For MizNoona

Couple: Donggyu (Dongwoo x Sunggyu)

Prompt: Dongwoo teaching Sunggyu dancing

Coated with his sweat, his bouncy red locks stuck to his forehead.  His nails pierced the fabric of the leather cushion until his knuckles turned white.  His face was drained of color, his eyes dry.  The only water glistening as it cascaded down his cheeks was sweat.  It slipped off his cheeks, twinkling as it joined the murky puddle to mix with the crimson blood dripping from his arm.  

It matched his hair, Sunggyu thought. 

 “Hyung, you need to get checked too.”  Sungjong’s voice cracked, and Sunggyu knew he was weak.  Sungjong cried when the goldfish they’d obtained from the carnival down the street starved to death; Sungjong definitely cried today.  

Sunggyu’s eyes, robbed of life, blinked.  Redness shrouded his irises, tiredness dripping from his pupils. Sungjong felt tears beginning to form at the sight of Sunggyu so lifeless.  “Hyung, at least get some sleep.”  His tone was pleading, and Sunggyu knew if he kept this up any longer, Sungjong would drop to his knees and beg him.  

So, he forced words to tumble from his lips.  His voice was hoarse he noted, his throat felt sore.  He wondered how loud he must’ve screamed for it to turn out that way, “I’m fine,” he croaked. 

 Sungjong was well aware Sunggyu was not fine.  Sunggyu was fine when his fingers were entangled in his auburn hair, fear trickling down his cheeks in the form of tears.  Sunggyu was fine when his nagging voice bounced across the walls, anger resonating from it.  Sunggyu was not fine digging his fingernails into a hospital chair, coated with an aura of emotionlessness. 

Sungjong let it go, and squeaked, “Okay, but I’m getting the first aid kit myself, then.”   

Sunggyu didn’t acknowledge Sungjong’s claim.  He didn’t lift a finger, bat an eye, he just sat there.  Sungjong swallowed the lump gurgling in his throat, pushing the tears away.  He couldn’t cry now.  Not when Sunggyu needed him to be as strong as ever.  

Sunggyu, who’d always cradled him when he cried, sat before him, the essence of joy stolen from his grasp.  He sat before him, empty, like a void of nothing.  Just like all those times Sungjong soiled Sunggyu’s night shirts with his tears, he was determined to provide an emotional release to Sunggyu as well. 

Sungjong pulled the first aid kit from the storage closet, uncaring of the nurses shooting glares in his direction.  Testing his luck, Sungjong spoke, his voice quivering, “It’s not your fault Hyung.”   

Sunggyu’s body stiffened, the small speck of color draining from his features to join the swirling mixture of blood and sweat dripping onto the porcelain tiles.  The scent of alcohol and cleanliness usurped his nose and Sunggyu felt like puking.   Sunggyu shivered, the chills shooting down his spines, Sungjong’s words swirling within him. 

“It’s not your fault, Hyung.  It’s all going to be okay, we’re going to be okay. Calm down, and press the brakes, it’s not your fault Hyung.”  

Abruptly, Sunggyu shot up, causing Sungjong to stagger backwards and collapse into the chair beside him.  His landed on a pile of fuzz and Sungjong inspected the arm rests to find the leather torn open, bits of frayed fluff adorning the edges.  His eyes drifted to Sunggyu’s nails, bright red due to his anxiety.  

Taking a shaking breath, and not sparing a word, Sunggyu snatched the first aid kit from Sungjong’s hands.  He stomped down the hallway, ignoring the younger’s calls as they followed him until he kicked the door to the public bathroom open.  

A few male nurses, and Woohyun, lingered within the urinals when Sunggyu’s battered figure burst through the door.  

Sunggyu screwed his eyes shut so tight, he could feel the pressure building in his forehead.  With grit teeth and a sore throat, he growled.  “Out. All of you.”   

A light whisper bounced across the faces of the nurses, a few of them shooting him a look of sympathy as they exited.  Sunggyu caught a few words.

