Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The rhythmic, upbeat chop-chop-chop of the knife against the wooden cutting board echoed through the kitchen. Felix was slicing carrots precisely to the heavy bass of the track playing from his phone, humming the melody softly under his breath. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, he was genuinely feeling good. Not the manufactured, plastic "good" he usually plastered across his face to deflect the members' relentless, suffocating worry; he was actually pain-free. For two entire months, the chronic, gnawing ache at the base of his spine had been completely silent. He felt impossibly light, almost reborn.
Seungmin, on the other hand, was a picture of absolute misery. He was sprawled awkwardly across the living room couch, his heavy, irritating fiberglass cast propped up on two cushions. He was glaring daggers at Felix’s back with a look that suggested Felix’s very existence in the kitchen was a personal insult to him.
"Felix..." Seungmin whined, his tone thick with frustration and cabin fever. "I swear to God, I could have just microwaved some instant ramen. You really didn't need to stand on your feet for an hour just to make me soup."
Felix didn't even turn around, letting out a bright, airy laugh that filled the space between them. "Yeah, right! And how exactly were you planning to carry a pot of boiling water with that busted leg? You would've spilled it all over yourself and added a third-degree burn to that cast. Chan Hyung would have had a heart attack."
Seungmin puffed out his cheeks, tossing his phone onto the cushion beside him with a dull thud. "Well, I would've called Manager Hyung to come over. You shouldn't be working this much. You know how much I absolutely hate being useless like this."
Felix finally set the kitchen knife down, wiped his damp hands on a towel, and turned around. He leaned against the counter, facing Seungmin with boundless energy and a blinding, sunshine smile. "Seungmin-ah, let it go! I’m honestly fine. Haven't you seen me these past two months? I've even been lifting heavier weights at the gym. My back is healthier than yours right now. Besides, for the past few years, you were always hovering over me like a hawk, not even letting me lift a glass of water if you could help it. Let me take care of you for once. I promise nothing will happen."
Seungmin still eyed him suspiciously, his gaze dropping to Felix’s waistline before moving back up to his face. But seeing how enthusiastically and fluidly Felix was moving around the kitchen, without a single wince or hesitation, he lowered his guard just a fraction. "Fine... but if you feel even the slightest bit of stiffness in your back, even a fraction of a twinge, you drop everything and lie down. Understood?"
"Yes, sirrr!" Felix saluted playfully with a laugh and practically skipped toward the washing machine, which had just chimed its cheerful completion melody.
The basket of wet laundry was deceptively heavy. A few months ago, Felix wouldn't have dared to look at such a thing, let alone lift it. But now, brimming with a dangerous kind of confidence, he bent down to lift the basket off the tiled floor and place it on the empty armchair nearby.
Click.
It made no audible sound, but the noise echoed deafeningly inside Felix’s own body. He felt it in the absolute deepest part of his spine. A cold, rapid spark of electricity, striking right in the usual, cursed spot. The L4 and L5 vertebrae.
Felix’s breath violently hitched in his throat, trapping the air in his lungs. His hands, gripping the plastic edges of the basket, froze dead in place. The pain wasn't excruciating, not yet, but it was a terrifyingly familiar "warning bell." It was a harsh, sneering whisper in the back of his mind saying: Did you think I was gone? No, I'm still right here, waiting.
Panic flared in his chest, but he wrestled it down instantly. He tried his hardest not to let his body's betrayal show. Moving with agonizing slowness, meticulously minimizing any movement in his pelvic floor and lower back, he let go of the basket and forced his spine to straighten. He took a tiny, imperceptible breath through his nose to steady the sudden tremor threatening to shake his vocal cords.
Seungmin, who had gone back to aimlessly scrolling on his phone, snapped his head up. Seungmin’s eyes were like military-grade radar when it came to his members. He instantly registered that the bouncy, effortless rhythm of Felix's movements had flatlined.
"Why did you drop it?" Seungmin stared at him intently, his posture shifting, his tone dropping its whining edge and becoming dead serious.
Felix swallowed the lump of fear in his throat, quickly flashing a wide, practiced smile before turning back to face the living room. "Nothing, just remembered the soup was about to boil over. I'll hang the clothes later."
He took a step toward the stove, but his right leg betrayed him for a fraction of a second. A mild, warning cramp shot down his thigh, pulling tight behind his knee. He forced his stride to smooth out, willing his leg to move naturally, but for someone like Seungmin—who had spent four solid years memorizing the exact, subtle hitch in Felix’s walk when he was hiding pain—that half-second hesitation was glaringly obvious.
Seungmin half-sat up, his face immediately scrunching up as the sudden movement sent a jolt of pain through his own broken leg. "Yongbok... stop right there."
"What? I'm telling you, the soup is—"
"Fuck the soup!" Seungmin’s voice pitched up, thick with rising stress and anger. "Don't lie to me. Your back twinged, didn't it?"
Felix stood frozen by the kitchen island for a moment, meticulously scanning his own nervous system. He braced himself, waiting for that sharp, familiar agony to wash down his leg like a wave of scalding water and drop him to the floor. But... nothing happened.
The pain had actually receded. The ghost had vanished. It seemed it was just a minor nerve spasm; a fleeting, cruel warning. The muscles in his lower back cautiously loosened up again, and the mild pulling sensation behind his right knee dissipated completely.
Relief washed over him. Felix stood up perfectly straight, rolling his shoulders back, and turned to Seungmin with a genuine, carefree laugh. "Are you crazy? What twinge? I swear on my life, I'm perfectly fine!"
Seungmin was still half-sitting, his eyes narrowed into suspicious slits, scanning Felix from head to toe like a human polygraph machine. "Then why did you freeze like a statue just now? Your leg hitched for a second. Don't try to play me, Yongbok, I've been watching you for four years!"
Felix walked toward the stove with perfectly smooth, fluid steps to turn down the heat under the bubbling soup. Laughing naturally, he said, "My foot caught on the edge of the kitchen rug, Minnie! And the basket slipped from my hands because it was wet. I just wanted to adjust my grip so it wouldn't drop and make a mess. That's literally it!"
Seungmin wasn't fully convinced. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the couch cushion. "Are you sure? Look at me... if you have even a fraction of a percent of pain, you drop everything and go lie down right now. I do not joke around when it comes to this."
Felix placed the glass lid on the pot, turned around, and took a few remarkably effortless, bouncy steps toward Seungmin to ease his pessimistic friend's racing heart. There truly was no pain left. He offered a soft, fond smile. "Seungmin-ah, look at me. I'm really fine. I have absolutely no pain. If my back had spasmed, I wouldn't be able to walk or stand up straight like this without wincing, right?"
Seungmin stared at Felix’s shoulders, his waist, and his posture for a few intense seconds. Seeing that there was genuinely no stiffness, no guarded movements, or involuntary contractions in his body, Seungmin finally let out a deep, shaky breath and slumped back against the sofa in frustration. The deep stress lines on his forehead smoothed out just a bit.
"Fine..." Seungmin grumbled, his tone still laced with lingering, protective concern. "But you are not allowed to touch that laundry basket. Understood? Leave it right there until Manager Hyung comes tomorrow to hang them. If I see you trying to lift it, I swear I'll hit you over the head with this crutch."
Felix laughed out loud, throwing both hands up in the air in surrender. "Okay, okay! I surrender. I won't touch it."
When Felix turned his back to the living room to fetch the ceramic bowls from the cabinet, the smile remained etched on his face because he was genuinely relieved to be pain-free. But that tiny click from a few minutes ago had done its psychological damage. That half-second warning settled in the darkest corner of his mind like a cold, lingering shadow.
Felix realized that those two golden, painless months didn't mean he was miraculously healed. The herniated disc monster was still there, lurking right in the core of his body, having only called a fragile, temporary truce. As he ladled the hot soup into the bowls, he took a slow, silent breath and told himself, I just need to be more careful... that's all. I can't ruin this.
Three days passed.
Felix was, by all accounts, genuinely doing well. Not only did he handle the light chores around the dorm with ease, but he also became Seungmin’s personal crutch. He helped Seungmin with difficult transfers from the bed to the couch, accompanied him to physical therapy, and even helped him get dressed, all without so much as a grimace or a tight smile. This unbroken streak of health was the best possible sedative for Seungmin’s anxiety.
Seungmin, who in the first few days wouldn't even let Felix fetch him a glass of water, had slowly acclimatized to the new dynamic. Seeing Felix's light steps and fluid, painless movements every day made him drop his hyper-vigilance. He was reverting to his usual self; a bit stubborn, wonderfully blunt, and admittedly, a little demanding. This behavioral shift was a massive, silent victory for Felix, proving that Seungmin no longer felt like a "burden" in the dorm.
It was Friday evening. The dorm was bathed in the warm, orange glow of the sunset. Felix was sitting on the plush rug, leaning his upper back comfortably against the base of the sofa, entirely focused on his console game. Seungmin was sprawled on the sofa directly above him, his casted leg resting like a monument on the armrest as he aimlessly scrolled through his phone.
"Lix," Seungmin dragged out his name with a bored sigh, lightly smacking the top of Felix’s head with a small cushion. "Go get those Potato cheese chips from the cabinet. I'm craving something salty."
