When Taemin heard the song Jonghyun had composed for his solo album, he could only think of how his best friend, Kai, would fit the rap part so much more.  He had always wanted to share the stage with his friend, and this song seemed perfect for them.

During the weeks leading up to Taemin's solo debut, both Taemin and Kai had already perfected their routine but continued to practice without rest and soon celebrated a successful M countdown recording with dinner together.  
"♪Samgyupsal, samgyupsal~ Lettuce wraps with samgyupsal~♪ Hey, Kai, you want some hand sanitizer?"
"Ew, no, then my lettuce wraps will taste all nasty."
"Eh~ If you say so..."

A few days later, they were working in the practice room, preparing for their concert that weekend, when Kai suddenly fainted.  In a panic, Taemin ran over to Kai and called the first person he could think of.
"Minho hyung, w-what do I do?  We were dancing and Kai suddenly fell to the ground a-and he’s not getting back up," Taemin stuttered.
"What the-why did you call me then?  You should have called an ambulance, stupid."
"I was panicking, hyung!  I didn't know what to do, and you can do everything, so I thought you would know and... and…"
"Calm down, Taemin.  You're rambling.  I’ll be over in a minute, so just stay with him until I get there." Click.  
Taemin adjusted Kai’s body to rest against him, and after what felt like forever, Minho rushed into the practice room and took a quick look at Kai’s condition.  
“Don’t worry, Taemin.  He'll be fine.  I called an ambulance on my way here, so they should be here soon.  We just need to get him to a doctor… because he's turning all kinds of colors."
 

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"It looks like he’s suffering from a mild stomach virus and extreme dehydration.  I’m going to prescribe some medicine for the virus, but make sure he also gets lots of rest and is well-hydrated for the next week or so.  He should make a full recovery in approximately four to eight days."
“Thank you, sir,” Minho replies.  “Taemin, I’ll call the other EXO members and tell them what’s going on, since they’re going to need to take care of him.  You should go home and get some rest.”
"But what about the concert this weekend!?  Kai can't possibly perform in this condition!"
Minho gently runs his fingers through Taemin’s hair.  "Just call up manager hyung and schedule an emergency audition.  I'll call Kyungsoo and have him pick up Kai."  He ruffles his hair a bit.  “Don’t worry.  Everything will be just fine.”
 

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Little Kyungsoo came to the hospital to pick up Kai, so Minho offered to helped move Kai back to their dorm.  Minho, doing most of the heavy lifting, gently lowered Kai down on his bed, but Kai immediately rolled over onto his side and clutched his stomach.
"Uggggggghhhhhh…"
"What’s wrong?”
"Bathroom..." Kai exhales as he falls out of the bed.  
“Aigoo…”
“Don’t worry, Kyungsoo.  I got him.”
After helping Kai to the bathroom, Minho walked towards the kitchen, where Kyungsoo had started making porridge.
"Thank you for the help, hyung.  If you need to get going, I think I’ve got things handled here now --”
The door suddenly bursts open and a tall, lanky boy stumbled towards Kai's room.
"He's not in there, Chanyeol," Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.  
"What!  Then where is he?  Is he still at the hospital?  We need to go get him!  Which hospital is he at?"
"No, dummy.  He's here.  He’s just not in there," Kyungsoo responded with a tone that would have sounded condescending coming from anyone else.  "He's in the bathroom, but he's not going to want you in there with him right now, so just have a seat."
Minho chuckled.  "Hey, Chanyeol, nice to see you.  It's been awhile."
"Oh, what’s up, Minho hyung!  I didn't even notice you there!  What are you doing in our dorm?"
"I helped Kyungsoo bring Kai back from the hospital."
"What!  Hyung~ you should have called me~" Chanyeol whined.
"Oh, shut up.  You had a schedule."
"I would have come anyway," he pouted.
"Manager hyung definitely would not have let you leave any sooner.  Actually, I'm surprised you got here as fast as you did."
"I ran…" Chanyeol mumbled under his breath.
“Oh, yeah, where’s Taemin?  Didn’t you say he was with you and Kai at the hospital earlier?”
"Yeah, I told him to get some rest, but he went back to the studio for auditions.  He’s looking for someone to sub for Kai during the upcoming performance."
"Pfft, Kai is the best… and no one will be able to learn the dance in time," Chanyeol grumbled.
"It’s… kind of true,” Minho admitted.  “The only person as good as Kai is Taemin, but we can’t clone him...  Ah, if only they had practiced with an extra backup, then they wouldn't need to teach the dance to a new guy."
"Chanyeol knows it!" Kyungsoo interjected.
"You do?" Minho looked to Chanyeol, "How?"
"What!  No, I don’t!”
"What a liar!” Kyungsoo interrupted.  “He’s been spending all his spare time watching Kai practice.  I bet he’s already got it memorized.”
Before Chanyeol could deny anything, Minho made a call.  "Hey, Taemin.  Stop looking for a replacement.  I found someone that knows the dance already."  Loud cheering and yelling could be heard through the phone before Minho hung up.
"He said to come down to Studio B now to practice with him."
"But I... But--"
Minho put his hand up to silence Chanyeol's blabbering, "Go, now.  Taemin needs you to practice.  He was really freaking out earlier, so he'll be glad to have your help."
"But… I should at least wait for Kai to get out of the bathroom… to make sure he's okay…"
Kyungsoo sent Chanyeol a knowing look, "I can take care of him just fine without you hovering.  So shoo~”  
With a small huff, Chanyeol pouted and trudged out to the dance studio.

