[[CONTENTID1] Fear(less) [/CONTENTID1] 

[CONTENTID2] Chapter 1 [/CONTENTID2] 

[CONTENTID3] [/CONTENTID3] 

[CONTENTID4] 

Seungcheol was having a hard time as a leader. While sitting on the floor in the practice room, he quietly looked at s. 
They practiced dancing for hours daily, from music programs to radio shows and photo shootings. He was proud of s, who gave their best in performances and on the variety shows. But it took a lot of afford for some members to maintain their image. Some of the older members known to be extroverted were actually shy personalities. Still, they covered it for the younger members who struggled with the pressure of performances and delivering satisfying content in shows and fan meetings. The other members were also exhausted, but soon, the promotions for their comeback would be over, and they could take a breath.  
They often made jokes about Jun's temper in the variety shows. Since he was irritated lately and would get angry quickly, they could cover the whole thing in case of a y remark or apparent anger.  
Seungkwan wasn´t fond of variety shows but often took the lead to cover Jisoo's part. The latter had become quieter and quieter in the last few months and started to isolate from the members. Seungcheol always tried to talk to him, but the only one he opened up to was Jeonghan. And Jeonghan didn't say a word when Seungcheol wanted to know what was happening. But after all these years, he trusted Jeonghan to the extent that he would say it if it concerned the group. And so Seungcheol respected Jisoo's decision. Some members fought a lot after coming home to the dorm. Everybody was extremely sensitive and on edge. Especially Jisoo and Minghao were arguing non-stop, not realizing they had just tried to get close to each other again. Jisoo had too much pride, and Minghao was just stubborn. Dokyeom and Mingyu fought a lot. The funny incident with the black plastic bag was a good story for various shows. Still, at that moment, the atmosphere between them had been explosive, and Seungcheol and Wonwoo had to separate them physically. For the last two days, he waited until everybody was asleep and sat on the couch in the main room, trying to figure out how to get the kids back together. Hoshi was extremely quiet these days and naturally stuck to Vernon, who was grounding the group.  
Seungkwan would quickly burst into tears lately, often seeing him secretly go outside to sit on the stairs. But Wonwoo always managed to calm him down, especially at night when he tried to hide it, but after all the tension of the day left his body, it seemed that his mental serenity opened up. Mingyu was even more distant and quiet, trying to hide his severe cold from all of them.  Seungcheol noticed it yesterday when Mingyu tripped at a dance move and bumped into him. Holding Mingyu´s body, he could feel his high fever. Jeonghan had a hard time being cheerful. Sharing a room with Mingyu, he was probably worried to death every night. Wonwoo locked himself in his room, avoiding everybody. In the last week’s performance, he had injured his ankle. When Seungcheol tried to talk to him about it, he was immediately cut off by Wonwoo, saying he was fine. Seungcheol was afraid that the members did not trust him anymore as a leader and the younger one as a hyung. Only Minghao cheered him up sometimes with hilarious jokes or a warm glance. He sighed and leaned his forehead on his knees.

