Chan's POV

It's not uncommon for one of us to stay back at the studio to practice late, whether it be dancing, singing or rapping. That's why it wasn't weird at all for me to still be at the dance studio practicing around midnight. Alright so technically my Hyungs have said I'm only allowed to stay back and practice as long as I'm home by 12 but it's not like they're going to care if I'm half an hour to an hour late. And that's only when they actually stay up to make sure I get home on time, they usually trust me to make the right decision. I know that's technically breaking their trust but I hardly do it and I always make sure I'm either home before 2am or before I exhaust myself too much. I heard my phone ringing so I stopped my dancing and quickly jogged over, picking up and answering.

"Channie, where are you? It's almost midnight," Sungcheol said in concern. Ah, so it's the night that the leader has actually stayed up, I should probably head home soon.

"I know, I'm only going to be here for another hour Hyung, I promise," I said quickly.

"Chan, you promised you'd always be home by midnight, that was the deal," Sungcheol said sternly.

"That was before I was 21. I'm 22 now Hyung, I can look after myself. I know my limits and I know that I can't run on no sleep," I groaned.

"You can't keep treating me like a child Hyung, it get's suffocating sometimes. I know I'm the youngest and you all like to make sure I'm ok but practicing a little longer isn't going to kill me," I said with a frown. I heard him sigh from the other end and he went silent for a few seconds.

"I know you've grown up Chan, we all do, we're just used to protecting you and keeping you safe. I'm sorry if us doing so hurts you," he said sadly.

"It doesn't hurt me Hyung, and I don't mind you guys looking after me still but it's times like these where I don't need you to," I told him.

"I tell you what. I'm heading off to bed now, everyone else is asleep already but you can stay there until 1, and only 1. I'm trusting you to keep your word and listen to me Channie, I don't want you too tired tomorrow," he told me.

"I'll be back by 1 Hyung, I promise," I replied.

"Ok, I let you go and keep practicing. Don't work yourself too hard and call me if anything happens," he said.

"Will do. Goodnight Cheol Hyung," I said.

"Goodnight Channie," he said softly before hanging up. I put my phone down and restarted the music, continuing to dance.

~~~~~

I was only dancing for about another half an hour when the door to the studio was slammed open, making me jump and turn around. I saw Manager-nim at the door looking slightly mad so I quickly turned off the music.

"Hey Manager-nim, what's up," I asked with a few puffs as I was still a little tired from running around.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING," he yelled, making me flinch back slightly.

"W-What do you mean," I asked nervously. I don't understand why he seems so mad but it's kind of scaring me a little bit.

"YOU'RE SUCH A BRAT YOU KNOW THAT. THINKING MY LIFE REVOLVES AROUND YOU, MAKING ME STAY BACK AND HAVE TO WAIT FOR YOU," he screamed as he strode forwards. I was quite frightened so I stumbled back until I ran into the wall and had to stop. I barely had a second to think when he swung his hand at me and there was a harsh sting on my cheek. I whimpered and brought my hand to my cheek, my eyes welling up with tears as he stood above me with his hand still raised.

"HOW DARE YOU," he yelled, hitting my arm three times consecutively.

"Stop, please stop," I cried as I fell to the floor and cowered against the wall. Bracing my arms in front of my face to protect myself. A position I knew all to well from when I was a young child, a position I never thought I would be in again.

"You little shit, find your own way home," he spat, kicking me in the hip. I fell down further and curled into the fall, my arms raised over my head to protect it just in case he wanted to keep kicking. Thankfully I heard footsteps and then a few seconds later the sound of a door closing. I slowly lifted my head and shakily looked around the room, letting out a sob of relief when I realised that Manager-nim was gone and wasn't going to continue hurting me. I lowered my head back down to the floor and completely broke down, sobbing sadly as I fully realised what just happened. I hadn't been put in a situation like that since I got away from my dad and joined Pledis 6 years ago. I thought I was safe here, that I wouldn't be hurt again, that no one was allowed to touch us Idols, let alone our own staff. Clearly not though, given what just occurred. I stayed on the floor for about 10 minutes just sobbing before I finally calmed down enough to sit up and stop crying. I looked in the mirror and noticed the very obvious hand print on the side of my face. Thankfully the other's are asleep so they won't noticed anything. My right hip was slightly sore but not too bad, nothing I haven't dealt with before. My arms are probably bruised but I'll live and it's really easy to his bruises on your upper arms. I gently wiped the tears away from my eyes before grabbing my bag and phone, leaving the studio shakily. As I walked down the halls I was on edge, jumping at any sound in fear that Manager-nim was coming back and wanted to continued what he started. There were no cars left in the parking lot which meant Manager-nim had left already and there was no one to drive me home so I have to walk back instead. I sighed and begun to make my way home slowly.

