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Stray Kids were performing their newest song. They were all tired from their promotions and comeback, but they still had more to do - performances, interviews, variety shows. They were never-ending.
Seungmin was surprised how energized he was during their comeback. He knew that 3RACHA and Minho were especially tired, spending late nights at the company only to wake up early for rehearsals. The younger members wished they could help, but they knew it was necessary and the others wouldn’t take a break. They only had to wait a few more days until their three-day break, then more of the same commotion afterwards.
But Seungmin was ready to perform and sing his heart out. The performance was going very well and no one made any mistakes. They were nearing the end of the song when they were supposed to sit on the ground quickly, and they were always told to be careful and land on their bottoms first. No one ever messed that part up.
Except Seungmin.
There were less than thirty seconds left of the song, but of course Seungmin had to mess up anyways. He hoped no one saw how his left hand hit the floor first, followed by his body that bounced slightly when it landed. He’d hate to ruin the performance, but ouch. His wrist didn’t bend too far, only a ninety degree angle or so, yet it hurt like a bitch. He knew he must have sprained it.
But there were only twenty seconds left. Twenty agonizing seconds for Seungmin, but he danced without a hitch. He wanted to be proud of himself for pushing through the pain, but he was barely keeping his facial expression in check. Even when kept still, his wrist pulsed painfully.
They were off of the stage quickly and sent to their green room. They just had to change their clothes and get to the car, then they could sleep. Their schedules were late the next day, so they were all planning on sleeping in. It sounded like a dream. But it was a nightmare for Seungmin.
Seungmin looked at his wrist while he was changing in the bathroom and noticed that it was already swelling and had a slight bruise. It had to be a sprain, and that would leave him out of dancing for weeks, if not months.
He got dressed quickly and carefully, trying to keep his wrist from moving. It still hurt a lot without movement, pain shooting up his arm to his elbow. His fingers hurt too. He lost his composure in the stall, face scrunching up in pain and eyes filling with tears, but he didn’t let them fall.
The members gathered quickly and went to the car. Seungmin made sure to secure a window seat, keeping his arm away from the others. He put his hoodie sleeve over his hand, but it only did so much. No one sent him any glances, though, so he figured it was successful.
Everyone was tired and went to their own dorms without a word. It was ten o’clock at night and they could all get at least ten hours of sleep, much better than the five they’d been getting too often.
Seungmin didn’t bother with his nighttime routine and went straight to his room, then he finally let out a shaky breath and leaned back against the door. It hurt so much. He bit his lip and slid down, sitting on the floor. He needed ice, water, and pain medication. But he had to wait until the others were asleep, which shouldn’t be too long.
He pulled up his hoodie sleeve, sucking in a breath as it touched his wrist, and looked at it again. It was more bruised and swollen on the outside of his wrist and he noticed that that’s where the pain was stemming from. It shot all the way up to his bicep now, his whole arm aching.
Seungmin sat there for a few minutes, taking deep breaths, before he decided to get what he needed. He carefully cradled his arm to his chest as he stood and opened his door, and the other three doors were shut. Thank God.
He went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, swallowing three ibuprofen pills with it. Then he grabbed an ice pack and took it and the water bottle back to his room, closing the door again and sitting on his bed. He planned to do the twenty minutes on-twenty minutes off method.
The ice pack was flexible, thankfully, so he put it on his lap and rested his wrist on it. He winced, but the cold feeling distracted him from the pain. He used his other hand to wrap the ice pack around his wrist gently and held it there. After a few minutes, though, he let go and took out his phone, going to Netflix. He wasn’t sure how long he’d be awake, but he wasn’t going to sit in silence with his thoughts for hours.
When it hit one o’clock in the morning, Seungmin was barely keeping his eyes open. His wrist already felt a little better, a little numb from the ice. It hurt again the second he laid down, but he rested it carefully next to him on the bed and hoped the pain would ease.
There were only two more days until their break. He could make it.
---
Felix woke up around five in the morning to go to the bathroom. He did his business quickly, hoping to get many more hours of sleep, but he heard noises when he left the bathroom. He stopped, then he noticed that it sounded like whimpers. He was alert immediately.
He walked further down the hallway and heard the noise getting louder, and he found himself standing in front of Seungmin’s room. He didn’t hesitate before opening the door.
Seungmin was curled up on his side, his arms close to his chest. Felix could see the sweat on his forehead from across the room and choked sobs continued escaping the younger boy’s mouth. Felix ran to him immediately.
