Chapter Text
They were filming for a variety show in their practice room when it happened. The members were waiting for the producers to organize the next segment, and Seungmin let his eyes wander. Changbin and Minho were being loud as usual, Chan was conversing with the manager, and the others - including himself - were scrolling through their phones. He got bored quickly, setting his phone aside to watch whatever the others were doing. But when he looked towards the leader, he found his eyes catching on someone else.
Him.
The man from Seungmin’s childhood, the one he thought was gone for good, was standing before him, his eyes boring holes into Seungmin’s. He watched as a smirk grew on the man’s face seeing Seungmin’s eyes widen before he calmly left the room. But Seungmin was frozen.
Hyunjin must have heard his small gasp, as he turned towards Seungmin and asked, “Seungmin? You okay?” But Seungmin couldn’t respond. All he could think was, no, no, no, this can’t be happening…
“Seungmin?” He couldn’t help but flinch as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped out of his chair, scrambling backward until his back hit the back wall of the practice room, eyes still locked on the door that the man left through.
He noticed Hyunjin and Jeongin approaching him carefully as if he were an injured animal. He peeled his eyes away from the door to look at his dongsaeng with fear. Jeongin was the only one who could know what was wrong, as Seungmin had shared the story of his past a couple of months back. Seungmin was closest to Jeongin and trusted him with his life, and after having a nightmare-induced panic attack in front of the maknae, he decided to tell him. But he never regretted it. He only grew closer to the younger and he felt safer than he did before. And now that he was in this situation, he knew that Jeongin would be there for him.
Keeping his eyes on Jeongin’s, Seungmin whispered, “He’s here, he’s here…” Jeongin must have heard the panic in his voice and connected the dots, as his eyes grew wider and a little scared. Seungmin let out a small whimper after the words left his mouth.
“What?” Seungmin didn’t answer him. He didn’t know what else to do as a small sob was choked out of his throat, too overwhelmed to understand anything else. Right before his legs gave out on him, he felt strong arms wrap around him, shielding him from everyone else. He clinged to Jeongin like a lifeline, knowing that the maknae would keep him safe.
“Shh, deep breaths Minnie. I’m right here, you’re safe… The members are all here. Breath with me Seungmin.” He felt himself being lowered to the ground, and couldn’t help but cling closer to Jeongin. He barely registered what he was being told, his mind preoccupied by the situation at hand. Oh god, he’s here… No one is safe. He’ll hurt them all… No, no, no…
---
Jeongin grew more concerned as Seungmin’s sobs only increased in volume. When he heard the older jump from his seat, he knew something was wrong. He approached Seungmin with Hyunjin, both not sure what was going on. As Jeongin realized that the other members were coming closer, he saw Seungmin’s panicked eyes flicker over to his. Right when he heard the words come out of Seungmin’s mouth, he knew what he was talking about. But how? Seungmin told him that the man was arrested years ago, and shouldn’t be released for a very long time. Maybe it was someone else, maybe Seungmin was mistaken… But that wouldn’t explain the wide, panicked eyes and short gasps coming from the older’s mouth.
Jeongin was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard Seungmin whimper. “What?” He only got a sob in response, and he knew the best course of action would be to calm Seungmin down before being able to understand what he saw. He quickly wrapped his arms around the sobbing boy, shushing him and trying to help him breathe. He had only calmed the older down once before, when he had a bad nightmare and they were sharing a hotel room. It was only a few months prior, and he could remember that holding Seungmin close and whispering in his ear was the best way to calm him down.
While Jeongin shifted them to sit on the floor, he remembered the other members and staff in the room. When his eyes locked with Chan’s, he saw the concern in the eldest’s eyes, and told him that he had it handled. Chan understood, and quickly turned to the remaining staff – some had left when they noticed something was wrong – and respectfully told them to leave the room. Jeongin figured the other members wouldn’t want to leave Seungmin like this, so he just turned his attention back to the boy in his arms.
