“Since Minnie filmed his a while ago, I guess it’s my turn to do this, isn’t it?” Kibum studied his face as it appeared back on the screen, not quite believing it was him. The person there had dark circles under his eyes and they were rimmed in red. But at the same time, he knew it was. From the sleepless nights listening to Taemin coughing in the room down the hall to crying himself to sleep thinking of life without the loveable maknae, he had turned into a different looking person. “You’ve been hiding your suffering from all of us, haven’t you Minnie? You could have said you were tired today; you didn’t have to continue going around with me if you were. Because I was too stupid to notice, you ended up falling asleep on me in the middle of shopping.”

A sniffle escaped him and he hurried to wipe his nose that was starting to run as tears pricked at his eyes. “You never had to hide from us baby. All we want to do is help you, which is hard when you hide things. Don’t worry about making us worry next time.” He gave a sad smile, “We’re your hyungs after all. It’s our job to worry about you.” That seemed to be his turning point and the tears came down in the most non-pretty way possible for him. “I can’t do this right now.” The camera clicked off only a second before he broke down into full-out sobs.

Jonghyun looked around the doorway from the hall and his eyes landed on the broken Kibum, curled in a ball and sobbing on the floor in front of the computer. Without words being spoke, he padded into the room and sat behind the younger boy, wrapping his arms around the small frame. Kibum was held tight to Jonghyun’s chest as he sobbed and at any other time he would have pushed away.

But right then, all he needed was someone to hold him and tell him it would all be alright, and Jonghyun was that person. So he let himself relax into the arms, leaning into the dino’s chest as sobs tore through his body and shook his whole being.

When Jinki and Minho walked through the door hours later, the two were still in the same position on the floor. Both of them, however, were asleep and clinging onto the other, so they let them be and entered the kitchen, ready to scavenge for food.

The two walked to the cabinet and fridge, looking for anything quick and edible and completely oblivious to the boy sitting on the counter drinking a bottle of strawberry milk. “Can we order fried chicken? I’ve been waiting over an hour for Kibum-hyung to wake up and make food, but he isn’t and I want some chicken.”

Neither of them hid the jump when the youngest spoke and as they looked at the boy, the smirk on his face was an obvious sign that he knew. Jinki was the one to answer, nodding his head hesitantly. “Y-yeah. Sure. Just give me a minute and we can go out to get some.”

Taemin only nodded, finished the bottle in his hands and pulling the straw out, throwing the empty one in the trash across the room from his spot without getting up and stabbing the same straw into another at the same time. Jinki and Minho both left to get changed into more suitable clothing from their filming clothes and by the time they came back, Taemin was all ready wrapped in his multiple jackets and with his hat and mask on. “Aren’t you guys ready yet? I’m hungry…”

“We’re coming Taemin. Just put your shoes on and wait a minute.” And the maknae listened without complaint, bouncing on his toes by the door as watched the two shrug on jackets and slide their feet into shoes. As soon as they were done, he was out the door and waiting for them to catch up. “Did Jonghyun give you caffeine or something?”

Taemin shook his head and laughed at Jinki as he walked a little ahead of them. “Nope. I’m just excited for chicken. I’ve wanted it all day!”

“You’re starting to sound like Jinki-hyung…” Minho gave a teasing smile to the two before catching up with Taemin and slinging an arm over his smaller shoulders, holding him back a little. “Slow down or you’ll be tired before we get there.”

“But hyung…” He whined like a little kid, going as far as stomping his foot on the ground. “I’m hungry.”

“Well, wait a little Minnie. We have to get there first.” The three boarded the elevator against Taemin’s protests that it would take too long. “It’s shorter than running down all the stairs, Taemin.” And he’d been forced to listen to reason.

But then why—why!—did that day have to be the one day the elevator broke?

And with them in it? “Hyung?” Taemin’s voice wavered as he tried to look around the pitch-black compartment.

“Are you okay Taemin?” The two answered at the same time, trying to grab into the space for the youngest when they heard the fear in his voice.

“It’s really dark in here.” He sounded lower to the ground than before. “I don’t like the dark. Not like this.” The whole elevator shifted enough to send the two standing stumbling. Wherever Taemin had been sitting on the ground, he was now laying if the thump they heard said anything.

“Everyone okay?” Jinki’s voice cut through the silence that was hanging in the elevator. “Minho?”

“I’m good. Just hit the wall. Taemin, are you okay?” Jinki felt a hand grab onto his, much too big to belong to Taemin.

“Y-yeah.” He sounded close to crying and Jinki and Minho immediately crouched down so they were on his level. As soon as his hand grabbed onto one of theirs, he threw himself on the person and wrapped his arms around their neck, clinging on for life. “How are we getting out of here?”

“Someone has to push the emergency button…” But the buttons had no light, just like the rest of the small space, and Jinki was scrambling through his pockets to find his phone. Using the light from the screen, he pressed the button as hard as he could, yet nothing happened. “Why isn’t this working?”

