Chan's POV

I woke up with and yawned, sitting up to stretch and looking around the room. Vernon was just slipping his shirt on as he turned to look at me.

"Get up and hurry up," he told me roughly before leaving. Huh, what was that about? He isn't usually so rude in the mornings, plus we don't even have a schedule until later today. Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I quickly got up and got changed before going downstairs.

"Hey Hyung," I said, smiling as I walked over to Mingyu who was in the kitchen.

"Everyone's already eaten, you can make your breakfast yourself," Mingyu said before walking away, not even saying hi.

"Oh, ok," I said quietly. I was confused why both Vernon and Mingyu were acting cold towards me but I guess maybe they both woke up badly. I quickly ate my breakfast and went to the loungeroom where Wonwoo, Vernon, Seungkwan and Seokmin were watching some TV.

"What're are we watching," I asked quickly as I went to sit down.

"Something you aren't. Go away, I don't want you here right now," Wonwoo practically growled, looking at me with cold eyes. Wait, what?

"W-What," I asked in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure he said he doesn't want you here, which we don't so get out," Seokmin said. I was frozen in shock and it felt like I'd been stabbed in the heart. What did I do?

"O-Ok," I said, forcing a smile as my eyes teared up slightly. I don't understand why they're being so mean to me. I quickly walked towards Sungcheol's room. He'll be able to help me feel better. I knocked gently and heard a come in so I opened the door and slipped inside. The minute Sungcheol saw me, his eyes hardened and I paused, fiddling nervously with the end of my shirt.

"Um, hey Hyung," I said quietly. I was unsure what to say, given the fact he also seemed mad at me.

"You should go practice, give the other's time to cool off unless you want to be yelled at," he said icily. His gaze was sharp and I curled in on myself slightly.

