Archive of Our Own

Minho, Hyunjin, and Seungmin were sharing a car to return to their dorms. It had been a long day, and all they wanted to do was sleep.

Hyunjin was sitting in the middle with Minho on his left and Seungmin on his right. They were all silent and not touching each other, not wanting to break the tranquil atmosphere.

Seungmin suddenly heard the sound of tires screeching, and his head shot up. Through the rain, he saw headlights facing them from the right, approaching the intersection they were about to go through. And it wasn’t slowing down.

His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, but it was too late. The headlights were coming closer and closer and closer…

There was a loud crashing sound before Seungmin nearly flew out of his seat. The tires on his side of their car lifted off of the ground for a few seconds before slamming back down, but Seungmin couldn’t hear it. He wasn’t sure if he hit his head or not, but his ears were ringing terribly.

He felt the way his car door caved in at the impact, shoving his body into Hyunjin’s and Hyunjin’s into Minho’s. There was a horrible pain somewhere in his body, but he couldn’t focus on it.

Then all movement stopped. Seungmin’s throat was sore as if he had screamed, and his torso was folded over his knees. His eyes were squeezed close, and his breathing was too fast.

A hand landed on his shoulder and shook him, causing his hearing to slowly filter back in.

“Min? Seungmin?”

He coughed and opened his eyes. He was met with the dark, blurry sight of the car’s floor, now covered in shrapnel and other parts of the vehicle that had been ruined. He felt disoriented.

“Seungmin!” The hand shook him harder and Seungmin gasped in pain. The right side of his ribcage was aching worse than anything. “Seungmin, look at me, please…”

Seungmin tried to lift his torso but the pain in his ribs stopped him. He turned his head to the left instead and was quickly met with Hyunjin’s face, centimeters away from his own. The older boy didn’t look injured but he was definitely scared, tears on his cheeks.

“Seungmin, can you hear me?” Seungmin didn’t move, but he hummed, watching as Hyunjin let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. What hurts? Are you okay?”

Hyunjin sounded panicked now. Seungmin tried to figure out what exactly was hurting, and when he realized that it was everything, he whimpered. Then another body was kneeling on the other side of Hyunjin to get a good look at Seungmin’s face.

“Seungmin-ah, can you sit up?” Minho asked. Seungmin tried again but shook his head with a silent, painful sob. “Fuck.”

Seungmin sucked in a small breath and kept his arms wrapped firmly around his stomach. The pain was concentrated in his right ankle, thigh, ribs, and head, spanning his body from top to bottom. He had never felt anything like it before, not even after their most grueling dance practices.

He both heard and felt when the left car door opened. A deep voice shouted, “Come on, get out,” to the boys in the car.

“Wait!” Hyunjin shouted. “He’s hurt! Help him!”

Seungmin rested his forehead on his left knee. He heard some more talking before a hand landed on his back.

“Seungminnie, I’m going to take your seatbelt off, okay?” Hyunjin warned in a teary voice. Seungmin gasped when the seatbelt clicked open and the material shifted against his stomach, then it was quickly being pulled over his head. He had less support, and his body folded a little more, making him cry out. Hyunjin shushed him and stroked his hair, but that only did so much.

The door on Seungmin’s side was pried open, and feeling the hard material leave the side of his leg added even more pain. There was a foreign hand on his right shoulder.

Seungmin heard more words, but he only caught a few of them: quickly, broken, stretcher, and not too bad. He wasn’t so sure about that.

Two hands gripped the front of his shoulders and pushed, pressing his back flat against the car seat. He screamed, long and painful, and pressed a hand against his hurt rib. The pressure only made it worse. He was panting and crying and he just wanted it to end.

A hand pulled on his arm and lifted his shirt, then chilly fingers were pressing lightly on his ribcage. It wasn’t much, but it hurt.

Arms slipped under his shoulders and knees, followed by a second pair on his other side. He knew what was coming but had no time to prepare for it when he was suddenly lifted off of his seat. He groaned loudly in agony as his body rocked and swayed until he was set down on something soft and thin, feeling raindrops hit his body with seemingly as much force as the car had.

His torso burned more, but his leg somehow hurt less. His facial features were tense, and he felt tears, sweat, and salt water covering his skin, increasing the pace of his breathing and, in turn, worsening the pain in his midsection.

His mind went blank as he slipped into peaceful unconsciousness.

---

Seungmin was floating. That was the only word that could describe how he felt when he came to.

The first thing he registered was his hearing. The room was quiet sans the steady beeping echoing in his ears, and he slowly realized where he was. He could smell the dreadful sterile scent of hospitals, one of his least favorite places in the world.

There was a scratchy sheet on top of him, and he rubbed it in between his fragile fingers. The entire right side of his body felt weighed down whilst the left side felt as light as a feather.

He squinted his eyes open and was met with a white ceiling in a dark room. He rolled his head to the left and winced at his sore neck, but he felt a little better when he saw Jisung sleeping in an uncomfortable plastic chair with his feet propped up on the mattress. Jeongin was in a similar position next to him.

He glanced around the room; it looked like a typical hospital. He looked down at his own blanket-covered body and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

“Seungmin?” He slowly looked to the right and saw Changbin taking quick steps towards him with a smile. “Hey, Minnie. How are you feeling?”

Seungmin blinked up at him for a few seconds before shrugging to the best of his ability. Changbin’s smile dropped slightly but didn’t leave his face. The older boy reached over to press a button on the remote lying next to Seungmin’s hip before sitting down in a chair and scooting closer to the bed. He held Seungmin’s hand gently with both of his own and didn’t speak, waiting for the doctor to arrive.

He appeared less than two minutes later. He didn’t have a lot to say, but he told Seungmin about his injuries, and the boy was less than pleased. He had two broken ribs, a minorly sprained ankle, and multiple contusions along his right thigh, hip, and arm. No wonder that side of his body was in turmoil.

They reminded him of what had happened, but his memory was crystal clear. He remembered seeing the incoming vehicle, the way their car jumped as it was t-boned, and how the distorted car door felt slamming into his side.

The doctor gave them some time alone after that. Jisung and Jeongin were still asleep, but Seungmin hoped that they would wake up soon.

“Here,” Changbin whispered, handing him a hospital water bottle. He pressed the button to adjust the bed into a sitting position, then the younger boy took tentative sips.

“Hyung,” he whispered, his voice rough and scratchy.

“Yeah?”

“Where’re… Hyun and hyung.” The only thing Seungmin couldn’t remember was what had happened to the other two boys. He didn’t know if they were injured or not, but they weren’t in the room.

Changbin sighed. “They’re both fine. Minho hyung hurt his hand a bit and had to get it checked out - I think he jammed some fingers or something - and Hyunjin went to get a check up twenty minutes ago. You slept for a couple of hours, and he refused to leave your side.”

Seungmin handed the water back to Changbin, relieved. His side was still aching like he had just run five kilometers, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been originally.

“Channie hyung is with the manager, and they’re filling things out and talking about our schedules. Felix was with Minho hyung and Hyunjin last I checked.”

Seungmin nodded and sniffled. He hadn’t even thought about their upcoming schedules; he was supposed to do his birthday livestream in two days, but he already knew that it would be postponed. That was one of his favorite days of the year - not because it was his birthday, but because he was able to interact with STAY by himself in a scheduled time slot. It was different from group livestreams.

He heard a creak and looked to the left. He watched as Jisung opened his eyes and smacked his lips, then he jumped out of his chair when he made eye contact with Seungmin.

“Minnie!” he exclaimed, moving closer to cup Seungmin’s cheeks. He was noticeably gentler than usual. “How are you feeling? Is it bad? The doctor guy said it isn’t but it looked—“

“Sung,” Seungmin interrupted quietly, “I’m okay. ‘S not bad.” But it still hurt and he knew that the pain would stick with him for weeks, if not longer.

Jisung’s frantic questioning woke Jeongin up as well, although he was much calmer than the older boy. He simply stood and gave Seungmin a smile, one which he was able to return, albeit forcefully.

