Chapter Seven: Jongin

The rest of the members have been informed about what happened during Kai's rehearsal and the director says that there's a possibility that he may not even participate in today's concert. Kai has already been sent to the hospital and is already receiving care but unfortunately he's not well enough to participate. Seeing the looks of s right now, they all look devastated. Since the moment I met them, I haven't seen them this upset before. Grandpa and I exchanged glances and we sympathize for them. They've practice so hard but even though one member can't go, the show must go on. 

"Knowing Jongin, he'll force himself to go up the stage" DO says as he shakes his head. He leans his back against the couch and heaved a sigh. Beside him was Chanyeol who just stares in midspace not even bothering to utter a single word. Must I say, this has been the most quiet he has been since I met him. Suho brings himself up from leaning against the wall and stands in front of s. 

"Well, if the doctor says no then he can't. There's nothing Kai can do about it. He'll just worsen his condition if he goes up. Last week he's so close to spraining his ankle." Suho says shaking his head as well. I guess what Minseok oppa says is true. Kai does overwork himself.

The guys grew silent for so long that it made me feel uncomfortable. I'm not exactly sure of what to do or say to them. I never really dealt with this kind of situation before. My brother didn't even bother speaking up but continue to play around with his fingers since the news came out. I've been watching him do that and it made me wonder if I ever seen it before.

I pull my eyes away from my brother when the door opens to reveal Manager Joon. He seems exhausted. Apparently since Kai has been taken away to the hospital, reporters have found out and started bombarding him with questions.

"Guys, it's time to rehearse again. Only three more hours til show time" He says. I can tell from the tone of his voice that he didn't want them to continue however they can't do anything about it, they have another concert to do.

"G--goodluck guys" I say to them. They all gave me a slight smile from the encouragement I gave but you can see from their eyes that they are really worried for their member. My brother was last to leave. He quickly gave me a hug before leaving, "I will see you tomorrow before I leave for China".

I nod my head at him and gave him a pat on the back. Grandpa also gave him an encouraging message before proceeding to rehearse. Manager Joon told us that he will drive us home but there's a part of me that didn't want to go yet. After seeing how the boys reacted today, it just pains me. They're really a high demand group around the world but not everyone knows how hard it could be for them when a member is injured until you see it for yourself. They look so powerful and charismatic on stage despite the problems or the injuries.

Grandpa and I start to follow Manager Joon and passing through the halls, I can hear MAMA playing and realize Kai's solo. Part of me really want to go and check if he's alright but then again, maybe I shouldn't. But then, none of s will see him until they finish the concert.

"Manager Joon?" He turns his head to me slightly as we continue to walk pass the halls. We're almost at the front entrance and I see the amount of fans waiting outside. I hesitate for a moment and for some reason my heart skipped due to the sight of the fans. I start to wonder how they'll react if they find out EXO Xiumin has a half sister?

"Yes?" Manager Joon suddenly turns back from the fans and we start walking at a different hallway. 

"Err... do you mind if I see Kai?" I ask him and I'm not sure why those words came out of my mouth. I admit, Kai is my favourite member but it really doesn't mean that I dislike the rest of them. It's just, even though I haven't seen the real Kai before, I can already see the amount of hardwork he puts on his performances. And yes, call me a stalker or whatnot, but I even see fancams where he falls right after a performance and had a hip injury and it made me wonder how he can perform the next day. Now, now that I actually know him in person, I want to know if he's okay, like any concerned fan, I just want to make sure he's okay.

Manager Joon hesitates for a moment but he gave me a nod, "I think you can keep him company while he's there". 

*

Grandpa originally wanted to stay in the hospital with me but we both realized that Joey needs to be fed. I said I could just visit Kai tomorrow but grandpa told me the same thing as Manager Joon said. Honestly, it's only been a day since I met Kai and I'm not even sure how I'm going to "keep him company".

After we drop home grandpa, Manager Joon instructed me to wear a disguise with him. At first I wondered why considering I'm not even famous but then what he said in response made sense, "Reporters snoop around so much they can make a story out of anything. They will make up stories about you dating Kai just so they can have something to write about and we don't want that" For some reason, it kind of offended me. I mean, not saying that I do want to date the EXO member but hey, I'm not ugly enough to not date a celebrity! 

Manager Joon and I left the car and manage to not get any attention from the reporters. I saw the amount of security trying to block them from entering the hospital. 

Manager Joon didn't bother going to the reception and went straight to the elevator. He pushed the number six and as soon as we left the elevator, I saw a glimpse of two security guards by the door. Manager Joon took off his disguise then in which the security recognized him right away. They open the door for us and I see the other manager sitting by the couch looking through his phone. I haven't exactly met this manager before formally but judging by the looks of him, he seems to be a newbie. Seeing how young, probably Suho's age, and well, nerdy he looks, he seems to be getting overwhelmed with his job. 

"They won't stop calling me, Joon hyung." He says to Manager Joon and as if on cue, his phone begins to ring. The young manager starts stomping his feet like a kid as he stares down at his phone not bothering to answer.

