If there was anyone Baekhyun would go to when sick, it was Kyungsoo. There was something about the older male that screamed ‘comfortable.’

“Soo~” He called from his position in the doorway, holding onto the frame like his life depended on it.

Kyungsoo looked up from his laptop and frowned when he took in Baekhyun’s figure.

“What’s up, Baek?” He asked, and Baekhyun smiled at the nickname. He really loves it when they call him that; makes him feel like they’ve been friends for years.

He shuffled his way over to Kyungsoo and slid himself underneath the blankets, resting his head on the other’s lap.

“My head hurts.” He replied, voice muffled through the blanket.

He heard Kyungsoo sigh, and for a minute he thought he was bothering him and was about to get up and leave before he felt the older male’s fingers in his pink hair, gently pushing his fringe back. He began humming a soft tune. Baekhyun closed his eyes at the sound and let Kyungsoo’s warm voice wash over him.

They stayed like that for a while; Kyungsoo running his fingers through his hair and Baekhyun sleeping soundly. One would think that getting your break time interrupted like this would be annoying and frustrating, but for Kyungsoo it was relaxing. Baekhyun’s presence was refreshing and almost soft. It may sound weird to refer to a presence as ‘soft’, but that’s how it is. He just feels… soft.

That was, of course, until Junmyeon came in and slammed the door behind him. He felt Baekhyun flinch but settled down soon after, thankfully.

“Shh!” Kyungsoo whispered forcefully. Firstly, Baekhyun was asleep, and secondly, he didn’t want to have to listen to Junmyeon rant about something. He was in a calm mood and didn’t want that spoiled. “Baekhyun is asleep and he’s got a headache. So either sit and be quiet or rant to someone else if you need to.”

“Ah,” Junmyeon said as he took in the sight of the two on the bed. “Sorry. I didn’t realise Baekhyun was here. That’s why I was pissed.”

Kyungsoo looked at him oddly, “What do you mean?” he asked.

Junmyeon then realised the implications of what he’d said.

“Oh! No, no, I’m not pissed at Baekhyun, it’s just that Chanyeol and Sehun are looking for him and they’re being loud about it. I don’t need this type of stuff when we’re supposed to be having a break. We won’t get another one for a while.” He sighed.

Kyungsoo laughed softly. “When are they not loud about anything, honestly? I remember when Sehun used to be quiet and reserved. That went completely down the drain, no thanks to Chanyeol.”  He grumbled.

“Yeah,” Junmyeon chuckled. “It’s going to be tough, though. These next few months – with Baekhyun and all. The fans are taking it better than I thought they would but they’re still not used to seeing him with us.” He mused.

“I just hope nothing bad happens, honestly.” Kyungsoo added.

“Well, with everyone’s help nothing will. Hopefully.”

“Mm.”

Junmyeon sighed as he moved to sit on the bed next to Kyungsoo. He looked down at Baekhyun and patted his head a few times.

“It’d be a real shame if something did. I actually really like Baekhyun, and he has an amazing voice. Better than quite a few of us, to be honest.” He confessed, knowing that Kyungsoo and most of the others felt the same way.

The shorter male smiled and nodded. He looked downwards just in time to see Baekhyun shift a bit before two heavy eyelids opened and blinked drowsily at the two figures above him.

“Hey, Baek. Feeling better?” Junmyeon asked.

Baekhyun only blinked a few more times before yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, mumbling a soft ‘Mm’ before closing his eyes again, not quite wanting to get up yet.

“Come on, Baek. You can’t sleep the whole day.” Kyungsoo laughed.

Baekhyun made a noise of disagreement but reluctantly sat up anyway.

“Sehun and Chanyeol were looking for you earlier. I’m not sure what they wanted but they were being very persistent.” Junmyeon informed the sleepy pink-haired male.

Baekhyun’s eyes widened slightly and he slowly lifted himself from the bed.

“Okay.” He turned to Kyungsoo, “Thanks, Soo. Bye~” He smiled, shuffling off in much the same way he’d shuffled in earlier.

“What do you think they want with him?” Junmyeon asked.

Kyungsoo picked up his laptop from where he’d left it before, “I don’t know, but I’m going back to… researching… singing techniques.” He mumbled, loading up the next few episodes of The Prince of Tennis.

Junmyeon sent him an odd look, “Okay then…”

Meanwhile, a certain pink-haired teen was making his way through the dorm, attempting to locate the two who were apparently seeking him out earlier.

He ran into Yixing who looked as though he’d just come out of the shower.

“Hey, Yixing!” He greeted happily, all traces of prior drowsiness gone.

Yixing smiled in return, “Hey, Baekhyun. What are you doing out here?” He asked, motioning towards the hallway they were currently standing in.

“I’m looking for Chanyeol and Sehun.” Baekhyun replied.

