After Jeonghan and Seungcheol's conversation, Jeonghan was feeling a lot better around Seungcheol and going to see the other had become a sort of safe haven for him. The younger had come to realize that spending time with Seungcheol, away from his daily schedules, was not only helpful for the injured boy but also for his own mental state as well. Visiting Seungcheol had become a stress relief for himself in a way because for a few hours day, he could escape from the pressures that came with being an idol. And lately, that stress had been building up and Jeonghan would look for any chance to run away from it all for a while and spend time enjoying Seungcheol's company.

Pledis was not kidding when they told the boys that would start being more strict towards them if they continued to hold off their comeback date, not like they weren't already strict before. Now they would have random spot checks and evaluations, instructors walking in on their rehearsals and recordings, and meetings with their scary CEO based on various reports almost every other day. They would get yelled at and reprimanded for "not doing something correctly" or not being in "top form." They were criticized for their appearance or their mannerisms. And on more nights than not, they would spend them in practice rooms or recording studios until the early hours of the following day and if they were lucky then they were allowed a few hours of sleep before starting the next hectic day. 

It was beyond draining and Jeonghan knew all of this was taking a toll on s, but they all wore the brightest smiles and pushed on, trying their best not to complain and always having a positive attitude towards the mistreatment. On a few occasions, Jeonghan wanted to go up to the top and complain, but he never knew what to do or say. He had talked about this with the other unit leaders of Seventeen but both Hoshi and Woozi told Jeonghan to not bother. They explained to the other that trying to fix things may make things worse and that they were used to this type of treatment since their predebut days. Jeonghan tried to argue back, that it wasn't fair on them, but the two unit leaders continued to tell Jeonghan that it wasn't worth it.

This infuriated Jeonghan because he wanted to protect s when he knew something was clearly wrong but Hoshi and Woozi were right when they said that he may consequently make things worse. He didn't know how to handle Pledis, and he doubted he even had the balls to actually say something. He wasn't as brave as Seungcheol and he had no idea how the other ever stood up to their bosses to cut the members some slack. It was a mystery to them all sometimes when Seungcheol would walk into the building furious and he would walk out a few hours later, reassuring s that Pledis wouldn't touch them. And true to his word, after whenever Seungcheol had one of his little talks with their CEO, treatment towards the Seventeen members was significantly different and things always seemed less harsh. And with Seungcheol currently on leave, it was painfully obvious just how much the leader had looked out for s. Now with him gone, the others were truly feeling the worst of what the company had to offer and it made them miss and appreciate Seungcheol that much more. 

Jeonghan was currently lying down on his bed as he thought over all of this when Dokyeom had walked into his room to inform him that the vocal unit had some interview broadcast to attend and that they were expected to leave in a few minutes. Jeonghan sighed as he got up and quickly threw on a jacket to wear before heading down to where the van was waiting for them. Jeonghan expected to be greeted by their manager but he was caught off guard when he saw that it was one of the higher ups from Pledis that would be accompanying them. Before Jeonghan could even question where their manager was, he was yelled at by the man in the suit to go back and change into something more "appropriate" for a live broadcast. Jeonghan groaned but grudgingly made his way back to the dorm to change into some stuffy sweater and some nice jeans before heading back down. Already knowing he would be hearing an earful from the man, Jeonghan was ready to block everything out and listen to some music from Joshua's iPhone when the man suddenly turned around and confiscated the device, telling them how rude they were being and how they weren't acting like idols. Jeonghan just groaned again and tried to ignore everything as the man picked apart every little thing he could about each of the members and point out petty flaws that only served the purpose of hurting them. 

