The trip to the hospital had been a tense one, to say the least, Jongin had rode with Baekhyun and he had watched with terrified eyes as the paramedics bustle around his hyung, inserting all types of tubes in his veins and an oxygen mask on top of his nose and mouth.

Jongin could never erase that image of his mind, no matter how hard he tried and, if he was completely honest, the scenario did replay itself on his mind, in his dreams, for a long time after it happened; every time he closed his eyes, he could visualize it, as if it had been branded into his eyelids. He really thought that nobody could have remained indifferent if they had seen what he saw: his hyung, lying on a stretcher, blood, both dry and fresh, tainting his pale, porcelain skin, completely limp and his eyes gently closed. Baekhyun didn’t possess the most imposing physic in their group; he was rather feminine with soft curves and delicate features, but what he lacked in that field he made up with a charming personality and playful character, which made him larger, and louder, than life despite his diminutive stature. To actually see him in that position, looking smaller than the smallest, made anyone’s heart lurch and constrict painfully for the man.

The ambulance ride had been hell to Jongin, especially when the heart rate monitor stopped beeping to make a long continuous sound that had Jongin breath stop in his way to his lung. He heard the paramedics shout to each other and they moved so fast that all Jongin saw was blurred lines.

The reanimation cart had been pulled out and Jongin watched has the paramedics pressed the electric charged paddles into his hyung’s chest, making the small man body convulse. They did it once, twice and thankfully a third one wasn’t needed since the comforting beeping sound from the heart rate monitor resounded in the ambulance.

When the ambulance stopped and Baekhyun was wheeled out of the ambulance by running paramedics, a team of doctors was already waiting for them, and that was when Baekhyun’s heart stopped beating again. A doctor immediately jumped into the stretcher and started compressing Baekhyun’s chest, with her hands, up and down, yelling at the unconscious man’s heart to beat. They rushed through a door and his hyung was not in sight anymore.

Jongin stood in front of the hospital doors, with bloodied hands and a pale face, looking completely terrified. When a tall nurse came to him and kindly asked him if he was okay, Jongin his heels and emptied the contents of his stomach on the tarmac.

When Chanyeol arrived to the hospital, admittedly much later, with a now sober Junmyeon on his tail, he was led into a private waiting room and, upon entering; his eyes fell over the hunched figure of Jongin sitting on a chair. The younger man was curled into the seat, like a little ball, arms hugging his knees and chin resting upon his bent knees. His eyes had a faint redness around them, and if that wasn’t a clear hint that he had been crying, the dry tear marks on his cheeks were.

When their presence was noticed and the younger had looked at him, with such a pained face, Chanyeol’s heart twisted inside his chest, he had feared the worst.

“Chanyeol.” whispered Jongin.

The taller man moved immediately forward catching the other in his embrace and held him tightly to his chest. They both stood silently, the only noise being the shaking breathing patterned of the younger.

“What have happened Jongin?”

“He’s in surgery right now.”

“Did the doctors say something?”

Jongin shook his head against Chanyeol shoulder, gripping the other tightly. Chanyeol was gutted; this behavior was not one that Jongin usually displayed so, for the other to be like this, meant that the second youngest EXO member had truly been scared.

“What about the paramedics? Did the paramedics say anything?”

Chanyeol felt Jongin violently shudder against him and he pulled the other from his embrace, only slightly, since the younger hold on his tightened, and he grabbed Jongin’s face in his big palms.

“What aren’t you tell me Jongin?”

“He crashed! He crashed twice. I heard it, the continuous beep noise. His heart stopped and they had to reanimate him with electric shocks!” babbled Jongin, controlling his voice, avoiding bordering on hysterics since they didn’t need that right now.

Chanyeol reeled back and the information the other provided. He pulled Jongin into his embrace again, hoping to give a little comfort to his boyfriend to had just went through something horrific.

Junmyeon heard the conversation clearly, despite the fact the other two were speaking in hushed tones, respecting the fact that they were on a hospital. Baekhyun’s heart that stopped beating twice and the thought of it made Junmyeon sick to his stomach and left him feeling disgusted with himself.

After the ambulance had arrived and took Baekhyun and Jongin with them, Chanyeol had cleaned the floor, sending all of the shards into the bin and then, only then, he had hauled Junmyeon into the bathroom and deposited the leader on the bathtub, turning the faucet on and letting the cold water fall onto his hyung who woke up and spluttered.

Junmeyon tried to get out of there but Chanyeol had way more strength and had forced him to stay under the water spray until he was sober enough. When the leader had started to gag, Chanyeol had let the other crawl to the toilet where he vomited all the alcohol he had drunk. When he had apparently finished, Chanyeol dragged him to the bedroom and helped him change his clothes before letting the other pass out, drained from retching his entire body into the porcelain bowl.

