Suho woke with swollen eyes and a sore back. He winced when the movement pulled against his wounds. Easing himself up he stumbled out the door half expecting the living room to be filled with the other members, but it was empty. He wasn’t surprised; everyone was exhausted and needed as much sleep as possible. Deciding that they needed some breakfast before the day started he put on some rice and started on a simple soup. The smell did eventually draw members in, but they looked just as awful as Suho. Silently the table filled with people and Suho served breakfast before taking a seat as well.

“How is Yixing doing?” Kris finally asked in a rough voice.

“I’m not sure. We’re being kept out of the loop until they know what to tell the press. They don’t want to risk any of us ruining their cover.”

“That’s all they ever worry about.” Sehun whispered bitterly. Luhan put a hand on top of his and gave him a weak smile.

Suho remembered that their schedule was hanging on the fridge and he left his seat to fetch it. Looking it up and down, he realized that it wasn’t as bad as it usually was.

“Hey guys, our schedule is pretty short today. We have group practice from 8-12 then individual 1-6 and that’s it.”

The room became abuzz with disbelief.

“Really hyung?”

“You’re kidding!”

“Wahh sleep!”

“We should have dinner together!”

“Can we order in?”

Suho raised a hand to silence them, “I see no reason why we can’t enjoy our time off, but let’s not get too out of hand. You can have fun, but please make sure to get to sleep at a reasonable time and don’t over exert yourselves. Now everyone should go get ready for practice if they’re done eating.”

The table cleared and soon Suho was left among piles of dirty dishes. Sighing, he began to clean then. Yixing usually stayed behind to help him, but he was in the hospital so it was up to Suho. He jumped when a hand took a plate from him and he was hopeful that it was Yixing, but instead he received Xiumin and Chen’s smiling faces.

“We can help you.”

They finished the dishes in a few minutes and went to get ready themselves.

“Ah I can’t believe that we have sometime off! This is great!” Luhan chirped as he pulled a loose t-shirt over his head. Sehun said nothing as he packed his bag with a cold face.

Luhan frowned at walked over to him. Gently grabbing his wrist in one hand, he turned Sehun’s face to his with the other. “Sehun-ah. Don’t be angry. It will cause wrinkles.”

The cold look remained, “How can you not be angry? Yixing is in the hospital and no one is there for him. We’re all busy with our schedule and the company isn’t going to waste someone’s time for one person. It makes me mad that they treat us so horribly. Hyung! They beat you last night! Did you forget about that?! Did you forget about how you cried yourself to sleep?! Well I didn’t!”

“Sehun…” Luhan whispered. Reaching up, he wrapped his arms around Sehun’s neck and held him close. “I could never forget. I deal with the pain by pretending that I forgot, but deep down I know that’s impossible.”

Sehun in turn wrapped his arms around Luhan’s waist.

“I just… this was my dream. I worked so hard for it that I refuse to let anything turn me away from reaching it.” Luhan continued. “Everyday I spend my time working towards my goal. I spend hours and days working and I just can’t give up. Even when it hurts and I want to quit, I can’t. Besides, I have you. Whenever I feel sad or hopeless you’re there. I want to be there for you as well. This is our dream and we can achieve it if we work hard. Don’t you want to reach your dream?”

Sehun bit his lip as he looked into Luhan’s shining eyes, “Yes, but Luhan, you were beat… there was blood and tears and… is that really worth a dream?”

“Sehun… I left my family and friends in China to come here. I gave up precious school time to be an idol. I have nothing else but this. I have nothing to go back to. Without this… what do I have? I refuse to give up this dream because it’s all that I have left.”

“You have me.”

Luhan turned his teary eyes up to Sehun’s firm face.

“Even when we’re no longer idols and we have nothing, you’ll still have me. I will never leave you. You’re the most important person to me Luhan.”

Sehun reached up and pulled one of Luhan’s hands from his neck and gently placed his lips against the knuckles. Luhan blushed and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Y-you should finish packing.” He stammered and broke away to pack his own bag. Sehun smirked, but listened. Zipping the bag closed, Luhan went to Sehun’s side and took his hand before they both headed out to the van. They were the last ones in thanks to their moment in the bedroom.

Most of the members were dressed in dark clothes with sunglasses and hats on.

“Everyone should head straight to the practice room when we arrive to the building understand?” Suho asked from the front seat. Everyone nodded in response.

They did just that as soon as the van pulled up.

Practice went smoothly despite their sore backs and tired bodies, but they knew that they would be rewarded for their hard work. Lunch came and they simply ate in the room. No one had enough energy to go anywhere.

The manager came into the room and the air ran cold. Everyone stiffened and held their breath.

“Hello everyone. I hope you’re doing well. The instructor tells me that you’re doing well. I’m pleased. However that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to tell you that after you finish eating lunch we’re going to take a trip to the hospital to visit Yixing.”