“The doctor already came and talked to him,” Changbin said. “He’ll be back later. We don’t know when we can leave, and the others aren’t back yet.”

“Where’s manager hyung?” Jeongin asked.

“Still doing paperwork, I think. Or with Minho hyung.”

The maknae nodded and looked back at Seungmin. The injured boy’s eyes were closed, and there was a pained strain creasing his eyebrows and forehead. Jisung removed his hands from his cheeks and sat back down, then he held Seungmin’s left forearm gently for support. Seungmin didn’t argue, knowing that he didn’t have the strength and that the older boy needed the comfort and reassurance as well.

“Do you have a headache?” Jeongin asked quietly. Seungmin nodded. “Do you want water?”

Seungmin shook his head and shifted to get more comfortable, completely forgetting about his broken ribs. He gasped in pain and embarrassingly felt tears spring to his eyes.

“Don’t move,” Changbin told him gently. Seungmin could have groaned - he knew that - but he was too distracted and unable to use his vocal cords properly. “I’m going to find hyungs. Stay here.”

Seungmin opened his eyes to watch him leave the room, then Jeongin rounded the bed to sit in Changbin’s vacant chair.

“You should sleep more, hyung,” he suggested. “You’ll heal quicker.”

Seungmin didn’t have it in himself to nod, preferring to slip back into unconsciousness. Everything felt better that way.

---

When he opened his eyes again, everyone was in the room. Jisung and Jeongin were still sitting while Chan, Changbin, and Felix were standing about the room. Minho was sleeping on the couch against the wall behind Jeongin, and Seungmin could see a white bandage wrapped around his left hand and fingers. Hyunjin was sitting in Jeongin’s original chair next to Jisung, and his eyes were open yet accompanied by dark eyebags. He hadn’t slept a wink since the accident.

It was dead silent. No one noticed that Seungmin had woken up again. He let his eyes wander; Chan had a stressed and exhausted look on his face, Changbin looked worried, Hyunjin and Jisung were staring off into space, Felix was wringing his hands together, and Jeongin was picking at his nail beds. Maybe no one had slept a wink, sans Minho.

Seungmin let out a soft sigh. He felt a little better after his nap, still feeling the tension and aches in his body but not having it take over his mind.

“Hyung,” he whispered, looking at Chan. Everyone who was awake turned to him.

The leader rushed to the bed and ran a hand through Seungmin’s hair. “Hey, Minnie,” he said with a smile. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. Can we go home?” That was all he wanted to do at this point. With his injuries, there was nothing else he could do anyway.

Chan’s eyes turned sympathetic. “They want to keep you a bit longer. You need to rest so that your ribs don’t jostle too much and get misaligned or anything. It would hurt a lot for you to move anyway.”

Seungmin was disappointed. He hadn’t spent much time in hospitals during his twenty-two years of life, but he had always hated the atmosphere. Everything screamed germs to him, although that was ironic.

“I know it sucks. Just try to relax, okay? Do you want anything?” Seungmin shook his head. He wasn’t hungry, thirsty, nor feeling up to doing anything, not even using his phone.

The manager entered the room at that moment, and his eyes widened when he saw that Seungmin was awake.

“Hey, Seungmin-ah. How are you feeling?”

“Not good. Wanna leave.” He didn’t mean to sound so petulant, but he really just wanted to lie in his own bed and get out of the stressful environment.

The manager sighed and stood at the foot of the bed. “I know you do, but your ribs were close to puncturing your lungs and the doctor was worried about it. It’s been eight hours, but they want you to stay until the afternoon, okay? It’s only seven a.m.”

Seungmin sighed and crossed his arms to show his frustration, desperately trying to hide a grimace as his forearm brushed against his ribs. Gentle hands grabbed his wrists and put them back at his sides.

“Don’t be like that,” Chan scolded lightly. “We’re just trying to help you. You have to be patient.”

Chan only let go of one of his arms, and Seungmin felt a pout grow on his lips. He despised everything that was happening.

“Now that you’re awake, I want to talk to you about your schedule,” the manager said. Seungmin wanted to glare at him - he had just woken up and didn’t feel like doing that - but he knew that would only work against him. “Your birthday live is canceled for the time being, and you can’t perform at the Global Citizen Festival. Only Chan, Changbin, and Jisung will be going to that. Minho and Hyunjin won’t be going to Milan either. You’re going to get plenty of rest, and if you want, you can do your livestream when you’re healed, but that will take weeks. You’re going to be on hiatus until the doctor clears you to go back to work.”

That was too much information for him to digest at once. All he registered was that his birthday livestream was canceled and he was officially on hiatus.

Gentle fingers touched his cheeks. “Don’t cry, Minnie. It’ll be okay.”

He hadn’t even noticed that his vision was blurry or that his breaths were shaking, and the rise and fall of his chest began to hurt his ribcage. Chan suddenly bent over him to pull him into a loose embrace, a hand in the his hair and another on his left shoulder. It was comforting, like the oldest’s hugs always were, and Seungmin let himself cry silently. He wanted to stop, but the spasming of his body only increased the pain, and he couldn’t.

Then a few hands were on the left side of his body, aiding in the comfort. Seungmin squeezed the fingers in his left hand and took deep breaths. He wanted to let himself go, to get out everything bottled up inside of him, but the need to relieve his pain overrode the desire. It hurt too badly.

Minutes later, his eyes were puffy and his torso was aching something terrible, but the tears had ceased. Chan pulled back, keeping a warm hand on his shoulder while the others removed their own touches, sans Jisung who continued to rub his thigh.

“Listen, Seungmin-ah,” the manager said quietly, his voice much softer than before. “Just focus on your health for now. There is no such thing as too much rest and recovery time. We will worry about your career and your group, so take your time. Worry about yourself.”

Seungmin barely restrained himself from snapping. He had never loved nor hated their manager, but at this moment, all he wanted was for the man to leave and never come back. He had no comforting or caretaking instincts whatsoever, and his words truly did no good. Seungmin knew that management would take care of things on the company’s side, he knew that he had to take enough time to fully heal, he knew that everything would work out eventually. He hated that the manager felt the need to spell it out for him.

“I’m going to call the company,” the manager continued. “I just came to check up.”

Then he left, which was exactly what Seungmin wanted. He closed his eyes and kept his breathing even; it was still hurting his torso, and even his arms and head. He heard shuffling and a groan, prompting him to open his eyes again. Minho had stood up and was rubbing his eyes with his good hand.

“Hyung,” Seungmin whispered. Minho hummed and looked at him. “You okay?”

Minho sighed and moved closer, standing next to Chan. “I’m fine. Just some jammed fingers and a sore wrist.”

Seungmin turned to Hyunjin, and the older boy perked up slightly. “I’m okay too. I’m just tired.”

It made sense that Hyunjin was the best off. He had been in the middle, so he probably only got bruises and possible whiplash.

“Try to sleep, Seungmin-ah,” Changbin said. “That’s the best you can do.”

Seungmin nodded, and Chan and Jisung let go of him. He closed his eyes and tuned everything out, silently praying that he would heal quickly.

---

Seungmin wasn’t sure if he was awake or not. All he knew was that everything hurt one hundred times more than before. His chest was burning, and he couldn’t stop coughing, almost heaving as his body convulsed.

Hands were on his body again, and he was pretty sure that he was awake; dreams never hurt this much, nor were they so vivid.

He could hardly breathe, both from physical inability and fear. He had no idea what was happening, where he was, with whom he was. He could hear frantic voices and rapid beeping, which did nothing to help him.

Something poked his arm, and then he was unconscious again.

---

Seungmin wasn’t floating this time. Rather than feeling lighter than hydrogen molecules, he felt heavier than an elephant. The thin mattress underneath him was supporting his weight, and his body sank further into it.

It was hard to open his eyes, but he tried. He opened them a sliver and was first met with a white ceiling, then a face. He had to close his eyes again due to the harsh lighting, but he thought that he recognized that person.

