You sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning on the palm of your hand as you watched Super Junior rehearse their dance for what must have been the hundredth time that day. Sungmin had invited you to the rehearsal since he knew you wouldn’t be able to attend the Seoul concert in a few weeks because of plans with your family.

After so much practice, the guys were synchronized, sharp and clean in their performance, but you only had eyes for Sungmin. It made sense though because he was your boyfriend.

He was such a good dancer. It had surprised you at first, but he had studied martial arts, which had probably helped with his control and coordination. Something about the way he moved was so beautiful and fluid that even if you weren’t dating him, you were positive you wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off him.

The dance was not too complicated in itself, but it was fast, technical, and precise, which Sungmin was good at. As he pushed himself off the floor toward the end of the dance, it happened. Maybe it was because of fatigue or just a simple mistake, but whatever the cause, it felt like you were watching the whole thing in slow motion.

Sungmin slipped.

He twisted to catch himself. His right wrist caught the brunt of his fall, and from the expression on his face you knew that it had been painful. But he rolled off it and jumped up from the floor at lightning speed and back into the choreography.

It was like it didn’t even happen.

Your eyes grew wide as you watched him continue dancing. He kept his face neutral so you weren’t really sure how he was feeling, but you kept an eye out for any changes. Then, right at the end when he high-fived Eunhyuk, you saw a tiny slip in his features. He winced, just barely, but enough for you to notice it.

As soon as they hit their ending pose, you stood up from your spot on the floor. You crossed your arms, shoulders hunched with your nerves. Sungmin always worried you because he never liked to talk about how he was feeling, even if it was just physical pain.

“Are you okay, Sungmin?” Eunhyuk asked. “I saw you fall.”

Sungmin nodded. “I’m really sorry I messed up,” he said with a bow. “I’ll do better.”

“Are you sure? That looked like it hurt,” Shindong said.

He nodded again. “Yes, of course. Let’s keep practicing,” he insisted, waving his left hand to continue.

Sungmin didn’t look at you once. You weren’t sure if it was because he was in pain, and you were the only one who could tell, or if it was because he was just trying to focus on the rehearsal. You leaned toward the first option.

The music started again, and you paced back and forth as you watched. As the same move came around, you crossed your arms, fists clenched tightly, but he made it through fine. You let out a breath you hadn’t even known you were holding.

A moment later, Yesung slipped and did the wrong move at the wrong time. And soon, everyone was making mistakes left and right.

After Donghae missed the count on his solo, Eunhyuk stopped the music. “Let’s just take a break,” he suggested. “We’re getting tired. We’ll meet back here in fifteen minutes.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Most of them exited the studio to get water or a snack. The break was welcome after the continuous practice.

Alone in the practice room, Sungmin studied his wrist. You rushed over to his side, glad to finally get the chance to talk to him. “Are you okay?” you asked.

He looked up at you, eyes wide. “Yeah, of course,” he said, nodding.

Your eyes narrowed. “You can’t fool me,” you said. “I see you wince every time you push off the floor.” You grabbed his arm, and he flinched. “See?”

Sungmin pulled his arm out of your grasp. “It’s just a little sore because I landed wrong, but it’s fine. It’ll be better in no time,” he said, not looking at you. “I just have to, you know, walk it off, or dance it off. Besides, I can’t hold the members back. We have the concert coming up, and we really need to practice as much as possible. My wrist is okay.”

You suddenly hugged him, holding him tight to your body. You just wanted to squeeze the sadness out of him. You could just see it in his eyes, and it wasn’t just sadness. You could see the disappointment he had in himself, and it always hurt you to see him like this, beating himself up.

You felt his body tense up. “It’s okay to make mistakes, Sungmin,” you said, rubbing his back. “You’re not perfect, and your body isn’t either.”

Sungmin sighed and pulled away. “But it’s not that easy,” he said, “because I have all the members and fans relying on me to do a good job. If I’m hurt, I can’t perform, and I’ll disappoint everyone. I don’t have a choice.” He stared at you with those wide, emotive eyes of his, and it hurt even more to hear him talk like that.

You shook your head. “But, Sungmin, if you perform when you’re hurt, you’ll only get hurt worse, and that’s when you’ll disappoint people. Your fans want you to be at your best and be safe. I want you to be safe,” you said, squeezing his left hand.

He looked away, concern marring his features. He said nothing, and you didn’t fill the silence though you were tempted. But he was obviously thinking.

“I can’t just stop practice though, and it’s not like all of the dancing requires me to use my wrist,” he pointed out. “I’m sure just a little bit of pressure here and there won’t make it any worse.”

You gave him a pointed look. “Sungmin, please don’t injure yourself any further. Just tell Eunhyuk that you hurt your wrist, and I’m sure he will be fine with you just skipping the moves on the ground since that’s all that it is. That way by the time of the concert, you will be fully healed and won’t have to worry about it,” you suggested.

 “I guess that would work,” he said quietly.

“Listen, Sungmin,” you said, looking up at him. “The members are like your brothers and would never want you to perform injured. And you know that I would never want you to risk hurting yourself more.”

He nodded, not saying anything, though he had a small smile on his face.

“This is just a small issue. Your wrist isn’t broken, maybe sprained, but that can heal in time for the show if you let it.” You smiled. “Anyway, you are a wonderful singer and dancer, and you have many fans who love you no matter what, including me. Everything is going to be alright.” You reached up on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

With a smile, he surprised you and turned to meet your lips in a small kiss. When he pulled away, he hugged you tightly and kissed the top of your head. “Thank you, ___________. I needed that,” he said softly. “And I hope you’re right. That everything will be fine.”

You grinned, arms around him. “I know I’m right,” you said and squeezed him tighter.