33 hours. It had been 33 hours since Seungcheol left for Daegu in his parent's car and all Jeonghan had done since then was sleep, eat and distract himself with tedious tasks while failing terribly at trying to ignore the ticking clock. Despite the fact that the dorm still consisted of 11 other people, Jeonghan could still sense the absence of the other. Things were less lively and it seemed that everyone was having trouble adjusting to the lack of Seungcheol around the dorm. Usually during this time of the day Seungcheol would always find ways to get the other members to spend time with each other and relax and unwind in between their hectic schedules which included hours spent in practice rooms and recording studios while also attending numerous events and performances. Sometimes Seungcheol would be in his room watching various YouTube videos and calling over the younger members whenever he came across something interesting. Sometimes he would be in the living room, chatting with Woozi about songs that the other was in the midst of producing and making sure that his longtime friend wasn't too stressed with preparing new songs for the group, getting Woozi to talk about his worries and reminding the younger to lean on the rest of Seventeen when he felt tired and exhausted. And on a few occasions, Seungcheol would call everyone out for a meal and would treat them to whatever they wanted regardless of whether or not his wallet would hate him for it later. But whatever Seungcheol chose to do during the day, he would always make sure he was looking after the members and trying to lift up their spirits in any way that he could. And now that he wasn't there, it felt like there was a missing piece in their daily life. 

Jeonghan stared at the wall of his bedroom and glared at the ceiling when he realized that his body refused to let him sleep any longer. Since returning to the dorm yesterday, their manager had kindly cleared all of their schedules for the day and Jeonghan had taken advantage of it by sleeping in as late as his body would allow, not wanting to get up and face the beginning of this new chapter in Seventeen's life. He his side and checked his phone for any texts from Mrs. Choi but was disappointed when he saw he had no new messages. The elder woman had promised the singer that she would keep him updated but he guessed that she had more important things to worry about than shooting him a silly text message.

He made a mental note to check with Woozi to see if maybe Seunggil had texted, and if the older Choi had then Jeonghan would somehow have to steal his number too.

Before Jeonghan decided to actually get up and get ready, he quickly checked his news feed and saw that Pledis had released an official statement regarding Seungcheol's recovery and Seventeen's future. The statement had briefly talked about Seungcheol's condition, simply stating that the leader had suffered from a head injury and that he would be on leave and recovering at home under the care of his family. The statement asked fans to be respectful about the situation and asked them to be patient and understanding since all of Seventeen's future promotions to be put on hold until further notice. 

A small part of Jeonghan felt bad that their upcoming album was put on hiatus since they were all looking forward to starting promotions again, but the bigger part of him was so glad that their CEO had put their feelings above the company and chose to wait for Seungcheol to be well enough before they released any new material. He knew this decision was probably thanks to their manager pleading with his boss and Jeonghan smiled knowing that the man would go out of his way just for them. And with that in mind, Jeonghan made his way to the bathroom to finally get ready.

After his (late) morning routine, Jeonghan was met with s all gathered around the living room. It was strange to see this since usually they were all out and about, either by themselves or in small groups, unless Seungcheol got them all together. Jeonghan already knew they were going to ask him something by the look on all of their faces and he was probably going to have to decline.

"Hyung! Let's go see Seungcheol!" Little Chan practically yelled.

"Dino...I would love to visit Seungcheol, I really would. But it's the middle of the day and Daegu is 3 hours away. Besides, Seungcheol's family is probably super busy with taking care of Cheol, especially since it's their first full day dealing with all of this. I don't think they would appreciate us barging in out of nowhere."

"But we promised we would help them! We should be there helping Cheol get settled back in his house and helping his family take care of him!" 

Dino wouldn't back down and some of the others were even agreeing with the maknae. Jeonghan was getting frustrated because it's not like he didn't want to see Seungcheol too. Truth be told, he desperately wanted to be there for the other, but it just wasn't practical at the moment.

He turned to Joshua and the other just sighed and shook his head. "I tried talking to them but they wouldn't listen to me."

Jeonghan gave the other a pleading look to try again but his friend just pat his shoulder and left for the kitchen to grab a drink. Jeonghan sighed and tried to think of how best to explain to his dongsaengs that they couldn't just go to Daegu at the drop of a hat, no matter how much they wanted to. "Ya Lee Chan! Stop acting like a child! We will go see Seungcheol when the Choi's have everything under control and when we are better prepared. Our manger got us this day off to relax and I don't think he'd appreciate it if we asked him to take us all the way to Daegu at 2 o'clock in the afternoon when we know full well that we have schedules all day tomorrow. I know you miss Cheol and I promise to ask for permission for us to go see him sometime later during the week, but right now we just have to sit tight and listen to what we are being told to do."

"But hyung...we really miss him." The younger pouted and Jeonghan crossed the room to give the youngest a hug, which eventually turned into a group hug with all of Seventeen.

"I know you do, but it's just not the right time to go see him. I promise I'll ask our manager and Seungcheol's family for permission to go see him as soon as we can."

