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Wooyoung knows how much he loves practising, performing and being in front of the audience, especially in front of their fans. And he also knows and understands that there are some things that you can't control.
But, for this case… it seems like it's hard for him to grasp that he's not at fault and he can't control it from not happening.
They were called to their CEO's office earlier this day, as there was news that needed to be delivered to them. "Wooyoung won't be joining Mawazine Festival due to his cholinergic urticaria. So only seven of you will fly to Morocco for that festival, and Wooyoung will be here to receive treatment. I know this news will dishearten everyone, but we're taking good precautions so his condition won't worsen. I hope everyone understands this decision, and we'll be here every step of the way to support you, Wooyoung-ah."
When their CEO, aka their father, breaks out the news to them, everyone looks at Wooyoung. Even before their CEO finishes talking, they look at him sadly but not for too long since they could make Wooyoung feel even more down.
There are two shocking things to them – 1) the news itself, and 2) how Wooyoung doesn't look shocked at all like them. Seonghwa, who was sitting next to him on his right side, looks at him. "Did you know about this already?"
Wooyoung presses his lips together tightly and nods his head twice in response. He tries so hard not to break down into tears in front of the others. He knows damn well what the others are feeling and thinking, which made him feel even more sad. The others fell into a deep silence, taking in the news, except for Hongjoong and Seonghwa, who are looking at him.
Seonghwa is looking at his face, how he looks absolutely devastated but keeps quiet, as he knows the younger might break if he speaks. And Hongjoong is looking at how tense Wooyoung is. It's like he has walls built around him that he doesn't want anyone to break down, but Hongjoong and Seonghwa are determined to climb up those walls to soothe him.
As they were dismissed and told to rest for the week before continuing their practice sessions for the upcoming big festival, Hongjoong told both Seonghwa and Wooyoung to stay for a while.
"Do you need anything, hyungie?" Wooyoung asks as he looks at the captain while Seonghwa is holding the younger's right hand in his left one.
"Jongho is adamant about doing his vocal lessons even though I said he needs to rest, so... do you wanna rest at home with me and Hwa?"
Wooyoung blinks his eyes upon the question, then looks to the side at Seonghwa, who's smiling lovingly at him. "Do you want that, baby? Let your favourite hyungs take care of you, mhm?"
The younger bites his lower lip as tears start welling up in his eyes before he nods his head. "Yes, please, hyungie. I… I'm feeling unstable right now, and I need my hyungs with me."
"Of course, precious. We'll take good care of you," Hongjoong said as he pressed soft kisses against the younger's forehead. My Youngie, I'd drop whatever I do whenever to take care of you. The captain thought as he flashed a smile at the male.
Seonghwa pulls the younger into his arms gently before pressing a deep kiss against his forehead. "You don't have to worry about anything. Let hyungs take care of our little baby."
At the words 'little baby', Wooyoung pulls away from the hug a little to look up at the older, which makes both Hongjoong and Seonghwa laugh. "I am not a little baby," he said, then received a peck on his nose from the two of them.
"You're our little baby," Seonghwa said as he pecked the younger's forehead again before they started walking to the elevator to leave the company with the others waiting downstairs.
When they arrive at the lower ground, the others are already waiting in the van, so Hongjoong urges them to get in quickly. Wooyoung ends up sitting in between Hongjoong and Seonghwa.
"You can nap if you want to," the captain whispers softly at the younger and smiles as Wooyoung gets comfortable by resting his head on the captain's shoulder while Seonghwa is holding his left hand.
As the younger slowly drifts off to sleep, Hongjoong extends his left hand to Seonghwa to accept it with his right hand. They stay that way while Wooyoung is sleeping soundly before he moves a little to nuzzle his head against the captain's shoulder. Hongjoong presses his lips together tightly to not make any sound, as he finds the younger adorable right now.