Jeonghan couldn´t sleep because he was worried about Mingyu. He had had a cold for days, so he did not turn on the air conditioner. Sharing a room with Mingyu, he was the only person who seemed to notice his condition. He constantly checked his fever and ensured he was covered with the blankets. Mingyu was sweating and rolling his body from side to side. Jeonghan the light on the small table. He had had enough. He was about to get up and talk to Seungcheol. Mingyu´s condition worsened daily, and the tense dorm atmosphere between Dokyeom and him didn´t make it better for him to relax. Jeonghan knew that Dokyeom and Mingyu tried to avoid each other and not bother the other members with their explosive relationship. Still, Jeonghan knew that most members were stressed out because of that. They tried to reconcile, but it was like a wall between them after their heated argument. Seungcheol had put them in their place last night, after which all the members had fled to their rooms. An angry Seungcheol was always to be avoided. 
Mingyu was half awake. "Hyung, I'm fine, just a little tired. I need some sleep and I will be okay tomorrow." 
Jeonghan looked at him sincerely. "You need to see a doctor. We have practice tomorrow morning and then a photo shoot. Do you want to look dead in the photos?!" 
"Please don't worry about me. We're all having such a hard time right now. I don't want to bother everyone." Mingyu looked at him in exasperation. Jeonghan glared at him and gritted his teeth. 
"Make sure that you get some rest when you get the chance. I´ll bring your medicine." he whispered, leaving the room for the storeroom as he heard Seungkwan's door closing to his room. He was probably crying again, he thought. Wonwoo came out of the bathroom and immediately tried to hide his limp. He had hurt his ankle, but as usual, this stubborn idiot refused to admit it. It was hard for Wonwoo to show weakness in front of the members, even after all these years. Jeonghan saw it when it happened. And now, after these few days, he didn't say a word not to embarrass him. It made him angry that no one noticed Mingyu's severe cold. Or that Wonwoo was limping. With the cold medicine in hand, he returned to his room. When he entered the room, he saw Mingyu trying to get up, but the younger failed. Jeonghan waited a moment and made sure Wonwoo went back to his room. Wonwoo didn't seem to have noticed Mingyu's condition until now because he didn't make any effort to say or do anything, and since Wonwoo was usually the first to see, especially with Mingyu. Jeonghan assumed that Wonwoo was so stressed that he tuned out his surroundings. And he couldn't blame him because he had his hands full trying to comfort a broken-down Seungkwan who thought he was not good enough to perform with the older members and was constantly struggling with self-criticism.
“Can you help me sit up…?” Mingyu asked, his eyes glued to the floor. Jeonghan sat down behind him and helped Mingyu into a more comfortable position. Jeonghan refrained from another angry comment as he helped Mingyu swallow the medicine as he found it difficult to hold the glass. 
"If you don't take a break after the photo shoot tomorrow, I'll tell Seungcheol, and he'll chain you to the bed, you know that. He hates it when we hide something from him that affects our health." 
"I don't want him to fight with the agency again. He fights so hard for us, and he's always the one who argues with them." Mingyu muttered. 
"Do you think Seungcheol wouldn't blame himself if you suddenly collapsed? What would you do in his position? He has to keep twelve members under control. To miss that a member is sick would break him. You know how caring he is with us. That's why you tell him, or I will tell him tomorrow. Got it?" 
"Yes..." muttered Mingyu, laying back down with Jeonghan's help. Jeonghan was about to get up to bed when he felt Mingyu's hand on his wrist.
"Can you stay until I fall asleep?" he whispered, embarrassed. 
Jeonghan smiled and put a pillow on his lap. Mingyu gratefully crawled to him. And Jeonghan stared at the wall before him, lost in thought, until his feverish roommate had almost fallen asleep again. 
Suddenly, it knocked on the door, and Mingyu lifted his head in surprise, but Jeonghan knew precisely who was behind it. He had come to ensure that Mingyu was okay the last night, too. 
Jeonghan opened the door enough to talk to the visitor but not enough for Mingyu to see him. 
"Is he okay? Do you need anything?" he heard Dokyeom whisper, who was so worried about Mingyu that he had teary eyes but didn´t want to show it because they were fighting. 
"Why don´t you ask him yourself?" whispered Jeonghan, annoyed. 
"Why don´t you just stop getting my nerves..." pestered Dokyeom silently, turned around, and walked back into his room. 
"Who was that?" Mingyu asked when he sat on the bed again. 
"Minghao. He wanted the key to the basement. Sleep. You need the rest." Jeonghan lied. Dokyeom was an idiot. Mingyu would be happy if he knew he was worried about him.

Seungkwan was sitting on the stairs outside the dorm. He thought about his hyungs and when they started promoting their recent comeback. Everybody was excited, and they ate and drank together in the evening, playing games or hanging out together. Seungcheol was doing his best to hold the members together, and he was thankful for that, but even the leader was at his limit. It was especially hard for Seungkwan that Jisoo was distant and cold, only talking to Jeonghan about his struggles. The fact that Jisoo isolated himself and did not trust him to speak about his worries made Seungkwan feel like he was the stupid younger member they cared for but did not take seriously when it was about comfort or support. Jisoo was usually cheerful, but Seungkwan knew something was wrong with him. He covered his face with his hands, and the tears started to flow… he sniffed silently, hoping nobody would notice it. He hoped he hadn't woken Wonwoo again when he left the room. He was a light sleeper, but Seungkwan was ashamed to collapse before him mentally, so he tried to leave quietly. But whenever he returned and went to bed, Wonwoo stood up and covered him after a few minutes. Sometimes, he patted Seungkwan´s head to comfort him without embarrassing them, and then he went back to sleep. He did not understand why his hyungs were fighting each other. Instead of reaching out to him to ask for his support, they ignored his attempts to ge