Sungcheol's POV

I don't know what's been up with Vernon lately. First he deleted all of our songs for the next album, then he doesn't come home and doesn't let anyone know where he was and caused us to stress and now he keeps making heaps of mistakes. I was surprised and slightly confused earlier when he grabbed my hand at home but I shrugged it off. He's been acting really weird lately actually. Throughout the whole first hour of practicing Vernon kept making mistakes and I tried my hardest not to angry but he just made so many.

"Vernon, again come on. I thought you said you practiced extra last night, you should be getting this by now," Wonwoo said in frustration.

"I think Vernon might just be tired. It probably wasn't a good idea to be training so late at night," Mingyu said. Seriously? Why is he even trying to give him an excuse?

"That's not an excuse. He should still be executing this way better than he is right now," I said shaking my head as I started walking over to Vernon.

"I'm getting so sick of the mistakes," I said, throwing my hands up in the air. The minute I lifted my hands over my shoulders, pure fear flashed through Vernon's eyes and he jumped backwards and fell to the floor with a cry. His hands immediately flew up to cover his face as if he was expecting me to hit him. Oh my god, was he expecting me to hit him?

"Please, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I promise I'll do better," I sobbed, making me take a few steps back. It sounded like he was pleading with me, begging me not to hurt him. I would never lay a hand on anyone, let alone my little brother, no matter how angry I may be. He heart broke and I felt tears well up in my own eyes as I looked over at the other two who looked just as shocked and worried as I felt.

"Baby," I said in slight horror. He stopped crying for a few seconds and I saw his eyes pop out over the top of his fingers and I could still see the fear in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Hyung," he whimpered, his eyes welling up and his body shaking slightly.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for baby. Let's just all sit down and take a deep breath alright. I'm gonna sit right over here and not come any closer ok, I promise I won't hurt you," I said softly as I slowly sat down on the floor to try seem less intimidating. I quickly nodded my head to Mingyu and Wonwoo to sit down. They seemed to understand the severity of the situation and reacted immediately, sitting down where they were standing and not moving any closer. Vernon seemed nervous and shuffled back the last few meters until he was leaning against the back wall. I could see Mingyu go to move but Wonwoo thankfully stopped him and shook his head quickly.

"Vernie, talk to me baby. What's wrong," I asked him gently. His hands were shaking and he was crying and I wanted nothing more than to console him but after his reaction just then, I knew I couldn't go near him yet.

"I-I'm sorry," Vernon sobbed.

"Why're yo-."

"Don't be sorry Vernon, you've got nothing to be sorry for," Mingyu said quickly.

"I d-didn't mean to. I s-swear I didn't," Vernon said shaking his head.

"I know you didn't do it ok. You already know that I believe you," Mingyu replied gently. Is this about the songs?

"I can't take it anymore Hyung, I just can't. It hurts too much," he sobbed, his head falling into his hands.

"Can I hug you, it might help relieve the pain," Mingyu said. Vernon looked over at him and nodded quickly. Seconds later Mingyu was gently pulling him into his lap and the younger was cuddling up to him and shaking as he cried. Wonwoo and I stayed back though because I we didn't want to possible scare him again.

"Can you tell us what hurts," Wonwoo asked.

"M-My heart," he sobbed and I almost burst into tears right then and there at the pain and hurt that laced his voice. How did we not notice that he was hurting so bad? How?

"Why's your heart hurting baby," I asked sadly.

"I don't want to be alone Hyung. I've been alone all my life and then I found you guys but now, now I'm scared," he said.

"Why're you scared," Wonwoo asked him.

"I'm scared that you guys are going to turn into my dad. It would break me if someone else I loved hurt me. I don't want to be alone and that's all I've been for the past few days and it's not good. I can't stop them. I can't stop the memories from coming back. I tried so hard but after what happened with Hoshi they haven't stopped coming back," he replied sobbing again. Hurt him? Memories? Just how much has he been going through that we haven't noticed.