“There’s no electricity for it to, hyung.” Minho’s voice cut through to the leader and he finally turned around, sitting back by the two against the wall. “We need to call someone to get help then.”

“I’ll try Jonghyun.” The numbers were already being punched into his phone, but before it could be lifted to his ear, Taemin’s small hand clasped around his wrist.

“Please don’t put the light out again. Please.” Even in the near darkness, the pleading in his eyes could be seen and Jinki only nodded, putting it on speaker and holding the phone out to light the space some.

After a few rings, a groggy voice finally picked up. “What?”

“The elevator broke with us in it. Can you get some help?” Minho was comforting Taemin beside him as he spoke, holding the boy close and whispering things Jinki couldn’t hear into his ear. “I’m with Minho and Taemin.”

“Y-yeah. Just give me a minute.” There was the sound of groans and shuffling as they figured Jonghyun stood from where he was sleeping. Through the line, they could hear him mumbling into another phone before his voice became clear again. “There’s already police on the way. Someone heard the cable snap or something. They said for you guys to be as still as possible so the second one doesn’t break either. Or you’ll all go plummeting down to an almost certain death.”

Taemin let out a whimper and buried deeper into Minho’s arms while Jinki glared at the phone, wishing Jonghyun could have seen him then. “Thanks for the comfort.”

“Just telling you what they said. Are you guys okay in there?” He actually sounded a little worried now. “Is someone crying?”

And Taemin was now, but it was barely sniffles as he clung to the boys. “Yeah. It’s just a little scary in here. Really dark. And, you know, the mental picture of what you told us could happen at any moment.” He was rubbing Taemin’s arm as he spoke, hearing Minho whispering how it wasn’t going to happen to the quaking boy.

“Sorry. Kibum and I will be there as soon as you guys get out, okay?”

“Can you have some strawberry milk and chicken with you?” Jinki’s request seemed random to the boys who knew nothing and he heard Jonghyun pause in all he was doing.

Then the agreement came. “Sure. I’m not even asking why. Just stay safe in there.”

“Do we have a choice on safe or not?” There was no one on the other end of the line to answer him back.

Jinki’s phone sat in the middle of the floor, on the brightest setting so it lit up as much as possible. “Taemin-ah, are you okay? You’re shaking.”

“I’m fine.” He would have seemed to have been, if he wasn’t shaking as hard as he was. After a few more questions from his elders, he finally gave in. “My chest feels really tight right now. Like it’s harder to breathe.”

The mask was pulled off his face almost immediately after that and Jinki pulled the boy into his lap to hold him sitting straighter than leaning against the wall. “Is that better?”

“A little…” A bang on the top of the lift had him jumping in the arms in seconds and as Jinki steadied him, he could feel the boy’s heart beating fast under his palm. “What was that?”

“You boys don’t move in there, okay?” There was another knock on the top as the deep voice came through. “We’re going to get you out soon, okay? Just stay calm.”

That was a hard request to ask of them after being trapped in there as long as they were, but they managed as a panel was removed from the top and a head popped through, smiling at them despite the situation. “Which one of you wants to go first?” Before he even knew what was happening, Taemin was being lifted up by the other two and the man grabbed him to pull him up through the ceiling. “You’re Taemin, right?” He could only nod as a rope was tied around him before he was directed to the huge ladder in the dark, three other men standing there. “He’s the one!”

And it seemed like they all suddenly knew everything about him as he was told to climb the ladder. “I’ll be right behind you. If it gets too tiring or if anything at all doesn’t feel right, tell me immediately. Okay?” He could only nod to the man that looked just a few years older than him before he was being told a climb. The firefighter, true to his word, stuck right behind Taemin to the point that they boy felt like he was going to kick the man in the face.

But never once did he stop, even as it began to hurt and his arms became tired. After all, it wasn’t just about him—there was Jinki and Minho who needed to get to safety as well. The second they reached the doors that were pried open though, Taemin crawled out on the ground and didn’t even bother getting up to move, knowing he would collapse if he tried.

All it took was crawling a few feet before there were paramedics checking him over.

Only after being given the all-clear was he allowed to go to Jonghyun and Kibum, sitting against the wall with the bag of things Jinki had asked for and watching the open doors with hawk-like eyes. He had barely sat down before he was being checked over by them and a bottle of strawberry milk and a straw placed in his disgustingly dirty hand. But he joined them in watching for the other two, smiling as they came up safely just like he had.

Only once they were together and safely back in their dorm did Taemin let the tears come again as he clung onto Kibum, crying to him like a child did their mother. While nothing was coming from the maknae to explain it, the other two covered in grime did it in three words. “He was scared.”

“A lot,” Minho added as he rubbed the boy’s back, smearing the white shirt with some more blackness. “All of us were.”