Chapter 10

"You can't." Mr. Baek's voice is firm. His expression changes so seriously that the members flinch because of it. 

"Why? One of the members got to an accident!" Taeil is trying to suppress his annoyance but the manager looks cold.

"That's the main reason. The management won't let you. They wanted to deal with this quietly. The people here are the only ones who know. It can't get out. The fans will worry." Mr. Baek knows the consequences of his words. Trying to stop the members will only wild them out but Mr. Baek has no choice, and he's not lying. The moment Doyoung was carried to an ambulance, Mr. Baek received a message ordering him to deal with it as quietly as possible.

"You can't do that to us!" Taeil is being emotional, his tears are long gone. The frustration is smelled in the air, making the situation heavier. 

"Taeil, I understand your worries but that's the order I received above." Mr. Baek is hopeless, his priority is Doyoung right now. He won't like it if the members get involved. Dr. Jin is the person he called while he was conscious, Mr. Baek doesn't know how to feel about that but this kind of minor feeling wasn't relevant anymore. He needs to deal with the members. 

"Don't say anything, please. ." Taeil bent his head out of frustration. He couldn't even gather his strength to calm himself down.

"Also the management said to keep it a secret to the other members. They will issue a warning once they..." Mr. Baek stopped from speaking after the grim expressions of the members.  Yuta gritted his teeth while Johnny was suppressing his fury. Taeil furrowed his brows ready to bark indecent words but stopped himself. Jaehyun and Haechan dropped their heads, hiding their upset expression. 

"Hyung..." Taeil's breathing is heavy but his voice is soft as if begging the manager to help them. 

"I will update you every time. So please, continue your practice. I will take care of Doyoung." Mr. Baek didn't receive a response but he knows that the members understood the weight of this incident. No matter what they do, they remain hopeless.

--

The day passes and Doyoung isn't waking up. His veins are normal and he wasn't in danger anymore. The NCT members continue their task but their expression isn't getting better. Jungwoo is one of the members who felt that something is wrong with s. 

He wasn't present when the incident happened, he has another schedule that day and meets the members at the dorm. He felt guilty because the practice got normal when he showed up today. The instructor who made them crawl was fired the day he was absent at the practice.  He skipped the day when the members had it hard. Doyoung isn't showing up to the practice and he was informed that it was a personal matter.  The management isn't doing something but rumors flooded that the instructor fought one of the members that's why he was fired. 

His hyungs did not confirm it but they said that it was hell and glad that he wasn't around that day. Haechan is dozing off many times, he feels something happened but is afraid to ask s. 

--

"Hyung..." Jungwoo saw Taeil talk to their manager after the practice. The other hyungs sigh while Haechan is on the phone talking with someone. Taeil's face is always upset after talking to their manager and that made Jungwoo confused. He shrugged it off then took his things inside his bag. 

"Haechannie" Renjun greeted them after seeing their member in the hallway of the company. The hyungs are with him also, strange enough their faces aren't great but Renjun understood that they just finished practicing and it's legit enough that they looked tired. 

"Are you tired Haechannie?" Jeno mumbled while grinning. Jaemin looks at them with awe. 

"No. I don't recognize that word." Haechan mumbled, a smug look written on his face. 

"Annyeong hyungs." Dreams greeted with courtesy. They received a limp smile then talked about their day, Jaehyun went to Chenle and talked to the younger ones. 

"I haven't seen Doyoung hyung, did he have a schedule?" Jeno asked after a while of talking to the members. They rarely see the older ones but the particular Hyung is out of sight. 

"News flash Jenossi. He's home. Personal matter." Haechan's gaze changes but manages to deliver his words in a neutral tone but there's silence. 

"We gotta go," Yuta said, handling the awkward atmosphere. They choose to run away to avoid more confrontations. 

"It's about time..." Johnny said and bid him goodbye. Dreams were left while Haechan just nodded at them. 

--

Jaemin received the news from Dr. Jin. He didn't expect the doctor to contact him and his heart dropped after learning what happened to his hyung. The whole ordeal is massive frustrations and worries. He nearly cried, afraid of everything but he didn't. Jaemin absorbs his duty and dealing with it is a lot more stressful than memorizing the choreography, the lyrics, and his schedule for the entire day. 

Dr. Jin is good at handling him, his heart is running berserk and the doctor promises that he will keep him updated. Jaemin remained quiet while looking at his hyungs. He knows that they aren't aware of Doyoung's whole situation and Jaemin couldn't lip a word asking them nor confirm it to them. He fought himself but in the end, he didn't speak any word. 

Mr. Baek told him what happened later and Jaemin wanted to hunt the instructor that picked off his hyung. There are no hard riddles on how Doyoung got to that situation. He is good at taking care of himself. He's been in pain for years and Doyoung is never hard on himself like this time around. Jaemin is beyond frustrated. Being the only member who knows this is also weighing him but Jaemin will never admit it. He will stand beside Doyoung if s learned the whole thing, will hold his hand, and support him wholeheartedly.