Minho was relaxing on the couch, waiting for Taemin to come home with an air of utter boredom. He wanted to play video games, but Onew was no good, Key claimed they were bad for your eyes, and Jonghyun was too busy following Key around like a lost little puppy. He really needed Taemin to come home.

Why had he even gone on that stupid Maknae outing? Mir made him uncomfortable, this was something Minho knew for a fact, so why did he agree to just go hang out with him? Well, it wasn’t just Mir he was hanging out with. Sehun and Tao were there, along with Kyuhyun, Ren, and he was pretty sure there were a few others. Why all the labels decided to have a Maknae Day was beyond him, but Taemin should be back soon, right?

As the thought was crossing his mind he heard the doorknob rattling, and he looked over at the door expectantly. When Taemin came in, though, Minho didn’t know how to react. The boy was shaking, tears streaming down his face, and he looked scared. Minho was up and across the room in an instant, and not a moment too soon, because Taemin was falling.

“Tae? Taeminnie?” Minho called to him softly, but the younger boy simply clung to him. He was sniffling and whimpering, and Minho lifted the maknae, letting his legs go around his waist. “What happened?”

“M-Mir...” Taemin started, but his tongue felt thick, his throat dry, and his head felt lighter than air.

“What did Mir do?” Minho asked, but Taemin’s only answer was to drop his head on Minho’s shoulder. A moment later, quiet, frustrated sobs erupted from the maknae, and Minho decided he needed help. “Key! Onew! Jjong! Someone, come out here!”

He carried Taemin over to the couch, intent on setting him down, but Taemin only clung tighter to him. He stood back up from his bent position, working on relaxing the boy as the other three members came out of their hidey holes with some reluctance. None of them looked terribly interested in what was going on until the maknae’s wet sounding words reached their ears.

“Minho-ya, don’t put me down.“ He begged, and within moments they were surrounded by the rest of their group.

“What happened?” Key asked, trying to pull Taemin from the rapper. Taemin refused to be moved, and quite frankly, Minho didn’t want to let him go.

“Mir did something.” Minho finally said. “But he won’t tell me what.”

“He made me do something bad.” Taemin said. “I feel really weird.”

“What did he make you do, baby?” Key asked, his tone motherly. Taemin refused to answer again, and Key pulled out his phone and dialed quickly. The phone rang twice before he got an answer. “Seungho?”

“What, Key?” He replied, sounding tired.

“What the did Mir do to Taemin?” Key snapped, and Seungho was silent for a moment.

“What’s Taemin saying?” He finally asked.

“That Mir made him do something bad, and he feels weird.” Key said, his voice shaking. “What’s wrong with my baby?!”

“I don’t - , hold on. Suho’s calling me.” Seungho said apologetically. Key waited while Seungho switched calls, and a minute later he came back. He sounded livid. “Sehun’s saying the same things as Taemin. I have to call Rain. I’ll call you back once I figure out what’s going on.”

Key stared at his phone after the line went dead, then looked up at Taemin. The boys eyes were squeezed shut, and he looked miserable. Minho adjusted Taemin so his legs weren’t wrapped around him anymore, and Taemin didn’t seem to notice until Minho was sitting down with him in his lap. Why was he so out of it? Something wasn’t right.

Jonghyun had gone into the kitchen, and was now coming back with a mop bucket they designated for expelling their stomach contents on drunken nights. Key quickly went to the bathroom, intent on getting a cool washcloth as Onew plopped down in a chair, no traces of his sangtae in sight for once. He was busy texting, and the others really didn’t pay him any mind until he spoke up.

“Ren’s not feeling well either.” He said softly. “And based on these texts, Tao and Sehun are in pretty bad shape, too.”

“Taeminnie.” Key cooed at the youngest. “What did Mir make you do?”

“It was bad, Umma.” Taemin whimpered out after almost a minute, and Key pressed a cool cloth to his head. “We all said no, but he said they did it all the time.”

“Who’s ‘they’?” Minho prodded. Taemin swallowed, seeming to be going in and out of reality.

“His friends at home.” He finally croaked out. “He said nothing bad would happen.”

“What did he do, honey?” Key asked.

“You’re gonna be mad at me.” Taemin insisted, refusing to answer. Key swallowed hard. Taemin never kept secrets. Whatever Mir had convinced him to do, it was bad.

“Well, why don’t you tell me what it feels like?” Key offered softly. Taemin seemed to be dozing, but nodded slowly.

“It feels like...I can’t talk right...” He mumbled softly. “The words in my head...won’t come out...”

“What else?” Key prodded. Taemin sniffled softly.

“My throat’s all dried up...” Taemin said. “My body feels heavy. I feel like I don’t know where I am.”

“You’re at home, yeobo.” Minho said softly, and Taemin nodded. The maknae suddenly pushed himself against Minho again.

“It just feels weird.” Taemin said, an obvious whine to his voice that was completely unlike the boy. Key suddenly leaned in, sniffing at Taemin’s clothes. His expression darkened instantly, and he pulled out his phone and started texting rapidly.

“Are you seeing things? Things that aren’t supposed to be there?” Key asked. His tone was clinical, and his fingers were still flying over the keys on his phone. Taemin groaned.

“I had to close my eyes.” Taemin said, confirming Key’s fears. Before anyone could ask Key what exactly was going on, since he seemed to be the only one with a clue, the leader spoke again.

“Baekho wants to know if he can bring Ren over here.” Onew suddenly chirped up. “I guess Ren wants to be with Taemin. He’s freaking out pretty bad.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” Key said, looking nervous.

“You know Baekho’s probably taking care of Ren by himself. He probably needs help.” Jonghyun said. Key sighed, then looked at Minho.

“What do you think?” He asked the frog-eyed rapper. Minho opened his mouth, and Taemin’s eyes suddenly opened, seeking the leader.

“Ren?” He said, his voice heavy. Onew nodded, and Taemin’s eyes watered again. “Can he come over?”

It was silent for a long time, except Onew’s phone’s seemingly endless buzzing. After the sixth text, he finally started looking through them, then groaned softly. He looked up at Jonghyun with a serious expression, and the dino cringed nervously.

“Go get your car, and pick up Baekho and Ren. We’re going down a few floors to Exo’s dorm. It’s bigger, and Tao and Sehun are losing their minds. They’re convinced that...they’re convinced something bad will happen if they’re not all together.” Onew said, and Jonghyun nodded uncertainly before grabbing his keys.

“Taeminnie.” Key called softly. “Can you walk?”

“Ani...umma...” Taemin said, his head far too heavy for his body. He couldn’t even lift it.

“I’ll carry him.” Minho said softly, leaning down to press his lips to the maknae’s slightly sweaty forehead.

“Minho-hyung?” Taemin mumbled out, and Minho’s eyes widened. Taemin didn’t call him that often. They were too close for that.

“De, Minnie?” Minho responded.

“Saranghae..” He mumbled softly, a tired sounding breath escaping his lips.

“Na do saranghae, Taemin-ah..” Minho whispered back, fear squeezing at his chest.

Taemin was going to be ok...right?