"YES! I FOUND IT!"

Seonghwa woke with a start at Hongjoong's sudden raise in voice. Hongjoong quickly looked up in shock.

"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to be so loud—I just got excited—"

Seonghwa rubbed his eyes, checking the clock. It was 6 in the morning.

Hongjoong was sleeping before he ever fell asleep, and that was probably sometime around 3.

"Joong, did you sleep at all?" Seonghwa croaked, his voice a bit rough from crying last night.

"Of course! Remember, I fell asleep in your arms."

"About three hours ago."

Hongjoong laughed shakily, averting his gaze to his laptop.

"Hongjoong, if you need me to help run rehearsal, I'm more than willing. I'm actually not too sore and I got plenty of sleep."

"Uh-huh, yeah."

Seonghwa gave Hongjoong a blank stare until he looked up.

"What? Sorry—I was distracted—l finally found that file I was looking for," Hongjoong smiled.

Seonghwa had forgotten about their whole plan entirely. He hadn't even considered if it had still happened. Thankfully the younger members were more reliable than he was. He smiled, glad to see Hongjoong stress-free.

"That's great. I was just saying if you need someone else to help run practice, I'm not very sore anymore—"

"No! Absolutely not. I've got it covered. You stay here and heal. The doctor said to make sure you ice your ribs and refrain from any strenuous activity, so that's what you'll do."

"Hongjoong, I don't think I'd consider playing guitar to be a strenuous activity. And I can just wrap it with ice."

"No. You need to rest. And that's final."

"You need to rest, too," Seonghwa glared and Hongjoong turned back to his laptop, avoiding the subject.

Seonghwa sighed, moving to get up, causing Hongjoong to toss his laptop to the desk in front of him as he ran to stop Seonghwa.

"Woah, woah, woah! Where do you think you're going?"

"The toilet. I haven't peed in like twelve hours."

"Not without me you're not," Hongjoong smiled proudly, offering his arm.

Seonghwa just stared at him.

"Absolutely not."

"Seonghwa, you really shouldn't be moving around much until it's healed. Let me help. Please."

Seonghwa saw the concern in his eyes and he gave in. He was just worried. He still felt guilty. Seonghwa could see it was eating at him.

And he hated it. It wasn't true at all.

But he figured the best way for him to feel better was to let him help. Even if it was stupid.

Even if it was escorting him to the bathroom.

They made their way to the toilet and Hongjoong helped him sit down before stepping back. But he didn't leave. He just...stood there.

"Joong...I know you've seen me naked but...can I please get a little privacy?"

Hongjoong's cheeks flushed red.

"Oh—I wasn't trying to—I just—what if you...still need help?"

Seonghwa tried his best not to roll his eyes.

"Hongjoong. I fractured two ribs. I think I can wipe my own ass."

"Right. Sorry. I'll just—turn around."

He spun around so his back was to Seonghwa but took a moment to realize he was looking right into a mirror. Seonghwa made direct eye contact with him.

"Hongjoong. You can step outside. I'm not going to fall in."

Hongjoong nodded, stumbling to get out. He fumbled with the door handle a few times before he finally opened the door and immediately flew out and slammed it shut.

Seonghwa sighed, shaking his head. It was almost funny to see him being so foolish. But knowing why he was doing it hurt Seonghwa. He couldn't understand how Hongjoong could feel guilty. It was clearly out of his control.

Finally he moved to stand but the sudden stress on his body hit him like a bus and he slammed back down onto the toilet, causing a loud thud. His face grew bright red, knowing Hongjoong would be summoned. He had at least hoped he'd be able to pull up his pants before Hongjoong burst back in.

But to his surprise, Hongjoong didn't come running. In fact, he didn't even call out to see if he was alright.

Did he leave the room?

Seonghwa held onto the counter, feeling pathetic, and thankfully reclothed his body before anyone walked in on him against his will. He flushed and washed his hands and made his way back into the room to see what Hongjoong was up to.

But his guess was correct. Hongjoong had left.

He almost felt a little upset. After he'd been waiting on him hand and foot, he just disappeared. Had Seonghwa pushed it too far? He had thought he was just being reasonable.

He really wasn't looking to upset Hongjoong anymore than he already had. Just as he was about to make his way to the bed, he heard voices in the hallway. One of which was Hongjoong.