When he woke up, the sun had already begun to set and Chanyeol was sitting on a chair next to the bed he was laying, looking at him blankly. It only took a few seconds for all the events that occurred flash in Junmyeon’s mind and he gasped loudly completely shocked. Despite his mood swings lately, mostly due to alcohol, he never intended to hurt anyone, much less Baekhyun who had been nothing but supportive to him and who offered him a shoulder to cry on and willing ears to listen to his problems.

He had looked at Chanyeol carefully but the other remained looking at him blankly.

“Chanyeol…” he called tentatively.

“I’m trying to keep myself calm hyung. I really am. And most of all, I am trying not to blame you for this, for the fact that Baekhyun was just transported to the hospital, loosing blood because you couldn’t stop drinking, no matter the warning we gave you. So please, do not speak to me right now, because I am angry and disappointed at you and your voice only makes me remember that my best friend is on his way to the hospital because of you.”

“Chanyeol…” whimpered Junmeyon.

“But most of all, beg all the deities that you know, for Baekhyun to come out of this alive because I can assure you, no one is going to forgive you if the dies. Not even yourself.” interjected Chanyeol, interrupting Junmyeon.

After that Chanyeol had thrown him a jacket and stood up from the chair, motioning to the other to follow him, stating that they were going to the hospital. The whole ride had been silent and to reach here and hear the news that Baekhyun had almost died twice in the way and was currently under surgery was enough to make him hate himself. He had done this. This all his fault! And he really thought that Chanyeol was completely wrong: no matter what the outcome would be, whether Baekhyun lived or not, he would not be able to forgive himself for his actions.

Chanyeol, Jongin and Junmyeon were resting in the waiting area, completely silent. Jongin had his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder and, if the gentle, steady breaths were any indication, the younger was fast asleep, probably drained by the day’s events. His taller boyfriend was sliding his fingers through his locks, pausing from time to time to scratch the scalp softly, lulling the smaller.

To tell the truth, the repetitive motion of his fingers, had put Chanyeol in a trance of sorts, which he greatly welcomed, mainly because he could focus his attention in the undulating motions instead of thinking in everything that happened so far.

A while ago a doctor, a short, petite woman, had come into the room and kindly informed them that the surgery had been successful despite the troubles the surgical team had go through. When Jongin asked her to elaborate, she explained that Baekhyun’s heart had stopped once more during the procedure, reiterating that it had been a consequence of the major blood loss he had suffered. She also told them that, aside from the big scar that Baekhyun was sure to have, it had been a lucky call, since the cut had been made a few inches below his jugular vein, clarifying that if that had been the case, Baekhyun would be dead.

Just as they breathed in relief and Junmyeon timidly asked when could they see their friend, the doctor smile dropped and she informed them that, due to extreme blood loss and the fact that his heart had indeed stopped three times, Baekhyun had been put in a temporary coma in order to reestablish itself into a more healthy state, for the man’s body had suffered a big trauma and the medical team had decided to give his body room to get better in a stress free environment, which had been the purpose of the induced coma.

After the news, they were left alone again in the room and Chanyeol had fell into one of the chairs, weeping silently into his hands, whether if it was exhaustion or pain or resentment, no one could tell. Jongin had approached him quietly and Chanyeol made no attempt to free himself from Jongin’s arms that had pull him into his chest. Junmyeon watched as one of Chanyeol’s fist gripped Jongin’s sweater tightly before his quiet cries turned into desperate wails, as if he was in agonizing pain, while the other fist grabbed his own shirt, right above his heart and squeezed.

Junmyeon could understand, this was Baekhyun, this was Chanyeol’s best friend, who they now knew, was lying in a coma, somewhere in one of the hospital rooms. Had it been his own best friend and he would feel the same, however, he thought with a bitter smile, this was his fault; he wasn’t the reason that Baekhyun had faced death three times. He felt the worst, the most horrible person, absolutely scum.

He excused himself from the room, not that the other two paid him any attention, and he fled to the nearest bathroom that he found, carefully locking the door behind after making sure no one was inside. Then he cried. Loud, gut wrenching, miserable cries that came from the black hole that was his chest; tears falling down his cheeks swiftly as if it was rain pouring down. He wobbled to the sink and watched his reflection on the mirror. He didn’t recognize the person he was seeing, not anymore.

“So this is what a monster looks like!” he whispered before collapsing on his knees and letting himself cry a little more, not for himself, he didn’t deserve tears, but for Baekhyun, the tiny dongsaeng who did nothing wrong and paid the price for his mistakes.

He spent an hour in the bathroom and another two just wandering in the hospital, partially because he wanted to think, partially because he didn’t want to face his friends, Junmyeon entered the waiting room and sat quietly in a corner; eyes a little vacant, a heavy heart and a heavier soul.

Chanyeol couldn’t precise how many hours had passed since Junmyeon had returned to the room. He was a little disturbed at how hollow his hyung looked; he sat himself on a chair on the corner and stared blankly ahead, stuck in a dark world by himself.

