The Exit

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/48369610.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of
Violence
Category: M/M, Multi
Fandom: ENHYPEN (Band)
Relationship: Kim Sunoo/Nishimura Riki | Ni-ki, Kim Sunoo & Nishimura Riki | Ni-Ki,
Kim Sunoo & Park Sunghoon (ENHYPEN), Kim Sunoo & Park
Jongseong | Jay, Kim Sunoo & Lee Heeseung, Kim Sunoo & Sim
Jaeyun | Jake, Kim Sunoo & Yang Jungwon (ENHYPEN), Kim Sunoo
(ENHYPEN)/Everyone, Kim Sunoo (ENHYPEN) & Everyone
Character: Kim Sunoo (ENHYPEN), Yang Jungwon (ENHYPEN), Lee Heeseung,
Park Sunghoon (ENHYPEN), Sim Jaeyun | Jake, Park Jongseong | Jay,
Nishimura Riki | Ni-ki, Original Female Character(s), Original Male
Character(s), Manager, ENHYPEN ENGENE(s)
Additional Tags: Kim Sunoo-centric (ENHYPEN), Hurt Kim Sunoo (ENHYPEN),
Everyone Loves Kim Sunoo (ENHYPEN), mobbing, Airports, Sad
Nishimura Riki | Ni-ki, Sad with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Angst
and Hurt/Comfort, Physical Abuse, Graphic Description, Minor Violence,
Sad Yang Jungwon (ENHYPEN), Sad Kim Sunoo (ENHYPEN),
enhypen as found family, Concerts, Canon Compliant, sadly :(,
Requested work, Not Beta Read, Forgive Me, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Series: Part 9 of Sunshots<3
Stats: Published: 2023-07-05 Words: 7,244 Chapters: 1/1

The Exit
by Sunoomoroll

Summary

The flight was pleasant with little to no interruptions, and only a few hours later they landed
back in Korea. Sunoo felt refreshed from the hours of peaceful sleep he had gotten into his
system, unlike back in the hotel.

Now in hindsight, he felt kinda stupid for having felt so strongly about the whole airport
thing. After all, they had never actually been mobbed before. Some fans had disregarded
his personal pace before yes, but that’s nothing too bad. There are worse things that can
happen.

He was stupid for having doubted their fans.

Or; Enhypen gets mobbed at the airport by crazy fans

Notes

Requested work:

Can you pls do a hurt/comfort Sunoo were Enhypen get mobbed and Sunoo ends up really
hurt because he gets dragged away from the others by the fans.
Some fans try protecting Sunoo but the crazy fans keep hurting him pulling him, until the
staff appears to save Sunoo.
He ends up traumatized about what happens and with lots of marks and scratches on his
body.
And the member try to comfort him and take care of him

———————

Hope you guys enjoy this <3

See the end of the work for more notes

“Ah, really…” Sunoo sighed as he pulled at the strands of his blonde hair. He was currently sitting
in his hotel room in one of the many Japanese hotels they had been to. Unlike most of the times, he
had finally gotten the single room for once, which he did end up liking a lot.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like rooming with his members, it just depended a whole lot on which
member it was and how annoying or untidy they were.
And he wasn’t even gonna deny that rooming alone did have its perks. He never had to do anything
he didn’t want to, and there weren’t any unnecessary noises around the room.

They had recently been on tour in Japan and Sunoo had genuinely loved it. They had gotten to meet
the most various Engenes personally and in a crowd. And if he was being brutally honest, no
matter how often he saw Engenes, he’d still get shocked every single time. Whenever all their fans
completely filled their venues and they had to add a second day just to accommodate the sheer
number of fans, he’d feel his chest swell with pride and gratefulness.

He still had troubles believing it sometimes- how could anyone see them as their role model and
actually like what they were doing as a group? He thrived in Engenes support.

But that wasn’t necessarily a good thing always.

Engenes loved them, and they loved them a lot. They thought of Sunoo and his friends as
celebrities, and sometimes forgot that they were just as human as everyone else. More often than
he liked, had he been touched, pushed and pulled against his will, but it had luckily never been too
bad.
Especially airport arrivals and departures were a whole adventure. Every single time.

Sunoo enjoyed flying in business class a lot. It was way more comfortable and premium than the
economy class he used to fly in back in his childhood. Well, back then he had always had his
mother and sister to spend time with, but a good K-drama usually did it for him nowadays.

Still, he dreaded airports.

On the one hand he loved getting his photos taken by fan sites and fans in general. He loved
hearing people yell his name and ask for autographs or photos with him. It made him unbelievably
happy to know he made other people happy.
The only downside was that he almost always got touched. The last few times it hadn’t been that
way, so he definitely hoped this time would be just the same.

A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Sunoo-san? Are you still awake?”

