When Kyungsoo heard Yixing shouting frantically as he stumbled up the stairs, he knew something was wrong with Seoyeon. He sprinted out of his bedroom and slipped on the smooth wooden floor, but then regained traction and darted to the small space beneath the stairs. He saw Seoyeon lying stil with a pale, tear-stained face. Not only did he feel guilty for not finding her, he felt guilty for not bothering to look for her. He figured she was exploring again, that she was busy with the boys, or that she was sleeping or bathing. He clenched his fists and crouched by her side. He grabbed her hand and softly whispered.

"I'm s-sorry, Seoyeon. Forgive me." He heard thumping on the steps above his head and backed out of the room. He chewed his lip as he locked eyes with Yixing. "I-Is she gonna be okay," he stammered. Yixing shrugged as he and Chanyeol crowded into the little room. Kyungsoo sighed heavily and retreated to his room. 

A few minutes passed before Chanyeol finally decided to try to wake Seoyeon. He knew that her spells usually wore off and she woke up, but this was different. He didn't know how long she had been out. He patted her cheeks softly and whispered in her ear. When this did not seem to work, Chanyeol shook her shoulders and spoke louder. Still, Seoyeon did not stir. Yixing stepped closer to help Chanyeol. They both shouted for her to wake up and Chanyeol continued to shake her by the shoulders. He received no signs of her regaining consciousness. 

"Maybe we should let her sleep it off," Chanyeol suggested. 

"How will we know when she wakes up," Yixing asked as he wrung his hands nervously. Chanyeol thought for a moment, then came up with a plan. 

"I'll stay up with her for a while, and if she doesn't wake up, I'll have you watch her. That way we can both get sleep but watch her. Does that work?" Chanyeol's lengthy sentences were confusing to Yixing, but he understood what Chanyeol was trying to say. Yixing reluctantly left the room and retired to the lounge to sleep on the couch, since his bed was inhabited. Chanyeol rearranged how he was sitting and made sure he could hear Seoyeon if she work up. He rested his hand on hers and sighed. It was going to be a long night. 

Hours passed, yet there were still no signs of Seoyeon waking up. Chanyeol's eyelids grew heavy and he knew he had to wake Yixing before he fell asleep. He stood up and cracked his sore back, then went to wake Yixing. The boy was lying face-down on the couch with his face in the crook of his elbow. He looked exhausted. Chanyeol yawned and reached forward to wake him, but something told him not to. He sighed in defeat and returned to Seoyeon's side. He knew that he couldn't leave Seoyeon alone like this, but at the same time he knew that it was dangerous for him to stay up longer. Exhaustion triggered his depression. 

Chanyeol felt tears well up in his eyes and tried to blink them away. He couldn't cry now, nor did he have a reason to. He felt the sadness pressing on his chest and tried to shake it off. It was a heavy weight that pressed his chest tightly and made it hard to breathe, but he lifted it and pushed it away. His wrists were healing and he would not hurt himself again. He promised Seoyeon... but not in so many words. He felt the need to claw at his flesh, to tear his arms apart and bleed out, but the sight of Seoyeon made him strong enough to resist. Instead of cutting himself, he balled up his fist. He clenched it hard, then drew it back like a bow. When he released it, it flew forward and landed firmly on his muscular thigh. It was an echoing 'thud,' but it didn't hurt chanyeol. It seemed to help the feeling of sadness deplete slowly. He continued to punch his leg to divert his attention from the depression gnawing at his insides. When his leg ached alongside his heart, he knew he had to find another outlet for his emotions. He stood and clutched his hair tightly. He began to shake. 

"No, stop it," he whispered to himself. He didn't want to hurt himself. He didn't want to upset Seoyeon. All the while he was saying these things to himself, his fists were clenching tighter and tighter. he had to hit something. When he brought his arm back to coil for the hit, he turned to face the solid wall. "I'm scared," he whimpered. He didn't know what would happen when he flung his fist forward. All he knew at that moment was that it hurt, and that the crunch was not from the wood. He withdrew his hand immediately and clutched it to his chest. He wept silently and cradled his shattered hand. As if the boy's pain had triggered something, Seoyeon woke up with a start. 

"Chanyeol," she gasped as she jutted upright. He looked up quickly and released his hand. Seoyeon looked him over curiously and panted softly. "W-What happened," she asked with a hint of terror in her voice. Chanyeol wiped his eyes and bravely stood up. He tried to ignore the pain his hand. It throbbed and ached, but he did not say a word about it. "What happened to your hand," Seoyeon frantically inquired. He looked down and saw that his knuckles were scraped and his entire hand was purple and swollen. He almost began to cry again. 

"I-I didn't want to cut so I hit the wall," he sheepishly admitted. Seoyeon stood up quickly, and Chanyeol reached forward to hold her steady. he reached out with his right hand, causing him to yelp in pain and clutch it to his chest once more. "This hurts so ing bad," he sobbed. Never had he cried because of the physical pain. It was always because of the pain inside of him, but not now. Seoyeon grabbed his good hand and dragged him to Kyungsoo's room. 

"Kyungsoo," Seoyeon shouted through the door. When she figured Kyungsoo was sleeping, she burst into the room. She shook him awake and he looked startled when he saw Seoyeon holding Chanyeol's hand. He thought... "Chanyeol's hand is broken. I need your help." It was then that Kyungsoo noticed the purple and deformed extremity. He led them both to the kitchen where he pulled out a bottle of glue, a roll of gauze bandaging, a sheet of flimsy metal and a piece of leather. 

"Bite," Kyungsoo said to Chanyeol as he handed him the strap of leather. Chanyeol knew it would hurt, but he didn't know it would be that excruciating. When Kyungsoo grabbed Chanyeol's hand, he yelped and bit the strap hard. "With your molars." Kyungsoo corrected Chanyeol as he saw he was biting with his front teeth. Chanyeol began to chew the strap with his back teeth as Kyungsoo began to work. He didn't want Chanyeol's bones healing incorrectly, so he massaged it gently to push the bones into place. Chanyeol screamed in agony and clutched Seoyeon's hand that had s itself into his. She winced, but continued to hold his hand. Kyungsoo finished positioning his bones, then began to wrap Chanyeol's hand in gauze. After it was covered, Kyungsoo placed the flimsy piece of metal beneath Chanyeol's palm and wrist to hold it straight. He wrapped that in gauze, as well. He coated the entire wrap in glue, then wrapped more. Coat. Wrap. Coat. Wrap. When he finished, he looked at Chanyeol with glistening eyes. He couldn't help but feel bad. "Sorry." Chanyeol spat out the leather strip, then shakily inhaled. 

"It's okay," he reassured Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo wrapped Chanyeol's torso in a tight hug before realizing he was doing so. He helped Seoyeon lead Chanyeol to Seoyeon's bed where he flopped down and immediately lost consciousness. Seoyeon looked at Kyungsoo, and he looked back at her. 

"Thank you," she said with a soft smile.