5 times his hyungs had to carry Changkyun because he couldn't walk himself and the 1 time they carried him just for fun

Going to the studio with Changkyun used to be incredibly awkward for Jooheon, especially right after No.Mercy. However, ever since their debut the two rappers have steadily been growing closer and Jooheon realized he writes much more poetic lyrics when there is someone next to him, doing their own thing and occasionally offering their input.

So, Jooheon has grown to enjoy the work sessions at the studio he shares with Monsta X’s maknae.

A few days ago, though, there was a power cut at the Starship building and about half of their recording equipment broke, leaving all the producers, including the two rappers, unable to work. However, their manager quickly solved the problem by renting a room in the very same building where the dormitory is and setting up a keyboard, and now they use that as their makeshift studio until the original one is fixed.

Having a studio in the same building they sleep in is very convenient for Jooheon and Changkyun, and it leads to the two rappers going down a few floors to write every single day, even if they have already worked hard.

Kihyun starts complaining about the new situation pretty quickly.

“You’re insane, Jooheon!” he exclaims with his hands on his hips, standing in front of the kitchen counter with his feet firmly planted on the ground. “We’re out all day filming variety shows and then the two of you leave to write for another three hours!

“You should get rest while you can! Don’t you think it’s your responsibility not to overwork yourself and be a good role model for Changkyun?”

Jooheon just waves him off. He knows Kihyun is stressed since he is working too hard himself, filming with his members and promoting his own recording projects with other Starship artists.

Tomorrow, they have a schedule-free day, though, which means their motherly member will be able to go to the spa with ever-sleepy Hyungwon. Truthfully, everyone is really looking forward to the first free day in weeks.

Hyunwoo is planning a trip to the gym, Hoseok and Minhyuk want to go shopping and Jooheon himself is going to write. The only person he hasn’t heard about yet is Changkyun, but the maknae isn’t very open with them yet and neither is he outgoing, so Jooheon figures the younger will tag along with him.

He is right - when he puts on slippers and a coat the next day, since there is no heater in the makeshift studio downstairs, Changkyun comes to join him wordlessly. The maknae is bundled up in a coat and still looks sleepy, but he can’t be blamed since it is still early.

“Hey, Changkyun-ah,” Jooheon cheerfully greets and begins chatting away.

During No.Mercy and afterwards, he learned that the only way to get Changkyun to open up is to act like you aren’t expecting it. If you signal you are waiting for his answer, the maknae will shut down, but if Jooheon just talks, Changkyun will initiate some conversation topics himself, usually.

Therefore, the older rapper mindlessly chatters as they make their way down the stairs. Jooheon notices how Changkyun is gripping the banisters rather tightly, but he doesn’t think about it twice.

It only pops up in his head when they are at the last landing and Changkyun stumbles, almost falling down the stairs, had Jooheon not caught his arm in time.

“Woah there,” the older says, “you should be careful, Kyun-ah. You were holding on to the banisters so well, how did you even trip? Was the ground slippery or what?”

“Sorry, hyung,” Changkyun mumbles, hiding his probably blushing face in the fabric of his coat.

They reach the studio without another incident and immediately begin to write away, even though Jooheon can’t help but feel like Changkyun’s thoughts are trained on something else today.

He doesn’t say anything, though, in order not to unsettle the maknae. Sometimes, he thinks of Changkyun as a small and scared animal. The second he senses any danger, be it his own failure or something else, he retreats into his shell and it takes days for him to get back out.

By now, he’s on a friendly base with all members, but that doesn’t mean he trusts them enough to let his walls down permanently.

In the end, Changkyun is still scarred by the way the members treated him during No.Mercy, whether he wants to admit it or not, and Jooheon knows it will take them a long time to make up for it.

“Changkyun-ah,” the rapper calls after a while.

He shifts in his seat to find a more comfortable position, letting out a huff while glancing at the maknae’s paper. It’s white, save for a few lines at the top which are surrounded by small scribbles and multiple corrections.

Today doesn’t seem to be a good day for Changkyun, but Jooheon knows there are times when you just feel off.

“I’m gonna get a coffee from the shop down the street,” he explains as he slowly gets up. “You want anything? They have great syrups, too.”

He wiggles his eyebrows at the last part.

“I know we’re supposed to be dieting, but I won’t tell anyone. And there’s no such thing as too much sugar.”

“Can I just…get a plain coffee, hyung? Only if it’s not too much work, though.”

Changkyun takes quite a while to answer, so Jooheon is kind of surprised at his request.

“Are you sure? You can get anything you want, hyung will pay for you. This is a one-time offer! Choose wisely!”

However, the maknae just shakes his head.

“No, it’s okay, hyung. Just a black coffee without anything will do. Thanks.”

“If you say so.”

Jooheon is still skeptical, but he knows better than to argue about personal taste so he just leaves the room and starts his journey to the coffee shop. On his way there, he briefly thinks about the fact that Changkyun seems incredibly gloomy today, but it slips from his mind as soon as he enters the café and sees the menu with its multiple syrup flavors.

Sugar has never failed to make Jooheon happy before and thus he is in the best of moods as he makes his way back to the makeshift studio with two beverages in hand, a hot chocolate with extra cream and strawberry sauce for himself and Changkyun’s plain coffee.

Without a second thought, he enters the room the manager rented, cheerfully calling, “Changkyun-ah!”

However, the second he spots the maknae’s figure he stops on his tracks, standing frozen for a second before starting to approach again, this time much more quietly and slowly.

The sight before his eyes makes him feel like a hand is squeezing his heart tightly and it kind of hurts, but not in a bad way. Changkyun is slumped over the small table Jooheon left his sheet on, fast asleep with his head resting on top of his jacket-covered arms.

Only a small part of his face is visible behind his fluffy hair and the fabric of his coat, but his relaxed face is still enough to make Jooheon coo quietly. The position Changkyun is in makes him realize how delicate the maknae is and how well he would fit into any of the members’ arms, if he only let them touch him.

“Aww, you’re asleep,” Jooheon quietly says, even though it’s directed at himself more than it’s directed at Changkyun. “You must’ve been really tired. Why didn’t you stay upstairs to rest if that was the case?”

He tilts his head, observing the figure in front of him for a while. Changkyun’s hair looks so fluffy he wants to pet him, but he doesn’t dare since he would risk waking him up. Suddenly, Jooheon realizes something.

“You can’t stay in that position, Kyunnie!” he loudly announces. “You’ll get a stiff neck. Wait, hyung will get you to the couch.”

In this moment he is very grateful that their manager didn’t throw out the couch they found in the room when they first set up their equipment. It’s a bit old and dusty, but it’s still a good place to take naps - and Changkyun’s small body will fit on there anyway.

Carefully, Jooheon wraps his hands around Changkyun’s torso and pulls him backwards with all of his might. Luckily, the maknae doesn’t even shift. His limbs flop around like the arms and legs of a rag doll, which makes it a bit harder to maneuver his body properly, but Jooheon still hardly struggles when he places him on the couch and adjusts his position with care.

His hand lingers on Changkyun’s head for a second as the urge to run his fingers through the fluffy hair under his palms becomes overwhelmingly strong.

Jooheon can’t refrain anymore. He places his hand on the back of the maknae’s hands and starts stroking his hair gently, careful not to disturb him in any way.

The odd heat Jooheon feels as he gets closer to Changkyun makes the rapper frown. It feels odd and unnatural under his fingers, so he moves to brush his fringe out of his face and targets his forehead instead.

Jooheon finds it far too hot under his touch. He halts, frown growing deeper as his brain processes what is happening right now. Jooheon is pretty sure he just discovered Changkyun is running a fever, and it’s not a low one either.

However, it doesn’t make sense to him. He can’t recall if the maknae looked or acted unwell in the last few days. Earlier his reactions seemed very slow, though, and he almost fell down the stairs too, so he must not have been feeling well.

Why did he join Jooheon when he knew he was unwell, though?

Suddenly Changkyun starts moving under Jooheon’s touch and the rapper feels panic build up inside his chest. He doesn’t know what is worse - leaving Changkyun asleep without knowing if he feels bad or making him wake up.

Now that he thinks about it, the maknae looks far too pale and tired. He should be resting in his bed right now, not on the crappy couch of a makeshift studio with only Jooheon to take care of him.

“H-hyung?”

Jooheon doesn’t know if his mind is playing tricks on him, but Changkyun suddenly sounds much weaker to him, like he has used up all of his strength.

“Hey, I’m here,” he softly responds, never taking his hand away from the maknae’s forehead. “You fell asleep so I laid you on the couch. Your head feels really warm, though, are you feeling okay?”

“I’m…fine.”

Of all of the lies Changkyun has ever told, this one surely has to be the most obvious one. The maknae tries to push himself up from his lying position, shaking his head so that Jooheon is forced to take away his hand, but he can’t stay upright for more than a few seconds before he slumps down again, all strength leaving his arms.

Jooheon’s heart breaks when he sees how defeated Changkyun looks and he hesitantly reaches out for the younger.

“It’s okay,” he whispers. “Don’t lie. I promise you can trust me, I promise it’s fine…”

“I’m sorry, hyung.”

Changkyun’s voice is full of guilt and Jooheon wishes he didn’t, but at that moment he realizes what must have been going on in the maknae’s head.

“You hid it for a while, didn’t you?” he sighs, swallowing against the lump in his throat. “You were scared we’d scold you for it. I- I’m so sorry, Kyun.”

“I had to go with you!” Changkyun hoarsely defends himself. “I had to write lyrics because our songs always need two rap parts. If they didn’t I wouldn’t… You wouldn’t…”

He trails off, but Jooheon knows how he would have finished that sentence anyway.

“I’m sorry, Kyunnie,” he repeats. “I’m sorry you feel like that. Please just know that we’ll always need you. It doesn’t matter if you can’t write lyrics today - you can just do it sometime in the future.

“I know we treated you horribly and we made you believe you don’t rightfully deserve your spot in the group, but that’s not true. You deserve it as much as anyone else and like anyone else, you have the right to rest if you need to.

“We did a horrible job before, Kyunnie, but we’re your hyungs. We’re gonna take care of you.”

In all honesty, Jooheon is close to crying when he finishes and so is Changkyun. The maknae sniffles quietly, keeping quiet for a few seconds before he mumbles, “okay, hyung. Can I sleep? I’m just so tired, I don’t wanna go up the stairs right now. It’s just… I just wanna sleep.”

“But, wouldn’t it be better for you to rest in your own bed. The dorm is just a few floors up, I can help you there.”

Jooheon frowns. As much as he wants to respect Changkyun’s wish, he doesn’t want to harm the maknae either. Sleeping in a bed sounds like it would be much more of a benefit for his health, but the youngest is so upset already.

He’s sick and out of it, so if Jooheon disagrees with him right now, he must feel incredibly betrayed.

“Hyung,” Changkyun whines quietly and Jooheon knows he can’t make him go back to the dorm, but he can’t keep him here either.

“Wait, I’m gonna call someone,” he says and pulls his phone out of his pocket, dialing a familiar number.

Five seconds later, the person he wanted to reach answers his call, “Jooheon-ah?”

“Hyunwoo-hyung? Are you still at the dorm?”

“Actually, I just left the building. I’m heading to the gym right now.”

“Could you maybe come back quickly? I need your help in the studio. Changkyunnie’s sick and he doesn’t want to walk up the stairs because he’s so tired, so I thought you could maybe pick him up and…”

“Of course I’ll come!”

Jooheon doesn’t remember the last time he witnessed Hyunwoo interrupt someone, but now the leader does. He ends the call right afterwards and Jooheon can almost feel his worry through the phone.

No matter how many doubts Hyunwoo had when he first met Changkyun, the maknae has become precious to him over the last few months - the other members aren’t any different.

Two minutes later Hyunwoo knocks at the studio’s door and Jooheon tears himself away from Changkyun’s side to open. No matter how worried Hyunwoo seemed on the phone, he never loses his calmness as he steps into the room, his tranquil presence calming down Jooheon’s own panic a bit.

The leader slowly walks over to the couch and sits in front of it, his tall body becoming surprisingly small as he starts petting Changkyun’s hair. At times, the bear-like dancer can be more than intimidating, but he knows how to get down on someone else’s level if necessary.

Suddenly Jooheon is more than grateful he called their leader instead of Kihyun, who takes care of everyone the most – Hyunwoo is just as gentle as he is awkward and maybe his serenity is just what Changkyun needs right now.

It’s no secret the maknae is usually awkward with Hyunwoo, but right now he doesn’t seem to want to leave his arms.

Hyunwoo quietly exchanges a few words with him before he gets up and lifts Changkyun up without further ado, letting the youngest wrap his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist.

“Are you going upstairs, too?” the leader asks Jooheon as he walks towards the door, carrying Changkyun like a koala - a half-asleep koala, Jooheon notes when he notices the way the rapper’s eyes keep drifting shut.