Seonghwa giggles as softly as he can at the sight, lifting his hand that's holding the younger's hand up to his lips and kissing his knuckles a few times. Seeing how peacefully the younger is sleeping, Seonghwa wishes for only good things to happen to him, and he promises to take care of him well.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
As they arrive at the dorm, both Hongjoong and Seonghwa are thinking of how to bring Wooyoung up without having to wake him up. They keep asking this and that before their manager offered to carry him. Hongjoong agrees to it; meanwhile, Seonghwa was worried it could burden their manager, but their manager insists on doing so. And that's how Wooyoung ended up in their manager's arms.
Their manager placed Wooyoung down on the bed gently before reminding them to take good care of the male and to monitor him taking his medicines. Hongjoong saluted their manager, which made Seonghwa do the same, and their manager laughed at their silly antics.
"Shall we order dinner?" Hongjoong asks after their manager leaves and Seonghwa hums in response. "Is there anything that he can't eat?" Seonghwa asks and Hongjoong looks at him. Oh right, of course there'd be something that he can and can't eat. And they forgot to ask their manager since the younger is sleeping.
"Can we eat chicken, hyungie?"
Both Hongjoong and Seonghwa turn around at the same time upon hearing the younger's voice to find him awake, all smiley at his hyungs' funny reaction. He sits up on the bed slowly which makes the hyungs come to him.
"What chicken do you want, baby? Hwa will order for you," the captain said and Seonghwa shoots a glare at him before smiling at the younger, nodding his head. "Mhm.. I want half-and-half, and hyungs can order other side dishes too."
Seonghwa pulls out his phone to browse for the food before adding their menu to the cart and placing the order. He placed his phone on the bed and scooted closer to the younger one, who was sitting up with his back leaned against the headboard. Hongjoong is next to Seonghwa, and both of them are looking at the younger, who seems to be lost in thoughts.
"A penny for your thoughts, precious?"
At Hongjoong's question, Wooyoung flashes a smile at them and although the smile was genuine, it didn't quite reach his eyes. The younger scoots forward towards the hyungs and holds their hands in his while looking down.
The silence is scaring both of them, to be honest. Of course, there are times when Wooyoung is quiet and collected, but right now, it feels like it's the quiet that they don't really like; the guilt-eating-you type of quiet.
"Baby? Is something bothering you?" Seonghwa asks as he strokes the younger's left knuckles with his right thumb. "You can tell us anything, love. We're here, so confide in us," Hongjoong said before the younger lifted his face up to look at them.
The sight in front of them breaks their hearts. Wooyoung is looking at them with teary eyes and wobbling lips as he's trying hard not to cry, but the emotions are overpowering him, and before he knows it, the dam breaks, and his tears betray him.
Wooyoung holds the hyungs' hands tightly in his while catching his breath as his tears fall down on his cheeks. Hongjoong is panicking on the inside before he glances at Seonghwa, who nods his head at him as a sign to let the younger cry his feelings out first.
Back then, Seonghwa would ask the younger members "Why?" whenever they were crying, but he learnt that letting them cry it out while reassuring them that you're with them is better. Let them cry their feelings and pain out and provide them with endless support and words of encouragement after that.
As for Hongjoong, he's not good at this. Feelings, confrontations, emotions – he's not really good at that. So whenever any member came to him to express their feelings and they cried, the captain could only provide pats on the back or a hug. He'd give those while staying silent all the way.
"I'm sㅡsorry, hyungie. I… I don't know if I'm allowed to feel this way, but I'm just so disappointed that I won't be performing at the festival with everyone. We've been looking forward to it, and then I ruin everything. The fans are excited to see us, but now they'll only get to see seven instead of eight, and I feel so bad. I know this is uncontrollable; it is what it is, but my heart feels so heavy to not be there with you guys. Iㅡ fuck, I'm so sorry this happened."
With every word that Wooyoung said, both Hongjoong and Seonghwa can feel their hearts break bit by bit, painfully slowly. Whenever unavoidable things happen, they know that the one involved in it will feel absolutely bad, and it's something that none of them wants but can't help feeling.
