Getting up the steep hill was a challenge. Onew stumbled and tripped, his knees muddy and his hands covered in shallow cuts from his scrambling to stand every time he lost his balance. The hill they’d fallen down felt more like a cliff to the leader of SHINee as he climbed, still partially blinded from tears and blood, but so much adrenaline running through his blood that he didn’t care for his injuries, he had to get Taemin help. The dear, sweet Maknae who was under so much pressure recently.

He stumbled again, flinching at the jolt of pain through his hands, but Jinki persevered and finally made it to the top of the hill, panting harshly from his exhaustion.

They’d been in the middle of nowhere when the truck had crashed into them, the only sign of an accident having even happened being a few, small parts of debris from their car on the road and the skidding tire marks in the soil off the road. The truck which had smashed into them was nowhere to be seen. Onew couldn’t even have the energy to be angry about the driver not seeming to care that he’d possibly killed Taemin.

Catching as much of his breath as he could, Onew lifted himself back up and began to run up the road, back the way they’d been driving. He opened his mouth and began shouting, screaming for help, hoping that someone, anyone would hear him and help. The image of Taemin’s still body stuck in his mind. What if he got back to the car to find him deathly still and cold? What if he got back to blood trails and animal tracks? What if, what if, what if…

Bright headlights illuminating the dark ahead of him snapped Jinki from his morbid thoughts, heart jumping in anticipation as he began to wildy wave his arms, doing anything he could to attract the car’s attention. He shouted, screamed, jumped, did everything he could… he almost passed out from relief when the car slowed to a stop beside him, a tall man climbing out of the driver’s side of the car and hurrying towards him. He looked quite young, couldn’t have been much older than Jinki himself.

“A-Are you alright? What happened?” The man stuttered, eyes wide as he put a hand out to steady Jinki’s swaying body. He’d done it, he’d found help. Now the adrenaline was beginning to die down.

“W-We need help,” Onew choked out, “T-There was an accident, our car got hit. Please, I need to call an ambulance. M-My.. friend, my friend is really hurt. I need to get him help.” The man nodded quickly in response, turning to the car.

“Mi-ok, I need my phone.” He quickly told the other person in the car, the girl nodding and rooting through her handbag where she’d had it stored for safe keeping Jinki guessed. Once she’d got it, she climbed out of her side of the car, hurrying over to Jinki and the man while giving him the phone. While their saviour called the emergency services, Mi-ok squinted at Onew, looking confused, before her eyes widened.

“A-aren’t you Onew from SHINee?” She asked, blinking a little in shock.

All Onew could do was nod a little in response. There was no way this wasn’t going to get out to the fans either way, he may as well be honest to the people trying to help him despite the fact his head spun and his hands shook.

She paled a little. “Who was in the car with you?” When Jinki didn’t reply, she turned to the man on the phone. “They’re members of SHINee,” She told him with a shaking voice. “I think one of the other members was in the car with him.”

“Taemin,” He told her in a small voice, once again blinking back the tears that he’d not long stopped. “Taemin’s the one who’s hurt, it’s really bad, please.”

The man just nodded, continuing to talk on the phone while asking Onew questions every now and again about how Taemin was when he left, what exactly happened, etc. Then he ended the call. “An ambulance is coming, they said to try and get back down to the wreckage and stay with Taemin-ssi until they get there, try to wake him up.”

But Onew didn’t hear what the male was saying anymore, his head spun, blood still steadily falling from the wound on his forehead. He could hear Mi-ok talking to him, but he couldn’t make out the words, they sounded foreign and far away, as if he was underwater trying to understand Spanish.

His vision began to fade out as he lost his balance and hit the floor in a heap.

--

When Onew next woke, he was lying on a hard bed, the room around him too bright, too clean compared to his room in the dorm. He blinked lazily for a second, trying to focus his thoughts as to why he was where he was.

“Onew-hyung? Are you awake?” A familiar voice pulled Onew from his half asleep doze, his gaze turning to his left hand side where Jonghyun sat, eyes wide with hope although his hair was dishevelled and bags hung low and dark under his eyes. Their manager sat beside Jonghyun, looking equally as exhausted.

Onew blinked groggily for a second, nodding a little, before his memories once again rushed back and he remembered passing out in the car after the crash and waking in a familiar situation, confused at first, but everything flooding back in a split second. He quickly sat up, ignoring the uncomfortable tug from the wires attached to his body.

“Taemin? How’s Taemin? Is he okay?!” Onew demanded, scrambling to get out of the bed. Their manager hurried over, putting his large hands on Jinki’s shoulders and forcing him to lie back down.

“Calm down, Taemin’s alive. Be careful, you went through a lot. No rushing yourself now.”

Jinki relaxed a little, falling back into his hard, uncomfortable pillows. “He’s okay?”

Jonghyun flinched at the small voice, avoiding his leader’s gaze. “He’s alive.” Their manager repeated.

“That’s not what I asked. Is he okay? What happened?”

Jonghyun sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You and Taemin both went through a lot, hyung. You need to rest.”

“Not until you tell me how Taemin is.”

Jonghyun turned to their manager, both staying silent for several moments before their manager sighed, giving Jonghyun a small nod.

“Onew-hyung… Taemin hit his head really hard, enough to fracture his skull, his left leg was broken in several places and he broke a few ribs from being thrown around the car when his seatbelt snapped. You’ve been asleep on and off for 2 days now,  you were never fully aware every time you woke though, Taemin… Taemin hasn’t woken up yet.”

“W-What do you mean he hasn’t woken up yet…?” Onew stuttered, trying hard to stay calm since he knew Jonghyun and  their manager wouldn’t tell him anything if he started freaking out.

“Like I said, his head… it’s quite bad, hyung. They don’t know when he’ll wake up, if at all. Key and Minho are in there with him.”

“Take me to him.”