A story to tell, secrets to keep and scars to hide 

For pomiloli

Couple: Myunggyu or Woogyu (Author chose Myunggyu)

Prompt: A story to tell, secrets to keep and scars to hide.

2190 Words

It all started when Kim Myungsoo exited the stuffy dance room to take a bathroom break. He immediately picked up the harsh whispers of two of his bandmates. Worried about some falling out that he will have to mend, he crept closer to the corner, out of sight from the other two. The tone which those whispers carried alarmed him, given that the people the voices belonged to are closer than best friends.

“Woohyun, I’ve been accustomed to this for four years now, this isn’t anything new and it’s certainly not anything to worry about. I honestly can’t believe you have never witnessed this.” His leader’s voice was shaking and breathless, but, as usual from Kim Sunggyu, he sounded nonchalant. Myungsoo just assumed the breathlessness was the outcome from their rigorous practicing they’ve been at for the past two and a half hours.

“I don’t care, Sunggyu, I’m going to get Hyoan to take you to the hospital.” Nam Woohyun’s tone was hasty and full of worry, a tone all of Infinite had heard a billion times. It often comes out when the other members, namely Sungyeol, get sick or injured.

Myungsoo didn’t think of anything when the sound of pills being removed from their bottle echoed through the hallway. After all, Sunggyu is known for his love of being healthy and taking care of his body.

“Sunggyu, are the pills even helping anymore? This disease isn’t a joke. I know you want to act all high and mighty and hide this from everyone, but you need to drop the pride act and worry about yourself. I worry enough for the both of us.”

Myungsoo would have nodded to the last statement if he had not frozen from the word disease.

“For God’s sake, Woohyun, I’m still moving. I’m not missing any body parts, so treat me like a normal human being.” Myungsoo’s brows furrowed, confused over this whole exchange. He edged closer to the corner. His leader has a disease?

“Not yet…” Woohyun scoffed, earning an overly exhausted sigh from Sunggyu.

“It’s just Emery-Dreifuss and my case isn’t even that bad. I’ve told you this before, do we really have to go through it again?”

“Just Emery-Dreifuss? Kim Sunggyu, I swear I could actually punch you right now for saying such a thing…”

Myungsoo abruptly turned away, deciding he had heard quite enough.He hurried towards the bathroom where he had intended to go in the first place. He locked himself in a stall before pulling out his phone. His shaky fingers typed quickly, inputting the disease’s name into the search bar.

“Muscle dystrophy...stiffening of the joints, such as arms, legs, and shoulders. Muscles deteriorate at a slow progression. Cardiac arrest risks that can lead to death, surgery lowers the death...risk.” Myungsoo mumbled under his breath, tears welling up in his eyes. A cold sweat had formed on his skin and his knees gave out, sending him down to the floor. He leaned forward, throwing up his lunch of chicken into the toilet bowl.

After sitting there, catching his breath and attempting to stabilize his stomach, he flushed the contents away and stood up, using the toilet paper dispenser to help. He stumbled out of the stall until he ran into the marble counter. He gazed back at his discolored zombie-esque reflection. The hair by his hairline was damp and clinging to his forehead, the bags under his eyes more prominent than before, and his cheeks stained with tears.

Numbly, Myungsoo shoved his phone back into his pocket before washing his mouth of out and splashing water on his face. As he slowly shuffled back to the practice room, he thought about Sunggyu, about how the older male must always struggle to do what he does, about how much pain he must go through, and how he hides all of this from the other members magnificently well. Myungsoo’s stomach churned at the thought.

When he entered the practice room, the other members were goofing off in the corner of the room by the stereo. Leaning against the mirrors was Woohyun, who was watching Sunggyu struggle to get a certain new move down with a glum face. The thought of never seeing Sunggyu dance, sing, smile again had Myungsoo dashing to the room’s trashcan. Acid and water came up, burning his throat like the tears stinging his eyes.

The members rushed to his side in a frenzied panic, for Myungsoo was rarely ever sick. He vaguely caught Woohyun calling out for Hyoan, but he was there in seconds. Sunggyu had a warm hand on his back and it was like a burning reminder that he is still alive and that was all he needed to make him feel better.

Myungsoo blinked sleepily, looking up to see Sungyeol’s worried expression. He almost wanted to punch that expression right off his face and scream that it’s Sunggyu they need to worry about, not him. Not when Sunggyu is in pain every single day and doesn’t even let it stop him. He groaned in protest as he was heaved away from the trashcan and moved outside. However, he gladly inhaled the fresh air for inside he felt trapped and was at a loss for oxgyen.

He was placed onto the back seat of the van, Sunggyu settling next to him before the door shut, once again making Myungsoo suffocate. He blindly reached out to make the window open and when it did, he sighed, allowing the brisk air to cool him. Sunggyu took a hold of Myungsoo’s hand, biting on his lip nervously.

“Let’s just take him home, we don’t want the press to know. Besides, he might have just had bad food or overworked himself.” Hyoan informed, glancing in the rearview mirror to observe the boy. He sighed in relief when he noticed bright pink stained his once colorless cheeks. Sunggyu nodded, already knowing that he will be staying with the sick boy in case his condition worsened. He squeezed ’s hand, causing the other male to look over at him. Myungsoo teared up before starting to sob again.

Sunggyu’s heart clenched as he moved closer and tucked the young boy against his side protectively, trying his best to sooth away his broken sobs.

When they arrived, Sunggyu helped Myungsoo make it to his bed and tucked him in.

“I want you to rest, sleep, you know, one of your favorite things to do.” Sunggyu offered a comforting smile. Myungsoo shook his head, causing Sunggyu to frown. “And why not?”