It was Riki, then. Sunoo sighed as he stood up from his bed to open up the door and check what his
band mate needed from him. The seven of them had played some board games earlier that night, to
finish off their trip to japan. So he couldn’t explain why Riki was suddenly knocking on his door at
almost one am.

“Hey, Riki. What’s up? Need something?”

Riki was clutching his pillow, gaze turned to the ground. It alerted Sunoo, and he felt a tinge of
worry and concern come over him.

“Uhm. I can’t- I- can I sleep with you tonight?” He rushed out, gulping after. He was embarrassed
to even ask this, after he had stopped climbing into Sunoo’s bed at least a year ago. It was just- he
was finally back in his home country, for the first time in at least three years, and right now he
missed his family more than ever.
He was rooming with Sunghoon, and he’d rather die than ask the senior to accompany him in bed.
Even though the older would initially allow him to climb into his bed, the teasing that would
follow afterwards would be humiliating to the max. The only person he could come to for that
reason, without fearing any judgment, was Sunoo.

Said boy furrowed his brows in concern, chest swelling with something inexplicably warm. “Oh,
come on in.” He ushered the younger in, who checked right and left for any eavesdroppers first,
before he slipped into his hyung’s room. “What’s wrong, Ni-ki? Did something happen?”

Riki shook his head, while throwing his pillow onto Sunoo’s bed. He didn’t really feel like talking
all that much, but he was really thankful that Sunoo had let him in without interrogating him. “Just
wanna hug someone tonight.” He shrugged, as he plopped onto the bed, looking around the neatly
organized room.

“Oh?” Sunoo asked, not being able to hold away the curiosity in his voice.

Ni-ki only hummed, taking in his senior. Sunoo hadn’t changed out of his attire for the day, still
wearing a pair of jeans and a hoodie instead of his pajamas. Ni-ki tilted his head, wondering why
his hyung didn’t look like he was about to go to bed very soon.
It was about one in the morning already.

“Hyung, aren’t you going to bed?” Ni-ki asked, after having settled under the covers and watched
Sunoo shuffle around the room with his phone in his hands.
The boy looked up, remembering that someone else was in his room too. He sighed again, for the
100th time that day, giving up.

“I don’t know, I guess I’m just..” he didn’t know what made him this uneasy in the first place. Or,
he knew but he felt stupid now that he thought about it further. “Forget it.” He shook his head and
started undressing instead. Maybe Riki was right, all he needed was to get some sleep.

Ni-ki stared at the ceiling, not knowing what was wrong but being able to tell that something was
wrong after all. His hyung was nervous about something, but he wasn’t gonna press. All he could
do was be there for his hyung for now.

Soon enough, Sunoo got under the covers himself, and Riki immediately wrapped his arms around
the older’s waist, pulling him in. He placed his chin onto the older’s head, liking the fact that their
height difference was just perfect for him to be able to do this. He tangled their legs together,
already feeling all the tense emotions drop off his shoulders.
Sunoo smiled, having missed this himself. It was a nice feeling, having someone else with you this
close. It made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, momentarily forgetting all the worry he had for
the next day.

“Thank you, Riki.” He mumbled under his breath, resulting in Ni-ki pulling him in even more,
making their bodies line up against each other, Riki spooning him. Not even a sheet of paper
would’ve fit in between them at this point. It reassured Sunoo a lot, to know that him and Riki were
still close enough to do that after everything.

They hadn’t had any major fights, but Riki had matured and Sunoo had watched him develop into
an independent person, meaning he didn’t need Sunoo as much anymore. Sunoo didn’t mind,
instead he supported Riki throughout it all, but it still felt nice to know his friend didn’t change all
that much after all.

“Don’t worry, hyung. Get some rest.” The boy whispered back, the sound getting muffled by
Sunoo’s hair. Sunoo did as told, and slept off.

Unlike how he had expected, the next morning was no better. Sunoo woke up, feeling even more
antsy than before. He dreaded the airport, something in his gut telling him that it wouldn’t end
good.
Riki woke up before him and woke him up afterwards, urging the both of them to hurry up and
pack their things, so they could go down for breakfast.

Sunoo was so tired, but he told himself he had to push through. It was about six in the morning,
and their flight went at 11, so that meant they still had some time left. He packed up his stuff
slowly, before he went down to get breakfast for the day. Riki had long left, to pack up in his own
room, but they promised to eat together.

He tried telling himself that the airport wouldn’t be that bad, especially since he’d be able to relax
on the flight afterwards. He just had to push through all these people for a few minutes, and then
the whole ordeal would be over.

