He’s so tired that he feels like he could sleep for a thousand years.

Suho stares, not even bothering to listen to the racket that’s going on outside his mind. In fact, the petty argument that’s happening between his louder members.

It’s too typical for him to care anymore.

He knows exactly what these boys are like now. And he’s tired. He’s tired of pretending like he can deal with them when, in actuality, he’d rather sleep than deal with eleven rowdy boys.

Being EXO’s guardian is hard.

He’s got a lot of jobs to do. He’s got to discipline eleven boys, some of whom need it more than others. He’s got to bend to the will of the others and do what they want, as long as it’s within reason. He’s got to maintain his composure and speak to people who have no idea what actually happens behind closed doors. He’s got to deal with being the of everyone’s jokes and try his best not to take any of them to heart.

It’s hard, and Suho is tired.

“Suho hyung!” Sehun whines, glaring at an innocent, doe-eyed Luhan who clings to Sehun’s arm. “Make him go away!”

The Sehun-Luhan pair bickers the most.

To the public, they’re always sweet to each other, never letting anyone else near each other. But in reality, it’s Luhan that’s the sweet one. Just Luhan. Sehun is the one who snaps at Luhan every given moment.

Luhan is nice to everyone, far too nice for his own good, really. He’d decided to attach himself to Sehun during predebut days because, back then, Sehun had been a skittish little kid who just needed a friend, so Luhan decided that he’d be Sehun’s friend. At first, Sehun appreciated it. But Luhan is also really clingy. Once he’s attached to someone, he doesn’t let go.

While Minseok is patient and can deal with Luhan’s clingy behavior, Sehun is fed up with Luhan’s clinging.

But even though Luhan clings to Minseok, Minseok has other friends. He’s very patient and understanding, more of the mother than Suho or Kyungsoo. He cleans after the kids and makes sure to tell them to straighten up before the manager comes. He’s the pacifist of the group, the one who breaks up the fights rather than starts them. Everyone likes Minseok.

Not everyone, however, likes Baekhyun.

Even Chanyeol, his supposed best friend, can’t deal with Baekhyun’s overconfidence. Baekhyun is loud and cocky. He feels like he’s the best and like he deserves the best. He makes sure everyone knows that.

The only people who can really deal with Baekhyun are the pacifist Minseok and his close friend, Chen.

Chen is perhaps the most genuine of the entire group. He’s always smiling, always laughing, and always kind. He acts rowdier on camera, but in the dorm, he’s quiet and reserved. Baekhyun is the only one who can bring him out of his shell and he’s the only one who can tell Baekhyun to shut up without getting a wicked glare.

It’s a surprise, really, that most of the quieter members are actually the louder ones and the louder ones sometimes are the ones who are quieter and kinder.

Yixing likes to make stupid jokes that no one cares to hear. He likes making people laugh and he likes playing music for others. But he doesn’t take criticism too well, and his cute face is nothing but a facade, and everyone knows it. He’s the member with the worst temper, so no one likes messing with him.

Another member no one ever messes with is Tao. Even if he’s Suho’s cute son, even Suho knows that Tao won’t hesitate to use his Wushu on anyone who makes him mad. And even though Tao has a cute side to him, he’s also got a dark, violent side. The group does what it takes to keep Tao from ever flipping to his dark self.

The person who can do that most of the time is Kris.

Their relationship is not fake. Kris and Tao really are like father and son. They spend most of the time that they get together. It’s sweet, really, how much Kris cares for Tao. He’s always looking out for the younger boy.

But Kris isn’t always as kind to everyone else in the group. He tends to be annoyed by everyone and everything and, though he’s a dork, he’s an intimidating dork that no one wants to anger.

And then, of course, there’s Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo, the mother of the group. Kyungsoo, the vocalist who can belt like nobody’s business. Kyungsoo, the quiet troll and part of the vocal trio.

Kyungsoo, who has a temper almost as bad as Yixing, nags everyone constantly, and who only has a soft spot for a handful of people – which, thankfully, includes Suho. Because Kyungsoo has such a soft spot for the older boy, he helps out sometimes.

And sometimes, he just makes things worse.

It’s times like this, where there are arguments everywhere, that Suho wants to just curl up in a little ball and cry until he falls fast asleep.

He’s so, so tired.

As the one-sided argument between Luhan and Sehun grows louder, almost louder than Yixing’s jokes or Baekhyun’s laughter, both of which Joonmyeon can hear in the back, he feels another headache coming on.

The poor leader of EXO has been worn, abused, and beaten, and he’s been getting headaches constantly for the past few months.

Ever since Growl became a huge hit, things have been getting bumpy back at the dorms. Everyone is loud and rowdy, knowing that they earned all the popularity and recognition, but Suho wonders if he’s earned a break with all his hard work, taking care of eleven grown men who act no better than his cousin – and his cousin is only six.

With a huge sigh, he stands.

Kyungsoo, with a worried look, gazes up at Suho. “Are you okay, hyung?” he asks quietly.

“Just a headache,” he replies, trying to assure Kyungsoo that it’s nothing to worry about.

Thankfully, Kyungsoo seems to believe him, nodding with satisfaction and turning back to where he’s sitting on poor Chen, who isn’t even putting up a fight. Suho laughs softly so that no one hears, and leaves the living room, walking right into the kitchen.

He fishes around in the drawers, all filled with medications of all types – painkillers and prescriptions for the members with medical history, empty bottles from past incidents, and a ton of vitamins and minerals that Suho has in the back.

Suho, however, skips his vitamins for once and picks up a bottle of painkillers and a bottle of sleeping pills.

He does have some in his room, but he figures that since he’s out of sleeping pills, he should just refill both now rather than later.

“I’m going to get some rest,” he announces, walking through the living room and towards the hall where all the bedrooms are.

There’s a chorus of “goodnight, hyung!” and “goodnight, Suho!” that follows his abrupt departure.

He enters his room quietly, heaving another huge sigh, this one of relief, as he manages to slip away from the loud group just a few feet outside.

“Hyung, are you sure you’re okay?”

Suho jumps nearly ten feet in the air, almost dropping the two pill bottles in his hands. He turns to see Kai sitting on his bed, a book in hand and one earphone in, a worried look on his face.

“Kai, you scared me… I thought you were outside with the rest.”

Kai sits up, marking his page in the book, and frowns. “Hyung, are you using the sleeping pills again?” he asks, completely ignoring Suho’s words. Suho freezes, trying to hide the pills behind his back, although he knows it’s far too late for that. “We talked about this, hyung. It’s not good to rely on medication.”

The taller, tanned dancer stands suddenly, and Suho feels trappe