Head In The Clouds [THE BOYZ X Male Reader]

"Declining Reality's Acceptance"

As M/N was in the hospital,he was told that his body was getting weaker because of how much he was working.M/N tried to not listen but the Ateez members cared more about him than his side hustle,Seonghwa sat next to him and held his hand "Bub,please.Don't make your life harder,it won't result to anything good if you keep this up".M/N bit his lip "What about me?",Seonghwa placed his hands on his cheeks "Haknyeon will take you in their dorm and they'll be the one handling everything for you,all you need to do is work a different job that won't take a toll on your health".M/N sighed "What will I do when I don't earn enough money to pay them back?",Wooyoung casually spoke "You won't,I know Haknyeon well enough to tell you that.It'll be better if you take a rest from being a tutor or better give it a proper schedule so you can look after yourself".He looked at Seonghwa before turning to his doctor "Keep going,doc.I'm listening now",Seonghwa smiled as he held his hand and felt like there was a glimmer of hope for them.

Once the doctor left,M/N was silently looking at Seonghwa's hand since he couldn't think of anything.Seonghwa kissed it before laughing "Yah,don't look at it like that.You look like you want to eat my hand whole,that's weird",M/N pouted "I mean,I would do that after what you did a while ago".He looked at him "Do you want me to abandon my own job just like that?What do you think of me,a simpleton who has no smarts to teach?",Seonghwa bit his lip "It's not like that,but I just don't want to see you exhausted mentally and physically.I know you're working hard for your finances and your tuition fee but we're also here to do that,we're not cheapskates".M/N sighed "Do you care about me that much,hyung?",San crossed his arms "Is that supposed to be something we should know,stupid?Of course,we do!Do you not remember when we protected you from being hit by a car last year?".M/N rubbed his forehead "I guess the stress really has got to me,I'm even forgetting everything that already happened to me that isn't related to teaching kids",Seonghwa wasted no time to get him into his arms and kissed the top of his head "It's okay,bub.You can rest now,there's no need to stress yourself out".M/N grumbled as he hid his face in his neck,clearly being the child he really was.

It didn't take long for the others to come around,the Ateez members left to give The Boyz some space and the Stray Kids members went to buy snacks just in case that M/N was a bit hungry.Haknyeon held M/N's hand tight as he let out the frustration he'd been bottling up,resulting into him crying rather heavily out of slight guilt and pain.Haknyeon struggled to formed words as he wiped his tears,M/N instantly sat up and hugged him "There's no need to cry,hyung.I know how it is to worry about me,I even become scared of myself whenever I work way too hard".Haknyeon stuttered as he spoke "W-w-why do you keep doing it then?",M/N sighed "I don't have any parents,I only have idols to depend on and I don't want to look so desperate.I have my dignity to consider as well,I'd only need your help when I'm in a desperate situation.I'm not in that kind of position right now so I'm keeping myself in my own boundaries for now,I'll be open with you one day".Kevin crossed his arms "Doesn't that mean you'll still be like this?",M/N sighed "As someone who's lost his parents to a fire,yes.There's nothing in this world that is free to be taken,I've learned that the hard way when I stole from the streets for the first time as a wandering kid".Juyeon's eyes filled with worry as he saw M/N bite his lip "Do you regret it?",M/N shook his head "I was lucky that the police couldn't enter the orphanage by force,or else I'd be embarrassing myself at such a young age and hate myself the entire time I was in the orphanage".He rubbed his neck before noticing Haknyeon was standing up "Hm,what's wrong?",Haknyeon spoke "I......I have to tell you something".He went to get something from his bag while M/N was pretty confused,Changmin hid his fear as he saw Haknyeon pull out a beige-colored folder from his bag,the older got out the pen and brought it to the younger.He opened it and saw the shock on M/N's face "Yeah......I already knew you'd react like that when you see this for yourself,I'm sorry",he explained everything as he saw him look at him with slight shock.However,the boys could see the slight doubt on specific someone's face.