“Seungmin! Seungmin, what’s wrong?” he asked frantically. He sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on Seungmin’s shoulder. The younger boy opened his eyes slightly and looked up at Felix, tears running down his face and sobs becoming more frequent. He just whined in response. “Shh,” Felix soothed, a hand in Seungmin’s hair. It wasn’t a nightmare, but Seungmin never acted like this when he was sick. It had to be something else, something that explained the pained look and sweat covering his body.
“Are you hurt?” Seungmin closed his eyes tightly and nodded, a loud sob escaping him. “Where?”
One of Seungmin’s arms moved from his chest, and it caught Felix’s attention. He noticed it immediately: a very swollen and bruised wrist laying against the bed and Seungmin’s chest. It looked so, so painful.
Felix gasped. “Oh, Minnie,” he whispered, reaching out to get a better look at it, but Seungmin’s other arm stopped him as he whined again. Felix looked back to his face, and Seungmin just looked more upset than before.
“What’s happening?” Felix turned and looked at the door, seeing both Minho and Jeongin. They looked tired, confused, and a little worried. They must have heard Seungmin’s cries.
“I think Seungmin sprained his wrist,” Felix said quickly, turning back to Seungmin. “We have to look at it, Minnie. You have to go to the doctor so they can check it out.”
Minho and Jeongin quickly joined them, and Minho sat in front of Felix to face Seungmin. The older boy looked at Seungmin’s arms and noticed one covering the other carefully.
Seungmin shook his head quickly, his mouth opening. “Fine,” he sobbed, breath catching.
“Seungmin-ah,” Minho said sternly, “you’re not fine. This isn’t fine. Can I look at it, please?”
Minho spoke kindly, unlike his usual self, and Seungmin moved his arm again. “Shit,” Minho muttered. “I’m going to get Chan hyung, okay? It’ll get worse if we don’t go to urgent care right now.”
Seungmin tried to give a complaint, but Felix just nodded at Minho and the older boy left for the other dorm. Felix held Seungmin’s good hand and Jeongin took Minho’s place, gasping at the injury. Seungmin’s eyes were closed and his face was shoved into his pillow, muffling his cries, but he was squeezing Felix’s hand tightly.
“What happened?” Jeongin asked.
“I don’t know. I just heard him crying and came here,” Felix sighed. “He must have gotten hurt during the performance yesterday and didn’t tell anyone.” He was looking down at Seungmin worriedly, caressing his hand with his thumb.
“Why wouldn’t he say anything?” Felix just sighed, saying he didn’t know. He really didn’t.
Chan arrived quickly, immediately rounding the bed and going to Seungmin. “Hey, Seungminnie,” he murmured, “it’s Channie hyung. You’ll be okay.” Seungmin looked up at him, his sobbing finally quieting down into hiccups. Chan peered over him and looked at his wrist before meeting Seungmin’s eyes again. “Minho called the manager to give us a ride to the doctor, he should be here any minute. Can you stand?”
Seungmin nodded, so Chan held his shoulders to help him sit up. Seungmin closed his eyes tightly and let out another sob at the movement, arm attached to his stomach. Chan wiped his tears gently.
“‘M sorry, hyung,” Seungmin whispered. Chan shushed him.
“Don’t apologize. Let’s just get you fixed, okay?” Seungmin nodded and the others helped him stand, only wobbling slightly. “Lix and I will go with you.”
Chan didn’t even glance at Felix before he spoke, knowing that the younger Australian would agree. Seungmin was still clutching his hand tightly. Minho came back and told them that the manager arrived, so Chan grabbed Seungmin’s phone and water bottle before leading the two younger boys out the door.
They rode the elevator and met with the manager quickly, then they all got into the backseat with Seungmin in the middle.
“What happened?” the manager asked, very worried.
“Seungmin hurt his wrist,” Chan said. “I think it’s sprained.” The manager just sighed quietly and drove them to urgent care. It was only a few minutes away by car.
The manager went inside with them, but he didn’t go back to the examination room with the three boys. Chan and Felix would be there for Seungmin every step of the way.
They had a very nice nurse, and she seemed more careful when she noticed Seungmin’s red eyes. They took an x-ray but there was nothing wrong with his bones; it was just a bad sprain. Seungmin needed to wear a large back splint on his wrist with the instructions of RICE - rest, ice, compression, elevation - and no dancing for six weeks. Seungmin was devastated, of course, but he expected it.