Without taking his eyes off the flashing TV screen, Felix groaned, "I'm in the middle of a boss fight! Don't you have hands? At least wait until I clear this level."
Seungmin replied with absolute, unapologetic audacity, "I am an injured patient. The doctors specifically said if I don't get artificial cheese flavoring into my bloodstream stat, my leg might never heal. Hurry up, get up!"
Felix paused the game with a dramatic sigh, rose from the floor in one fluid, effortless motion, and shook his head in mock disappointment as he headed to the kitchen. "Alright, Kim majesty! Only because I feel incredibly sorry for your busted leg!"
As Felix walked away, Seungmin casually glanced at his straight posture and brisk steps. The look of panic and guilt that used to haunt Seungmin's eyes was completely gone. A faint, comfortable smile settled on his lips. Felix was actually taking care of him, and most importantly, he wasn't hurting himself to do it. Everything, at least for now, was exactly as it should be: safe, domestic, and peaceful.
Felix entered the kitchen. The snack cabinet was unfortunately located on the bottom row. Without a second thought or a hint of protective worry, he bent down, pulled the cabinet door open, and reached all the way to the back to grab the large bag of cheese chips.
But exactly as he tried to grab the bag with his right hand and pull the door shut with his left, he twisted his torso at a terrible, unnatural angle.
Stab.
A sharp, violent sting, like a white-hot needle plunging straight into his nervous system, twisted right into the center of his lower vertebrae.
Felix sucked in a sharp, desperate breath and bit down so hard on his lower lip that he tasted copper, violently swallowing the groan that clawed up his throat. He froze right there, locked in a half-bent position. The hand gripping the bag of chips tightened into a trembling fist against the wooden edge of the cabinet. This pain was different; it was significantly more serious than the brief spasm from a few days ago, though thankfully, it hadn't reached the full "lock-up" stage yet. It was a brutal, physical threat.
He squeezed his eyes shut, his heart hammering against his ribs, desperately running through the breathing techniques his physiotherapist had drilled into him. Inhale... exhale... push the oxygen to the muscle... relax your core.
About ten to fifteen agonizing seconds passed before Seungmin's loud, impatient voice echoed from the living room: "Felix! Did you go plant the potatoes yourself? Hurry up, the game went into demo mode!"
Had this been a week ago, a few seconds of delay would have been enough for Seungmin to panic, grab his crutch, and scramble into the kitchen. But now... Seungmin's voice was just filled with his usual mischievous impatience, devoid of even a trace of worry. It was the ultimate proof that Seungmin had completely lowered his defensive walls.
Felix let out a shaky, quiet exhale. The sharp, stabbing pain had slowly subsided, leaving behind a dull, localized, and heavy ache in his lower back. With absolute, terrifying caution, he braced his core muscles tightly and pulled himself up to stand straight. He rolled his shoulders a few times, testing the waters, to ensure he could walk naturally without dragging his leg. Thankfully, he could.
With a clear voice that he forced to hold no tremor, he shouted back, "I'm coming! I was just trying to find this disgusting flavor you like!"
Felix returned to the living room with normal steps and a perfectly straight back, tossing the bag of chips right onto Seungmin's chest.
Seungmin caught the bag mid-air and smirked triumphantly. "Finally! I was about to start gnawing on the sofa cushions from starvation."
He didn't even cast a scrutinizing glance at Felix's pale face or the careful way he walked. His entire focus was on ripping the shiny bag open and complaining about the paused game on the screen.
With a massive sigh of relief, though this time with incredibly subtle, calculated caution, Felix sat back down on the rug. As he lowered himself, he casually braced his hand on the floor to take the gravitational pressure off his lower back. He picked up his controller and glued his eyes to the TV, though he wasn't really seeing the game anymore.
No one had noticed a thing. Seungmin was happily crunching on his chips, completely oblivious, and Felix breathed easier. Hiding the pain was a success, and Seungmin’s peace of mind remained intact. But that faint, dull burn lingering in the background of his lower back was a stark, terrifying reminder: his body was a glass house, and the stones were already cracking the walls.
A few more days passed in the same precarious routine.
That sudden sting in the kitchen, like an uninvited, malicious guest, never completely left. It morphed into a dull, heavy ache in Felix's lower back; something akin to a tight, leaden muscular knot that woke up with him every morning and went to bed with him every night.
But Felix had become an absolute master at the art of hiding pain. In the mornings, long before Seungmin even stirred, he would quietly swallow a strong painkiller. At night, when Seungmin was deep in sleep, he would carefully slip a hot water bottle under his shirt, directly over the aching spot, praying the heat would melt the tension away.
In contrast, Seungmin was sinking deeper into his role of the "demanding patient" every single day. Now fully convinced that his roommate was the picture of perfect health, he had completely dropped all the formalities, hesitations, and anxieties of the first few weeks.
It was Tuesday evening. Seungmin was ruling his kingdom from the sofa in his usual posture, his heavy leg propped up on the cushions while he bobbed his head, adjusting a vocal track on his phone. Felix was sitting quietly at the dining table, working diligently on his iPad.
Suddenly, the sharp clatter of something hard dropping onto the hardwood floor broke the silence, followed by the sound of it rolling rapidly away.
Seungmin let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh and threw his head back against the sofa cushions. "Ugh... my life has become a Greek tragedy. My AirPods case just fell and rolled right under the couch." He tilted his head to look at Felix, offering a pathetic yet entirely shameless expression. "YONGBOK... could you, please? I literally can't bend over."
Felix set his iPad face-down on the table. "What would you honestly do without me? Rots?" Chuckling softly, he got up from the chair and walked over to the couch.
Seungmin smirked in response. "I probably would have withered away from boredom by now. Hurry up, it rolled right under the middle leg."
Felix reached the couch. For someone with a highly inflamed herniated disc, bending and reaching into tight, low spaces is the absolute equivalent of trying to defuse a live landmine blindfolded. Instead of bending from his waist, he carefully dropped down onto his left knee. He planted his left palm firmly on the hardwood floor to bear the entire weight of his upper body, and then slowly reached his right hand deep under the sofa.
The angle was terrible. To reach the small white case, he was forced to twist his right shoulder further inward and pull his lower back downward into an unnatural curve.
At that exact, horrifying second, the tight, dull knot in his lower back unraveled with a searing, white-hot stab.
The agony was so sudden, so profound and electrical, that Felix involuntarily squeezed his eyes shut. He bit down on his lower lip with such savage force that he immediately tasted the metallic, warm tang of blood. His upper body was completely hidden under the shadow of the couch, so Seungmin, looking from above, couldn't see his pale, violently contorted face.
Felix’s breath seized completely in his lungs. He froze right there, mere inches away from the AirPods case. The muscles in his lower back clamped down like a solid block of concrete, going into a massive, defensive spasm, refusing to let him move so much as a single finger.
Seungmin, oblivious to the catastrophe happening below him, said impatiently, "Didn't find it? Man, it's right there, just reach a little further. Your arms are long enough."
Felix couldn't speak. He physically couldn't form words. He knew if he opened his mouth, the sound of his broken, trembling, pain-filled breaths would give the entire charade away. He needed a miracle to drag himself out from under this couch without screaming.
Summoning every ounce of his willpower, he bypassed his locked back muscles entirely and threw absolutely all the pressure onto his left arm and shoulder. He snatched the case blindly with his right hand, and then, putting a horrifying, dangerous amount of strain on his arm and his good leg, he shoved his body backward, sliding across the floor.
The moment his head emerged from under the sofa, he quickly turned his face away from Seungmin, staring blankly at the wall as he took a few deep, desperate, silent breaths to let the color return to his face and stop the world from spinning.
"Here," Felix said, his voice straining to maintain a normal, casual rhythm as he stayed seated on the floor, raising a slightly trembling hand to pass the case to Seungmin.
Seungmin grabbed the AirPods without so much as a passing glance at Felix's face or his unnatural posture. "Nice. You saved me." He immediately popped one of the earbuds in, tapped the screen, and glued his eyes back to his phone.
Felix gripped the edge of the sofa with a white-knuckled hold and used the pure, raw strength of his legs to push himself up, desperate not to engage his lower back. When he finally stood straight, it felt as if a heavy, agonizing band of spiked lead had been wrapped tight around his waist, squeezing the breath out of him.
"I'm... going to get a glass of water," Felix said, carefully controlling the cadence of his voice so it wouldn't shake, turning toward the kitchen.
Seungmin, already bobbing his head to the beat of his music, simply replied, "Bring me a cold one too!"
Felix sought immediate refuge in the kitchen, out of Seungmin's line of sight. He gripped the edge of the marble sink with both hands and dropped his head, letting his shoulders sag. His breaths were coming in fast, shaky, shallow gasps now. Fine beads of cold, nervous sweat dotted his forehead and upper lip. He had managed to hide it again, and Seungmin hadn't suspected a thing, but Felix knew all too well that his body's defensive walls were cracking wide open. He couldn't keep playing Russian roulette with his spine forever.
The sudden, sharp sound of the dorm's doorbell shattered the quiet atmosphere, making Felix jump.
Without looking up from his phone, Seungmin yelled toward the kitchen, "Yongbok-ah! Can you get the door? It’s definitely Minho Hyung. He texted saying he’d drop by after practice."