~~~~~

It was 1:30 by the time I finally made it back to the dorms which means I broke my promise but it wasn't really my fault. I sighed as I walked into the dorm and closed the door behind me. I was still slightly shaking whenever I thought back to what happened at practice but I walked quickly over to my room. Thankfully mine is one of the ones downstairs not upstairs so it was quick and easy to get to. I put my bag down on my bed and quickly got changed into some pyjamas, wincing as I brushed my arms a bit. Once I finally finished getting changed, I sat down on my bed, the shaking still not going away. I wanted to go to bed but I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to sleep in my room tonight, not when I'm alone. I bit my lip nervously as I tried to think of a different solution before I thought of one thing that would help. I sighed before getting up and leaving my room, turning the light off and closing the door. I softly padded upstairs and stopped in front of the door I was looking for. I gently opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind me. I looked over to the door, seeing my Hyungs frame asleep on his bed, slightly illuminated by the moonlight. I walked over to the bed and quickly slipped under the blankets, laying close to my Hyung but not touching him. I tried not to wake him up but a few seconds later there was movement and he turned around, his eyes peeling open slowly.

"Channie? What're you doing," he asked sleepily.

"I'm sorry Hyung," I said in embarrassment, quickly sitting up and preparing to leave, only to be stopped by him grabbing my wrist. I almost flinched but then I remembered, it's Jeonghan Hyung, I came to him because I trust him and he's safe.

"Hey, I didn't say you did anything wrong. I was just asking what you were doing, you surprised me," Jeonghan said softly as he gently pulled me back down onto the bed so I was once again laying next to him.

"Sorry. I just couldn't sleep so I came up here to see if I could sleep next to you but I didn't want to wake you. I didn't mean to wake you up Hyung," I said guiltily.

"You're fine Channie, it's ok. Come cuddle with Hyung so we can sleep alright," he said gently. I nodded quickly and cuddled up to his side. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed against the bruise on my hips by accident, causing me to whimper before I could muffle it.

"Channie," he said in alarm, sitting up slightly.

"I'm sorry, I fell in practice and knocked my hip and it's a little sore. I didn't want to worry you," I lied quickly. His eyes softened and he lay back down, gently brushing my hair back.

"It's ok but please don't hide any possible injuries from us. How bad is it? Do you need ice," he asked me.

"No it's not to bad, it hardly hurts. It only hurt when you pushed against it," I told him.

"Alright, why don't you cuddle me tonight then, so I don't accidentally hurt you," he said softly. I gave him a small smile before nodding gently. He rolled over and rested his head back on his pillow, allowing me to cuddle up to his back and drape and arm over his waist softly. He slipped his hand into mine and rubbed the back of it with his thumb.

"Who's aegi are you," he asked quietly, making me smile at the memories that followed.

"Jeonghan Hyung's," I whispered back.