After Chanyeol had left the room, Kyungsoo shook his head.  "Both of them would be so much better off if that boy just came out and told Kai how he really feels.”
Minho chuckled at the comment.
"Speaking of, you and Taemin seem to be doing well."
"Wait, what? How did you--?"
"What do you mean ‘how’?  It’s so obvious.  I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me such a long time ago."
"…we're trying not to make it a public thing.  Our members don't even know."
"Ha!  Onew hyung knows.  He’s just waiting ‘til you guys are ready to tell him.”  
Minho’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.  
"What?  We talk.  He knows a lot more than he lets on."
Minho pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against. "Well, this has been fun and all, but I think I’d better get back."
"Alright.  Make sure Taemin doesn't fall for Chanyeol though.  He seems to like tall, dorky, deep-voiced rappers."
Minho smirked.  "Don’t worry.  That idiot’s already got one."
 

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Over in practice room B, Chanyeol was greeted by a very excited Taemin.  “Chanyeol hyung!  Minho hyung didn't tell me it was you!  This is going to be totally awesome!  You already know Kai's part of the dance, right? Oh!  And you can rap, too, so we won't even need the recording.  Come on!  We need to practice!"  Taemin grabbed Chanyeol's arm and bounced into the practice room.
Chanyeol nervously rubbed the back of his neck.  "Ah, I won't be as good as Kai, but I'll do my best."
"Of course!”  Taemin beamed, “Only Kai and I can really pull of this dance, but you're just so cute that it won’t even matter!"  
Taemin’s constant smile helped Chanyeol feel more relaxed.  They really do look similar, Chanyeol mused, but there’s a different feel here.  With Taemin, it kind of feels like I’m playing with an over-excited puppy.  But with Kai, I feel the need to prove myself because he makes me… nervous..?  Ah, no, not nervous.  Something else…
 

Throughout the evening, even though Chanyeol knew he’d been making a lot of mistakes, Taemin never stopped giving him compliments.  And no matter how hard he tried to focus, Chanyeol couldn’t help but think about how Kai would have been pushing him to dance much harder, past his physical limits, until he was so worn out that he couldn’t walk straight.  Taemin noticed the dazed and longing look on Chanyeol’s face and asked if he wanted to go home to check on Kai, to which Chanyeol declined.  I need to practice more or Kai will be disappointed… he thought.  So they continued practicing through to the next morning.
 

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Back at the EXO dorm, everyone had eventually heard of Kai's illness.  Suho, being the good leader he is, helped Kyungsoo take care of their second maknae—changing the towels for Kai's fever and even running down to the store for more easy-to-swallow foods.  When Chanyeol finally arrived home after sunrise, everyone was already asleep except for Baekhyun, so they ended up chatting.
"It was so weird dancing with Taemin today.  He's like the total opposite of Kai, but, like, it still feels so familiar."
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah, I guess.  I'm excited to show Kai how hard I've been working."
"You want to show him your sweet moves?"  Baekhyun mocked, wiggling his eyebrows.
"You know what I mean."
"No, I really don't.  Please, elaborate."
"Shut up!"  Chanyeol tried to glare at Baekhyun, but they both ended up bursting into laughter.

Out of all the members, Chanyeol had only confessed to Baekhyun about his feelings for Kai.  Not really by choice though because Baekhyun just happened to walk in on him once after he had… groaned out Kai's name.
 

