They were having a concert. Yes, VIXX was having their concert  But instead of 6 people, there were only 3 of them in the waiting room. And all 3 of them were silently battling with their own feelings. 

This was not how they imagined their comeback concert would be. This was not what they thought they'll return to. 

Neither of them wanted to acknowledge it, not at the moment at least. But the absence was too strong, the space now too large. 

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. 

"We can...do this... right?" It was Leo who broke the thick silence. Leo, who at the beginning of it all, was seen as that cold guy. Leo, who eventually broke out of his shell and opened up. Leo who truthfully was nothing but a big softie. 

Ken looked up at him, and smiled bitterly. " Well, we are doing it right now. Believe it or not." Ken, the cutie main vocal. Ken, the moodmaker. 

Hyuk looked at them and said nothing. He knew they're hurting. But at the moment, he thought he's hurting the most. He watched almost all their departure. He was the witness to it all. 

When their leader enlisted, he still had hope. Hope that in the future, they'll still stand on the stage. Together. No matter how long it'll take, no matter how long he'll have to wait. But he knew that's all it was now. Just a hope. 

"...Hyogi?" 

Hyuk finally raised his head and gave them a reassuring smile. "We made a promise, remember? That even if there's only one Starlight left, we'd still be performing for them." 

It wasn't him who made that promise. It was Hongbin. It was someone who left, thinking it would protect the team. Yet. No one would've guessed that this was what would be left of them. 

"Come on, hyung. We're still VIXX." 

It's funny. He was the maknae. Still is. Yet right now, it felt like he's the pillar. The only one strong enough to hold the weight of hope left in his two hyungs. He knew how close they were to crumbling. Knew it the moment Leo came to him, b with anxiety and uncertainty. Knew it the moment he held a crying Ken in his arms. 

"C'mere. " He stepped up to them and pulled them both into his embrace. He held them tight, as if that would chase all their worry away. He supposed this was the reason their leader raised him to be their giant maknae, so that he could be the one to bear the weight when no one else could.

"We'll be alright." He stared at the door as he said it; praying, hoping, wishing, to see N walking in, probably while bickering and neck chopping Ravi, with Hongbin making snarky comments in the background. 

Shaking his head and closing his eyes, he held his two hyungs tighter. It's fine. It'll be fine. He'll protect them this time.

A/N Hi? I'm...sorry for the sad chapter but I watched their Mcoubtdown stage and wow ...it hurts. 
I'm still here, still supporting them, all 6 of them. I'm still keeping myself updated with them, mostly. But let's be real, it hurts to see how things are now.

Tbh, when Hakyeon first enlisted, I had my worries. I've always wondered what would they do without him, because I knew he's one of the reason why they're as capable as they were. But then I thought it was just my biased thoughts because obviously Hakyeon was my bias. But went down when he wasn't there so yeah...

Don't get me wrong though, I still love them and support them. Again,all 6 of them. 

Anyway the reason I wrote this chapter...well anytime I see the dynamic between the 3 of them now, I can't help but feel that Taekwoon is so fragile and Jaehwan is trying hard to keep an upfront. It's probably just me being delusional tho but it hurts haha. And to me it seems that Hyuk is the one holding them together rn, like a glue or something.

Well anyway, that was it I guess. See you when I see you. Feel free to give your own thoughts in the comments (or pm me I guess and we can be sad together)