Jaemin groaned as he opened the door to the dorm, only actually straightening up when he was met with a teary eyed Donghyuck. Without asking any questions, Jaemin took a hold of Donghyuck's hand and gently guided him to the sofa, being careful of not saying anything to him. Donghyuck collapsed onto it and pulled Jaemin down with him, throwing a leg over him to make sure that the taller wouldn't move away.

"Hey," Jaemin ran a hand through Donghyuck's hair and then cupped his face. "What's wrong? Did something happen? Why'd you come here straight from the airport?"

Donghyuck shut his eyes and internally groaned. He didn't even want to think about what happened at the airport. During the flight, Jungwoo had been talking to him non-stop, trying to keep his mind off everything, but he could feel everyone else's eyes on him. The way they walked past every other hour, shooting Jungwoo a look of concern, which he shrugged off and continued to talk with Donghyuck.

The flight felt longer than ever and through the entire duration, only Mark made no effort to reach out to him. He didn't know why the older wasn't even bothered in fixing anything, but he guessed it was his fault. After all, he was the childish one, right?

A tap from Jaemin brought him back to reality and Donghyuck raised his eyes slowly, staring at Jaemin with a blank face. He was too tired to discuss things with him. Then again, what good came out from talking to Jaemin last time? A plan was formulated, but after Donghyuck conducted it, everything fell apart. Mark wasn't talking to him, the members all probably thought he was too childish and were just checking up on him.

"Had a fight with the members," Donghyuck finally mumbled after Jaemin kept staring at him. He wrapped his arms around Jaemin and pouted. "Specifically, with Mark hyung."

"Mark hyung?" Jaemin echoed, confusion clear in his voice. Obviously he was going to be shocked. Mark wasn't one to have arguments, especially not with Donghyuck. How frustrated was he to have had one with Donghyuck?

"Asked me why I was being cold," Donghyuck explained, snuggling his head into Jaemin's neck. His voice was small as he spoke, and it only got smaller and he continued. "I told him it was because of the way they treated me," Donghyuck paused to sigh and Jaemin watched intently as he finished his sentence. "He called me childish."

Jaemin averted his eyes for a second, an unreadable expression crossed his face as he shook his head. "Donghyuck, I'm so sorry. I should've never suggested that you ignore them."

"It's not your fault," Donghyuck smiled at him and poked his cheek. "I shouldn't have taken it that far."

Jaemin looked unconvinced and Donghyuck felt even worse. So not only had he ruined everything with the older members, but he made one of his best friends feel guilty over something that wasn't his fault — entirely, at least.

"You weren't being childish," Jaemin said softly, placing a hand over the one Donghyuck had pressed flat against his cheek. "You were hurt and just...found a creative way to take it out on them. If they were so bothered by your behaviour, then they should've asked you what was wrong, not hold their pride and ego to their chest. Everyone's allowed to do things like that every once in a while."

Donghyuck shut his eyes and tugged on Jaemin's shirt with his other hand. He wasn't sure whether or not to believe Jaemin — especially after the last time he did. Sure, he had already been thinking about ignoring the members, but was that really the best idea? Donghyuck was in the wrong to ignore the members rather than talk his problem out (like an adult). He couldn't blame it on Jaemin nor the older members. Of course, Donghyuck had already tried other methods, and he did speak to the members in the end, but did that help?

"I don't know what to do," Donghyuck whispered, his voice cracking at the end as his grip of Jaemin's shirt got tighter. Just as Jaemin opened his mouth to speak, Jeno entered the room, climbing on top of the two and pushed Jaemin off.

"You may have been acting a little childish," Jeno took Donghyuck's hands and brought them to his chest. "But they should've put more effort into working things out with you. I was against this from the start and I wish I had stopped you when I found out, but what's done is done. Don't put yourself down because of whatever they've said. I don't know what's going through their minds but you know how they are. I'm sure none of them are doing this to purposely hurt you.

"What I'm trying to say," Jeno took a deep breath and continued his monologue. "You don't need to forgive them immediately. Take your time and let them talk to you slowly. Nothing has to be done in one go. They don't deserve forgiveness that easily."

Donghyuck listened to Jeno and nodded slowly, a little surprised by the sudden talk from him. He glanced at Jaemin, who shrugged his shoulders. When Jeno had found out about his plan, he was against it. He had already warned Donghyuck that fights could come out of it, but Donghyuck and ignored his advice, thinking that his plan would being something good. However, it clearly didn't. Even though Jeno wanted to throw in Donghyuck's face that he was right, yet again and Donghyuck was wrong, the sight of his friend sulking made him uncomfortable. He didn't know the whole story but knew that Donghyuck was hurt. As long as Donghyuck was hurt, all he wanted was for them to apologise.

"What if it causes more problems?" Donghyuck asked, looking at Jeno with large eyes. Jaemin poked Donghyuck's frown from over Jeno and pouted when nothing changed.

"Donghyuck-ie," Jeno whispered, leaning forward and placed his forehead on Donghyuck's — something he hadn't done in ages and Donghyuck had assumed he didn't like it — and looked at him straight in the eyes. "You have us. If anything happens, just remember we're here."