“Give him a break; he’s the one that caused the accident.”  

Sunggyu opened his eyes and specks of color clouded his sight.  He wasn’t sure if it was from closing his eyes, or the blaring light of the bathroom.  But he snarled at the one figure that remained standing.  Eyes stained with tears and hair disheveled.  “You too, Woohyun.” 

Woohyun ran his sweat stained fingers through his glistening brown curls.  “You can’t bandage that buy yourself,” he stated.  Unlike Sungjong, Woohyun controlled his emotions fairly well.  But, his swollen eyelids and the puffiness told Sunggyu exactly what he had been up to. 

“Get out Woohyun.”  He snarled, baring his teeth like an animal.  The disinfectant smell in the bathroom entered his nostrils like venom, and Sunggyu felt his lunch traveling dangerously up his stomach.  He had to be the composed leader; he didn’t want anyone to be here for this.  “Just please…” his tone dropped from hostile to pleading, “Please let me be alone for a while.”  

Even with the begging laced into his coarse voice, the lack of life was evident in Sunggyu’s eyes.   Woohyun swallowed, complying with his request and ending with a pat on the back before trudging out of the bathroom.  

Sunggyu shuddered when he touched him. 

Assured that Woohyun was gone, Sunggyu flipped the lock on the door.  He needed to be alone for this.  He was the great Kim Sunggyu, leader of Infinite; no one could see him crack.  

But, crack he did.  

Sunggyu’s knees wobbled.  His body began to tremble and he was forced to grip the edges of the porcelain white sink for support.  Sunggyu faced his reflection in the mirror for a moment, but slammed his eyelids shut.  

He couldn’t even look at himself. 

His hold on the sides of the sink made his fingers ache.  His vision grew cloudy and Sunggyu squeezed as hard as he could.  He wanted to squeeze the tears out; a piece of him clung to the hope that if he squeezed hard enough, the tears would come flowing.  

Sunggyu squeezed as hard as he could, but with no trace of water and when the pain enveloping his forehead becoming unbearable, he was forced to pry his eyes open.  Colorful spots danced around his vision and his body still trembled.  

Feeling his legs wiggle, Sunggyu lowered himself to the ground sitting cross-legged on the ground glaring at the silver-pipe inches from his forehead.   With eyes still dry, Sunggyu tilted his head back, before swinging it forward to collide with the metal pipe. 

Searing pain swallowed his head, it vibrated in his body and Sunggyu could even feel the dull ache in his teeth.   The mixture of alcohol and death still coated the air, and with his lunch dangerously climbing up his throat, Sunggyu did it again.  

He felt the porcelain sink rattle and his forehead was throbbing.  Grabbing the edges of the sink tightly, Sunggyu swung his head back as far as he could, and stormed forward with as much force as he could muster.   

The clank of his skull against metal reverberated in his ears and his eyes were spinning when he tore them open.  His fingers glided across his cheeks, still as dry as ever, and Sunggyu released a whimper.  His stomach lurched and rage flooded in his veins.  

Frustration piled outward through the ear-splitting screech that escaped his lips.  Sunggyu’s scream glided beneath the cracks of the doorway, bouncing across the halls, shaking the heart of s.  Sungjong tightened his grip on Woohyun’s cardigan, crying harder than ever when Sunggyu’s scream of horror touched his ears. 

Sunggyu screamed until he coughed, he screamed until his vocal chords burned.  He screamed until he coughed so hard, that his lunch finally escaped him, spilling across the tiled porcelain floor.   Taking a shaky breath, Sunggyu used the sink to pull himself to his feet, still weak at the knees. 

The rancid smell began to overpower the medical aroma, and Sunggyu had never been more grateful he threw up before.   He was not okay, he knew that much.  But he was okay enough to face the members and pretend that he was fine.  He was okay enough to fake that everything would be okay.  

That was until the dreaded memory flooded back to him. 