"Shut your phone, Min. Go back to the concert hall, I'll be there before the concert starts." Manager Joon instructs. The other manager, Manager Min, nods his head and begins to head out of the room and I swear I heard him scream at the top of his lungs.

Must be tough being a manager.

"Jongin, how are you feeling?" Manager Joon didn't wait for a moment to settle down as he went straight to Kai. Kai nods his head once and gave him a thumbs up, "I'm fine, hyung. They told me I pulled a huge muscle so they just bandaged me up" I let my jaw drop at Kai's blank expression. He pulled a huge muscle and he doesn't even care? Manager Joon just nods his head ruffles Kai's silver hair. 

"Aish, you're always beating up yourself kid" He says. Kai's lips curled up into a smile and he sees me.

"Oh, Hope. What are you doing here?"

"Well, your members were worried so... I just wanted to see if you're okay" I say and I swear I can feel my cheeks warm up. Kai chuckles a bit.

"I'm fine. It's not like I'm dying. Haha!" He jokes. He still manages to joke around when he's in the hospital? Wow, is this even common? He should really get himself check out by the doctor more often. Then again, he's not connected into any tubes. He does look fine, it's as if nothing happened to him earlier. 

"Nice joke, Kai" I say as I shot him a glare. Kai and his manager just chuckle at my expression. 

"Anyways, I have to talk to your doctor and I won't be back until the concert ends. Just call me or Min if you need anything" Manager Joon says to us. Both of us nod and watch him leave and as soon as the door closes, silence began to grow.

I knew this would happen. Why did I even bother coming here? I sat down on the couch that is facing Kai and watch him pull his blanket over his body. I notice him carefully shift on his side as he let one of his hands to support his head. 

"Sorry you have to babysit, usually one of the managers will stay but considering the concert is taking place, none of them can stay" He says to me. I cross my arms and bite my lip, "You work too hard". It was the only thing I can say.

"I have to" He says with a smile and again, silence. I bit my lip once again. I hate this, I hate this silence! think of a topic, Hope. Think!

"Uhmm, so... how is it like?" I ask

"Like what?"

"Err... to be famous? I don't know. How's it like being a member of EXO?" Kai's lips form a thin line and he looks away from me as he tries to think of an answer. He let out a sigh.

"Tiring but, it's great. It's been my dream since I was a child and now I made it come true." He says and tries to sit up. He suddenly hissed as he touches his side that made me get up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He says letting himself sit on the bed.

"Okay." I say and went back to sit down on the couch. 

"What about you?" He asks. 

"Me?"

"Yeah, what has been your dream as a child?" 

"Well..." I start to think and sure, I may be in the Education program at my school but right now I'm drawing blanks. Since I was a child I always wanted to be a teacher just like mom but right now, I'm still not sure if that's the dream I still want to achieve. I love kids but now I'm not so sure if I do want to become a teacher.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a familiar song started blasting from the black bag beside me. 

"Oh, sorry. Can you pass me my phone?" Kai says pointing to the bag. I nod my head and his bag and found his phone right away. I hand it to him, "Your ringtone is your o​wn song?" 

"It's not named Overdose for nothing" Kai says with a smirk that just made me jokingly roll my eyes at him. Kai places his phone on his ear and I swear he did not intend to put his phone on speaker as he quickly put away his phone from his ear. 

"Ya! Kim Jongin! You're in the hospital, AGAIN?!" I heard the voice say. It was a voice of a lady and suddenly I hear barks from the background.

"Oh hey, is Janggu there, or Monggu, or Jjangah?!" Kai clearly ignored the statement but his eyes lit up at the barks.

"Ya, dongsaeng. Don't even change the subject. Your manager called and said you're in the hospital."

"Noona, I'm fine! I will dance again in two weeks time!" He says with a huge smile on his face which made me smile as well. Despite the pain he still manages to be happy.

"Aigoo! You may be hours away from us but that doesn't mean we're not worried."

"Noona! I'm fine, alright? Stop worrying! Doctor said I just need to rest for two weeks and I'm good as new." He says. There was silence on the other line for a moment but his noona spoke again, this time her voice starts to shake.

"Jongin, take care of yourself, okay?" She sniffs. Jongin sighs and his expression changes with a frown on his face. He nods his head like his noona can see him, "Yes, I will. Say hi to mom and dad for me"

They say goodbye to each other. Kai turns to me and he forces a smile.

"You really miss them, do you?" Kai nods his head and bites his lip. He tries blinking a few times but the tears on his eyes did not wait any longer as they roll down his cheeks. I got up from the couch and before I knew it, I sat down on the bed and wrap my arms around him. I rub his back and that's when he sobbed louder. 

"I... I really miss my family, Hope." He says before wrapping his arms around me tighter. For some reason, my eyes starts to well up. Just the thought of family makes me emotional. I'm not sure how long he hasn't seen his family but I know how much he loves them. I suddenly thought of my mom. I haven't seen her in so long and it makes me wonder if she even thinks of me. Will she cry the way Kai did when she thinks of me?