“I’m coming, too,” Jooheon announces, “let me just lock up here real quick.”

He wastes no time standing around and quickly grabs his keys, waiting for Hyunwoo to exit the room before locking the door behind them.

They make their way up the stairs silently, Jooheon trailing behind and watching Changkyun’s face. He can’t help but notice how Hyunwoo handles the maknae with the utmost care.

It almost seems funny just how gentle a buff giant like Hyunwoo can be, but there is no one who would treat Changkyun more delicately. The leader knows just how precious the person in his arms is and he does his best to protect them.

When they reach the dorm, Changkyun is already back asleep, which makes it easy for Hyunwoo to place him on his bed. Jooheon helps taking his coat off carefully before covering him with a blanket.

Afterwards he climbs the ladder leading to the top bunk which Changkyun usually sleeps in. Jooheon offered to trade without a second of hesitation, since he knew it would be hard to get the maknae up there without waking him.

From his elevated position, he glances around the room until his eyes land on Hyunwoo who is sitting on the edge of Changkyun’s new bed, one hand still holding on to the maknae’s smaller fingers.

As if he feels Jooheon’s gaze on him, he chuckles softly.

“I’ll stay here for a while,” he says, “just to make sure he’s okay.”

And that is when Jooheon knows this won’t be the last time for Hyunwoo to carry their maknae. Moments and occasions like this one will arise in the future, too, and the leader did so well just now.

He is gentle, he is calm, and Jooheon knows for sure that Hyunwoo is willing to carry Changkyun a thousand times more if he has to.

And even though the rapper himself panicked just now, he would be lying if he said that wasn’t true for himself, too.

“Anything new?” Minhyuk quietly asks Kihyun as the vocalist exits the room they usually live in, his hands carrying a load of dirty laundry.

At Minhyuk’s question, Kihyun just huffs and hands over the sheets.

“Nothing,” he says. “Will you put them in the laundry for me? He sweated through another set of sheets.”

Sullen at the news, Minhyuk wanders over to the room where their washer is to complete his task. On his way there, he realizes he doesn’t like the current situation at all.

The reason everything feels so weird and tense is Changkyun. The maknae has been sick for a few days, or at least he only admitted it then, and even though they try their hardest to care for him, he doesn’t seem to be getting better.

Only months ago, just before their debut, Minhyuk would have said Changkyun’s name too when it came to listing things that brought down his mood. However, that was because he used to hate the maknae and Minhyuk is very stubborn.

When Changkyun had entered No.Mercy, Minhyuk had sworn that he wouldn’t accept the younger no matter what - he couldn’t, not after he had reduced the other contestants’ hard work to nothing when he had entered the competition after they had already faced countless challenges.

In the end, Minhyuk had to get used to him after he had been chosen to debut. The vocalist was stubborn about it at first, but after the debut they started to talk to each other normally and now - well, now Changkyun is sick and Minhyuk is worried.

When the visual is done with the laundry, he quietly slips into the room Changkyun is staying in, just to check on him. He finds the maknae in his bed, as always, asleep against Hoseok, who is reading a book silently.

No matter how awkward the youngest member is with Hyunwoo and Hoseok, ever since he admitted to his sickness he has been attached to the two eldest constantly. Minhyuk suspects it is because they treat him with so much gentleness - they don’t nag like Kihyun, they can protect him, unlike Jooheon, they aren’t as grumpy as Hyungwon.

And, they didn’t push Changkyun away for months like Minhyuk.

Since they were making so much progress before, Minhyuk thought he could just let go of what happened during No.Mercy - leave the past in the past, the people said and they did it for a reason.

However, now that Changkyun is sick and has never once asked for Minhyuk, the elder regrets never apologizing properly. He wishes he could say Changkyun trusts him, he wishes he could say the maknae isn’t afraid of him and his feelings anymore, but he can’t.

Actually, Minhyuk is quite sure the youngest still worries about the other members hating him. After all, that might be the reason why he kept quiet about his sickness for so long until it got too bad, that might be why Changkyun tried to hide the fact that he couldn’t even keep down water from Kihyun even when the elder was already taking care of him.

Minhyuk knows that the members’ actions had their impact on the maknae and even if their situation has gotten better, he still has yet to fully heal.

“Hoseok-hyung,” Minhyuk calls tentatively and the elder raises his head from his novel.

“Hmh?”

“How’s he doing?”

Hoseok’s expression falls at the visual’s question and his brows furrow, clear evidence for how worried he is. Their resident gym-rat has always been the softest, the most empathetic among them and he doesn’t deal well with seeing others hurt.

“Not well,” Hoseok admits as he closes his book, his other arm subconsciously tightening around Changkyun’s form. “I… He’s still throwing up, no matter what Kihyun feeds him. I don’t know how we’re gonna keep up like that.

“We need to give him medicine for his fever, but we can’t do that if his stomach is constantly empty. Plus, he can’t even sit up for more than a few minutes without getting dizzy.”

He glances at Changkyun’s sleeping face which is half hidden in the fabric of his top and sighs.

“Poor baby.”

Indeed, Minhyuk thinks.

“He’s gonna get better soon, hyung,” he says, even though he can feel the worry weighing down on him heavily. “He’s been fighting this sickness for so long, he should be fine soon, right?”

He’s aware he doesn’t sound as sure as he would have to in order to calm Hoseok’s worry, but at the moment Minhyuk isn’t capable of that. He slowly approaches the bed, standing on the tip of his toes to reach over the railing of the top bunk and run his fingers through Changkyun’s hair.

Even without touching his skin, he can feel the unnatural heat radiating off the maknae, and at that point, it’s a miracle that he is still sleeping so peacefully. His temperature seems high enough to keep him awake or make him struggle with wild dreams, but he seems relaxed in Hoseok’s arms.

“He tired himself out last night,” the singer suddenly says, as if he read Minhyuk’s thoughts. “He was throwing up a lot but there was nothing left… He couldn’t go to sleep, though, he was so desperate, Min.”

His voice breaks a bit at the end and Minhyuk’s heart clenches painfully. If Hoseok starts crying, he will go crazy on the spot, the younger swears. Worrying about Changkyun is almost too much to take on its own, but seeing another member break down because of it - Minhyuk can’t handle that.

“I’m gonna go…do some stuff I guess,” Minhyuk awkwardly announces after a few moments of silence.

He doesn’t want to stay here. It reminds him of the fact that it’s hard on Hoseok to look after Changkyun yet he still does it without a complaint. Minhyuk wishes he could swap with him for a few hours only, but he knows he shouldn’t.

There it is again, the guilt he feels when he thinks of his and Changkyun’s relationship. Before the youngest got sick he didn’t exactly put a lot of effort into getting close to him, figuring it was better to let it happen naturally.

Now he wants to slap himself for being so stupid. He already cares about Changkyun anyway, so why couldn’t he be honest with the maknae and tell him he was being stupid during No.Mercy?

____________________________________

Minhyuk spends the rest of the day with these sullen thoughts. Nothing is fun anymore when you know your groupmate is not recovering from his sickness and it’s taking a toll on everyone.

The worst thing is that things just continue to go that way. The next day Hyunwoo carries Changkyun to the living room so he can lie on the couch instead of his bunk bed. It’s easier to watch him there and at this point, they are all scared of leaving him alone, given how high his fever is.

The members still have to go on with their days, though, and after noon they trail out of the dorm one by one, just to get away for a few hours.

“Minhyuk-ah,” Kihyun unexpectedly calls from his spot on the couch.

The group mum is on Changkyun-observation-duty right now, but he seems to be determined to hand his job down to Minhyuk.

“Can you watch him for a while? I need to go buy some groceries.”

“I don’t know,” Minhyuk frowns.

He honestly isn’t comfortable with being alone with Changkyun right now for a number of reasons. Firstly, they discussed taking him to the hospital earlier because of his condition, but Kihyun said to wait.

They all know their main vocalist is scared of the fans finding out about Changkyun’s sickness - because if the fans know, so will the press and they really don’t need any more stress right now.

Secondly, he doesn’t know how Changkyun will react if he wakes up to Minhyuk watching him. His mind isn’t clear right now and Minhyuk is afraid he may get upset, distressed and worse because he doesn’t trust him.

“It’ll be fine, Minhyuk,” Kihyun tells him and before Minhyuk can protest, the main vocalist has already gone to put on his shoes.

Seeing no way out of his current situation, Minhyuk sits down by Changkyun’s head with a sigh.

“I guess this is it,” he quietly says as he watches the maknae’s pale face.

Then he waits.

After a while of sitting in the quiet, Changkyun starts shifting in his sleep and Minhyuk finds that the slightest movements are able to set off his panic. His heartbeat accelerates when Changkyun’s facial muscles twitch and he turns, caught in a restless kind of sleep.

“Shhh,” Minhyuk shushes him as he strokes his burning head, “it’s okay. Just keep sleeping, you’ll feel better soon.”

His fingers are shaky and he feels a bit sick. Changkyun’s forehead is glistening with sweat and every fiber of Minhyuk’s body is screaming at him to take the boy to a doctor right now. He doesn’t understand how Kihyun could tell them to wait when the maknae’s condition is this bad.

Suddenly, Changkyun’s eyes flutter open and his gaze darts around wildly, searching for a point of fixation until it finds Minhyuk’s face. For a moment, the maknae stills completely and it takes him a moment to comprehend what is going on.

After a few seconds, his eyes light up with recognition and Minhyuk lets out a deep breath when the maknae blinks at him, his chapped lips moving slowly.

“Minhyuk…hyung,” he slurs and if it is possible for his voice to be even deeper than usual, it is right now.

“Hey, Kyunnie,” Minhyuk smiles as brightly as he can, feeling a huge lump settle in his throat. “How are you doing?”

“I…hurts…”

Changkyun lets out a pathetic whine that makes Minhyuk’s eyes burn. He doesn’t know what exactly is going on right now but this is too much for him, the heat radiating off Changkyun and penetrating into his own skin.

The maknae is too hot, far too hot - he shouldn’t be here, Minhyuk realizes, he needs to get help, but he’s the only one with Changkyun right now.

Why did Kihyun leave? Why didn’t they take him to a hospital earlier?

“Minhyuk-hyung,” Changkyun’s weak voice suddenly pierces through Minhyuk’s panicked thoughts. “My head hurts so much.”

He’s whispering but Minhyuk is not sure if he even means to or if he is just that sick – he assumes it’s the latter. Carefully he brings his palm to rest on Changkyun’s forehead and it takes all of his willpower not to flinch at the heat.

“Oh, Kyunnie,” he quietly says. “You’re so sick… Do you know when you last took medicine?”

For about ten seconds it’s completely silent. That’s the time Changkyun takes to comprehend the question fully before giving a tiny headshake.

“N-no?” he reluctantly says before repeating, “no, I don’t. H-hyung, why can’t I remember? I-I-“

The realization that he can’t access his own memories seems to frighten Changkyun to no end, and it does worse things to Minhyuk. The elder can feel his own hands grow sweaty as a shiver runs down his spine – what is he supposed to do?

Changkyun looks like he is about to pass out either from his fever, from being worked up or from dehydration and Minhyuk is the only one home with him. The only thing he wants right now is to take the maknae to the hospital already, but for some reason he feels like he doesn’t have the right to just decide that.

After all he is the member Changkyun is the least close with – shouldn’t he ask Kihyun before doing anything? Or Shownu?

“Shhh, Changkyun-ah,” Minhyuk shushes the maknae whose breathing is much too fast for his liking.

The elder can see just how upset Changkyun is in his eyes, evident in his desperate gaze, but right now the youngest doesn’t even seem to have tears left. He has stopped sweating, too, his skin bone-dry but still hot to the touch.

“Oh god, I need to do something,” Minhyuk mumbles out loud as he reaches for the phone in his back pocket.

With shaky fingers he manages to type Kihyun’s number, praying to god that the vocalist will pick up. However, the call goes to voicemail and Minhyuk can feel tears well up in his eyes.

“Kihyun, Ch-Changkyun is really unwell,” he presses, voice about to break. “I wanna take him to the hospital but I don’t know, I just don’t know, Kihyun, I’m so fucking helpless.”

His words don’t miraculously make Kihyun call back, but instead they have an impact on Changkyun. At the mention of the hospital the maknae’s whole body tenses and the next thing Minhyuk knows is that Changkyun is trying to get as far away from him as possible, miserably failing due to his condition, though.

“Don’t take me to the hospital, please hyung!” he begs, his voice almost gone by this point. “I don’t wanna go to the hospital, I hate it, please don’t take me…”

His is interrupted by dry sobs that make his chest heave and despite all of his worries about their relationship, Minhyuk is quick to gather Changkyun up in his arms.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” he repeats over and over again as he holds the other’s burning head to his chest. “You’re okay, baby, hyung is with you. Hyung will stay with you.”