“Hey, can I try?”  Sunggyu eyed the car keys with a childish glint coating his pupils.  His lips were twisted in determination as if he’d made the sole greatest decision in his life. “I wanna give it a shot.” He exclaimed, lunging for the keys adorned with the team logo.  

Dongwoo gave him a hesitant gaze before his vivacious laughter leapt from his lips to mingle with the air. “Are you crazy Hyung?  If the manager’s found out…”  Dongwoo’s bubbly laugher bounced off his lips once more as Sunggyu’s mouth twisted into a pout, “What happened to the stickler for rules Sunggyu-Hyung?” he mocked.  

Sunggyu snickered, reaching over to snatch the keys from Dongwoo, admiring his shimmering ticket to freedom as he waved it in Dongwoo’s face.  “I thought I’d give him a break,” he rolled his eyes.  The constant pestering of s on his grandpa-like qualities angered him.  Today he felt brave.  Today, he was going to prove everyone he could have fun, too.

He eyed Dongwoo with a smile, “What do you say we go have some fun today?!”  A smile coated his features, despite the hesitance evident in Dongwoo’s eyes.  

“You mean...break off of schedule?  Hyung they’ll never trust you again, you know.”  Dongwoo reminded Sunggyu wearily, he’d never seen him so excited to break rules before.  

Sunggyu rolled his eyes, “Yea, who cares?  What’re they gonna do? Kick me out of Infinite?” he scoffed, they were too popular for that.  Perhaps he was getting slightly egotistical, but Sunggyu didn’t care one bit.   “Come on, aren’t you and Woohyun usually the ones for ditching?  Now let’s actually do it.”  

Dongwoo paused for a moment, but the childish glint coating Sunggyu’s pupils put a tingly feeling in his heart and he decided that it would be okay just once.  “Alright, but you are so taking the blame for this!”  He warned.  

His beady eyes twisted into such a large smile, Sunggyu’s eyes became non-existent. Something Dongwoo commented on out of habit, “Hyung, you’re eyes always disappear when you smile,” he grinned when Sunggyu shoved him in anger, jumping into the driver’s seat.  

He inspected the controls with worry, “Err…how you do this?” Dongwoo sighed, slightly regretting his decision as he turned the keys into ignition, tossing Sunggyu a look of worry.  Sunggyu brushed it off however, carefully following Dongwoo’s instructions to back out of the driveway. 

Adrenaline was pumping through his veins,  he’d never felt so alive before.  He felt like youth was surging through him and he heard his phone blaring from the backseat.  But Sunggyu didn’t give a damn.  He tuned out the sound of his cellphone by turning up the stereo as loud as possible. 

He and Dongwoo created their own Infinite concert in the front seat of their van, their cheeks stinging with the pain of endless smiles and eyes glowing with happiness.  “I like you like this Hyung!” Dongwoo shouted over the roaring music, “This type of Sunggyu-Hyung is fun!”  

Laughter echoed in the small car as Before the Dawn coated the busy roads.  “Hyung turn left here,  we can go that café you really like,” Dongwoo suggested, pointing towards the blinking green stoplight.  Sunggyu hummed in response as Dongwoo scanned through the CD’s, proudly pulling out Another Me before popping it in.  

With a cheeky smile tainting his features, Dongwoo declared loudly “I love 41 Days on here, I think it’s my favorite song we’ve ever done…even though it was you, really.”  Dongwoo flushed red, smiling at the color that tainted Sunggyu’s cheeks.  “You wrote the lyrics on that one, didn’t you?”

“I helped,” Sunggyu corrected, blush still evident in his cheeks. 

“You’re lyrics are beautiful, Hyung.”  

Before Sunggyu had a response, his wheels skidded halfway through his turn.   The car skidded off the road towards the grassy hill as Sunggyu began to panic, “Dongwoo!” he hissed, fear coating his eyes as he slammed on the brakes as hard as he could.  

Unfortunately, being the inexperienced driver he was, Sunggyu couldn’t tell the difference between the brakes, and the accelerator.  “Dongwoo!” he screeched, pivoting his head to find Dongwoo’s eyes widened in fear and his body paralyzed in shock.    The car shot forward, and Sunggyu felt the air retreating from his lungs as the air bags inflated to slam against his chest.  