"What do you mean hurt you? What memories," Wonwoo asked and I could hear the fear in his voice.

"After my mother died, my dad blamed me and wasn't very nice to me. It started off with him just ignoring me and when he started acknowledging me again, I was excited but it was only to yell or ridicule me," he said before pausing and taking a deep breath. As I listened I realized that that's what we've been doing these past few days. Yes he may have deleted the files but we don't actually have solid evidence and even then, we shouldn't have just been yelling at him all the time. I reached over and grabbed Wonwoo's hand and squeezed it gently. I have a feeling I'm not going to like what comes next.

"After the yelling came, other ways to release his hate on my. To begin with it was just slaps to the face or grabbing my roughly but it escalated pretty quickly. He began to punch me in the stomach and then he'd punch my face. He's only kick my stomach if he was really angry and drunk thankfully but everything else was pretty much every day unless he passed out," Vernon said before taking another break. I heard another choked sob but this time it wasn't Vernon, it was Wonwoo. I gently slid him over to me and wrapped my arms around his waist for comfort. I will tell everyone it was to comfort Wonwoo but in reality, it was for as much my comfort as I wanted to break down right then and there, hearing what happened to one of our Maknae's when they were younger. Vernon has never even hinted that he went through a tough childhood, he's always been so happy that you'd never know.

"This went on for a while until one night when I was 14 years old-. Hyung can I have a hug please," Vernon said suddenly, his eyes filling with tears.

"You want Wonwoo," I asked softly.

"Both," Vernon replied quickly, shocking me a little. I thought he was scared I was going to hurt me.

"Are you sure Vernie, you don't have to force yourself," I told him sadly.

"I love you Hyung, I love all of you and I know deep down that's you'd never physically hurt me ok. The only reason I flinched is because I had a flashback and pictured my dad. Please Hyung, I need a hug," he begged. I didn't need to be told again, both Wonwoo and I slowly made our way over so we didn't accidentally scare him and we all cuddled up together on the floor, Vernon's head resting on my shoulder.

"Continue whenever you're ready baby," I said as I rubbed his hair gently.

"There was a night when I was 14, the last night I saw my father. He was in a bad mood when I got home, one of the worst moods I've ever seen him in. He was drunk and angry and needed someone to take his anger out on. He beat me that day, badly. The neighbors heard and the cops took him while I was rushed to the hospital. I almost died but the doctors worked their magic and I just ended up in a coma for a few days with severe bruising. When I woke up they told me my dad was arrested and he was later put in jail. I was sent to live with my Aunty after that and then I came here," he finished. I saw him gripping Wonwoo's hand gently so I placed mine softly over the top of them for some extra comfort. Vernon looked over at me and gave me a small smile through his tears. That alone made my heart break completely. We've been so bad to him lately, I've been so bad to him lately and he's trying to reassure me when he's crying and telling us the heartbreaking truth about his childhood.

"How long did he hurt you for," Mingyu asked quietly.

"I was around nine when it first started," Vernon replied.

"5 years, 5 years you dealt with that," Wonwoo asked sadly. Vernon just nodded and sighed, pulling us closer so we were basically all in each other's laps.

"This is nice," Vernon said quietly before another sob left his throat.

"Hey, hey what's wrong," I asked softly as I used my thumb to wipe his tears off his face.

"I've missed this so much," he cried. Ugh, great. We've broken the Maknae. He's crying because he's so happy to be getting a hug. He should never be that that thankful for a hug, he should be getting that all the time. Where did we go wrong?

"I'm so sorry Vernon," I told him sincerely.

"It's ok Hyung," he replied.

"No it's not, it's not at all Vernon. I'm going to call everyone and we're going home as soon as you feel like you're up to it.
When we get there we're going to have a group talk and you are not going to apologize for a damn thing do you understand me," I said, unable to hold back my tears anymore. Vernon seemed surprised and quickly wiped my eyes with his sleeve.

"But why not," he asked, seeming confused.