"R-Right, t-thanks Hyung," I mumbled before turning and booking it out of the room quickly. I ran to the front door and quickly slipped on a mask and some shoes before rushing out of the dorm. I decided it would be best to just walk to the studio rather than to get Manager-nim to pick me up to drive me. Once I got there, I decided against saying hello to Woozi given how everyone was angry at me for some reason. I went into the studio and turned the music on, prepared to dance away my worries.

~~~~~

I spent two hours dancing at the studio before I headed back to the dorm. I was kind of hoping that everyone will have calmed down by the time I got home because I can't stand that they're angry at me, especially because I have no idea what I could've done wrong. The last time I remember someone being that mad, did not end well...

"Hyungs I'm home," I called out as I walked inside. I received no reply, which confused me so I walked to the loungeroom. The only person who was there was Vernon sitting on his phone.

"Hyung, where is everyone," I asked him.

"They went out to do different things so I'm the only one home. That doesn't give you permission to bother me though," he replied, not even looking up from his phone. Vernon is one of my best friends, he'll tell me what's going on right.

"Hey Vernie Hyung, what's up with everyone today," I asked sitting down next to him.

"I just said don't bother me," he said, gritting his teeth and looking over at me.

"B-But I don't. Why," I asked, trying to keep the tears from building in my eyes.

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU YOU IDIOT. I DON'T WANT TO EVEN LOOK AT YOU," he yelled at me. I jumped back in shock, slipping off the couch as my eyes went wide.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I'll go," I whimpered quickly before running off towards our room. I ran into the room and slammed the door closed before jumping into bed and cuddling against the wall, bringing my sheets up to my shoulder. Vernon wasn't just mad, he's angry, he's yelling at me because he's angry. My body was shaking slightly as I begun to sob, curling in on myself. I don't get it, I don't understand. Why is he angry? Why are they all angry? What did I do? What did I fu-. My thoughts stopped when I heard the door open and I pushed myself closer to the wall and looked up, trying to wipe away my tears so he wouldn't see. Vernon was standing by the door, his eyes narrowed as he studied me. Oh god, he probably thinks I'm pathetic and I'm annoying him more now. He sighed before walking over and sitting down on the edge of my bed. I watched nervously as he turned to face me slightly.

"Come here," he whispered, holding his arms open for me. I was confused and slightly scared. Was this his way of letting his guard down before he takes his anger out on me? My dad never did that, so maybe he's just changed his mind. He can do that right? He raised an eyebrow so I slowly lowered the blanket and shakily shuffled over to him, cuddling up to his side. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and I finally relaxed, understanding that he wasn't going to hurt me in his anger. I don't understand him, wasn't he angry with me and now he's hugging me softly?

"I'm quite angry with you," Vernon broke the silence. I tensed anxiously at his words.

"I'm angry with you but that doesn't mean that I want to see you cry. I don't. And I never meant to make you cry," he said with a sigh, ruffling my hair softly. But why is everyone angry?

Vernon's POV

After yelling at Chan, he had off with a whimper and my heart clenched slightly. It sounded like he was close to tears as he ran off. Now I may be really angry and annoyed at him but I don't ever want to upset him so much, no matter what he's done to annoy me. I sighed as I begun to feel slightly guilty so I stood up and walked over to our room, opening the door. I frowned slightly when I noticed Chan curled up in the corner of his bed, wiping his eyes quickly. I sighed as I walked over and gently sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at me briefly.

"Come here," I said, opening my arms. He seemed slightly hesitant but slowly crawled over and cuddled up to my side. He seemed a little tense so I wrapped my arms around him to help him relax. It was quiet for a few seconds before I finally spoke up.

"I'm quite angry with you," I admitted, making him tense up slightly in my hold.

"I'm angry with you but that doesn't mean that I want to see you cry. I don't. And I never meant to make you cry," I said quickly, letting out a small sigh and ruffling his hair. I do really hate seeing the Maknae crying.

"But Hyung, I don't, I don't get it. Everyone's angry with me but I don't understand why. W-What did I do? Y-You're yelling at me but I don't know why and it's scaring me," he said in a small voice. Huh? Scaring him?

"What do you mean it's scaring you," I asked in confusion as I sat back to properly look at him. His eyes were tear stained and full of obvious confusion. Did he actually not know? Actually no, the scared part first.

"When I was younger, my dad used to try to get me to buy him alcohol. I don't know why, I was like 10 years old but he'd always end up getting drunk and then getting angry. Usually he'd only just make me go to bed without dinner or he locks me in the basement or something which wasn't actually too bad. Sure it was quite cold but it's better than other things," he paused and his eyes clouded over slightly, as if reliving a memory. A memory I think I don't want him reliving. Who the fuck makes their child buy their alcohol and locks them in the basement?

"Aegi, aegi look at me. Come back to me," I said quickly as I cupped his cheek. He blinked slowly and his eyes focused back on me again.

"Hey there aegi," I said worriedly.

"I refused once," he whispered.

"Refused what," I asked him.

"To buy him the alcohol. I was around 12 I think, it was actually the last time I saw my father," he told me. His eyes were brimmed with tears again and my blood ran cold as I tried not to think about what could have possibly happened to the younger boy.

"W-What happened," I asked slowly. His eyes snapped down to me and his entire body tense, his fist clenching around the bedsheets.

"He was, not happy," he said quietly as slow tears begun to fall down his face.

"He yelled, he yelled so much and I got so scared. He never usually yelled that much and I didn't like it. I thought about leaving but I was foolish and decided to stay because he's only get a little louder, nothing going to happen right." My heart broke as a small sob slipped out, my own tears beginning to fall down my face as I watched my little brother open up about his trauma. It hurt me as I begun to realise that Chan had actually gone through a lot before he became an Idol and he probably hasn't told many people.

"He beat me that night, a lot. He just beat me and left, never coming back. My neighbour found me the next morning in a pool of blood barely breathing and rushed me to hospital. I survived obviously, but dad never came back and that was my parting gift from him," Chan said before breaking off into a sob. I looked at him in shock for a few seconds before I quickly grabbed him and pulled him onto my lap, wrapping my arms around him tightly, trying my best to hold him together. He continued to sob in my arms, his entire body shaking as I held him tightly.