It was times like these that Jeonghan wished he could escape, and with that one thought, he was already planning his next trip to see Seungcheol by himself. It was not the first time Jeonghan had done this, in fact over the past week, after Jeonghan and Seungcheol's talk, Jeonghan had secretly been going to see Seungcheol on his own ever since Pledis started becoming more strict about everything, including visiting Seungcheol (that strictness especially directed towards him). For some reason, Pledis being less lenient with him and his requests to see Seungcheol was the last straw for Jeonghan and that spurred him to plan out these little acts of rebellion. He would make excuses, even tell little white lies to s about where he was going just to cover his tracks, and then he would visit secretly Seungcheol and the two boys would be in their own little world, blocking out everything else that existed outside of the older boy's bedroom.

Jeonghan knew it was wrong of him, especially to keep this from s, but he couldn't risk ruining his chances by involving anyone else. In that sense, Jeonghan was selfish and he could admit that but, in his defense, he needed those few hours to unwind and spend time with Seungcheol and involving other members would make it harder to keep up the act. So on those few occasions that he would go to see Seungcheol, he would make up various excuses and then be on his way to Daegu, and no one would question him about it when he returned.

And even though Jeonghan felt guilty about what he was doing, he couldn't deny that his schemes always paid off. Several times during that week, Jeonghan had found himself in the Choi's house. He would help out, thankfully without causing any accidents, and then he would spend time talking with Seungcheol. They would talk about everything, from the members, to their upcoming comeback, and even about their respective childhoods and their dreams. Things that they thought they already knew but always finding out more details and fun little facts about each other. It was fun and rewarding, and Jeonghan felt like he was truly getting to know someone and he felt their bond growing deeper. Each conversation was meaningful and real and Jeonghan knew that with each talk, he was falling harder and faster for his leader.

And to make things even better, Jeonghan got to spend all that time with Seungcheol without having to compete with Ara for the other's attention. Apparently the girl had some major exams to study for so she couldn't come to see Seungcheol as often during that week and Jeonghan took full advantage of it. Without the annoying girl around to put off his mood, he got to fully enjoy every moment he spent with Seungcheol and his family. And by this point, it felt like the Choi's house was another place he could call home and Jeonghan felt something warm in his chest grow at the comforting thought.

A thought he held onto as he continued to get yelled at in the small van. 

He sighed and fought the urge to roll his eyes, knowing that would just cause another round of lectures and then mindlessly went on with his day, being sure to act in ways that would please the Pledis official that was with them and then waiting to finally reach the dorm and pull out his phone.

It took literally the entire day before that moment came but it all seemed worth it when he saw that he had a text from Seungcheol.

"I've got an appointment in 4 days and my big bro can't make it. Think you can come with me and my mom?"

"Sure! What's it for? Did something happen??"

"Really? Are you sure you won't have any schedules that day? We both know how Pledis can be."

"Yes, I'm sure. I wouldn't be saying yes if I couldn't make it, you dummy."

"Sometimes you're so mean to me :("

"Yes, I'm sure I'm horrible but you still love me :P"

"Suree"

"Ya! You still haven't told me what it's for? Did you break something? Is it serious? Why are you going???"

"Awww, are you worried about me?"

"YA! CHOI SEUNGCHEOL!"

"LOL you know I'm just teasing. Anyway, it's nothing too serious. Just a routine check up since it has almost been 6 months since the accident."

"6 months? Has it already been that long :/"

"Hey, I didn't message you for you to be sad. 6 months isn't that long and I've recovered a lot since then. I'll be back before you know it! Just watch!"

"I'll hold you to that Choi! We miss you so you better come back quick!"

"Aww, I feel so loved. My members really do care about me."

"You're such a dork."

"But I'm your dork right??? :D"

"Sadly, yes."

"Mean."

"Never said I was nice :P Anyway, I'll make sure I'm there for your appointment! You can count on me!"

"Thanks angel! You're the best!!"

"I know ^.^ Now let me go to sleep! I'm tired and I have a long day tomorrow."

"Alright. Goodnight angel! Dream of me, okay?"

"Ya, don't say things like that"

".....sweet dreams Cheol."