The nurse gave them a few minutes alone while she left for the splint and papers. Chan and Felix sat in the chairs while Seungmin sat on the exam table.
“What happened, Seungminnie?” Chan asked. Seungmin looked down.
“I fell a bit during the performance, the move where we have to sit down. I didn’t think it was that bad…” he mumbled.
“You should have told someone sooner. It probably got worse overnight without proper treatment.”
“I iced it,” he countered weakly. Chan didn’t look impressed and Seungmin sighed. “I’m sorry.”
Chan couldn’t help it. He stood up and wrapped Seungmin up in a big hug, mindful of his wrist, and Felix joined them quickly. “I know, Minnie. We’ve talked about injuries before, right? You can’t hide them, no matter how small. Even if it’s a paper cut, I want you to tell me about it, okay?”
Seungmin nodded and rested his head on Chan’s shoulder. He wasn’t even sure why he hid it from them.
The nurse came back quickly and helped Seungmin put on the splint. His eyes were drooping and Chan took the papers with instructions and the doctor’s note. They were allowed to leave, so Chan left the room first to talk to the manager while Felix helped Seungmin. The younger boy’s eyes were closed now, clearly ready to sleep.
Felix stood in front of him and ran a hand through his hair. “Seungminnie.” Seungmin hummed. “You can lay down. Hyung and I will get you home safely, okay?” Felix guided Seungmin to lay down on the bed and the younger boy barely moved. He must have been exhausted.
Chan came back a couple of minutes later, not batting an eye at Seungmin’s asleep figure. “The manager will drive the car around back and we’ll leave through the back door.” Felix nodded and Chan walked further into the room, stopping in front of Seungmin. “He looks exhausted. What time did you guys go to sleep?”
“We all went to our rooms immediately,” Felix responded. “It was probably ten, but if Minnie iced his wrist last night, he probably stayed up even later.”
Chan sighed. “I’ll carry him to the car. Can you open the doors for me?” Felix nodded and Chan moved Seungmin to lie on his back, then he gently put the younger boy’s wrist on his stomach. Chan picked him up slowly, one arm under his knees and the other under his shoulders. Seungmin didn’t stir.
They carefully made their way to the manager’s car and Chan sat with Seungmin on his lap. He already told the manager everything, so he started driving immediately. It wasn’t even seven o’clock in the morning yet and everyone else was probably tired too.
“I’ll talk to the rest of management about this,” the manager said as they pulled up to the dorms. “He can still go to some of your dance practices but he can’t participate. He can help you guys if he wants to, otherwise he can do extra vocal training. I’ll see what his schedule looks like and I’ll update you later today. If you all need the whole day off, just let me know beforehand. Seungmin can have today off and tomorrow as well if he’s still in pain.”
“Thank you, hyungnim.” Felix opened his door and rounded the car to open Chan’s. The older boy held Seungmin tightly as Felix helped him out, then the manager rolled the passenger window down.
“Text or call me if you need anything.” Chan and Felix nodded before they turned around, the manager watching them until they entered the building. They walked up the stairs in silence until they got to Seungmin’s dorm, and Felix barely knocked on the door twice before it opened.
Hyunjin and Jisung were right in the doorway and they’d clearly been waiting for a long time. “Move,” Felix whispered, shooing them back inside. They kept their eyes on Seungmin and his wrist brace.
“Is it broken?” Jisung asked quietly.
Felix shook his head. “Just a bad sprain.”
Chan moved past the other members to Seungmin’s room, setting the boy gently onto the bed. He moved to pick up the blanket from the floor, and when he put it back on Seungmin, the younger boy’s eyes opened.
“‘Yung?” he murmured, eyes squinting. Chan gave him a smile as he tucked the blanket around him, making sure his wrist was resting on his stomach.
“Hey, baby,” Chan whispered, running a hand through Seungmin’s hair. “Just go to sleep, okay?”
Seungmin’s eyes closed again and Chan sighed. He knew that Seungmin would be hurting when he woke up, but he hoped the younger boy wasn’t hiding anything else from them.
He looked at Seungmin one more time before standing, ruffling his hair, and leaving. He shut the door quietly and turned around to five concerned faces.
“Lix told us what happened,” Changbin said quietly. Chan nodded.
“Seungminnie will be fine. He just needs to sleep for now and we’ll see how he feels when he wakes up.” Chan herded the others to the living room. “Do you all want to stay here or go back to our dorm? I’m staying.”
Changbin, Hyunjin, and Jisung agreed, sitting on the couch. “I’m not tired,” Jisung said, making himself comfortable.
