Hyungwon pulls Hoseok’s unconscious form close to his chest, calling out his name as loud as he can. This does nothing, though. Hoseok is out cold. Hyungwon gently sets his hyung down on the floor, and runs out to the staircase. It hasn’t been too long since the others left, surely they haven’t driven off yet.

Luckily, Hyungwon finds them still descending the stairs. They all turn surprisedly at his panicked callings for them. He stops a flight of stairs above them, heaving out his words.

“Hoseok-hyung…” he begins, his lungs on fire. He glances up towards the practice room worriedly, suddenly wondering if he really should’ve left the older there alone in the first place. Hyunwoo is the first to act, already running back up the stairs at top speed. Hyungwon follows, indescribable anxiety coursing through his veins.

Upon seeing Hoseok passed out on the floor, Hyunwoo immediately goes to pick him up. Hyungwon watches his leader delicately pluck Hoseok up from the floor, numbly moving out of the way as to allow the hyung to carry him down the stairs. The others follow the oldest to the car in a frenzy, doing their best not to panic at the sight of an unconscious member. Hyungwon finds it hard to move, fear for Hoseok’s wellbeing paralyzing him. Minhyuk notices this, how deathly still Hyungwon has become. His expression is unreadable as he dully stares after Hyunwoo carrying Hoseok’s limp form down the staircase.

“Hyungwon-ah,” Minhyuk says gently, pulling the taller by the wrist. Hyungwon’s gaze snaps away from the staircase and down to his wrist. He looks into Minhyuk’s eyes, his own watering slightly at the emotions running rampant within him. Minhyuk only offers him a small, supportive smile as he leads the younger down the stairs.

The boys are all sitting around in the waiting room, each trying to keep calm in their own way. Their manager sits off in a corner, tapping his pen on the clipboard every so often as he fills out the necessary paperwork. Hyunwoo and Kihyun sit close together, Kihyun tapping his foot on the floor as Hyunwoo draws comforting circles on his back. Jooheon and Minhyuk tightly grasp each other’s hands, Jooheon’s lips moving in a silent prayer. Chankgyun sits cross-legged in a chair, staring with unseeing eyes at his folded hands lying in his lap.

Hyungwon paces around the area, unable to sit still. He runs his hands through his hair worriedly as he waits for a doctor to come and explain just what is going on. He can’t get the scene out of his head. Hoseok had given him an almost impossibly endearing smile, and then suddenly collapsed. Seeing that smile, if only for an instant, had lifted all of Hyungwon’s concerns about their stupid fight, but then it all came crashing down as his hyung fell to the floor.

A tall man in a white lab coat comes into the waiting room, and calls for those there for Shin Hoseok. The entire group rushes to the doctor at once, watching uneasily as he looks pointedly at their manager.

“Are you his father?” the doctor asks. Hongsik shakes his head, handing the clipboard over.

“I’m his manager,” Hongsik explains. “His parents know of the situation, and are on their way. But, they live pretty far away so it may be some time before they get here.” The doctor nods, quite used to having to treat idols by now and the situation of having to deal with the manager instead of the parents.

“He’ll be fine,” he announces, earning a collective sigh from the group. “He’s just exhausted, to put it simply. He’s also suffering from dehydration and malnutrition, but we’re treating him for that. We’d like to keep him for a couple days to allow him proper time to recuperate.” Hongsik immediately agrees, wanting to do whatever it takes to get Hoseok back to 100%. “He’s resting now, so you all should come back tomorrow to see him.”

There’s a pause as the group exchanges crestfallen glances. None of them want to leave before at least checking up on Hoseok, but they also don’t want to disturb his sleep. Hyungwon, especially, doesn’t want to leave him alone. He doesn’t want Hoseok to wake up in a strange place without a familiar face around, knowing that could send the older into a panic.

