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Riki was so excited. They were practicing for Coachella, their performance only a mere two months away. When they first got announced as part of the lineup for the largest music festival in the world, Riki was beyond ecstatic—imagine the face of a child discovering a sugar rush for the first time. Riki loved America, and he was pretty sure their American fans loved him just as much, if the deafening screams every time they were there meant anything.
All the members were gathered in the practice room, formation drilled into their brains, rehearsal mode in full swing. Riki stood center while the others circled him, moving smoothly. They avoided each other skillfully, knowing exactly when to turn right or left, how deeply to bend their knees, and how high to jump to keep their lines clean. Safe to say, Enhypen was a highly synchronized group—they barely had any rehearsal accidents.
So when Riki had to do a backflip over Heeseung—his lovely boyfriend—he naturally assumed Heeseung would duck at the right moment so Riki could land cleanly. But of course, the universe loved irony. In a rare moment of miscoordination, Heeseung ducked a second too late. Instinctively, Riki twisted midair to avoid colliding with him, but ended up landing off the mat. He caught himself roughly on his palm and elbow to avoid a busted lip or black eye.
A loud gasp came from their choreographer as Riki let out a strangled groan, cradling his hand to his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to focus on anything but the pain.
“Riki—oh my god—” he heard Heeseung scramble to his side. Someone crouched beside him—probably Heeseung—who gently pulled Riki’s head into his lap. Riki groaned and opened his eyes to find Heeseung’s face hovering over him, concern radiating as he scanned him for injuries.
“You okay, baby? I’m so sorry—” Heeseung started to ramble, only to be smacked on the back of the head by Jungwon, who glared like he’d just committed a crime.
“Don’t overwhelm him!” the leader scolded.
Heeseung shot him a glare but kept a gentle hand on Riki’s head. “Hey! Don’t hit his boyfriend.”
Sunoo rolled his eyes. “Oh my god, he’s using the boyfriend privileges again.”
Riki chuckled, then winced as he shifted to sit up, accidentally putting weight on his injured arm and leaning into Heeseung.
“Are you okay, Riks?” Jake asked, crouching in front of him and gently inspecting his hand.
Riki nodded, too distracted by the fact that they had a major performance in a couple of months, with endless rehearsals leading up to it. There was no way he could afford to be injured.
“Yeah,” he smiled, sitting up straighter and trying to ignore the pain in his arm.
Jay walked over and took Riki’s arm a bit too roughly, making the younger flinch. Jay immediately froze.
“Riki—are you sure that’s okay?” he asked gently.
Riki bit back a groan and nodded. “Yeah—yeah, sorry. I think it’s more the shock of the impact.” He forced a joking tone, earning a few nervous laughs. Heeseung slid an arm around his waist and pressed a kiss to the side of his head.
“You’ll tell me if it gets worse, yeah?”
“‘Course, babe. Don’t worry.”
Heeseung smiled and kissed his cheek—prompting a water bottle to fly toward them, courtesy of Sunghoon.
“Stop hogging our maknae,” the former ice skater muttered.
Heeseung snorted and pulled Riki even closer, completely unaware that he was squeezing the injured arm against his chest.
“You’re just jealous he loves me best.”
Riki chuckled.
“Okay! Let’s get back to practice. Riki, you sure you wanna continue?” Jungwon asked, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. Riki shrugged.
“I’ve had worse, hyung. I’m fine.”
Jungwon sighed but nodded, patting him on the back before returning to his place in the formation. Riki peeled away from Heeseung and went to his spot, waiting for the music to start.
As he danced, sharp pain radiated from his wrist with every movement. He was pretty sure something cracked during “Brought the Heat Back.”
Riki shut his eyes and danced on autopilot. He could only hope that whatever had happened would heal by tomorrow. If not, Coachella was going to be impossible.
Their choreographer eventually stopped the music, smiling proudly. “You guys did great today!” she called, hands on her hips and ponytail bouncing. The members cheered while Riki discreetly shoved his hand into his pocket, hoping no one noticed. He didn’t realize Heeseung had been watching him the entire time.
“Your center part was amazing, Riki. Coachella’s going to love it,” their choreographer added.