“Morning, sunoo-hyung!” Jungwon greeted him from where he already sat with Jay and Sunghoon
at a table. Said boy waved back, before going to get himself some food. He chose something light
for today, since even the thought of a more nutritious meal made his stomach churn.
Yogurt it was today. And some British breakfast tea.
Soon, he sat around the table with his friends and band mates. It was the four of them only for now,
the other three were still nowhere to be found, but Sunoo had half a mind to keep the seat next to
him open for Riki.

“How are you?” Jay inquired, looking at the younger through his glasses. It was in moments like
these that he didn’t have to wear his contacts. Sunoo liked him with his glasses too, he briefly
thought.

“I’m okay. I feel- I don’t know..” Sunoo couldn’t explain how he felt.

Jay tilted his head. “Are you having breathing problems again? Or a stomach ache?”

Sunoo nodded. “A stomach ache I guess. No breathing problems.”

Jay hummed. “I understand. We’re back home soon though, then you can sleep it off all you want.”
Jungwon nodded his head in agreement as well, and Sunoo sighed. They were right. He could suck
up this weird dreading feeling, and push through.

This wasn’t just about him either. He couldn’t just tell them about not wanting to go to the airport
because he was scared. They wanted to get home too, he had to look out for them as well. It wasn’t
just always about him. They were seven.

“You’re right.” He told jay, just as Riki and Heeeseung joined their little round, Jake in tow. Riki
immediately sat down next to him, looking him over once more. The younger liked to act as if he
was all grown up and mature nowadays, but he still liked Sunoo the most, even if he didn’t show it
as openly anymore. He found other ways to make sure his hyung was fine.

“Are you feeling better already?” Riki asked, a hand pressed against Sunoo’s forehead to check for
any type of fever. Sunoo felt bad about making his members worry for exactly nothing in the first
place. He gently pushed Riki’s hand away.

“I’m all good, don’t worry.” He smiled at the youngest, who was still looking at him somewhat
skeptically. If his hyung said so he’d believe it, but he’d still make sure to look after him. Ni-ki
hummed.

“When’s manager-nim coming to pick us up?” Jake asked with his mouth full, shoving the rice and
miso soup down his throat as fast as his esophagus allowed him to. This miso was really good, and
he rarely ever ate miso anyways. He ignored all the weird stares he got.

“Hm.” Jay looked at his Apple Watch. “It’s 6:30 am now. I think we have like an hour left? Or 45
minutes? Something like that..”

Jake nodded. “Good, that means I still have a lot of time left to eat. This miso soup is so good
guys!” He pointed at his soup wide eyed, telling them all to test it out as well.

Riki pouted. “It’s mediocre at best. My Okaa-san can do it better.” He missed his mother so much.
While she had attended his concerts and they had even met up, it was still so new to him. Being so
far away from her, and rarely ever meeting her was so different from what he had gotten to know
during his childhood. Her presence always grounded him.

His hyungs laughed fondly at that and some even ruffled though his hair.

“Let’s get going, Jay hyung. You promised to help me with my suitcase.” Jungwon spoke, tugging
at the older’s sleeves. They had long finished eating and were just remaining there to be with their
members. But time was running short actually.

“Ah, right. Guys, we’ll see you later.” Jay waved at all of them, looked into Sunoo’s eyes to check
for any discomfort, but when he got a smile, he nodded, relieved. The two made their way back up,
and also Sunoo found himself wanting to leave.

He wanted to pass the time with a k-drama or so. Anything to make his mind stop flittering all over
the place. He did try his best to make his nerves calm down, but when he sat in the car to the
airport an hour later, he found out that there was nothing he could have done to make him less
antsy. He just had to get it over with.

When the car halted in front of the airport and they were supposed to go out, Sunoo took at least
three deep breaths. Going out there meant he’d have to put on his other persona. There would be
cameras and people and fans and-

“Sunoo hyung. Are you ready to go?” Riki asked, holding his hyungs hand, noticing really well
how sweaty it was. Sunoo wanted to say no. To give up and ask them to just take another flight
instead, since his senses were all in overdrive. He really didn’t want to go out there, but did he
really have a choice?
So he nodded, and let Riki get out of the car first. He came out after that, and he had to do his best
to keep the smile in place as he took in everything. He still faltered a bit. There weren’t as many
fans as he had expected in the first place- and the ones that were there were all standing behind
banners respectfully, waving their boards and light sticks.

Now this was a pleasant surprise.

He looked for Riki with his eyes were twinkling in elation, not having expected this. He feared for
exactly nothing, he thought. Riki smiled back at him, and soon they were doing what they usually
did. They smiled and waved for the cameras, and moved through the gates.

The fans all stayed where they were supposed to, and Sunoo even found himself talking with a few
and giving out his autographs for one of them. They were actually so mature for this, it made his
chest throb with relief. His smile all throughout the whole procedure until they boarded their flight
was genuine, and he ended up sinking into his seat with a sigh.

