'Being about to snap' had been a common state of mind for Jihoon on that month. He had been carefully following schedules so he'd be able to finish all of the new songs for their new album before the deadline was due, but doing so had taken a toll on him.

He had been loosing a big amount of necessary sleep and skiping meals, only ever eating when people reminded him of doing so. He was honestly surprised of the fact he hadn't fallen ill yet by that point.

He tried to keep himself together, although really, the people who kept him together were his friends. Mingyu dropped by from time to time with coffee that he made himself, bragging that he had great skills related to coffee making, having worked in a café before.

Minghao brought him some cookies that his mother had made all the way back from his home in China and sent him. He knocked on the door and shyly entered when Jihoon told him to, not at all like Mingyu, who just barged in like the loud giant that he was.

Meanwhile, Jeonghan and Seungcheol had completely dove into their 'mother and father' roles. Jeonghan made Jihoon lay down on the couch from time to time with his head on his lap, as the older boy caressed his hair, softly singing to him while Seungcheol sat on the floor in front of them, holding Jihoon's hand.

Seungkwan and Seokmin came in once in a while to offer comic relief when he started getting too moody from doing the same thing everyday, even if it was something he loved so much, such as music making.

Dino and Jun came around to tell him about the choreography and what the other members had been up to, knowing he liked knowing both of these things, so he felt less left out.

Jisoo and Hansol came around when he needed more quiet people to have conversations with, and Wonwoo visited when he didn't feel like talking, but wanted company from someone that could understand that.

And lastly, Soonyoung.

, he missed him. The blond boy was almost as busy as himself, but still managed to come around when he could. What happened then was mostly comfy cuddles and lazy kisses, holding hands and whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears softly.

But still, Soonyoung couldn't see him all the time.

The thing is, right now he had just finished the last song, and he felt his eyes watering at the feeling of relief. He shakily let out a choked chuckle as he pushed himself away from his desk.

It was almost like a dream, it had taken so much time and effort  that saving all of it and sending it off to Bunzu felt too simple, but just like that, his suffering ended.

Well, almost. He got up from his chair slowly, his legs numb and heart beating fast as he felt his troat tighten. It's over.

He brought his hand to his mouth, concentrating on his breathing and on getting away from the computer screen. He turned around and walked to his door, opening it and stepping out of the tiny room.

The bright lights of the rest of the building stung his eyes as Jihoon held his tears in, but he didn't let that bother him as he walked to the practice room, where he knew all the other members would be.

He almost sobbed when he got there and his presence was immediately recognized, warm and wide smiles greeting him.

"Hyung!", Seungkwan said excitedly as he got up and walked towards the still shaken producer, being more than shocked when he felt Jihoon's arms go around him in a hug.

Seungkwan hugged him back, trying to be as gentle as possible, knowing what the other had gone through for the past month. He caressed his hair and cooed, smiling sadly. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay."

Immediately, all of the other members joined the hug, all of them slightly sweaty from dancing for hours on end, but Jihoon didn't mind. He had never been a fan of showing his emotions to other people, but these twelve other guys were the biggest exception of his life, and he never felt better anywhere else other than in these boy's embrace.

They stayed like that for a while, everyone quiet until he suddenly announced that the album was complete.

"Complete? Like, done?", Seokmin asked, almost not believing it, just like everyone else.

Jihoon looked up and nodded, a watery smile on his face.

Everyone, still in a group hug then started to cheer and jump around, carrying a laughing Jihoon with them.

"FINALLY"

"AH, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT"

"WE DID IT, GUYS, WE DID IT!"

"MY BABY JIHOON WORKED SO HARD, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU", a mother Jeonghan said before everyone separated, but Jihoon only had a second to smile at the comment before he saw Soonyoung walking towards him.

Jihoon immediately walked foward and basically dropped his body on Soonyoung's arms, trusting him to catch him. He did, indeed, as he always would, lowering the shorter boy so he laid on the wooden floor, resting his head on his shoulder.

He ran his fingers through the pink strands of hair, his other hand linking with Jihoon's, bringing it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the back of it, then proceding to kiss his temple.

Their stares locked and Jihoon's warm tears finally ran down his cheeks, his face turning to hide on Soonyoung's collarbone, his tears running down to the collar of the dancer's shirt, staining it.

Everyone sat around them and smiled at the sight, knowing Jihoon needed to let his emotions out and be comforted from time to time.

Some of them reached out a hand and caressed different parts of his body: his back, his arm, his legs, in a attempt to show support and comfort.

No one tried to make him stop crying, though, and Jihoon appreciated that. Even when his tears turned to ones of happiness, his friends understood he needed that moment, the necessity of taking the burden off of his system too strong.

After a few minutes he stopped sobbing, not even knowing when he had begun. Soonyoung noticed that and raised a hand to dry the tears off of his face, smiling gently at him.

He bent down and pecked his lips, smiling. "Better?"

Jihoon looked around at his friends and then at his boyfriend, a smile forming on his face. "Yeah, better."