He somehow manages to call both Hyunwoo and their manager with Changkyun still in his arms, but again he has no luck reaching either of them. Before Minhyuk can do anything, a stray tear rolls down his cheek, followed by another one and another one.

He has never felt more hopeless.

Changkyun is in his arms, scared to death because he doesn’t want to go to the hospital, and Minhyuk is so unsure. He can’t just decide anything, but he also isn’t sure he can take waiting here like this any longer.

For a moment, he stays completely still. The only noises filling the silence are Changkyun’s labored breathing and Minhyuk’s own heartbeat pounding in his ears, and that is when the visual knows he has to act.

In a burst of determination, Minhyuk dials another number. When someone picks up, he quickly tells them what he wants.

“I need a cab here as quickly as possible.”

He proceeds to tell the person on the other side of the line the address and sighs in relief when he’s told he can expect a taxi in about ten minutes.

“Changkyun-ah,” Minhyuk turns to the maknae who is sniffling by his chest when he has ended the call. “Hyung is gonna take you to the hospital, but don’t worry, I’ll stay with you as long as you want.

“I’m just doing this to help you get better quickly so that we can start our promotions for our comeback. You want that, too, don’t you?”

Changkyun still seems doubtful of going to the hospital, but he still gives a tiny nod.

“I’m gonna lie you back down here for a moment and pack a bag, okay, Kyunnie?” Minhyuk adds as he gently lowers Changkyun onto the couch. “I’ll be back in a second.”

He takes off, running to find jackets and shoes for both of them. In Changkyun’s room, Minhyuk makes sure to pack one of the maknae’s stuffed toys and a sweater of Hoseok’s, in case Changkyun gets upset at any point.

He returns to find the youngest hasn’t moved at all, still lying on his back with his eyes closed, breathing shallowly.

He looks incredibly fragile like this and suddenly Minhyuk feels that he made the right decision. Before Changkyun can get to the hospital, though, he has to get down the stairs, though.

Minhyuk curses the fact that they don’t have a working elevator in their building, but he knows he has no other choice than to carry Changkyun.

For a moment, he considers giving him a piggyback ride, but looking at the maknae, he suddenly doubts Changkyun would be able to hold on to him on his own. For a moment, despair and panic threaten to overwhelm Minhyuk again when he thinks about picking Changkyun up.

He isn’t the strongest, and he doesn’t want to imagine what would happen if he ended up falling down the stairs with the maknae. However, Minhyuk has no choice but to swallow the lump in his throat and ignore the anxiety bubbling up in his stomach.

“Kkukkungie,” he softly calls because he heard Hoseok and Hyungwon call the maknae that, “I’ll pick you up now, okay? Hyung will try to be really careful. Please just stay still and we’ll make it downstairs in no time.”

Changkyun doesn’t protest when Minhyuk picks him up and hooks his legs around his waist like a koala. The youngest seems to have accepted his fate of going to the hospital and now he’s gone back to suffering in silence, only letting out little pained noises every once in a while.

When taking the first few steps, Minhyuk discovers that it isn’t as hard as he assumed. Changkyun must have lost quite a bit of weight from throwing up already and for the first time, Minhyuk is grateful for the times Hyunwoo forced him to join him at the gym.

With the bag hanging from his arm, Minhyuk manages to exit the flat with fairly steady steps. The stairs are another story, though – the visual grasps the banisters as tightly as he can as he slowly climbs down, his other hand supporting Changkyun’s weight.

Halfway downstairs, Minhyuk starts to feel the effects of the unusual strain take a toll on him. His arms are beginning to shake and his legs feel a little unsteady, too, but he clenches his teeth and forces himself to continue without stopping once.

Finally, he reaches the ground level and looks for any fans before he steps outside to find the taxi already waiting. Luckily, no one else is there so Minhyuk can quickly get Changkyun inside without anyone seeing or, even worse, taking pictures.

Nonetheless, the singer is glad he remembered to bring two facial masks with him as he tugs his own up so that it covers his face.

“Good afternoon,” the taxi driver greets as Minhyuk leans over to buckle Changkyun up.

The maknae has become completely impassive, his head hanging before Minhyuk tugs it against his shoulder.

“Good afternoon,” he greets, surprised at how composed he sound.

One glance at the rearview mirror tells him the driver can’t be much older than himself, but he still bows politely.

“Is he okay?”

The driver throws a glance at Changkyun and Minhyuk bites his lip, feeling panic rise up in his stomach again.

“He needs to go to the hospital,” he quietly says. “That’s why we’re here right now.”

“Poor guy. To the hospital it is.”

The driver fortunately seems to sense Minhyuk’s inner urgency and drives onto the street, probably heading towards the nearest hospital. For a few moments, it’s silent in the car, before the guy asks, “are you a singer?”

Minhyuk’s eyes widen and he freezes, incredulous at the man’s question.

“What makes you think that?” he coughs out, but the driver just chuckles.

“You have the looks of one. Plus you’re wearing a face mask coming out of a building and you didn’t just call an ambulance for your friend. You’re obviously trying not to be seen.”

“Well, we are indeed singers,” Minhyuk confirms hesitantly. “It’s not like we’re super popular, but sometimes our fa- supporters still hang out in front of our dorm. And well, if they find out one of us is unwell, they will make a big deal out of it.”

“Good luck hiding it, then.”

The driver shoots another sympathetic glance at Changkyun who is huddled against Minhyuk, sniffling weakly every once in a while. The maknae hasn’t spoken up for quite a while, but he must be in a lot of pain – Minhyuk can tell he is by the way his breath hitches every time the car goes over a bump in the road.

“Changkyun-ah,” he whispers right next to the youngest’ ear, careful not to startle him. “Does your head hurt a lot?”

Changkyun doesn’t dare to nod, but he makes a small affirmative noise that tells Minhyuk enough. Once again, the vocalist is more than glad he took things into his own hands and decided to take Changkyun to the hospital instead of waiting.

Soon, the car stops in front of their destination and the driver kindly asks Minhyuk if he needs help getting Changkyun inside. However, the visual declines politely. Even though he had a hard time carrying the maknae down the stairs, he wouldn’t let anyone else do the job.

“It’s gonna be okay soon, Kyun-ah,” Minhyuk promises as he heaves up Changkyun’s limp body, carrying him the same way as before. “They’re gonna give you something for your pain that won’t make you throw up again.”

“I don’t wanna throw up, hyung,” Changkyun quietly croaks, words slurred at the end.

It’s obvious he is barely conscious anymore, unable to keep up with what is happening. Minhyuk quickly takes his bag and makes his way towards the entrance of the emergency room, hoping no one will recognize them there.

He’s lucky – the only people present when they arrive are old, apart from one woman who is holding the hand of a crying girl. It’s loud – everyone is groaning, crying or making other pained noises – and Changkyun curls into Minhyuk.

The elder’s heart breaks for the maknae, but he knows this is necessary. After all, Changkyun’s skin feels like fire on his and he is barely able to move himself. Minhyuk carefully sits down on one of the chairs while holding on to the maknae.

He can tell how scared Changkyun is, can feel his body tense on top of him, so he turns to whispering sweet reassurances into his ear until a nurse approaches them to get their name and the reason why they showed up.

Apparently, Changkyun’s condition is quite serious indeed as they take him to a smaller room quickly, providing him with a bed to lie down on until a doctor is available. Minhyuk is allowed to stay with him, but only until they have put him to sleep and connected him to an IV.

Minhyuk feels horrible when leaving the maknae on his own. He can’t turn back because he knows the sight of Changkyun’s curled up body in a bed that’s far too big, with a needle stuck in his arm, would break his heart even more.

It’s only when he returns to the waiting room on his own, suddenly feeling much colder than before, that the panic and the fear hit him all at once. With shaking hands Minhyuk pulls out his phone to find Kihyun has called him six times, immediately dialing the main vocalist’s number.

“Minhyuk, where th-“ Kihyun starts, but he is interrupted by Minhyuk.

“Kihyun,” he sobs out, suddenly unable to hold back his tears, “K-Kihyun…”

“Oh my god, Minhyuk, what happened? Are you at the hospital? Is Changkyun okay? Please, tell me he’s okay!”

Kihyun sounds more anxious than Minhyuk has ever heard him and it makes his chest clench painfully to the point where it gets hard to breathe.

“H-he’s okay, I guess, they connected him t-to an IV, he was really scared,” Minhyuk blubbers. “But Kihyun, I was so afraid, I didn’t know what to do and…and nobody would answer the phone so I just took Kyunnie and went here…

“But I was so mean to him before and I treated him so badly during No.Mercy, I never apologized. It must be so horrible for him to be at the hospital with someone like me, who’s such a bad hyung!”

“Minhyuk, calm down, please,” Kihyun begs. “You did the right thing. I really regret not taking him to the doctor earlier, but you acted well.”

“Kihyunnie? Can you come join us? Please, I need you!”

Minhyuk is aware how desperate he sounds, but he can’t bring himself to care. Right now he needs Kihyun and his usually annoying self-confidence. He needs their caring member who always knows what to do.

However, Kihyun sighs deeply.

“Um… I can’t exactly right now. Look, someone recognized me at the supermarket and now there’s fans outside. But I’ll call Hyunwoo-hyung and Hoseok-hyung, they’ll come join you, okay?”

Minhyuk doesn’t have much of a choice – he can only say yes. The fact that Kihyun can’t come doesn’t really make him feel better, but at least he knows two other members will be there soon – and anything sounds better than dealing with this alone right now.

Still, Hoseok and Hyunwoo take their sweet time and by the time they arrive, Minhyuk has already been taken to the room where Changkyun will be resting for the next 24 hours under strict observation.

The maknae is asleep – he only woke up once to ask for Minhyuk and fall right back asleep – but even though it’s night by now, the elder vocalist can’t relax. There are too many worries and doubt swirling around in his head, too much insecurity pent up in his stomach.

Minhyuk barely manages to fight back his tears until the eldest members join him – the second Hyunwoo enters the room and wraps him up in a bear-hug, he bursts into sobs.

The leader lets Minhyuk cry until the younger doesn’t know the cause of his tears anymore. There was just too much stress built up inside him, he figures, and with the guilt from treating Changkyun badly in the past, it just became unbearable.

“Don’t cry anymore, Minhyuk-ah,” Hyunwoo gently tells him as Minhyuk watches Hoseok grab Changkyun’s hand behind the leader’s back. “You did well. Everything is fine.”

“B-but I was so scared, hyung,” Minhyuk confides. “I probably did a horrible job at taking care of Kyunnie – I feel like I made everything even worse. I really didn’t know what to do.”

“But you did the right thing.”

Hyunwoo sounds just as sincere as always and slowly Minhyuk starts to believe him.

“You judged and acted right, Minhyuk, I’m really proud of you.”

“But why?”

“Because you had the guts to take our maknae to the hospital, which even Kihyun wouldn’t dare. Plus, you had to carry him here and that can’t have been easy.”

For the first time that day, a small chuckle escapes Minhyuk as he uses Hyunwoo’s shirt to wipe away his tears.

“Well, hyung, the carrying part was actually the easiest one. I’d gladly do it again anytime in the future.”

As a dancer, Hyungwon knows that mistakes and accidents are bound to happen. It doesn’t matter if you are good or bad at performing choreographies because everyone can slip up or trip, even a flawless dancer like Hyunwoo.

However, that doesn’t make those errors easier to deal with.

The worst thing about making a mistake while dancing is not the fact that their performance won’t look as good but the risk of getting injured which skyrockets every time someone stumbles. Being injured is the worst, especially when you’re in no position to stop what you’re doing and when the only thing for you to do is push through the pain.

Then afterwards, you are forced to rest while everyone else moves on and you will end up feeling guilty for not being able to participate, until you are allowed back on the dance floor and realize just how far behind you are compared to everyone else.

Hyungwon silently hopes that no one will get hurt before every performance, no matter how small the venue and how unimportant the event. He doesn’t only hope for himself, either, but for his groupmates too - it’s no secret that not being able to dance makes Minhyuk and Hoseok go crazy, that Kihyun and Changkyun are way too self-critical and that Jooheon has a hard time learning choreographies after everyone else.

Still, Hyungwon’s little prayers can’t prevent every accident from happening. He’s not sure they even do anything, although he still keeps hoping.

The worst time it happens is at one of the big award shows at the end of the year where Monsta X are usually given the opportunity of presenting themselves to the world and gaining more fans.

That year, they are supposed to perform their new song which came out merely two weeks prior, which means the choreography is still fairly new to them. It’s nothing they can’t deal with, usually, but being at big shows always raises their level of adrenaline and lowers their ability to concentrate, and in this case, that’s fatal.

Hyungwon can already feel the tension before the performance, or at least he later thinks he was able to. Everyone is running around, nervously fixing their hair in front of the mirrors, struggling to tie their shoelaces for the third time in a row or tapping a rapid beat on the floor with their feet.