"Good, get some sleep alright aegi," he said gently. I nodded and buried my head in the back of his neck, letting my eyes slipped closed. I felt a comforting sense of security as I lay there, safe by my Hyungs side and it didn't take long for me to drift off.

~~~~~

It's been a week since that incident and there hasn't been a follow up but I haven't allowed myself to be alone with Manager-nim just for good measure. Meaning I haven't been staying back late to practice, too scared that there would be a repeat of that night. No one has noticed anything wrong or noticed the way I avoid manager-nim and must seem uncomfortable around him which I am thankful for. Vernon, Seungkwan and I decided to go to the studio on our day off to have some fun muck around time dancing together rather than our hard dance practices. We've been having fun for over an hour and it's been quiet relaxing for a change. I leant against the wall with a small sigh as we finished one of the dances. Vernon and Seungkwan started mucking around and chasing each other the room, making me giggle as I watched but then they changed what they were doing and I tensed. They begun to play fight, mucking around and putting each other in head locks or fake punching each other. My heart started pounding, my eyes going slightly wide.

"Channie, save me," Vernon joked as Seungkwan had him in a headlock.

"I'm good," I replied weakly as I stayed where I was. Seungkwan let go of Vernon and the younger started stalking over to me. My palms started to sweat and my heart was pounding in fear as Vernon grinned sneakily. He then bounded over me and raised his hand, aiming it towards my head. I don't know what his intentions were but all I could remember was the Manager-nim going to slap me hardly a week earlier. I yelped and backed up quickly until my back hit the wall, breathing heavily. I began to sob and slid to the ground cowering in fear as I once again took a defensive position and covered my head with my arms quickly. My whole body was shaking in fear and I continued to sob, my airways restricting as I kept thinking about all the hits I've received, all the punches and the kicks, the memories wouldn't stop coming, especially the one's with manager-nim...

Seungkwan's POV

I don't know what's happening. One minute we were having so much fun, Vernon and I were fake fighting while Chan watched us, the next minute Chan was on the floor, cowering in fear as he sobbed and covered his face with his hands. It was such a quick change in atmosphere that I was completely blindsided. Vernon immediately lowered his hand and ran to me, grabbing my arm with wide eyes.

"K-Kwannie," he breathed out. We were both frozen, not knowing what to do for about 10 seconds before I realised that Chan was having a full-blown panic attack and really needed help.

"V-Vernie. I, I need you to go and see if you can find one of the Hyungs, call them or something but we need someone here. I'll try and calm him down ok," I told him. His eyes were watering as he watching Chan making himself as small as possible against the wall and sob but he nodded and quickly left the room. I'm pretty sure he just didn't want to be there and couldn't deal with watching Chan like that, that's why I told him to go find the Hyungs instead of me doing it myself. I quickly turned to Chan and took a deep breath before kneeling down a few meters away from him, not wanting to get too close in case it makes him panic even more.

"Chan, Channie can you hear me," I asked him gently.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me," he sobbed and my heart broke. What could have possibly made him this scared, to the point that he's begging me, someone who would never hurt him even if my life was depending on it, to forgive him and not hurt him. He didn't even do anything wrong and nothing warrants getting hurt physically.

"Cha-."

"I'm sorry Manager-nim, I'm so so sorry. I promise I won't stay back late, I promise. Just please don't hurt me," he begged. My heart dropped and my blood boiled. Manager-nim!? Why is he begging Manager-nim not to-. Oh my god, did Manager-nim hurt him. Is that way he hasn't been staying back after practice, so that he won't be alone with him? I thought he was acting weird around Manager-nim but I just assumed it was my weird imagination.

"Channie, it's Seungkwan. It's your Hyung, you're safe, I promise. Manager-nim isn't here, he can't hurt you Channie. Hyung won't let him hurt you ever again," I told him.

"I know you're scared right now, but you're safe right now, no one will touch you unless you allow us to. Vernon wasn't going to hurt you, we were just play fighting. He didn't mean to trigger you, he was never going to hurt you," I promised him. Those words finally got a reaction out of him and he moved his arms slightly so he could peer through the gap at me. His eyes were wide and red, tears still falling as I could see the fear radiating in them.

"Hey aegi, that's it. It Seungkwan Hyung, see. I promise I won't hurt you," I said gently. He whimpered and shook his head, closing his eyes tightly.

"Channie it's ok, you're safe. I know you're scared right now and you might not recognize me but I'm going to stay here until you feel safe. I'll sit here for hours if you need me to, anything for you to feel safe," I told him firmly. His eyes slowly slipped open and met mine. I was anxious but hopeful when I notice some of the fear slip away from his eyes as the softened slightly. He slowly lowered his hands so his face wasn't covered at all and looked at me curiously.

"K-Kwannie H-Hyung," he sobbed.

"Yeah, yeah Channie, it Seungkwan," I said quickly.

"W-Who else is here," he asked, his eyes roaming around nervously.

"No one at the moment but Vernon has gone to get some of our Hyungs," I told him.

"Manager-nim isn't here thought aegi, he can't go near you and he never will again," I assured him. He nodded slowly before freezing and looking up at me with wide eyes.

"W-What," he questioned shakily.

"It's ok, I don't need to know the details," I told him quickly.

"Y-You know," he asked quietly.

"You were kind of, begging him not to hurt you," I said slowly.

"Oh." He dropped his head into his hands and started crying into them quietly. I desperately wanted to rush over and wrap him up tightly but I was too worried it would do more harm than good.