“Hey, Minnie, can you hear me?” He heard a whimper in response from where Seungmin’s face was hidden in his shoulder, trying to muffle his cries and gasps, which thankfully began to lessen. “Can you breathe with me? I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe, just calm down for me.”
When Seungmin’s breathing calmed down, his sobbing increased. Jeongin knew he was still overwhelmed, as seeing that man was so sudden and unexpected. Jeongin pulled Seungmin closer so that Seungmin’s legs, which were curled towards his chest, rested sideways in his lap. He continued to shush him, rubbing his back and running his fingers through his hair until he let his emotions out.
“Innie…”
“I’m here, Seungmin. What do you need right now?”
“I want Channie hyung…” Jeongin wasn’t super surprised with his request. Every member felt safe with Chan, whether they needed help with songwriting or were crying in the middle of the night, Chan was always there for all of them. They trusted their leader with their lives, and despite him not knowing about Seungmin’s situation, Jeongin knew he would bring just as much comfort to him, if not more.
“Of course, Min,” he responded. He looked back towards the rest of the members, who had moved across the room to give them some space, yet they were all looking over at them. Jeongin locked eyes with Chan and beckoned him over. The maknae could still feel Seungmin trembling, and he knew the effects wouldn’t wear off anytime soon.
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One might think that Seungmin was overreacting from just seeing the man, but the thought of him being near the members scared him to his core. He was always worried when the members weren’t home late at night, because what if he was out there with them? He knew it was irrational, but he couldn’t help the thoughts that his mind could come up with after a tiring day at midnight. And now, seeing the man in the same room as all of the members, he wasn’t only scared for himself. He was scared for everyone.
When Seungmin was thirteen years old, his parents went on an out-of-town trip for work, leaving Seungmin with his father’s younger brother. Seungmin barely remembered the man, as he only saw him at family gatherings when he was younger, but he was the only option his parents had. While he knew his parents cared about him, he also knew that they didn’t pay much attention to him. No matter what he did, whether he studied hard to get all As or even got accepted into JYP Entertainment as a trainee, they didn’t spare more than a glance. That was why he didn’t trust his uncle, as his parents didn’t care enough to make sure he was with someone safe, just trusting his father’s brother blindly as a family member.
It was late at night on the first night of the week-long trip when it happened the first time. At first, it was one slap on the face for not calling him “sir.” The next day, it was a shove and a kick for not finishing the meal that his uncle “lovingly made for him.” By the final night, Seungmin was sore all over. His uncle then decided to scold Seungmin in a different way. In a non-physical way.
“You are mine, understood? You listen to me, you obey me, and you do not disrespect me. If you do, I will hurt you and everyone you love. Do you understand me?” But Seungmin did disrespect him. He spoke back right then, an impulsive decision, wanting to be brave, but it was the wrong decision. The next thing he remembered was waking up alone in a hospital room.
His parents informed him of his uncle’s arrest the next day.
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While Seungmin was cuddling with Chan, Jeongin went to give a small explanation of what happened to the other members. After Seungmin first told Jeongin about his past, the maknae asked if he would tell the other members. He responded by saying no, not unless he panicked in front of them and they deserved an explanation. They could inform Chan later.
The other members perked up from their slouched positions as they saw the maknae walking over to them.
“What happened? Is he okay?” Jisung asked first.
“He will be. He told me I could explain it to you guys if something like this were to happen.” He sat down in between Felix and Jisung, looking each member in the eyes before continuing, telling them the simplified version of Seungmin’s story. “When Seungmin hyung was younger, his uncle stayed with him for a week or so. His uncle treated him very badly, and at the end of the week, his parents came home to find him unconscious on the floor. They brought him to the hospital and he was okay, but it traumatized him. His uncle told him that he would hurt his loved ones, and hyung has been worried ever since we became a group. But it’s gotten better since then, and he is recovering very well. Well, he was.”