Not wanting to snoop, he decided to just open the door and see what was going on.

"—I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come. I just wanted to check and see if he was—"

Seonghwa stopped suddenly, seeing Hongjoong talking to Minho. That was one of the last people he'd expected to be here. Although he did seem to be pretty good at breaking in

"Ya! What are you doing?? You shouldn't be walking around! Let me help you!" Hongjoong ran towards him, pulling Seonghwa's arm off of the doorknob and slinging it over his shoulders.

"Hi," Minho said with a shy smile. Seonghwa felt a rush of warmth wash over him. Minho was so cute when he had to face his emotions. It wasn't a side he let a lot of people see.

"Hey," Seonghwa smiled.

Hongjoong grunted under his arm.

"Okay that's enough talking. I'm glad you two had some time to catch up but Seonghwa needs to be resting so it's time I got him back to his b—"

"Do—do you need any help?" Minho asked.

"Nope! I've got it covered!" Hongjoong smiled, trying to close the door behind them.

"Actually, I could use some ice. The pain's kind of flaring up a bit," Seonghwa smiled and Minho nodded, heading to the kitchen.

Hongjoong brought him to the bed and helped him down before sitting cross-legged on the end and pouting.

"What?" Seonghwa asked, trying to stretch his feet out under Hongjoong's bodyweight.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in pain?"

Seonghwa noticed he looked genuinely upset. He quickly leaned forward, grabbing Hongjoong's hand, ignoring the sharp pain in his side.

"I didn't know until I tried to stand up by myself. I was going to tell you first but—"

"You were in pain?? When I left you all alone??"

Seonghwa wasn't helping the situation. He was just making Hongjoong feel more guilty.

Thankfully, Minho came in carrying ice and the two turned their gaze away from one another.

"I wasn't sure how much to grab so I just grabbed a bunch," Minho said looking away. Seonghwa tried not to laugh as he saw the massive bag of ice in his hands.

Why had worrying about him made them both so stupid?

"It's okay. That'll work just fine," he smiled, just hoping he could switch it out once everyone had left.

"What are you talking about!? That's clearly way too much ice! What are you going to do with that!?" Hongjoong asked, his face lighting up in amusement.

"Oh...sorry. I'll just—I'll go grab a plastic bag and split it up—sorry," Minho's face ran bright red and he quickly rushed back to the kitchen.

Hongjoong giggled after him, turning back to Seonghwa who was crossing his arms and glaring.

"What?"

"Be nice. He's trying his best."

Hongjoong scoffed.

"Wha—you made fun of me when I was being stupid! How is this any different!?"

"So you have no right to tease him. You weren't acting intelligently either."

"But—"

Minho rushed back in with the bag and the conversation ended with Hongjoong crossing his arms and pouting.

"Hongjoong, go help him. His hands are going to get cold if he has to handle all that ice by himself," Seonghwa instructed.

"But—what about my hands??" Hongjoong whined and Seonghwa raised an eyebrow.

Hongjoong groaned and walked over, helping him out. He made sure to act like the biggest baby as he touched each piece of ice. Minho didn't wince once.

Finally they'd filled the smaller bag and Seonghwa sent Hongjoong to bring the leftover ice back to the freezer, summoning Minho over to him.

After Hongjoong had left the room—rather begrudgingly—Seonghwa motioned for Minho to sit on the bed next to him.

"I'm sorry about him. He was being a complete idiot all last night too, so don't worry about it. I just wanted to talk to you one-on-one to check on you. How are you holding up?"

Minho looked down at his hands with a smile.

"You don't have to worry about me. I don't plan on stepping onto that roof ever again."

Seonghwa laughed, causing his rib to hurt and he winced. Minho reached out a hand, placing it on Seonghwa's side. Seonghwa quickly pulled away, staring at him in surprise.

Minho realized where he had placed his hand and quickly pulled it away, stepping back from the bed.

"Sorry—I'm—I'm sorry—I'll—I'll go—"

"Wait! It's okay, you didn't mean to—"

The door opened and Hongjoong walked in, and Minho took the opportunity to leave, shutting the door behind him. Hongjoong looked back after him, turning back to Seonghwa.

"What was that?"