Yixing’s smile had yet to disappear, “Okay. Have fun then.” He responded before continuing off to do whatever it was that he did in his spare time.

Baekhyun was glad to have Yixing in the group. He was what he imagined a father to be like. Someone you could look up to; someone who was nice to you and always made sure you were safe and happy.

Junmyeon was also what Baekhyun imagined a father to be like, but not at the same time. He was very caring, though rather than being someone he looked up to he was someone he looked for. Someone he looked for when he needed help with something.

Kyungsoo was what he imagined a mother to be like. Someone he could go to for comfort – the earlier incident a prime example of that. Baekhyun didn’t really know what to make of the others; brothers, maybe?

“Baekhyunnie!” A deep voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to see Chanyeol and Sehun making their way towards him.

“What’re you doing standing out here for?” Sehun asked. Baekhyun hadn’t realised he’d been standing there the whole time.

He fidgeted for a moment before replying in a small voice, “Um. I was thinking.”

Chanyeol smiled, “About what?”

“You guys.”

The other two looked at him in surprise.

“Us? Sehun inquired, all of a sudden looking quite interested.

“Not just you two. Everyone. Kyungsoo, Yixing, Junmyeon, Jongin – ” His words were cut off by Chanyeol’s laughter.

“It’s okay, Baekhyunnie. You don’t have to list the members.”

Baekhyun looked down in slight embarrassment, “Sorry.” He mumbled.

The other two looked at each other in mild concern. Baekhyun had still yet to get rid of his habit of apologising for everything. It was something they’d all made a silent pact to work on as a group but so far they hadn’t had much progress.

“It’s cool, Baekhyun. You don’t have to apologise.” Sehun smiled.

Baekhyun opened his mouth to apologise once more but stopped himself, making the two older males smile a bit more.

“Anyway, are you up for some video games, Baek?” Chanyeol grinned cheekily.

The pink-haired male’s eyes lit up and he nodded his head eagerly.

“Game on.” Sehun remarked.

Chanyeol turned to face the other rapper with a challenging smirk, “As if you could handle my gaming expertise.”

“We’ll see about that.” Sehun laughed. “Baekhyunnie is even good enough to beat someone like you and he’s only been playing for what, a week?”

“Hey, I’m the best at LoL. Don’t forget that time – ”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. That time you completely destroyed me. But what about all the times I beat you?” Sehun cut in with a sigh.

“You were just lucky.” Chanyeol pouted and Baekhyun laughed. He was very glad to have these two as his friends.

Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun until he waved his hand in front of the taller male’s face, snapping him out of whatever daydream he was having.

They played LoL for a while, and as Baekhyun was still learning how to play properly he sat wedged tightly between the two males. Not that he minded, he was a very cuddly person.

It seemed that others did, though. One selca of the three of them and an Instagram post later and Sehun would find out just how much others minded.

‘Why is he so close to my oppa!?’

‘He looks so gay! That’s so gross! Why did they let him in the group, he’ll make them gay, too!’

‘Omg!! So cute >< I don’t know who to ship him with!’

‘He looks so fluffy! I want to put him in my pocket!’

‘Get him away from my oppas!’

Now, none of the EXO members – or any idols for that matter – were stupid. They knew about the shipping, they knew about the fans that legitimately believed they would marry them and they’d have ten kids together and die happy, and they knew about the people who look for things to hate about a certain group or person.

EXO was used to such people, their immense popularity was bound to attract a hefty group of haters, too. Sehun didn’t really get why they couldn’t just ignore them if they didn’t like them but there are some seriously bitter people in the world, and that’s just the way it is.

Especially with their comeback being soon, people were desperate for something to hate. It just ended up being Baekhyun this time, unfortunately.

At this point he was getting fed up with the way some of the fans acted. Shipping is fine, ‘wanting to put him in their pocket’ is fine, but claiming members as ‘theirs’ and trying to control their personal lives really does not sit well with the rapper – and he’s sure it’s the same for the other members as well.

The fans would have to accept him, though. At least eventually. They’re not the first group to add a new member, so he doesn’t really see what the big deal is. Yes, it’s a change and people don’t always like change but they’re going to have to get used to it. This isn’t some fictional universe they’re talking about when they say things like ‘He shouldn’t be there; someone kill him before he infects them!’ This is real life. Involving a real life. Baekhyun’s life. Someone who really, really does not deserve to die. Honestly, out of all the members – not that any of them actually do – he deserves to die the least. Yixing probably coming in a close second. That guy is a freaking saint.

He turned his head to the now-asleep boy on the lounge, his pink fluffy hair sticking up in all directions and his mouth almost wide open. He looked ing adorable and Sehun could not resist taking another photo of him. He wouldn’t post it, though. No one wants photos of them sleeping on the internet.