Jaemin glanced over his shoulder and watched as Renjun gave him a questioning look. He shot him a smile and gestured for him to come over. Renjun wobbled him, feeling a little out of place until Jeno pulled him down onto them.

Donghyuck smiled as he realised they were trying to take care of him without saying much. His heart swelled when Renjun, someone who only occasionally entertained Donghyuck's need for affection, grabbed his hand and caressed it softly.

If things didn't work out with the older members, at least he had them.

—

Donghyuck barely managed to pull his leg out from Jeno's grip before he fell into the ground, just about managing to hold himself up as Jaemin's face was the first thing he saw. He grunted a little as he forced himself up, hoping none of the members had woken up and dragged himself to the door, sneaking out as quietly as he could. He knew that the older members were going to be worried about him, or at least he hoped so, and that was why he was leaving the comfort of the kids to return to them.

He entered the dorm and saw that the light to the living room was still on. Donghyuck frowned as he looked down at his watch before tiptoeing over to check out what was going on. He poked his head through the small opening in the door and saw all the members — except for Mark, sprawled across the room, each and every one of them in their own little daydream.

Deciding to mind his own business, Donghyuck pulled his head back to leave, but ended up hitting it on the door and created a loud noise (and no, the noise wasn't his scream of pain). The member's all shook back into consciousness and turned to the door. Their eyes widened as they saw Donghyuck trying to sneak out whilst clutching onto the back of his head in agony.

"Donghyuck!" Jaehyun exclaimed, jumping off the sofa and ran over to Donghyuck, grabbing his shoulders to hold him in place. "We need to talk."

Before Jaehyun could continue, Donghyuck muttered a, 'no, hyung', and escaped his grip, running to refuge in his room, even though he was sharing it with him. When he got in, his chest aching because of the many calls he ignored, Donghyuck slipped into more comfortable clothing that he had left on the side for himself and dropped his shirt to the floor. He sat on his bed and put his head in his hands. He had a throbbing headache yet had no energy to go get any medicine.

He wanted to talk to the members about what had happened, but at the same time he didn't. Jeno had said take it slow, yet there was a fear inside him. What if they lost interest in making things better? What if they couldn't be bothered with Donghyuck's dramatics and gave up? Donghyuck thinks that hurts more than getting snapped at the way Mark did. He didn't want anyone else to start hating him, but he didn't want to leave everything the way it was either.

"I'm tired," Donghyuck whispered to himself as his words got muffled by his hands. Exhausted flooded his body as he fell back in his bed, breathing softly as the cold sheets pressed against his heated skin. "I'm so tired."

Donghyuck took short breaths and he repeated it to himself. The stress and tiredness from the tour finally took a toll on him as he felt his muscles begin to ache. He tried his best to muffle his sobs by clasping his hands over his mouth. It didn't work. Thoughts of Mark flashed in his head and— it was all too much.

What if the Dream members also get tired of his affection one day? What if they start pushing him away as well? Donghyuck knows he wouldn't be able to handle it if another member rejects him. Sure, he did it all as a joke before, thriving off the way they used to coil away from him. It was all funny and nothing but jokes before. But now, after Donghyuck got into a habitat of getting hugs, it felt weird when they pushed him away. Did they not like his hugs that much?

Donghyuck kept his eyes shut as he felt warm tears roll down his already hot cheeks. His hands became wet as his sobs got louder. There was a ringing in his ear and only after it went away did he head how loud he was. Donghyuck bit into the heel of his palm and sighed in frustration. Why did he have to make up such a stupid plan? He could've just continued his life like normal, then none of this would've happened.

"Donghyuck," his eyes snapped open at the sound of someone's voice and he sat up, searching around the room to find the source. His head spinned at the sudden change and he had to freeze in place to regain himself. "I'm here."

A hand from behind grabbed his shirt and pulled him back into the bed. The blanket was thrown onto him and Donghyuck gulped when he came to face the red shirt. He cursed internally and raised his head, hoping that the person laying beside him wasn't who he thought. But of course, nothing was going his way recently.

"Mark hyung?" He asked softly, grimacing at the crack in his voice. Mark frowned at him and they fell into silence for a moment before Mark lead Donghyuck's arm to his waist and pulled him into a hug. He didn't let the younger say anything else and gently placed his hand over his head.

"Sleep," was all that Mark had said before Donghyuck felt everything get lifted from his chest. All the stress and worry that had been haunting him previously vanished and Donghyuck felt sleep tug on his eyelids, forcing him to close them. The last thing Donghyuck felt were Mark's arms tightening around him and his breath blew over his head. Just before falling asleep, he heard Mark say something, but couldn't make it out.

Mark looked at Donghyuck with a guilty expression. His eyes were glassy and he took a shaky breath. His best friend was struggling and he hadn't done anything to help him. Mark wondered if he deserved the title of a best friend.

A sigh escaped his lips before he whispered, "I'm sorry," and also fell asleep.