After everything was said,M/N was in slight disbelief as he kept reading the document in front of him  "So....has the director known about this?".Haknyeon let out a soft sigh "Yeah,they just needed your signature and they could process everything to make you my unofficial son.Well,we also need to talk about how we'll change your name to make it match to mine if you ever want to do such a thing",M/N rubbed his neck as he was a bit doubtful about it "Well....I need to think about it,I can't just sign it right away because it's you we're talking about here".He put the document back in the folder and closed it,using the pen to hold it shut "I'll talk to you about this tomorrow,hyung".Haknyeon nodded "Whatever makes you feel comfortable,I'll go along with it",M/N placed the folder in the drawer by his side and yawned "Oh,I'm starting to feel a bit tired.I think I need to sleep".Haknyeon wanted to tuck him in but remembered about what he just did,he gave Kevin a stare and he was the one who did it instead.Needless to say,Haknyeon was more than scared since he knew what would happen to him if he was the one who did it.He sat by the window and looked at the view,he couldn't help but worry as he turned to M/N and could just imagine what he was thinking.

TIMESKIP

As the clock struck three o'clock in the afternoon,M/N was looking at the results of his tests and his face was very serious.Kevin looked worried as he saw how his face didn't bear any positive emotion,he spoke with slight fear "So...will you be alright?",M/N nodded "I'm just a bit more sensitive to stress and my nerves are easier to trigger,there's nothing to serious to watch out but I need to be careful with who I talk to.It doesn't help that I have short temper and barely any patience either,you already know how irritable I am to people who actually have the opposite personality as me.I'm talking about you,Juyeon-hyung".Hyunjae resisted to laugh as he saw the way that Juyeon reacted,on the other hand,M/N was looking at each detail before noticing the name of his medicine "Wait,am I just on pills?".His neurologist nodded "Yes,they're the most effective way to deal with your sensitive brain and nerves.We don't wanna aggravate them with any liquids,we can't risk it",M/N looked confused "Do you mean I just have to take three pills without drinking any water at all?".The doctor spoke casually "Don't worry,they're pretty tasteless since it's very popular with people who have the tendency to have very strong headaches.That also means nothing spicy,sour,bitter,or anything that has a lot of sugar and has energetic after-effects,that also means caffeine is not for you yet",M/N swallowed "Ah....no wonder I have such serious results,I have a pretty bad condition for a twenty year old".He gave his doctor the document but kept his own copy for his reference,he waited for him to leave before letting the boys see his test results for themselves.He laid down with his hands covering his face "I really wish I didn't need to go through this much stress,I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my own fear of being unable to have enough finances to use",Haknyeon read each word before speaking "Oh,dear.....we're really dealing with a serious mental condition.I can see what your neurologist meant,you have a lot of very high brain waves and your stress levels are unnecessarily high".M/N looked at him "Must your rub salt on the wound,hyung?I already know what I did,don't try to make this harder for me.I'm not allowed to be too stressed,it's already enough to send me into a strong headache",Hyunjae walked to him and pat his head "Just don't mind them,cupcake.There's no need to worry too much,we're here for you".He hugged him and hid his face in his neck,nestling it on his shoulder while feeling Hyunjae's hand on his back.The ten kept looking at everything,trying to think of ways they could help him to heal up.

Being the older brother he was,Hyunjae went into the bed and hugged M/N to help him fall asleep.He rubbed his back as he let him nestle in his arms,M/N hid his face in his chest while his hands rested on his stomach.Hyunjae pulled him closer while smiling "Haknyeon,how did you manage to befriend him when he was a kid and not just think about adopting him in the first place?",Haknyeon rubbed his neck "I don't really know,I just thought of him as a friend back then.Plus,he was such a shy child when we first met.He ran away when he bumped into me,but then apologized to me with a cupcake.The rest of that was history and I always visited ever since,yet he still doesn't change his perception of me.I'm still the hyung that he ran into,I don't even know if that's a good thing or a bad one at this point".He looked at the window and could remember the first day he met him,making him think : "I started all this,and I'll be the one ending it"