Minseok woke up the next day earlier than usual, wanting to do some running before the others got up. He shut off his alarm quickly after it woke him up, not wanting to incur the wrath of a sleep-deprived Zitao at five thirty in the morning.

Thankfully the younger man just sniffed and turned over, allowing Minseok to dress hurriedly and sneak out of the room unnoticed.

He made his way to the kitchen area to grab a water bottle before he left. But as he stepped through the doorway, he froze in place.

Yifan was sitting slumped at the island, his head down on his crossed arms, seemingly asleep.

Yifan was never up this early. In fact, he was notorious for being a ridiculously late sleeper. 

So why was he napping in the kitchen before the sun was even up all the way?

Minseok walked over to tap on the younger man's shoulder, getting a surprising response.
Yifan immediately sat straight up, nearly braining Minseok, who was standing just behind him.

Yifan stared back at him with wide, bloodshot eyes, his chest heaving with labored breaths. For a second there, Minseok could have sworn Yifan looked... scared?

"Yifan, why are you sleeping in the kitchen?" Minseok's voice was slow and soft, as if he were speaking to a child.

Yifan attempted to rub the sleep out of his eyes before answering.

"I, um. I wasn't really sleeping. Just dozing. Not, not really sleeping or anything."

Minseok raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. Then why did you choose to doze in the kitchen?"

Yifan shrugged his shoulders a little petulantly and began to stand up. He started to walk out of the kitchen, his gait sluggish and heavy, but Minseok stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Wu, are you okay?" Minseok knew Yifan couldn't resist when he called him that, and right now his worry trumped his pride.

Yifan forced a cheerless smile before stepping around Minseok to leave.

"Of course I'm fine, hyung. You worry too much."

With that, Yifan slipped into the bathroom. Minseok heard the click of the lock and the sound of the shower being .

Right, so Yifan is definitely not fine.

~~~
 

In the bathroom, Yifan was staring at his reflection in the mirror, pondering Minseok's concern for him. 

It's true, he had almost fallen asleep after going to the kitchen to find something to occupy himself with the night before. But every time he started to slip under, an echo of his mother's pleading voice would zap him back awake. 

He looked tired, definitely. He had dark bags under his eyes, and his gaze was half-lidded and a little dazed looking, like he had just woken up. His hair was mussed and tangled, a product of his tossing turning after waking up from his nightmare. 

He felt tired, too. Like his bones were to heavy to move. But he just turned the shower on as hot as it would go before stepping in.

The water burned his pale skin, turning it an angry red on his chest and legs. But he knew the steam would help wake him up, so he endured it. He washed his hair and body as quickly as he could before nearly jumping out from underneath the scalding spray.

He toweled his hair dry and washed his face before tying another towel around his waist and heading to his and Jongdae's shared room.

Minseok was gone when he stepped out.

Jongdae was still asleep, thankfully, and Yifan was able to change back into sweatpants and a sweater quickly before heading back out to the den area. 

Once there, he suppressed a yawn before sinking down into the well worn couch cushions, sighing in relief. His muscles were still tense from earlier, and it felt good to let them relax. 

He grabbed the remote and surfed channels aimlessly, trying to pass the time before the other members woke up.

After an hour and a half of infomercials, Yixing stumbled out of the hallway, half awake.

He looked mildly surprised to see Yifan sitting cross legged on the couch, but in typical Yixing fashion, he didn't pry.

"I'm hungry. Do you want breakfast?"

Yifan nodded his reply as he sunk back down into the cushions, relieved that Yixing didn't seem concerned. He had hardly made it away from Minseok and his gentle eyes without spilling everything.

He'd have to be careful around him, he was too intuitive.

Yixing had wandered into the kitchen and started breakfast, which, by all the clanking of bowls and spoons, sounded like cereal.

Knowing Yixing, who would let the cereal get soggy if the others weren't down quick enough, Yifan got up to rouse them all.

Jongdae and Lu Han got up easily enough, but Zitao required a bit of creative maneuvering and a lot of upper arm strength to get into the kitchen.

Yixing had set out the bowls and cereals and was retrieving the milk when Yifan came in, Zitao draped over his back like a monkey.

Just after Yifan got the younger boy off of him and into a seat, the group heard the snick of the front door opening.

Minseok walked into the kitchen, removing his earplugs from his ears as he did so.
His hair was windswept and his cheeks were tinged pink from exercise, and sweat glistened faintly on his exposed collarbone.

Yifan cleared his throat and looked down into his cereal.

"Are you gonna eat with us, hyung? I can get another bowl." Yixing was already standing up to go to the cupboard.

"No thanks. I'll just have some milk or something."

Yixing shot Minseok a look, but got a glass down from the shelf.

Yifan could feel Minseok's questioning gaze on him, and it made his skin crawl with worry. What if he started asking questions in front of everyone? Then they wouldn't trust him anymore to be their ever-strong leader.

Yifan felt the anxiety creeping up on him like dark fog, his hands started shaking minutely. He had to leave.
He stood up from his stool so fast the chair almost fell over, and everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Sorry, sorry, I just remembered something I have to do. In my room."

With that he was down the hall and in his room, leaving five curious and concerned stares behind him. 

"What was that about?" Jongdae asked.

"I don't know. But something's wrong with him."

And Minseok was determined to find out.

A/N: Loved it, hated it, indifferent towards it?? Tell me why in the comments!