Something beeped, and something squeezed his hand. He heard a voice, but everything was muffled.

When he eventually opened his eyes again, it was a little easier. He quickly noticed how sore his throat was.

“Seungmin-ah.”

His mouth was dry, too. He licked his lips, but it was no use. He wanted water.

“Seungmin.”

He was exhausted, but he just had to keep his eyes open. He didn’t know what would happen if he closed them again, and he didn’t want to find out.

“Kim Seungmin.”

His vision began to clear, and he made out a body standing next to him. It was Hyunjin. Hyunjin quickly leaned over him and pressed the button, then he crouched to be closer to Seungmin’s level.

“Hey, Minnie,” he whispered, voice weak. “The doctor’s coming now, okay?”

Seungmin didn’t react, but he registered the words.

When the doctor entered, he tried to focus a little more and listen carefully. The doctor greeted him warmly and asked how he was feeling, to which Seungmin responded with a so-so motion with his left hand.

“We had to perform a bronchoscopy because you had atelectasis, meaning a part of your lung collapsed. We inserted an instrument into your airways to clear them and get a visual on what was happening. The procedure took close to an hour. You’ll likely feel very tired for the next few days, and your mouth and throat will be dry and sore, so drink plenty of fluids. I gave your manager some papers that explain everything more thoroughly, but for now I’m going to give you a throat lozenge.”

The doctor gave the lozenge to Hyunjin. That was a lot of information for Seungmin to process.

Seungmin didn’t pay a lot of attention after that, but once the doctor left, Hyunjin gently touched his shoulder. Seungmin looked at him.

“Take the lozenge,” Hyunjin whispered with a wobbly smile. He unwrapped the lozenge and held it up to Seungmin’s lips, waiting for a few seconds for the younger boy’s mouth to open before slipping it in. “Manager hyung sent the others back to the dorms to sleep ‘cause they have to work. It’s six a.m.”

Oh. It had almost been a whole day since he was last awake - lucidly, at least.

Hyunjin reached up to wipe a tear from his own cheek, moving his other hand to pet Seungmin’s hair.

“Sorry,” he choked out quietly. “I just—I’ve barely slept. I was so worried about you.”

Seungmin felt bad, but his brain was still fuzzy. He couldn’t speak even if he wanted to. He settled on lifting a shaky hand and resting it on Hyunjin’s forearm, getting a small smile from the older boy.

“I love you. Don’t worry about talking or anything, just don’t move. Do you want some water?”

Seungmin nodded, just slightly. He moved the lozenge in between his teeth and cheek as Hyunjin poked the straw through his lips for him. He winced at every swallow, but he needed it desperately. Hyunjin set it back down on the bedside table.

“Manager hyung will come by sometime today. The doctor said you can probably get discharged this afternoon. Apparently they were monitoring you for a collapsed lung this whole time, but only manager hyung knew. I can’t believe they didn’t tell us. I mean, I get that they didn’t want us to worry, but we had no warning and no idea what was happening. You just shifted in your sleep, and suddenly everything went wrong. It’s so frustrating.”

Seungmin listened to Hyunjin ramble while staring into his eyes. The older boy sighed and took Seungmin’s hand instead, holding it delicately.

“Sorry. I know you’re tired.” Seungmin squeezed his hand twice, and Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “No? Two squeezes for no?” One squeeze. Hyunjin smiled weakly. “Are you tired?” Two squeezes. “Okay. Do you want me to stop talking?” Two squeezes.

So, Hyunjin spoke. He told Seungmin that the others were upset about having to work, and he didn’t have to because he hadn’t slept at all. Chan, Changbin, and Jisung were supposed to leave later that night around seven o’clock, hopefully after Seungmin returned to the dorms.

“Oh!” Hyunjin lit up suddenly. “Happy birthday!”

Seungmin hadn’t even realized. Was it really his birthday?

“I know we all agreed on not doing gifts anymore, but we all pitched in to get you something. And no, it’s not just cake. We’ll give it to you later when you feel better.”

Seungmin appreciated it, but he didn’t want any special treatment that wasn’t necessary. He knew that they cared, and they didn’t have to show it like that. But if it made them happy, then he could deal with it.

Hyunjin’s eyes were finally drooping, and Seungmin began to feel similar. The older boy pressed his lips to the back of Seungmin’s hand before taking a deep breath.

“I think we should both rest. I can probably sleep now that I know you’re okay.” Seungmin squeezed his hand. “I’ll just be on the couch, okay? You can always press the button if you want the doctor to come. Do you want anything right now? Anything at all?”

Two squeezes. Hyunjin stood up slowly and bent over to kiss Seungmin’s forehead, sending him one more smile before walking to the couch and laying down with a thin blanket. They maintained eye contact for a few seconds before Hyunjin’s closed. Quiet snores followed soon after, and Seungmin wasn’t far behind.

---

When Seungmin was finally discharged, whatever drugs the doctors had put him on were fading. He felt a little disoriented when he sat in a wheelchair to get to the car, as he had to stand up for the first time in nearly two days, and he realized how much of an effect that had on his legs. They were sore, but not in the post-dance practice way - in the weak, nimble, baby-giraffe way. He didn’t like it.

The manager wheeled him down the hallway while Hyunjin walked beside him. It was silent, but Seungmin knew that it wouldn’t be once the doors were open. There was a back entrance in their current wing that they were allowed to use, so he wasn’t sure how many people would be out there. The company had to disclose Seungmin’s situation officially to the public, although they kept it simple: he had atelectasis and had to spend a day and a half in the hospital to keep an eye on it. There were undoubtedly going to be sasaengs outside, but hopefully they wouldn’t be at the back.

Seungmin kept his posture proper despite the pain the position brought. As anticipated, upon opening the doors, the cacophony of a distant crowd hit his ears. The back of the building was a bit excluded from the rest of the area, and the fans were all at the front. That was a relief.

The manager helped him get into the backseat of the car while supporting his biceps, but Seungmin didn’t like the large, callused, unfamiliar hands on his body. He much rather would have preferred Hyunjin to help him, but he couldn’t ask for that, not when the older boy wasn’t in the best shape himself.

Even so, when they arrived at the dorm, the manager dropped them off and told Hyunjin to support Seungmin instead.

“I have to go to the company,” he said, “because I’ve been with you for a while now. Your members should be upstairs.”

Hyunjin sighed heavily, and Seungmin felt bad. Although Hyunjin had slept, it was nowhere near enough for the forty-three hours they had spent at the hospital. But Hyunjin was a good person, so he slid out of the car and walked around it to open Seungmin’s door and help him get out. It seemed even more difficult than it was before, and he couldn’t help but put a lot of his weight on the older boy.

Once they stumbled their way to the door of the building, the manager drove off. Hyunjin huffed.

“Sorry,” Seungmin whispered, his voice thin and barely there. His throat still hurt but he just had to say it.

Hyunjin immediately shushed him and held him a little tighter. “Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault at all, you know that.” He did. He just felt terrible about how much of a burden this was on his members, as well as on the company.

Hyunjin had to remove one arm in order to open the door, causing Seungmin to wince. The moment they were inside, he was pulled to the bench against the wall to the right. He sat down with a small sigh of relief as the pain eased slightly.

“If someone just carries you upstairs, would that be okay?” Hyunjin asked, sitting beside him. “I don’t want you to overexert yourself, but I don’t know if that would hurt more.”

Seungmin nodded. He really didn’t want to walk all the way to the elevator, then stay standing all the way up to the fifth floor, then walk all the way to the dorm and all the way through it to his bedroom. Just getting from the car to the door - five meters, give or take - was excruciating enough. His ribs caused the other pains throughout the right side of his body to be nearly unnoticeable.

So, Hyunjin called Chan, and the leader answered after half a ring. He immediately agreed to the proposal and said that he was on his way down.

When the older boy arrived, he glanced at Hyunjin before crouching in front of Seungmin, whose head was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and an arm around his abdomen.

“Hey, Seungmin-ah,” he whispered ever so gently. “How are you feeling?”

