After the excitement of Ten’s arrival died down, everyone went back to focusing on their activities. A lot had changed since Ten left, but he was more than willing to practice 24/7 to catch up to the members. So far, he had gone back to vocal training and dance lesson; lucky being in the military didn’t affect any of his skills in the slightest. If anything his dance moves got sharper, yet still keeping his smooth graceful quality.

NCT were set to have a fansign in honour of Ten's comeback. He spent every waking moment rehearsing all the old songs and routines, Ten didn’t want to disappoint those who had waited a long time for him. Johnny and Lucas were a great support. Whenever they were free, they practiced with him so he wouldn’t feel lonely. He hadn’t seen Taeyong and Jaehyun since that night he came, but Ten was too preoccupied to pay any attention to it. Johnny and Lucas became worried about Ten. Since the male knew of the upcoming fansign, he had been neglecting his health. Ten would wake up in the early hours of the day, head to the studio and practice till early hours of the next morning, only to come home and repeat the same process 2-3 hours later. They were sure he hadn't been eating properly. So, every time they practiced with him, they would bring food and push Ten to eat. Of course, Ten didn’t realise the damage he was doing to his own body, but he supposes that’s why he was blessed with friends like Johnny and Lucas.

They weren't the only ones to notice what was happening. Taeyong and Jaehyun had been keeping a close eye on Ten, even if they weren’t close to him. They would frequently ask the dreamies about his wellbeing; even give them money to buy Ten’s favourite cakes. As much as they Tae and Jae would have liked to be the ones to fuss over Ten, they respected his space, especially with the abrupt end to their relationship. The more Ten kept up his routine, the more anxious the boys became.

Black dots clouded Ten’s vision which made him feel dizzy. He attempted to reach for his water bottle, but before he could grasp it, he collapsed. Taeyong and Jaehyun were headed to the practice room to check on Ten through the door’s window. When neither saw the boy, they looked at each other in confusion.

“Isn’t he usually in here at this time?” inquired Jaehyun.

“He should be,” Taeyong shrugged. “Maybe he went to get something to eat?” though his tone sounded unsure. “Let’s go in and check.”

Jaehyun was the first to notice Ten on floor. He immediately raced to him, trying to shake the male awake. “Ten, can you hear me?!” his voice panicked. Taeyong scrambled for his phone to ring their manager to come as fast as he could. Normally in this situation, one would expect to call an ambulance, but he knew that would draw too much attention putting everyone in too hard a problem to solve. Tears were pouring down Jaehyun’s face as he checked for a beating pulse, only calming when he felt a steady rhythm. Taeyong tried to be strong for the both of them, though he couldn’t help the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

Once the manager arrived, he carried Ten to the van, advising the others to go back to the dorm and try to relax. As much as he wanted to take them with him, he sensed they wouldn’t be able to keep calm, especially if they discovered something was really wrong. Ten was admitted as soon as they arrived and taken for some tests. Through all the commotion, he still hadn’t awoken but the doctor reassured that he’d be fine, just needing to rest his body having collapsed from exhaustion and malnutrition. The members had been informed of his state, but no one was able to sleep peacefully knowing the implications of it all. Even though it was no one’s fault, they all blamed themselves. Johnny, Lucas, Taeyong and Jaehyun took the news to more to heart than the rest, all believing they could have done more to prevent this from happening.