My little warrior, that’s what N’s father used to call him when he was a kid. He was the youngest of four and he always endured whatever his older siblings put him through. Whether it was bullying or the unwanted chores he always came out on top stronger than ever. His father would always compliment his strong will and determination.

“You’re going to be a great leader one day, my little warrior.”

Hakyeon always smiled when he heard those words, because he too believed that he was destined for great things, that he was as strong as his father believed him to be. He wished his father was here now to remind him, to tell him that he could overcome anything, that he was a warrior. Right now he felt that he was anything but strong. He was weak. He laid in bed defeated by his fear. His fear of his powers, his fear of the past, and his fear of death it all overwhelmed him.

Two years ago he lost a friend but that wasn’t the only thing he lost that day. He also lost that little warrior. He wished that he could overcome this and be the leader his friends needed but he couldn’t. It just wasn’t in him anymore. 

There was a knock on his bedroom door. He wrapped himself inside his covers and hopped off the bed to open the door. He wasn’t surprised to see Ravi there eyeing him once he opened the door. He was surprised to see that his hair was no longer a copper red but platinum blonde.

“You look like crap.” Ravi said glancing over a messy head Hakyeon decked in bed sheets.

“I feel like crap.” N replied as he walked back to bed.

Ravi entered the room soon after and held his nose overwhelmed by the smell. “How long have you been lying there? Don’t tell me you haven’t left since the day the professor died?”

            “Yep,” N said flatly. He shuffled around in bed to find a comfortable position so that he could face Ravi. Eventually he gave up and settled with his comfortable view of the ceiling.

“What’s up with you hair?” he asked.

            Ravi scoffed. “Are you really asking me about my hair right now?”

            “Whatever…” N sighed, “What do you want anyways?”

            “I want you to grow the hell up.” Ravi snapped.

            “Excuse me?” N breathed as he rose from his position in bed to face Wonshik.

            “Grow up,” Ravi repeated. “You’re being a child. Only children lock themselves away in their rooms for days when things don’t go their way.”

            “You don’t understand…” N muttered.

            “I understand everything. We all know you blame yourself for what happened the night Suho died. We all knew and we all agreed to let you grieve in whatever way you felt was necessary. We gave up the use of our powers for you, even though it wasn’t easy for us. For two years we let you do as you pleased without interference. We stood by you, accepted what you have become and prayed that you’d be better. Look at yourself…when will you realize that we are a team that we need you just as much as you do us.”

            “I…” N began.

“Save your excuses…” Ravi interrupted his eyes brimmed with tears as he fumed with anger. “Grow up Hakyeon.”

N stared blankly at Ravi as he left the room. He was hurt by Ravi’s words. He knew they were true and that only deepened the wound they left on him. He collapsed back down on his bed and curled into a ball as hot tears rolled down his cheeks. He was like this for hours until the tears no longer fell from his eyes. He wiped his face and got out of bed. He walked over to his desk and picked up a framed photo covered lightly in dust. He wiped off the picture and smiled when he was finished.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Your little warrior is still here.”

---

“Is this real?” Hongbin wondered as he stood shivering in front of the old warehouse. He pulled at the fabrics of his jacket, tugging it around him for warmth. After countless hours of studying at university, and a nerve wrecking job interview, Hongbin had just made it to the sweet comfort and solitude of his home when he received a text message from N. When he first read the message he thought it was a joke but when Hakyeon called him relaying the exact same message in a serious tone he grabbed his coat and headed to the warehouse.

To his surprise Jaehwan was there too, so was Wonshik, and Sanghyuk.  The other men seemed to be just as surprised as he was. Just as they gathered together Hakyeon appeared out of thin air in front of them. Hongbin couldn’t believe his eyes. By the absence of sound he could tell the others were just as shocked as he was. This just couldn’t be real. There’s no way that N could… Did he just…

            “Did you just teleport?” Hyuk asked, voicing exactly what Hongbin was thinking.

N smiled lightly and nodded.

“Someone helped me realize the error of my ways,” he began glancing over towards Wonshik, “Using my powers is just the first step in correcting them.”

Hongbin felt a tap on his arm and turned to see Jaehwan grinning as he pointed to himself. He almost began to laugh at how ridiculous Ken was being right now. He highly doubted that N was referring to him as that someone.

“Is this why you called us here?” Hyuk asked.