"I'm sorry Channie, I'm so sorry. Hyung won't hurt you. Hyung will never touch you, I promise," I whispered softly into his hair. He just cried harder and clutched tighter to my shirt. After a few minutes his sobs finally calmed down and he relaxed completely in my hold, soft breaths hitting my neck evenly. He cried himself to sleep. I was quiet for a minute or two before I finally let the tears fall steady down my face. I buried my face in his hair and continued to cry, holding him tightly as what just happened fully hit me. We scared our Maknae into remembering past trauma, almost associating past trauma with us. Even though he touched Sungcheol's computer when he's been told not to and almost deleted all of his work, at least he didn't, and it doesn't warrant us to be scaring him so bad. We scared him, made him cry, just because we're angry. What kind of Hyungs are we? How could we do that?

Sungcheol POV

When I got home there wasn't any noise. I was supposed to be coming to pick up Vernon and Chan to take them to practice while everyone else headed over there already. I was expecting to find Vernon in the loungeroom somewhere and Chan probably in their bedroom as Vernon didn't want to be near the younger. We were all quite angry that he touched my computer after being told many times that he wasn't to be going anywhere near it. I was surprised when I couldn't find Vernon in the loungeroom or the kitchen but I just headed to their bedroom to see if I could at least find one of them. When I got close to the door, I paused. I could hear sniffles and choked off cries sounding a lot like Vernon. Shit. I quickly swung open the door but froze at what I saw. Vernon was crying but he was sitting on Chan's bed with Chan cuddled up in his arms, looking like he was asleep. Huh?

"What's wrong Vernie," I asked softly as I walked over and knelt down in front of Vernon. Vernon just shook his had and pulled Chan up closer to him. Chan who was definitely asleep, moved around slightly and nuzzled his head into Vernon's shoulder.

"Why's Chan asleep? He should be getting ready for practice," I said, frowning slightly.

"I'm not practicing today, neither is Channie," Vernon said shaking his head. Ok, so apparently Vernon is now the leader and can decide whatever he wants.

"That's not happening Vernon. You're both getting up now and you're both..." I trailed off as Vernon began to cry harder, moving his hand up to cover Chan's ear as to not wake him as the younger stirred slightly.

"Shh, shh darling. It's ok. Hyung won't let anyone touch my little Channie, Hyung won't let anyone hurt you ever again," Vernon whimpered with a sniffle, placing a wet kiss to Chan's forehead. Won't let anyone hurt him again? Did someone touch Chan. I went to ask what was going on but Vernon cut me off before I could.

"Get the fuck out of here if all you're going to do is get angry at him," Vernon said, his voice deeper and venom lacing his words. I was shocked at his words but it wasn't hard to tell what was going on. Vernon is extremely protective of those younger than him, especially Chan. Something must've happened and Vernon has gone into protective Hyung mode. The way he's holding him, how he's looking at me, it basically daring me to make a wrong move. But I could also tell he was sad and scared. I don't know what happened but I'm going to find out. Vernon tensed slightly when I stood up but I just sat down next to him and wrapped my arms around him softly. In doing that, I also wrapped my arms around the Maknae, making him move around groggily.

"Hyung," a small voice asked. I looked up to see Chan blinking sleepily and fisting Vernon's shirt.

"Hey Channie," Vernon whispered, kissing his cheek softly.

"Hyungie," Chan yawned. He seemed to be in a sleepy haze, much like he usually is whenever he is woken from a nap. He slowly crawled from Vernon's lap and into mine, nuzzling his face into my neck. I tensed slightly, unsure what to do. I'm still mad at him and I did kind of tell him off when I last saw him but he didn't seem to care.

"Love my leader," he mumbled sleepily.

"My leader isn't my father, he'd never beat me," he murmured. The minute his words registered in my mind, my eyes widened. I quickly tightened my hold on Chan, the realisation dawning on me of why Vernon was so distressed. Chan's father used to beat him? And what does he mean I'd never do that? Why would he even think I would?

"Of course not Channie. Hyung would never lay a hand on his precious dongsaeng, I promise" I assured him quickly, running my hand up and down his back.

"I know, I just don't want Hyung to be mad at me," he said sadly.

"That's ok. I'm not mad, no ones mad at you," I told him quickly as Vernon shuffled forward and begun to play with the youngers hair. To my shock, I begun to hear choked sobs and Chan begun to shake in my arms, his tears falling onto my shirt.

"But e-everyone's mad. All my Hyung's are mad at me," Chan sobbed.

"W-Wait, n-not V-Vernie Hyung," he added in a whimper. If his dad used to beat him, maybe us being angry and yelling at him reminded him of his dad?

"Channie, did the yelling scare you," I asked him softly.

"I don't, I don't like yelling. It's sc-scary, specially when I don't know why everyone is mad and yelling," Chan sniffled, no longer sobbing but still crying.

"Channie, Hyungs were yelling because you touched my computer last Monday. You know you aren't supposed to but you still did and all my work was almost deleted, that's why Hyungs are so mad," I explained to him gently. His sniffles stopped and he sat up to look at me with red rimmed eyes.

"But Hyung, I wasn't at the studio on Monday," he said, cocking his head in confusion.

"What do you mean you weren't there? You were out nearly the whole day," Vernon said, also seeming confused.

"Yeah but I never went to the studio. NCT had the day off so I was catching up with Mark," he told us. Wait, what?

"The whole day? You never stepped foot in my studio," I asked quickly.

"I didn't even go near the company building. We went for a drive and then went out to do stuff and have fun," Chan said.

"Are you getting the day right? Last Monday," I said.

"Mmhmm. Positive. I never went to the studio," he replied.

"Oh my god Channie, I'm so sorry," I said hugging him softly.

"We thought you were the one who touched my computer because no one else went there and we thought you did. I'm so sorry. You haven't done anything wrong ok. Hyungs just made a mistake and we promise we'll make it up to you," I said, pulling back to look into his eyes. They immediately lit up when I said those words and he smiled.

"So does that mean Hyungs aren't mad anymore," he asked quickly. He sounded so relieved and so happy, it made my heart break. He didn't even sound mad, just happy we weren't going to yell and get angry at him anymore.

"Yeah Channie, Hyungs aren't made," I said softly. He grinned sleepily and rubbed his eyes with his fist a he yawned, making both Vernon and I coo at his cuteness.

"Can I sleep Cheol Hyung," he asked me.

"Of course you can aegi. Vernon and I will make sure we don't make any noise," I said with a nod.

"Can Hyungs stay and cuddle," he asked shyly.

"Of course we can darling," Vernon said quickly. Chan smiled again as we all lay down, barely fitting on the bed so we had to cuddled close, the youngest in the middle of us.

"Chan," I whispered. He hummed as he cuddled closer to me and blinked his eyes open slightly.

"Hyung will never hurt you, you're safe," I said, placing a kiss to his temple.

"M'I know. Hyungs are good. Annoying, but good," he said with a small giggle.

"I love you darling," Vernon whispered.

"So do I. We love you very much," I said quietly.

"I love Hyungs too."

A/N

This was requested by @drifthee and I hope you enjoy it

I really hope everyone is doing ok, but if you're struggling and feel like you just need someone to hug you and tell you it's going to be ok... Accept my virtual hug and know that everything is going to be ok! 💜🧡
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