Felix, who had just managed to ease some of the crushing pressure off his back by leaning heavily against the kitchen counter, took a deep, steadying breath. He wiped his sweaty forehead, plastered a manufactured, bright smile onto his face, and, with steps he desperately willed to look completely normal, headed for the front door.
When the heavy door swung open, Lee Know stood there. He was wearing a black baseball cap pulled low, a loose hoodie, and carrying two large, heavily packed plastic grocery bags that looked like they weighed a ton.
"Hyung, welcome!" Felix chimed in his usual bright, energetic, sunshine tone, reaching out immediately to take the bags from Lee Know’s hands to be polite.
Lee Know stepped inside, casting a brief, unreadable glance at Felix before handing over the groceries. "Hey. Manager asked me to bring these. It's loaded with energy drinks and heavy packs of meat."
The bags were incredibly heavy. The very moment their full weight dropped into Felix’s unsuspecting hands, that agonizing, leaden band around his waist pulled impossibly tighter, sending a shockwave of pain down his spine. Felix didn’t bend even a millimeter, but for a tenth of a second, his breath violently hitched in his chest, and his jaw locked tight from the severe, sudden muscle contraction.
He spun around quickly to head to the kitchen, trying to walk it off, but Lee Know... Lee Know wasn't Seungmin. Minho was the dance leader. He was the kind of person who could look at seven members in a chaotic practice room mirror and instantly know exactly which person had pulled which muscle based on a micro-expression. He registered that millisecond hesitation, the sharp intake of breath, and the unnatural, rigid stiffness in Felix’s shoulders instantly. His eyes narrowed.
Lee Know kicked off his shoes and sauntered into the living room, though his senses were now on high alert. "How's it going, stork?" he threw a sarcastic jab at Seungmin, who was still lounging comfortably on the sofa.
Seungmin laughed, pulling out an earbud. "I'm molding away from boredom. Good thing you came, Hyung. Lix has been waiting on me hand and foot all day, but I'm still bored out of my mind."
Lee Know raised an eyebrow. His sharp gaze shifted between the carefree, oblivious Seungmin and Felix, who was standing in the kitchen with his back to them, unpacking the heavy bags with stiff, deliberate movements. Lee Know walked silently over to the kitchen island and stood there, watching.
Felix was placing the large drink bottles on the bottom shelf of the fridge. He hadn't bent over from the waist to do it—a dead giveaway for someone hiding back pain. Instead, he had squatted completely down on his legs, gripping the edge of the fridge door tightly with one hand to keep his upper body completely vertical and the weight off his lower back.
Lee Know stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his hawk-like eyes zeroing in on Felix’s every micro-movement. He noticed that Felix wasn't tossing the bottles in quickly as he usually did; every single motion was calculated, terrifyingly cautious, and incredibly slow.
"Yongbok-ah?" Lee Know’s voice was quiet, but it cut through the air like a surgical scalpel.
Felix jumped, his heart leaping into his throat. He had been so hyper-focused on managing his pain and controlling his breathing that he hadn't noticed Lee Know standing just a few feet away, observing him like prey. In a panic, realizing he looked suspicious, he tried to stand up from his squat with one sudden, jerky movement.
It was the worst possible mistake.
His lower back retaliated with a suffocating, blinding agony that felt like a knife twisting between his vertebrae. The color drained completely from Felix’s face in a split second, his smile froze into a grimace, and his hand clawed desperately at the inside of the fridge door to stop himself from collapsing. He quickly composed himself, forcing a breathless laugh as he turned his head. "Yeah, Hyung? Did you need something?"
Lee Know didn't answer. His gaze traveled slowly, analytically, from Felix’s white-knuckled hand—still gripping the fridge door like a lifeline—up to his chalk-white face, and finally to the tiny bead of cold sweat resting on his temple. Minho wasn't someone who could be fooled easily. He had lived with his kitten's hidden pains for four years; he knew exactly what that rigid posture, that specific pallor, and that fake smile meant.
Lee Know took a step closer, dropping his voice so low that it was impossible for Seungmin to hear from the living room. "Your back acting up again?"
Felix’s eyes widened in sheer panic. His heart hammered violently against his ribs. "No! No, not at all... I'm perfectly fine, Hyung. My leg just fell asleep for a second from squatting."
Lee Know stared into Felix’s eyes with his signature cold, impenetrable, terrifying glare. "Don't try to play me, Lee Yongbok. I'm not Seungmin. You can't fool me with a couple of fake laughs and a lie."
Before Felix could scramble his brain for another excuse, Seungmin’s loud voice echoed from the living room, saving him temporarily: "Minho Hyung! What are you doing just standing there in the kitchen? Come sit and tell me what happened at the company today. And Lix, bring those sodas over, please!"
Felix swallowed hard, feeling utterly defeated and cornered. He was trapped. He shot a pleading, desperate look at Lee Know; a look that was practically begging: Please, don't tell him. Don't ruin this.
Lee Know stood in silence for a few agonizing seconds, staring down at Felix’s pained, anxious face. He was furious; fiercely angry at Felix for playing the self-sacrificing hero again, and angry at Seungmin for being so remarkably blind to what was happening right under his nose. But simultaneously, he knew that if he exposed Felix in front of Seungmin right now, Seungmin would spiral into absolute, maddening guilt and blame himself for making Felix carry his things.
Lee Know exhaled sharply through his nose in frustration. Without breaking eye contact with Felix, he raised his voice and called out to the living room: "I'll bring them myself! Lix, go to your room and find my MacBook charger, I need it right now. It might take a while, so look thoroughly in the closets!"
Without a shadow of a doubt, Seungmin replied, "Okay."
Lee Know stepped forward, snatched the cold soda cans from Felix’s ice-cold, trembling hands, and growled in a low, threatening whisper meant only for the two of them: "Go to the room and lie down immediately. I'll be in there in five minutes, and heaven help you if you lie to me again."
His face scrunched in pain and shame, Felix simply nodded. With steps that could no longer mask their slight tremor and stiffness, he began the agonizing trek toward the bedroom. Felix’s defensive walls had completely crumbled, and now he had to answer to the most dangerous and perceptive Hyung in the group.
The moment Felix was out of Seungmin’s line of sight and the bedroom door clicked shut behind him, all his masks shattered simultaneously. There was no longer any need to force a smile, pretend he was okay, or keep his shoulders rigidly straight.
He braced his hand heavily against the wall and, with heavy, dragging steps, dragged himself to the edge of the bed. His knees finally buckled, and he collapsed face-first onto the mattress with a muffled, pained groan he no longer needed to suppress. Lying flat on his stomach was the best position to relieve the pressure on his discs, but even that simple change in posture sent a shockwave of pain that squeezed hot tears from the corners of his eyes, dampening the pillowcase. The muscles in his lower back felt like thick, inflamed cables pulled taut to the absolute breaking point.
Out in the living room, Lee Know set the soda cans on the glass table in front of Seungmin with a dull thud.
Seungmin casually popped a can open, taking a sip. "Hyung, what's the news at the company? Was PD-nim giving you guys grief over the new track arrangement again?"
With a face that was terrifyingly blank, calm, and composed, Lee Know replied, "Yeah, the usual drama. Same old arguments. You drink up, I'm going to see why it's taking that kid so long to find a damn charger. He's probably snooping through the closet again."
Lee Know walked over to the bedroom, stepped inside, and locked the door behind him. In the dark, silent room, the sharp click of the lock sounded like a gunshot.
Lee Know turned and stared at Felix, who was curled up on the bed, his face buried deep in the pillow, his shoulders tense. All the feigned indifference and casualness from seconds ago vanished, replaced instantly by a profound, dark concern and tightly leashed fury.
"Yongbok-ah..." Lee Know sat on the edge of the bed, his voice low but dripping with heavy reprimand. "Exactly how long has this been going on?"
Felix tried to lift his head, wincing. "Hyung... I..."
Lee Know placed a firm but careful hand on Felix’s shoulder, keeping him pinned down so he wouldn't strain himself further. "Don't move. I said, since when?"
Felix drew a shaky breath. Now that his hand was forced and Minho had seen through him, there was no point in hiding it anymore. "Since... since three or four days ago. At first, it was just a tiny spasm when I picked up the laundry. It got worse today."
Lee Know ground his teeth together, the muscle in his jaw ticking. He slipped his warm hand under Felix’s t-shirt. With his experienced, skilled fingers, he pressed exactly onto the inflamed, rock-hard knot of muscles surrounding the lower lumbar vertebrae. Felix hissed sharply in agony, his fingers digging fiercely into the bedsheets.
"A tiny spasm?" Lee Know’s voice now crackled with raw, unfiltered anger. "Yongbok-ie, your muscles feel like solid concrete! They're entirely locked up! What the hell were you doing these past few days? Didn't I tell you not to lift a single finger while Seungmin was injured?"
"Seungmin..." Felix said, his voice muffled and thick with emotion against the pillow. "Seungmin was drowning in guilt, Hyung. You saw him. I couldn't let him think I ended up on the floor again because of him. He’s already been so depressed these past two months with that cast. He was finally starting to feel better, finally laughing again..."
Lee Know let out a harsh, frustrated breath, running a hand through his hair. He stood up, marched over to the nightstand drawer, and pulled out the Waterless electric hot water bottle
and the strong muscle-relaxant ointment that were always kept there for Felix’s bad days.
