Saturday, April 14 2012, Seoul, Korea xoxo Do Kyungsoo “D.O”

Kyungsoo rubbed Kai's back and disengaged from his embrace. He studied all of both troupes and recognised the signs of hunger and exhaustion; the lines sketching underneath their eyes, the downward pull of their lips. After he'd given all of EXO-M a hug, he retreated to the kitchen to make them all something to eat.

At this point usually Lay would walk in, and, being the two chefs of twelve (without dropping names, they never let anyone near anything—Kris), they would cook something together. Instead of calling him through, he let him stay with everyone else and began working on his own.

He wouldn't make anything elaborate. Something quick, warm and filling would do. It was likely they would end up sleeping on the sofas or each other before morning came. He rifled through the cupboards. Kyungsoo picked up a knife as he listened to them talk. He spead butter on toast as it popped out of the toaster.

“How is Chanyeol?”

“In a bad way. From what we heard he just got out of surgery again.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. They're saying-” Baekhyun halted. There was a pause as he steeled his nerves. “They're saying there's a possible spinal injury.”

There was a moment of complete silence.

Raw horror clawed at the air of the dorm. Kyungsoo heard the collective intake of breath from the other room. The news had knocked the wind out of them all. Damn it, he already knew and it still forced him to close his eyes and compose himself.

I remember the news as well as I remember our debut, or us getting our first award. Why did this have to happen? Why can't we see Chanyeol!?

The click of the toaster snapped him back to awareness. He slammed the cupboard door with more force than strictly necessary. It sparked the others into speaking; Kris first.

“How do you know? I mean, is – is it life threatening, crippling, what?”

Sehun answered him. “We don't know. Junmyeon told us. That's where he is now, down at the hospital. He found out by accident but SM confirmed it when we demanded to know.” Kyungsoo picked up the plates and headed towards the door. “They're saying-”

“Pass these around.” Kyungsoo held out the plates stiffly, giving one to Xiumin. Xiumin looked at it with the same expression he might have held if he'd just a decapitated head at him; startled, more than a little bit concerned (ing bricking it, more like). But he took the offering, taking one when he insisted they all eat, and nibbled on it as though it were something new and confusing. Like he wasn't sure whether he hated or liked it, so he had another little nibble, decided it wasn't half bad, did it again, actually no, it was ing atrocious.

“They won't let us in to see him,” Baekhyun mumbled. “Only Junmyeon can go, seeing as he's...” he trailed off, unsure what to address him as, or even if that was actually the reason. Friend, leader, brother—

Kyungsoo scoffed, smiling as he did when he got nervous. “Ironic, isn't it? We're his family but they won't let us see him. We're as close to him as Junmyeon is, but they'll only let him out.”

“He is your team leader,” said Kris gently.

“And what?” snapped Sehun. “That makes it alright? Chanyeol is like a brother to us. To all of us. They're just picking favourites.”

“More like they don't want us to worry,” Baekhyun said.

“I'm sick of hearing that!” All eyes turned at Kai's outburst. “They don't want us to worry about it. What the are we meant to do? Ignore it like it's not even a problem? Hearing them say that just makes me fear for Chanye' even more! I don't care how much they want to protect us, I want to see him!”

“Kai,” Kris warned.

“No, Kris! You've not even been here five minutes, you don't know. You have no ing idea and you're not our goddamn leader, so don't you even try—!”

“We're all worried!” spat Lay, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Don't take it out on us. If we could have been here sooner, we would have been.”

Luhan leaned forward, arms on his knees. “Come on, let's calm down.”

“The last thing we need to do is start snapping at each other,” Kris agreed. “It's very early, we're all tired and it's been a long night. Let's just double up in the bedrooms and get some sleep, okay?” His eyes scanned the room, meeting as many eyes as would look at the EXO-M leader.

Kyungsoo's gaze met his for a split second before he looked away, as some of EXO-K had. As much as they liked Kris, Kai's words were true; he wasn't their leader. That title belonged to Junmyeon, who was currently at Chanyeol's bedside—or trying to be.

He opted to stare at Tao, who had curled up quietly into himself and was blinking sleepily, unable to keep his head up. Kyungsoo could tell that, while the rest of them were alert and awake, the tendrils of unconsciousness were quickly creeping back. They would either have a disturbed dreamless sleep or slumber poisoned by nightmare.

Kris sighed. “Come on, guys,” he murmured encouragingly, patting Sehun's shoulder to spur him into moving. “I want to know what's going on too, but we won't be much help if we don't stay rested and ready. If we-”

Baekhyun launched himself from the sofa and tore through the dorm. A moment later there was a vicious, cringe-worthy coughing sound coming from the bathroom.

Luhan bolted after him. Kyungsoo saw him disappear around the doorway, gently murmuring words of comfort to him. Tao's closing eyes slowly widened again.

Kyungsoo rose from the sofa. “I'm going to bed. Put the dishes in the sink, I'll wash them whenever.”

“Don't worry, I'll do them,” Xiumin murmured.

His internal alarm clock showed its as-of-yet undying annoyance with him by ringing shortly after midday. It gave him scarcely five hours to drift in and out of consciousness, tossing and turning (Xiumin kept kicking him and stealing the covers, the wanker). Even the clock face seemed to sneer audaciously at him as he clawed his way off the mattress and away from the ice cubes that Kai called feet. Kyungsoo had to kick him to stop him from shoving them under his arse but it did little to deter him.

He passed several rooms and saw that Junmyeon had returned at some point in the night. But rather than heave out some spare, cold covers and settle between Kris and Lay on his bed, he'd just thrown himself onto the sofa over Tao like a ragdoll refusing to move.

Kyungsoo considered waking him to ask if he had any more information but his eyes were red and puffy with lines underneath. God, he looked as lively as an ninety year old widowed ballsack.

Yeah, he wasn't going to go anywhere near Junmyeon. Consider the sofa a level three biohazard.

In fact, consider the entire dorm a level four biohazard. If he had been a stranger walking in he might have confused the two on the couch as part of the chaos. Which technically they were. Chanyeol often left things on the back of the sofa – shirts, socks, the odd pair of underwear, that Kyungsoo returned to him after disinfecting and wondering whether or not he took them off and walked around half-, just like he borrowed a gas mask and ten foot pole. Now the entire team had paid homage to their missing housemate.

By turning the entire dorm into a ing warzone.

Kyungsoo would have thought their tumble dryer had vomited spectacularly when his back had been turned. Perhaps it just exploded. Hell, they all knew how dangerous it was to let Kris near the washing. He was surprised Xiumin hadn't gone insane after a simple glance. Casualties from all sides lay lifelessly. Everyone had either tried to make up for however much time Chanyeol might be away from the dorm or they had just given up trying like a depressed horse.

“You gonna help me clear up?”

Kyungsoo looked over his shoulder. Maybe it had been bothering Xiumin. He didn't look like he'd got much sleep.

“Nothing else to do,” he responded.

Xiumin's eyes fell on Junmyeon and Tao.

“Let them sleep,” he said quietly. “Get what you can. Don't even bother trying to figure out what's clean and what's dirty, I'll just wash everything.”

“Thanks. I didn't want to sniff pants anyway. This room is as dangerous as when Kai farts in it.”

Update: 23.11.2013
Mood; Calm
Inspiration; Sherlock AMV
Drinking; Earl Grey Tea

Author comments;

Things are tense in the dorm. I wonder what Junmyeon has to report.
 

Reviewer Responses;

None

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