Seonghwa sniffles softly as he can't see the younger cry. The oldest member has a very soft heart and empathises easily, so seeing his loved ones cry definitely tears his heart apart. Hongjoong feels bad upon seeing both Seonghwa and Wooyoung cry, so he tells himself he'll be the warm blanket to cover and soothe them.
"Youngie, my precious one. You don't have to apologise for anything. Like you said, it's uncontrollable, so you're not at fault. It's okay to feel whatever you're feeling; it's okay to feel bad for not being able to join, but my baby, your health matters the most. We want you with us for the long term, so your health is your priority. The more you take care of yourself, the better you'll get. So don't blame yourself for this."
"Joongie's right, Young-ah. Don't apologise that this happened. We'll do our absolute best to make it like you're there with us, and trust me, the fans are supporting you and wishing you well. It's okay to be sad, but please try to not beat yourself up over this. You being hurt and unwell is even more unbearable for us than you being absent for the festival. You'll be okay; we'll be okay. We have each other, so don't worry that pretty little head of yours, okay?"
Wooyoung bites his lower lip as he cries out even more while listening to the hyungs' unfiltered yet comforting and genuine words. He nods his head twice in response before launching himself forward to hug both of them tightly.
"Thㅡthank you so much, hyungs. I don't know what I'll do without you. I promise to do my best for the treatment and have a positive mindset, and I'll be fine; we'll be fine."
"You'll be fine, my baby. I promise you," Hongjoong said as he rubs the younger's back soothingly. Seonghwa hums in response, agreeing to the captain's words. "We'll be fine."
Wooyoung pulls away from the hug, and Seonghwa cups his face with his hands to wipe the tears away with his thumbs. "I love you so much, my precious. You're not alone, and remember we're by your side." The younger nods his head upon the elder's words.
"Remember what your pretty tattoo says, okay?" Hongjoong said, and the younger smiled while nodding. "I'm not alone, and I will never be."
"That's my good boy," Hongjoong said as he leaned in to peck Wooyoung's lips a few times, which made the younger blush in response.
"I love you, my precious Youngie."
"I love you too, my Joongieㅡ ack! I was about to say 'hyung' at the end~!" Wooyoung exclaims as he laughs out when Hongjoong pokes his right side. "I love you too, my Joongie hyung. See!"
All three of them burst out laughing, with Seonghwa almost falling behind, which made Hongjoong laugh so badly that he almost wheezed. Wooyoung's just laughing out so loud while looking at his hyungs.
"And I love you, my Hwa hyung."
"I love you even more, my little baby."
Wooyoung purses his lips to form a pout upon the new nickname, and Seonghwa leans in to peck his lips deeply once before attacking his forehead with kisses. The younger squeals as he falls back on the bed before the hyungs smother his face with kisses lovingly.
After the kisses attack, both of them lay next to Wooyoung, Hongjoong on his right and Seonghwa on his left. They turn so both of them are looking at the younger before Hongjoong leans in while puckering his lips, asking for a kiss from Seonghwa.
"Oh, kiss kiss!" Wooyoung exclaims happily, and Seonghwa blushes in embarrassment. Seonghwa leans in towards Hongjoong as well before both of them peck each other's lips deeply once before doing it again a few times.
Wooyoung heaves out a contented sigh and hugs both his lovers tightly, stroking their sides before closing his eyes. They were lying down, chilling, before Seonghwa sits upright all of a sudden.
"Chicken! I forgot we ordered it," the older said and checked his phone before sprinting out of bed and the room, saying it has arrived and the rider is waiting outside of the dorm.
Both Hongjoong and Wooyoung laugh out loud, finding the situation and Seonghwa's reaction funny. "You don't help me; you won't get to eat!" They get out of bed instantly at Seonghwa's words while the male is laughing in an evil manner in the kitchen.
Well, all in all, Wooyoung is glad that he talked it out with them and they understood. Yes, he'll be fine; they'll be fine together like this.