The members had almost made it to the lift with the still struggling Doo Jun when the doctor in charge of Dong Woon ran past them, with a couple of nurses in tow. Yo Seob was curious enough to look back and managed to glimpse the nurses closing the door to Dong Woon’s room. His eyes widened, not sure how to tell the rest. Fortunately, or not, Doo Jun had also saw what happened.

‘Dong Woon! Let me go! They are in Dong Woon’s room! Let go!’ Doo Jun renewed his efforts and the others got startled by what he had said. Doo Jun broke out of their slackened hold and ran. He stopped at the door, and found the door locked. The nurses wasn’t coming out and Doo Jun thought something bad had happened. His mind started thinking up all sorts of bad things that could’ve happened to the maknae. He fell to his knees outside the door, and the members rushed to him. They pulled him to where the seats are and got him into one of them. There was no news forthcoming. And the members were working themselves into a frenzy. After what seemed like an eternity which was probably more like fifteen minutes, the doctor and the nurses came out. Doo Jun was the only one who remained seated. He didn’t dare to listen to what the doctor had to say. He didn’t think he could stand it. So he sat, with his hands covering his face, wishing and begging it wasn’t bad news. Oh please God not bad news.

‘It looks like Mr Son had regained consciousness. He had demonstrated movements of his body and had spoken briefly. We did not see his eyes open, but we can safely assume he had woken up from the coma. Barring any other complications, he should be able to make a full recovery. The brain swelling he had did not cause any permanent damage, it seemed. He might occasionally still suffer headaches, but other than that, we do not think there will be any other factors deterring him from regaining full health with plenty of rests. We will keep him under observation for the next few days just in case. You can go see him now, but because we had to sedate him, so he will only wake up after the mild sedative wears off. If he had not awaken after six hours please inform us.’ The doctor bowed and left.

The members sighed in relief. They finally smiled, hugs were given, calls were made to the managers and some tears were shed. And again, Doo Jun was sitting apart. He was still sitting the way he had before the doctor announced that Dong Woon had woken up. The feelings he felt, it were indescribable. He felt so relieved; his legs would’ve collapsed on him if he weren’t sitting down. He could feel warm tears sliding from his eyes to his hands, which were still covering his face. Thy dripped onto his lap, and still he didn’t raise his head. By now, the members were getting kind of worried. They didn’t know how to deal with the leader, had never seen the leader behave like he did in the past few days since Dong Woon entered the coma. They expected the leader to be ecstatic from the news but it wasn’t so. The tears stopped after a while, and Doo Jun finally raised his head. His eyes were red-rimmed, and dark bags were under his eyes. The members weren’t even sure if the leader even slept in the past few days, he looked half-dead right then. Doo Jun saw them staring down at him, worry in their eyes. He didn’t say anything, just walked into the room, and took up his spot beside the bed. The members sighed, but didn’t protest. In the next few hours, the managers came and went; the members went back to the dorm to change and shower, without Doo Jun of course.

Doo Jun had finally succumbed to sleep. He had not slept much the three days Dong Woon was unconscious. He dozed fitfully, but jerked awake every time, checking if Dong Woon had woken up or not. He laid back against the chair, and finally drifted off to sleep some three hours ago. He did not notice the little signs that indicated the slow awakening of the maknae. Dong Woon didn’t think anything was wrong. He only felt the warmth of the bed, and how awesome it was to sleep and not having to worry about the schedules because they had been promised some time off. Speaking of time off, he finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. It was stark white, not the dirty white of their dorm. He just noticed how the bed felt harder than his own, though he didn’t move his head to check. For a few minutes, he stared at the ceiling. His breathes came in jerks, and he tried to control them, trying to push down the tide of fear and memories threatening to come back. He had always disliked the hospital. He knew it was the hospital now, the bright lights, the beeping sounds from various monitors and the sterile room giving it away. Since young, he hadn’t liked going to the hospital because he felt afraid for some reason. Growing up, he detested it more. It might be because of the many trips to another, but similar, hospital when he was younger, or the despair he felt when he woke up alone, wishing for someone to get him out of that sterile place. He didn’t know why, but he knew he would never be going to the hospital if he could avoid it.

He remembered when he was 11, the period where he was the sickest. He woke up alone, because his parents had gone to work and left him in the hospital alone. He was afraid, alone in a strange place. He had been there for a while now, living in the hospital for extended periods of time, but that doesn’t seem to reduce the fear. It seemed that it was amplified more, whenever he checked into the sterile white building again for observation. He had been a sickly child, always alternating between hospitals and his home. He only started to grow stronger when puberty hit and he took up dancing. He didn’t like sports, and since he liked musical arts he tried out dancing. His parents was worried, but had supported him nonetheless. Since then, he slowly outgrew his sickliness and ended up the idol that he was today. Time had not abated the fear, though he didn’t have any more panic attacks like he used to whenever he saw something that reminded him of his times in the hospital, confined to the bed, too weak to do anything but to stare blankly at the wall.

Suddenly, a warm hand touched his shoulders, and he jerked, nearly ripping his IV tube from his hands. Doo Jun had woken for some reason, and the first thing he saw was Dong Woon’s beautiful eyes open. He wanted to shout for joy, but the look in those soulful eyes tamped his happiness down. He knew the reason why Dong Woon avoided going to the hospital, because the youngest had confided in him. That was the reason why he insisted he be there all the time, so that Dong Woon didn’t have to wake up in the hospital alone. He knew the maknae hated to show weakness to anyone, God knows his self-esteem was low enough, and he wanted to be there to reassure Dong Woon when he woke up. He saw the youngest’s blank stare at the ceiling, and knew he must be rewinding all those memories of his childhood, many of it spent in a hospital. He shook the arm of the maknae, and was awarded with a smile.

Dong Woon was sinking further into the trap of his memories when he saw Doo Jun looking down at him. He had told Doo Jun about his fear of the hospital and expected to be laughed at, but instead he got a hug and reassurance from the leader. It was then he knew the leader would always stand behind him no matter what, as well as for all the other members. It was why he doesn’t blame Doo Jun even though he was the reason for his recent hospitalisations. He knew the real Doo Jun would never ever harm them, and what happened was definitely not Doo Jun’s fault. When Doo Jun saw that smile, he felt so happy, for being able to bring out that precious smile of the maknae. The shadows of the dark memories had been banished, and Dong Woon’s eyes sparkled when he smiled up at Doo Jun. For a moment, it was as if nothing was wrong, and everything was the way it used to be. The six of them against the world, and they were unstoppable.

[a/n: hey guys! :D yay woonie's awake! :D teehee enjoy!]