They hadn’t even needed the bodyguards. Okay, maybe here and there to make the fans stay in
line, but overall the Japanese Engenes did a really good job. It made Sunoo really happy.

“How are you feeling now?” Riki whispered into his ear and Sunoo nodded.

“Way better. Exhausted though. Think ‘m gonna sleep a bit.” Riki hummed and nodded, before he
connected his AirPods to his phone, wanting to listen to some music. He could visually see that
whatever had plagued his hyung was gone now and now he was able to calm down as well.

The flight was pleasant with little to no interruptions, and only a few hours later they landed back
in Korea. Sunoo felt refreshed from the hours of peaceful sleep he had gotten into his system,
unlike back in the hotel.

Now in hindsight, he felt kinda stupid for having felt so strongly about the whole airport thing.
After all, they had never actually been mobbed before. Some fans had disregarded his personal
pace before yes, but that’s nothing too bad. There are worse things that can happen.

He was stupid for having doubted their fans.

The seven and all their staff and managers moved out of their plane and went through the whole
procedure of checking out and getting their luggage back before they could actually leave the
airport.
Sunoo listened through music all throughout, humming alongside it under his breath sometimes.

He was feeling really good! Now that his mind had cleared a bit, he was able to actually think
about different things. Their tour for example. He really enjoyed being on stage and meeting all
their fans. It was an exhilarating feeling, something he wouldn’t trade for the world.

They went through the last gate before they would be bombarded by fans and cameras again,
who’d all film their airport attendance eagerly.
This time upon seeing the fans, Sunoo faltered again. But not in a positive way. Fans were all over
the place, and there were no barriers to even hold them in line.

There was no way for them to go through!

Sunoo sweat dropped once again. He’d never expected there to be so many fans! He couldn’t even
make out where the exit was! And hell- they were loud. Screams sounded from everywhere,
making his ears ring.

“Wow- why are there so many of them?” Jake voiced out what he thought too.

“Crazy…” Jungwon whispered.

Their staff was already trying to free a way for them but Sunoo didn’t believe they actually could.
It were just that many people.

“They probably wanna welcome us, since we’re back home.” Heeeung muttered, eyebrows creased
in concern. Were so many fans even allowed in the first place?

“How are we supposed to get through!” Riki exclaimed, clutching his suitcase. All their managers
and staff were trying their best, but if he was honest, he had already lost sight of them in all the
turmoil.

“We’ll have to stay with each other the whole time, in every single case.” Jay said, taking a deep
breath. They had to get out eventually anyways.
Sunoo had started fidgeting with his jacket sleeves. He felt his anxiety rise up again, making beads
of cold sweat appear on his forehead. He already knew- he couldn’t go past all these people. He
looked around, and wherever he looked, there were just- people. Girls, boys, even older people.
What the hell?

“Let’s take each other’s hands. We shouldn’t let go of each other.” Jay declared, grabbing
Jungwon’s hand into his own. With the other hand he was pulling his suitcase. Riki grabbed
Sunoo’s hand into his, noticing how the older’s hands were shaking and sweating. It made him feel
more nervous himself.

Once everyone had found someone else to hold onto, they took a deep breath. Their staff had come
back to them, after giving up on finding a way through those people. They would all go together,
and hopefully make it to the exit in one piece.

One last deep breath, and they all started moving. Sunoo did everything he could to not lose his
focus, drop everything and place his hands over his ears to stop them from hurting. Riki had his
hand in a vice grip, not wanting to lose the older. Sunoo was the last in their little caravan, but he
had Riki with him.

“Sunoo-ya! Sunoo-ya I love you! Ni-kiii! Enhypen!!”

“Sunoo, can I have an autograph? One picture please!”

“Heeseung-oppa! Jay-oppa! I love youuu!”

He heard the most various things- the people were so so loud, and the exit was so so far away.
Sunoo really didn’t know if he could make it. He was sweating buckets of cold sweat, fueled by
the immense panic and fear he was feeling.
His heartbeat had never sounded so loud in his own ears, it took him everything to not just start
crying and hyperventilating.

But if he was being honest- he was very close to it. A setting like this was his greatest fear, a
nightmare come true.

At the front, their managers were yelling for people to move and make space for the seven boys,
but it was all futile. Even if the fans wanted to move, where to? The place was so filled and no one
was actually able to move a whole lot.

Sunoo’s thoughts were clouding over and he felt as if he was losing the feel in his own bones. He
should’ve just stayed in bed after all, now that he thought about it. He should’ve told them that he
was scared of exactly this scenario, and maybe they could’ve taken a different flight instead. Or
maybe they could’ve called more reinforcements then, to make sure the fans were not all over the
place.