“Changkyun-ah!” Hyungwon calls and walks over to where the maknae is kneeling, bending down deeply to take a look at his struggle. “C’mon, let me do it, you’re hopeless.”

Changkyun, who was previously struggling to tie up his shoelaces, looks at Hyungwon, smiling sheepishly as his shaky hands back off.

“I’m sorry, hyung,” he says, even though there’s nothing to apologize for.

Hyungwon still knows why the maknae is guilty. It’s a known fact that he gets clumsy when he is nervous, which makes tasks like writing his signature or buttoning up his flannel a lot harder than usual.

Of course, the hyungs don’t mind helping him out every once in a while, but Changkyun still says sorry every time, as if he feels bad for making others help him.

“Don’t be silly, Changkyun-ah,” Hyungwon says as he wraps one of the laces around his fingers.

He finds that the cords are very smooth and rigid which makes it easy for them to slip off his hands - no wonder Changkyun had trouble tying them properly.

“These laces are hell,” the lanky visual adds and smiles triumphantly when he finally succeeds in tying up the shoelaces. “Who on earth gave them to you?”

“The stylist noona said they’d look nice,” the maknae replies. “Thanks for your help, hyung. It’s a shame I’m so incompetent and clumsy.”

They are both quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts about the upcoming performance, until Changkyun sighs deeply.

“I really hate the shoes. They don’t fit well and I feel like I’ll slip or something.”

“Do you want to get new ones?” Hyungwon asks. “We could still-“

However, he is interrupted by one of the head staff members of the event telling them to go backstage since their performance starts in five minutes. As they all make their way there, Hyungwon loses Changkyun and he only sees him again a minute before they have to go on stage, staring at the entrance while biting his lip so hard he might draw blood.

Their nervousness doesn’t lessen when the performers who were up before them come back and greet them. If anything, the group grows more anxious.

Hyungwon can’t believe they are really supposed to perform after their EXO sunbaenims, who are the most popular group in South Korea. He doesn’t get why Monsta X were put after such an important senior group - it feels wrong, disrespectful.

Still, their sunbaes greet them with polite smiles and deep bows. They seem contended with their performance and Hyungwon gets just a little bit more nervous because he doesn’t want to imagine how high the audience’s expectations are now.

However, soon enough they are on stage and no one has time to think about it anymore.

The worst thing about the mistake that happens during their performance is that it is hardly noticeable. They get through the first part without a hitch but when the second verse starts with Jooheon’s and Changkyun’s parts, the younger rapper trips.

For a moment he loses his balance but since they are doing freestyle anyway, it’s hard to notice, especially when he manages not to fall on the ground.

However, everyone fails to notice how the maknae seems to avoid putting weight on his right foot afterwards. They don’t see that he doesn’t jump as high as usual and that his right leg almost gives way under his weight at the end of the performance.

When the audience erupts in cheers, they come forward, smiles on their faces and adrenaline running through their veins. After finishing a performance, Hyungwon always gets a little high of the relief that everything went well and the sound of the fans’ screams in his ears.

They bow deeply and retreat to the backstage area, more than happy to have finished their performance well even if everyone had high expectations.

As he dabs the sweat off his forehead and exposed neck, Hyungwon scrolls through the group’s twitter page. He smiles when he realizes how many people are talking about them right now even if their performance just finished.

There are many kind comments, people are asking who that last group was and then there are also their faithful and dependable Monbebes who are helping everyone out.

Contended, Hyungwon is about to lock his phone when a particular comment catches his eye.

“I saw Changkyun-oppa trip during his verse, I hope he’s okay,” he says and Hyungwon frowns.

He didn’t notice Changkyun’s mistake but the maknae finished the performance well, so everything should be fine.

At least he thinks so.

________________________

Another unpleasant thing about award shows is the fact that they have to stay there for ages after their performances while being live on camera. It’s not necessarily boring to sit and watch performances, since there aren’t many occasions when all idol groups are in the same place.

However, if you really just want to go home, it’s the worst.

Every time someone passes their table to receive their award on stage, Monsta X get up and bow to them. It’s a sign of respect and if they want to make it big, they can’t be known for bad behavior and impoliteness.

Each time they get up from their seats, Hyungwon hears Changkyun let out little breaths beside him. Sometimes the noises sound more like sighs, then the maknae huffs, but he always does it quietly so that it’s barely audible.

“Yah, Changkyun-ah,” Hyungwon still calls after a while as he leans over. “Are you okay?”

The maknae jumps at the visual’s close proximity, moving back a little until his legs touch his seat.

“Yeah, yeah,” he quickly says, “why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because you keep making these little huffs and puffs whenever you have to move, like…a rail steam engine.”

“Ah, hyung, don’t compare me to a train!”

Changkyun blushes and hits Hyungwon, but the elder isn’t fooled by him just yet.

“Are you tired?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

The maknae immediately starts shaking his head so rapidly that Hyungwon is scared his earrings are going to come off, laughing nervously.

“Ah no, not tired at all. I slept earlier in the van.”

“If you say so…”

Hyungwon turns away, but he is not quite convinced by the way Changkyun acts. It’s true that he doesn’t seem tired - if anything he’s hyper, which is weird, considering he’s Changkyun who hardly comes out of his shell.

His jumpiness strikes Hyungwon as odd, too, but he can’t think of any good cause yet. For now, he tells himself to keep an eye on Changkyun as the show proceeds.

The longer the event goes on, the more restless Changkyun grows. When they are sitting in their seats he keeps still, but once they stand up he keeps shifting, finding new positions to stand in every few seconds and kneading his own hands with his fingers.

Hyungwon is about to call him out again when the maknae suddenly excuses himself and gets up, walking away from their table.

“Where’s he going,” Hyungwon inquires as he leans over to Kihyun with a frown.

However, their resident group mum just shrugs.

“He said he had to pee. That’s typical - I always tell the kids not to drink a lot before our performance. Why do I even bother?”

The fierce vocalist turns around again, probably wallowing in self-pity because no one listens to him anyway. Hyungwon decides there’s no point in talking to him anyway so he turns around and focuses on the performance in front of him.

However, he can’t help growing nervous as Changkyun stays gone. Three minutes pass, five, seven even and Hyungwon tells himself there could just be a queue in front of the toilets, but in reality, he knows that’s probably not the case.

When eleven minutes have passed and Changkyun has yet to reemerge, Hyungwon gets up himself.

“Gotta use the bathroom,” he whispers to Hoseok and Minhyuk who just wave him off.

The visual makes his way through the maze of tables, finally finding the exit of the concert hall and passing through it. It only takes him a few seconds to locate the bathrooms since there are quite a few helpful signs and Hyungwon quickly marches into the men’s restroom, determined to find their maknae.

However, as he checks the toilet stalls, he finds that they are all unlocked. Frowning, he decides to wait for a bit in case Changkyun has just finished his business and is about to come out, but the only thing that happens is that the door opens again and Yugyeom and Bambam from GOT7 enter, giggling among themselves like two schoolgirls.

“Ah, Hyungwon-hyung,” the ’97-liners greet in unison before Bambam adds, “nice to see you in such a hospitable place!”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Hyungwon quickly replies and flees into a stall as he hears the GOT7 members converse outside.

Soon, the sound of running water rings out to him and seconds later the door closes and he is alone again. Hyungwon is just about to come out and go back to his members when he suddenly hears a suspicious noise.

At first he can’t make out what exactly it is, he doesn’t even know if the sound was real or if he simply imagined it, but then it sounds again and suddenly he is very sure of one thing - someone is in this bathroom with him.

“Changkyun-ah?” Hyungwon calls when he hears the noise for the third time and it immediately grows quiet, which is proof for him that he has indeed found the maknae.

“Changkyun-ah? Are you here?”

He comes out of his stall and starts to open every door, checking if Changkyun is inside the stall. Finally he finds him near the entrance door, sitting on the lid of the toilet with his knees pulled up to his chest.

He is facing away from Hyungwon, head resting against the wall with his hands covering his eyes.

“Changkyun-ah?” Hyungwon asks again as he hesitantly steps closer.

His chest tightens when Changkyun curls in on himself more, as if to protect his small body from the world. He reminds Hyungwon of a hurt animal that is unable to defend itself anymore - the only difference being that Changkyun is more than that, that he is their group’s precious maknae who doesn’t deserve to feel hurt.

“Changkyun-ah, please look at me!” Hyungwon pleads. “Please tell me what’s wrong?”

When he gets no reaction whatsoever, he finally decides to take matters into his own hands and steps forward, ready to turn Changkyun’s head forcefully.

The moment he feels the sticky wetness under his fingers, though, he flinches away, not prepared for what is expecting him.

As soon as Hyungwon’s fingers make contact with his face, Changkyun’s shoulders slump. His body loses all tension and as if he let go of everything just now, he starts sobbing.

His entire body is heaving with every breath he takes and for a moment Hyungwon is at an absolute loss for what to do. He isn’t ready for this, for finding their maknae in a cramped toilet stall, crying his eyes out.

When he starts to question what is wrong only the worst things come to his mind, horrible events that could have taken place and left Changkyun like this.

“Oh my god, Kyun-ah, what happened?”

Hyungwon is ready to cry himself as he throws himself at Changkyun, engulfing him in the tightest hug he can muster up. He squeezes the younger boy and the maknae shows no resistance, only crying harder into his hyung’s shoulder.

There’s no point in making him talk right now and Hyungwon knows that, but he still feels like his worries are burning him alive right now. The two spend more than five minutes in this position until Changkyun’s sobs slowly start to subside and he’s able to form proper sentences.

“It hurts, hyung,” he rasps out as he presses himself against Hyungwon’s chest, desperate for skinship. “My ankle hurts so much, I don’t even know what happened but i-it’s throbbing and I just can’t take it anymore, I can’t…”

“Oh my god, Kyunnie, is it from when you tripped earlier? Is that when you hurt yourself?”

“It was really noticeable, wasn’t it? I’m so so sorry, hyung, I didn’t mean to ruin our performance!”

Once again Changkyun is on the verge of tears so Hyungwon quickly shakes his head.

“Shh, no, that’s not it. I just looked at comments, Kyunnie, but everyone was really impressed. Only one person noticed, I didn’t even myself…”

He trails off because he feels so guilty, guilty for not observing the maknae well enough and letting it reach this point where he is in so much pain that he lets all of his walls crumble.

I should’ve been a better hyung, Hyungwon thinks as he holds Changkyun close. I should have done better.

“Hey, you know what we’re gonna do now?” he asks after a while. “I’m gonna call Seongchan-hyung and we’ll leave. You should go see a doctor if you’re in this much pain. Can I see your ankle for a sec?”

“Hmh…”

Changkyun tentatively moves away from Hyungwon and points at his right foot, wincing when his hyung removes the shoe and pulls down his sock carefully.

By taking a single glance at Changkyun’s ankle, he can tell it is bad. The skin is red and blue even and the ankle is very swollen already. It’s a miracle that Changkyun was even able to fit it in his shoe, but then again, maybe that was hurting him the most.

“I can’t put any weight on it at all anymore,” the maknae timidly tells Hyungwon. “I thought I was going crazy when we had to stand up all the time.

“It was so bad I thought I was gonna black out, so I just headed out and ended up here, but I can’t even make it out of this stall anymore. It’s just… I’m so tired.”

“Don’t worry, Kyun-ah, I’ll help you. You don’t have to stay here,” Hyungwon soothes as he calls their manager.

After exchanging a few explaining phrases with him, the man agrees to get a car ready and transport Changkyun to the nearest hospital. First, they will have to make it out of the building, though.

“I don’t think I can walk, I’m so sorry, hyung,” Changkyun sighs, his bottom lip quivering slightly.

Hyungwon can tell he already feels guilty enough for leaving the award show early and he honestly doesn’t think he could take it if the maknae started crying again. He is sure he can feel the stress pimples bloom on his face already from the torture he had to endure.

All of the members absolutely hate seeing their maknae in pain, especially when he keeps it from them until he can’t anymore.

“Hey, I can try to piggyback you,” Hyungwon muses. “The worst thing that can happen is that I fall down and break a leg – and we’re on our way to the doctor’s anyway, so…”

Changkyun hesitates to accept his hyungs offer for a moment, frowning as he eyes the elder skeptically, but then he seems to realize there is no other way for him to get out of here quickly.

“Okay,” he agrees, “but only if my weight doesn’t hurt you or anything.”

“Don’t worry,” Hyungwon chuckles as he kneels down in front of Changkyun. “I’m tall.”

“But you’re also as thin as a beanpole, hyung,” the maknae retorts.

He lets out a small laugh afterwards and Hyungwon supposes that’s good. No matter how hard Changkyun tries to pretend he doesn’t need his hyungs and is independent, Hyungwon prides himself on knowing his presence calms the maknae down anyway.