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The next day, Sehun waltzed into Kai's room to tell him the news.
"You've been replaced."
"What?"
"You've been replaced.  I heard Chanyeol is going to do your part with Taemin hyung for tomorrow's concert."  Settling on the end of Kai's bed, he continued, "And I also heard that Taemin is super excited about it—falling all over Chanyeol like you getting sick is the best thing that ever happened."
"He's exaggerating."  Kyungsoo pushed through the door carrying a bowl of soup, "Taemin is just happy to have someone to fill in for you so last minute."
"So Chanyeol is doing my rap?"
"Your dance, too," Sehun chimed in.
"What? But he doesn't even know it!"
"Yes, he does.  He's always there when you're practicing.”  Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow.  “Have you seriously not noticed?"
"Well yeah, but--"
"I saw them in the studio, and they were all over each other."  Sehun stands from the bed and heads towards the door.  “They're definitely going to get together after this."  He was almost out the door before popping his head back in and adding, “I ship it.”
 

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While Kyungsoo and Suho were both out, Kai, feeling less nauseous, called Minho to help him get to the dance studio.  Just to check on how the practice is going, of course.  Just practice.

In the studio, Taemin was fawning over Chanyeol as they took a break.  "You know, I’ve always liked your voice, Chanyeol.  Can you do your part from ‘Baby Don't Cry’?  I really love that one.”
“Ah, I don’t know…”
“Oh, please, do it for me?”
Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile in submission.  Dang, if Kai did aegyo like that, I’d be so totally screwed…

Taemin clapped his hands together in anticipation and sat on the floor, back against the mirror.  Chanyeol took a few steps back, faced him, and began.  

As Kai and Minho walked down the hallway, they heard a familiar but out of place song coming from Studio B.  Kai didn't hesitate to push the door all the way open and stomp straight towards Chanyeol, who was no longer singing but still had with his mouth hanging open in surprise.  However, his expression quickly changed from shock to glee, as he realized  that Kai arrived.  
"Ka--"
"What the hell do you think you're doing singing in his ear like that!"
Chanyeol tilted his head, "What?  I wasn't... He--We were just..."
"I thought you were practicing to take my place, but it looks like you two just wanted to be alone to flirt!"  
"Ah, wait~ I asked him to do it!  Don’t get mad at him, Kai!"  Taemin stood and reached for his friend, but Minho intercepted him with a cold glare.
Minho slowly raised an eyebrow.  "You asked him to sing like that to you?"  
"I mean, he's just so cute though!  So... I asked him to sing for me while we took a little break..."
"…we’ll talk about this at home,” he stated so coldly that Taemin shivered.
"We were practicing until just a minute ago--"
"Didn't look like that to me," Kai snarled.  "You were serenading him like you were on a date or something!  And I heard about how you two have been all over each other since I've been sick."
"W-what!  What’re you talking about?," Chanyeol sputtered.  
Beginning to feel desperate, Chanyeol grabbed Kai's shoulders, but as soon as Chanyeol's hands touched him, Kai diverted his gaze.
"Don't ever do that again," Kai mumbled.  After a few moments, he looked back up at Chanyeol with a small pout, "…only sing for me… and only look at me…"
Not knowing how to respond to this confession, Chanyeol pulled Kai to his chest and hugged him as tight as he could.  He lowered his head next to Kai's ear, "I’m sorry… I'll never do it again," he whispered.  "I'll only look at you."
 

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After escorting a feverish Kai back to the dorm and being scolded by an overly-concerned Kyungsoo, Chanyeol returned to the studio to prepare for tomorrow’s concert alone.  He suspected that Minho took Taemin home.  No doubt, he was getting a good scolding as well.  

The next afternoon, Chanyeol arrived at the concert venue to get ready.   Taemin was already there and immediately apologized to him for causing trouble.  A few minutes later, EXO manager hyung came over to tell him that Suho called to say that Kai was still a bit weak but was feeling well enough to come watch the concert.  With renewed excitement, Chanyeol went out and performed his best.  
After his performance, Taemin went on to perform ‘Danger’, and Chanyeol ran backstage to find Kai.  
"Did you see us perform?  How was it?"  He breathed with a big goofy smile.
Kai smirked, grabbed Chanyeol by the collar of his button-up, and brought him down to meet his lips.  “You did good.”
 

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L: WHAT HAVE I DONE~!
J: SOMETHING GOOD! LOOK AT THEM LITTLE CUTIE PATOOTIES, HA HA HA~