Getting permission proved to be harder than Jeonghan expected. Talking with Seungcheol's parents was no problem. In fact, Seungcheol's mother was so touched that they were all so eager to help her son and had joked that Jeonghan could stay with them for as long as he wanted, even referring to him as her newest son (perks of being her new favorite). It was trying to convince their manager to let them go that was the hard part. It's not that their manager was against the idea, it's just that their schedules were too packed with little room to spare even one day. After 4 days of waiting, their manager had finally gotten back to Jeonghan and told the singer that they could see Seungcheol that weekend, explaining how he had to reschedule 2 interviews, a photoshoot and hours of practice sessions to get them their free day. Jeonghan was grateful to their manager and immediately went to tell his members the news.

The others were thrilled and already started planning the trip to see their leader. Vernon had insisted that they needed to bring something for Seungcheol's family and everyone agreed, all suggesting different things and then deciding that they could take multiple gifts with them to Daegu. Mingyu was already planning out a simple dish for the family, searching online for foods that would be appropriate for Seungcheol to eat and both Dokyeom and Dino offered to help the other with preparing the meal. Hoshi, Seungkwan and Vernon said that they would probably go and buy something (at this Joshua said that he would go with them, claiming to not trust those 3 to go out by themselves). Minghao and Jun were also planning to go out by themselves to buy something from some store which Jeonghan didn't catch the name of. Wonwoo said that he would look through his book collection to see if there was anything that Seungcheol may want to read while he rested and Woozi said that he would go through the older's closest and bring Seungcheol some of his favorite sweats. Jeonghan just sat to the side and smiled to himself as the others made their plans, feeling somewhat similar to a proud mother. Jeonghan himself planned to bring Mrs. Choi some flowers (he needed to secure his place as her favorite) and to also look for that one old sweater of his that he knew Seungcheol loved to borrow.

With everyone's minds set, they all moved out of the living room to carry on with their day, each and every one of them excited to prepare their gifts and to get the 3 days over with so that they could go to Daegu. They all worked hard in their activities and on the second day during their dance practice, their instructor was so impressed with the amount of effort they put into the session that he had let them all out early. Thankfully the dance practice also happened to be the last thing on their schedule so they were all able to go out and get whatever they needed before they left for Daegu the following day.

And pretty soon, the morning of the next day rolled around and Jeonghan found himself helping Mingyu put their gifts at the back of one of the company vans while the others got inside the vehicles. After getting inside and shutting the doors, Jeonghan rested his head against the window and waited for the 3 hours to pass by. They had reached the driveway of Seungcheol's house a little before noon and Jeonghan almost bumped into Joshua as he went straight for the front door, knocking and only having to wait seconds before Seungcheol's father opened the door and let them in. Jeonghan greeted the man with a bow of respect and then practically ran into Mrs. Choi's arms as he hugged her and gave her the flowers. She thanked him and quickly greeted the others before leading them into the living room. 

"Where is Cheol? How is he doing?" Jeonghan asked, unable to wait another second to see how the other was doing. 

"He's with his brother in his old bedroom. He hasn't been able to move since we brought him home a week ago. We've been taking turns keeping watch of him, feeding him and taking him to the bathroom but I think Seungcheol is beginning to feel frustrated....Sometimes my baby can't even move his neck." At this, Mrs. Choi had tears forming in her eyes. She took a moment and Jeonghan held her hands in his for support while he waited for her to continue. "We called a physical therapist during the middle of the week and they have been coming by everyday to help Seungcheol regain control of his basic motor skills but the therapist said that after they properly assess Seungcheol's condition, they will create a program for him and they will only need to come by about twice a week. Right now they have him doing these simple range motion exercises which are supposed to help him keep his muscles toned so that it will be easier for him when he eventually starts to walk again, but Seungcheol just seems so disheartened and annoyed by the whole thing."

"Walk again?" Seungkwan asked, trying to process the severity of it all. 

"How long do they think it will be before Seungcheol can walk?" Dokyeom asked a second later, sounding just as shocked.

"They said every case varies. They've seen patients up on their feet within 2 months of therapy and then they are other cases that take several months, sometimes even years. It also depends on the level of intensity for their therapy program....I hope you boys don't mind but we opted for Seungcheol to go through a normal program instead of the more intense one since we want to play it safe." It was Seungcheol's father who spoke up this time. 

"No sir, we will agree with whatever you think is best for your son. We just want him to get better." Wonwoo said, trying to reassure the man.

Seungcheol's father was about to say something else when they heard the upstairs bathroom being flushed and Seunggil asking if his brother was done. Knowing that Seungcheol was awake, the Seventeen members were about to rush up the stairs when they were stopped by Mr. Choi. "Maybe you boys should wait a few more minutes. I don't think Seungcheol would like for you all to see him needing help to use the bathroom. It's nothing against you all....I know you would never judge him, but it's just for his own self-esteem and dignity."

They all agreed, deciding to use that time to helped distribute their gifts, Jeonghan immediately searching for a vase to put his flowers in, and after 5 minutes Mrs. Choi led them upstairs to Seungcheol's room.