“I am,” Minho grumbled, eyes closed where he stood. “I’m going to bed.” He turned around immediately and went back to his room, leaving the door open. Changbin followed him and, surprisingly, didn’t get kicked out.
Chan sat next to Jisung. “I’m tired, too,” Felix said, yawning. “Jinnie, wanna sleep with me?” Hyunjin stood quickly and smiled, grabbing Felix’s hand. Then it was just Chan, Jisung, and Jeongin.
Jisung rested his head on Chan’s shoulder while Jeongin leaned against the younger rapper. Chan wrapped an arm around Jisung and held him tightly. “He’ll be fine. Let’s watch something, yeah?”
---
Seungmin woke up well rested with a fuzzy brain. He immediately remembered what happened and sighed, feeling the ache in his wrist. He looked around his room and was met with silence, the door closed and no one with him. He was a little disappointed, but he knew that the others wanted him to sleep well, and he did.
Seungmin sat up slowly, his body feeling great but his arm feeling horrible. It still ached up to his elbow and fingers and his wrist hurt even without moving it. It felt better than it did when he originally woke up but it wasn’t any better than the night before. The splint must have helped a bit while he slept.
He stood slowly, his right hand holding onto his left forearm as he winced. He tried not to rotate or move his arm, but it was difficult. He kind of wished he had a sling, but that seemed like too much for a simple sprain.
He left his room quietly and still didn’t hear anything. Were the others asleep? He continued to the kitchen in search of medicine and he saw some people in the living room on his way.
“Hyung?” Chan’s head whipped to the side and he immediately stood up when he saw Seungmin.
“Hey, Minnie,” he said, walking up to Seungmin to run a hand through his hair. “Are you feeling better?”
Seungmin nodded. “A little. Thank you, hyung,” he mumbled embarrassedly.
“No need to thank me.” Chan led him to the kitchen and handed him two pills that were already set out for him, as well as a cold glass of water. “Take these,” he said, “then you can have more in five hours.”
Seungmin swallowed them quickly, grimacing at the taste. Chan also grabbed him the ice pack from the freezer, seemingly reading his mind. They both moved back to the living room and Jisung and Jeongin looked at Seungmin curiously.
“How are you feeling, hyung?” Jeongin asked. Seungmin sat next to him, his left arm on the arm rest.
“Better.” Chan kneeled in front of him and Seungmin let the oldest take off his splint. He thought that Chan was being too gentle with him, almost like a child, but he knew it would make Chan feel better. Chan loved taking care of the others, even though the reason he had to care for them broke his heart sometimes.
Chan loosened the velcro as much as he could before sliding it off, but Seungmin still winced. He didn’t move his wrist in the slightest, yet it hurt more without the splint anyway. Chan put a pillow on his lap and set the ice pack on it.
“Ice it for fifteen minutes, then wait thirty minutes before icing it again.” Seungmin nodded and put his wrist on the ice, feeling both pain and slight numbness from the cold. His wrist looked no better than it did before going to the doctor but he knew it would heal slowly.
“Seungmin-ah,” Chan said quietly, a hand on Seungmin’s knee. Seungmin hummed. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
Seungmin sighed. “I don’t really know. I just… I figured it’d be fine if I ice it a lot, then I can worry about it when break starts. You were all really tired last night and I didn’t want to ruin anything for you.” He was looking down at his arm, knowing that the others would counter everything he said.
Surprisingly, it was Jisung who spoke first. “You know we wouldn’t want you to do that, Minnie. You wouldn’t ruin anything.”
“He’s right,” Chan said. “I told you earlier, but you can’t hide any injuries from us. We have to know in case it gets worse, which it did. You know that.”
“Yeah, I know,” Seungmin sighed. He felt bad; why did he hide it? They wouldn’t have minded helping him the night before and it wouldn’t have hurt so much if he’d gone to the doctor sooner. He knew all of that, so why?
Jeongin wrapped an arm around Seungmin and pulled him into a careful side hug, so the older boy rested his head on his shoulder. “I get it, hyung,” he said quietly. “You’ll know better next time, right?”
Seungmin felt like he was being babied by the baby of the group with the way Jeongin worded it. He nodded nonetheless, reassuring the others. He knew that everyone else would ask him how he was and why he didn’t tell them, but he’d just have to deal with it and give the same answer.
They’d be a bit upset with him for worrying them so much, but he knew it wouldn’t last too long. They loved him, after all.