Seungmin shook his left hand from side to side.

“His throat’s sore,” Hyunjin supplied quietly. “He probably won’t talk for the rest of today, maybe tomorrow too.”

Chan groaned quietly. “We’re supposed to leave in an hour. This is just… like, the worst timing there could be. I wish we didn’t have to go.”

“He’ll be okay, hyung. We’ll take care of him.”

Chan smiled. “I know you will.”

He sat down on Seungmin’s other side, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll carry you upstairs, okay?” Seungmin nodded. “Try to relax. Tensing will only make it worse. I’ll be as careful as I can.”

Chan moved to hold him, and once Seungmin was in his arms, he waited a moment to make sure that the younger boy wasn’t in too much pain. His eyes had squeezed shut at first, but after he relaxed his muscles more, it was bearable.

The journey to the elevator was quick. Seungmin kept his nose tucked into Chan’s shoulder the whole way, and before he knew it, there were more voices.

“How is he?”

“He’s okay, he needs to rest.”

“Can he not walk?”

“He’s sore.”

“Get him to bed.”

Then he was being set down on something soft and cozy. He hadn’t even realized that they were in his dorm.

“Seungmin.”

He opened his eyes, pleased to see that his light was off. Chan was sitting on the edge of his bed while Hyunjin stood behind him with a blanket and a pillow. He vaguely noticed Changbin and Jisung enter the room.

“Binnie, Sungie, and I have to leave soon.” Seungmin had forgotten about that. “I know this wasn’t the birthday you were expecting, and I’m sorry about that, but when we get back in a few days we’ll celebrate properly. Or, as properly as we can.” He had forgotten again that it was his birthday. Did it even matter at this point? “Get as much rest as you need, okay? Hyunjin will be sleeping on your floor, so if you need anything at all just get his attention. We’ll call sometime tomorrow. I love you.”

Seungmin was barely able to process the words before Chan leaned down to kiss his head. Then Changbin took his place, caressing his hair as Jisung swooped in on the other side with a big kiss to his cheek. He would have smiled or complained if he weren’t in so much pain.

The last thing he saw was Hyunjin’s small smile before he drifted off to sleep.

---

The drugs from the hospital had completely worn off by the time he woke up. He almost groaned, but the pain in his throat stopped him. Not only was his rib cage throbbing, but a headache and whatever bruises he had over his body were coming to life as well. His ankle even hurt a little bit.

He couldn’t help the way his eyes burned. He carefully pressed his left hand into them and gasped, but the growing lump in his throat only made it hurt more.

It took a few minutes for him to get used enough to the pain to remove his hand. It was still very dark both inside and outside, but he made out the shape of an unmoving body on the floor - Hyunjin. Seungmin couldn’t call out to him, but he really needed to. He couldn’t deal with this for hours.

With a painful grimace, he reached for his bedside table until he found a small object. It felt like his deodorant, but he didn’t care. He threw it as far as he could without moving the rest of his body, and the impulse from the action was so small that it landed a foot behind Hyunjin’s head, even though the older boy was only a few feet away from the bed. A tear spilled down Seungmin's temple, and he resisted the urge to cry out.

He found a small, block-shaped object and threw it, managing to hit Hyunjin’s shoulder. He shifted in his sleep before rolling over and opening his eyes. One look at Seungmin reminded him of what was happening, and he was immediately on his feet.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered, holding Seungmin’s hand and eyeing the tears on his face. “Do you need something?”

Seungmin squeezed his hand once. Yes.

“Are you hungry?” No. “Bathroom?” No. Hyunjin paused. “Do you want your pain medicine?”

That garnered a tight squeeze. Hyunjin nodded and backed up, saying that he would be back in twenty seconds. Seungmin didn’t count, but he was pretty sure that Hyunjin was back in ten.

It was very meticulous, putting two pills in Seungmin’s mouth and trying to feed him water without sitting up, but Hyunjin was extremely cautious and they eventually got it done. Swallowing nearly made Seungmin cry again.

“It might take an hour or so to kick in,” Hyunjin told him, sitting on the bed. “The doctor prescribed them, so they’re stronger than our usual over-the-counter ones. It’s five a.m.”

Seungmin blinked in response. He couldn’t speak, nod, hum, anything. He didn’t want to move.

Hyunjin sighed. “All you can do right now is rest. Here, throw this again if you need something.”

He picked up the deodorant that Seungmin had thrown before and set it back on the nightstand. He stood, but Seungmin squeezed his hand before he could let go.

“What is it?”

Seungmin took a stuttered breath, and his right hand flopped on the mattress, patting it weakly. Hyunjin got the message and climbed over him vigilantly, lying down on the other side of the queen-sized bed. He took Seungmin’s hand and stroked it gently.

“I’m staying right here. Just go back to sleep.”

He couldn’t. Hyunjin had said it himself; it would take an hour for the medicine to kick in. He was in too much pain to fall asleep.

Hyunjin tried to stay awake with him. Seungmin saw the way his eyes drooped dangerously before they blinked back open, the way he took deep breaths, the way he shifted every few seconds. But it was a losing battle, and Hyunjin was asleep within twenty minutes.

In the dark silence, Seungmin had time to reflect. What was he supposed to do after this? He would need multiple days to recover enough to walk properly, then even more before he could go to the company to sing and work, and a whole lot more before he could dance. It would take so long for him to get back to a normal routine and schedule.

He wished that Chan was there. Chan was the leader, the eldest, the one who spoke for them. He would probably know how to approach this. But Seungmin knew that all of his members would help him if he asked for it or leave him alone if he wanted.

3RACHA would only be gone for two days. He trusted them all. He knew that they would all get through this together.

---

In a way, he felt better when he woke up. In another, he felt worse. His head was clear, and he wasn’t feeling as hopeless as the days before, but he knew that any movement would cause pain to rip through his body - specifically his ribcage, but the entire right half of his body was in a lot of turmoil as well.

When he peeled his eyes open, Hyunjin was gone, but Felix had taken his place, sitting next to the bed on the floor with his phone in hand.

“Lix,” Seungmin whispered raspily, a cough forcing its way out of his throat. Felix turned toward him immediately with a wide smile stretching his lips.

“Seungmin! Are you feeling better?” He nodded slightly. Felix’s smile calmed. “Good. It’s ten thirty-ish, and Hyunjin said that you took pain medicine at five, so you can have more in an hour.”

Great.

“Where?” Seungmin asked. He wasn’t sure how much of his voice he would be able to use today.

“Where’s Hyunjin? He’s in the kitchen with Minho hyung, I think. He sent me in here, like, ten minutes ago when he went to the bathroom. Innie’s probably with them.”

Seungmin sighed. He was typically an early riser and hopped right out of bed. He hated lying still for long periods of time and knew that he would start getting squirmy any minute, but he was supposed to be on bedrest. He didn’t want to be.

“Hyung’s making soup. He thinks it’ll be best for your throat, so just try not to spill it on the bed. I know you probably want to get up, but unless it’s for the bathroom, I don’t think anyone will let you. Just let us take care of you for now.”

“Manager?” Seungmin whispered.

“He said he might stop by later today, but I doubt it. He’s swamped at the company right now. We weren’t all supposed to have today off, but Channie hyung negotiated something for us. We’ll work tomorrow, so if you need someone to stay with you, it might have to be someone from the company instead.”

That made sense, Seungmin thought. He couldn’t be coddled forever. But the earlier mention of the bathroom made one of his physical needs apparent.

“I have… to go bathroom,” he said awkwardly, voice cracking and breaking everywhere. Felix immediately jumped off of the bed, and Seungmin would have laughed if he felt better.

The older boy put an arm around his shoulders and helped him sit up, but he did nearly all of the work as the strain in Seungmin’s whole body hurt too much. He groaned loudly and squeezed his eyes shut, hearing Felix shush him. He tried to twist his torso as little as possible as he stood, but it was inevitable.