Jeonghan couldn't help the blush that covered his entire face as he stared at his phone with a huge smile. He mentally started moving around his schedule for the next 4 days and already started to plan his next excuse that he would tell everyone. And after a thorough plan was thought up, Jeonghan allowed himself to drift off to sleep, knowing he would in fact be dreaming of one certain Choi Seungcheol and all of his goofy, childlike cuteness that made his heart melt. And just before he finally fell asleep, Jeonghan thought about how he couldn't wait for the next 3 days to pass.

However, the 3 days leading up to the appointment could not have been longer. When Jeonghan made his little plan, he was not expecting the following days to be so....well to be honest, they were pure hell. Pledis was not just draining them physically but they were also causing some serious damage to the members emotionally.

It had started on a random spot check the following day during a dance rehearsal. Someone from the company had walked in when the members were struggling to learn a new choreography and then they had immediately left. The Seventeen members had thought that would be it until someone else had come in and informed Hoshi that their CEO had wanted to speak with him privately. It was a strange request since they were always called in either as a whole group or in units so seeing that it was an individual meeting was already a red flag that it was serious. 

Hoshi had left nervously while the others pretended to continue to work on the dance routine while they all gave each other questioning looks through the mirrors, all of them too distracted to fully concentrate. Minutes had gone by and Hoshi was still not back and everyone in the room was too worried about what was going on with the performance leader to even continue to pretend working. It was then that Jeonghan called for a break and they all huddled around in a circle on the floor trying to figure out what their CEO could want with their member.

More minutes had past and Hoshi finally returned to the room. His expression was down and his eyes were puffy and red, indicating that he had been crying. Seungkwan was the first to approach him and asked what had happened but Hoshi just ignored them and told them to continue working. They were all shocked at Hoshi's tone but followed his orders, not wanting to do anything that would cause whatever had happened to happen again. It was later that night that Hoshi had approached Jeonghan in the dorm, when everyone else was asleep, and the performance leader had cried in his arms, telling the older how their CEO had thrown harsh words at him for not being a good enough dancer to lead the group in their choreography and had even questioned his worth in Seventeen. Jeonghan was furious after hearing all of that and he felt his own tears start to form as he listened and comforted the boy to the best of his abilities. And in the back of his mind, Jeonghan prayed that he would never have to see one of his precious dongsaengs cry like that again.

However, Hoshi's incident was just the first of many during those few days. Jun and Minghao were the next and they were constantly reprimanded for their mistakes in pronunciation of some Korean words and they were even sent back to the dorm to "learn the language properly" during a recording of the song they were working on.

Dokyeom was insulted on his singing and had spent an hour doing vocal exercises and Jeonghan was pretty sure the boy had strained his voice trying to reach a certain high note.

Joshua was yelled at for acting "too American."

Vernon was randomly called in just to be reminded of his time on Show Me The Money.

Woozi was constantly pressured to create new music. Sometimes being forced to spend all nighters to work on a song that never seemed to be good enough.

Seungkwan was yelled at for his weight and there was even a rumor going around that their CEO was planning to put the other on a strict diet.

Mingyu was being pressured to guest star on more shows because "he wasn't pulling his weight in the group."

Wonwoo was picked on for no damn reason and the CEO had come up with the lame excuse that the other was "too lazy" just so that he could lecture him. 

Even Dino was called in a yelled at for his own dancing abilities.

And Jeonghan....Jeonghan was constantly being watched over and he was also questioned about his own worth in the group. According to their CEO, without his pretty face he wouldn't even be an idol.

It all hurt and by the end of those few days, all of the boys had lost their spirits. They tried to cheer each other on but that was hard to do when they struggled to keep their own sparks alive. And on the night before Jeonghan would go to see Seungcheol, they all had gathered in the living room and talked about their worries. 

Each one of the members had voiced what their company had told them and how that had affected them and they were all consoled by each other. They had admitted how it was almost harder than their predebut days when they were filming SEVENTEEN Project and it was Mingyu who brought up the fact that back then it was easier because they had Seungcheol there to protect them. 