Suho stood up, “We are? What about the rest of practice?”

“You’ll miss it. This visit with Yixing is more important. That is all.”

With that he left the room.

Suho could barely control his happiness. He hadn’t seen Yixing since the accident and he was worried sick. They were called to the van after a few minutes and they all piled in. It smelled like their sweat, but no one minded.

They reached the hospital and paled when they saw the entrance flooded with fans. Some were screaming, others were holdings signs that scolded SM for treating their idols so poorly. Security guards opened the doors and they were all ripped from their seats and sent into the waves of people.

Jongdae winced when a fans nail caught his arm. A hand wrapped around his wrist and he felt himself being pulled in. Crying out he hoped that someone, anyone would save him. Suddenly a strong arm grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back. Opening his eyes he saw Xiumin’s warm, but worried face staring back. He gave him a thankful smile and leaned into him the rest of the way. Finally they made it inside with only a few scratches and bruises. They were ushered down the hallway into a private sector of the hospital by a nurse and their manager.

“Yixing is in there. You will join him and someone will be in to update you in a few minutes. Make sure to keep phones away and don’t let anyone in the room and keep the curtains closed.”

With that they were locked into the room where Yixing was being kept. He was propped up in bed with his foot wrapped and a couple injuries that were wrapped in white bandages.

“Yixing.” Suho breathed one second and was at Yixing’s side the next. He was holding Yixing’s hand in his own and clutching the bed sheets in the other. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against his forehead.

“Hello Suho. I’ve missed you.” Yixing said in a warm voice as he gave Suho’s hand a squeeze. When Suho broke away he turned to the other members. “How are you all doing?”

A few ‘fines’ were mumbled, but they mostly kept quiet. They didn’t have anything positive to say and they didn’t want to worry Yixing.

“What did the doctor say?” Suho asked.

“Ah well it looks like I was mostly bruised and beat up. No broken bones thankfully, but my ankle is damaged. I’m not sure how long they plan to keep me here, but I should be back soon.”

“You’re able to dance again?”

“Of course! SM wouldn’t be bothering with me if I couldn’t dance. Someone has been over to talk to me every hour and it’s getting really annoying.”

The door opened and a representative walked into the room giving the group a cold stare.

“Everyone sit down. We need to discuss what you’ll be saying to the press.”

Quietly and quickly everyone found a seat.

“Now, there will be no details given to how the accident happened, just that Yixing is recovering quickly and will be ready to perform again in a few weeks. No one is to speak to the press without one of the staff present and if you are caught doing so; you will be dismissed from SM immediately. You shouldn’t take these things lightly. The press will turn things against us and it could ruin our image that we’ve worked so hard to create. Am I understood?”

“Yes.” They all answered. Satisfied, the representative exited the room. The manager entered next.

“Well now you know what to do. There will be an interview tomorrow regarding this topic and I want you all to spend the rest of the night preparing yourselves. If anyone is caught off guard or doesn’t answer correctly, they will be punished. You have another hour here before the van comes.”

Suho waited until the manager had left the room before speaking, “I can’t believe I only have another hour here with you Xing. I miss you so much. The room is cold and lonely without you. When can you come home?”

“I’ll come home as soon as they let me. I promise.” He answered with a smile.

“When do you think you’ll be back at practice?” Kai asked. He usually practiced with Yixing, but with him in the hospital, he had no one else and he was getting pretty lonely.

Biting his lip Yixing tried to put on a happy face, “Ah… I’m not sure. Although no bones are broken the muscles aren’t even strong enough for me to stand on. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to come back to practice. They’re having me work on vocal stuff right now since that’s really all that I can do.”

“I see.”

The room remained silent for a few minutes before Kris stood up. “I think that we should let Yixing get some rest. The more he rests the sooner he’ll recover.”

All of the members except for Suho began to trail out muttering their goodbye’s and get wells as they went. Suho remained at Yixing’s side holding onto his hand for dear life.

“I don’t want to go yet. We just got here. Yixing please… I can’t do this without you.”

“Hey. Look at me.” Gently he tipped Suho’s chin up so his eyes would meet his.

“You can do this. You are the strong leader of Exo. I know that you have a lot to offer and that you are more than capable of doing this. Go to the press conference, make the staff happy, and I promise that I will support you the entire way. I have my phone on me so you can always text me or call me, but don’t ever give up ok?”

Suho nodded and wiped away his tears before they could fall. Standing up he gave Yixing’s hand one last squeeze before heading to the door.

He stared back as his treasured friend lay broken in the hospital bed. Yixing weakly raised a hand and gave Suho a small wave before the lights were turned off and the door was shut. 

Hmm this chapter seems shorter than usual... sorry!

I know that I'm being terrible with the updating, but I'll try to be better. 

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