“Can’t someone stay behind, just to sit with him until he wakes up?” Hyungwon asks. The doctor gives him a considering stare, carefully thinking over the question. Finally, he gives a nod in response. Hyungwon’s head immediately whips around to face Hongsik, silently begging him to allow Hyungwon to stay behind. Hongsik only hesitates a moment before giving the idol a small nod and an encouraging grin. Hyungwon grasps his manager’s hand thankfully, smiling at the middle-aged man with overflowing gratitude. He says goodbye to the other members, accepting and returning hugs with each of them before they wordlessly begin to shuffle away.

“We’ll come back early tomorrow,” Hongsik assures them. He nods at Hyungwon once more, squeezing his shoulder supportively before walking away to speak with the doctor for a bit before leaving. Hyungwon waits for the doctor’s return, and then is led to Hoseok’s room.

“Please, allow him to sleep as much as he can,” the doctor says as he turns to leave Hyungwon alone. “In order for him to get better, his body must rest.” Hyungwon nods, assuring the doctor he has no intention of waking up the patient. The doctor nods one last time, and then exits the room. Hyungwon stands in the doorway a moment, hesitant to get any closer to Hoseok for fear of waking him.

Eventually, though, he moves closer to the older’s side. A chair is already set near the bed, so Hyungwon sits there as quietly as he can. He stares at Hoseok’s face, his heart growing warm instantly at seeing him. Hoseok stirs slightly in his sleep, mumbling something as he turns to face Hyungwon. Hyungwon sits impossibly still, worried he’s somehow awoken him. However, as the seconds tick by, it becomes clear he hasn’t. He releases a relieved breath, and leans forward in his chair.

He studies Hoseok’s features, loving every curve and edge of his face. He finds himself smiling, all worry from earlier melting away. His hand absentmindedly reaches up and grasps his hyung’s tightly.

“You and Hoseok-hyung aren’t…?”

Minhyuk’s words echo in his ears, seemingly amplified due to the silence of the room. Hyungwon finds himself thinking back to all the times Hoseok had made him laugh, all the times he’d annoyed Hyungwon to no end. He thinks of how he hasn’t said but one word to Hoseok in the past twenty-four hours, and his guilt concerning the fight returns.

Seeing Hoseok like this, pale and unconscious in a hospital bed, causes forbidden thoughts to enter Hyungwon’s mind. What if he had lost Hoseok tonight? What if his prognosis had been terribly worse than it is? Hyungwon finds himself tearing up instantly at the notion of losing Hoseok, causing him to grip onto the older’s hand even tighter. His heart and lungs constrict and shake within him as he tries to push the fears he’d felt earlier when Hoseok first collapsed out of his thoughts.

He wipes away the tears with a shaking hand, shocked at how easily the thought had brought him to tears. He isn’t exactly one of the sentimental members of the group, after all. He loves Hoseok as a hyung, of course, and the thought of living without him seems more like a nightmare than anything else. The sight of Minhyuk’s implying gaze that there’s something more to Hoseok and Hyungwon’s relationship swims in front of his vision. He glances down at their joined hands. He tries to tell himself to let go, as if trying to prove something to himself, but he can’t bring himself to do so.

“Hyung…wonnie…” Hoseok mumbles, causing the younger’s gaze to shift up to him. Moments pass, and Hyungwon figures the older is just talking in his sleep. Hoseok calls for him once more, a conflicted expression skipping across his face. Hyungwon finds himself squeezing his hand comfortingly. As if knowing he’s there, Hoseok gives a small sigh and smiles in his sleep. Upon seeing the smile, Hyungwon can’t help but chuckle slightly.

So what if I do like him, Hyungwon thinks suddenly. It isn’t as if there’s anything wrong with that. After all, the parents are already dating, what’s one more couple in the group? Hyungwon can’t deny the special place meant only for Hoseok in his heart. He’s always had a specific affection for the older that he didn’t have for the others ever since their days during No Mercy. He never really gave it much thought before, though, not bothering to put a label on it.

However, watching Hoseok sleep away carelessly in this hospital bed for the first time for what seemed like months, Hyungwon realizes what this feeling is now.

Hyungwon has to stifle a groan of annoyance. Why is it that Minhyuk is always right about these things?