The members all silently agreed and it was then that Jeonghan hated himself for the next words that were about to come out of his mouth.

"I'm....I'm thinking of going to see Seungcheol soon. Should I tell him what's going on?" 

"Are you crazy? We can't drag Seungcheol into this! He's supposed to be focused on himself!" Woozi said almost immediately after.

"Woozi is right. Didn't his doctor say that he needs to stay away from stress. Telling him about this will just make things worse for him." Mingyu added

"Exactly. We all know how Seungcheol is and he'll probably try and fix things himself even though he's not in the right condition to do so." Wonwoo said next.

"I know that! But what else can we do? The company is treating us like an-"

"We can handle it." Minghao said confidently.

"But...it's not right. We shouldn't have to deal with anything! Pledis should be treating us like real people and instead we're being treated like crap."

"I hate to say this, but we kinda asked for this. I mean we have been pushing back our comeback and we knew Pledis would be pissed about it so I think we should've seen this coming." Joshua said.

"Yeah but just because we pushed back our comeback date doesn't mean we deserve this!"

"I know. But it's just the way things are." Joshua continued and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Why are you all so accepting of this?!" Jeonghan shouted back.

"Because we know we can't do anything. Besides, it's not like we haven't dealt with this type of treatment before." Joshua replied like it was no big deal.

"But we're miserable!"

"And we have each other to lean on when things get really bad." Joshua said, trying to calm down his friend. "Jeonghan, I know it's frustrating but we're not Seungcheol and we know that even trying to say anything to the higher ups will just makes things worse for us."

"And that's why I want to tell Seungcheol! He'll know what to do! I'm sure of it!"

"Do not tell him!" Woozi said firmly. "Just let him rest with peace at mind. He's always worrying about us and by doing so, he never puts himself first. Hell, we got a pretty good idea of how far he'd go for us that day of the accident and look at where that got him!"

"Hey, Woozi that's a little-" Dokyeom tried, looking just as guilty as Jeonghan did in that moment, suddenly that day playing out in everyone's mind.

Woozi seemed to realize his poor choice of words and he took a deep breath to calm himself down before continuing. "Look, I'm not trying to imply anything and I'm sorry if I brought up some bad memories. My point is that Seungcheol would gladly jump in harms was for any of us and right now he can't afford to be so careless. This time, let's put him first and deal with our own bull without relying on him to save the day."

"But-" Jeonghan tried again.

"Jeonghan...you said you were planning to see Seungcheol on of these days, right? Then when you're there, just focus on spending time with Seungcheol. Make him happy...Put a smile on his face, okay?" Joshua said.

Jeonghan took a look around the room and everyone had a look on their face that told Jeonghan that they all agreed that Seungcheol shouldn't know about this. Jeonghan didn't like it but he took a deep breath and reluctantly agreed. 

"Okay...I won't tell Seungcheol. But you all have to promise that you'll come to me if Pledis goes too far. I don't want any of you bottling anything up, okay?"

"Hyung, don't worry! We've got each other's backs! We'll get through this!" Hoshi said.

"Exactly! And then we'll have an awesome comeback!" Dokyeom added with a bright smile.

"And we'll win all of the awards!" said Dino.

They all agreed and Jeonghan was amazed at how quickly they all had turned their moods around. He was still on the fence about telling Seungcheol but s we're so determined to pull through that Jeonghan let himself believe that they would be okay.

The next morning, Jeonghan had woken up hours before anyone else would be awake and he quickly got ready, trying to make as little noise as possible. He then wrote down some crappy excuse on a sticky note and left it on the fridge before pulling out his phone and checking the bus schedule. According to the times, a bus to Daegu would be arriving at a bus stop near him in 15 minutes so he made himself a small snack of carefully sliced fruit and then he was out the door and on his way. He had also called his manager and left a voicemail explaining to the man that he would be out and that if the company asked then the older man should tell them that he was running some personal errands and that the singer would be back before the end of the day. 