"Because you haven't done anything wrong and we've treated you like shit. We were terrible Hyungs and you didn't deserve any of that. Once we're done with the talk, you aren't doing chores for at least 2 months," I said shaking my head quickly.

"Are you sure Hyung," he asked me.

"We're positive," Wonwoo nodded.

"But I deleted all the songs remember," he said, looking down sadly.

"I don't care if you did or you didn't. No amount of songs are worth more than you Vernon and we failed to realise that," I said gently.

"We love you so much baby and Hyungs are sorry," Wonwoo said sadly.

"I love you too," he whispered back. We all hugged for a couple more minutes before I got up and called the other's and told them to get back to the dorm right now no matter what they're doing. We got in the car and were driven back to the dorm, getting there before everyone else. We walked inside and closed the door behind us, Vernon looking nervous.

"Mingyu, you said earlier that you believed him and he already knew that, what did you mean by that," I asked him, suddenly getting an idea.

"Uh, well Channie and I have always believed Vernon from the first day," he replied awkwardly.

"Even better. Vernon I want you to go up to your room and wait there until I come up and get you. I'll send Chan up there when he get's here. I want to ask you first though, are you ok with us mentioning your past or do you not want us telling the other's," I asked him.

"Yeah that's fine. It's probably better if the know but I don't really want to talk about it again," he said nervously.

"Alright, will you be ok by yourself for a bit," I asked. He looked apprehensive but slowly nodded which I took as an 'I don't want to be alone right now.'

"Mingyu go with him to your room. You and Chan can keep him company while Wonwoo and I talk to the other's," I said. He nodded and gently before guiding Vernon upstairs and leaving Wonwoo and I to wait for the other's. It only took another 5 to 10 minutes for everyone else to arrive looking confused.

"Channie can you come here for a sec," I asked him. He looked confused but came over anyway.

"Everyone else go sit down in the lounge room and wait for a bit. We're having a meeting," I added to everyone. Everyone shrugged and walked off, including Wonwoo who went to the lounge as well.

"Can you go upstairs to Vernon's room? I need to talk to the other's but Mingyu is there as well," I told him.

"Sure Hyung," he nodded before quickly going upstairs. I sighed and walked into the lounge room, sitting down next to Wonwoo.

"So what's this about Hyung," Jun asked.

"Vernon," I replied, immediately getting groans and scoffs from the other's. I found myself getting angry and guilty at their reactions, is this how we've been towards him for the past week? I jumped slightly as I felt arms wrap around my waist and then a head snuggle into my neck. I sighed and softly rubbed Wonwoo's back as his shoulders shook and he cried into his shirt.

"Wonwoo, what's wrong," Seokmin asked as he quietly walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Wonwoo immediately shrugged it off and cuddled closer to me.

"He's fine, or as fine as he could be after we realized how horrible we've been and how much we need to apologize," I said shaking my head.

"Horrible to what," Minghao.

"Not horrible to what, horrible to who. Vernon to be exact," I said.

"Seriously? That kid deserves it. Do you not remember what he did? 6 months worth of work, just gone because he was being stupid," Jihoon said angrily.

"Who cares!? No one saw him delete it, so we don't know if it was him. But that doesn't even matter anyway because he wouldn't have done it deliberately. We've been ignoring him since then and the only time we ever talk to him is to scold and yell at him," I said angrily.

"He deserves it. He's set us back at least half a year," Jihoon yelled, standing up.

"MUSIC IS NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN OUR FAMILY! HE'S BEEN HURTING, HE'S BEEN HURTING REALLY BAD AND WE DIDN'T NOTICE BECAUSE WE WERE TOO CAUGHT UP ON THOSE STUPID SONGS. HE'S BEEN IN PAIN AND HE'S HAD TO DEAL WITH THAT ALONE BECAUSE WE WOULDN'T TALK TO HIM," I yelled, also standing up. Jihoon stepped back, confusion evident on his face.