The visual waits as Changkyun slowly climbs onto his back, careful not to bump his injured foot anywhere, and helps the younger adjust. Then he carefully stands up, taking a few moments to regain his balance.

That is when Hyungwon realizes this won’t be easy. He might be the tallest member of the group, but Changkyun was right when he said he was thin. He’s lucky he’s only carrying their maknae who has a slight statue and not Hoseok or, even worse, Hyunwoo.

He still struggles quite a lot under the weight since he is not used to carrying heavy things at all, let alone humans.

“You okay?” Changkyun worriedly asks and he sounds insecure again, so Hyungwon nods.

“Don’t worry, I might not work out, but neither do you. I’d be having a harder time with any other member – well, apart from Minhyuk-hyung maybe.”

He stumbles out of the toilet and slowly makes his way down the corridor towards where they all came from, which would be the staircase leading to the underground parking lot. Hyungwon silently prays that no one will see them – he wouldn’t want to explain why he is carrying Monsta X’s maknae whose make-up is badly messed up and who is only wearing a single shoe.

He fears Changkyun wouldn’t deal with it well either, since he always worries too much. Sadly, Hyungwon’s prayers aren’t answered. The moment they pass by the area behind the stage the door opens and a lot of people poor out of the room, chatting excitedly with each other.

Hyungwon stops on his tracks like a deer caught in the headlights, wavering slightly under Changkyun’s weight. Within a second, he recognizes that their VIXX sunbaenims are the ones who just came out of the room, presumably after finishing their performance.

Cha Hakyeon, who is leading the group, catches Hyungwon’s gaze and his face lights up with recognition as he bows.

“Nice to meet you, Hyungwon-ssi!”

Hyungwon knows he is in trouble. He can’t bow properly with Changkyun on his backs, who his senior have yet to notice, but he tries anyway, almost toppling over in the process.

“Woah, careful!” Hakyeon immediately grabs Hyungwon’s wrist and the younger steadies himself with the help of VIXX leader.

“I’m sorry, N-sunbaenim,” he apologizes as he stumbles back, trying not to drop Changkyun. “I lost my balance.”

“Um… Excuse me, but why are you carrying Changkyun-ah on your back?”

Now the group’s visual is speaking – Hongbin, Hyungwon thinks – and the elder Monsta X member recalls that Changkyun once participated in an event with some of the VIXX members.

“I was clumsy and tripped,” Changkyun admits quietly from his back and Hyungwon can feel the maknae press his nose into his neck.

Of course he doesn’t want to show his face and reveal the tear tracks on his cheeks.

“We’re on our way to the car,” Hyungwon adds, breathing heavily under the weight.

“Oh dear, you seem to be struggling quite a lot,” Hakyeon softly says.

For a moment it’s quiet and Hyungwon realizes just how intimidating VIXX look lined up like that. They are all incredibly tall and at least two of them seem to be glaring – their main vocalist is one of them and so is their main rapper Ravi whose birthname Hyungwon doesn’t remember.

“Hey, I have a brilliant idea!” someone else suddenly pipes up and Hyungwon recognizes Ken, Lee Jaehwan, who is wearing a bright smile against all odds.

“Go on, Jaehwan-ah,” Hakyeon says and the other main vocalist points at the last person in the group, Hyuk, who is actually younger than Hyungwon.

“We’ll let Hyuk help them. He isn’t buff for nothing, is he?”

“That’s a great idea!” Hakyeon smiles but Hyungwon is skeptical because he can feel Changkyun tense up on his back.

For a moment the visual considers declining the offer, but then the maknae nods against his neck as if to show his approval, so Hyungwon nods.

“If it’s not too much to ask…”

“Don’t worry,” Hakyeon says, “we would love to help, right?”

He throws Hyuk a stern glare but VIXX’s maknae doesn’t seem to be against the idea anyway. He obediently steps forward and with the help of his members they manage to help Changkyun onto his broad back instead.

Once the weight is lifted off him, Hyungwon lets out a little sigh of relief but he’s careful not to make a loud noise as not to upset Changkyun again. At first the youngest looks a little stiff and uncomfortable on Hyuk’s back, but once his fellow maknae starts talking about their Overwatch match, he relaxes visibly.

“Well, I bid you goodbye then,” Hakyeon says. “Hyukkie, please come join us when we’re done. You know the way.”

“Really, N-sunbaenim, thank you so much. Everyone else, too, Hyuk-sunbaenim, Ken-sunbaenim.”

Hyungwon bows deeply six times, once for each member, and suddenly VIXX are all smiling (save for Leo, who seems incapable of doing that).

“It’s no problem, we’re happy to help,” Hakyeon tells him. “Also, hyung is okay too, Hyungwon-ssi. I’m afraid your group is bigger than ours right now.”

Truthfully, Hyungwon can’t remember the last time he blushed, but now he does and it lasts until they reach the underground parking lot where the car is already waiting. Hyuk carefully helps placing Changkyun in the car before saying goodbye after both Monsta X members have finished thanking him.

When he’s gone Hyungwon turns to Changkyun, who looks exhausted and a little pale, but still much better than earlier when he was crying.

“Do I go with you or…?”

Changkyun twitches a bit, biting his lip.

“You should go back,” he slowly says, “you did enough already. I can manage this…on my own. The others are waiting.”

However, Hyungwon can hear the lie in his voice. Normally Changkyun is the best at hiding things, but right now anyone could see through him. He may be telling his hyung to go, but he actually doesn’t want him too.

Hyungwon remembers how nervous Changkyun can get when it comes to hospital visits and he shakes his head.

“Bullshit, Kyunnie. I’m not gonna let you go alone. Who will carry you into the ER anyway?”

“But the security staff-“

“Stop talking and move over, Kyun. I’m going with you, no ‘but’s. I’m your hyung and I’ll stay with you and make sure you’re okay.”

And that is how Hyungwon ends up at the hospital with Changkyun, trying his hardest to make it as easy for the maknae as possible. He may not be able to carry him properly, but if he was asked to, he would still do it again anytime.

After all, Changkyun’s well-being always comes first – and that will never change.

Changkyun likes to hole himself up in his studio. Of course, he is not the only one who does that, not when he is in a group with Hoseok and Jooheon, and usually his members don’t really mind as long as he takes care of himself properly, eats and comes home at night.

When he is writing music, Changkyun will cut himself off from the rest of the world for a few hours. Kihyun once asked him about it and the maknae replied that in order to create music, he had to focus and he couldn’t do that if Minhyuk kept spamming their groupchat with emoticons and cat videos.

Ever since then, Kihyun has learned to accept Changkyun’s need to be on his own every once in a while and the more he got used to it, the less he worried. Lately, it has become so normal for him not to hear from the maknae all day when he is writing that Kihyun is actually surprised when he does receive a message.

In fact, the buzzing of his phone startles him so much that he almost drops it into the bath he drew himself as a reward for his hard work.

Kihyun frowns. He shouldn’t be getting messages, since everyone else is busy. Hyunwoo and Hyungwon have paired up to work on their new choreography, Hoseok and the maknae are writing for their next comeback, Jooheon went to see GOT7 and Minhyuk left for his hometown three days ago, of course not without making a ruckus and pressing wet, smacking pecks to each of the members’ cheeks.

However, when Kihyun sees that it’s Changkyun who has contacted him, his frown deepens. It’s not unusual for Hoseok to call when he’s feeling stuck or for Hyunwoo to request a certain dish for dinner, but the maknae hasn’t texted him during work in months.

“Hyung,” Kihyun reads Changkyun’s message aloud as he sits up straighter in the bath.

It’s just one word and it looks odd beside Changkyun’s other texts, which are usually much longer and more informative than this one. With flying fingers, Kihyun starts typing a response, “I am here,” but he is too slow and before he can finish his phone starts buzzing again.

This time Changkyun is calling and Kihyun answers immediately.

“Changkyun-ah? What’s up? I thought you were writing.”

“Hyung?”

It’s that one word again and Changkyun’s voice sounds weirdly quiet, as if the maknae put his phone on loudspeaker but there’s a distance of two meters between him and the device now. When the youngest adds something, Kihyun has to listen carefully to understand.

“Can you come see me…at the studio?”

“Why, though?” the vocalist inquires. “I’m actually in the bath right now and the water isn’t cold yet…”

“Kihyun-hyung.”

This time Changkyun’s voice make a weird feeling arise in Kihyun’s chest. It’s unlike the rapper to interrupt others and this whole situation, the text message followed by the call, just seems wrong.

Now Kihyun realizes that there is now way he is going to gain anything from this bath. He will just worry, worry about the reason for Changkyun’s call, worry about making the maknae feel neglected - getting out and visiting the studio is probably the best thing to do right now.

“Okay, okay,” Kihyun gives in. “Why do you need me, though? I’m afraid I can’t sing right now because I ate chocolate this morning.”

“It’s okay, hyung. Please, just,” Kihyun hears Changkyun swallow before he goes on, “come.”

And then, the line is dead and Kihyun is left more confused than ever before. He tries to call back multiple times as he hurriedly gets out of the bath and dries himself off, but it seems like Changkyun has taken a sudden liking to ignoring him.

While he gets ready to head out, he tries not to worry too much, he tries to find a harmless reason for Changkyun’s sudden request to see him - and even if it takes him some time until he starts believing himself, it helps Kihyun’s racing heart calm down slowly.

When he gets to the Starship building where Changkyun’s studio is located, he is convinced the maknae just wants to go over some lyrics with him. The previous worry having slipped from his mind completely, Kihyun knocks against the studio door.

He knows he can be a pushy and nosy hyung sometimes, but he still isn’t going to barge into the room that is Changkyun’s safe haven like that. However, Kihyun doesn’t receive an answer.

He waits a few moments, foot tapping a rhythm on the floor, but there’s only silence around him, even when he tries a second time. Finally, Kihyun decides he has had enough and pushes the door open, marching into the room confidently.

The first thing he notices is that the studio is lit poorly - actually the only source of light is a small lamp that gives off a pinkish glow from the corner of the desk. However, Kihyun isn’t surprised by that - he is surprised by the fact that Changkyun is nowhere in sight.

“Changkyun-ah?” he calls with a frown. “You here somewhere?”

At first it stays quiet again and Kihyun is about to turn around, convinced the maknae went to the bathroom, when he suddenly hears his voice.

“Wait, hyung, I’m here!”

Again, Changkyun sounds quiet and oddly shaky. For a moment, Kihyun is unsure where the voice came from, but then his gaze falls upon the couch which is facing the wall opposite the door, which is why Kihyun’s sight is blocked.

“Changkyun?” the vocalist asks again, moving forward until he can see properly.

Finally he discovers the maknae who is curled up on the sofa, his eyes squeezed shut and his hair messily sprawled out on the pillow. Much to Kihyun’s dismay, Changkyun doesn’t look well at all - it’s quite the opposite actually.

Even in the dimness of the studio Kihyun can see that he is unnaturally pale and that his hands, which are grasping the fabric of his own shirt, are shaking.

“Changkyun-ah, what’s the matter? Are you unwell?” he asks as he kneels down next to the couch and puts a hand onto the maknae’s forehead.

Again, he is surprised as he finds it cold and sweaty. However, just because he doesn’t have a fever, Changkyun doesn’t automatically feel well.

“Hyung?” he whispers without ever opening his eyes. “Are you h-here now?”

His hands stretch out towards Kihyun, blindly searching for him and the vocalist grips Changkyun’s fingers and squeezes tightly.

“Hey, hey, I’m here,” he softly says. “Does anything hurt, Kyun-ah? Is that why you called me?”

“I-I can’t get up.”

The way Changkyun says these words makes him sound so helpless, so small. And Kihyun realized he is, in fact, tiny as he lies on the couch like that, curled into a ball more or less.

There is also a certain tone in Changkyun’s voice that gives away how upset he is over his inability to move, whatever it may be caused by.

“H-hyung, I feel really weird,” Changkyun rambles on as he unconsciously pulls Kihyun’s hands towards him. “Everything is fuzzy and too fast and- and- I can’t even sit up, everything k-keeps spinning, I don’t know what to do, hyung.”

Suddenly there are tears leaking from his eyes and Kihyun realizes just how bad he must feel, just how scared he must be. He himself isn’t much better after all - the severity of Changkyun’s condition weighs down on his chest uncomfortably and no matter how hard he thinks, he can’t figure out what may be wrong with the maknae.

“Shhh, it’s okay, Kyun-ah,” he soothes as he starts to run a hand through Changkyun’s hair. “Can you tell me how it started? And when?”

“I don’t really know anymore,” Changkyun begins, words sounding slightly slurred. “I couldn’t… It was hard to concentrate I guess and…then I started feeling weird so I lay down but when I tried to sit up after a while I couldn’t… Everything was spinning.”

