on your way to the hospital.”
Ten was spared from having to respond due to Johnny’s reappearance. He had a nurse in tow.
“Ten-ssi, I’m glad to see you’re awake and talking. How do you feel?” She asked.
“Okay, I think.” Ten answered sheepishly. “My stomach is kind of sore, but I don’t really feel anything else. And I’m still kind of sleepy.”
The nurse gave him a warm smile. “Well they’ve got some pretty strong stuff pumping through your veins right now. I’m just going to check your vitals, but if you’re not experiencing too much discomfort, I won’t give you any more sedatives. You should still try to sleep, though. Your body needs it.”
“How long do I have to stay?” Ten asked as the nurse pulled out a blood-pressure cuff.
“We’ll have to keep you for at least another night to make sure you’re still recovering from the surgery well and that you don’t develop and infection.” She answered. “But if everything continues to go well, I don’t see why you can’t go home by the end of the week.”
“Hendery texted.” Johnny added. “Do you want us to bring you anything from the dorm?”
“Not yet.” Ten replied as the nurse swiped a thermometer across his forehead to check his temperature. “Can you just make sure one of them is looking after the cats?”
“Sicheng is staying with YangYang at our place for now. I’ll text him.” Kun grabbed his hand as the nurse marked down the results of her exam on her clipboard. “Are you sure you don’t need anything else right now?”
Ten shook his head. “I’m just tired. That’s all.”
The nurse slipped her clipboard back into its slot at the foot of Ten’s bed. “Well, everything looks good, so I’ll leave you to get some rest. I’ll be back in a few hours to check on you again, but I’ve left the call-button on the tray by your bed if you need anything before then.”
Kun and Johnny thanked her quietly before turning back in time to see Ten fail to suppress a wide yawn. “Go back to sleep, Ten.” Kun hummed. “Now that we know you’ll be fine, I can tell everyone to stop worrying and get on with their lives.”
“Wow, you really do care.” Ten gave a sleepy grin.
Johnny lowered the bed back down as Ten pulled the blanket up to his chin. “Taeyong wants to see you himself, so he’ll probably be here when you wake up.”
“I can’t wait.” Ten mumbled, eyes drifting closed.
He felt Kun smooth his hair down and murmur a soft “I’m glad you’re okay, Chit.” He might have hummed in response, but the tendrils of sleep had already wrapped around his body and before he knew it, he had slipped away, Kun’s hand still running through his hair.