"We called this meeting to enlighten you guys on some things and to help our little brother. Ok we've messed up real bad," Wonwoo said shaking his head.

"What are you guys talking about," Hoshi asked.

"Today at training, I was yelling at Vernon and I was frustrated and threw my hands up in the air to express my frustration, that was all but Vernon flinched. He really badly flinched to the point that he fell over and was cowering in fear, actual fear," I said sadly.

"He thought you were going to hit him," Joshua asked with a small frown.

"Why the hell would he think that? You would never hurt anyone, we all know that," Jeonghan said with a frown.

"When Vernon was around 9 he lost his mother. His dad blamed him and started to ignore him. After a little bit he changed and would acknowledge him but only to yell at him or ridicule him. Sound familiar," I asked as I paused.

"Kind of," Jeonghan said with a shrug.

"Yeah it does, cos that's what we've been doing. Only after that happened with his dad, it escalated and he began to beat Vernon. He was only 9 years old when his dad started hitting him," Wonwoo said sadly. There were multiple gasps and I watched as the other's all looked upset and slightly guilty.

"That went on for years, until he turned 14 and he was finally free of his father who went to jail. The only problem was, the reason his father went to jail was because he almost beat Vernie to death. The poor kid, our little brother was in a coma for days because his own father beat him," I said.

"W-Why wouldn't he tell us," Joshua asked sadly.

"Because he didn't want to think about it. I'm pretty sure he just locked away the memories from what happened and tried to forget about them. He said that he's been alone his whole life but then he found us and now he's scared. He locked away those memories but he said they started coming back after what happened with Hoshi in the practice room. I think him smacking the wall triggered the memories," I told them.

"How bad is it," Jun asked.

"Well he started crying when we cuddled with him to console him because he missed it so much. He said he's scared to be left alone but that's all we've done lately, leave him alone," I said.

"I guess we have been a little harsh," Jeonghan said quietly.

"A little bit is an understatement. We really need to apologize and look after him," I said shaking my head.

"I'm sorry," Jihoon said quietly.

"I know I shouldn't have reacted that badly but I just get angry so easily sometimes and I put so much effort into those songs so I just needed to take it out on someone. Oh my god, is that was his dad was like. I-I'm just like his dad," Jihoon said as he started backing up, his eyes filling with tears.

"It's not just your fault Wooz, we're all at fault," Hoshi said gently as he pulled the smaller into a hug who surprisingly accepted the hug.

"We've all made mistakes but that doesn't mean we can't learn and ask for forgiveness," I said gently.

"Do you think he'd be ok with coming down and seeing us or is he angry," Seungkwan asked.

"He's not angry, I think he'd just be thankful to have us talking to him again," I replied.

"We can't take advantage of that though, we owe him a massive apology. I've decided that we're all doing his chores for 3 months and we're eating whatever he wants for dinner, he get's at least one or two of us to sleep next to him and whatever else he may want," I said. Everyone nodded and Jihoon quickly wiped his eyes dry. I gave them a half-hearted smile before walking away and heading upstairs to Vernon's room. I knocked gently and went inside after hearing a small come in.

"Hey guys, how's it going," I asked softly as I sat down on the edge of the bed. Vernon was cuddled up to Mingyu's side and had Chan in his lap.

"It's good, how'd it go downstairs," Vernon asked, biting his lip nervously.

"It went just good. They wanted to know if you were ok with coming downstairs so they can apologize," I told him.

"Yeah, that's fine," he nodded. They all slowly got up and walked over to me. I grabbed Vernon's hand and we all walked downstairs and into the lounge room where everyone were still waiting. Vernon stood slightly behind me as we walked inside and the other's all immediately turned their heads in our direction.

"Vernon," Jihoon said quietly as he stepped away from Hoshi. I stepped a little to the side so the younger was in better view.

"I am so so sorry for how I've been acting towards you lately. I've such been a horrible Hyung. I was just so angry and I know that doesn't make it right but I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, please forgive Hyung."