“So, you’re dizzy,” Kihyun notes, even though he says it more to himself anyway. “Can you open your eyes?”

“I’m sorry, hyung, I don’t think I can.”

Changkyun sounds so defeated that it makes the elder man’s chest clench. The maknae looks absolutely pitiful as he lies there, eyes still closed and barely able to form clear sentences.

“Everything is just a whirling mess. It m-makes me feel sick.”

“I’m sorry, Changkyunnie,” Kihyun says and he means it.

He wishes he hadn’t found the maknae like this, wishes he could swap places with him – it hurts to see Changkyun in such a bad state.

“I’m gonna take you home, okay? I’ll help you sit up and you can lean on me as we walk. You don’t have to open your eyes, I’ll guide you.”

Carefully he moves his hand so that it is on Changkyun’s lower back before he proceeds to heave the maknae’s body up. It seems like the rapper has absolutely no strength left, his limbs flopping around lifelessly, and Kihyun hopes that he will be able to make it to the car like that.

Sitting up doesn’t seem to help Changkyun at all because he lets out a choked noise as his head drops, hanging forward so that it’s impossible for Kihyun to see his face.

“Oh god, hyung, I can’t do this, I feel so bad, I feel so bad,” he starts mumbling, voice raspy and absolutely desperate.

It breaks Kihyun’s heart to see him like this, but he knows that he can do nothing for the maknae right now. He needs to get him home first, into his bed preferably, before he can think up a solution for his apparent problems.

However, they still need to get to the car.

“C’mon, Kyunnie, get up slowly,” Kihyun tries to encourage as he gets up from the floor himself, pulling Changkyun’s weak body with him in the process.

He is ready to support the maknae’s weight, ready to guide him out of this room and everything would have been fine – if Changkyun hadn’t fallen. The moment his legs have to carry his weight they buckle and he slumps forward.

Kihyun, who has readied himself for anything but this, hardly manages to catch him before he fully hits the floor. As the elder tries his best not to let Changkyun go, a strangled noise escapes the maknae’s mouth and even without words, it’s clear that he must feel incredibly dizzy.

“There, there, c’mon, lie down,” Kihyun says as he tries to ease Changkyun’s body down as carefully as he can.

Internally, he is in full on panic mode, but he can’t show that right now, not when the younger is falling apart in front of him.

“Hyung’s sorry he made you walk,” Kihyun apologizes, trying to mask his anxiety somehow. “Okay, let’s try something else. I’ll pick you up and you don’t have to do anything, I’ll carry you. Please, just- If you feel like you’re gonna throw up, please tell me.”

He doesn’t wait for Changkyun to confirm his agreement. Without further ado, Kihyun heaves the maknae up in the only way he can right now – bridal style. He silently thanks god for Changkyun’s statue as he stumbles rather than walks, still struggling under the weight.

All the while, the maknae keeps making noises that clearly confirm he must be feeling like he’s going through hell, but Kihyun can’t bring himself to care. He can’t stop every time Changkyun whimpers, he needs to do this in one go or else he will not be able to hoist up the rapper’s body again.

On the way to the car, which feels like miles, Kihyun realizes how weak he actually is. He wishes he was as strong as Hoseok or Hyunwoo because not only is he worried to death because of Changkyun’s state, he is also struggling to walk properly.

When they finally reach the car after agonizing ten minutes of walking through the floors of the starship building, Kihyun sets Changkyun down on the backseat where he can lie down flatly.

That seems to be the only position that makes his dizziness subside a bit, since the maknae immediately grows quieter. Even with his head swimming because he is so worried, Kihyun makes sure to place a plastic bag next to Changkyun in case he gets sick from driving.

In all honesty, he’d rather want to be anywhere else than behind the steering wheel of his car right now. Kihyun’s hands are shaking as he places them on the steering wheel and he prays he doesn’t cause an accident.

He usually is quite a calm person, even when facing hectic situations or huge problems, but Changkyun’s state has thrown him off balance completely. Kihyun isn’t sure if he’s ever been this worried before, but he doesn’t allow himself to think about it much – he knows he still has to carry Changkyun up to their dorm and the thought makes him shiver.

They somehow make it to the right building without any great occurrences, but as soon as Kihyun opens the door to get Changkyun upstairs somehow, the maknae starts wildly shaking his head.

“No, hyung, please don’t pick me up,” he frantically begs, “it feels so horrible, I can’t take it… Everything’s spinning…”

Kihyun doesn’t reply. He can’t because if he did, he wouldn’t be able to go against the maknae’s will anyway. Right now he has to be cruel. He has to ignore Changkyun’s pleads and get on with his tasks.

It’s even harder to carry someone who absolutely doesn’t want to be carried, and every step is a small battle for Kihyun. Changkyun isn’t still in his arms anymore and because of his thrashing, the older man isn’t even able to lock the car up.

The journey up to their dorm is one full of staggering and stumbling and more than once, Kihyun is afraid he will accidentally drop Changkyun, who seems absolutely delusional. He can’t be blamed, though, since his dizziness must be unbearable.

Kihyun has never suffered from something similar before – he usually passes out right after getting lightheaded – but he is sure it must be death. His heart aches for Changkyun as he forcefully carries him to the dorm, but he knows he has no choice.

When he has finally arrived and Changkyun is safely resting on his bed, Kihyun is absolutely done. Even minutes after going downstairs to lock his car, his hands are still shaking, his heartbeat is still pounding in his ears and the faint ache of his muscles reminds him of the ordeal he has just suffered through.

Despite having suffered through his fair share of horrible situations, Kihyun is sure this one was one of the worst he has been met with yet. He sincerely hopes he will never have to carry Changkyun like that again.

To him, seeing the maknae unable to walk himself is the worst.

“Something is wrong with the maknae.”

Minhyuk’s statement comes so unexpectedly that it startles Kihyun, making him jump and instinctively glance around to see if the cameras caught him. To his relief, they all seem to be busy filming the scenery of the place they just arrived at, which gives Kihyun the chance to exchange a few words with Minhyuk.

“How’d you notice?” the main vocalist asks.

He has always considered himself a perceptive person, but Minhyuk is usually to loud and hyper to notice subtleties.

“C’mon, Kihyun-ah, it’s so damn obvious.”

Minhyuk rolls his eyes, almost as if he is offended that Kihyun thought so lowly of him.

“Even I can notice that. He’s barely able to stay awake while walking.”

Glancing over at where Changkyun and Jooheon are standing, huddled together closely because of the cold, Kihyun has to admit Minhyuk is right. He has been watching Changkyun all day, since he just couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong this morning, and the maknae has been growing weaker all day.

Now, in the late afternoon, the circles under his eyes have become so dark that no make-up can cover them properly and he stumbles every few steps, which Kihyun takes as evidence for the fact that he is in fact falling asleep while walking.

“Jooheon knows, too, I guess,” Minhyuk suddenly says and again, it’s hard to disagree.

Jooheon is always gentle and sweet, but today he hasn’t left Changkyun’s side yet. Right now he is busy guiding the disoriented maknae to a bench where they can sit down while waiting for the filming to proceed.

“There’s no way Hoseok didn’t notice, but I’m not too sure about Hyunwoo,” Kihyun honestly replies. Then he grimly adds, “but there’s nothing we can do for Kyunnie. They would never let him leave.”

Minhyuk nods affirmatively - they both know Kihyun’s words are right. No matter what is wrong with any of them, it is the hardest thing to convince their manager team and their director to leave a member out of the broadcast.

Right now Monsta X are filming a new variety show for their fans, similarly to the one they did in Hong Kong with the difference that they are in Japan right now. All luck seems to have left them, though, since Hyungwon came down with something a single day after arriving.

Their tall visual is resting at the hotel now, but Kihyun knows how many tiring battles he had to fight until the director would let Hyungwon stay back. He is not sure he could do the same for Changkyun, especially not right now when the crew is already pissed because a member is missing.

“He probably caught Hyungwon’s germs,” Minhyuk assumes as he scratches his chin. “Poor thing, he looks absolutely miserable. He didn’t eat earlier after we competed for lunch, did he?”

“He didn’t,” Kihyun confirms with a shake of his head.

As their show is supposed to be interesting to watch for the fans, they have to compete for every little thing, be it food or tickets for the bus. In general, Kihyun gets the concept of variety shows, he knows they need to be funny, but that doesn’t mean he likes it.

Actually, he loathes the entire concept right now, because it is the thing that keeps them from properly taking care of their health.

All of a sudden, Minhyuk clears his throat.

“We should do something.”

“And what do you have in mind? As you said, there is nothing,” Kihyun snaps, aware of the fact that he sounds cranky but remaining unbothered by it.

However, Minhyuk just smiles.

“As I am the Great Lee Minhyuk, I already have a plan,” he announces proudly. “We will just make use of this variety thing. A game, Kihyun! Games are the key!”

After a pause, he adds, “go on, say I’m a genius. We all know it’s true, anyway.”

“But…I don’t get it?”

“My, my…” Minhyuk sighs with a disapproving head shake. “Look, we’ll play a game. The loser needs to carry the winner for the rest of the broadcast. Then, we’ll let Kkukkungie win and make Hyunwoo-hyung carry him or something so he can rest. He’s small anyway, it won’t be a problem.”

“And how are we gonna manipulate the game?”

“Well, I thought about that, too. We’ll play Rock, Paper, Scissors and the first odd one out will win. The second will lose. We’ll just tell everyone but Kyunnie to show paper so that he will be the odd one out.”

“That sounds alright I guess,” Kihyun has to admit with a frown.

He didn’t actually expect Minhyuk’s plan to be good, but it actually sounds like it could work, surprisingly. Despite all of his crazy ideas, there might be an ounce of ingeniousness in Minhyuk’s body.

“Okay, I’ll propose the game to the crew while you go talk to the others,” the visual quickly appoints. “Let’s try and do it quickly, okay?”

After that, they both head off to complete their respective tasks. Talking to Hyunwoo and Hoseok is quite easy, since both of them had a suspicion that something was wrong before, and they happily agree to the plan.

When he’s done explaining, Kihyun heads over to Changkyun and Jooheon and sits down beside them, worriedly noting that the maknae’s head is resting on his hyung’s shoulder. If Changkyun can’t even keep up his unbothered mask, he must feel bad.

The maknae is usually the one to hide his true feelings the longest, especially in front of cameras, but now even he seems to have crumbled. It’s no wonder, though, considering how badly off Hyungwon was last night. If they really do have the same thing, Kihyun feels more than sorry for Changkyun.

“Hyung.”

Jooheon’s whisper makes him lean over so that they are closer to each other and able to talk privately for a second.

“I think Changkyun-ah is sick, he keeps coughing and it sounds bad.”

“I know, Heonnie. We’re already trying to help him.”

In a hushed voice, Kihyun explains the plan to Jooheon, careful to assure Changkyun doesn’t hear them. No matter how weak he is, if the maknae found out about their intentions, he would refuse to participate in the game.

That is just how he is - ever worried about being a bother and trying his hardest to pretend his body is made of stone.

Luckily, the filming crew agrees to their plan to and the stand in a semi-circle, allowing the cameras to film them. Changkyun surely looks uncomfortable as he stands up, but he never says anything about it.

In the first round they all throw paper and Kihyun is worried they might be discovered, since there’s only a tiny chance they will all throw the same thing, especially at first try. They quickly agree to throw rock next behind Changkyun’s back and this time, it works, since the maknae goes for paper again.

“Congrats, Changkyun-ah!” Hoseok exclaims, patting Changkyun on the back enthusiastically which makes the maknae wince, while Hyunwoo smiles one of his eye smiles at the camera.

“Our maknae I.M-ssi sure is a lucky guy,” he says and Kihyun adds, “I’m glad it’s him, though, he’s seriously the lightest of us all. Just imagine having to carry Wonho-ssi.”

They play again and Hyunwoo miraculously ends up losing. The leader waves it off with a smile, ready to get on with his task, but suddenly the director asks, “what if we let I.M-ssi and Shownu-ssi compete with each other.”

His words make fear flare up in Changkyun’s gaze and the other members all start talking at the same time, just as desperate to protect their already sick and tired maknae from the impending doom.

“It would be cheating,” Minhyuk explains, “since we already said the first one would be carried. It’s not our fault Changkyun won the game. Let him have something this once, please!”

Kihyun is afraid they are going to be discovered because of the vehemence Minhyuk argues with. However, the director doesn’t seem to care all that much anyway and shrugs it off.

“Get it on with.”

“Great, Changkyun-ah, now you can use Hyunwoo as your personal horse!” Hoseok happily announces as the leader gets onto his knees to let Changkyun get on his back.

When he is sure the cameras aren’t pointing at them, Kihyun walks over and helps Changkyun settle properly.