And when he finally felt a foreign hand in his hair, he knew it was his fault. Someone pulled and
tugged at the blonde strands making him stumble and yelp out. He tried to pry the hand off,
making him let go of Riki who was gone within a milisecond, swallowed by the swarm of people.

Hands touched his clothes and body, and he couldn’t even tell you where, who, how, or when.

“Sunoo hyung! Hyung, where are you!” Riki yelled out, trying to peer over all the other people and
find his hyung. The others were moving forward without them, and he began actually sweat
dropping.
Sunoo too felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes, as he got pushed so hard he dropped to the
ground.

Someone was pulling his clothes and all he could see were people. Many people. He couldn’t find
his members and he couldn’t hear anything but the ringing in his ears. His eyes were unfocused
and hazy and his breath came out labored and sluggish. Telltale signs of an anxiety attack.

He was being pulled away by his hair now, when he finally started crying. He tried to pry off the
hands from his head, but it didn’t work. People stumbled all over him, stepping on his legs and
fingers, making him sob even more. He could feel his own bones breaking- was his hand broken
now? Where were his members?

“Let him go! What are you doing?” Someone yelled, but Sunoo’s thoughts were all over the place.
Something hard and cold knocked against his forehead, making him fall back and hit his head
against the cold concrete. Pain bloomed all across his forehead, and he started wheezing. Someone
tried picking him up, with their arms under his arms, but there was not enough space.

“Sunoo! Hyung! Where are you!!” He heard Riki’s voice from somewhere far away. Riki was still
there after all. It did little to calm him down though, especially since a knee knocked into his
stomach, making him curl in on himself.
“Stop that! You guys are crazy!”

“Help Sunoo, everyone!”

There were people who yelled at each other, and Sunoo couldn’t tell who was trying to help him
and who was trying to hurt him. Everything was just too much for him. His fingers hurt from the
amount of people that had stepped on them, his stomach and his forehead burned, the back of his
head felt like it was now flat and his knees hurt as he had probably scraped them open.
He was shaking like a leaf, feeling distraught and overwhelmed. He was feeling indescribably
dizzy, too.

He should’ve insisted on staying back home, he briefly thought.

“Sunoo! Hyung! Where the hell are you?” Riki called out again, and Sunoo heard him more clearly
now. He was still unable to move, shocked to his bones and traumatized from the assault. He was
really close to passing out at this point.

“Ni-ki! He’s here! Help!” Some fans called, having formed a protective circle around sunoo, as to
not let anyone else harm him. Their hearts broke upon seeing one of their favorite idols so badly
hurt on the floor, especially since they hadn’t been able to do anything about it.

Ni-ki and some managers came running towards them, ready to help the idol on the floor. Riki
looked as if he had run a whole marathon, chest rising and sinking rapidly. The fans opened their
little round for Ni-ki, letting him in to help the older.

Riki’s breath hitched upon seeing the state his hyung was in. His hair was a mess, there was a huge
bruise on his forehead and his fingers were trembling really hard - Riki flinched at how purple and
swollen they were. Sunoo’s clothes were torn in some places, and he looked really distraught. Riki
didn’t know if Sunoo was with them to be honest.

“Hyung, hyung. It’s okay, I’m here. Hyung, can you hear me?” Riki rushed over to the older and
crouched down, ignoring the violent shivers that wracked through Sunoo’s frame in order to make
sure the older was mentally present.
Sunoo’s eyes flitted all over the place, unable to make out anything behind the blurry and hazy
shadows he could see.

But he heard Riki’s voice and he also heard where the younger’s voice came from, so he tried
turning around to the maknae. Riki’s eyebrows were deeply furrowed in worry, at the sight of his
hyung. He looked back, happy to see that staff members had also arrived in their little circle.

“Are the others already out?” Riki asked one of the men, and he nodded.

“We got them to the car safely. It’s only the two of you that are left.”

“Good. Someone needs to carry Sunoo-hyung, I don’t think he can make it alone.” One look at the
blondes wounded and shaking legs and Riki could exclude that option completely. The staff
members also looked at the idol, and one of them excused themselves to call the groups doctor.
He’d have to check up on the younger and then decide what they’d do.

“Okay I can do that.” One of their managers pushed themselves forward and past Riki, to get
access to the shocked boy on the floor.
It made the maknae tense for a millisecond, not wanting to let anyone touch the hurt boy on the
floor, but having to. He reluctantly schuffled away, still making sure to be close to Sunoo.

The manager went forward to scoop the boy into his arms, while the other staff members forcefully
pushed people out of their way, not caring anymore. Sunoo was their priority at the moment, and
they couldn’t care less about fans. If they were actual fans, they wouldn’t have crowded the boys
as much, since they’re only human too, after all.

