“Hyung!! Hyung!!! Do SOMETHING!! PLEASE!!!” Jongin shrieked,“Hyung!!”

Chanyeol was frozen. It was Jongin’s hand on his thigh that unfroze him.

Chanyeol looked at Jongin, who looked as surprised as he felt. The absolute helplessness in Jongin's eyes and sobs of Kyungsoo tugged at his heart. He reached out and gently rubbed Jongin's back in a soothing motion, “let him cry, he needs it. Hold on to him, you are doing well!”

“But I….”Jongin's eyes looked like they were filling up with tears as well, “please Hyung, I can’t, I don’t know….just...hyung please do something?” he pleaded. 

Chanyeol understood.

He gently pulled Kyungsoo's head from Jongin's shoulder. He laid him on his chest and pulled Kyungsoo to sit in his lap, head tucked under Chanyeols’ chin. When he saw tears break out in Jongin’s eyes, he extended his hand and pulled him closer. Jongin laid his head on his shoulder and held Kyungsoo’s and Chanyeol’s hand.

Chanyeol's hands were busy rubbing circles on two different backs. Thinking about what they had lost, he felt his own tears run. 

With Kyungsoo crying, Jongin crying on Kyungsoo's shoulder, and Chanyeol holding them both as his own tears ran down his face. 

He now knew what they called heartbreak. 

The only thing anchoring him was Kyungsoo clutching his shirt in the front, and Jongin's hand grabbing his back.

It pained him, the idea that exo was missing its members, and the company expected them to go on. To pretend that absence did not make any difference. That they were completely fine.He had not been informed of any changes in schedule, but the choreography was already changed, meaning the company expected them to continue with nine members.

How long did the three stay like that? none of them remember.

They do remember, the silence being broken by a loud bang. It came from the room next door. It was so loud that it broke the calmness of thoughts and emotions the three were blanketed.

At the sound, Kyungsoo flinched and raised his head. Only when he looked around realized what position he was in.

As the weight lifted from his head and shoulder, he was able to look around properly.

Sure enough, it was the practice room. Dark and quiet. He saw the red, blotched and bloated faces of Chanyeol and Jongin. He knew that his would not be any different, but in that moment, theirs looked down right hilarious to him.

And he did just that. Laughed out loud.

His laughter surprised the other two.

“First you were crying and now you are laughing! What is with you, Hyung!!” Jongin sputtered at him, while rubbing his eyes and face dry.

Kyungsoo smiled as he turned to him. His face was still streaked with tears, so Kyungsoo softly dabbed at the tears with the long sleeves of his t-shirt.

“Feeling better?” Chanyeol asked in his low grovely voice.

Kyungsoo turned to look at Chanyeol, tiny smile still in place. Chanyeol smiled back at his smile.  Kyungsoo could see those big, bright eyes still stranded with few tears. He automatically raised hand to gently wipe his face, temporarily blocking Chanyeol’s vision of Kyungsoo. 

“Yes, a little. Thank you,” Kyungsoo said, turning to catch their eyes as he said, “both of you, thank you.”

Jongin tried to avoid his eyes, but how long could he do that for? Kyungsoo was smiling at him. He looked at Chanyeol, who was smiling as well now. He wrung his hands, and asked, “What now?”

Kyungsoo looked at Chanyeol, who sighs for being Hyung in the room. He remembered what Junmyeon Hyung had told him and said, “We go back to dorms, Junmyeon Hyung had said something about ordering food with the manager's card.”

“Won't the manager know about it?” Jongin asked as he held Kyungsoo's elbow, helping him get up.

Chanyeol said,“the manager forgot his card, and the pin is not the issue. So we will be ordering lots of food, and drinks!!!”

“And ice cream?” Kyungsoo asked in a tiny voice.

“Heck yeah, ice cream!!!” Chanyeol responded loudly.

They stared at each other before Jongin cleared his throat. Kyungsoo looked away and walked out of Chanyeol’s vision.

“Thanks Hyung,” Jongin said as he touched Chanyeol's shoulder and ran to follow Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol’s smile only grew bigger. He had never been in a position to comfort someone before. He had not expected how difficult it would be for him to hold back tears. He always felt vulnerable whenever he cried and it took a while for him to feel at ease. But what happened between the three of them, the comfort of someone holding you as one breaks down, stripped to one's bare emotions, made him feel at ease once they opened their eyes.

It soothed in him some part full of anxiety and left warmth in its wake. He gazed at Jongin and Kyungsoo, who were exchanging bottles of water.

Maybe it was the way they had nestled together. It felt different. Sure, all members hugged each other, in front of cameras and on the stage, off stage all the time. Few times they did it just because they wanted to, because they could. But this time, with Kyungsoo and Jongin, it felt private, his own moment, and their own private bubble of protection. He had comforted and felt comfort in turn. He never thought he would be able to feel satiety after everything that had happened and feel at ease like this.

Jongin and Kyungsoo had carefully dripped water on a towel and wiped their faces. They soon approached him with the towel and bottles of cold water from the mini fridge. He accepted their help to pull him up to do so. The imbalance between Jongin's and Kyungsoo's strength, propelled him towards them. They easily caught him, and this time Jongin laughed, “yaah Hyung! Why are you behaving like Baekhyun Hyung?”

“Don’t learn from him, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo said, patting his shoulder, and handing him the towel.

“What!! No!!! You both are to blame! Couldn’t you just pull with coordinated force?” he exclaimed while wiping his face.