“I don’t want you to disappear…” Myungsoo whispered. Sunggyu stood still for a moment, analyzing the words that hung in the air, before deciding to sit down on Myungsoo’s bed.

“I’m not going to disappear, Myungsoo. I’m here and I’m not leaving your side. I never will, I promise.” Sunggyu’s words only seemed to upset Myungsoo even more.

“How? How can you promise something like that when you could disappear at any given moment? Tell me how.” Myungsoo sobbed. He had never cried this much before. His eyes felt raw and he distantly wondered how he could have so many tears.

Something seemed to click because Sunggyu’s face fell and he stood up, turning away as he ran a hand through his hair.

“You know?” He asked quietly, turning back towards Myungsoo, his face distraught in a number of ways Myungsoo had never witnessed before. The younger male sat up in his bed and slowly nodded. Sunggyu let out a shaky breath as he sat back down.

“I guess we should talk then. I have a lot of explaining to do.” Myungsoo nodded quickly before stopping, then he shook his head.

“You don't have to tell me everything. You should tell me only what you’re comfortable with sharing…” Myungsoo mumbled, taking Sunggyu’s hand in his this time, giving a familiar squeeze. Sunggyu looked at him, studying his expression before smiling softly.

“Myungsoo, I trust you with my life. I’m beyond comfortable with you. And I apologize deeply for having never told you or any of the other guys. Except Woohyun, he knows.” Sunggyu said.

“I know. That’s how I found out. You and Woohyun were talking in the hallway and I overheard. I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but I was worried that you two were fighting.” Sunggyu nodded in understanding. Myungsoo always had good intentions for everything he did.

“I suppose we should have gone to a more private place to talk about such a serious matter. But it had to come out sometime.” He sighed and crawled over Myungsoo’s legs to sit next to him, resting his head on the back of the wall.

“Yes, I have a serious disease that is crippling and I have a risk of death. The good news is that my type of condition’s process typically spans over forty years or so, long after Infinite has had it’s run I’m sure. And according to the doctors, I am an unusual case. The disease runs in my family and it has evolved throughout several generations. So, I have developed a slight immune defense against it. It’s very small but it impacts me in ways I’m thankful for. The doctors are so thrilled by such a discovery that they run tests on me monthly.”

Sunggyu looked at Myungsoo who was picking at his fingers, processing the information.

“What this means is that, I have a lower risk of death and fatal crippling. Also, I have had cardiac surgery, which lowers the risk even more. Yes, it’s still hard for me to get going in the mornings some days, that why Woohyun wakes you guys up sometimes. Yes, I take pills to ease the tension and stiffness of my muscles. When Sesame Player aired with Sungyeol showing off all of my medicines, I almost killed him. Thankfully, he only showed my regular health products.”

“Is this why you got stuck with the nickname Grampa Gyu? And Lazy Gyu? Since you don’t participate a lot, it must be because of your muscles then, right?” Myungsoo asked, looking at Sunggyu with a sad expression.

“Yeah, some days it's too much for me too move around a lot. Let them call me that, gives me an excuse to be lazy.” Sunggyu laughed and the sound was practically foreign to Myungsoo’s ears at this point. It was beautiful. "But actually, strenuous activity is good for me, it keeps me from being so stiff."

“Wait, if you had surgery, then do you have a scar? And is that why you don’t like to show skin?” Sunggyu nodded.

“You know all of Woohyun’s creams? Half of them are mine. All of them are different types of scar creams. It’s almost gone, I’m really happy about that. Well, really the coordinators are thrilled about it.” Sunggyu laughed again and this time Myungsoo laughed, too. They both needed it. “Woohyun gladly embraced his title of being fabulous with all of his makeup, especially if it meant as a cover for me. He’s truly an amazing friend.”

Myungsoo nodded. He had always wondered if those two were more than friends. They had always disappeared together and were always close to one another, sometimes too close. But really, it just turned out that Woohyun holds Sunggyu’s deepest secret. Myungsoo found himself respecting Woohyun a lot more after that.

“Any questions?” Sunggyu asked, draping his arm over Myungsoo’s shoulders. The younger boy shook his head slowly, though he knew he would have more questions as time went on.

“Okay then. Are you feeling any better now?”

“A lot better. I had a nervous breakdown… The shock of finding out hit me too hard. I love you too much and imaging a world without you… I just can’t. I need you.” Myungsoo sniffled and swiped away his new tears. Sunggyu tilted his face towards his own.

“I need you, too, Myungsoo. Therefore, I can never leave this world.” He brushed away the tears, blinking his own out of his eyes.

“You know, you struggle everyday just as much as I do. You’re my inspiration, my will to keep living.” Sunggyu mumbled, resting his forehead onto Myungsoo’s.

“H-how?” He asked, his voice just a small whisper.

“You struggle to find yourself, to be yourself. You have to change from Myungsoo to L and back to Myungsoo again every single day. Sure, my disease is physical, but you...you’re affected mentally. We both have to be strong and therefore, I connect with you, I need you.” Sunggyu mumbled the last words, brushing the tip of his nose against Myungsoo’s.

“I love you, Kim Sunggyu… Don’t ever leave me.”

“I promise I won’t, because I love you, too.” Sunggyu smiled sincerely before sealing his promise with a sweet, slow, and salty kiss.

The two ended up talking about their insecurities, their scars - both physical and mental - and and everything in between. They fell asleep, tangled in each others limbs.

When Sunggyu woke up, he had never felt better. And when Myungsoo woke up, he had found his true self, he finally belonged.

It all started when Kim Myungsoo eavesdropped.

StarlightSpirit - That was absolutely beautiful, thank you author :) I love how you completely fit the prompt and yet you wrote something completely unique. This was great, even though I've never shipped Myunggyu before <3