"To hell with Seungmin's guilt!" Lee Know snapped, unscrewing the ointment cap aggressively. "His leg is broken, sure. In a month, he’ll get the cast off and he'll be jumping around the stage again. But what about you? Are you trying to destroy your spine just for his peace of mind? Do you honestly think if you collapse in the middle of the living room right now from a ruptured disc, he's going to feel less guilty? He'd never forgive himself!"
Felix had no answer. He closed his eyes. He knew Minho was absolutely right.
Lee Know sat back down and began to gently massage the warm, menthol-scented ointment into Felix’s lower back. Despite his harsh, angry words, his hands were infinitely gentle and precise. He knew exactly how much pressure to apply to soothe the spasm without escalating Felix's pain. The stark contrast between Minho's sharp tongue and his tender care made Felix's throat tight.
"Bokbok-ie, you are such an idiot," Lee Know muttered under his breath, his anger deflating into worry. "Always trying to play the strong guy for everyone else."
When the massage was done, Lee Know carefully placed the hot water bottle over Felix’s lower back and pulled the heavy blanket up over him. Enveloped by the soothing heat and the relaxing ointment, Felix finally let out a genuine, long sigh of relief, allowing his locked muscles to untense just a fraction.
Lee Know sat on the edge of the bed, gazing down at Felix’s exhausted, pale profile. His anger had simmered down into a protective resolve.
With half-closed eyes, Felix whispered weakly, "Hyung... don't tell him. Please. If he finds out I lied to him and sacrificed myself just so he wouldn't feel bad, he'll lose his mind. I'll get better, I just... I just need a few days of rest. I promise I'll be careful."
Lee Know crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the wall with a faint scowl. He knew exactly how Seungmin's analytical, overthinking mind worked. If Seungmin found out that Felix had been cooking for him, doing his laundry, and carrying things around with an inflamed, herniated disc all this time, the sheer weight of his guilt would destroy him.
"Alright," Lee Know finally conceded, though his tone was dead serious and left no room for argument. "I won't tell him. But the rules of this house are changing right now."
Felix looked up at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"
Lee Know flashed a wicked, calculating smirk that terrified Felix even more than his anger. "It means I'm staying here starting tonight. I'll tell Seungmin the plumbing in our dorm broke or some other bullshit excuse. And you... starting right now, you are coming down with a severe, nasty cold. A dangerously contagious viral infection that makes it impossible for you to get out of bed."
Felix let out a silent, breathless laugh, which made his back twinge slightly, but he couldn't help it. "A cold?"
Lee Know stood up and walked toward the door. "Yeah. I'll be your personal nurse, and Seungmin will just have to deal with delivery food and Manager Hyung with that crippled leg of his. You are not allowed to pour yourself so much as a glass of water, Yongbok-ah. If I catch you stepping off this bed, I'll break your back myself so you at least have a real excuse to be in pain."
Felix smiled. A real, genuine smile that reached his eyes. He was trapped in the clutches of Lee Know’s caring dictatorship, but honestly... this was exactly what he needed right now. He needed someone to take the burden off his shoulders.
Lee Know gripped the door handle, but before stepping out, he looked back over his shoulder, his voice softening considerably. "Go to sleep, Yongbokie. I'm going to go tell that stork out there that you passed out from fever. Rest."
The door clicked shut, and for the first time in days, Felix let himself completely relax into the mattress, closing his eyes with a completely peaceful mind.
Lee Know closed the bedroom door behind him, standing in the hallway for a few seconds to carefully arrange his facial features. He needed to play the role of the easily-annoyed-but-slightly-concerned Hyung flawlessly so Seungmin wouldn't suspect a thing about Felix's back. He wiped the deep worry from his eyes and replaced it with a heavy sigh.
With heavy, dragged footsteps, he returned to the living room, throwing himself onto the single armchair opposite Seungmin.
Seungmin, with a mouthful of cheese chips, gestured with his chin toward Lee Know’s empty hands. "What about the charger? Where's Felix?"
Lee Know huffed, crossing his arms and sinking deeper into the chair. "Couldn't find the charger, but instead I found a feverish Yongbok passed out on his bed with all his clothes on."
Seungmin froze instantly. He stopped chewing, his eyes widening as he stared at Lee Know. "A fever? What fever? He was just playing a console game with me ten minutes ago! He literally just went under the couch to get my AirPods case..."
That sentence alone was enough to make Lee Know want to grab Seungmin by the collar and throw him out the window, but he swallowed the urge and didn't let it show. With a reprimanding yet perfectly nonchalant tone, he said, "Yeah, and he probably burned through the absolute last of his energy doing that for you. I touched his forehead, he's burning up like a furnace. His throat is swollen too. He caught a nasty cold; he was just playing healthy in front of you so you wouldn't nag him."
Seungmin forced the dry chips down his throat. His face instantly contorted in horror. The carefree, cheeky attitude he had sported for the past few days vanished in a single second, evaporated by pure, unadulterated worry. He planted his hand heavily on the sofa to push himself up, pulling his crutch toward him. "I... I should go check on him. Hyung, what if his back..."
"Sit back down!" Lee Know’s voice cracked like a whip across the room, startling Seungmin.
Seungmin froze in place, looking at Lee Know in shock.
Lee Know continued, his tone milder but undeniably firm, leaving no room for negotiation. "There's nothing wrong with his back, it's just a damn cold virus. But if you go into that room right now and catch it, and start coughing with that busted leg of yours, who's going to scrape you off the floor? I absolutely refuse to take care of two sick patients in one house. Stay right there."
Defeated, Seungmin slowly let go of his crutch and slumped back against the sofa. He bit his lip hard, his gaze drifting guiltily toward Felix’s closed bedroom door. "It's my fault... I've been bossing him around for days. I should have noticed he looked pale. God, Hyung, I literally sent him to get me chips half an hour ago... I'm such an idiot."
Yeah, you're a massive idiot, Lee Know thought to himself, but not for the reason you think.
Outwardly, however, he simply shrugged, playing the indifferent card. "What's done is done. Yongbok-ie is always like this, he won't admit he's sick until he literally drops. That's why I decided I'm crashing here for a few days."
Seungmin looked at him in surprise, blinking. "Here? What about your dorm?"
Lee Know began casually pulling his phone out of his pocket, swiping through his screen. "The bathroom pipe burst in our dorm, smells like absolute garbage. Hannie went to Changbin and Hyunjinnie's apartment, but I wasn't in the mood to pack a bag. I'll just sleep on the couch here. That way I can keep an eye on you so you don't burn the house down with that leg, and I can take care of that idiot kitten until his fever breaks."
Seungmin took a deep, shaky breath. Lee Know’s presence felt like a secure anchor in a sudden storm. "Thanks, Hyung... we're really lucky you came over. In my condition, I wouldn't have been able to make him soup or bring his fever down."
Lee Know smirked, a glint in his eye. "Yeah, you're lucky. Now eat your cold pizza and stay quiet while I go see what I can find in the fridge to cook for dinner tomorrow."
The next morning, everything went exactly according to Lee Know’s meticulously crafted script.
Lee Know woke up at eight. The very first thing he did was head straight to Felix’s room. He locked the door behind him so Seungmin couldn't barge in unexpectedly. Felix was awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, still in pain. Seeing Lee Know, he tried to sit up, but Lee Know stopped him with a sharp wave of his hand.
"Don't move, Yongbok-ah," Lee Know said quietly, setting a small tray containing strong painkillers, a glass of water, and a fresh hot water bottle on the nightstand.
"Hyung... Seungmin..." Felix rasped, his voice tight with morning stiffness.
"Seungmin is outside, completely convinced that you're burning up with a fever. He doesn't even dare walk within three meters of this door because I told him your virus is highly contagious," Lee Know explained as he expertly adjusted the fresh hot water bottle under Felix’s back.
Despite the dull ache in his spine, Felix let out a silent laugh, covering his mouth. "You're genuinely terrifying, Hyung."
"I know." Lee Know handed the pills to Felix. "Take these. Today, you are not allowed to get out of bed without me, not even to use the bathroom. I'm going out to feed the stork his breakfast, and then I'll come back and massage you. If I find out you put a foot off this bed, I'll turn your fake cold into a very real fracture. Got it?"
Felix swallowed the pills and rested his head back on the pillow. For the first time in weeks, he didn't need to worry about pretending. "Yes, Know-jjang."
Lee Know stepped out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar so he could hear. Seungmin, with messy bedhead and crutch in hand, was sitting at the dining table, looking at Lee Know anxiously like a kicked puppy.
"Hyung... how is he? Did his fever break?"
With a perfectly deadpan, exhausted expression worthy of an Oscar, Lee Know sighed and rubbed his temples. "No way, he was delirious all night. Kept mumbling nonsense. I just forced him to take his meds and go back to sleep. We absolutely shouldn't wake him. Keep the noise down."
Overwhelmed with guilt, Seungmin dropped his head into his hands. "If this is because his immune system was compromised from taking care of me... it's all my fault."
Lee Know walked over to the sink to turn on the kettle. With his back turned to Seungmin, a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. His plan was working flawlessly. Felix was finally getting the absolute bed rest his herniated disc so desperately needed, and Seungmin, completely shielded from the harsh reality of the disc flare-up, had dropped his demanding attitude entirely, tiptoeing around his own home.