“Dongwoo?! Are you alright? Tell me what to do!”  Sunggyu reached over until his bony fingers intertwined with Dongwoo’s clammy palms.  “I’m so sorry,” his voice was wet with fear and he could feel tears gliding down his cheeks.  “Oh my god Dongwoo I’m going to kill us, I’m so sorry.” He squeezed Dongwoo’s palm to reassure himself the dance machine was still breathing.

Dongwoo squeezed back, his voice quivering as he spoke, “It’s not your fault, Hyung.  It’s all going to be okay, we’re going to be okay. Calm down, and press the brakes, it’s not your fault Hyung.”  

Sunggyu’s eyes shot open and he greedily in air.  He took in oxygen so sharply,  a stabbing pain usurped his lungs.  His chest rose and fell rapidly, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.  Sunggyu swallowed air greedily, as if he would never be given the luxury again.   

Glancing to meet his reflection in the mirror, Sunggyu’s fingers glided across his cheeks, fresh tears sticking to his fingers.  A small smile stretched on his lips, he wasn’t a terrible person, after all.  Sunggyu sunk to the floor, holding his face in his hands as harsh sobs escaped his lips.  

As loud as he screamed, Sunggyu cried, choking out tears and squeezing his knees so hard to his chest he could feel the joints puncturing his lungs.  His sobs were mingled with screams, and he sounded like a mad man in the middle of a panic attack.  He felt snot running down his nostrils onto his white blazer already tainted with blood.  

After his sobs died down, Sunggyu stood to his feet.  He splashed icy water against his face, gently wiped off the dried blood, bandaged himself, and walked out of the bathroom with long strides.  “You sure took your sweet time,”  Woohyun remarked.  The comment was stated rather than meant in a snarky tone. 

Sunggyu shrugged, “I did have quite a bit to clean up,” he reminded, waving his bandaged arm before Woohyun as he collapsed on the chair next to him.  Subconsciously, Woohyun reached the grab Sunggyu’s hand in his and connect them, but the older pulled away. 

“D-Don’t touch me,”  Sunggyu whispered, closing his eyes sharply again before enjoying another greedy intake of breath.  “Please just don’t touch me, Woohyun.   You don’t know what I’ve done to Dongwoo, don’t touch me.”   Sunggyu hated the idea of Woohyun’s warm fingers providing him with comfort.  He hated the idea of his fingers drawing warming circles on the back of his hand, he hated Woohyun’s warmth surging within him, but most of all, he hated how he thought of Dongwoo, and he wished he was with him instead.

And then Sunggyu realized, if he was, they wouldn’t be in this situation at all. 

He bit his tongue to encase the tears b in his pupils.  He tried his best to pull his tough-leader façade but it was starting to crumble.  Sunggyu clenched his fingers on his jeans, screwing his eyes shut until his forehead (still pulsating with a dull ache) began to throb again.  “If you want to cry, just do it Hyung.  We’re friends before we’re Infinite, you’re Kim Sunggyu before you’re our leader.” 

And as if Woohyun’s words ignited a fuse within him, Sunggyu buried his face into his hands.  His cries were muffled and rough and his whole body trembled.  Sunggyu let the tears cascade down his cheeks, imagining Dongwoo’s soft voice coaxing him to believe that everything would be alight, he began to hiccup, choke on his own tears.   He could almost feel Dongwoo’s finger intertwined with his own, his melodious sweet voice telling them that  “It’ll be okay, Hyung.” 

But in the end it was the farthest from okay they could ever be. 

Woohyun wrapped his arms tightly around Sunggyu, and like the countless nights the members clung to him and poured their emotions into his t-shirt like a snot rag, Sunggyu released the pent up tears locked within his heart.  “I-I was stupid…” he whimpered, slamming his fists against Woohyun’s chest as the younger male ran his fingers through his hair.  