“Thanks, noona,” Riki replied with a smirk.
Sunghoon wolf-whistled. “Ay, our heart-stealer’s gonna break some hearts, huh?” he teased, leaning on Riki’s shoulder. Riki winced but didn’t say anything.
Heeseung chuckled. “Let’s hope not. I don’t want my boyfriend getting stolen.”
They all laughed and were eventually escorted out of the company building. As usual, Riki sat between Sunoo and Jungwon in the van. The ’02 liners sat behind them, probably dozing off or plotting a revolution. Heeseung, as always, was in the passenger seat with the aux cord.
Riki leaned his head on Sunoo’s shoulder, earphones in, focusing on his breathing and ignoring the throbbing in his arm. He caught Heeseung watching him through the rearview mirror and blew him a flying kiss. Sunoo chuckled, shaking Riki slightly, while Jungwon reached over to squeeze Riki’s thigh reassuringly.
“Tired?” Sunoo asked, shifting a bit so Riki could be more comfortable.
Riki hummed. “I’d be more comfortable in my bed.”
Jungwon raised an eyebrow and flicked his forehead. “Annoying.”
Riki just shrugged.
Back at the dorm, chaos ensued over who’d shower first. Jake won by sprinting inside like an Olympic athlete. The others groaned and cursed under their breaths as Jake flipped them off and slammed the bathroom door shut.
“I’m going to kill him,” Jay muttered.
Sunghoon rolled his eyes. “You love him too much to hurt him.”
“You’re whipped, hyung,” Sunoo added, snorting.
Jay huffed and headed to the kitchen, trailed by Sunghoon and Sunoo, ready to tease him to death.
Riki flopped onto the couch, pulling out his phone, relieved that the pain in his wrist had subsided—at least for now. Maybe the car ride helped. Who said sleep didn’t fix everything?
“I even called dibs,” Jungwon grumbled, stomping to his room. “I’m next after him!”
Riki laughed and shouted back in agreement.
Heeseung joined him on the couch, arm around Riki’s shoulder, pulling him close.
“Ay, hyung. Clingy much?”
Heeseung shrugged. “Isn’t that my job?”
Then his tone shifted. “I’m sorry about today.”
Riki cupped Heeseung’s cheeks. “Hyung, it’s not your fault. It doesn’t even hurt anymore, okay?”
Heeseung nodded, closing his eyes and leaning into Riki’s hand. “Still. I’m sorry.”
Riki sighed, kissed him, then climbed into Heeseung’s lap, slinging a leg over his shoulder.
Heeseung raised a brow. “And you’re calling me clingy?”
“Yeah. I totally am calling you clingy.”
Heeseung flicked his nose. “Liar of the year.”
Riki leaned in. “You love me.”
Heeseung hummed, pulling him into a kiss.
A few minutes later, Jake walked out of the bathroom in a towel, groaning dramatically. “Ew. You guys are making out in the living room!”
Heeseung and Riki groaned, turning to glare.
Jake smirked and knocked on Jungwon’s door. “Shower’s free.”
Jungwon passed them, muttering, “I don’t even want to know.”
Heeseung sighed. “Privacy is so rare in this dorm.”
Riki couldn’t agree more.
In a shocking twist, Jungwon finished his shower quickly, and Heeseung pushed Riki toward the bathroom.
“You deserve it.”
Riki stepped in, t urned the water on hot, and sighed as it hit his skin, washing off the sweat. But while washing his hair, he noticed his hand felt numb. Shrugging it off, he finished up, opened the shower door, and placed his hand on the handle to step out.
Suddenly, he lost all feeling in his hand—and balance. He fell with a loud thud.
“Shit—Riki!”
Within seconds, Jay burst in, crouching beside him, eyes wide. He threw a hoodie over Riki.
Riki whimpered—his wrist pain had returned, now worse than ever.
Jay gently took his hand and gasped. “Riki—this is sprained.”
Riki looked down to see the deepening bruise, red turning to purple.
Heeseung ran in, toothbrush in hand, hair tied in a ponytail. “Riki, baby, what happened?” He helped Riki stand and covered him with a towel.
“His wrist. It’s sprained,” Jay said.
“Shit,” Heeseung cursed.
