Baekhyun was never good at lying. He knew that for a fact, and yet he still managed to land himself in this situation.

The small male had been sitting on one of the couches outside of the practice room during his ten-minute break, thinking about everything that had occurred yesterday. His train of thought was interrupted, however, when someone tapped on his shoulder. He lifted his head to find one of the staffs, a very kind lady who sometimes bought him lunch or dinner – depending on the time – after a long and hard practice session.

“You look a little lost, Baekhyun. Did something happen?” She asked, voice laced with concern.

Baekhyun smiled, but his smile quickly vanished when he realised she was expecting a reply. He could always say no, but Baekhyun knows that won’t go down well. She’ll be able to tell he’s lying. Everyone can always tell.

He recalls his conversation from yesterday after he’d been pulled aside by Yixing in the CEO’s office, when he’d told him not to tell anyone in his company about the lawsuit and such because the company will be angry and he might get hurt again. But this lady wouldn’t do any harm, right? She wouldn’t tell anyone. He could trust her. She seemed to like him, otherwise she wouldn’t buy him lunch. Which means she could be trusted, right?

He was still hesitant, though. If he told her, he’d be going against Yixing’s advice and his new friends did seem to know a lot, but if he lied then she’d see right through him, and he’d probably end up telling her anyway. Baekhyun hopes no one else asks him about it, he may be able to trust this lady but he isn’t sure about everyone else. They didn’t like him. At least, that’s what Baekhyun thinks.

“Uh, well... Yesterday I kind of went to this place and stuff happened and well….” He hesitated, looking for the right words.

“Well, what? Where did you go, Baekhyun?” She urged.

He couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes. Not because of her, but because he was going against Yixing’s word and that made him feel extremely guilty. “To the SM building…” He mumbled.

Her eyes widened so big that Baekhyun would have laughed if there wasn’t guilt currently eating away at his stomach. “SM!?” She screamed, but then hushed her voice down a bit so no one would hear before continuing. “Why did you go there? What happened?”

“I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell anyone! I promised my friend I wouldn’t tell anyone.” He looked up at her, trying to put on his firmest expression.

She looked a little worried, but the solo artist couldn’t figure why. “Okay. I won’t tell anyone.” She whispered with a small sigh.

Baekhyun smiled and nodded, her compliance allowing him to breathe easy. “I’m going to file a lawsuit against the company and then join SM.” He voiced quietly so no one else would overhear them.

“What!?” She screamed, making Baekhyun panic a little. What if she tells someone? She could quite easily shout it to everyone in the room, or worse, his manager. The small male was seriously beginning to regret his decision.

Her voice turned into a forceful whisper as she tried to comprehend the situation. “Why? Is it because of your manager? What makes you think SM will take you?” She argued condescendingly.

Baekhyun became extremely nervous at this. What if she really does tell someone? He started breathing quickly, his voice shaking slightly. “T-they offered me a job…”

“I can’t believe you would do this to your company.” Her tone was as stale as her face as she got up from her seat and walked away quickly, to the direction of his manager.

At that moment, all Baekhyun could think was Oh no.

EXO was at a photoshoot, making advertisements for some new brand of iced-tea, when they heard the news.

When they heard the whispers of the photographers, editors, and other staff, a sense of dread filled their bodies and they were quick to ask what was going on.

“Poor boy. It was only a matter of time, I suppose. I wonder what is going to happen now.”

“The company hasn’t done anything to cover it up, I wonder why?”

“The kid seriously doesn’t deserve anything that’s happened to him.”

“I never knew someone could be so cruel.”

At first it had piqued their curiosity, but once they’d heard one of the older female staffs solemnly mumble “Poor Baekhyun.”, they spared one look filled of horror to each other and scrambled over to her in a mess of eight limbs.

“What!? What happened to Baekhyun!? Is he hurt!?” They screamed in unison. It all came out as a jumble of words, though. The lady glanced at them with a grim face before wordlessly holding out her phone to them.

It was open to a recent article. Only having been published forty minutes ago, but it was the headline that made the phone drop to the floor and the tears fall.

“Byun Baekhyun, 17, Solo-artist from YG Entertainment has been hospitalised after a brutal assault from his manager.

The severity of his injuries is unknown as of yet, but reports from onlookers have stated that the boy was unconscious and bleeding from multiple parts of his body. Reporters are waiting on confirmation from the doctors about his current status. Fans are crowding the hospital room in support for their idol.

More information will be given as it is released.”

. That was the one word going to most of their minds at the present moment. They figured something like this would happen, but they were apparently too late in warning Baekhyun about it.

Byun Baekhyun’s assault and hospitalisation was apparently the hottest news in all of South Korea, it was trending on just about every social media platform and countless idols and celebrities were speaking out in their opinions on the situation. One man who’d posted on twitter saying it was probably Baekhyun’s fault for saying something stupid because he’s mentally handicapped had been bashed by countless people.

EXO was thankful that people were taking Baekhyun’s side in the situation, but as they sat in the white hospital room, staring at the unmoving, fragile figure on the bed, connected to so many machines, they couldn’t help but feel angry. Angry at Baekhyun’s manager, angry at the fans, angry at the company – both YG and their own – but most of all, they were angry at themselves. They should have protected him better. They should have warned him more about everything. Yixing had said he’d told Baekhyun not to mention anything to anyone in the company and they hadn’t really expected for Baekhyun to not listen. Why did he not listen? Why didn’t they warn him more? How could they have let this happen?

As they wallowed in self-hate and remorse, they failed to notice the doctor entering the room to give them the official diagnosis.

The doctor cleared his throat, the loud sound echoed around the spacious room that had previously been filled with nothing but the beeping of the heart monitor, the soft murmur of the machines and the drip drop of the IV, all connected to Baekhyun’s tiny body.

“I’m here to give the official diagnosis. Baekhyun-ssi did not have anyone listed as his relatives, so I suppose you all will have to do.” He began, not looking any of them in the eye. Which was understandable, they’d be pretty intimidated by themselves, too. Especially with the looks some of them have on their faces – like they want to murder someone. He cleared his throat once more before continuing. “He has three bruised ribs, one broken one, a mild concussion, minor internal bleeding in his stomach, and multiple bruises covering his face, arms, torso, and legs.” He said in one breath, not looking forward to the reaction of the idols.

To his surprise, they said nothing. Only looked blankly at him as if he wasn’t even there. He thought for a moment that they hadn’t heard anything he’d said, but the aura that was once one of self-hate had changed to one of complete anger and sorrow, signalling that they had indeed heard him.

“The damages aren’t too severe, but we have yet to evaluate his mental state. We’re aware that this is not the first time this has happened – although it’s the first time it’s been to this extent – and so we are going to have to evaluate his mental condition as a result of the abuse.” He explained carefully, eyes watching the members of EXO like a hawk to gauge their reaction. “We won’t do it immediately, however, unless we have to. He should wake up soon.” The idols looked relieved at this, which he decided was his cue to go. “I’ll take my leave now.”