At a loss for words, unsure of the right things to say, Woohyun swallowed.  He was not Sunggyu.  But he tried his best regardless, “Gyu, it’s not your fault,” he cooed, gently running his fingers through his dyed red hair in an effort to calm him down.  

“I-I just wanted  to prove to you all…”  saliva escaped Sunggyu’s lips and moistened Woohyun’s bright blue tee until it soaked through and grazed his skin.  Usually, Woohyun would’ve shoved him off in disgust,  but now, he didn’t even think of that.  “I’m always a stickler.  I wanted to show you…show all of you..”  

Sunggyu’s voice was hoarse and broken.  It came out like shattered glass, scattered across the floor in a million pieces and as much as Woohyun wanted to gather them all up and tape them together there were too many strewn all over that he wouldn’t be able to find them all.  

“I-I thought if I did something fun…you’d stop.  You’d all stop looking at me like I was a manger, I just wanted to fit in Woohyun.”  His bony fingers twisted the fabric of Woohyun’s shirt in his grasp,  “I wanted to be a part of Infinite, too.  I wanted to be a kid, too.” 

Woohyun looked up to see Sungjong with his face nuzzled into Myungsoo’s chest with tears slipping down both their cheeks.  His gaze roamed until it landed on Sungyeol cowering in shock as he absorbed Sunggyu’s confession. 

If anything were to happen to Dongwoo,  it wouldn’t only be Sunggyu’s fault.  

Hoya stumbled out of the hospital room, sweat pouring down his face as he glanced around and found Sunggyu cradled against Woohyun’s chest.   With his eyes locked on the leader, and swirling with pity, Hoya spoke, “H-He can have visitors Those super strong pain-killers wore off.” Sunggyu slowly lifted his head, breaking away from Woohyun.  “One at a time, so we can all go and talk to him.”  

Sunggyu didn’t speak a word, they’d been Infinite since 2010; he didn’t need to speak a word.  Hesitantly, he pushed off his chair,  his knees growing weaker by the second as he stumbled into Dongwoo’s room, shutting the door behind him.   “Hyung?  Oh my god I’ve been so worried, are you alright?  Are you hurt anywhere?”  

“D-D-Dongwoo.”  Sunggyu’s croaky voice fell to pieces, he barely stumbled to the hospital bed to crash into the chair beside Dongwoo.  It was still warm from where Hoya sat moments ago.  Sunggyu let the tears flow freely, his hamster eyes nearly swollen shut.  At first, he avoided Dongwoo’s gaze, falling from the jar of pain-killers, to the beeping monitor, to the empty apple-sauce container, until he finally gave in.

His fingers clasped around Dongwoo’s and they sat like that for what seemed like hours, Sunggyu’s sobs being the only thing to characterize the emptiness lingering in the room.  

Dongwoo squeezed his hand, “How was that for your first rebellion?” his tone was soft, and Sunggyu knew that tone all too well.  It was the tone Dongwoo used when someone needed to be comforted.  Sunggyu didn’t want that tone to be used on him.  Dongwoo noticed that when his lips twisted into a frown.  “Hyung, please, this isn’t your fault.  

“But it is!”  Sunggyu’s voice cracked and increased an octave.  His voice quivered, still.  “Dongwoo this isn’t like I wasn’t there and I’m blaming myself.  It’s not like some crappy scenario where you gotta say it’s your fault out of courtesy.  Dongwoo, I was driving that car.  I crashed it.  This…”  Sunggyu’s rapid talking became incomprehensible as he dropped his head, tears usurping him again.  

Dongwoo released a sight, “I’m sorry Hyung, it’s your fault, but then it’s mine too.”  Sunggyu shot up, an argument forming on his lips, but Dongwoo cut him off.  “Hyung, I gave you the keys…I didn’t call the manager, I willingly got in that car with you.  If it’s your fault, it’s just as much mine.” He swallowed. 

Sunggyu paused for a moment, Dongwoo’s warm fingers still connected to his clammy hands.  “Why did you do it?”  he asked finally, “I’d never driven a car in my life, why did you willingly get in a car with me?” 