“You’ve got it,” Felix assured quietly, lifting him carefully off of the bed. Seungmin groaned again, and it tapered off into a silent whine, his entire body almost bending under his weight.

“Thank you,” he said thinly. Felix just hummed and helped him to the bathroom. It was more difficult than it had been the day before, probably due to resting for so long.

He managed to stand on his own to do his business in private and brush his teeth. When he was done, Felix was there to support him back to bed, and, much to his surprise, Minho, Hyunjin, and Jeongin were all there. He held his breath as he sat back down against the headboard.

“Is it supposed to hurt that much?” Jeongin asked worriedly. “Should he still be at the hospital?”

“It’s like a broken ankle,” Minho said. “It’s going to hurt, and it just takes time to heal. The hospital can’t do anything more, so there’s no use keeping him there.”

Jeongin nodded. “Even though his lung was punctured?”

“I guess so,” Minho shrugged. “The hospital knows what they’re doing. This is a common injury.”

Minho’s homemade soup was sitting on a tray on the bedside table, and he reached for it before setting it carefully on top of Seungmin’s thighs.

“Thank you, hyung,” Seungmin whispered. Felix’s shoulder was pressed against his while he slowly lifted spoonfuls of soup up to his lips.

That was how Seungmin spent his day; sitting or lying in bed with Felix’s laptop, playing online games or watching movies. One of the others was usually in the room with him - mostly Hyunjin and Jeongin - but they also gave him some alone time. Minho brought him lunch and dinner as well, and Felix baked brownies in the afternoon, giving him a bigger serving than he should have. He swallowed more pain medicine once he was allowed to, but it took too long to kick in, in his opinion.

At eight p.m., a few minutes after Seungmin had eaten an early dinner, his phone rang. He was alone in his room and found it underneath his blanket. It was Jisung.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Seungmin-ah. Just calling to see how you’re doing.” Jisung was always thoughtful like that. Knowing him, he had probably been thinking about Seungmin since the moment they left the dorms.

“I’m okay,” he replied honestly. “It’s a bit hard to walk around, but it’s getting better. My throat’s better too.”

“That’s good. It’s six in the morning here, and I wanted to call before we leave for the venue. There’s no time to call the others, so can you give them our love too?”

That caused Seungmin to smile. “Of course. Have fun.”

“We’ll try,” Jisung sighed. “It’ll be difficult without you.” The pout was audible in his voice.

“You’ll be fine,” Seungmin assured. “I’m sure you’ll do great. What time do you perform?”

“At six p.m. here, so… eight a.m. in Korea, I think.”

“I’ll be watching.”

Jisung chuckled. “Thanks, Seungmin-ah. I’ll sing just for you.”

“No, you’ll rap just for me,” Seungmin giggled lightly.

“Sure, I guess so,” Jisung mused happily. “You’d probably prefer rapping, wouldn’t you?”

“Definitely. Rock the stage.”

There were muffled voices over the phone.

“I have to go. One of us will call again later when the timing works out. Remember to kiss the others for me!”

Jisung hung up, and Seungmin huffed out a laugh. He wasn’t going to kiss anyone, and Jisung knew that.

The phone call made him feel better mentally, though. He liked knowing that 3RACHA was thinking about him across the world. They were all such amazing performers and songwriters that Seungmin had no qualms about their upcoming stage.

His eyes were drooping in a way that told him he would be getting at least eight hours of sleep that night. His remaining members were supposed to leave for the company at six a.m. in order to make up for missed time, so they would be going to bed within the next few hours, but Seungmin wanted to be awake when they left and not be sleepy during the Global Citizen Festival.

He sent a text in their new five-person group chat, telling them that he was going to sleep and that no one had to accompany him overnight. He had everything he would need on his bedside table - water, pain medicine, leftover crackers. He did tell them that Jisung loved them, which garnered a cringing emoticon from Minho, a laugh from Hyunjin, a kissing emoji from Felix, and a ‘gross’ from Jeongin. Typical.

Seungmin set Felix’s laptop on the floor and texted the older boy that he could come get it at some point if he wanted it, as it was still over halfway charged. Felix said that he didn’t need it and he was allowing Seungmin to keep it during his recovery. Seungmin needed to buy an iPad or something for himself, but he kept putting it off. Maybe he could order one now.

With a wince, he shifted to lie down. He usually slept curled up on his side, but he had to stay on his back in order to keep his ribs stable. It was only slightly uncomfortable.

When he woke up, it was about four a.m. He had gotten about eight hours of sleep, just like he had predicted. After thinking for a few minutes, he decided that he wanted to migrate to the living room for the rest of the day as long as it was comfortable. He wanted to watch his hyungs perform on their large television, not on the laptop.

But he had to, of course, go to the bathroom first. He sat up slowly and took pain medicine, realizing that he felt a little better than the day before. That was surprising.

He shifted to the edge of the bed and stood. The rest of his body hurt more than before, though, and he figured that he was going to be limping through the house all day. The others would want to help him, but he could go to the bathroom himself. He used the walls as support as he stumbled with an arm around his midsection, sighing in relief once he got inside and closed the door.

Someone knocked on the door while he was washing his hands. “Seungmin?”

“Yeah?” he called back.

“Are you okay?”

He sighed. “Yeah.”

He dried off his hands and opened the door. It was Hyunjin.

“You shouldn’t be up,” the older boy scolded, reaching out to hold Seungmin’s arm. He wanted to shake it off.

“I just went to the bathroom. That’s all. I’m getting better.”

Hyunjin stared at him. “Yeah, you’re getting better. You won’t actually be better for weeks. The doctor even said that you shouldn’t be walking on your own for a few days. I know it hurts, and if we can make it even a little bit better for you, you should let us.”

Seungmin was expecting that. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. If he were to argue that he could do some things himself, Hyunjin would only throw it back in his face with a rebuttal.

He let Hyunjin help him back to his room, and he had to admit that it was easier that way.

“I wanna go to the living room with my stuff,” Seungmin told him, sitting on the edge of his mattress.

“Why?”

“To watch 3RACHA on the TV. They perform at eight.”

“Okay. What do you want to bring?”

Hyunjin picked up the laptop, water, pills, snacks, and Seungmin’s phone from the bedside table. His arms were full, and Seungmin insisted that he could walk to the couch alone, about which Hyunjin frowned but didn’t argue.

Jeongin was sitting at the kitchen counter when they walked past it. He raised his eyebrows in question, but he seemed to understand what was happening.

Hyunjin set everything down on one cushion while Seungmin sat on the one next to it. The older boy gave him a blanket and the remote before standing up straighter.

“Do you want breakfast? Felix made eggs.”

Seungmin nodded. Hyunjin brought him the food before leaving him alone upon Seungmin’s wishes.

It was only four thirty, so he had hours to kill. He turned on the television and found a movie he had seen before, so he decided to watch it.

Jeongin joined him at five forty-five. He sat down on Seungmin’s left with a drawn-out sigh.

“Are you feeling better, hyung?”

Seungmin nodded. “A bit.”

It was silent for a minute, sans the movie playing in the background.

“How long will you guys be out?” Seungmin asked.

“My schedule ends at ten tonight. I’m not sure about hyungs’, though.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened. A sixteen-hour work day wasn’t unheard of at JYPE, but Stray Kids always worked for no longer than fourteen, and usually only ten to twelve. Sometimes even eight with breaks throughout the day.

“But it’s okay,” Jeongin assured. “We chose to take yesterday off, so we have to pay the price. Since hyungs are the dancers, they might have to stay longer than me. We have a long dance practice in the afternoon, and I have vocal stuff in the morning. There’s a meeting with management as well.”

Seungmin felt bad. He knew that it wasn’t his fault, but he thought that he could still go to the meeting, maybe in place of the others. They didn’t deserve to deal with that workload.

“When can I go back to work?” Seungmin asked, forgetting how long his hiatus was supposed to be.

“I think they said two weeks, but you can’t sing for long periods of time. And you can’t dance for two months, maybe. I’ll ask the manager.”

