The dishes, Jongdae realised belatedly, hadn't been washed in w while. He realised that they had only been going in the dishwasher every end-of-the-week when they ran out of plates, or when they were home long enough for Kyungsoo and Yixing to be cooking. 

As an afterthought, Jongdae checked on their laundry. 

There were piles of unwashed clothes on the floor, surrounding an unused washing machine. They had a lot of clothes, Jongdae supposed. They probably hadn't run out of anything wearable. 

“Everyones been too distracted.”

Jongdae looked up to see Minseok, dishevelled and leaning against the door frame. “And it's usually Junmyeon who reminds us to do chores.” He added. 

Jongdae looked down and began quietly separating the whites from the piles. 

“You're going to do laundry now?” Minseok asked in shock. “It's almost midnight.” 

Jongdae shrugged. “I can't sleep.” He pulled out a long white shirt he knew belonged to Chanyeol. “I keep dreaming that he doesn't wake up.” 

Jongdae looked over Minseok's shoulder. “Jongin?”

Minseok turned to where the dancer was hiding in the shadows, pursing his paled lips. 

“I keep thinking that it's our fault somehow.” Jongin says. “That maybe if we hadn't argued with him that day he'd never have gone out and gotten into that accident.” 

Jongin stood there for a moment, looking down at his hands as he clenched and unclenched his hands. When Minseok reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, he shrugged it away, pandering over into the kitchen. 

“I'll get the dishes then I'll come back and help.”

-

Chanyeol stifled the third yawn in an hour. He tried not to elbow Kyungsoo who was still sleeping in the seat beside him and waved off a worried glance from Yixing. 

Everyone had been sleeping badly it seemed, and when Chanyeol had gotten up after the fourth time he'd accidentally rolled out of bed he'd found the rest in varying stages of waking up and a trio finishing a night's work of laundry. Minseok told them to go on ahead to the hospital while he finished up with Jongdae and Jongin. 

“We're going back to our schedules next week. We might not be able to see him for a while.” The eldest had said. 

It appeared that SM couldn't keep them on hiatus forever. But they had gotten a pretty long break, thank god for NCT filling in numerous slots in SM's schedules. That was the joy in having more dongsaengs Chanyeol supposed- the work load got lighter. 

The van pulled into the hospital in the first few minutes of visiting hours, right as dawn had finished stretching out over the sky. 

“You go on ahead.” Chanyeol motioned to Sehun and Yixing. “I'll wake up Kyungsoo.”

They nodded in sleepy assent and shambled away as Chanyeol leaned over to wake Kyungsoo, one of their more patient managers waiting at the wheel. 

“Soo? We're here.”

Kyungsoo's owlish eyes fluttered opened slowly, but he got up sluggishly in one go despite the resistance of his sleep deprived brain. 

“Let's go.” He mumbled, shuffling along with a hand on Chanyeol to act as his motor. He wasn't fully awake yet, but he knew it was important to see Junmyeon now, especially since they were going to be busy next week. 

When they got off the lift at the private ward, it became clear that something was wrong. Sehun was standing alone outside he door, leaning heavily into the wall with a fist in his mouth. Kyungsoo snapped awake and Chanyeol ran over as fast as he could. 

“Sehun? Sehun what's wrong?” Chanyeol asked worriedly, gripping at the younger's shoulders and turning him around. Sehun, with his eyes still squeezed shut, dropped his bleeding fist and breathed out shakily. “They're here. I- I don't know how but- they're here.” 

Chanyeol was confused. “Who's here. 

“Are you crazy?” 

They looked to the door. Was that Yixing, yelling? It was soft yell, more a hiss than anything, but Yixing never yelled. 

“You can't be here!” 

There was sigh, and voice Chanyeol hadn't heard in a very long time replied. 

“We just came to see him Xing.” 

Kyungsoo's heart stopped. It couldn't be. He ripped the door open. 

Oh but it was them, Luhan hunched on Junmyeon's bedside chair (their hands intertwined) wearily staring down a flustered Yixing, as Tao leaned to one corner of the room, trying to avoid the argument. He noticed Kyungsoo at the door (all of them did, with his entrance) and waved a nervous hand. 

“Kyungsoo.”

“Tao.” Kyungsoo replied curtly. “Sehun's crying outside.” 

He turned red in response, and ran out fumbling over his words. 

“S-Sehun? Are you okay? I'm sorry if I startled you-” 

“Shut up.”

Kyungsoo thought Sehun's reply was aptly viscous. Tao's departure had been as bad as Kris's- he picked up and left with barely a word. Kyungsoo closed the door to the sound of Chanyeol putting himself in front of Sehun with several curt words and Tao's rambling apologies. He quietly returned Luhan's worried look. 

“Luhan.” 

“Kyungsoo.” 

He didn't really know what to say. Oh wait, he did. 

“Been doing well?” He asked flatly. The question must have thrown him off, because Luhan sat there gaping and appealed for a moment before trying to reply. 

“I- I guess so.”

“Don't ‘guess’.” Kyungsoo snapped. “The life you left us for- it better be have been worth it.” 

Luhan grimaced and folded his hands in his lap. “It is Soo, but I'm sorry.”  

“Don't be.” Kyungsoo said. He felt oddly detached, and the anger he had moments ago disappeared so quickly. “If it was worth it, don't be.”

The door slammed open again and this time, stepping in like a contained storm, was Minseok. 

“Luhan. Out.”