Yongguk sighed when he finally opened the door to the hotel room. He had spent ages talking to management about Junhong and what they should do about him and the tour until they had decided to discuss it further tomorrow with the rest of the group. To be honest, he was slightly irritated by now. Apart from worrying about their maknae, he had wasted hours for no reason, even being forced to leave the hospital early.

Luckily Junhong wasn’t hurt too badly, although Yongguk had nearly panicked when he first received the phone call. Jongup was always calm and collected, nothing seemed to phase him, yet he had been completely frantic on the phone. All he had been able to understand was that Junhong had been hit by a car and taken to a hospital, the name of which Jongup had luckily managed to remember, though how badly he had been hurt was still unclear.

If it hadn’t been for Youngjae, who had kept his head, Yongguk probably would’ve lost his mind. Luckily the younger had immediately found them a taxi and called their manager to let him know the situation. Even on the way to the hospital Youngjae had reminded him that they didn’t know the extent of Junhong’s injuries, so he might be fine (which, luckily, he mostly was).

In the end it turned out Junhong had been showing Jongup tricks on his skateboard (“In the road!” Himchan had yelled angrily), got hit by a car he hadn’t seen coming, and ended up breaking his leg and bruising his ribs. The doctor had informed them it would take at least four months before he’d be able to dance again, news that had made Junhong look even more miserable than he already did.

“How did it go?”

Yongguk jumped when he heard Youngjae’s voice, since he had thought the other would already be asleep. Instead the younger was watching him curiously from his bed, eyes sparkling in the mostly darkened room. It wasn’t really a surprise he was still awake, Yongguk supposed, since it had been an eventful day. Apart from Junhong’s accident, the tension within the group had gotten too high today.

Himchan, worried as he always was when someone he cared about got hurt, had showed his concern through anger, to which Youngjae had snapped at him because his words had visibly upset Junhong. “You know, we were a lot nicer to you when you hurt yourself,” he had pointed out. “It was an accident. Maybe keep that in mind before you tell him off. Don’t you think he feels bad enough already?”

In turn, Daehyun had told Youngjae off, pointing out that Himchan was simply worried because things could’ve ended up a lot worse and because he knew what it was like to sit by the sidelines, having hurt himself before. None of them had really been sure how to react, since Daehyun rarely got angry, especially with Youngjae. Yongguk had eventually reminded them they needed to be there for Junhong and each other, though he wasn’t sure if they had all taken his words to heart. Daehyun’s defiant glare had told him he hadn’t, for one.

Yongguk smiled wryly when he remembered how Himchan had Daehyun’s wrist, with Daehyun briefly touching their fingers together, a small display of support. It hadn’t even so much been their skinship that had bothered him, because that had been going on for much longer, but the fact that Daehyun seemed to know how to handle Himchan better than he did. He had grown used to being the one Himchan relied on, the one who knew him best, and now Daehyun had taken over that task, and did it better than him too. Simply put: Himchan didn’t need him anymore.

Even though Himchan’s nagging could get on his nerves sometimes, it had been part of the reason he had fallen for him in the first place. He cared a lot, sometimes too much, and Yongguk knew he had never shown his appreciation enough. He had told Youngjae to try to move on, not think about the ‘what if’ scenarios, but he himself did it all the time. If he had not been afraid of showing his feelings so much, Himchan could have been his.

Himchan was better off this way, though. He deserved to be with someone like Daehyun, who basically wore his heart on his sleeve and would never be too frightened to tell Himchan how much he loved him. Himchan needed that and Yongguk wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to give him that.

He shook his head and shrugged when he remembered Youngjae’s question. “It was pretty useless,” he admitted. “They don’t want to cancel any concerts, but they’re not sure who should take over Junhong’s parts. Jongup might have to take over some of his dancing, which isn’t too bad. It’s the rapping that’s the main problem.”

Sighing again, he started getting changed. “We’ve agreed to talk about it with everyone when we’re visiting Junhong tomorrow, see what you guys think. We could leave out his parts entirely, but I don’t really like that idea.”