It was going to be so boring. He needed a new hobby.

“You’re going to watch 3RACHA perform, right?” He nodded. “I hope they do well. I know they’re stressed, especially Channie hyung. Han hyung probably, too.”

Seungmin hummed in agreement. He hoped that Jisung’s anxiety wouldn’t flare and Chan’s self-destructive tendencies wouldn’t become apparent. Hopefully Changbin could keep them in line without hurting himself in the process.

“Ayen-ah!” Felix shouted from the hallway. He entered the living room and stood behind the couch, running his hand through Seungmin’s hair. “It’s time to go. Call us if you need anything, okay, Minnie?”

Seungmin nodded. Jeongin stood and went to the front door, telling Seungmin goodbye on the way. Hyunjin poked his head into the room to do the same. Felix kissed the top of his head before walking away.

“See you tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” Seungmin called back. Minho shouted a half-farewell from the door.

Then he was alone, with two hours to go until his hyungs’ performance. He found the Global Citizen Festival on YouTube and decided to watch the other acts. He put the laptop on his thighs and went back to one of the games he had been playing the day before.

Time flew, and before he knew it it was eight o’clock. It was only a few minutes later when 3RACHA was announced to come on stage, but not before the announcer said that the other members were unable to make it due to a minor car accident. That punched a hole straight through Seungmin’s gut, but the pain diminished when their music started playing and his members appeared.

They looked happy. That, in turn, made Seungmin happy.

They were flawless on stage. Every one of their movements was natural and on point. Their voices were as beautiful and clear as ever. Seungmin could hear the fans chanting and screaming in the background, and he was shocked to see how many of their fans were there, in New York, USA of all places. His heart fluttered.

Their performance wasn’t long enough, he thought, but they were outdoors, and he could see them sweating. He grabbed his phone and sent a text to Jisung, telling him to call when he was free. It was only six thirty p.m. there.

Jungkook was going to perform later, so he left the festival on and busied himself with the laptop. He was pretty far into his game and hoped that he wouldn’t finish it too soon.

Jisung still hadn’t called by the time his sunbaenim’s performance was over. Seungmin wasn’t worried, but he was a little upset; he rarely spent this much time alone, especially in the dorms, and he didn’t like it this time.

His phone didn’t ring until one p.m. Seungmin had gotten up to find something easy to eat, but he was exhausted once he reached the kitchen. It was a longer walk than the one to the bathroom had been. He sat on a barstool and with his left arm around his waist, groaning quietly.

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to answer his phone in time, so he didn’t try to go back to it. He stood a few minutes later and went to the fridge where he remembered a bowl of leftover cut strawberries that Minho had used to make a new recipe a few days before. He grabbed it quickly when he heard his phone ring again, then he took a pair of chopsticks from the drawer. The walk back to the couch was more painful than anything had been yet that day, his muscles having to work harder to keep him upright. He missed the call.

He took a minute to breathe when he sat down. He hated feeling so helpless and out of control of himself and his emotions. He was just glad that his ankle injury was minor enough for it to not matter very much anymore.

After he settled with the bowl on his lap, he picked up his phone and called Jisung back.

“Seungmin, are you okay? Why didn’t you answer?”

Seungmin sighed at his frantic tone. “I’m fine, Sungie. I was in the kitchen.”

Jisung let out a long breath. “God, you worried me. Are you feeling better, though?”

“Same as this morning. I want to hear about your day. You looked amazing on stage.”

“Aw, really? Thank you! It was actually really fun. I can’t believe how many people in the crowd knew who we were.”

“Yeah, I felt the same. They were so loud on live TV.”

There was shuffling over the phone.

“Hold on, Channie hyung’s here.”

“Seungminnie,” Chan’s voice filtered through. “Have you eaten yet?”

“Yes, hyung. I had eggs earlier, and I’m eating strawberries right now.”

“Okay, good. If you want takeout or for someone to make anything for you, I’m sure the company can send someone over.”

“It’s okay, I’m fine with what I have.”

“Alright. We’re leaving for Korea in the morning, so we’ll be back in a day or so. Manager hyung said that we have a lot of work to get done.”

“Okay, hyung. I hope it’s not too much.”

Chan sighed deeply. “We’ll be fine. It’ll be rough for a few days, but I’m sure it’ll get easier. You just focus on recovering, okay?”

Seungmin hummed affirmatively no matter how much his stomach swirled. “Get some sleep, then.”

“You too. Love you.”

Seungmin returned the sentiment before the phone call ended. It was so different from and weird compared to in-person conversations that he almost wanted to call them back, but he knew that he shouldn’t.

When Jeongin returned later that night, he told Seungmin that the other three would be back in two more hours. Seungmin winced; their schedules had lasted eighteen hours. The youngest’s eyes were drooping, and his movements were sluggish, so all he did was ask if Seungmin wanted anything before he trudged off to bed. Seungmin’s heart ached for them.

As expected, Minho, Hyunjin, and Felix seemed to be in even worse shape. Minho didn’t even bat an eye at Seungmin as he went to his room immediately. With his hand injury, there was a good chance that he had spent their dance practice either doing footwork only, giving the other two advice, or not being in the practice room at all, which was sure to dampen his mood.

“Hey, Seungmin-ah,” Hyunjin whispered, entering the living room. Two lamps and the television were on, but the main lights were off, turning the atmosphere even more tranquil. “How are you doing?”

“Good,” Seungmin replied, just as quietly, looking up at the older boy. He looked worse than Jeongin, and his lack of sleep while at the hospital wasn’t helping. “Innie’s in bed. I’ll just sleep out here.”

“You’re sure?”

Seungmin nodded. “It’s comfortable, and it’s easier. You should go to bed now. You can sleep in my room.”

Hyunjin seemed too exhausted to argue. He turned and went down the hall without another word.

Felix stepped out of the kitchen and into the living room with a small, forced smile.

“You ate dinner, right?”

Seungmin nodded; he had managed to make a simple sandwich a few hours before Jeongin arrived.

“Okay. Goodnight, sleep well.”

“You too.”

The volume on the television was close to mute, and Seungmin didn’t want to raise it in case the others heard it and couldn’t sleep, but they were probably knocked out already.

So, he turned it off. He had been awake about as long as the others despite not working like they did, and he knew that he needed to rest as well. He cleared off the couch and lay down carefully with his head on the armrest. It wasn’t the first time he had slept on this couch, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

He still didn’t like sleeping on his back, but he was comfortable enough. His head was empty, and it wasn’t difficult to drift off.

---

The following day was similar, but the others were able to leave at nine a.m. instead, so they got enough sleep. Seungmin somehow slept through them walking around and getting ready, and he only woke up when Hyunjin called his name and ruffled his hair. It was simply to tell him that they were leaving, then he fell back asleep.

When he woke up, it was almost two p.m. Although he was shocked, it made sense - not only did his body need it, but the twenty hours he had spent awake the day before was sure to take a toll on him, and rest was the only outlet.

He didn’t try to get up, though. He could reach the remote and his phone from this position. He turned on the television and didn’t bother to change the channel from some random cartoon.

“Seungmin?”

He jumped with a gasp, causing him to groan in pain.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Seconds later, Changbin appeared from behind the couch. Seungmin’s eyes widened.

“Hyung!”

Changbin chuckled and leaned his elbows on the back of the couch. “We got here about two hours ago, but we didn’t want to wake you. Chan hyung’s at the company and Sungie’s in the shower. He ran in there before I could.”

Seungmin smiled at the imagery. “It’s good to see you.”

“I bet. It must be lonely here, hm?”

Seungmin nodded. “It’s boring.”

“Is there anything you’ve wanted to do but never had the time for?”

Oh. He hadn’t really thought about that yet.

“I don’t know. I might find a book online.”

Changbin’s face scrunched. “Sounds… fun.”

Seungmin scoffed. “I know it might be difficult, but you should try it sometime too, hyung.”

Changbin glowered at him. “Ha ha, very funny. Now, do you want anything before I go yell at Sungie to hurry up?”