“That’s too much! How do we coordinate our strength?” Jongin pushed at his shoulders lightly and offered a bottle of water.

Kyungsoo stared at them, as they started flicking each other in retaliation. 

He suddenly turned away from them and ran towards the door, “the last one gets to use top bunk today,” as he wheezed out. It was a well known fact that The Top Bunk had the worst air circulation. Jongin and Chanyeol rushed to grab him from reaching the door and tried to go out themselves. Kyungsoo was now tightly squeezed between them but was still trying to stick out his hand. 

“I’m out, just let me go,” he cried, hitting them with his elbows.

“No!!!!” both screamed, still trying to pull him in and push themselves out.

In their tussle, they almost ended up on the floor.

 

“What the hell are you doing!” a shriek echoed in the corridor. They looked up at the running footsteps towards them. Soon enough, the supervisor stood in front of them.

“Sorry sir, we were just….” Chanyeol tried to explain. But the supervisor interrupted him,

“What! You were just what? Trying to break the door?” he shouted, “what if you broke something or worse injured yourself?”

Kyungsoo took that moment and pinched Chanyeol subtlety in the ribs, who screamed and flailed hard. He was about to hit the supervisor in the face but Kyungsoo hugged his waist to steady him. Looking at the supervisor he said, “I think he did, I am sorry but may we be excused?”

“There will be no doctor now!! Go back to your rooms, hurry!! And don’t run!!!” he screamed at them as they ran out.

 

“I can’t believe you just pinched me!! to get out! I am hurt, Kyungsoo!!! Why would you do that to me? And you pinched so hard!!!” Chanyeol complained as soon as there was enough distance between them.

“It got us out!! So thank you Hyung for your sacrifice,” Jongin laughed at Chanyeol's face as patted his face in apology.

“I did save you from hitting him in the face,” Kyungsoo said.

“Yeah, after pinching me!! That does not count! That was so mean of you, Kyungsoo! I need compensation! You need to be nice to me forever now! And take me when you go out for food! Sehun keeps telling me how awesome that place served Bibimbap! And you have to treat me every time we go out!! You are not even listening to me now, are you? Jongin, stop laughing!! I am in pain! You don’t know how much it hurts! He pinched me so hard!! I am sure it is all red now!! I thought I was going to the supervisor in the face!!” Chanyeol ranted. 

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo said and stopped walking. He spoke softly but it was enough to cause a pause in Chanyeol's rant.

“Yes, Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol said guarded as he and Jongin also stopped in their tracks. Jongin looked from Kyungsoo to Chanyeol, pausing his laugh to listen to what Kyungsoo had to say.

“Shut up,” Kyungsoo said and opened the door to their dorm.

When they reached the door to their living room, they could hear the commotion inside, even with the closed door. They were hit with it full blast, as they opened the door. The noise paused at the way Jongin had banged and opened the door. It became quiet just for a moment where everyone was staring at the three who just entered.

Junmyeon walked up to them and asked, “You guys….”

“Why take so much time! We had to order food and see how late you were! Now we can't order donuts!” Baekhyun whined, thus starting the commotion all over again.

“Yeah!!! And now they have decided on pizza and won’t agree to my plea for mochi,” Sehun complained as he was shoved off of the sofa by Minseok to make space. He got up to help Jongin put away bags. Chanyeol was already moving inside to ask what pizza they were going to order.

“And why is that bad! Pizza is good, why can’t you all be happy with one thing! Seriously, why? Do you know how sugar reacts at night?” Jongdae complained, causing everyone to groan at his high pitched whine.

“We could order noodles,” Yixing piped in. Jongdae high-fived him for it.

Kyungsoo and Junmyeon stayed at the door, with Junmyeon approaching Kyungsoo.

“I heard you met them before they...” Junmyeon started but couldn’t finish.

Kyungsoo nodded and said, “I met them as they were leaving. But Hyung,” he paused.

“What?” Junmyeon asked.

“I am sorry that it happened. I keep thinking, `Did we do enough for them?’” Kyungsoo explained.

“I hope that we did. They were…” Junmyeon nodded and tried to not choke up.

“They are our brothers. We will meet them again Hyung,” Kyungsoo said just as his eyes glistened.

“How come you sound so sure?” Junmyeon, his voice all choked up. Letting his emotions show for the first time that day.

“You know, we figured out a way of keeping in touch with them, without the company knowing,” Sehun said as he passed them. 

Sehun was searching for water bottles. Jongdae could be heard complaining about the lack of tissue papers and water bottles. Sehun used it to veer Junmyeon and Kyungsoo out of the room. Jongdae was still whining about lack of tissues, when Minseok turned him towards the door; just in time to see them leave.

 

Jongdae knew that the morale was down and it would stay that way. For how long? He didn't really know. The departure was sudden and new, affecting everyone. But the ones who had lost the most in the group were Junmyeon and Kyungsoo. Their best friends had left. He was worried about them the most. It didn’t help that both had the bad habit of bottling up their emotions and caring for others. Baekhyun and Yixing would make great leaders one day from how they gathered and held everyone together during and after practice. But right now to support Junmyeon, those two plus Minseok Hyung would not be enough. 

So when he saw Junmyeon and Kyungsoo stepping out, he knew they would be okay.

 

Maybe not as much as Chanyeol, Jongin and Kyungsoo. They had been punished to sleep on the communal floor beds instead of their bunk beds for the day for running in the corridor. But he would tell them that later.