Kpop Sickfic/Angst

22 (Jisung NCT injury)

They were currently preparing for a show that was coming soon, the thing with this particular show was that NCT was not the only group performing but every SM artist would be on the stage, so to say that Jisung was nervous was an understatement.

Jisung, Kai and Taemin were now working on a dance that was supposed to be ready for the next day, Taeyong was supposed to be there as well but the rest of the NCT members had gone back to the company, leaving Jisung alone with all the other SM artists. Not like he didn't feel comfortable, no, not at all, it was just weird for him to be dancing side to side with people he had admired his whole life. The dance they were doing was hard, but it was expected considering that two of the best dancers in the company were choreographing it, so Jisung didn't complain even if some of the steps made him stumble a bit.

It was not as if Jisung was a bad dancer, it was just that the chemistry between the other two was quite hard to follow, especially when the choreography had a lot of lyrical elements and Jisung couldn't quite comprehend how to do them. He considered the idea of asking the older boys for help but he had to show them that he was not just some kid, that he could do just as much as them and that he could be...perfect, just like them.

They danced and danced and Jisung was starting to feel the tiredness fill his body. They had been dancing for probably 7 hours at this point, and even if they had had a couple breaks, it didn't seem enough for Jisung's exhausted body. He wasn't about to show the rest just how tired he was, he had expectations to fill, expectations from other artists, expectations from his group members, but most importantly, expectations from himself.

"Jisung-ah, you ok?" Teaming asked with his sweet voice, the older had noticed how the boy's movements had become slower and less precise, at first, he didn't want to ask knowing that he could potentially hurt the younger's pride, but now, Jisung seemed really tired and he had to ask, just in case. Jisung nodded not looking at Taemin's eyes, he wasn't trying to be rude or anything, but lifting his head just seemed like a lot of effort at that moment, he wasn't sure what was happening to him, he was used to training for long periods with his members and he had never gotten this tired so he didn't understand what was wrong, but he didn't have time to dwell on it, he had to keep working so that he could be as good as the rest of the people there, he had to show them he could be as good as them.

He stood upright and smiled at Taemin letting him know he was fine. Taemin wasn't really convinced but the boy didn't seem that bad so he just let it go. The music started and Kai, Taemin and Jisung started dancing again, his body felt heavy with every step he gave and when a jump came, he couldn't keep his balance and fell right on his back. He felt as if the air had been kicked out of him and the world spun a little as pain rushed to his neck and back.

The music stopped abruptly and in seconds Taemin and Kai were next to him. Jisung fought to catch his breath for some minutes before air filled his lungs.

"I'm ok" he managed to choke out. It was obvious he wasn't but couldn't let the others know that he was hurting because he would be seen as a whiny kid who couldn't handle a fall. "Do you think you can stand up?" Kai said, worry seeping through his tone. Jisung wanted to nod and sit up but the second he tried to move his head, a sharp pain ran through his entire body, he couldn't stop the little whimper that escaped his mouth and the lonely tear that rolled down his cheek. The pain he was now feeling was almost unbearable, had he damaged something really badly? He was scared now, the pain on his back and neck was only increasing by the minute and the idea of never walking again crossed his mind a couple times, you could say he was exaggerating but that's because you weren't feeling the absolutely overwhelming pain that was currently consuming him.

Taemin and Kai grew worried as the boy started to cry harder and the pain didn't seem to subside. Every time Jisung tried to move a sharp pain would cross his back and he would just start to cry even harder so they decided they wouldn't let him move anymore. "I'm going to call Taeyong and an ambulance" Kai said leaving Taemin with the distressed boy. Taemin started running his hands through Jisung's face, caressing his cheeks then running through his hair trying to soothe the younger. It eventually worked, Jisung was no longer sobbing, little whimpers escaping his mouth from time to time. "Can you call hyung?" Jisung said in just above a whisper, he appreciated Taemin's help and he was grateful for his presence, but his NCT hyungs had been with him since he was just a kid and he wanted to feel their comfort. "Kai already called them ok? We'll take you to the hospital to get checked up and see what's wrong with that neck of yours and then you'll see them yeah?" Taemin said while running his fingers through the younger's hair. He knew Jisung wanted to see someone more familiar but Taeyong and the rest were too far away to make it on time so he just assumed the would catch them in the hospital.

The ambulance's siren was heard across the room and in a couple minutes, paramedics were rushing inside and asking questions. "Hi buddy, can you tell me what hurts?" One of the paramedics asked Jisung, the boy managed to croak the words 'back' and 'neck' so that the paramedic had a better idea of what was happening.

"Ok, have you moved at all?" The paramedic asked.

"He tried a couple times but he couldn't" Taemin answered seeing as Jisung was being checked up by another man.

The paramedic smiled slightly to Taemin and turned to Jisung. "Can you squeeze my hand really hard please?" The man asked while taking his hand. Jisung was scared he wouldn't be able to do it but to his surprise, he could squeeze the paramedic's hand without much pain or effort. "Good, thank you," he said while flashing a quick smile to Jisung.

"Ok, we're taking him," said another paramedic after placing neck support on the boy. They easily lifted him on the stretcher and took him to the ambulance, Taemin followed and after a quick talk with Kai, they decided he would go with Jisung and Kai would follow them with his car.

The ride went smoothly as the paramedics applied some pain relieving medicine on Jisung and he seemed a tiny bit more relaxed than before.

When they got to the hospital he saw Taeyong and Chenle waiting in the door with worried expressions adorning their faces. The paramedic carried Jisung inside the hospital and after saying some quick words to Taeyong and Chenle, they took him through some doors and they were left outside waiting for news on the maknae.

Kai had arrived just behind them so they were all currently sitting in the waiting room well, waiting.

After an eternity - actually 40 minutes - they called them to the back to fill them in and so that they could see Jisung. The youngest was sitting on the bed with a neck collar placed on him. Chenle rushed to his side, tears filling his eyes and hugged Jisung as careful as possible. Taeyong went to the other side and grabbed one of the maknae's hand. Taemin and Kai watched from the door before eventually walking towards the boys as well.

The doctor came and gave a brief explanation to what had happened, Jisung strained his back, probably caused because of the impact and the shock of the fall, his neck had suffered a slight whiplash but with the strain on his back, it had just made things more painful, he wouldn't be able to perform any physical activity for a while and would have to take some medicine for the inflammation and pain but overall, he was ok.

A wave of relief washed over them and they could finally breathe easier now that they knew Jisung wasn't going to die or never be able to walk again, you have to understand that Kai's explanation of the situation had been a bit...worrisome.

The doctor had explained that exhaustion could've been a big part in the injury and Jisung felt like he had been exposed, suddenly, 4 pairs of eyes were looking at him and all he could do was smile sheepishly and try to hide away from the accusing looks of his hyungs. Once the doctor left, he explained how he had been feeling before the fall and instead of reprimands, he received a warm hug and reassuring words.

"You are perfect in your own way and there's no need for you to compare yourself with others baby. If you needed help you should've just asked" Taeyong told the boy with a sweet but firm tone and Jisung knew he wasn't mad, he was just worried for him and he understood now that he wasn't going to be seen as a whiny child by anyone, they already saw him as an equal, there was no need to prove that he was good, they already knew it and Jisung was grateful.

It took a full month for Jisung to be able to dance with the rest and he knew he had a lot to catch up to but he also knew he had 20 older brothers, no, correction, 22 older brothers to take care of him and love him.