Minutes pass and  Leo still wouldn't let N go from his embrace. N doesn't move either and neither does he return the hug, he just stayed still but eventually he let out a heavy sigh. 

"What happened to you? "N asks in a whisper and Leo unconsciously loosen his embrace as he try to answer him. 

"What do you mean? "He echoes, clueless. 

"Why are you doing this? "N sounds somewhat sad or perhaps, it's disappointment. 

"What--"

"You're scaring me, do you realise that? "

"Scaring you? How? "Leo is completely and utterly in lost as to what N is trying to convey.' How is he scaring him? In what way? He was just hugging him and it was an innocent hug. So what does he mean by scaring him? '

"The way you're acting right now. "N says. "You do realise that this isn't you, right? You're acting so... different. "He points out. 

"I'm trying to be nice to you. "Leo admits as he fully let go of N. "I want the old you back. "

N shakes his head. "I don't like it. No, I really hate this. "He says. "Can't you understand? "

Leo refuses to acknowledge N's refusal to his affection. "I just want to--"

"But not me! "N snaps. "I don't want to! "He growls then sighs once more when he sees the hurt over Leo's face. 

"Hakyeon--"

"Listen, Taekwoon. "N says firmly. "Even if you manage to find out the real reason why I'm still angry at you, it won't change anything because I've forgiven you and there's nothing more I can forgive. So you're pretty much just wasting your time and even your money doing all those stupid things. "

"You mean you're going to treat me like this for--"

"For as long as I want to. "N nods. "I need a break, from you. So by doing this; forcing yourself upon me, you make me despise you even more. "

"You're saying that I should just stop and let you decide when you're going to end all this? "

"Exactly. "N confirms. "Give me time to feel safe once more. "

"You don't feel safe with me? What? Did I hurt you or something? "

N chuckles bitterly. "You know the answer for that, don't you? "

'Yes. Yes, he knows. '

This time, Leo listens. He choose to listen and he finally comes to understand that some things really can't be forced. He can't force N to open up to him once more so he choose to wait. He coax himself to be patient and to stop being so persistent. 

He distances himself from N. He takes every schedule the company has to offer him and more often than not, he doesn't even come back to the dorm at night. He knows it's against the agreement but who cares? 

Hongbin and Ravi dissaprove of his actions and they aren't being so subtle about it, always finding the opportunity to diss him. Ken dissaproves too, but he's being more gentle as he try to advice him. As for Hyuk, the maknae chose to stay out of it. He turns a blind eye on him. 

He knows they're all trying to help but he also knows that this time,they can't help. They don't understand the fact that his presence makes N feels threatened and unsafe so what better way there is to fix it than to avoid N completely?