— FALLEN —
If there's one thing Taeyong hates, it's messing up in front of an audience of thousands. It's frustrating and embarrassing. Of course, he doesn't anticipate the kind of damage one fall does to to his body.
It's almost the end of the stage. All the leader's focus is on mastering every single move, hitting every single note and getting every line of his rap nailed. It's going perfectly so far and Taeyong can't be happier with their performance. He's proud of them and can never stop himself grinning like an idiot when they come off stage.
Although, that's usually the case. Today is different.
Anyone who knows NCT knows that their choreographies are often very difficult to master. The group make it look so easy but, in reality, it leaves all of them out of breath and sweating buckets underneath the burning spotlights. Therefore, they're incredibly talented performers and don't often slip up.
So, when Taeyong moves too fast and loses his footing, it comes as a bit of a shock. Every member turns their heads towards him, trying to work out whether he's okay or not. Usually they would stop and rush over to a fallen member, but they're in the middle of a show.
Taeyong nods and gives a thumbs up, giving them some reassurance, and the show goes on. In reality, the fall has taken a huge toll. He can't begin to describe the pains shooting up his left leg whenever he moves.
The leader tries to hide his discomfort and stop his face from screwing up, which he's managing pretty successfully, but his eyes are giving everything away. To NCT, at least. The crowds can't read his emotions from their distance.
Song after song, the show starts to drag on for Taeyong. Performing makes him happy and he loves nothing more to be out on the stage, but now he's silently begging for it to come to an end.
Luckily for him, the last song they play is slow and has no choreography. He sits on the stage with his legs dangling off of the edge and doesn't dare move for the entire three minutes. Sitting is giving him a lot of pain relief, and he doesn't care if the manager goes off on one about it.
His leg is so numbed by the time the show ends, that Johnny has to drag him to his feet and help him limp backstage. They play it off like he's just helping him up to his feet and that they're walking off together, and Taeyong makes sure that his limp isn't obvious. Until they're hidden behind the stage.
He pretty much collapses onto a sofa and drapes an arm over his eyes.
"What happened?" he can hear Doyoung's voice.
"I don't know." Johnny replies. "He's not been himself ever since his fall in Highway to Heaven."
Taeyong can't remember anything else after that. It's all a blur to him. One minute, Johnny brings him offstage, the next a woman he doesn't recognise is checking him over. All he can make out is the frantic, anxious voices of NCT 127.
He smiles slightly every time he can hear a voice he recognises, feeling comforted by their presences.
NCT 127's private life is complicated. Every member shares a very special bond with the leader; something that can neither be described as a friendship or a relationship. It's unspoken between them, but they all seem to have a mutual understanding of it. Of course, no one else is aware of what goes on with them and that's the way they like it. However, it makes it very difficult in these situations. They can't be overly affectionate with Taeyong around the strangers in the room. Normally, they'd hold his hand, kiss his forehead or try any forms of affection possible to make him feel better. Now all they can do is stand there and watch. The circumstances aren't making Taeyong feel any less pained.
