The first time Jinki's neck hurt, it was Kibum who noticed it first. The dance routine for Everybody has been taking its toll on the leader's body.

Jinki's in charge of lifting Jonghyun and doing the so-called Propeller move. To be honest, his dance parts were more difficult than Taemin's. Heck, he topped all of them.

Maybe that's why Kibum isn't really surprised when the leader comes home from a doctor's appointment wearing a blue neck guard that isn't looking good around his neck. That blue thing mocks Kibum. 

And that's why he was more than happy to throw that thing away after the doctor declared that Jinki is free from the neck injury.

 

The second time Jinki's neck hurts was from his uncomfortable position in sleeping. The leader has its perks in getting his own room all by himself. His bed was the softiest and largest bed in the whole dorm. (It wasn't an exaggeration)

But what made Kibum wonder is that one morning, the leader woke up complaining about his neck feeling stiff that he can't even turn his head comfortably.

He inspected the bed and even tried sleeping on it that night. It was one of the best sleep he ever had in his life. He feels energized and everything.

And he suddenly had the urge to whack the leader on the head as he discovers one thing.

"I fell asleep on the chair. I was busy writing some lyrics that ran on my mind.." Jinki said sheepishly, acting innocent in front of Kibum.

He doesn't know if he should be angry or not.

 

The third time was around February.

It was when they were busy practicing routines for another chain of SHINee World Concert. It was the third one and they wanted to make it more special, focusing on the songs from their third album.

The routines were a bit different from before. There's a song where they would be dancing with blindfolds (the blindfolds were a lot of help actually but I'm not gonna tell where), then there's Lucifer and Everybody.

They should be used to it now. But knowing the leader's fragile body, he knows something is wrong whenever Jinki keeps calling for a short break saying that he's old and he can't keep up with the others anymore.

He should've known better than to let the leader fool the others with a smile and that he's alright.

He should've known better.

 

Time pass and it was already the end of May when he suddenly saw some medicine prescriptions on the leader's bedside table. All he wanted to take was a stupid schedule notes when he saw it.

All his mind could register was Vocal Polyps and some throat surgery to remove it from his vocal cords. That's when Jinki found him.

"Kibum, what's taking you so long? Is everything alright?" 

Kibum couldn't help but cry.

"What's wrong, Kibum?"

"You liar." Jinki visibly flinches at his tone. But he doesn't care. "Do you even plan on telling us?"

"You found out." Jinki sighs, sitting beside Kibum. "I never want you and the others to worry."

"What part of your worries are my worries don't you understand? I'm your boyfriend and you can't seem to treat me like one. Of course I'm gonna get worried but I'm gonna be there to support you." The younger cries against his leader's chest. "Why did you keep it from me? Don't you trust me?"

Jinki rubbed circles on the younger's back. He knows nothing could lessen all the worries Kibum is feeling right now. He should've told at least Kibum about what really happened. But he didn't want Kibum to worry out of all the people he loved.

"Sorry, Bummie. I'm sorry." He said and it earned him a whack in the head.

"Stop saying sorry."

"But -"

"Not buts, Lee Jinki. Now tell me everything. Not a single information left out."

The surgery was scheduled on June 3. 2 days after another leg of the SHINee World Concert. Jinki has assured Kibum that nothing will go wrong as he is attended by one of the best doctors in Seoul.

By the end of the day, the rest of the members were told about his condition. Jonghyun cried, both Taemin and Minho paled.

"I love you, Bummie." Jinki said as he laid beside the younger.

"I love you too, Jinki." Kibum replied, hugging the older and drifted to sleep.
 

The four members were now in Brazil, leaving Jinki in Korea for his recovery. It knowing that the time difference and Jinki's temporary silence makes things very difficult for him. They could chat and text but everytime they video chat, he would always want to hear the older's voice rather than seeing him scribble things in his notebook and do crazy actions just to tell him things.

That's when he realized he missed Jinki's voice.

But Jinki isn't recommended to speak for the meantime because it may cause Voice Trauma. He even had to go to the hospital everyday just to ensure that he is recovering well and everything.

He would always listen to Jinki's songs and covers just to hear his voice. But they were not enough. He wanted to hear Jinki's melodic voice saying I love you to him, saying that he's alright and everything is fine.

That's the best assurance he could ever get.

 

The flight back to Seoul was one hell of a ride. He hated connecting flights. He hated that Jinki's not here. He hated that he is away from Jinki.

They were physically drained from the long flight. He forced a smile on his face, for the fans waiting for their arrival. He couldn't afford to look worried and nervous right now, knowing that the fans doesn't know a single thing about the leader's disappearance.

He wanted to run back home, head straight to the leader's room and hug the hell out of him.

 

Driving back home from the airport has never been this long for Kim Kibum. It was approximately a one hour drive but to him it felt like more than that.

By the time they arrived on the dorm building, Kibum hopped off the car, leaving his suitcase in the hands of the other members who gave him a nodding signal to go on and leave it all to them. He was thankful for that.

He fiddled his fingers, trying to ease the worry feeling he gets.

He fumbled with the keys, trying to find the right one when the door suddenly opened, revealing Jinki in his PJs.

"Welcome home, Bummie."

That alone could beat any musical pieces in the world.

He smiled as he said, "I am home."