Everything was perfectly under Lee Minho’s control. Or so he thought.

Three days into "Operation: Severe Cold".

Out in the living room, everything was quiet and peaceful. Seungmin, now carrying a crushing amount of guilt for "making Felix sick," was trying to live as silently as humanly possible. He was sitting on the sofa meticulously folding laundry, just to feel like he was contributing something to the household. The TV volume was set to the lowest possible notch, almost muted.
But on the other side of the wall, in Felix's dark room, things were not going well at all.
The medical laws governing a herniated disc are sometimes incredibly cruel: absolute bed rest doesn't always equate to a speedy recovery. Sometimes, the inflammation surrounding the spinal nerve decides to swell and show its ugliest face only after a few days of resting in the same position.
Lee Know walked into the room carrying a bowl of warm soup and some new painkillers, locking the door silently behind him.
"Yongbok-ah, you awake?" Lee Know asked softly, setting the tray on the nightstand.
Felix was lying prone on his stomach. His hands were gripping the bedsheets so tightly his knuckles were stark white. When Lee Know called his name, he could only manage to turn his head an inch. His face was drenched in cold, clammy sweat, his breathing coming in shallow, ragged, hissing gasps.
Lee Know rushed forward and dropped onto the edge of the bed. His usual mask of cool composure shattered in an instant. "Yongbok-ie? What's wrong? Is the pain in your back worse?"
Felix parted his dry, cracked lips. His voice was nothing more than a lifeless, trembling whimper: "Hyung... my leg..."
Lee Know frowned deeply, ripping the blanket back. "Your leg? Where in your leg?"
"Something... like electricity... shooting from my glute down to the back of my right knee..." Felix's voice trembled violently, choked with tears. "Hyung, my right toes are numb... I can't feel them."
Lee Know’s eyes widened in sheer horror. The blood drained from his face. This was no longer a simple muscle spasm or mild inflammation; these were the exact, terrifying textbook symptoms of a ruptured disc pressing directly onto the sciatic nerve. It was the absolute danger zone—a stage that could lead to permanent numbness, nerve damage, or loss of motor function.
Lee Know forced his voice to remain steady, desperately trying not to terrify Felix further, though his own hands were trembling as he reached out. "Alright, don't panic. It's inflamed, it's hitting the nerve. It's nothing. I'll put some ointment on it now."
"I can't move, Minho Hyung..." A scalding tear slid from the corner of Felix's eye and soaked into the pillow. "I'm scared... What if I need surgery? The world tour is coming up... I can't... I can't mess this up for everyone..."
Lee Know ran his hand through Felix's sweat-drenched hair, his voice simultaneously commanding and infinitely tender. "Shut up, Yongbok. Don't think about surgery. I'll fix this myself."
He knew regular ointments and painkillers were completely useless now. The situation had escalated beyond his control. He had to contact the company's trusted physician to come in secretly and administer a cortisone (strong anti-inflammatory) injection directly into the spine. But before he could make the call, Felix needed to use the bathroom. He hadn't moved from the bed since morning, and the pressure was building.
"You need to go to the bathroom." Lee Know gripped Felix’s arm firmly. "I'll help you get up slowly. Shift all your weight to the left side of your body. Do not put any pressure on your right foot on the floor. Let it hang."
Felix gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face, and nodded. Lee Know wrapped his arm securely around Felix's waist and, with extraordinary, painstaking caution, helped him into a half-seated position on the edge of the bed. Felix let out a muffled groan of sheer agony, burying his face into Lee Know’s shoulder, his fingers digging into Minho's back.
"I know, I know it hurts... bear with it, Yongbok-ie. I've got you. One, two, three."
On Lee Know’s count, Felix tried to stand on his feet, using Minho as a crutch. But the very second the tip of his right toe touched the floor, his leg gave out entirely, collapsing like cooked spaghetti. The nerve responsible for sending contraction signals to his leg muscles had been completely cut off under the crushing pressure of the ruptured disc.
Felix’s body plummeted downward with dead weight. Lee Know, caught off guard by the sudden total loss of support, couldn't hold his entire mass. Felix’s knee slammed violently against the wooden edge of the bed frame with a sickening thud, and both of them crashed to the floor in a tangled heap.
The explosive pain from the sudden fall was unbearable for Felix’s highly inflamed spine. Unable to hold it in any longer, he let out a loud, blood-curdling scream; a cry of pure, unfiltered agony that ripped right through the dorm's silence like a siren.
Out in the living room, Seungmin, who was in the middle of folding a shirt, jumped out of his skin, the shirt falling from his hands. The sound of a heavy crash followed by Felix's terrifying scream made his heart stop dead in his chest.
"Felix?!" Seungmin snatched his crutch and scrambled toward the hallway, limping frantically, his eyes wide with panic. "Hyung?! What happened?!"
Inside the room, Felix was curled into a tight ball on the floor, unable to draw breath through the pain. Lee Know immediately scrambled over and clamped his hand tightly over Felix's mouth to muffle his agonized, breathless moans. Lee Know’s eyes were wide with terror, his chest heaving, but his brain had to work at the speed of light to contain the situation.
The sound of Seungmin's hand pounding against the locked door echoed loudly into the room. "Hyung! Why is the door locked?! Is Felix okay? Open the door!"
Lee Know shouted back, pitching his voice loud and injecting it with a heavy dose of annoyance and frustration—anything to mask the sheer, cold fear. "It's nothing, stork! Back off!"
Seungmin banged on the door again, panic lacing his voice: "What do you mean it's nothing?! What was that noise then? Why did he scream?!"
Struggling with one hand to lift Felix off the floor while Felix wept silently from the blinding pain, Lee Know yelled louder, formulating a lie on the spot: "This idiot kid is burning up with a fever, he got dizzy! He tried to go to the bathroom, tripped on the rug, and fell onto the desk! His leg hit the edge of the bed, that's why he yelled! He's fine, he just took five years off my life! Go away!"
Seungmin was panting heavily on the other side of the door. "Let me come in and help..."
"Absolutely not!" Lee Know shot back instantly. "You come in here with that crutch and you'll just trip and take both of us down. I'll handle it myself. Go sit on your couch, Kim Seungmin, you're giving me a headache!"
Seungmin hesitated outside the door. Minho’s tone was his usual bossy, abrasive self, which finally, miraculously, convinced Seungmin. "Okay... okay, Hyung... call me if you need anything." The sound of Seungmin’s retreating footsteps and the tap-tap of his crutch faded away down the hall.
Once Lee Know was certain Seungmin was gone, he let out a shaky, massive exhale, slumping against the bed frame. He locked his gaze on Felix, who was now weeping silently on the floor, clutching his leg to his chest, his face pale and contorted.
With the utmost gentleness, Lee Know wiped the cold sweat from Felix’s forehead with his thumb. "It's over... our cover isn't blown. I'm sorry, Yongbok-ie, it was my fault, I couldn't hold you."
Eyes squeezed shut, Felix shook his head weakly, unable to speak. The pain was stripping him of everything, leaving him hollow.
Lee Know carefully draped Felix’s arm over his own neck to haul him back onto the bed. He whispered, his voice dark and resolute: "I'm texting Dr. Choi right now. He needs to come here. Lies and painkillers aren't going to fix this anymore."
Lee Know wrapped his arm tighter around Felix’s waist to hoist him onto the bed, but Felix’s trembling hand blindly grabbed Lee Know’s t-shirt sleeve, stopping him in his tracks.
"Hyung... wait..." Felix’s voice was a suffocating whisper, choked with pain and absolute terror.
Lee Know paused, confused. "What? Should I pull the covers back first?"
Felix shook his head weakly. Hot tears mingled with the sweat on his face. His eyes held a look of pure, unadulterated panic; a terror that eclipsed even the physical agony he was enduring. He looked up at Minho like a frightened child.
"Hyung... if I don't go to the bathroom..." Felix swallowed hard, his voice cracking and small. "I... I read online... when the nerve gets compressed like this... if the numbness reaches my... bladder..." He couldn't finish the sentence, a heavy sob blocking his throat, shame flushing his pale cheeks. "I'm terrified of losing control, Hyung... I don't want to... I don't want it to happen... Please, help me to the bathroom first. I'm begging you."
Lee Know’s heart stopped for a full second. The air in the room felt suddenly freezing.
Having worked closely with dancers and their injuries for years, Lee Know knew exactly what Felix was referring to. Cauda Equina Syndrome. It was the absolute worst, most critical, nightmare stage of a herniated disc. If the numbness reached the saddle area and bowel or bladder control was lost, ointments, cortisone, and resting were utterly useless; it meant emergency spinal surgery within 24 hours to decompress the nerve, and very likely the definitive, tragic end of Felix’s dancing career.
A cold, gripping fear clawed at Lee Know’s chest, but he was Lee Minho. He was the pillar. He was not allowed to panic right now. Not when Felix was seeking refuge in him, drowning in this much shame, vulnerability, and terror.
Lee Know instantly slammed the mask of the "strong, unwavering Hyung" back onto his face. He cupped the back of Felix’s head, stroking his sweat-damp hair gently, grounding him. "Hey... hey, look at me."