“Hyung,” the maknae says as he tiredly rests his head against the back of Hyunwoo’s, “I really needed this. I don’t think I could have finished. I think… I think I’d just have collapsed somewhere.”

“I know, Kyun-ah,” Kihyun gently tells him as he pets the back of his head. “It’s okay now, though, rest. You won the game after all.” As an afterthought, he adds, “I’m sorry we couldn’t do more for you. We’ll try to see what we can do about tomorrow so that you can rest with Hyungwon-ah.”

Changkyun blinks at him slowly, eyes glazed over yet grateful.

“Thank you, Kihyun-hyung.”

“It’s not a big deal. We don’t like seeing you push yourself.”

Even though he knows Changkyun is in good hands now, Kihyun can’t help but keep an eye on him as they keep walking through the city and playing random games for the sake of variety at the weirdest places.

Changkyun nods off after a few minutes and none of the other members like waking him up every time they stop, but they have to make sure the camera team doesn’t notice and get angry. It’s already suspicious how quiet their maknae was today, even if he has a more subdued image than other members.

Every time they stop, Hoseok and Minhyuk make sure Hyunwoo can sit down somewhere with Changkyun. After a while, the leader can’t even be bothered to let go of the youngest anymore and he keeps him in his lap while Jooheon makes sure the cameras can’t film them properly.

Finally they reach the last game where they compete for money the will use for dinner. Changkyun is forced to participate, but he does so badly that Kihyun swears to give the maknae some of his own money.

It’s not fair that Changkyun can’t take a break and go home earlier. By now, the crew must have noticed, but they have seemingly decided to ignore the rapper’s condition and occasionally even tell him to participate more in the conversations held between the members.

Kihyun is about ready to hit the director and he can tell Minhyuk is, too, but then they finally get dinner and afterwards the filming is over. After the cameras are stowed away, they get ready to leave.

However, now they are facing another problem.

“Hey, the filming is over. You don’t need to continue with the game,” a lady tells them bluntly, but no one listens to her.

The members’ attention is on Changkyun, who is curled up in a corner of their booth, shivering slightly. Kihyun is the furthest away from him, but he can still hear his hushed conversation with Hyunwoo.

“I don’t wanna walk, hyung,” Changkyun miserably says, “I just wanna sleep. I’m so, so tired.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Hoseok butts in. “You don’t have to, we don’t give a shit about what they tell us. Hyunwoo or I can carry you to the car, don’t worry. You’ll get to rest soon.”

Hyunwoo nods.

“He’s right, Changkyun-ah. Your well-being is always first and if the team doesn’t understand that, we will personally have to guarantee you are right. And that, we will gladly do that.”

In moments like these, Kihyun can’t help but be incredibly grateful for their leader. Hyunwoo may be a bit awkward and quiet, but he is wise when it comes to things like this.

The members silently get ready to leave, Hoseok helping Changkyun onto Hyunwoo’s back once again. No one says anything when they arrive at the hotel and the maknae is fast asleep – there is no way they would wake him up now.

Later, when Changkyun is sleeping soundly in the room he shares with their other resident sick member Hyungwon as of now, Kihyun takes a few moments to remember everything that has happened today.

He is very glad that despite being unable to get him out of work, they could help Changkyun in their own way. Being an idol can be hard and tiring, yet there is no member in Monsta X that would refuse to carry Changkyun’s additional weight if they can’t do it himself anymore.

As Hyunwoo said, his well-being always comes first – and it’s the hyungs responsibility to make sure he is okay.

Monsta X isn’t the most athletic group out there, despite what people may believe. Of course, they have Hoseok and Hyunwoo who are strong and Kihyun’s determination makes up for his lack of height – but they also have Hyungwon who sleeps rather than exercising, an incredibly clumsy maknae and Minhyuk, who talks rather than he does sports.

Still, some members – read: Jooheon – seem to think it’s a good idea to challenge another group to a game of volleyball. Some members dare to put their recent paycheck on the line because of their stupid pride.

It starts like this. One evening everyone is in the living room, sitting around on their own or in small groups and minding their own business. Hyungwon is reading a book in the armchair while Hoseok is sipping on his protein shake and Hyunwoo and Kihyun are watching the game show that is on TV right now.

Changkyun and Jooheon are lounging on the floor in front of the couch, but neither of them are really paying attention to the television – the maknae because he is dead tired after their schedule today and Jooheon because he is texting someone.

The second youngest member seems weirdly worked up, letting out little huffs and breaths every few seconds while he is typing away faster than lightning. At some point, Kihyun leans forward from his position on the couch to take a look at what the rapper is doing.

“Who are you texting, Jooheon-ah?” he curiously inquires, raising an eyebrow.

Apparently, Jooheon has just waited for the opportunity to rant because he takes a deep breath and they all know they are in for a long monologue.

“It’s Jackson-ah, he’s so damn annoying!” Jooheon indignantly says. “He keeps coming at me lately, talking about how his group is the best and has the strongest members and how we couldn’t even complete the 20 rounds around those escalators two years back.”

“So he’s teasing you,” Kihyun matter-of-factly states. “If it’s only that…”

“You don’t understand, hyung!” Jooheon whines, obviously irritated by Jackson’s habit of teasing his friends a bit wherever he can. “I swear he doesn’t have eyes or something! He refuses to admit that Hyunwoo-hyung and Hoseok-hyung could beat his members at doing pull-ups! That’s so silly, isn’t it?”

The rapper doesn’t receive another answer from his hyung, but instead he has grasped Changkyun’s attention, who raises his head from where it has been resting between Hyunwoo’s legs.

“We’re both weak, though,” the maknae tells him in that deep, serious voice of his and Jooheon shoots him a glare, acting betrayed.

“How could you stab me in the back like that, Changkyun-ah?! I am right and Jackson isn’t! He’s just full of himself because someone praised him on some stupid show again and it’s so damn annoying! He won’t even listen to me!”

He goes back to typing away angrily, but this time Changkyun keeps watching, even though his eyelids are threatening to droop shut the longer he watches.

At some point, Minhyuk comes strolling into the room with a steaming mug of coffee in his hand – no one knows why he chooses to drink coffee in the evening, but no one comments either – and plops down beside the maknaes, cooing excitedly when he notices Changkyun is only half awake.

“Aww, Kkukkungie, you’re falling asleep,” he squeals like one of their fangirls, poking Changkyun’s cheek with one of his fingers.

The maknae frowns and tries to dodge, but his brain isn’t functioning normally anymore, so he ends up being too slow. Finally Kihyun has mercy and leans down again, this time to pry Minhyuk off their youngest.

“C’mon, Changkyun, wash your face and go to bed,” he gently yet sternly instructs. “We have a long day tomorrow, too, and you’re exhausted.”

“But-“

“No ‘but’s, I don’t want you to be cranky when I wake you up tomorrow morning. Also, please wake Hyungwon-ah before you go. Looks like he fell asleep over his book.”

That’s how Changkyun leaves them that night, sleepily trailing into the bathroom with Hyungwon on his tracks before making his way to his room, to his warm bed. He doesn’t really mind that Hyungwon follows him all the way there and deems it necessary to climb up into the maknae’s bed with him, even though his lanky limbs take up a lot of space.

________________________________

In the next morning, Changkyun awakes to Kihyun’s usual morning call which isn’t as angelic and gentle as fans may believe. Still he gets up rather quickly, as always, unlike the grumpy sloth who hogged the maknae’s blankets last night.

“C’mon, Hyungwon-hyung, Kihyun-hyung will be mad if you don’t get up now,” Changkyun tries to coax his groupmate out of his fort made of blankets, pillows and his stuffed animals like the responsible member he is.

Before he can grab Hyungwon’s wrist to drag him out from under the blanket, though, the door opens and Jooheon stomps into the room, his face looking sunken.

“Woah, hyung, what happened to you?” Changkyun asks at the sulky look on his face. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

“I did something stupid,” the elder huffs as he climbs into his bed and curls into a ball, facing away from Changkyun and Hyungwon, who has sat up by now.

“Would you enlighten us about what you did, please?” the visual groggily demands as he runs his fingers through his messy fringe. “I have no patience right now.”

“I may…have made a bet with Jackson,” Jooheon quietly admits and his voice is so quiet that Changkyun has to concentrate hard to understand. “I may have…bet my pay-check for next month because I was sure we’d beat them at sports. I may need someone to lend me money if we end up losing.”

“Oh my god,” Hyungwon lets out a small scream, sounding as sassy as he does whenever he’s bickering with Gunhee. “You didn’t, Jooheon…”

“But hyung, he was provoking me!” Jooheon whines. “I know it’s not right.”

“Not right? Not right? You literally made a bet about some stupid thing with money you don’t even own! What did you even bet about?!”

“Well… That’s the second issue. I challenged him to a game of volleyball and-“

“I’m out,” Hyungwon harshly interrupted, promptly turning away from his younger groupmate. “Go look for other players, I won’t help you!”

“But Hyungwon, I have to buy GOT7 food if we don’t compete!”

Jooheon has sat up again by now, desperately gesticulating as he tries to make the importance of his bet clear to Hyungwon.

“You have to help me! If we lose, I’m going to lose my dignity too. I won’t have any pride left… Do you want that, hyung?”

Normally, the h-word affects Hyungwon like a magic spell when it comes to Jooheon, but this time the grumpy visual stays stubborn, arms crossed protectively in front of his chest.

“I won’t help, no matter how much you beg,” he states. “And that’s final.”

Before anyone can react, he has climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed and rushed out of the room, probably going to wash up before heading to the breakfast Kihyun no doubt prepared.

At his departure, Jooheon lets out a deep sigh as he eyes Changkyun with watery eyes.

“What am I gonna do, Changkyun-ah?” he wonders out loud. “I can’t back off now – Jackson would never let me live it down and I don’t want to buy GOT7 food. They’re already heavy enough.”

He grumbles a bit. The image of Jackson’s fellow members Mark and Bambam pops up in Changkyun’s head and he has to suppress a snicker at how silly Jooheon is being. Ever the comforting maknae, though, he finally has mercy and walks over to where his hyung is sitting and sulking, patting his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, hyung, the others will probably help you. I’ll help too, even though I doubt I can do much, considering how clumsy I am. But I should try first, right?”

And that’s how Changkyun signs himself (and his members) up for a volleyball game against GOT7 in order to save Jooheon’s pride and win a meal from Jackson, who is going to pay if Monsta X end up winning the bet.

_______________________________

Of course, most of the members aren’t exactly thrilled to hear about the match, but given how sullenly Jooheon walks around before they agree to help him and how much his face lights up afterwards, they all agree to join.

Lastly, Hyungwon is pronounced referee of the game by Hoseok and because he has a soft spot for his hyung, he can’t say ‘no’ to the job.

A few weeks later, when Monsta X have finished promoting their recent comeback single and their schedule are clear for a few weeks until they start their next tour, Jooheon schedules a match with Jackson, since GOT7 conveniently are on break, too.

They decide to rent out a gym instead of going to a park since they don’t necessarily want to be seen by their fans – at least Jooheon doesn’t, since he doesn’t seem too sure about winning the bet anymore.

The morning of the match, they all get up at 8 even though they could sleep in, but instead of going to the studio, shopping or exercising, they call up someone from the company to take them to the gym they are going to meet at.

At exactly 9 o’clock in the morning, Monsta X arrive at the building, only to be greeted by a smirking Jackson and his fellow members, all of them already clad in their sportswear.

“Joohoney, it’s about time you came,” GOT7’s resident ‘social guy’ teases his friend with a smile as he approaches to pull him into a brotherly hug. “Afraid of losing against us, huh?”

“Never,” Jooheon mumbles, but he doesn’t sound so convinced.

One after the other, the members greet each other – Jackson first and the rest of GOT7 afterwards. Changkyun isn’t particularly close to any of them, but he knows Youngjae, Yugyeom and Bambam are all younger than him so he can talk with them in a fairly casual way.

Still Changkyun chooses to smile politely as he stands beside Hyunwoo, waiting until Jackson tells them where they can change their clothes.

He has never been the best at making new friends since he can be quite shy and his past in his own group didn’t exactly help him become more confident with strangers. Luckily, he soon realizes that GOT7’s maknae line are very carefree and don’t have problems talking to strangers.

“Jinyoung-hyung wanted to whip Jackson’s ass for making us play today,” Bambam recounts as they stand together to wait for instructions. “He’s pretty fast, though and Jinyoung realized that he’s getting food either way, so he said he’s only gonna beat Jackson if we lose.”

“To be honest, that’s very unlikely,” Changkyun quietly admits, looking around so that he can be sure his hyungs don’t hear him. “I mean, we’ve only got Hoseok-hyung and Hyunwoo-hyung and they’re…well, strong, but I don’t know if they’re good at any games like volleyball…”

“What about you? You look pretty strong?” Yugyeom asks in his slightly high-pitched voice and Changkyun almost laughs out loud at the fellow maknae’s assumption.