“Maybe we can adjust his lines a bit, slow them down or something,” Youngjae offered. “We could leave out a few things, try to play with the beat, I don’t know. We’ll find a way, hyung, don’t worry.”

Yongguk smiled tiredly and crawled under the covers, turning off the light when he had settled down. “I guess you’re right…” He hesitated. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, hyung,” Youngjae replied drowsily. “I don’t think I know enough about rapping to really help, though.”

Even though Youngjae couldn’t tell in the darkness of the room, Yongguk shook his head. “No, I mean… Thank you for today. You were a big help. And I had a good time with you earlier.”

He cursed himself for being able to properly say what he meant, but he hoped Youngjae understood him anyway. He had had fun with him, genuinely laughing at some of the younger’s remarks on the artworks, and he had enjoyed how the other had listened to him carefully when he had talked about his favourite pieces. And later on he had been the one to keep him grounded when all hell seemed to break loose.

Youngjae didn’t reply immediately, though he heard him shift around in bed. “Thank you too,” he said softly. “For… well, everything.”

Yongguk smiled and turned his head to look in Youngjae’s general direction. Recently he had felt like the worst leader in the world, what with the situation with Himchan and how things between Daehyun and him seemed to be broken beyond repair. Add Junhong’s accident and how Jongup had simply sat in a corner of the hospital room today, more quiet than usual and no smile to be found on his face, and he was about ready to throw in the towel. That was why Youngjae’s words meant a lot to him, because it showed that at least someone still believed in him. Perhaps he should try to spend more time with him, because it seemed to help them both.

“Sweet dreams, Youngjae,” he mumbled, receiving a whispered ‘good night’ in return.

It had only been two weeks since his accident, but Junhong felt like he was going crazy. All he had wanted to do was impress Jongup, and now look at him: stuck with his leg in a freaking cast and no way of performing with the others for ages. He had been told off by management and by his parents, which had only made him feel like crap. Yes, Himchan had been angry, but he had apologised later, and perhaps he hadn’t deserved that apology, but at least it hadn’t made him feel even worse.

He sighed and tossed the book Youngjae had lent him to the side, too restless to read. Everyone else was at practice right now, because the tour had to go on. Of course he understood this, and he knew it was at least partly his own fault this had even happened, but he was bored most of the time. How Himchan hadn’t lost his mind when he went through this was beyond him. Then again, at least he had occasionally had the chance to watch them practice, which a bit more difficult in Junhong’s case. Getting back to the dorm had been hard enough (they had had to schedule a special flight for him).

A noise at the door made him lift his head hopefully, and he grinned when his hyungs piled inside. Himchan was the first, and immediately asked him if he was okay.

“I’m fine. Just bored,” he replied sulkily.

Himchan chuckled and gently his hair. “Understandable. In a few weeks the cast will be off and then you can start physical therapy. Maybe we can try to take you with us by that time so you’re not alone all day.”

Junhong watched as Daehyun hugged Himchan from behind, his fingers dipping under the older’s shirt, and he resisted the urge to cringe. It wasn’t that he minded their relationship (if he did, he would never have encouraged it), but lately Daehyun had developed a tendency to forget where they were and his hands would wander. It was especially awkward when Youngjae or Yongguk were around. Sometimes Junhong felt guilty towards them, even though Himchan and Daehyun would have most likely gotten together even without his and Jongup’s advice. He simply didn’t like seeing them so low.

“You could always stay with your parents again, remember?” Daehyun reminded him. He winced when Himchan elbowed him in the stomach. “I’m not trying to get rid of him!” he whined indignantly. “I’m just saying, the option is there. It might be less boring, at least until you can take the cast off.”

While this might be true, Junhong didn’t want to leave the dorm. He had spent a few days back home, but missed everyone too much. Of course he missed his parents too, he just… he preferred it here. Besides, he’d be staying with his parents when everyone was away for the overseas leg of the tour, so until then he wanted to spend time with his hyungs. He mentioned this to the two, and Himchan smiled widely.