“Can you get my pain meds? They’re on the table.”

Changbin nodded and leaned over to grab them, then he gave them to the younger boy. He left, but Seungmin didn’t feel alone this time.

When Jisung came into the living room, he seemed energetic, bouncing on his toes as he bounded over to sit on the couch next to Seungmin’s knees.

“Hey!”

“Hey,” Seungmin smiled fondly.

“We’re just here to wash up, then we have to go.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

Jisung shrugged. “I mean, yeah, but we don’t have a choice. I’m sure I’ll fall asleep in the studio anyway.”

Seungmin winced. They had just had a fourteen-hour flight, and before that they had a little sleep, a performance, and another flight. They must have been exhausted.

“Take it easy,” Seungmin said weakly. He felt helpless.

Jisung patted his thigh. “We will. You too.”

The older boy kept him company until he and Changbin had to leave thirty minutes later. Seungmin almost wanted to ask them to stay but held himself back once again.

His days were very repetitive after that. He would wake up when his members left, watch television, play a game, read a book, or nap for hours, greet them when they got back, then sleep. Some of them liked to spend time with him at night before going to bed, which he appreciated.

One week later, Chan made a beeline for Seungmin the moment he walked through the door. The younger boy was still holed up in the living room and had been sleeping for about an hour, feeling more bored than ever.

“Seungmin-ah,” Chan whispered, kneeling down and brushing Seungmin’s hair back. “Minnie, wake up.”

His eyes opened slowly. “Hyung?” he rasped. “What?”

“Sorry to wake you. I want to talk to you about your hiatus.”

That caused his eyes to shoot open. He nodded, and Chan helped him sit up before filling in the new, empty space on the couch.

“What about it?” Seungmin asked groggily, leaning against the leader. Chan’s arm wrapped around his shoulders.

“I told the manager how you feel about it, that you want to go back as soon as possible and the pain’s getting better, and he said that you might be able to start working again next week. As long as everything keeps going well.”

“Really?” Seungmin breathed. He had been expecting two to three more weeks in the dorm at this rate. Every day felt slower than the one before, and it already felt like a month had passed.

“Really. I mean, you can’t dance yet, obviously, and maybe not sing very much, but there’s other stuff you can do there. You can help Binnie and Sungie and I, too. You can give the rest of us advice. You can try writing some lyrics if you want. I know you want to get out of here, and I don’t blame you.”

“Thank you, hyung. I hate it here.”

Chan chuckled at his pout. “I know, I know. But we were hoping to have a movie night tonight since we haven’t had one in weeks. It’s eight thirty right now, I got my work done early ‘cause I was excited to tell you. The others will get here in an hour. We might have a sleepover too.”

That sounded amazing. Truthfully, Seungmin missed all of them, but especially the three eldest; they always seemed the most tired when they got back, and Chan and Changbin lived in the other dorm. Since Seungmin’s was on the way to theirs, they would stop by to say hi before leaving again, but Hyunjin and Jisung liked to stay a while longer.

“Did you eat?” Chan asked him. Seungmin nodded; his food schedule had been way off for days, and he was eating more of a brunch, linner, and midnight snack rather than regular meals. It was weird, but not necessarily unwelcome. He slept whenever he wanted and ate whenever he wanted.

“You?”

“Ate cup ramen at the studio. I think Changbin and Jisung ate too. They might get here earlier, actually, since there wasn’t much left to do.”

Seungmin was looking forward to something for the first time in a week. He told Chan that he didn’t want to pick out the movie because he had been watching television so much that he became indecisive. He would watch whatever the others wanted to see.

When Changbin and Jisung arrived, they brought Jeongin with them. It was only a little past nine o’clock. Jisung sprawled out on the floor at Seungmin’s feet, Changbin sat next to Chan, and Jeongin went to his room for a minute to change his clothes. The 3RACHA members didn’t need to change because they were comfortable enough already and - in Jisung’s words - didn’t want to walk all the way to their dorm. It was easier to stay.

Minho and Felix came around nine thirty, and Hyunjin had gone to his dorm to shower. The three of them had been dancing before they left, and only Minho had showered there, so Felix went to shower as well.

“A week?” Minho asked, sitting on the floor against the couch while Chan told them the news about Seungmin’s hiatus.

“Yep. Unless there’s a roadblock, he should be ready to go.”

“And as long as he doesn’t lie to us,” Jisung snarked, pointing at Seungmin from his upside-down position. Seungmin rolled his eyes.

“I won’t. That’s something you would do, not me.”

“Don’t pin this on me! Everyone’s lied about their health before, it’s normal.”

“It’s not normal,” Chan sighed disappointedly. “It shouldn’t be normal. But I trust you, so if you say you’re ready I’m going to believe you.”

“Thanks, hyung,” Seungmin smiled while Jisung groaned. “Sungie, pick out a movie.”

Seungmin tossed the remote to him, and it landed on the older boy’s stomach.

“Don’t boss me around,” Jisung grumbled. Nonetheless, he sat up next to Minho and turned on the television to Netflix.

Seungmin noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Minho was raising his eyebrows and mouthing words to Chan, who seemed to be doing the same thing back. They stopped when Seungmin looked at them.

“What are you doing?” he asked bluntly.

“Nothing,” Chan answered quickly. He averted eye contact almost immediately. That was suspicious, but Seungmin decided to ignore it. He would figure it out soon enough.

Jisung found an animated movie and paused it at the opening scene, waiting for the other two to arrive. The front door opened a few minutes later, and suddenly the atmosphere changed. Everyone sat up straighter, and half of them turned toward the sound while the others looked at Seungmin.

Seungmin turned toward the sound. He couldn’t see the door, but he heard hushed whispers. Felix suddenly appeared from around the corner - when he had snuck out of his room, Seungmin wasn’t sure - and had something in his hands: a round, puppy-themed cake with three lit candles on it. Hyunjin followed behind him and turned off the main lights.

They all burst into the happy birthday song, and Seungmin flinched in shock. He had, again, completely forgotten that he had turned twenty-three just a week before. He slapped his palms over his cheeks when he had seven pairs of eyes on him.

Felix slowly walked into the room while singing until he could kneel in front of Seungmin. The scene was funny and he almost wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t. He was flustered and didn’t want to hurt his ribs.

He blew out the candles when they finished singing, wishing for their group to continue to succeed, the same wish he had every year. They started clapping, and Seungmin groaned while Felix set the cake on the end table.

“I feel twenty-two,” he mumbled. He heard a few laughs. “Thank you, though. I forgot.”

“About your birthday?” Changbin asked, incredulous. “Really?”

Seungmin shrugged. “It just flew by, I don’t know.”

Hyunjin suddenly stepped forward, and Seungmin realized that there was a wide box in his hands. It was somewhat big and looked fancy, like one bought as a gift box, not to be wrapped. He handed it to Seungmin, and the younger boy took it hesitantly.

“You didn’t have to do this,” he said weakly. Nothing he said would change their minds.

“I told you that we all pitched in for something, remember?” Hyunjin said. “It’s not much, though. Think of it as a get-well-soon gift. Well, gifts.”

Seungmin sighed. The box was easy to open and sat well on his thighs, only slightly obscuring his view of the television. He lifted the flap and peeked inside to see the contents, pulling out the first thing he saw. It was a puppy plushie, similar to Daengmo but a darker brown and a little larger. The type of stuffed animal that he could hug while sleeping.

“It’s cute,” he chuckled, playing with its short yet floppy ears.

“I picked it out!” Jeongin exclaimed suddenly. Seungmin sent him a smile.

“Thanks, Innie. I love it.”

He set it down on the couch next to himself before reaching back into the box. He knew exactly what it was before he pulled it all the way out.

“Ferrero!” he shouted happily. It was a twenty-four-count plastic container of Ferrero Rocher chocolates. His eyes flew to Felix’s and the older boy giggled.

“Yep, from me.”

“And me!” Jisung butted in. Felix sighed.

