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2

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“So where’s your lady friend, Kris?” Luhan asked, nudging the elder in the ribs with his elbow, suggestively wiggling his brow. Kris looked slightly down at the shorter man, giving him a somewhat confused expression before resting his chin in his hand, sighing audibly. “That sound means you know exactly where she is, and you’re watching her from afar, wondering if you’ll be graced with her gorgeous voice,” Luhan said dramatically, throwing the back of his hand against his forehead, leaning back against the leader.

Kris’s eyes closed and his brow drew together. “Actually, that was a sigh of agitation, meaning that I’m kind of tired of you making this out to be something it’s not, and trying to put words in my mouth,” he replied.

“I’m sure you’d like to make this out with her,” Luhan teased.

“I’m going to punch you,” Kris threatened softly, peering out of the corner of his eyes at Luhan who looked like he was dancing on the inside, having successfully gotten under Kris’s skin, like he had on a regular basis, every single day.

Kris’s ears perked at the sound of heels clicking against the polished wood floors, but he wouldn’t dare avert his gaze from Luhan. The heels clicked past them and Kris’s gaze met with Luhan’s. “She’s not even here; you do know that, right?” Luhan asked, giggling at his confused leader. “I can keep track of your girlfriend better than you can.”

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Kris scolded lowly, shoving his hip into Luhan’s.

“Defensive! My goodness, Wu Yi Fan,” he muttered, whispering the last part with a feminine edge to his voice. Kris turned away from Luhan, pressing the back of his hand against his forehead.

It didn’t take much of practice for Su Ho to notice Kris wasn’t looking to good. “You’re really pale, Kris,” he mentioned, “and you’re really warm,” he added, pushing his hand against the taller male’s head.

“I’m fine,” he replied.

“Your legs are quivering and your body is shivering. You’re definitely not fine. I’m calling Yi Hyun; she’s going to argue you a break. We don’t want this to get any worse than it already is,” he said, pulling out his cell phone before Kris could argue. Not that he had the energy to. He was getting dizzy, his head was spinning, and his vision was shifting in and out of focus.

Maybe it was a good thing that he was being argued a break.   

“Yi Hyun. I know you’re on your time off—”

“If she’s on her time off, please don’t do this,” Kris complained.

“What’s up, Su Ho? I hear Kris in the background.”

“Kris is sick, and you know better than I do about how SM will be about giving him a break. I need you, he needs you, please? We want him to get better, not worse,” Su Ho pleaded for Kris’s sake.  Kris could hardly even keep his attention on Su Ho and his conversation with Yi Hyun.

“You know I don’t usually do this, but if he’s sick—”

“He’s shaking, he has chills, a fever, and he’ll probably just get worse if he keeps pushing himself,” Su Ho interrupted.

“Give me ten minutes, I’ll be there.”

“Ten minutes Kris and you’re out of here. Please don’t argue. We all need you to get better, so please do so,” Su Ho commented, having gathered the attention of the rest of EXO in his conversation with the group lawyer.

Kris looked at the group who all gave him the same pitiful look. He knew he was sick. He could feel his head burning, pulsing, while his body shivered, freezing in the seventy degree room. “Maybe you should sit down,” Luhan’s playfulness was gone as he helped Kris over to a chair, letting him sit down to rest his dizzy head.

Yi Hyun rushed and managed less than ten minutes. She opened the door to the practice room dawned in sweats and a tee, yet still looking as professional as ever. It must have been her face, so angelic. Her purse was slung over her shoulder as she shuffled into the room in her moccasins. “Kris? Sweetheart,” she whispered, standing directly in front of him, but she wasn’t sure if he even noticed her.  “Wu Fan,” she whispered, cupping his burning cheek. “You’re on fire,” she said, taking his hand.

“I’m not even sick!” he replied quickly, slapping her hand away from him before standing, his weight falling a bit as he stepped down on his left foot. He clenched his teeth, as well as his eyes, keeping down a hiss of pain and continued to walk away before Yi Hyun grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t,” he uttered, “I’m fine.”

“Then walk like you’re fine,” she replied.

He nearly growled at her. “Let me have a look at it,” she said, her eyes staying with his once they made contact, even as she moved him to a seat, pushing him down onto it. He bit his tongue, trying to keep his pained noises to himself.

Her hands gently cupped the back of his calf, lifting his leg, her eyes remaining on his the entire time. His eyes half-lidded as he looked away, blushing as she rolled his pants up; she didn’t have to look at it long, “Look at this,” she said.

Kris didn’t want to look, but he did anyway. His ankle was twice the size of the other one, purplish with being bruised. “You definitely rolled it pretty good, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you fractured it.” A whimper escaped his lips at the sound of that.

Immediately, the attention of the SM representative for EXO’s attention was caught. He inquired about the situation before realizing for himself exactly how severe the injury could possibly be. Many a question was thrown in Kris’s direction, mostly about why he didn’t report it, or even mention anything about it for that matter.

Yi Hyun stood momentarily, tearing the seam of her shirt up about four inches, ripping the cotton around the bottom hem for a strip of cloth. “This is going to hurt… a lot,” she said, kneeling back down. His eyes pleaded for her to stop, to not do what she was about to do as he gripped the upholstery on the couch, clawing into it with his sharp nails. She watched as his lower lip quivered.

“Don’t, please,” he barely managed to squeak out, causing her eyes to shift back to his.

“It needs the support, Kris. Even if it’s just hanging there,” she replied, beginning once again to wrap the fabric around his ankle and he yelped, nearly barking at just the slightest of touches. “We need to get you to a doctor, there’s no arguing that,” she whispered. “Until then,” she paused to stand up, turning to face away from him after approaching him a little more. She carefully sat herself down on his thighs, wrapping his arms around her waist, “when the pain comes, squeeze me as hard as you need to,” she offered.

Kris was confused. In this situation, he wasn’t sure what do to. Would she be offended if he pulled his arms back, or would she understand? Would he actually need this, or was she exaggerating the pain?

The first circle of wrap was awful. Excruciatingly painful and he cried into her neck, trying to drown it out as he held her, squeezing her just as she had instructed. She continued to wrap the cotton around his ankle tightly for support, and the more she did so, the more he tried to contain his whimpers.

“I called an ambulance to come pick him up,” Su Ho mentioned, his eyes shifting from watching Yi Hyun work, to the extremely pained look on Kris’s face.

“I’ll ride with him, you guys just continue to practice,” she said, tying a knot to hold the cloth there. “I’m sorry it hurts so much,” she whispered, trying to stand but his grip only tightened.

“Kris,” she whispered, looking over her shoulder at him. His eyes were clenched closed, trying hard to accept the fact that it could be a lot worse than he thought it was. Depending on the severity, it was difficult for him to decide which he’d rather, a sprain could take up to a couple of years to heal completely.

Kris’s attentiveness was nonexistent as he was helped into the ambulance. The ride was quiet for the most part, and for basically all of it he stared out the window, trying to ignore the compression of ice on his elevated ankle. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Kris’s eyes shifted to her, but he didn’t reply.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” she asked again, firmer this time.

“I…I was scared,” he replied quietly, looking away from her.

“Of what?” she asked quietly.

“Of everything! Of breaking it, of losing this, of everyone! How could I get hurt so damn easily?” he practically yelled.

She was taken aback.

She stared at him, leaning away from him.

Her eyes wide, jaw ajar.