“Out of the way! Move!” They shoved as many fans out of their way as they could and slowly but
surely, they were able to open a path. Ni-ki helped too, albeit staying close to Sunoo all the time.
Sunoo had yet to speak a word. He was still shaking, and his wounds looked no better. The
manager feared that he had been put into a constant state of shock, where he could no longer hear
and see anyone.

It took a while, but soon, they reached the vans. Staff members put their luggage into the back of
the truck, and opened the door for the two remaining idols. Riki slipped into the car first, making
sure to let Sunoo’s seat fall back, so the older would be able to rest properly.

“What’s wrong! What happened?” Jay immediately asked, not knowing why it took so long for the
two of the maknae line to return. Riki looked very worried, and he was wasting absolutely no time,
even though he was sweating and he looked as if he had run around the world twice.

“Where’s Sunoo-hyung?” Jungwon asked, looking out of the windows. Damn, there were still so
many people.

“Why did it take you guys so long?” Heeseung asked, as he had been the one to hold Riki’s hand at
the beginning. From one second to the other, the youngest had just gone lost. He had been worried,
but he hadn’t been able to do anything about it.

Riki didn’t answer, but he also didn’t have to as the manager that carried Sunoo joined them in the
van shortly after. He was holding Sunoo bridal style, and immediately adjusted him in his seat.

“What-“ Jungwon whispered upon noticing Sunoo’s state. He looked rough- as if he’d been
through the hunger games. He was shaking and trembling like a leaf and Jungwon’s eyes widened
in shock. What the fuck had happened?

“What happened to Sunoo!” Jake yelled out, voicing out all their thoughts.

“Oh My God- is he hurt?” Sunghoon asked unnecessarily, eyes nervously raking Sunoo’s figure.

“Who did this to him?! Do we have to get him to the hospital?” Jay sounded frantic, not knowing
what to do and how to proceed. The manager had left the backseats and instead sat in the front now
to start driving.

Riki took his seat too, still too shaken up to even say anything.

Heeseung’s first instinct was to inch closer to the hurt maknae. “Sunoo-ya, can you hear me?” He
grabbed one of Sunoo’s shaking hands into his own, stroking it softly. Sunoo’s eyes were
unfocused and hazy, and to be honest it didn’t seem like the maknae was even with them.

His lips were bitten and red, not to talk about the rest of his beautiful face. Dried tear tracks were to
be seen on his cheeks and his forehead- that bruise didn’t look nice at all. Sunoo didn’t seem to be
able to hear Heeseung as he didn’t answer, and it was worrying the other members even more.

“Hyung… what happened to Sunoo hyung..” Jungwon whispered, voice thick and eyes itching with
tears. Seeing Sunoo like this… none of them had ever expected it. Jay quickly wrapped Jungwon
into his arms, wanting to be there for him however he could. His heart was beating out of his chest
too, but he had to be strong.
“Ni-ki, what the hell happened?” Heeseung now asked the other maknae. Ni-ki was busy biting his
lips and tapping his feet, eyebrows drawn together in worry- he also wasn’t really with them.

“Ni-ki! What happened out there?” Jake now asked louder, making Riki flinch. He blinked himself
back into reality; oh, his members were here now.

“What?” He meekly croaked, looking into one worried face after the other.

“What the fuck happened?” Jay questioned once more. Riki gulped.

“I- I don’t know, actually.” He shook his head. “Sunoo let go of my hand the one minute and when
we found him, he was..” he gulped. “He was on the floor, and he didn’t look okay at all. I- they-
they hurt him. And I wasn’t there to prevent it.”
The maknae tugged at his hair harshly, unable to take another look at Sunoo.

“No, no. No, Riki. You did well. You helped him and prevented more damage from happening.
This isn’t your fault.” Heeseung assured, inching closer to Riki. He looked really out of it, too.

“Sunoo is getting help now, and that’s only thanks to you, okay? If you hadn’t gone back for
him…" Sunghoon only shook his head. He didn’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened.

“Thank you, Ni-ki.” Jake spoke for them all, but Riki did not feel better at all.

Jungwon wanted to, but he couldn’t take another look at Sunoo. The older’s eyes were wide open,
but it didn’t even seem like Sunoo was awake at all. His eyes were shaking and he kept making
those little noises as if he was in pain, probably because he was.

“We’re getting him straight to the hospital, right?” Sunghoon asked his second unnecessary
question for the day, but he was so worried and nervous and needed reassurance. Don’t blame him.

“I hope so.” Jay answered, already checking through the media.

Sunoo was already trending with almost a million tweets, the videos and images of him on the
floor going around like crazy. This infuriated Jay. It infuriated him so much, to know that fans saw
him and their first response was to take pictures and videos of a person who was hurt like this.
These were not their fans.