Felix looked up at him through tear-blurred vision, his lip trembling.
"You are not going to lose control. It’s just localized nerve inflammation, it’s not reaching your bladder. Stop reading internet garbage." Lee Know delivered the words with absolute, unwavering conviction to calm Felix down, even as he was internally praying to whatever god would listen that he was right. "But okay. We'll go to the bathroom first. I've got you."
Thankfully, Felix’s bedroom had a small en-suite bathroom, so they didn't have to venture into the hallway and risk running into Seungmin. But that ten-foot gap to the bathroom door felt like summiting Everest to Felix, whose right leg was now entirely dead weight, a useless appendage attached to his hip.
"Listen to me, Yongbok-ah," Lee Know slung Felix’s right arm over his own neck and wrapped his other arm tightly around Felix's ribcage, acting as a human crutch. "You do not let your right foot touch the floor. Just let it hang. Throw your entire body weight onto me. I won't let you fall. Okay?"
Felix gritted his teeth and nodded, preparing himself for the agony.
"On three. One... two... three."
Summoning all his strength, Lee Know hauled Felix upward. Felix let out an agonizing moan that was swallowed by Lee Know’s shoulder. He was essentially standing on one leg, the rest of his mass heavily anchored to Lee Know’s body. With every grueling step Lee Know dragged him forward, a jolt of electricity shot from Felix’s lower back all the way down to his numb toes, making his vision white out.
"Good job... that's it... we're almost here." Lee Know kept up a steady stream of encouraging murmurs right against Felix's ear to distract him from the blinding pain.
Once in the bathroom, Lee Know assisted Felix with extreme precision and care. Felix was shaking violently from the pain and severe muscle weakness, shedding silent tears of deep humiliation at the state he was in. For a global idol who practically flew across stages, the reality of not even being able to stand on his own two feet without his friend holding him up was soul-crushing.
But there wasn't a single shred of pity in Lee Know’s eyes. He acted with the most mundane, professional detachment possible, ensuring he didn't bruise Felix’s already shattered pride any further. He looked everywhere but at Felix, giving him the dignity he needed.
When it was over and Lee Know had hauled Felix back to the bed through the same agonizing ordeal, Felix collapsed face-down on the mattress, burying his face deep into the pillow. His shoulders shook with silent, racking sobs. He had realized he still had control over his bladder and his greatest fear hadn't come to pass, but the excruciating pain he had endured and the absolute, pathetic weakness he felt had mentally broken him.
Lee Know pulled the blanket over Felix, sank to the floor beside the bed, and ran his fingers gently through Felix’s hair. The heavy silence of the room was only broken by Felix’s jagged, gasping breaths and quiet weeping.
"See? Nothing happened," Lee Know said, his voice now incredibly soft and affectionate, a rare tone reserved only for moments like this. "You're still in control of everything. And I'm right here."
Without lifting his face from the pillow, Felix choked out, "Hyung... it hurts so much... I can't take it anymore... Make it stop."
Lee Know’s heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He pulled his phone from his pocket. It was past the point of waiting or hiding. He quickly typed out a message to Dr. Choi, the company's senior physician:
Emergency. Main dorm. Felix’s disc has flared up violently, his right leg is numb. Get here ASAP without drawing any attention. Bring the supplies for an intra-articular cortisone injection.
Lee Know hit send and gripped Felix’s ice-cold hand firmly in his own. "Hold on, Yongbok-ie... the doctor is on his way. I promise this pain will be over in half an hour."
The next twenty minutes felt like twenty years to Minho.
Felix’s breathing had deteriorated into shallow, painful wheezes. He had bitten down on the bedsheet to keep his groans from escaping and alerting Seungmin. Lee Know sat on the floor beside him, one hand stroking Felix’s sweat-soaked hair, the other gripped tightly around Felix’s wrist. Felix was squeezing Lee Know’s hand so hard the circulation had completely stopped in Lee Know’s fingers, but Minho didn't blink once, enduring the pressure silently.
Finally, the sharp ring of the doorbell shattered the suffocating silence of the dorm.
Lee Know shot up immediately. "He's here. Yongbok-ie, just hold on a few more minutes."
He stepped out of the bedroom, pulling the door shut behind him. In the living room, Seungmin had half-stood up on his good leg, looking anxiously toward the front door.
With an incredibly serious, controlled expression, Lee Know walked over and opened the door. Dr. Choi, the middle-aged, highly trusted company physician, stood there holding a large leather medical bag. Before the doctor could say a word, Lee Know shot him a loaded, meaningful look, signaling with his eyes that they were putting on a show for the person behind him.
"Hello, Doctor," Lee Know said, pitching his voice loud enough for Seungmin to hear clearly. "Thank you for coming all the way out here for just a simple cold. His fever spiked really high, the pills didn't bring it down at all."
Dr. Choi, having dealt with idol cover-ups, injuries, and PR nightmares for years, instantly caught Lee Know’s drift. "Hello, Minho. No problem at all," he replied smoothly, playing his part. "I brought IV fluids and strong antiviral meds to get him back on his feet quickly."
Hearing the doctor's voice, Seungmin called out from the couch, "Dr. Choi! Hello... please make him feel better. He hasn't eaten anything since last night." Seungmin's voice was heavy with pleading and guilt.
Dr. Choi offered Seungmin a warm, reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Seungmin. I'll give him an IV drip with some vitamins and a fever reducer. He'll feel much better by tonight. You just make sure you take care of that cast on your leg."
Wasting no time, Lee Know guided the doctor to the bedroom, locking the door the second they stepped inside.
The moment the lock clicked, Dr. Choi’s demeanor shifted from a kindly, relaxed physician to a deeply concerned, dead-serious specialist. He set his bag on the desk and rushed to the bed. Seeing Felix’s pale, sweat-drenched condition, he let out a sharp breath.
"Yongbok-ssi... can you hear me?" The doctor placed a hand on Felix’s trembling shoulder.
Felix could only squeeze his eyes shut tightly in confirmation, too exhausted to speak.
Without wasting a second, Dr. Choi pulled the blanket back. "Minho, roll him onto his left side. I need access to his lower vertebrae. Tuck his knees into his chest."
With extreme precision, Lee Know helped curl Felix into a fetal position on his side. The movement tore another loud groan from Felix, his fingers digging fiercely into Lee Know’s arm.
The doctor snapped on his gloves and immediately began testing the reflexes in Felix’s right leg. He dragged a small metal instrument across the sole of Felix’s right foot.
"Do you feel anything?" the doctor asked, his voice clinical.
"Very... very faint..." Felix answered weakly, panting. "Like a feather brushing against it."
Dr. Choi shot a dark, grim look at Lee Know. This was no joke. The severe inflammation was crushing the root of the sciatic nerve. If they didn't act now, it would be catastrophic.
"Alright," Dr. Choi pulled a large syringe and a small vial of corticosteroid (cortisone) from his bag, preparing the injection. "Felix, listen to me. I am going to inject this medication directly into the epidural space of your spinal cord. It will bring the inflammation down rapidly. But the injection... the injection is going to be incredibly painful. The pressure will be intense. You cannot move a single millimeter. Do you understand? If you jerk, the needle could hit the main nerve."
Felix’s eyes widened in sheer terror. His breathing grew more erratic, his chest heaving. "No... I can't... If it hurts, I'll move... I can't stay still..."
Lee Know instantly climbed onto the edge of the bed and leaned his entire body over Felix. He clamped one hand firmly onto Felix’s shoulder and locked his other arm securely around Felix’s pelvis, pinning his lower body down completely with his own weight.
"I've got you, Yongbok-ah," Lee Know’s voice rang out like a military commander—unyielding, absolute, and fiercely protective. "I won't let you move. Just bury your head in my chest and bite my arm. Bite down as hard as you want."
Felix, trembling like a leaf, buried his face into Lee Know’s chest.
Dr. Choi sterilized the injection site with an alcohol prep pad. The icy sting of the alcohol kissed Felix’s burning skin, a stark contrast to the fire inside him.
"Take a deep breath and hold it... injecting."
The long needle pierced into the highly inflamed, sensitive tissue of his lower back.
A horrifying, explosive wave of sheer agony ripped through Felix’s entire body. The scream that tore from his throat was muffled against Lee Know’s t-shirt. Felix used every ounce of his strength to arch his body, desperate to escape the deep, searing, suffocating fire, but Lee Know held him down with terrifying, crushing force, pinning him to the mattress like a dead weight.
Felix’s teeth sank viciously into Lee Know’s arm. Lee Know squeezed his eyes shut against the sharp pain, but he didn't utter a single word, nor did he loosen his iron grip for a second, absorbing Felix's pain.
"Done... needle is out." Dr. Choi's voice finally broke through after ten hellish, endless seconds.
Felix’s body went completely limp. Every drop of energy drained from him, and he collapsed weakly onto the bed, panting heavily, his muscles twitching. Lee Know released his arm—now sporting deep, purple bruised bite marks—and used his sleeve to wipe the sweat and tears from Felix’s face.
"You did amazing, kid... it's over. It's going to calm down now," Lee Know whispered, his voice trembling slightly from the adrenaline.
Dr. Choi applied a small bandage to the injection site and packed up his tools. He quickly set up a real IV drip containing vitamins and intravenous painkillers to maintain the "curing a cold" facade for Seungmin waiting outside the room.
