It was 3.23 a.m. in the morning and Nayeon was awoken by the cold that was haunting her. She slipped on the sports jacket she left on the bedside table clumsily, using only her left hand, accidentally knocking over the glass on the side table. She cringed as it landed on the ground, expecting Soomin to wake up from the noise, but realized that they had their floor carpeted during the winter holidays and heaved a sigh of relief before she returned to bed. She only had another few hours of sleep before another tiring day takes its place.

 

“Wakie wakie! Nayeon ahh it’s already 7! Hurryyy wake up and get changed, we don’t want to be late for breakfast with the team!” Soomin poked Nayeon who was still under the covers. Soomin's attempt at waking her best friend up deemed fruitless as Nayeon sighed and continued sleeping.

 

“YAH YAH YAH! Are you ignoring me right now?! That’s ridiculous…” Soomin found something unusual about Nayeon today. On normal days, even though it wasn’t any easier to get Nayeon up than today, Nayeon would at least curse at her before going back to sleep and today was just a grunt? Soomin flipped over her blankets exposing Nayeon who was shivering in her thick jacket, long track pants and socks. She felt Nayeon’s forehead with a right hand and placed her left on her own. She jumped at the heat difference and flew to get the thermo scan.

 

’39.1 degrees’ showed on the scan

 

“How the hell…? I better get duizhang.”

 

“What the hell do you want Park Soomin? So early in the morning and you are calling me? Did you call the wrong number and call me instead of your Kyungsoo?” Kris groaned when he was wakened up by the call. “Shut up and listen. I need you to get your over to our dorm. RIGHT NOW.” Soomin replied, “Oh and get Xiumin too” considering that he is the one who knows first aid

 

“What is it that…” Soomin did on give Kris a chance to finish, “JUST COME. And be quick”

 

“Alright, there’s no need to scream.”

 

After what seemed like eternity the duo finally turned up at their doorstep. “What is it that you need us to be here so early in the morning?” Xiumin asked earnestly while Kris just yawned. “UGRHH the difference between the two” Soomin thought. “It’s Nayeon, she’s up with high fever and she isn’t responding to me well. Could it me some infection or something?” Soomin remembered the purpose of asking them over.

 

“WHAT?!” Kris’ eyes opened wide

 

“I think it would be better to get her to the hospital. Soomin, pack some of her daily needs, duizhang will you please help to carry her? I may not be able to…” Considering her Nayeon’s size as compared to his or Kyungsoo's, it is possible that she may be even heavier than them.

Kris rolled his eyes and said “Obviously I would, am I supposed to leave and let Soomin carry her?” His words filled with sarcasm due to the lack of sleep.

 

 

Back in School:

“Chen ah, Luhan, Lay and I will be visiting Nayeon together at the hospital later today since there's no training. Care to join?” Sehun asked while looking down at his phone.

 

Chen looked up from his Math problems and shook Sehun by his shoulders “Nayeon is in the hospital? How the hell…? AISH” Chen grabbed his jacket from the compartment underneath his desk and rushed out.

 

“Chill man! What’s the hurry?!” Sehun sighed.

 

“Doctor Lee, how is Nayeon doing? Is she alright? Why is she breaking out in cold sweat with such a high fever?” Soomin was too nervous and anxious to await the doctor’s answer. Similarly, Kris and Xiumin glared at the doctor.

 

“Uhmm… Her wound was infected, causing the fever. He have already fixed that so there’s nothing much to worry about. It's just… I heard she’s a sportswomen. May I know what sport she's engaged in?”

“Softball!” The three answered in unison.

 

“Here comes the tough part, the patient's hand will not be able to heal in such a short period of time. Even though she will be able to cope with her daily routines just fine, she must not continue the sport as it might further injure her hand, which may cause it to be paralyzed forever.”

 

“What the…so it’s either she never play the sport again, or end up paralyzed? No other way that would allow her to play and not be paralyzed?” Soomin questioned with tears in her eyes, wanting to make sure that she didn’t hear him wrong. It hurt her so much that Nayeon will never be able to fight alongside her for the championships which they have wanted to win so badly ever since they became teammates. The doctor just shot her an empathetic smile and silently nodded.

 

“Hey… Where’s Nayeon?” Chen was panting heavily as he stomped towards them, just as the doctor turned to leave. Xiumin pointed to the door of the exclusive ward, too devastated to say anything. Chen rushed in only to see Nayeon sleeping soundly. He was heartbroken to see the girl she secretly liked in such a state, and was even more upset when he was told that Nayeon would not be able to play Softball forever. He made a mental note to hunt Gina down and beat some sense into her. Who cares if she's a petite girl? He was deeply worried about how Nayeon would react to this piece of news.

 

By the time Nayeon woke up it was already 6pm and since it was a non-training day, all of EXO’s members (except Kyungsoo, Suho and Kai who were working on their project), as well as Lisa, Soomin and Xing Tong (a tall China girl who is quite close to Nayeon since she was her reserve) were there to visit their Captain. Nayeon was very clear that her condition was terrible from the fact that she can barely move her fingers from the numbness. “Hey guys,” Nayeon greeted the bunch with a smile.

 

“How are you feeling now, much better?” Baekhyun asked with a smile plastered on his face, trying his best to hide his sadness and anger. “Of course! I’m fine, don’t worry.” she offered a slight smile before patting Baekhyun on his arm lightly.

 

“Has the grouping for our tournament come out yet? I heard from Coach that the league would be starting next week or so.” Nayeon asked as she turned to the three girls, who looked at each other anxiously upon hearing her question.

 

Well, yes, the draw was out and they got the easy teams in their group which they could safely win and pass to the second round, but how are they going to break it to her that she would not be playing alongside them?

 

 

Hey guys! Sorry for the really late update! But im gonna update like a few chapts at one go! Have been uite busy these days! Credits to my Beta who spent time going through the story for me!