He was glad to see Engenes enraged over the media, especially international fans, but he also
wanted their label to take action against the perpetrators. Their company worked sluggishly and
lazily at times, but this was one of their artists being mistreated on the internet. They had to take
legal action.

But also, more importantly, Jay’s heart broke at those images and videos. Sunoo looked so scared
and lost it tugged at his heartstrings and he chided himself for not being able to help.

The van came to an abrupt halt and not even a minute later the door was opened. “We’re here, the
doctors will take Sunoo with them now.” Their manager spoke and behind him the members could
see a few nurses with an empty stretcher, which was probably for sunoo.

Without waiting for anyone’s permission, the manager carried Sunoo out of his seat and placed
him on the stretcher. One of the nurses turned on a flashlight and held it above Sunoo’s eyes.

They exchanged some medical terms amongst them, speaking about hemorrhage and neurogenic
shock and fractures and ‘cerebral commotio’ before they quickly left with their patient on the
stretcher.

The others were left behind, hearts beating out of their chests.

“Can we go with him? Can we stay?” Jungwon asked, not wanting to leave his best friend behind
at any costs.

“Please. Please let us go in.” Riki pleaded and the others also looked at their manager with
pleading eyes. The older man was overwhelmed.

“Guys- I have no information on him so far, they might have to keep him here overnight. It would
be better if I bring you home for the remainder of the day. I’m sure you’re also exhausted.” He
seemed resolved but also apologetic, knowing how much they wanted to be with Sunoo right now.
He closed the door and back to the front, getting ready to drive the boys home.

“Fuck!” Riki cussed, balling his hands to fists and punching the seat in front of him. No one
berated him, all of them feeling various levels of anger and anxiety themselves.

“Has the news reached the media?” Jake asked sometime on their ride home and Jay hummed.
Everyone listened in.

“The media is in flames. There are videos and pictures of Sunoo going around. It’s really bad. I
have forwarded some to Belift and I hope they’ll take action against those people.”

“They have to. If not- if they don’t- I- Sunoo hyung deserves none of this.” Riki tried to voice his
thoughts but his mind was a jumbled mess.

“Don’t worry, they will help Sunoo.” Heeseung spoke, trying to sound reassuring.

“And what about the people who hurt Sunoo? Can we somehow get a hold of them?” Jake asked
again, eyes glistening with hope. It would be great if they could somehow find the people who hurt
Sunoo.

“CCTV?” Sunghoon suggested, and the others nodded. They’d have to at least try.

None of them were able to make any more conversation after that, and soon they arrived back at
the dorms. Their luggage had arrived before them, but no one had any strength left to unpack and
arrange stuff anymore.

They all got ready for bed and immediately fell asleep right after, hoping that Sunoo wasn’t hurt
that badly after all.

The next morning it was a call that awoke Jungwon from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes, already
annoyed at whoever called him at- six in the morning.

“Hello?” He groggily spoke, not knowing who was calling him.

“Jungwon. Sunoo woke up, I’m picking you guys up in thirty minutes. Be ready.” Their manager’s
voice sounded from the other side of the line.

Jungwon’s eyes widened like saucers. Suddenly he was wide awake. He jumped out of bed, waking
up Sunghoon and Riki first. “Guys! Wake up, we’re visiting Sunoo!”
This was enough to make the others wake up too.

“What? What’s going on?” Jake’s head poked into the room.

“We’re visiting Sunoo! Get ready everyone!” Jungwon exclaimed, and everyone scrambled to get
ready as quickly as possible.

Half an hour later they stood downstairs, waiting for their manager. Their hair looked worse than a
bird's nest, their clothes had been randomly drawn out of their luggage’s and some weren’t even
wearing socks in their shoes.
But they didn’t care.

As soon as the manager's car rounded the corner, they jumped in and closed the door, not wanting
to waste a second.

“Good morning, manager-nim!” Jay greeted him and their manager nodded back at them. He
immediately started driving once everyone was safe and settled.

Riki was the first to speak up. “What did they say? How is Sunoo hyung?”

“They didn’t really say anything, Ni-ki-ya. They only said that he is awake now and ready to
receive guests. I guess we’ll know more when we arrive.”

Riki deflated, not having a choice but to agree. And just like he said, they did find out more when
they had arrived.

“Kim Sunoo? He’s in Room 32A. It’s on the third floor, where the VIP rooms are.” The
receptionist explained to them, and soon the little crowd moved towards the elevators.
Even though none of them spoke a word, the atmosphere was dripping with nervousness and
worry. All of them hoped for the best.

It was Sunghoon who knocked on the door of Sunoo’s room. A female nurse opened the door for
them and let them into the spacious room with a polite smile.

They all immediately searched for Sunoo, who was laying on the bed, looking truly worn out.

Someone gasped, probably Jungwon or Jake.

