Thankfully, Sehun was alright.

The night went by smoothly and he was discharged the next day. He’d been told to rest back at the dorms. Junmyeon kindly stayed with him as his schedule was free for the afternoon, which left you able to head over to headquarters. Barely having the time to change into something fresh and having something to eat; you were almost out the door before Kyungsoo stopped you-

-‘Here.’ He said, handing over a packaged bread roll. You stared at the thing for a moment before looking at the plastic bag from the corner shop, dangling in his hand. ‘Thanks.’ You said quickly, taking the carton of flavoured milk you so enjoyed in the other hand. ‘See you later!’ You said briskly, kicking on the other shoe and opening the front door-

-‘I’ll be out.’ Kyungsoo murmured behind you.

You turned to him calmly; ‘Oh ok, will you be back late? Should I order something?’ Kyungsoo nodded slowly, avoiding your gaze; ‘Yeah…I’ll be late.’

‘Schedule?’ You asked, already knowing he didn’t have a schedule planned from your end, but perhaps Manager Kim was meant to oversee something with him. He shook his head; ‘High school friends.’ You hoped you didn’t seem shocked, but more pleasantly surprised, or curious at least; ‘Have a good time. We’ll miss you at dinner.’ You smiled tentatively. Kyungsoo’s thick dark brows pushed together slightly, his jaw clenched and unclenched while his large round eyes you so adored, met your stare- ‘I’ll see you when I see you I guess, and thanks for this.’ Holding up the food one last time, you gave Kyungsoo a smile of gratitude and let the automatic door close behind you, wondering for a moment if he was just about to say something…

-

He’d worked up the nerve to tell you while he was buying the milk and bread. The guilt was so intense, Kyungsoo even bought extra bread and milk for the others.

He could tell you- no, he would tell you.

But then…looking at your face. Your smiling, distracting face…Kyungsoo froze.  Even when that ring stared back at him; the one that told him precisely who and what he was to you.

Yet still, Kyungsoo lied.

It was becoming gross; disgusting with how easy it was to do. He was so sure you wouldn’t care. Of course, you wouldn’t- He looked at the ring again­- No, you wouldn’t mind at all.  

And yet…one look at that tentative smile and he folded.

Who was he protecting?

You?

Or Himself?

=========

Shovelling the last bit of bread and milk down your throat, you thought of nothing but making it into the building as soon as possible. Taemin hadn’t texted you; probably to give you some space while you sorted Sehun out. But still, you hadn’t had the time to reply back or call him…which was poor form on your behalf. Hurrying past security and holding your ID card at the front door, you rushed in.  

Heading to the front desk to sign in, and then going through another sliding door; you finally made it inside SM and knew exactly where it was you were heading- the financial office. The mini presentation you’d recited over and over again in your head along with the bag you carried, stuffed with hospital receipts; would be explanatory enough to get Sehun through this situation, hopefully without little more than Manager Kim and one of the accountants knowing. His nose would be healed in a week, so a week of mask-wearing would be enough for Sehun to get by without fans knowing or being concerned-

-Your phone buzzed in your hand. Quickly, sliding the ‘answer’ option and holding the device to your ear; you were immediately caught off-guard by his voice- ‘Annyeong~’

Oh.

‘Tae-Hello Sir.’ Realising your error, you checked yourself immediately. ‘Is He ok?’ Taemin asked calmly. It was ridiculous, how nice it was to hear his warm voice. Quickly, looking around and feeling the sweat form on your brow, you continued heading to the lift. Staring at the numbers above the door; it was on its way down from the top floor. Turning left and right and making sure no one was around, you spoke- ‘He’s fine. He’s back home- at the dorms I mean.’

‘Did you sleep?’ Taemin asked with nothing but elation and sincerity in his voice, and you could feel his distracting aura melt away the need to talk about the boys at all; ‘Yes, I slept in the world’s most uncomfortable armchair.’ You replied, suddenly realising the massive kink in your neck. Rubbing the spot laboriously you kept the phone to your ear distractedly. Finally, the lift arrived, pinging before the doors slid open; empty. This was your lucky day.

‘My bed’s comfortable, if you want to stay tonight.’ Taemin asked quietly; It was a question and a suggestion nicely wrapped in one; you grinned, realised you were grinning, and dropped your cheeks while the camera watched, as if Lee Sooman himself was watching you through that blinking red eye.

-You were going to say yes since…Kyungsoo would be busy; Baekhyun would probably be busy with Taeyon and the others had other schedules or early nights in. No one needed you and everyone had memorised each delivery house in the nearby vicinity’s number by heart so…it would be fine. But…

You pursed your lips together and held in a sigh;

…but Sehun.

You knew it was because he was the youngest…it was hard to simply ignore him. But saying no to Taemin…it seemed to harsh, too difficult-‘

-‘Where are you?’ You asked quickly. Taemin obliged; ‘In SM.’

‘You’re here?’ You said, pleasantly surprised; ‘Practice schedule. Euisoo’s with me.’ He added subtly. ‘I just got here, heading to finance, I’m in the elevator.’ You replied, leaning against the wall.

‘Floor 4?’ He asked and you didn’t know for sure if Taemin was talking to his manager, Euisoo or you. ‘Mmhmm.’ You hummed in reply, nodding subconsciously as well while you looked at the numbers blinking on the elevator screen. You’d just passed floor 2-

-but you felt the lift slowly move, halting at floor 3.

You checked the button; No, you hadn’t pressed 3. Perhaps someone from the outside wanted to go up as well; ‘One sec.’ You whispered, keeping the phone to your ear while you waited for the doors to open and witness whoever would be joining or listening in on your conversation. There always seemed to be an irrational fear that the president would pop up in proximity and fire you on the spot. It was irrational, but still made you nervous-

-Your eyes widened.

‘Euisoo’s behind, I ran.’ He was breathing h