"Channie, I'm here if you need me," I told him. The minute I said that, he slid over and curled up in a ball, resting his head in my lap. I tensed slightly but relaxed soon after, wanting it to be comfortable for him.

"Can I touch your hair," I asked gently. A small sob left his lips but he nodded quickly so I begun to run my fingers through his hair. I turned my head, hearing the door open and saw Vernon walking back in with a panicked looking Sungcheol and Jeonghan. Chan didn't seem to notice as he started to talk through his quiet tears.

"My father was abusive but I got over it years ago, I haven't seen him since I joined the company," he said quietly. I frowned sadly at the his confession.

"Is that why you got triggered when Vernon raised his hand," I asked him. He was quiet for a few seconds before reply.

"It was a week ago. I stayed back after practice to do some extra practicing. Cheol Hyung called for me to come home and I wish I had of listened to him. They're right, Sungcheol Hyung really is wise," he said sadly. I looked up to see confusions on the other's faces but Sungcheol had a slight look of guilt in them. Even without knowing what happened, he's already starting to blame himself.

"What happened," I asked softly.

"I continued dancing but Manager-nim stormed in. I could immediately feel a bad vibe coming from him and I was unconsciously backing away from him," he said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to prepare myself before opening them again. The other's all already held anger in their eyes, realising where this was heading.

"He slapped me and said I was a brat for staying back late. I started crying but he just hit my arm a few times consecutively. I was scared so I fell to the ground and tried to protect myself but he kicked my hip hard before he left. There was a gasp and Chan sat up quickly, clutching onto my arm tightly. I saw a look of horror in Jeonghan's eyes as they were filled with tears.

Jeonghan's POV

I was in the studio with Sungcheol Hyung, not really doing much just watching him work when Vernon burst into the room, eyes wide and panicked.

"Vernie, what's wrong," Sungcheol asked immediately.

"Hyungs it's Chan. Kwannie and I were play fighting and I went to jokingly hit him but he completely freaked out and seemed terrified," he rushed out. My aegi?

"Where is he," I asked quickly.

"The practice room, come on," Vernon said. The three of us rushed down the halls until I swung the door open. Seungkwan was seated with Chan's head in his lap and he looked at us as we walked in. I went to say something but Chan started talking so I stayed quiet.

"My father was abusive but I got over it years ago, I haven't seen him since I joined the company," he said quietly. Well shit, certainly not what I was expecting to hear and my heart was already hurting, knowing that my aegi went through something traumatic in his childhood.

"Is that why you got triggered when Vernon raised his hand," Seungkwan asked. Chan did reply for a few seconds.

"It was a week ago. I stayed back after practice to do some extra practicing. Cheol Hyung called for me to come home and I wish I had of listened to him. They're right, Sungcheol Hyung really is wise," Chan said and I heard a harsh intake of breath from beside me.

"What happened," Seungkwan asked.

"I continued dancing but Manager-nim stormed in. I could immediately feel a bad vibe coming from him and I was unconsciously backing away from him," Chan said. My jaw tightened and I clenched my fist, my eyes narrowing as I registered what he said and what it was leading to. I'm going to kill that son of a bitch if he ever laid a single finger on my aegi.

"He slapped me and said I was a brat for staying back late. I started crying but he just hit my arm a few times consecutively. I was scared so I fell to the ground and tried to protect myself but he kicked my hip hard before he left." I gasped as I remember something and my heart dropped. It was the night he came to my room, when I made him whimper he said that he fell. All he did was fell. I looked at him with horror in my eyes as I realised what it meant.

"T-That night. Y-You came in and wanted to sleep next to me. When I touched your hip you whimpered, b-but you told me you fell. You said it wasn't bad and you just fell," I said sadly as I shook his head. I could've figured it out back then if I just paid attention. He was hurting and I never noticed. The air was knocked out of my lungs as I suddenly got an armful of Maknae.

"Jeonghannie Hyung," he whimpered, his arms tightening around my waist as he buried his head in my chest.

"I'm here Channie, I'm here. You're safe aegi," I whispered. He relaxed completely in my hold, his breathing evening out and his crying subsiding after a few minutes of me gently comforting him.

"I'm sorry Hyung. I'm sorry for lying and not telling you," he said sadly, not moving from his position.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for Channie, Hyungs should be sorry not you. I'm so sorry I never realised you were hurt and scared," Sungcheol said gently as he rubbed Chan's back.

"It's ok Hyung, I'm alright. I'm safe now with you guys. I just wanna go home. Can we please go home," he begged.

"Of course Channie, let's get going now. We can all cuddle up and watch a movie, how does that sound," Sungcheol asked softly. Chan nodded quickly, not letting go of me. I realised he wasn't moving any time soon so I picked him up and carried him to the car, letting him cuddled up to me the whole trip back to the dorm. When we got there, Sungcheol didn't even bother telling us to shower, just directed us all to the couch while pressing play on a movie, letting Seungkwan and Vernon cuddle up on either side of him while I had Chan nestled comfortably in my lap.

"How're you feeling Channie," I whispered to him quietly.

"Much better, safe. I always feel safe with you Hyung," he replied just as quietly.

"I'm glad, I'll always be here when you need me. Always here if you want to talk," I told him. He gave me a small appreciate smile before nodding.

"Hey Hyungie, there's one thing I want to know," he said suddenly.

"Of course, what's up Channie," I asked quickly.

"Who's aegi am I," he asked, a small glint of happiness beginning to build in his eyes. I grinned and leant forwards, placing mine forehead against his.

"Mine. You're my aegi and you'll always be my aegi."

A/N

This was requested by @starboydino and I hope it was wanted and you like it.

Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful day!