The wounded member looked rough. His complete head was wrapped in gauze, not to talk about
the cast his fingers were in. There were deep purple eye bags under his eyes and the rest of his
body was hidden under a blanket, but this was already bad enough.

Sunoo threw a weak smile at his members.

Jungwon’s eyes started itching again, but he still moved closer to his hyung. “Sunoo hyung..” he
croaked out, feeling really hurt at seeing his closest friend in this state.

“Hi Jungwonie.” Sunoo whispered back, smiling. Soon after the other members moved closer, all
crouching down around Sunoo’s bed. All but one.

“How are you, Sun?” Sunghoon asked the younger, whose eyes were bloodshot and showed
prominent veins in them. Probably from not having blinked for so long.

He huffed. “I could be better, hyung. But I’m okay. It’s not as bad as it looks. Right, Noona?” He
turned to face the nurse who apologetically smiled at him.

“Yeah, Sunoo. It’s not as bad. But you still have to be careful.”

“What happened to him?” Jake asked the nurse, who was checking through her iPad.

“His fingers. His right hand is completely broken, in the left hand only two fingers were broken. So
he can’t do too much with his fingers for about five to six weeks until the bones heal. Then he’ll
come in again for a checkup.”

“God…” Jay whispered, looking at the swollen fingertips that peaked out from the cast.

“Then the doctors found cranial trauma as well as a mild concussion and an infection on his
forehead. We don’t know what exactly it was but probably the fall was forceful enough to move
the brain within the skull. We’re forced to put him on strict bed rest for two weeks at least. He
can’t move his head too much, so as to not worsen the damage. Luckily nothing happened to his
brain.”

The members gaped at that, not really understanding what she was saying, but knowing this was
bad.

And there was some minor internal bleeding in his abdomen, caused by the kick to his stomach.
His pancreas was mildly hurt but its all good again. And the little Socrates and wounds all over his
body have already been taken care of. Nothing to worry about.”

Jokes on her because they were all already worried. As worried as they could be.

“So…he’s not coming home with us today?” Jungwon dared to ask.

“Not for at least two more weeks, the doctors want to monitor his brain and skull for a bit longer.
Sorry kids." She shrugged.

They all faced Sunoo, feeling incredibly sorry and bad about how everything had turned out.

“I’m so sorry, Sunoo hyung…” Riki spoke from the other side of the room as he had not dared to
even come closer to Sunoo.

Everyone looked over at the teenager who was facing the ground, eyebrows deeply furrowed.

“Ni-ki!” Sunoo was surprised. He hadn’t seen the younger at all and just figured that he hadn’t
come with the others.
“I’m sorry you got hurt because of me, hyung- I should’ve…I should’ve held tighter onto you! I’m
sorry I let go of you, I really am…” Ni-ki tried to explain himself, eyes welling up with tears. It had
been his last intention to get his hyung hurt, and seeing the outcome of all this really messed with
him.

“Oh, Riki… none of this was your fault. Come here.” Sunoo tried to wave the younger closer. Riki
moved closer, head still bowed in shame.
At the same time the manager and the nurse left the room to take care of all the paperwork.

Sunoo slightly shifted on the bed, making just enough space for Riki to lay down next to him. He
expectantly patted the empty space next to him.

“Lay down here, Ni-ki.”

Riki did as told, immediately feeling better at being so close to Sunoo again. But he couldn’t deny
that he was a bit cautious about it all. Could he touch his hyung? He didn’t want to hurt him.

“You can hug me, Ni-ki. Don’t worry, it almost doesn't hurt anymore!” He tried to encourage the
younger and he was glad Riki seemed to relax at that. Soon they were tangled up together once
more, just like how they had been two nights ago.

“Riki, don’t apologize to me, okay? If anything, I have to thank you. If you hadn’t come back for
me I don’t know what would’ve happened. I was the one who let go of your hand. None of this was
your fault, please know that.”

Riki only nuzzled his face into the crook of Sunoo’s neck, still a bit careful.

“The same goes for the rest of you.” He addressed the others. “What happened yesterday was
unfortunate and my body feels like it went through a sausage production process.” The others
huffed a bit at that. “But none of it was anyone’s fault. Other than those fans, but you get what I'm
trying to say, right?”

Everyone nodded. Sunoo was right. None of them could have known the airport would be that
crowded. None of them could have known.
 “And most importantly, I will be fine anyways.” Sunoo added, making Riki hug him even tighter.

If all of them could turn back time, they would. They would if it meant that they were all safe and
sound. But what has happened has happened.

The most important thing was that they still had each other.

“Can I ask what things look like on twitter…?” Sunoo quietly asked into the silence.

“Shhhh.” All of them answered at the same time, making Sunoo snort at how in sync they were.

They were idiots. But they were his idiots, and he felt thankful for them every day.

End Notes

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