Riki whimpered and buried his face in Heeseung’s chest. “Not sprained.”
Jay rolled his eyes. “Sweetheart, you can’t lie to us.”
Heeseung nodded. “Jay, get Jungwon. We need the manager call the hospital.”
“No—” Riki started, but Heeseung shushed him.
“I’m not arguing. You’re hurt.”
Jay didn’t wait—he left to get Jungwon.
Minutes later, the members were gathered in the living room. Riki sat between Heeseung and Jungwon, the manager standing before them. Sunoo and Jake waited by the door, tying their shoelaces. Jay and Sunghoon were told to stay back.
“Riki, on a scale from one to ten, how bad is the pain?” the manager asked.
Riki hesitated. “One.”
Heeseung glared. “The truth.”
Riki rolled his eyes, cradling his wrist. “Eight.”
“That’s bad,” the manager said. “I already called the hospital. We’re heading out in a minute.”
They all nodded.
“But—”
“No buts.”
“It’s sprained. It’s good you came this early, but I’m afraid we’ll have to put a cast on it,” the doctor who checked Riki explained, and Riki groaned.
Only Riki and the manager were in the room. The manager nodded. “Okay,” the older man said, placing a hand on Riki’s shoulder and tracing comforting patterns with his thumb.
Riki winced. “How long do I have to stay off practice?”
The doctor scrunched her nose. “Sprains usually take around three to four weeks to heal, but honestly, I’d recommend at least six weeks without any unnecessarily high-stress movement,” she explained.
Riki groaned. “But—Coachella—”
The manager stopped him. “Coachella is in two months. We have time for you to take a break. You already know the choreo better than anyone.”
Riki looked away. “I don’t like this.”
The doctor nodded. “Neither do I. But it’s what’s best for you right now, Mr. Nishimura.”
Riki sighed. “Fine.”
Back at the dorm, Sunoo and Jake were attached to Riki’s side as they walked him to the entrance, and Heeseung trailed behind them with his hands in his pockets, eyes locked on the younger. Jungwon was already ahead, unlocking the front door.
“Riki—are you okay?” Jay immediately asked.
Sunghoon stepped up to Riki and gently brushed his hair out of his face, his eyes dropping to the cast on Riki’s hand. “That bad, huh?”
Riki groaned. “Six weeks off, hyung. Six!” the maknae whined.
“It could’ve been worse, Riks,” Jungwon said, and Jake nodded in agreement.
Since it was nighttime, they all exchanged goodnights, each member giving Riki a little more attention than usual.
“Night, angel,” Jungwon said, hugging Riki before heading to his room.
“Goodnight, Riki-yah,” Sunoo followed, giving a softer hug before disappearing behind Jungwon.
“Night, kid,” Sunghoon added.
Jake ruffled his hair. “Good night.”
Jay patted his back. “Night night, Riki.”
Riki responded to each of them with a small smile, then turned to Heeseung, who hadn’t said anything yet and wasn’t looking at him.
“Good night, babe,” Heeseung finally said, pressing a gentle kiss to Riki’s forehead before turning on his heel to leave. But Riki caught his arm with his uninjured hand.
“You’re not sleeping with me tonight?” Riki asked.
Heeseung stammered, “I—I uh—”
“You?”
The older man sighed. “I don’t want to hurt you even more.”
Riki rolled his eyes and dragged Heeseung toward his room—practically their room at this point.
Heeseung yelped as he was thrown onto the bed, Riki climbing in next to him.
“You’re annoying,” Riki muttered.
“Wow. Thanks,” Heeseung deadpanned.
Riki rolled his eyes again. “You didn’t hurt me, hyung. It was an accident—capital A, whatever. You were the one who told Jay to call the manager. You were the one who made me go to the hospital. If anything, you helped.”
Heeseung sighed and wrapped an arm around Riki’s waist, pulling them face to face. “Still, I feel so bad.”
Riki flicked his nose. “Well, don’t. I don’t blame you, so you shouldn’t either.” The maknae said, snuggling into Heeseung’s chest and closing his eyes.
“Now shut up and sleep. I’m tired.”
Heeseung chuckled, tightening his hold. “As you wish, baby.”