"Seungcheol...Honey, look who came to visit you" and with that she stepped out of the way to let the 12 boys into the small bedroom. 

Seungcheol just stared with his mouth open, not expecting to see s in his old room. Dokyeom was about to jump on the bed when Seunggil held the excited boy back, reminding him of Seungcheol's broken bones that still needed 6 weeks to heal. Dokyeom gave an apologetic smile and instead sat on the floor beside the bed, more than happy to sit there as long as he got to see his dear hyung that he had missed so much. The others soon gathered around the bed on the floor just like Dokyeom had while Seungcheol's family left the room to give the boys some privacy. 

They talked about everything that had happened during the week and Seungcheol just smiled, admiring the happy expressions on his dongsaengs' faces and Jeonghan couldn't help but to just stare at the older the entire time, only adding in his own commentary here and there to the different stories which would make Seungcheol laugh and smile with his dimples on his cheeks. Jeonghan had forgotten how much he loved Seungcheol's dimples.

Unfortunately, it was getting closer to 5, which was when the 12 would have to leave since they had early morning schedules the next day. They had spent the last hour focused on Seungcheol. The eldest admitted that he was frustrated but he also assured them that he was more than determined to get better and to join them again on stage. Woozi reminded him not to overwork himself, giving Seungcheol the same advice the older would give him from time to time but the other just brushed it off, claiming that he knew what he was doing. The other members took his word for it and then presented him with the books Wonwoo had picked for him and the clothes Woozi had brought from the dorm. Seungcheol thanked them and finally Jeonghan had stood up from his spot and placed his old sweater on the other's lap. Seungcheol recognized it immediately and blushed.

"Doesn't that count as boyfriend shirt?" Joshua asked with a smirk on his face, not missing the opportunity to tease his best friend.

"Oh my god, our parents are gross!" Seungkwan said, being overly dramatic.

"Get a room." Woozi said, wanting to tease his own best friend who was still blushing on the bed.

"Ya! I washed it!" Jeonghan yelled, his face completely red after Joshua's implications. "I just thought he would like it since he's always borrowing it from me!"

The others continued to tease the two oldest members until they heard a knock on the door. It was Seunggil, telling them that it was time for Seungcheol to take his medication. The others decided that it was probably best that they were on their way back to Seoul and promised their leader that they would be back as soon as their schedules allowed. 

After the first visit, the 12 had decided that it would be better for them to visit Seungcheol in small groups rather than all together, seeing how it was almost impossible to clear all of their schedules at the same time. And during the following week, Seungcheol had 3 visits in total from several members at a time. Somehow, Jeonghan had managed to tag along to all 3, claiming that as the current oldest member, he had to look after any of them if they were going on a long trip like that. No one questioned it and Jeonghan was just happy that he got to see Seungcheol more than he expected possible.

However, those visits were not a complete walk in the park. Seungcheol would throw up, just like he had in the hospital, and he would get tired easily. A few times, the members that were present would try and assist Seungcheol around the house and Seungcheol would sometimes have an outburst and yell at them in frustration. The others tried not to take it to heart but it did make the atmosphere more tense...until Seungcheol realized his behavior and would berate himself for it, which then lead to the others trying to tell him that it was okay and that he had nothing to be sorry for and that took a while on it's own. So no, it was not a walk in the park. But regardless of what happened while he was in the house, Jeonghan was still happy to just be there and spend time with Seungcheol.

During those visits, he also spent more time with Seungcheol's family members. Mr. Choi talked to him about his concerns about his son and then he would ask Jeonghan what type of leader Seungcheol was. Seunggil informed him of Seungcheol's therapy program and what medication needed to be taken and at what times, sometimes even asking Jeonghan to take the medication up to Seungcheol. And Mrs. Choi would grab Jeonghan's hand and guide him into the kitchen, teaching him what foods to make for Seungcheol's new diet, which consisted of warm foods that required little to no chewing at all, and how to prepare them. 

Jeonghan carefully listened to everything the Choi's would tell him and, honestly, he could not have been happier. By the end of the second week, he already felt like he was a part of Seungcheol's family. They trusted him to take care of their son and he felt touched that they had so much faith in him. Seungcheol's mother even started to call him an angel from time to time and Jeonghan would just smile and hug her. He finally felt like he was being useful in helping Seungcheol recover.

A/N: And here is the first part of Seungcheol's recovery (one part of many *wink*). And omg can I just say that I have the best readers ever?!! Seriously, thank you so much to everyone that messaged me/left comments. You guys are seriously helping me with writing this fic. (Like I said, any feedback is good feedback so please COMMENT!!)

I meant to update yesterday but I'm getting into the more challenging part of this fic since I have absolutely no clue about PT so I'm researching as I go which takes a really long time (I don't even spend this much time researching for my assignments lol) BUT I'm glad that I took the time to read everything that I did because now I feel like I have a better idea of how I want this fic to go. I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am to write more for this story!!

As always, thank you so much for reading and hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up soon. Bye for now!! ^.^