With everything set, Jeonghan waited patiently for the bus to arrive, and once he was on he had his snack and then he put on his face mask and took a nap for the rest of the journey. It was nice because the bus ride added an extra hour to the normal 3 hours that it normally took to get from Seoul to Daegu so Jeonghan got sneak in a nice long nap before finally arriving at his stop. He thanked the bus driver and then got out of the bus, looking both ways before pulling out his phone and searching for directions to the Choi's house. It turns out that the bus stop wasn't a far distance from the house so Jeonghan decided to walk it and enjoy the crisp morning air. 

By the time he reached the Choi's driveway, he saw Mrs. Choi loading in Seungcheol's crutches and Jeonghan quickly rushed over to help her while offering to be their driver and he received a big hug from the tiny woman as a reward.

"Oh my, my angel son is so helpful! What would I do without him?" She praised.

"It's nothing. I'm happy to help." Jeonghan said after pulling back from the hug. "Where is Seungcheol?"

"Right here" Seungcheol said as he approached Jeonghan from behind.

"Seungcheol! I thought you'd need help getting down the stairs. You didn't hurt yourself while coming down, did you?" Jeonghan asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. I told you I've been getting better." Seungcheol said with a proud smile. "See mom, I told you he worries over me like a mother." Seungcheol joked and Jeonghan playfully smacked his arm.

"Well I'm glad he does. It lets me know that Jeonghan takes good care of you. That's why I like him so much!" They both blushed at Mrs. Choi's comment and she teased them for being so cute before getting inside the passenger's seat of the car.

Seungcheol and Jeonghan were left standing next to each other awkwardly, blushes still on their faces and looking anywhere but at each other. Jeonghan decided the break the awkwardness and was about to turn towards the car when Seungcheol suddenly reached for his arm and pulled him into a hug.

"What's this for?" Jeonghan asked before wrapping his arms around Seungcheol's neck.

"Nothing. I'm just glad you're here." Seungcheol said quietly, as he buried his face in younger boy's neck.

"Like I said to your mother, it's nothing."

"You really are an angel. We're really lucky to have you...and by we I mean all of Seventeen. You're always looking out for us and you care so much. You're amazing Yoon Jeonghan." Seungcheol said as he pulled back from the hug with a warm smile, his arms still wrapped around the younger's waist.

Seungcheol expected to get some sort of reaction out of the other for his endearing compliment however, Seungcheol's words about caring for s reminded Jeonghan of their current situation at Pledis and Jeonghan bit his lip as he stared blankly at Seungcheol's chest. Jeonghan contemplated about telling Seungcheol the conversation he had the night before with the other members kept running through his head. He was conflicted and he wanted to tell Seungcheol. To ask for his advice. 

Seungcheol seemed to notice the Jeonghan's distant look and called his name for his attention. "Jeonghan....angel, is something wrong?" Seungcheol asked as he held Jeonghan a little tighter.

Seungcheol was looking at Jeonghan with so much concern and Jeonghan was so tempted to let it all out. Seungcheol made it seem so easy with his strong hold and his warm embrace and Jeonghan wanted nothing more than to lean the older boy more and to just let out all of his worries. But just as he was about to, he felt Seungcheol stumble a little as the older had almost lost his balance and Jeonghan was reminded of why he couldn't do just that. So Jeonghan faked a smile the best that he could and reassured Seungcheol that he had just spaced out for a moment. 

"It's nothing Cheol. Now come on, your mom is waiting inside the car." And without even thinking, Jeonghan leaned up and placed a quick kiss to Seungcheol's cheek before going to the driver's seat of the car. Seungcheol was stunned for a moment but then wore a goofy smile on his face and he got inside the back.