“Good, because we’d miss you too much.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but Yongguk walked over then and Daehyun quickly tugged Himchan away, both of them shouting out a “sleep well” as they went.

Junhong refrained from rolling his eyes. A lot of the time it seemed like Daehyun was jealous of Yongguk, and although it probably made sense, there really was no reason for it. It was pretty obvious (almost painfully so) that Himchan only had eyes for Daehyun, and Yongguk wasn’t the type of person to mess up someone else’s relationship. Least of all Himchan’s, because he cared about him far too much.

Yongguk pretended not to notice anything and asked Junhong the usual questions: how was he feeling? Was he sure he could handle being on his own? Did he need anything? After Junhong had assured him he was fine, the leader patted him on the head and made his way to the bedroom, clearly exhausted. Junhong sincerely hoped Daehyun and Himchan weren’t doing anything inappropriate in there.

Youngjae simply gave him a hug and wished him good night, having already heard how he was doing anyway. He used to offer to stay up with him, since Junhong had to sleep on a makeshift bed in the living room for now (it was easier than trying to sleep in a bunk bed and closer to everything he needed during the day) and might have questions about the day. Junhong had declined every time, though, assuring him that Jongup could do so, and eventually Youngjae had given up. He didn’t seem to mind too much if it meant he could sleep longer.

Once showers had been taken and the door to the bedroom clicked shut, Junhong bit his lip and glanced over at Jongup, who was yawning beside him.

“You can go to sleep if you want,” he said quietly, well aware that Jongup had been working extra hard on dancing and that him staying up to talk to Junhong every night probably didn’t help much.

Jongup shook his head and smiled sleepily as he scooted a little closer. “No, it’s okay. I like talking to you.” He yawned again, making Junhong grin and poke his cheek.

“You’re not doing much talking now, though,” he teased. “How did it go today? Was it less awkward?”

From what Jongup had told him, with only one person acting as a buffer between Himchan and Daehyun on one side and Yongguk and Youngjae on the other, things had been slightly uncomfortable. When the dancers were around it wasn’t too bad, but put the five of them in a room and you could cut the tension with a knife. Apparently Himchan and Yongguk tried to be friendly to everyone, but Youngjae remained distant towards the new couple, Himchan got irritable when he felt Daehyun was paying too much attention to Youngjae, and Daehyun scowled whenever Yongguk came too close to him or to Himchan.

“Kind of,” Jongup said slowly. “Youngjae hyung actually talked to Himchan hyung today. Not for long, but it seemed friendly. And I think he told Daehyun hyung not to be so mean to Yongguk hyung, because he was nicer to him. Sort of.”

Well, that explained why Daehyun had been territorial earlier. Junhong wished he’d stop being so stubborn, though, because he was sure Daehyun’s attitude it was only making Yongguk sadder.

“I missed you.”

The words were spoken so softly Junhong almost didn’t hear them, but when he realised he had heard correctly, he smiled brightly.

“I missed you too. It’s less boring with you around.”

Jongup beamed in response and, after a moment’s hesitation, he leaned in like he was going to kiss Junhong on the cheek. At the last minute he settled for a clumsy hug before leaving with a hurried “night”. Junhong hid his blushing face in his pillow, suddenly grateful that he was alone.

A/N: Not much Himdae this chapter! :( They'll be back next time, though. Plus, there's some Jonglo and Yongguk is starting to see Youngjae differently, so there's that, and Zelo isn't doing too badly. I'm also sorry that this isn't very good. >_< I feel like I'm still establishing relationships etc, but hopefully things will speed up a bit soon. It doesn't help that I wrote the chapter, realised I got stuck, deleted it and had to rewrite it entirely. XD

Anyway, thank you, as always, to the subscribers/upvoters/commenters/readers! :)

(Also, is anyone else completely in love with Himchan's ponytail? I kind of wish he'd keep it like that forever. Or that he'll grow it even longer.)