“Don’t tell them.” Was all the manager heard before Onew fell unconscious.

No matter what the happens the leader must not be a burden to s 

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The manager brought Jinki to the nearest hospital for first aid but he decided to wait until they come back to Korea for the actual check up. They boarded the flight as planned and returned to Korea. Jinki never spoke a single word. Stoic. That was how he looked but the fans never saw as he was covered in a mask, shades, and hoodie. In the eyes of many, Onew was still his usual self.

The driver took a detour to shake off anyone who tried to follow them ( sasaeng fans are everywhere afterall) and drove them to SM's accredited hospital to have Jinki confined indefinitely. The manager understood how serious the situation was. Afterall, it was not the first time that a leader was brought in there.

Jinki just sat in the bed as doctors and nurses come and go to take his vital signs, blood sample, and put his IV line. To anyone who saw him, he was just an emotionless person but no one knew the internal battle he was dealing with. He wanted to get all the feelings out but he cant. For some reason he just cant. Lets just say that this emotionless state has been his defense mechanism. This was his way of being strong.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Telling the higher ups was inevitable so the manager called Lee Soo Man right after fixing Onew's admission papers. And as expected, he was instructed to follow protocol. He was to stay at the hospital, cancel all of SHINee's schedule for the following day, talk with the other four, and most importantly do not talk to Jinki. Yunho and Leeteuk will do that.

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Yunho and Leeteuk were honestly expecting this to come one day but not this soon. Well Onew was young after all. Theywere sincerely worried and they rushed to the hospital as soon as they heard from Lee Soo Man. 2:30 AM. An ungodly hour to be out but for Jinki they would go. Their hearts go out for him. He has always been caring to everyone around him and they knew that that was not part of the act - Acting cheerful was..but being caring was not.

Jinki immediately broke into tears as soon as he saw the two enter his room. It was not the my-tears-are-quitely falling kind of breakdown but an ugly-looking-my-heart-is-totally-breaking kind of crying. Yunho and Leeteuk did not have to say anything, their presence was enough for Jinki to understand their purpose.

And all the bottled up feelings poured.

"I just want to be me hyung. The young me who can go out and have fun without worrying that fans are going to be upset or that I'll be too bloated for tomorrow's recording. I just want some time for myself hyung. I feel like my youth is passing by without being enjoyed. I don't want to wake up oneday and find out that its too late. I dont want to end up blaming my dream for my misery. I dont hate my job hyung. I love being in SHINee. I love the members and I appreciate the fans but sometimes I just want to get away from everything and have a few moments for myself. To be the Jinki that I have always been. To be carefree even just for a few hours. Is it too much to ask hyung?"

The hyungs allowed the youngest leader to cry his eyes our before answering.

"We all pass this satge jinki. Every single person out there, celebrity, idol or just a common person goes through this phase. We understand how heavy the mask is. We know how sofucating it could be but you have to understand one thing. These problems can be shared you see. With us. We've been through this too and our experiences are closer given that we are leaders. But being leaders taught us one thing. We are leaders of a group. At the end of the day we are the members given the task to lead but members nonetheless. We are part of the unit. AT first you feel the burden that you should be the foundation of the group but that is not the case. You are only one pillar. You do not hold the others. You hold the group with them. 

"You do not need to carry their burdens while carrying your own as well. You may think they are still too young and I know how that feels. We debut at a much younger age and we feel that we have to take care of the younger ones but never forget that you yourself is young as well. You've come a long way Jinki. You took it all for two years but its too much now. You have to let go of that thinking that you should be strong all the time. In front of the camera you should be but at the dorms, you should accept the fact that you need to share the burden with."

"But hyung, they are still young and suffering their own porblems..."

"And so are you but you are always there for them. With the way you think right now, you are actually degrading them. Are they that stupid? Do you really think they dont want to care for you?"

"Maybe you need to look more closely. Maybe they are actually trying to lessen your burden that's why they try to do things on their own. Maybe you just need to talk this out with them. Yes they are young but since they know you are suffering too, they can help you find a way."

"You do not need to solve each others problems. What you need is to share it with them and help each other find a way. You guys are young. We are too, even though we are older than you. We do not know everything. But if we communicate, we can help each other find happiness under the bright lights of the industry."

"Loosen up Jinki. There is no need to wear the mask within the dorms or when you are with us"

"Dont take all the burden by yourself. Cry if you must, talk if you must, share your thoughts with us."

And with that, Onew dropped and everything and Jinki cried in the arms of SM's brightest leaders. 

The leaders decided to stay with Jinki for the night, the whole weekend actually. This kid needed more than just a night of crying. This kid needs to know there are people willing to catch him anytime he trips or falls.

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A/N:

I am really sorry that the update took SOOOO long...

I had to finish my final college requirements...

Thank you for waiting...

Special mention to @smorella :D

and for reading till this point...Thank You.

I'll try to post the next update before Monday :) Please watch SHINee's VIEW MV and official live performances while waiting!

~AnotherWriter