"How longer will it be before his leave is over?" I asked nobody in particular.

"Two more days," Woohyun-hyung answered almost immediately.

"What should we do for him?" Dongwoo-hyung wondered taking a seat on the chair next to mine.

Myungsoo and Howon-hyung closed the computer where they were reading on and approached the rest of us. They had been monitoring the articles and responses of the people to know what we were dealing with. I don't know how they do it, honestly. The last time I read a comment my heart almost burst due to my impotence.

"Should we plan a surprise party or something?" Woohyun-hyung asked.

Myungsoo shook his head at that. "I don't think it is a good idea," he answered. "After the way he reacted to us at the hospital, I really doubt he'll be comfortable with a party." Although he didn't say it out loud, I knew he was feeling guilty about his behavior towards Gyu-hyung that night. But sure enough, without his observation skills, we wouldn't have known it wasn't us but something that must have happened before that put him like that.

"Well," Howon said standing up. "If we are going to discuss this now I'll go wake Sungjong up. I'm sure he wouldn't want to miss this talk."

"Hyung," I ventured before Howon-hyung moved. "Can't we just let him sleep a little bit more? He has been very stressed out lately and I'd like it if he rests some more." I pleaded.

The past week had been hell for our maknae. Not because of us though, because we have been trying very hard to support him and keep him grounded, but we can't always help him with the battle within his mind that started that same night. Worst thing is, his stress has been manifesting physically with pain and discomfort in his back. He hasn't been attending his therapy sessions either because of our schedules so he hasn't been sleeping correctly for the past week.

"Hyung," Myungsoo spoke calling my attention and taking my hands in his. Despite not liking to have physical contact, he has been a strong rock of support for me this past week.

"I know you're worried about Sungjong, we all are, but remember how important it was been for him to help Sunggyu, even if it is in small things," he said. "How do you think he would feel in the morning when we tell him about this and he wasn't there to discuss it with us?", he finished.

Ah, you're right.

Every day since the hospital incident, the maknae has been writing little daily notes for our leader and asking Youngjun-hyung to deliver them to him. They are simple. Just some Sleep well, or even a small Have a nice day.

"Sungyeol-ah," Woohyun-hyung said. "Sungjong is our maknae, and as I hyung I would like to shield him from everything bad that happens in the world, but I'm aware I can't do that because I'll probably just protect his body but harm his mind. We can't always do what we think is better for him," he said seriously.

That struck me really hard. Am I the one that's been selfish? Has my desire to protect him gone overboard?

Myungsoo squeezed my hands with his snapping me out of my thoughts.

I could feel Howon-hyung 's stare so I turned my head to look at him in the eyes.

"So," he said. "Can I go and wake Sungjong now?"

I bit my lip and hesitated. What I consider the best for him might not be the best for himself. I peeked at Myungsoo once more before nodding slowly.

Howon-hyung smiled at me before turning and walking towards the room our maknae was sleeping.

It didn't take more than a couple of minutes before a bouncing maknae appeared from the hallway with a grinning hyung trailing behind.

"HYUNGS!" he exclaimed before taking a seat on the floor next to my feet. "Is hyung coming back already?" he asked excitedly.

"Gosh Hoya, what did you give him?" Dongwoo-hyung said faking exasperation.

"Nothing, I swear," the acussed one responded raising his hands. "He turned like this as soon as I said Gyu."

"Hyu~ng," Sungjong whined loudly, poking and pulling at Woohyun-hyung's pants. "Is he coming soon?" He asked again.

Said hyung chuckled at the youngest antics. "Yes, he's coming soon," he answered as he petted the maknae's head tenderly. "But we need all of us to plan his welcoming party."

"I repeat, I don't think a party will be fine, hyung'll need to rest," Myungsoo interjected again.

For the next couple of minutes we talked about our plans and ideas, all of us gave our inputs to the conversation.

Yet, from the corner of my eye I could see that Sungjong was getting uncomfortable on the floor. Maybe it was because of the way he squirmed without being noticed or because of the frown on his face despite the excitement he projected.

So I thought to myself, I have already let the others wake him up against my will. Let me at least protect him from the floor.

"Sungjong-ah, stand up," I said interrupting Dongwoo-hyung's speech.

The boy turned to look weirdly at me but stood up nonetheless. Once standing I pulled him to where I was and placed him on my chair. The moment his back touched the backrest, he closed his eyes and released a sigh of relief. He opened his eyes again and looked at me in the eyes and smiled.

"So," Dongwoo-hyung said clearing his throat.

"I'm sorry," I said as I sat in the place the maknae was before.

Once hyung proceeded with his speech I glanced at Howon-hyung. The moment he saw me looking he chuckled, shook his head and returned his attention to Dongwoo-hyung.

And just then, with all of us together and Sungjong properly seated in a comfy place, I tuned into the conversation.

"I'm sorry for contacting you this late, but I'm sure you'll be able to help him," Hyoan said.

"I don't think you should put that much trust in me, but even then, I'll try my best," the other answered.

"Yes please, that's the only thing we need. Sunggyu's sick leave is almost over and we need him to be stable for when he goes back."

"I understand," the other answered. "As I said before, I don't know how much I can do or how much that boy will hear me, but I will do my best."

"Thank you very much," Hyoan said taking the other's hands and shaking them eagerly. "That will mean a lot to all of us, not just him."

A/N:

Hello! It's me again.

Just as I promised, I updated the story as soon as my internship ended. Although I apologize because this chapter is more of a filler than actual plot but I wrote it like that because of two reasons, one more complicated than the other one.

First, Sungyeol hasn't had an important role in this fanfic more than a background character, so I wanted to give him his time to shine since he'll probably return to the back after this.

Second, reality . 

I mean, I really wanted to update for INFINITE's comeback and fangirl with all of you, but life hasn't given me the chance to even breathe. If I could I would just hide under a rock and sleep until the end of the century, yet I'm stuck with all my university assignments and more.

(As a parenthesis I'd like to give all of those still in school an advice. You may skip this if you'd like. When the time comes for you to choose your major, choose wisely. Don't choose based on things like money or social status but taking into account what you think you can stand for the rest of your professional life. As long as you enjoy it, not just tolerate but actually like, you'll be fine. And also, do not let anyone else choose for you. Gosh, I don't even know what I'm writing anymore.)

Anyway, I did not proofread this so it's bound to have many mistakes. Feel free to point them out :)

I'll try to update again soon. Until then!