As the doctor hooked the IV up to Felix’s hand, the cortisone was already taking effect. The inflammation was rapidly subsiding, the horrifying, locked-up sensation in his back slowly untangling like unknotted ropes. Absolute exhaustion dragged Felix’s eyes shut.
Dr. Choi placed a hand on Lee Know’s shoulder, speaking in a whisper meant only for him. "He won't feel any pain for the next twenty-four hours. But Minho... this was a very serious warning. That kid is walking on a knife's edge. If you don't give him a few months of total rest instead of this damn tour, I cannot guarantee he'll be able to walk without a cane by the time he's thirty."
Lee Know stared at Felix’s peaceful, sleeping face. His jaw locked tight as he muttered, "I won't let it come to that, Doctor. I'll watch over him myself."
Dr. Choi nodded solemnly, grabbed his bag, and stepped out of the room to inform Seungmin that "Felix’s fever has broken, he just needs to sleep."
Inside the room, Lee Know remained, accompanied only by the rhythmic drip of the IV. He slid down to sit on the floor beside the bed, rubbing his bruised arm, and stared blankly at the steady rise and fall of Felix’s chest. The immediate crisis had been averted, but Lee Know knew that the real storm—facing Seungmin with the truth, and the upcoming schedule—was still on the horizon.
The IV fluid dripped slowly, the only sound echoing in the darkness of Felix's room.
Lee Know sat on the floor beside the bed, his gaze fixed on the faint streetlight bleeding through the curtains. Felix’s breathing was finally deep and rhythmic; the cortisone and painkillers had done their job, rescuing him from that hours-long hell of pain.
Lee Know turned his phone screen on. It was past midnight. Tomorrow was Monday, and the group had an important filming schedule for the company's YouTube content—a variety shoot that promised to be full of physical games and movement.
Lee Know’s gaze shifted from the glowing screen to Felix’s exhausted, unconscious form. Tomorrow, Felix wouldn't even be able to walk to the bathroom without assistance, let alone run around and laugh in front of cameras. If Felix didn't show up for the schedule, everyone would realize just how bad the situation was. But if he did go... he might actually end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Lee Know made his decision. He had to expand the circle of lies, even if it meant hiding the truth from the group's leader.
He stood up, pulled the blanket up to Felix’s chin, and silently slipped out of the room. He left the door slightly ajar to hear Felix, but walked over to the dorm's small balcony to ensure his voice wouldn't wake Seungmin, who had fallen asleep on the sofa.
He dialed Chan’s number. After three rings, Bang Chan's exhausted but ever-alert voice came through the line. The sound of mouse clicks in the background indicated Chan was still working away in his studio.
"Minho-ya? Is something wrong that you're calling this late? Did something happen at the dorm?" Chan’s tone instantly adopted its characteristic leader-like concern.
Lee Know took a deep breath, slipping his mask of cold indifference firmly back into place. "Hyung, we're doing the schedule without Yongbok tomorrow. Let the managers know."
The mouse clicks stopped. "Without Felix? Why? What happened?"
"He caught a cold. A brutal virus. His fever spiked so high this evening that I had to call Dr. Choi over to the dorm. He's on an IV drip right now, knocked out cold on sleeping pills." Lee Know delivered the words so smoothly and fluidly that he genuinely terrified himself with his own capacity to lie. But he was protecting his little brother; an end that justified absolutely any means.
On the other end of the line, Chan exhaled a heavy, worried breath. "Damn it... we're so close to the tour, their immune systems are crashing. I'm coming over right now. I need to see him."
"Don't come." Lee Know cut him off instantly with a sharp, decisive tone. "If you come now, you'll wake him up. The doctor said the virus is highly contagious. If you catch it, who's going to lead the group tomorrow? I'm here. I already told our injured stork he's forbidden from going near the room. Don't worry, I've got him."
Chan fell silent for a few seconds. He knew Minho well; when Minho said "I've got him," it meant the situation was under absolute control. "Okay... okay, you're right. But be careful and call me first thing tomorrow when he wakes up so I can hear his voice. Did Dr. Choi say how long he needs to rest?"
Lee Know turned toward the balcony glass, staring at his own reflection. "He said he needs to stay in bed for at least two or three days, absolute bed rest, to sweat the virus out. Tell everyone on the shoot tomorrow that he caught a cold so the fans don't panic. And tell the managers not to drop by snooping around, I'll buy whatever we need myself."
"Understood. Thanks, Minho. Take care of yourself so you don't catch it too. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Hyung."
Lee Know hung up. He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in frustration. Now Chan and the company thought Felix had a simple cold, and Seungmin believed the exact same thing. This lie had built a secure, glass bubble around Felix, allowing him to rest in peace without the crushing weight of anyone else's guilt or expectations.
Lee Know stepped back inside from the balcony. He cast a glance at Seungmin, who was sleeping on the sofa with his mouth slightly open, the blanket having slipped off his body. Lee Know huffed, pulled the blanket back over Seungmin, and muttered under his breath, "Two troublesome kids..."
He then headed back to Felix's room. He locked the door behind him, sat on the chair beside the bed, and went back to watching the IV drip—the very last hope for quelling the fierce inflammation in Felix’s spine. Tomorrow was Monday; the rest of the group was going to laugh and play games in front of the cameras, and Lee Know was going to stay right here, in the dark, as the solitary guardian of Felix’s darkest secret.
Monday morning arrived much sooner than Minho would have liked.
Lee Know’s phone alarm vibrated, and he shut it off before it could make a sound. The pale morning light was bleeding through the curtains. He looked over at Felix. Thanks to the cortisone injection and the heavy painkillers, Felix had finally managed to sleep for a few solid hours without the nightmare of agony. His facial muscles, which had been contorted in pain last night, now looked completely relaxed and at peace.
But Lee Know couldn't stay.
The simultaneous absence of both Felix and Seungmin would raise far too many questions for the fans and the company; if he also skipped this filming schedule, Chan would never let it slide and would likely send the entire group to check on the dorm. Lee Know had to go to make the "simple cold" narrative look convincing.
He rose from the floor, quietly changed his clothes, and began setting everything up. He pushed a small side table flush against the edge of Felix’s bed. He lined up a few bottles of water, the painkiller pills, a cold sandwich, and Felix's phone, arranging them meticulously so Felix wouldn't need to reach or bend for a single item.
The crinkling of the sandwich wrapper made Felix flutter his eyes open.
"Hyung..." Felix’s voice was still raspy and thick with sleep.
Lee Know quickly sat on the edge of the bed, keeping his voice low: "You're awake? How's your leg?"
Felix paused for a moment to run an internal diagnostic on his body. "No pain... It feels like my lower back is completely pain-free. And my leg... my leg isn't numb anymore."
Lee Know let out a breath of relief. "Good. The cortisone killed the inflammation. But listen to me very carefully, Yongbok-ah..." Lee Know leaned in closer, locking eyes with Felix with the most dead-serious, terrifying expression he could muster: "This lack of pain is a pure lie. The drugs are fooling you. Your disc is still severely inflamed and ruptured. I have to go to the filming schedule and probably won't be back until this evening. While I'm gone, you are absolutely forbidden from stepping off this bed. Do you understand me? If you think you're fine and you get up to walk, your nerve could sever in a way that even Dr. Choi won't be able to fix."
Slightly taken aback by Minho’s intense seriousness, Felix swallowed hard. "But... what about the bathroom?"
"Hold it in for as long as humanly possible," Lee Know replied with ruthless compassion. "If you genuinely can't hold it anymore, you are not allowed to stand on your feet. You will crawl on all fours to the bathroom and crawl back. Throw your pride and embarrassment out the window. You do not have the right to stand. Is that clear?"
Felix offered a weak smile. He knew Minho was only speaking this harshly out of profound concern. "Crystal clear, Hyung. Don't worry. I won't move an inch."
Lee Know adjusted the blanket over Felix’s shoulders again. "Good boy. Seungmin is out there. If you need anything, don't ask him, text me directly. Text Chan Hyung too, tell him your throat hurts so he doesn't try to call you and only texts."
Lee Know walked out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him.
In the living room, Seungmin was awake, carefully making his way to the kitchen with his crutch to get some water. Seeing Lee Know fully dressed to leave, he stopped.
"Hyung, you're leaving?"
Lee Know nodded as he slipped on his shoes. "Yeah, the company van is waiting downstairs. Listen to me, stork. Felix’s fever broke after that IV last night, but he's incredibly weak and just fell back asleep. I left water and food right next to his bed."
Lee Know stood up straight, pointing at Seungmin with a feigned, stern scowl: "The doctor said last night his virus is airborne and highly contagious. You are not allowed to open that door or go near him. If you catch it, you'll have me to answer to. If he needs something, he'll text me himself. You just sit on that couch and rest."
With a pathetic, guilt-ridden expression, Seungmin nodded. "Okay, Hyung. I won't go anywhere near the room. I'll make sure to keep quiet so he can sleep. Have a safe trip."
Lee Know opened the dorm door. His stomach was churning with anxiety. Leaving these two alone—one sitting on the sofa with a broken leg and drowning in guilt, the other lying in bed with a spinal disc on the verge of exploding—was the hardest thing in the world. But he had no other choice.