Jeongin watched as the members absorbed the information with shock, anger, and concern written on all of their faces.
“That bastard…” Changbin said lowly.
“What triggered him then? Did he see something?” Minho asked, ever the calm one in these situations.
“Yeah… He told me that he saw his uncle with the staff.” That caused an uproar in the members, as they wondered how the man could be here, why he was here. “Calm down, hyungs! I’m not even completely sure that it was actually his uncle, that’s just what he told me.”
“Jeongin is right, guys, we don’t know the whole story yet. We should get Seungminnie home for now and we can talk about it later. I bet he’s tired.” After Felix spoke, the members glanced back towards the leader and Seungmin, only to see Seungmin straddling Chan’s lap with his eyes closed and breathing even while Chan was looking towards the group.
“Is he asleep?” Minho asked. When Chan nodded, the other members began to gather their things, Changbin taking Chan’s and Jisung grabbing Seungmin’s. Minho called the manager to inform them that they were heading home and needed a day or two off. Jeongin could tell that the members were still processing the information, as he saw their furrowed brows and tight shoulders. He hoped they wouldn’t dwell on it too much, as they all needed to relax at the moment and help Seungmin as much as they could.
Hyunjin went over to Chan to help the leader stand up with Seungmin in his arms, shushing him when he stirred. “Did you hear what Jeongin told us?” Hyunjin asked.
“Bits and pieces,” Chan replied, “enough to understand the gist of it. God, it sounded horrible, I can’t even imagine…” When Hyunjin saw the glossy look in Chan’s eyes, he let his hand rub the older’s back.
“I know, me too. I would never have imagined something like this happening to any of the members, let alone Seungmin. He’s always so strong and supportive, it’s so difficult to see him hurt like this.” Hyunjin felt his own eyes water slightly, but quickly blinked back his tears; he could cry alone in his room later. Seungmin was the top priority right now.
The members began the trek to the car garage, where the eight-seater van was. None of them felt comfortable enough to leave Seungmin, even for the short drive.
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Seungmin jolted awake with a gasp. While trying to catch his breath from the nightmare, he noticed he was in his bed, seeing Jeongin sleeping peacefully beside him. Once he calmed himself down, his mind wandered, and he remembered what happened earlier that day.
He felt his breath pick up again, and his shaking must have stirred the maknae awake as well.
“Seungmin hyung?” Seungmin looked towards Jeongin, seeing nothing but concern and comfort in his eyes. He dove towards the maknae, letting out small sobs. “Oh Minnie… I’ve got you. I’m right here.” Seungmin buried his head between his collarbone and shoulder, clinging on for dear life.
“Where is everyone? Are they okay? They’re all home, right? Did anything else happen?” Jeongin stopped Seungmin’s rambling by running his fingers through his hair and responding.
“Yes, everyone is here, we’re all okay.” He felt Seungmin relax slightly. “Everyone is resting. I told them a bit about what happened, and we’re taking tomorrow off to figure things out. Do you want to tell me what you saw now or do you want to sleep more first?”
Seungmin took in a shaky breath before responding. “I don’t think I can sleep again… If I tell you now can you tell the others later?”
“Of course, Min. Whatever is best for you.” And Seungmin told him what he saw, how he saw his face and his smirk before he left the room. Jeongin comforted him when more tears ran down his cheeks and praised him when he finished the story. “You did so well, hyung, I’m so proud of you.” Jeongin knew Seungmin liked to hear when others were proud of him and when he did well, as couldn’t experience it growing up. He also knew that it was very likely that it was Seungmin’s uncle that he saw, if the smirk and ominous presence was anything to go by.
“I’ll talk to Chan hyung tomorrow and we can look at the security footage to see where he went. We’ll figure this out, I promise.” Seungmin only cuddled closer to the maknae, eyes finally feeling heavy again, and succumbed to slumber.