Dongwoo’s warm chocolate-brown eyes met Sunggyu’s terror-filled pupils.  His gaze was embodied with so much love Sunggyu’s heart tingled.  Dongwoo pushed into a sitting position, squeezing Sunggyu’s sweaty hand and reaching over to glide his other hand over his cheek, wiping away the remnants of tears still falling.  “I trusted you.” He stated simply, “And I still do, this was just an accident.” 

“Where did you get hurt?”  Sunggyu chose his next question, he found no injuries on Dongwoo’s upper body other than small scrapes and bruises which is a majority of his own diagnosis.  “Why are you in the ICU if – Oh God.”  Sunggyu’s eyes brimmed with horror as Dongwoo’s eyes dropped to his legs. Realization dawned on him.  “Oh my God,” he ripped his hand from Dongwoo’s, slipping to the floor until his painfully collided with the cool tiles.  

Dongwoo took a shaky breath, a lump of tears forming in his throat, “I-I don’t think I can come back to Infinite,” he closed his eyes biting his bottom lip before clenching the blanket with his palms.  “They..” he paused, absorbing air into his lungs, “They said…it has to be amputated.” 

Uncovered from the hospital blanket, lay Dongwoo’s right leg.  It was battered so much it was purple, dried blood and torn flesh coated it. Sunggyu remembered it being adorned with milky white-skin, abnormally hairless and shiny under the light.  He remembered how swiftly Dongwoo moved, the glint in his eyes when he danced.  With those memories in mind, Sunggyu choked on his own tears again.  “Dongwoo this…I’m…Dongwoo I’m such an idiot.”  

The dancing machine closed his eyes, taking a deep breath,  “No…it’s not entirely you’re fault, we discussed this,” Dongwoo swallowed nervously.  “I’m just thinking.  Who is Jang Dongwoo, without dance?”  

Sunggyu didn’t really know what drove him to do it. He wasn’t quite sure where the idea stemmed from either.  But at the time it just seemed so perfect, so right, the only thing he could do, that he did.  Maybe it was the leader in him shining.  Maybe it was just one of those things Sunggyu always knew how to do right.  Maybe it was just because he was Kim Sunggyu, and as a leader of Infinite, this is what he had to do.    

He ripped his iPod out from his pocket, tuning the headphones up to full volume so the music was loud enough for the two of them to hear in the small, isolated hospital room.  A small smile painted Dongwoo’s lips when he recognized Hoya’s voice singing to Special Girl.   “Teach me.”  Sunggyu demanded, gaining an unfound strength in his legs as he stood before Dongwoo’s hospital bed.  “Teach me how to dance this.” 

Silence usurped them for a moment, silence with Hoya’s voice echoing in the background.  

Then came the chorus.   

“Okay, uh…roll your hips,” Dongwoo instructed, waving his fingers in a circular motion as Sunggyu stood awestruck.  With confusion painting his lips, Sunggyu made an awkward attempt to circle his hips, nearly toppling over.   Dongwoo’s childlike laughter bounced across the walls,  “Not like that!”  he clutched his stomach, keeling over in laughter as Sunggyu growled in annoyance, “I said roll them, not act like a pregnant woman.” 

“Yah!” Sunggyu screeched,  the nagging edge to his voice slowly returning as Dongwoo giggled uncontrollably.  “I’m trying!” he sneered. 

“And…okay do these butterfly things with your hands,”  Dongwoo exemplified the motion, fluttering his fingers over his face as Sunggyu’s heart constricted.  The chocolate-brown in his eyes was glowing vibrantly, something Sunggyu feared he’d never be able to do again.  

So he decided, to make Dongwoo laugh, he’d screw up a simple one.  That was the only reason. 

“L-like this?”  Sunggyu’s hands rained down in a poor attempt to form a butterfly while simultaneously “rolling” his hips.  Dongwoo laughed so hard he was stunned into silence, squeezing his stomach as his face turned red from enjoyment.  