He closed the door behind him and left.
The dorm descended into absolute silence. Seungmin cast a long glance at Felix’s slightly open door. He desperately wanted to go in for just a second to see how his friend was doing, but Minho’s strict warning and the fear of making things worse kept him rooted to his spot. He hobbled back to the sofa, sat down, and put his headphones on so he wouldn't make a sound.
In the bedroom, Felix closed his eyes. The cortisone had truly worked a miracle, and he felt light and painless. But this peace was nothing more than the calm before the storm; a storm that was destined to strike a few hours later, in the absence of their grumpy guardian.
It was past two in the afternoon.
The dorm had plunged into an eerie silence. The only sound was the faint, tinny beat of music leaking from Seungmin’s headphones in the living room. He had fallen asleep on the sofa, his heavy cast still propped up on the cushions.
In the dark bedroom, Felix opened his eyes.
Sleeping for so long without moving had left his body feeling stiff and numb. The cortisone was still flowing through his veins, completely masking the pain, leaving only a heavy, dull numbness lingering in his lower back.
He glanced at the water bottles on the side table. For the past few hours, terrified of having to use the bathroom, he hadn't touched a single drop of water, and now his throat felt like a parched desert.
He reached out and grabbed a bottle, but before he could twist the cap off, a faint noise echoed from outside the room.
Clatter... thump.
It sounded like something metallic dropping to the floor, followed closely by a heavy thud against the hardwood.
Felix froze in bed. The music from Seungmin's headphones had cut out, but there was no other sound.
"Seungmin?" Felix whispered, his voice dry and raspy. No answer.
Felix’s heart began to race. He remembered Minho’s stern warning: "You are absolutely forbidden from stepping off this bed. Throw your pride out the window and crawl if you have to."
But what if Seungmin had fallen? What if he had twisted his bad leg or his crutch had slipped? With that heavy cast, Seungmin wouldn't be able to pull himself off the floor alone. He could be lying there, hurt.
Felix dropped the water bottle. "Seungmin-ah?!" he called out louder this time.
Still, absolute silence.
Pure panic wiped all of Minho’s warnings from Felix’s mind. He couldn't just lie in bed imagining his friend collapsed on the living room floor, writhing in pain.
Felix carefully scooted to the edge of the bed. He swung his legs over the side slowly. No pain. Just that strange, heavy numbness. He gripped the edge of the mattress and, relying primarily on his left leg, dropped his weight onto the floor.
The cortisone was doing its job remarkably well. So well, in fact, that idiot Felix actually believed he could walk.
He planted his right foot on the floor. His knee trembled slightly, but it held his weight. Without bending his back, taking exceptionally slow, stiff, robotic steps, he walked toward the half-open door. Every single step was a massive gamble with his spinal cord.
When he poked his head out the door, the breath left his lungs.
Seungmin was collapsed on the floor. His crutch had clattered a few meters away, and he was desperately trying to pull himself up using the dining table leg, but his casted leg was pinned awkwardly beneath his body, preventing him from gaining any leverage. Seungmin had buried his face in his arm, panting heavily from pain and sheer frustration.
"Seungmin!" Without thinking, Felix took a long stride into the living room.
Hearing Felix’s voice, Seungmin snapped his head up. When he saw Felix actually walking out of the bedroom, his eyes blew wide in terror. Minho’s words rushed back to him: "The virus is highly contagious... he's incredibly weak."
"Don't come closer!" Seungmin yelled, his voice cracking with panic. "Felix, go back to your room! What the hell are you doing?!"
Felix ignored him. He quickened his pace to reach him. "What happened to your leg? Why did you fall?"
"I said don't come closer, you idiot! I'll catch your virus!" Seungmin used his good hand to wave Felix off, but he lost his precarious balance and slipped backward again, his head heading straight for the sharp edge of the table.
To stop Seungmin’s head from cracking against the base of the table, Felix lunged forward with everything he had, bending down to grab Seungmin's shoulder.
Explosion.
If the last time felt like a hot needle, this time was like a high-voltage power cable violently snapping inside his spinal cord. The cortisone's numbing effect was utterly annihilated in a fraction of a second against this sudden, reckless, catastrophic movement.
The severely inflamed disc, which had only been pacified by painkillers, ruptured completely, crashing with full, devastating force onto the sciatic nerve.
Felix couldn't even scream. The air was violently expelled from his lungs in a suffocating hiss. His hands froze in mid-air before they could even reach Seungmin. The color drained from his face in the blink of an eye, shifting from pale white to a deathly, ashen gray.
Felix’s body collapsed upon itself like a building undergoing a controlled demolition. His legs gave out entirely, sending him crashing to his knees, and then his upper body slammed against the hardwood floor with a dull, heavy thud. He crumpled into a tight, agonizing ball, less than a meter away from Seungmin.
Mouth hanging open, eyes blown wide with sheer terror and confusion, Seungmin stared at Felix, who was now writhing on the floor like a wounded snake.
Felix couldn't breathe. The pain was so pure, so absolute and ruthless, that it short-circuited every other sense in his body. He clawed desperately at the invisible sheets on the floor, guttural, broken sounds tearing from his throat that didn't even resemble a human voice.
"F... Felix?" Seungmin’s voice trembled uncontrollably. He was completely lost. How could a cold virus cause a reaction like this? Why was Felix grabbing his leg and wailing in such agony?
Ignoring the shooting pain in his own leg, Seungmin dragged himself across the floor toward Felix. "Felix... what's wrong? Where does it hurt? Is it the fever chills?"
Felix couldn't answer. He could only force a single word through his locked, gritted teeth, using the very last shred of his strength:
"M... Minho..."
Now completely engulfed in panic, Seungmin scrambled frantically toward the sofa to grab his phone that had fallen there. His hands were shaking so badly he dropped the phone twice. He finally managed to dial Lee Know's number.
Lee Know, who was on a break during the shoot and chatting with Chan, felt his stomach drop the second he saw Seungmin calling. Seungmin never called him during schedules, unless...
"Hello?" Lee Know answered instantly.
Seungmin’s tearful, terrified voice pierced through the speaker: "Hyung! Hyung, come quick! Yongbok... Yongbok came out to help me, and he just collapsed on the floor. Hyung, he's dying from pain, he can't even breathe! What kind of cold is this? Hyung, I'm begging you, come home!"
Lee Know squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the phone so hard his knuckles turned white. His plan, his lies, and all his desperate efforts to protect Felix had been obliterated by one reckless move from these two idiots.
"Listen to me, Seungmin," Lee Know’s voice was now more terrifying than it had ever been; cold, absolute, and vibrating with leashed fury. "Do not touch him. Don't move him even an inch. Do not call anyone else. I'll be there in ten minutes."
Lee Know hung up. Ignoring Chan’s bewildered stare, he grabbed his jacket and bolted for the studio exit. The real storm had just begun.
Those ten minutes felt like ten years of psychological torture for Seungmin.
He sat on the floor, keeping a meter's distance from Felix. He didn't dare move closer or touch him. Felix had stopped groaning entirely; he was just drawing shallow, ragged breaths, his fists clawing fiercely at the hardwood floor. His face was drenched in sweat and tears, and his right leg lay limp and twisted at an unnatural angle on the ground.
"Felix... please... just say something..." Seungmin’s voice shook with sobs. He simply couldn't comprehend what was happening. How could a cold virus paralyze someone like this?
Suddenly, the front door was thrown open violently.
Lee Know vaulted inside, his expression devoid of the cool composure he usually wore. He was panting heavily, his hair a mess. His eyes scanned the entire living room in a split second before locking onto Felix’s crumpled form.
Lee Know dropped his belt bag right there on the floor and sprinted toward them. Without sparing Seungmin a single glance, he dropped to his knees beside Felix.
"Yongbok-ah..." Lee Know’s voice cracked, raw with terror. He slipped his hand behind Felix’s neck. "Look at me. Where is it hitting?"
Through half-open, blurry eyes, Felix found Minho’s face. His lips trembled. "Hyung... I couldn't... My leg... it's completely numb... I can't feel anything..."
Lee Know ground his teeth together so hard it was audible. His hand shot down to Felix’s right ankle, pinching the skin viciously but Felix showed absolutely no reaction.
Lee Know’s heart plummeted. The nerve was completely blocked. He snapped his head up, yelling with a fury born of pure desperation and fear: "Didn't I tell you you weren't allowed to step off that damn bed?! Didn't I tell you the medication was fooling you?! Why didn't you listen, you idiot?!"
Shocked by Lee Know’s sudden outburst, Seungmin stammered, his voice laced with confusion and fear: "Hyung... what are you doing? He has a cold, why are you checking his leg? Why are you yelling at him?"
Lee Know whipped his head around to glare at Seungmin. Minho’s eyes were bloodshot, the veins in his neck bulging. The crushing pressure of the past few days, the suffocating secrecy, and the sheer terror he now felt for Felix's future all detonated at once.
"A cold?!" Lee Know roared, his voice shaking the very walls of the dorm. "Have you still not figured it out?! There is no fucking virus, Kim Seungmin!"
Seungmin froze. "W... what?"
Lee Know pointed a shaking finger at Felix, who was shivering in agony on the floor. "His lumbar disc is ruptured!"