He didn’t say a thing, he wish he could but after the news they heard, he felt that anything he might said would come out terribly wrong; he would definitely say something he didn’t mean to and that wasn’t fair to Junmyeon; Chanyeol might be a lot of things, but he wasn’t cruel, he wasn’t going to beat someone when clearly they were already down.

However, there were people that were just not like him, like Sehun for example, especially when it came to their cute, petite hyung, hence the reason the maknae had just burst into the waiting room, opening the door with so much force that it banged against the wall and startled Jongin awake.

His dark, angry eyes swept across the room and landed on Junmeyon.

“You! You filthy scumbag, I am going to murder you!” he gritted out, advancing towards Junmyeon and almost succeeding in punching the living daylight out of him, if not the help of Minseok, Yixing, who had just arrived, and Chanyeol, who ran to him and grabbed the maknae before he would do something.

“Calm down Sehun.” pleaded Minseok, urging Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Tao to enter the room and close the door behind them.

“Calm down? Calm down? Are you really aware of what you are asking me? You are asking me to calm down when this… this murderer is standing right in front of my face?”

“Watch your word! Junmyeon hyung is not a murderer!” stated Yixing calmly.

From the corner of his eye, Chanyeol saw Tao and Kyungsoo slowly itching themselves to Jongin’s side, scared out of their minds about a possible physical confrontation. Jongdae just stood by the door looking flabbergasted.

“Not a murderer? He hurt Baekhyun with a broken bottle simply because he cannot stop that stupid addition of his! You call that innocent?”

“Sehun, maybe it’s better if you just back off a little.”

“I will not back off! I have been saving too much for myself lately and now it’s as good time as any other. I don’t really know whatever made you lost of marbles Junmyeon but guess what, you can’t take your frustrations into every single breathing person on Earth, especially if said people are you friends, or rather, or close friends, who care about you and want nothing more than to help you. I’ve seen you turn into an exceptional person to something that I don’t recognize! You drink and you bully other people and you think that we are going to be okay with it? Not anymore, in fact we should have said anything before, now we’re too late and you already hurt someone. So I guess I’ll give you that, it is as much as our fault as it is yours. However, it does not make you any less guilty for what happens because you nearly killed someone! And right now I am beyond angry, I want nothing more to beat your sorry into a pulp and let it sit on the street for the people to walk over because, to me, in this moment, you are worthless, you are a pathetic excuse for a leader and for a friend who goes down on the first tribulation we have and can deal with things like a normal being, resorting to act like a freaking psychopath! I hate you so much right now that actually seeing your face in front of me his making me nauseous. You should never be a leader; you should never be allowed to be in EXO! In fact, I think it would be better if you weren’t even born.” Hissed Sehun, words like poison dripping from each and every single syllable he pronounced.

“Sehun!” Interjected Jongdae when he heard the shocked gasps of everyone at the maknae’s words.

Junmyeon looked at them with pain, sorrow and acceptance, swirling around in his eyes. He tried to open his mouth but he couldn’t, no words came out and he just stared at everyone, especially Sehun who was glaring coldly at him. He choked down a sob and, step after step, he escaped from the room, ignoring the calls of his friends.

“Was that really necessary?” asked Chanyeol drily, letting go of Sehun’s arm. “Seriously, Baekhyun is a coma, injured beyond the point of comprehension and you really think that the best solution is to argue with him and say a crazy amount of horrible and hurtful things to him?”

“Shut up!”

“Don’t make me smack you, you brat! Grow up Sehun; we don’t need more problems than we already have.” replied Chanyeol with a snarl, angry with the maknae’s attitude towards the other man.

Sehun huffed at him and his heel, leaving the room.

“I’ll go after him.” volunteered Tao, pushing Yixing along with him, needing the older to help him appease the beast.

As soon as they left, Minseok turned to Chanyeol.

“Anything on Baekhyun?”

“Nothing more than what we already told you through texts.”

“We came as soon as we could!” explained Kyungsoo “We dropped all our schedules and got in the first plane we got!”

“I’m glad! I think our prayers and our presence might be important to his recovery. Maybe he’ll heal faster if we all are here, showering him with love.” commented Jongin innocently.

“Maybe he wakes up faster.” added Kyungsoo with the same ingenuity as Jongin.

“I think he will!” said Minseok with a smile, even though it didn’t quite reach his eyes, neglecting to mention that since it was an induced coma, the doctors would decide when the other would be waking, since he didn’t want to spoil the other’s optimism, understanding that both of them needed it in order to cope with everything that was happening.

“Until then” cut Chanyeol “we wait!”

“We wait!” agreed Minseok, letting a tired sigh pass his lips.

A/N: If this is not a heavy chapter I really don't know what to call it! Howevers, good thing is I managed to update sooner!! Yay for me! I have been working over hours and it is obliterating my writing time! I have to work on labour's day....seriously!
Anyway! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter and, if so, comment, subscribe and upvote! It's much appreciated! ^^
Have a fantasttic day, lot's of love for you all!