Vernon's POV

I watched silently as tears started to fall down Jihoon's face. It's not often that Jihoon cries, he's usually reserved and likes to hide his feelings.

"It's ok Hyung, I forgive you," I replied, giving him a small smile.

"W-What, how," he asked, eyes wide in surprise.

"What do you mean," I asked confused.

"How do you forgive me so easily," he said shaking his head.

"I just want things to go back to the way were before I deleted the songs. I'm so sor-."

"No Vernon. What did we say about apologizing," Sungcheol cut me off.

"Not to," I replied sheepishly.

"He's right, you don't need to apologize for anything," Hoshi said quickly. I looked down slightly as I remembered how angry he has been previously.

"I'd like to say sorry for how I was acting and for the other day when I hit the wall. I didn't mean to scare you and I promise I will never hurt you," he said gently. I smiled and nodded to let him know that he was forgiven. One by one they all apologized and I forgave them, after all I wasn't really mad at them in the first place, I just didn't want them to leave me.

"Now that that's done with, we'd like to know what you want to happen from now on. We want you to feel comfortable and happy again so whatever you want, we'll give you," Jeonghan said gently. I thought for a couple of seconds before answering.

"Can we watch a movie maybe," I asked quietly.

"Of course we can aegi but we mean more long term things," Sungcheol replied and I blushed at the nickname.

"Uh, can I maybe sleep with someone at night," I asked nervously.

"Of course," Hoshi nodded.

"What else," Jun asked me.

"If I ever have a flashback or feel off, can I maybe take a break from things and just relax with someone," I asked them.

"Definitely. You just let someone know if that ever happens," Sungcheol nodded.

"Anything else," he added.

"Did you, did you really mean it when you said that I didn't have to do chores for 2 months," I asked, trying to lighten the mood a little bit which seemed to work as the others chuckled.

"Yeah I did, we'll do them for you Aegi," Sungcheol replied with a chuckle.

"Well that's all from me apart from promising to never ignore me again, I don't like that," I said with a small frown.

"Of course Vern, and if we're ever dicks like this to you again then I give you permission to put hair dye in my shampoo," Joshua said, making me chuckle again.

"So what movie are we watching," Seungkwan asked suddenly.

"Do we still have Jumanji with the subtitles," I asked.

"Yeah, I'll get it ready, everyone get comfortable," Jeonghan said with a small nod before walking off. Everyone started getting ready and settling on the couches so I slowly made my way over to my smallest Hyung.

"Can I sit with you," I asked him quietly, looking at the empty couch next to him. His eyes were still red from crying, a look I've never seen on him before.

"Sure," he said quietly as he shuffled over. I gave him a small smile and sat down next to him just as Jeonghan got the movie started. He turned the light's off and sat down next to Chan, letting the younger cuddle up to him as the movie played. I felt myself envying how they were and I turned my head slightly to look down at Woozi who was watching the movie. I held my breath and slowly leaned down so my head was on his shoulder. I fully expected him to push me away but he just turned to me and smiled gently, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. My heart fluttered at the contact, missing being close to my Hyungs but also never being this close to Woozi before.

"I'm so sorry Aegi. I know I've already said that but I want you to know that I really mean it ok. I love you more than anything in this world and no amount of stupid songs can change that," he said gently.

"I love you too Hyung," I whispered, making him smile slightly and blush a little. He slowly and gently moved my head from his shoulder to his lap and moved my legs onto the couch, running his fingers through my hair.

"Get some sleep Vernie," he whispered. I kind of wanted to stay up and watch the movie but I was far to content and comfortable with my head in Jihoon's lap. Everything was finally going back to normal, sure it hurt a lot what they did but they understand what the impact was and they all genuinely apologized. I was just glad to have my Hyungs back.

And with that thought, I drifted off to sleep...

A/N

Here is the second and last part of Vernon Autophobia, I hope everyone enjoyed it.

I would appreciate any feedback you might want to give me!

I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy