Jaejoong whimpered as his hands curl around his foot, his eyes focusing on the worsening condition of his ankle. He scanned his entourage and was relief to catch everyone in the waiting area minding their own business. Yoochun and Changmin were the last ones to get their makeup done, unsettling looks apparent in their faces. Meanwhile, Junsu was spotted tramping around the room, unable to rest comfortably on his seat. Jaejoong glanced at the leader who had his eyes glued to his phone, re-watching their newly released music video for the umpteenth time.The distraction in his eyes did not go unnoticed as he could tell that Yunho's mind was somewhere far away.

The new member grunted quietly as he wrapped the sprained ankle with the old bandage, questioning his previous decision of hiding it from the others. Unlike the rest of them, Jaejoong had no time to feel nervous about the upcoming performance, with his mind already being occupied with the hidden injury. The guilt was starting to swallow him whole as he blamed himself not only for his incompetency, but also for being afraid to admit that he was hurt. He felt foolish for resuming practice, when he should have been getting some rest. But who was he to do that when their first stage was approaching, and especially when the leader was always on his back. 

"10 minutes!" A staff slammed the door open, notifying them about their schedule. 

"Oh God, I think I'm about to my pants," Junsu announced, his pace quickening. 

"Now is not the time Junsu," Changmin replied in a serious tone, in place of the usual tease.

Jaejoong's heart was ready to jump out of its cage. He had yet to figure out how he'll be able to give it his all and at the same time conceal his faltering ankle. He heard Yunho call his name and noticed that the rest of the members were already huddled up in a circle. The man pushed the nerve-wracking feeling away and made his way to the group. 

"This is it guys, this is what we've been waiting for. Break a leg!" Yunho tightened his hold, shaking their backs before letting go. 

Jaejoong gulped, wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. 

'Break a leg? Ha! I already did,' he cringed at his joke. 

The group headed to the backstage and heard the crowd already anticipating their performance. Yunho gave his dongsaengs another pat on the back, moving towards Jaejoong to throw him a final glare. The other man stared back and felt his breath being taken away from him. 

"Don't you dare this up," the leader whispered for only him to hear, cold sweat running down his back.

Jaejoong followed the rest of the members to the stage, the screams echoing in his ears. His eyes rummaged through the crowd and found the fans screaming at the top of their lungs, holding contrasting posters and LED signs. 

'I ♥ TVXQ' 
 
'Marry me Yoochun oppa!' 

'Junsu oppa, please look at me' 

'Fighting Yunho' 

'Changmin-ah, noona will buy you a meal' 

'Feel better Ho Jun oppa' 

...

...

'TVXQ = JS, YC, HJ, CM & YH' 

Ouch.

Jaejoong felt the weight of the world crashing down on him. He felt his knees weakening, doubling the pain on his ankle. He took the middle seat, thanking the choreographer for making them sit on the first part of the choreography. The performance had yet to start but he could already feel his back drenching in sweat. The new member was having a hard time breathing, he was starting to hyperventilate causing the room to spin. 

"Hyung..." Changmin whispered beside him as he rubbed his back.  

He turned to look at the youngest member only to find the leader watching him with a frown. Jaejoong felt weak, his energy already running low. He kept his eyes on Yunho's, hoping that they will frighten him and give him an adrenaline rush. 

"Don't you dare this up"

The words repeated in his head, making his eyes shut. He took a deep breath before opening them back. Yunho was no longer frowning. It was replaced by the same look in which Changmin was carrying, almost as if he was also giving him a concerned look. 

"I'm okay," he whispered back, but his eyes remained on Yunho. 

He could still feel the leader's eyes on him when he finally looked away, but the singer simply ignored the feeling of being watched and took a couple of deep breaths. 

'You can do this Kim Jaejoong,' he repeated the encouraging words until he felt himself calming down. One, two, three...

He took a final deep breath and looked into the camera. Their new single began playing and he heard himself singing without difficulty. He felt his tensed body relax as he listened to their voices working together for that perfect harmony. It was finally time for them to carry out their synchronized choreography, and to show their multi-talented concept to the world. They all stood up after Yoochun's solo, catching Jaejoong off guard when he felt the pain rushing down his ankle again. He smoothly brushed it off and continued to move effortlessly. The agony on his foot subsiding as he heard the crowd go wild, their own voices barely caught due the amount of screaming fans filling up the venue. 

The newly debuted group ended their performance, earning a well-deserved standing ovation from the audience. They bowed graciously and rushed back to their waiting room. Jaejoong watched s from behind, who were striding down the hallway as they got swarmed by endless amount of people congratulating them. It was a bittersweet sight to see, with Jaejoong feeling extremely proud of s but at the same time, feeling like he did not belong there. He felt undeserving to be celebrating with them knowing that he hadn't been there that long. 

Jaejoong felt himself slowing down, the gap between him and s growing just like the growing pain that was making its way back to his ankle. He held onto the rail for support, his entire foot throbbing, almost as if the pain he had been suppressing came crashing down on his foot. Jaejoong's legs were shaking, no longer capable of supporting his body. 

"Jaejoong hyung!" Changmin called when he saw his hyung standing far away from them. 

Changmin's brows furrowed, seeing the pale face and weakening state of Jaejoong. He quickly made his way to him, grabbing him by his shoulders. 

"Hyung, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine," he answered breathlessly while looking at his legs. He was wondering how much longer they were going to stay up. 

"Is he okay?" Jaejoong heard more feet rushing towards them and realized that both Yoochun and Junsu were also supporting his body. 

"I... I'm fine... really." He hated the attention he was getting. 

The singer took a couple of steps to convince them that he was capable of walking but he could not hide the limp this time. His legs slowly gave up on him, making him stop dead in his tracks. 

Realizing that his hyung was unable to continue,  Changmin was about to take him by the arms when he w