At the hospital, Seungcheol and his mother had checked in for the scheduled appointment and then Seungcheol was led off into some area of the hospital while Mrs. Choi and Jeonghan sat in a waiting area and exchanged pleasant conversations until Seungcheol was finished.

About an hour later, Seungcheol had come back with a doctor and a large smile on his face. Really, he looked like a puppy and Jeonghan thought he was the cutest thing ever. Apparently, Seungcheol had done marvelous on all of the physical therapy tests and he had regained control of majority of his muscle movements and that his balance was almost completely back to normal. The rest of his recovery mainly involved regaining his strength and then the doctors would clear him from physical therapy and Seungcheol could hire a private instructor to ease him back into performing. Altogether they had estimated that Seungcheol would return to his idol life within a years time and they were all ecstatic. Seungcheol was practically glowing at the opportunity to finally get back into doing what he loved most with the people he loved most and Jeonghan couldn't help but to share that happiness with him. Even Seungcheol's doctor was happy for the leader and he had even mentioned that Seungcheol's recovery was happening at a much faster rate than anyone had expected and they all had praised Seungcheol for working so hard. 

Seungcheol was so happy and Jeonghan knew then that keeping their hardships a secret from the leader was the right thing to do. Seungcheol deserved these few moments of happiness and Jeonghan would rather deal with all of his company's bull ten times over than to wipe that smile off of Seungcheol's face.

On their way back to Seungcheol's house, they had Jeonghan had bought Seungcheol a sugar-free strawberry smoothie as reward for his good results and Seungcheol could not have been happier. They all joked and laughed that happy atmosphere had continued even as they entered the house and relaxed. Seungcheol and Jeonghan were now seated close together on Seungcheol's bed while they talked about random things that some how ended up with the two of them playing mock interviews with each other, pretending to give award speeches for Seventeen and talking about their love for their Carats.

At some point, Seungcheol had said something so cheesy that both of the boys were in a giggling fit and when their laughs had finally died down, there was a comfortable silence between them as Seungcheol was left resting against Jeonghan's chest while the younger played with his soft hair before massaging his scalp.

Sadly, their peaceful silence was broken when Seungcheol's phone suddenly started to ring from the bedside table. Jeonghan had reached over and saw the caller ID before frowning and handing it to Seungcheol. It was Ara and Jeonghan knew that Seungcheol's attention would now be on the girl instead of himself. However, he was somewhat shocked when he saw Seungcheol glance at the phone screen and then ignore the call before getting comfortable again on Jeonghan's chest.

"Aren't you going to answer that? I'm sure she's worried."

"Nah...I texted her that everything was fine. She probably just wants the details but I can tell her all of that later. Right now she needs to focus on her exams while I continue to use you as my pillow."

"Ya, I'm not your pillow."

"You're right, you're my angel. Now massage my scalp again. That felt really good." Seungcheol said with a grin.

Jeonghan just laughed as he moved his fingers down to rub soothing circles on the other's forehead. Seungcheol was in pure bliss from the special treatment and he fell asleep within minutes. Jeonghan just smiled and went back to playing with the other's hair as he let time pass.

Every moment was all so perfect and Jeonghan did not regret sneaking away for this. And just as he thought that, he had heard the doorbell ring. He knew Mrs. Choi was busy with the laundry so he gently shifted Seungcheol on the bed so that he could get up and then he took the initiative himself to answer the door.

He was ready to greet whoever it was at the door with a smile until he saw who it was and his eyes shot open like a deer caught in headlights.

"Woozi?"

"Jeonghan? What are you doing here?"

A/N: Another long chapter. Just a heads up, exams just started for me (I go to classes 2 days a week and I have exams in 4 out of the 5 classes I'm taking within those 2 days >.< wish me luck!) and so I'm not sure if I'll get to update for the entire next week. I'll definitely try but I make no promises. 

And yeah that's it for now. As always, thank you so much for reading and let me know what you guys thought! Bye~