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Jaehyun, for the fourth time this week, finds himself in the practice room.
He knew he should be using the rare break in between promotions to sleep, and he would’ve, but he just really needed to get this dance down first. He promised Taeyong that he’d only practice for an hour, and then would return home to sleep for the five hours left in his schedule.
On any other occasion he would have followed through on his promise but he just got so focused on dancing. He would get one move down and then he’d think of another. It was a neverending cycle.
Taeyong would probably already be on his way anyways, and then he would just apologize until the older forgave him, like usual.
He didn’t plan on practicing b-boying when he got here but now he couldn’t resist. He does a few warm up moves before moving to a more complicated one. He goes on for ten minutes before his hand slips, causing him to land on his head.
“JAEHYUN HYUNG?!”
Xiaojun rushes towards the now unconscious hyung, kneeling by his head and tapping his cheek gently. “Jaehyun? Are you okay? Please wake up”
Xiaojun takes a deep breath, trying to stop how much he’s shaking to grab his phone. He shakily pushes Taeyong’s contact, taking another deep breath. “I-It’s okay Jaehyunnie. I’m here. W-We’re gonna get help I promise.”
Taeyong thankfully picks up after the first ring. “Xiaojun? Why are you calling so late? Also do you have any idea where Jaehyun is?”
“Hyung! Jaehyun and I were practicing late I think. I-I heard him from the other room so I w-went to check on him and then he fell. He hit his head hard and he’s not waking up and I don’t know what to do!” Xiaojun rambles, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
“Hey. Junnie. Calm down. You need to breathe baby. Is he bleeding?” Xiaojun whimpers quietly, gripping tighter onto his phone. “Y-Yeah. A-A little. D-Do I call 911? Why won’t he wake up?”
“I don’t know baby. Doyoung already called 911, they should be there in 10 minutes. Are you okay?” Taeyong’s already pulling on his shoes with Jungwoo and Doyoung close behind.
“I-I’m fine Yongie hyung. Jaehyun’s the one who’s hurt. What do I do until the ambulance gets here? S-Should I do something?” Xiaojun wedges his lip in between his teeth, moving forward to tap Jaehyun’s cheek again.
He can’t help but flinch when the older man moves under the touch, eyes fluttering open. “Jun? Wha?” Xiaojun’s eyes widen.
“It’s okay hyung! Y-You fell and hit your head but the ambulance is almost here, d-do you need anything?” Xiaojun rambles quickly, accidentally finishing his sentence in Cantonese.
“Jun. Slow…down. M’ okay.” Xiaojun sobs as Jaehyun’s hand raises to cup his cheek, the older’s thumb wiping away a stray tear.
Xiaojun holds his breath, staring at the floor for a little while before the paramedics rush inside. He jumps a little before backing up to allow them to work on Jaehyun.
Taeyong shows up behind them, placing a reassuring hand on Xiaojun’s shoulder. “He’s gonna be okay. Let get to the hospital for now.”
Xiaojun nods mutely, following behind his leader to the car before they drive to the hospital behind Jaehyun in the ambulance.
It only takes three and a half hours for Jaehyun to get assessed and admitted. Xiaojun falling asleep against his hyung as they waited for Taeyong and the manager to fill out papers.
“How do you feel Jae? Do you need anything?” Jaehyun blinks sleepily up at the leader before shaking his head. “M okay hyung. Xiaojun seems worse off than me.”
Jaehyun sits up, careful not to wake Xiaojun up. Taeyong nods a little. “He was really worried. I thought he’d had a panic attack.” Jaehyun frowns a little bit at that.
“M sorry. I really didn’t think it had gotten that late. I won’t do it again.” Taeyong smiles at that. “You better not. You kids love giving me gray hairs. Now get some sleep. You’ve earned it.”
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Jungwoo, Mark, Johnny and Doyoung arrive the next morning, as soon as visiting hours start.
When they open the room’s door they are immediately shushed by a half asleep Taeyong who sat on the couch.
"They’re still asleep and so help me if you wake them-" Johnny and Mark both make an offended face.
“Chill. Chill. I promise we wouldn’t do that. They had a rough night. You did too. And I don’t want to deal with your wrath.” Mark smirks and Taeyong sighs with a small chuckle. Doyoung, who was tired of standing in the doorway, took a seat next to Taeyong with a huff.
“So what’s the diagnosis? When can he come home?” Doyoung asks, motioning Jungwoo over to sit beside him, the younger boy cuddling into his side instantly.
“He has a moderate concussion. He’ll need to take a break from promotions for a week and then needs to be cleared by a doctor before he comes back again.” The other boys nod, turning their attention to the sleeping boys.
“And Junnie?” Mark sits in one of the chairs beside the bed, rubbing the younger boy’s arm gently. They’d noticed how Xiaojun had bags under his eyes and was clutching onto Jaehyun for dear life even in his sleep.
“He had a panic attack. It was really scary seeing Jaehyun like that. He’s okay. Just a bit shaken up.” Taeyong explains, smiling at Mark’s antics. “For now we just need to take care of Jaehyun. That’ll help them both.”
It isn’t until about an hour and a half after the other members arrive that both Jaehyun and Xiaojun start to stir. There wasn’t much movement between the two, but since everyone else was still, they all seemed to notice.
Jaehyun winces initially, arm raising to shield his eyes from the light. The action causes Xiaojun to stir as well. “Lights. Too bright.” Jaehyun forces out, squeezing his eyes shut.
Taeyong immediately rises to dim the lights, patting Jaehyun’s leg after. “They’re dimmed. Try again for me baby.” Jaehyun’s eyes flutter open once again, squinting for a second before opening completely and roaming around the room. “Hi.”
“Hey hyung. How’re you feeling?” Mark moves forward a bit so he could reach Jaehyun’s hand. “Headache. But other than that I’m fine. Is Jun okay? He was crying.”
Jaehyun received a playful swat against his arm. “Worry about yourself! If he wasn’t there you may have died!” Jaehyun frowns at that, moving to pet Xiaojun’s hair a little bit. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. But now you have to let us take care of you until you’re cleared to perform again, okay?” Jungwoo orders, pointing his finger at his hyung playfully.
“Fine. Fine okay. But remember you signed up for this.” Jaehyun smirks playfully causing the room to erupt in a fit of laughter.
Even though he didn’t follow the rules, and got himself hurt often. He knew NCT, his family would always be there for him.
And he would forever be grateful for that.