“He forgot to get you something,” he stage-whispered to Seungmin, fully anticipating the smack to his leg.

“I did not forget,” Jisung protested. “I just ran out of time.”

“Right.”

Jisung glared. “It’s true! Don’t listen to him, Minnie.”

“Who paid for it?” Seungmin asked instead.

Jisung spluttered. “That’s not a fair question!”

“Yes it is!”

“Yah, stop fighting,” Minho said. “I’m not getting any younger here.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes but only looked at Felix. “Thank you both. I’ll eat them well.”

Felix smiled and Jisung frowned, but Seungmin knew that it was all fun and games. He set it down as well and picked out the next thing. It was a pair of dark gray wireless headphones.

“You said you liked Jisung’s noise-canceling ones,” Changbin told him. “These are the same but in a different color, so they won’t get mixed up. The music quality is really good too, it’s definitely better than your earbuds.”

“But, hyung, aren’t these expensive?” Seungmin asked worriedly. Chocolate and plushies were one thing, but this was another.

“They were on sale! Besides, you’re kind of hard to shop for ‘cause there’s nothing you really want. I was already thinking about buying them for you anyway. Seriously, it’s no big deal.”

Seungmin almost teared up. It felt stupid, but spending so much time away from everyone made him feel a little disconnected, so hearing that Changbin had still been thinking about him that much was very reassuring despite the older boy not knowing about his feelings.

“Thank you,” he whispered with a small smile. He was going to take great care of them and buy a case so that he could put them in his backpack safely.

All that were left in the box were a few little things at the bottom and something large and flat standing against the back side. It looked like the most expensive thing other than the headphones, as it was in some sort of zippered case, so he saved it for last. There was a small box, so he took that out and opened it. It was a simple gift card of thirty-five thousand won.

“Like Bin said, you’re hard to shop for,” Chan chuckled shyly. “I was really busy with the company, though, and I figured you’d like to buy something yourself.”

Seungmin smiled to reassure him. “Thank you. I know you’re working hard, and this is just as good as any other gift.”

Minho snorted. “You kinda set the bar, didn’t you, hyung? Yongbok spent, like, half as much as you did.”

“Hey!” Felix shouted indignantly. “He loves Ferrero!”

“Money and chocolate aren’t comparable,” Seungmin claimed. “Hyung could have spent five thousand won and I’d still be happy with it.”

“Good,” Minho said, leaning back and crossing his arms. Seungmin eyed him skeptically before remembering that he hadn’t found Minho’s gift yet. He reached for the three small slips of paper at the bottom and read them out loud.

“One free meal, one free car ride, one free hug.”

Everyone burst out laughing and Minho smirked. “I think it’s perfect.”

“You really couldn’t think of anything?” Jisung chastised.

“I spent a lot of time thinking about that, you know. I put as much love and care into those as I could. Besides, money doesn’t matter, right?”

Seungmin sent him a displeased look, but he truly didn’t care that Minho spent no money on him. He was actually glad that Minho spent no money, because he wasn’t supposed to be receiving gifts in the first place.

“Right. I bet that ‘one free hug’ took a lot out of you.”

“So much,” Minho groaned dramatically.

“Can I make copies?”

“Yah, be reasonable. Only the originals have value.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes and set them aside. He would have to save them until Minho forgot about them, then he could throw them in the older boy’s face. The thought brought a smile to his face.

There was only one thing left. Seungmin looked up and found Hyunjin sitting in the armchair to his left. There was a gentle smile on his face, but Seungmin could see his leg bouncing in anticipation as well. He pulled out the gift and put the box on the ground. It wasn’t super heavy, but Chan helped him by carrying the gift so that he wouldn’t be lifting too much weight. He wasn’t supposed to do any heavy lifting.

It was two feet wide and one foot tall, it seemed, and it was in a cotton fabric case with a zipper on the left and top side. Considering it was Hyunjin’s, Seungmin figured that it was some sort of artwork. The tension in the room could be cut by a knife while he slowly undid the zipper, and Chan helped again by pulling the item out of its safety.

Seungmin’s heart dropped to his stomach. It was a painting, and he knew exactly what Hyunjin was copying. It was the most recent picture he had taken with his family. They had texted and called him once or twice after the car accident, but they couldn’t visit him. He hadn’t seen them in months. In the picture, he was holding the camera sideways in selfie-mode with his mother and sister on his left and his father on his right, the sky and a grassy field in the background. They were all smiling and looked happy.

Hyunjin had captured everything perfectly, from their expressions to their skin tones and hair colors. It almost looked real. Watercolors swirled in the background, but he had used regular paint for the actual people. Seungmin knew that he preferred watercolor, which meant that Hyunjin had wanted to make this as realistic as possible. He nailed it.

“Hyunjinnie,” Seungmin whispered emotionally, breath hitching. A tear fell, and he wiped it away before it could drip onto the painting. He looked up and made eye contact with Hyunjin, whose smile widened. “You didn’t…”

“I wanted to,” Hyunjin said softly. “I found the picture on your phone. I know you miss them and, honestly, it was a beautiful scene to sketch and paint.”

“It must have taken forever. With work, and…”

Hyunjin shook his head. “I brought it to the company and worked on it during breaks and at the dorm before bed. I like spending my free time painting, and this was a perfect project.”

Seungmin wiped another tear and opened his arms. Hyunjin giggled before bounding over and hugging him loosely, stroking his hair.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it,” Seungmin choked out. “Thank you so much.”

Hyunjin squeezed him gently before releasing him. He stepped back, which prompted everyone else to crowd around the painting to look at it.

“Careful,” Seungmin said worriedly, pulling it a little closer. If anything happened to it, he was going to start crying harder. The others just laughed at him.

“That’s amazing, Jinnie,” Felix said in awe. The others gave similar sentiments, and Hyunjin’s cheeks burned red. “I want one.”

“Me too!” Changbin exclaimed with wide eyes.

Before anyone else could speak, Chan interrupted, “If Hyunjin wants to, he will. Work has to come first.”

The others pouted, but they understood and were just happy for Seungmin. He needed something like this.

“Can you put it back?” Seungmin asked Chan. The leader put it back in the case for him before zipping it up. “I’ll hang it in my room later when I can.”

“Okay,” Hyunjin said, sitting back down in the armchair. The smile seemed permanent on his face.

Seungmin put everything else back into the box except for the plushie, much to Jeongin’s delight, and asked Chan to lean the painting against the back of the couch for the time being. Everyone settled down in their spots, and the mood seemed much more uplifted than before.

“I was expecting one big present,” Seungmin admitted, “but this is much better.”

“Which one was your favorite?” Jisung asked, seemingly genuine. Everyone laughed. “What? It’s a legitimate question!”

“First of all,” Minho sassed, “you didn’t get him anything. Second, Hyunjin is practically in love with him, so of course he’d give the best gift.”

“Hey!” Hyunjin shouted, throwing the pillow from behind him at the older boy. “I’m sorry that I show my love better than you do!”

“My free services are full of love. Did you not hear what I said earlier?”

Jeongin suddenly crawled over to where Jisung was sitting and snatched the remote, pressing the play button.

“I’ll be thirty by the time this fight is over,” he reasoned brattily. “Hyung will be thirty-four!”

Chan rolled his eyes. “Enough with the age jokes, maknae. I won’t hesitate to add extra hours of dance practice to your schedule.”

Although Chan technically had enough authority to change their schedules, everyone knew that it was an empty threat, especially after their recent workloads. He got a few giggles in response before everyone quieted down to watch the movie.

Jisung’s head tilted back on the couch cushion, and he stared up at Seungmin. “I’ll take you out for a nice lunch or dinner when you’re better,” he whispered. Seungmin smiled and nodded - always happy to receive free food - and Jisung gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up before getting more comfortable.

Seungmin’s chest was warm in a way it hadn’t been for a long time. He rested his head on Chan’s shoulder with a sigh, trying and failing to wipe the smile from his lips.

He wouldn’t give this moment up for the world.