The sight caused Sunggyu to join him in his fit, until laughter reverberated from the two of them, clinging to the hospital walls and mingling with the disinfectant scent.  Sunggyu caught his breath long enough to mutter, “I’m not doing you’re weird pterodactyl thing,” he informed, still breathless.  

“Oh come on!” Dongwoo pleaded, stretching his arms as his plump lips created dinosaur sound effects.  “That’s the best part of the whole dance!”  Sunggyu strolled over to smack him on the head, as Dongwoo giggled uncontrollably, “Aish, you guys aren’t even gonna be able to dance properly without me!”  

Sunggyu expected his words to crash on him like a reminder to what he’d done, he expected them to ignite the fire of guilt still loosely burning within him.  But rather, a small smile touched his lips, and he sighed wistfully, “It’s been a good three years,” he whispered, reaching over to ruffle Dongwoo’s hair.  “It would’ve been a good ten, or twenty…” the guilty feeling began to burn and Sunggyu’s voice shook, “M-maybe even thirty…” he mused.  “If I just didn’t have to grow a pair and drive a freaking car.” 

Dongwoo intertwined his fingers with Sunggyu’s, pulling him to sit on the bed so their faces were level.  “Can you please promise me one thing?” his voice was soft and warm and Sunggyu cherished every second of it.  “Please don’t ever blame this on yourself, whatever happens…don’t blame this on yourself.” 

Sunggyu choked on his tears lightly, but punched Dongwoo in the shoulder, “Y-you idiot.” He grumbled, “You think because you’re leaving Woollim, you’re leaving Infinite?  You’re not leaving this team, Dongwoo.”  He ran his fingers through his silver-blonde hair.  “Infinite will always be seven, it doesn’t matter who comes and who goes, whatever happens…”   Sunggyu reached over, gently pressing his lips against Dongwoo’s forehead.  “We’re always a team.” 

When he pulled back, he chuckled at the pink tint ghosting over Dongwoo’s cheeks.  What he did not expect, was for Dongwoo’s soft fingers to glide up the side of his cheek, connecting the distance between their lips.   For a moment, his eyes widened in shock, but a moment later, Sunggyu savored it.  He relished the feeling of plump lips moving against his, begging for more when Dongwoo pulled away to speak. 

“I love you, Hyung. I love Infinite.”  His voice choked and tears began to cascade down Dongwoo’s cheeks.  

Sunggyu sighed, opening his arms and wrapping Dongwoo within them. He patted his hair gently, doing the leader thing he always did. Even though he wanted to cry too, Sunggyu held in the tears and gently ran his fingers through Dongwoo’s hair. “I do too,” he whispered, “And so does Infinite.” 

***

“T-The painkillers,” The nurse shook a half-empty bottle with horror glowing in her eyes.  “I didn’t think he would…no one ever said he was suicidal,” her voice was in a whisper as Hoya stood, dumbfounded, his fingernails tearing into the small post-it left in Dongwoo’s hand-writing. 

“H-He…” Hoya couldn’t even choke the words out as a gasp escaped Sungjong’s lips.  “Is this some kind of sick joke?! Dongwoo would never!”  Hoya slammed the half empty bottle of pills to the ground, anger surging within him as the nurse squeaked, taking a step back out of fear.  

Because there is no Jang Dongwoo, without dance

~ Dongwoo, the dance machine 

Like when he deemed himself the cause of this mess, no tears spilled from Sunggyu’s eyes.  He took a deep breath, calmly lifting the half-empty bottle of painkillers in his hands before turning it within his fingers to take a look at Dongwoo’s prescribed amount.   “I…I’m going to the bathroom.”   

And because he was the great Kim Sunggyu, the leader that never faltered, no one thought to check on him.

And with that view in mind, Infinite dropped from seven, to six, to five.  But they couldn’t quite all themselves Infinite anymore, not when they were no longer seven. 

Because there is no Kim Sunggyu, with no Jang Dongwoo