“Oh my god, no.”

The English words slip out of his mouth before he can hold them back, but no one looks at him weirdly, so he just goes on.

“I’m just super clumsy. Ask BTOB about that, they can tell you how I once got hit by the same ball three times in a row because it kept bouncing off me.”

“To be honest, I wanna see Gyeommie try to play volleyball. I bet you’re gonna get tangled in the net,” Bambam grins and ducks away when Yugyeom threatens to slap him for his comment.

“Watch out for Mark-hyung, though,” the Thai rapper then adds, “he may look all skinny and frail, but I kind of get the feeling he’s hiding a real talent from us. He had that…gloomy aura radiating off him earlier in the car.”

“Right,” Youngjae adds in a hushed voice, “I felt like I was sitting in the car with Jaebum-hyung.”

They seem a bit scared at the mention of their leader, but before Changkyun can ask what is up with them, Jackson gathers them around him before telling them where they can change their clothes.

Fifteen minutes later, Monsta X (minus Hyungwon) are standing neatly lined up in the middle of a gym, clad in sportswear and shivering. Changkyun protectively wraps his arms around his torso because it’s cold and even if they aren’t promoting at the moment, he doesn’t want to catch a cold.

“Are you cold, Changkyun-ah?” Hoseok whispers to him with a sympathetic smile. “Me too.”

“Yah, stop whining, hyung, you are about twice as big as we are,” Kihyun suddenly hisses from the second-eldest’ other side. “Your muscles should protect you.”

Hoseok scoffs and pouts a bit afterwards.

“I have no idea how to play volleyball. I wanna go home and sleep.”

“You sound like Hyungwon.”

“So what?”

The mention of their tall visual makes Changkyun avert his eyes from his two hyungs, his gaze wandering until it finds Hyungwon, who is standing next to Jackson in a long-sleeved shirt, his neck adorned by a whistle.

He looks as grumpy as ever and Changkyun doesn’t really want to swap places with Jooheon right now – Hyungwon’s wrath is never pleasant, especially if you keep him from resting, which the rapper is doing right now.

Why did he even have to make that stupid bet, anyway?

“Okay, so we’re gonna play volleyball, but none of us know how to play, basically, so I guess it’s just a game of ‘get the ball over the net at any cost or you’re gonna get hit by Jaebum-hyung.”

“I didn’t sign up for this,” GOT7’s leader adds with a deadpan expression, but Jackson chooses to ignore him.

“Also, it might interest you or at least my team, because we’re gonna win and Jooheon is gonna buy us food. Sorry.”

He gives Jooheon a sweet smile to which the rapper replies by sticking out his tongue at his friend – and suddenly, Changkyun gets why they are friends.

“Lastly, Hyungwon-ah is gonna be our referee and Jinyoung-ah is gonna sit out for now because he was injured recently. Apart from that, everyone is gonna participate. Fighting, everyone! Let’s earn our meal well.”

Jackson finally steps back and for a few seconds, the two groups just stand there facing each other. A shudder runs down Changkyun’s spine. In all honesty, he finds Jackson a bit intimidating – it’s not that the elder is really scary in any way, but he is very good at talking, much better than Changkyun, and it makes him feel slightly inferior.

Add the maknae’s clumsy legs into the mix and you will know there is only a small chance Monsta X are going to win – even if talking doesn’t have to do with volleyball or whatever they will play.

Slowly, to demonstrate their unwillingness to play sports because of some stupid bet, everyone makes their way to their position. Changkyun makes sure to stay at the back, hoping that he will cause as little trouble as possible from there.

However, his hopes are soon shattered when Jackson tells him it’s his turn to serve.

Truthfully, Changkyun has no idea how to do that – he’s never been a big fan of playing sports, especially not ones where balls are involved since they always seem to end up in his face.

Therefore, he just throws the ball in the air and tries to hit it as hard as possible, hoping it will miraculously fly over to GOT7’s side of the court. Of course it doesn’t work and the ball is stopped by the net, unceremoniously hitting the ground next to Hyunwoo, who watches in awe.

Cheers erupt on GOT7’s side of the court and Changkyun sees Bambam and Yugyeom high-five each other. The two maknaes surely seem a lot more fired up than they pretended to be half an hour ago and they even cheer Mark on when it’s his turn to serve.

After a few serves, it becomes quite clear that the teams are slightly unbalanced. It isn’t even that Monsta X are bad, but Bambam, Jaebum and especially Yugyeom are stupidly tall and it’s just so easy to slam the ball down right next to whoever is standing near the net.

The fact that Hyunwoo chooses to follow the ball with his eyes rather than to keep it from hitting the ground in most cases doesn’t exactly help. The leader looks like a fascinated child as he watches the ball fly and honestly, Changkyun finds it cute.

However, Jooheon doesn’t have the same kind of understanding for Hyunwoo. He keeps running his fingers through his unkempt hair every few seconds, glancing around nervously.

“Yah, hyung, please try a bit harder!” he finally orders when yet another ball drops right next to Hyunwoo. “My paycheck is at stake!”

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Hyunwoo awkwardly laughs. “I guess I’m not really made for this game. Maybe Hyungwon can-“

“No way,” the lanky visual immediately snaps from his position next to the court. “I said I wouldn’t participate and I’m not going to.”

“But-“ Jooheon interjects, but Hyungwon shakes his head.

“Absolutely not going to.”

So Monsta X have no choice but to continue like they did before. After a while, their playing improves a bit, but they are still no match for Mark, who has somehow figured out a way to get the ball past them every time.

Basically, it seems like all GOT7 members play quite well and the only one who hasn’t gotten a good spike in yet is actually Jackson, who was so convinced of his own skills before.

However, it still looks like Monsta X are losing and Jooheon’s expression has changed from troubled to downright sad. Changkyun’s heart clenches painfully when he sees his fellow rapper turn away after he misses a ball.

Of course the maknae is aware that the whole situation is a bit childish, but even then Changkyun can’t stand seeing Jooheon this sad, even if it is because of some stupid bet. After all the rapper seemed to really have faith in them when he made the bet.

I’m going to help and do my best, Changkyun tells himself. I need to make Jooheon feel better.

The next time Mark sends the ball flying over the net, he runs to the spot he estimates the object to land on, determined to keep it from hitting the ground this time. For a few seconds, Changkyun is really convinced his strategy is going to work, but suddenly, he feels himself collide with another person and before he knows it he is lying on the floor in a pile of tangled limbs, the ball hitting the court beside them and rolling away.

“Oh my god, Changkyun, did I hurt you?”

Apparently, Minhyuk is the one Changkyun crashed into. The elder seems really concerned, but the maknae just waves off their collision, even though his stomach hurts a bit where Minhyuk’s elbow stabbed him.

“It’s fine, hyung. It was my fault.”

From then on he is a bit more careful, not wanting to be injured but still trying his hardest to help them win – somehow.

Given how clumsy Changkyun is, it’s a miracle he doesn’t get himself into more trouble. He falls down a few times and his butt starts hurting after a while, but his will to help Jooheon out can’t be broken by his failure.

The others seem a bit more interested in winning now, mostly since Jackson has become a little too confident and keeps sending them unnerving grins through the gaps in the net.

Monsta X fight with everything they have and miraculously manage to catch up in the second half of the match. Suddenly they are only two points behind GOT7 and the set is almost over, since they all agreed to play until one team reached 50 points, which GOT7 are really close to now.

Still, their rivals refuse to back down and give up and in the end both teams have the same amount of points with only one left until the game ends.

“This one counts,” Jooheon states as he bends down a bit, hands propped up on his knees.

He is significantly more enthusiastic than before, even though Monsta X have never once had the upper hand so far. We really could win, Changkyun realizes as he looks around at his panting groupmates, all exhausted yet ready to fight for that last point.

However, then the maknae’s gaze wanders over to the other side of the court and a lump forms in his throat, although it’s not his but Jooheon’s paycheck which is on the line right now.

Still, this game has become a battle of pride, not only between Jooheon and Jackson but between both groups. Even Youngjae, who is one of the friendliest persons Changkyun has ever met, is watching them through narrowed eyes, a bit like he is eyeing today’s dinner hungrily.

Of course, Kihyun, whose turn it is to serve, doesn’t miss the chance of glaring back before hitting the ball, making it fly over the net luckily. Changkyun watches GOT7’s movements closely as they try to keep the target in the air.

He knows this is it, and while this may not be an Olympic match or anything, it would suck if they lost now after fighting back so hard.

Mark is standing close to the net when Jackson passes him the ball so that he can make a point, but Changkyun is right next to the oldest GOT7 members and he jumps as soon as he sees him move, determined to get the ball and pass it to Kihyun.

However, Mark’s hand slips and the ball doesn’t go over the net. And suddenly Jackson is there, somewhere up in the air despite his small height, hitting the ball with all his might.

Before Changkyun can even process what is going on, he gets smacked in the face by the ball like the truly clumsy person he is, tumbling down to the ground and remaining there, desperately trying to figure out what has just happened while fingering his aching cheek.

The next thing he knows is that someone is screaming right next to him and wrapping their arms around him, heaving him up roughly. In his dazed state of mind, it takes the maknae a few seconds to realize it’s Jooheon but by then someone else has joined their pile of limbs and before he can protest, Changkyun finds himself up in the air, held up by one Shin Hoseok.

“Hyung,” he somehow manages to scream as the elder’s figure tips dangerously under the new unfamiliar weight, “let me down!”

However, Hoseok doesn’t hear. Instead he is joined by Hyunwoo and Kihyun who help him steady Changkyun, which diminishes the risk of a fall. Still Changkyun would rather be on the ground in this very moment, especially as he is still trying to figure out if getting hit by the ball gave him a concussion.

His head is spinning a little as he looks around from his elevated position, but that could also be because his hyungs aren’t very steady at supporting him. Sometimes he will randomly dip down and it feels a bit like riding a plane through a storm.

Slowly Changkyun’s head starts to recover from being hit and noises ring out to him, shouts and cheers.

Jooheon is jumping up and down next to Changkyun while gripping his leg painfully hard – it is only then that the maknae understands what his hyung is screaming at him with a beaming smile.

“We won, Kyunnie! You made us win!”

We…won? Changkyun thinks as he looks over to the other side of the court.

However, Jooheon’s words seem true. GOT7 are standing around, most of them appearing to be laughing at Jackson who is lying on the ground, looking devastated.

“I don’t wanna buy them dinner,” he howls like a wounded animal, “they eat far too much anyway! It’s not fair!”

“Oh, you won’t only be buying them dinner but us, too, Jackson-ah,” Jinyoung tells him with a sweet smile as he steps closer. “C’mon, get up. You’re not five, are you?”

“Yes, I am,” Changkyun manages to hear Jackson’s stubborn answer before he is forced to turn his attention back to Jooheon, who is still shaking his leg.

“You’re a legend, Kyun-ah! You saved hyung – with your face?”

“Can you tell Hoseok-hyung to let me down?” Changkyun sheepishly requests as he brings up one hand to touch his aching face.

His skin feels a bit hot where he was hit and it must be red, too, but the pain isn’t as bad as before anymore, luckily. When Hoseok finally has mercy on him and lets him down, Changkyun takes a deep breath first to clear his head.

Then he turns to Jooheon.

“What exactly happened after I got hit, hyung?” he asks quietly, in his usual deep voice.

“Oh, you were great!” his hyung excitedly tells him. “You received that ball with your face and it went right back down behind the net. No one could do anything, you should have seen Jackson.

“He still can’t believe he didn’t win and has to buy everyone dinner now. But seriously, you are so awesome, Kyunnie. Your forehead must be really hard.”

At Jooheon’s words, Changkyun can feel the heat rise up in his cheeks. He smiles to himself as he tries to process that he, Lim Changkyun, maknae of Monsta X has really just helped his group win a battle of pride – with his clumsiness!

Usually Changkyun feels a bit out of place whenever they are forced to play sports. The court isn’t where he belongs, his steps are much too wobbly and his arms too hard to control – having that proven to him over and over again simply embarrasses him.

But today, he managed to help someone, even if it was by being clumsy, and that is something Changkyun knows he will be proud of for a long time.

His smile grows brighter as he looks at Jooheon, who is childishly sticking his tongue out at Jackson.

“The better team won today,” Changkyun boldly states. “Definitely. There’s just one thing I’d like to ask of all of you. Please give me a bit of a warning next time before you try to lift me up. I almost had a heart attack.”

His last comment makes everyone burst into laughter and soon the air is filled with cheers and other pleasant sounds made by both the members of Monsta X and GOT7 (minus the still sulking Jackson of course).

Everyone in Monsta X knows that they will carry their maknae again and again in the future. Be it to help him, to show him how great he has done or simply for fun, they will never hesitate to lift him up.

If they will give him a warning next time, though – well, no one really knows.