fever | ateez lore story

CH 1

wooyoung

Recess is..meh. Its even more meh since Yunho isn't here with us. I just hope he's okay, he hasn't been answering any of us.

"Quit sulking, Woo. You're going to get wrinkles" San teases, hoping to elicit some fiesty response from me. As fun as it would be, I can't get Yunho out of my head. As someone with a younger brother, I can't even imagine how hard it will be when I have to leave the country to tour once me and Yeosang debut. Being too busy with our schedules, I won't see him as often, anymore. Just the thought makes me super upset...I cant imagine what Yunho's going through right now.

"Missing Yunho?" Seonghwa asks softly. I nod, slowly looking up to see, not Seonghwa"s eyes, but the bangs covering them.

"Your hair's grown a lot, hyung. You should get it cut." I say, playing about with the fringe to get a glimpse of his large and round eyes. He quickly swats my hand away, fixing the bangs in a hurry to cover his eyes, again.

???

"Eh~ I-I wanna try long hair once, at least, before I cut it, you know?" he laughs, nervously...almost too nervously. He sounds...unsure. Maybe I'm wrong about it, but Seonghwa seems very unsure about himself.

"Whatever you decide to do with your hair, we'll love it either way." Hongjoong chimes in, the rest of us nodding in response. Seonghwa says nothing, but nods with his lips in a thin line.

I know that response. It's the most doubtful answer to any question.

Assumptions aside, I feel my phone ringing in my pocket, and I pull it out. My heart drops as I read Yunho's name with the puppy emoji next to it. It's been 2 weeks with no response. Seeing his name like this is like seeing an A+ grade in my maths tests.

I don't even wait a second to answer it, plugging the phone to my ear with a quick; "Yunho? Hello? Oh my gosh, so happy you called!"

-"Wooyoung! Is your new company looking for any recruits?"

:0...eh?

"Eoh?" I sound, making sure I heard him correctly. I shake it off, hoping I heard him wrong.

-"Are you okay? You havent responded to any of us the past 2 weeks. Are you feeling any better?"

There's a moment of silence before Yunho speaks; "I'm good. Now about your company-"

"Yah! We haven't heard from you for half a month and you're asking about being recruited in the company?" I scold, later realising how insensitive I sound. Hongjoong slaps my shoulder, mouthing a curse word to me. He demands for the phone, and we silently argue about it until I hear Yunho's voice again.

"I miss him, obviously. I've missed you lot, too. But I can't keep dwelling on it forever, otherwise it'll start to eat me up. Which is why, I'm trying to get recruited." he explains. I share a look with everyone around me.

"What is he on about?" I whisper to them, confused as to where this sudden decision came from.

"You think we know? Put him on speaker, dumb-ass." Hongjoong scolds. I throw him an offended look before doing as he says, Yunho's voice echoing in the empty classroom.

"What do you mean by 'recruited', hyung?" I question, everyone as confused as I am.

"To become an idol." he states bluntly.

Still confused. He contested very much to becoming an idol, no matter how many times me and Yeosang encouraged him. He has such a natural talent in music, and dont forget about his dancing. Pwoh, Yunho is a dancer, if I've ever seen one. But he did not like the idea of being followed 24/7 by a camera and being "jumped" by fans; he said that word specifically himself. I said he was overexaggerating, then he hit me with his book. Can't win an argument with him.

"But you never appealed to the idea. You said you hated the thought. And you always said you weren't talented enough for it." Yeosang says what's on my mind, and he's absolutely correct. I nod, oblivious to the fact Yunho cant see any of us.

"Not that it was true. You are so musically talented, hyung!" I add.

"I know, and I still do. But, Gunho's dream was to be on stage in front of thousands of people, to show the world his love for music and his devotion. Considering he can't finish that dream, I'd might as well do it for him." he explains. Silence befalls us, all of us sharing the same concern. As heart-warming as that sounds, once Yunho plays this out, he's not turning back from it. Who knows what he'll be facing once his name is out there. God knows whether or not he'll be able to handle it.

"One teeny-tiny moment, hyung." I sing before muting the microphone.

"He's not thinking straight." Jongho says immediately. He's not wrong. Yunho's making a very bold decision, which will change the trajectory of his life forever. Becoming an idol means giving up everything. It took me and Yeosang months to finally decide that was what we needed to do to chase our dreams. Yunho made this decision within 2 weeks. In other words, this decision is impulsive and not good, and I know impulsive decisions.

"He's grieving. I'd say give him time to think about it." San says, all of us nodding.

-"I've given it plenty of thought."

??? Did Yunho just respond?

Maybe we're hearing things.

"But maybe he's got a point. It may not be the best, but carrying on his brother's legacy? There is no way were talking him out of this." Seonghwa says.

-"There's not. Sorry, guys."

Now this is scary. The mute button is still on.

-"Turn your asses around, my goodness."

We hear a familiar voice behind us, and I almost crumble to the floor upon seeing Yunho's shoulders block the doorway of the classroom.

"HYUNG!" I cry, launching myself into his large figure. I can feel his slender arms return the hug, and I'm squished when the others copy my idea and gather into a hug.

"Would it of hurt to respond to our messages? Even if it was just one of us?" Hongjoong scolds, his class captainism playing in again. He doesn't mean it in a "I'm-telling-you-off" sense, he was only wondering, but regardless, I nod furiously, agreeing.

"Sorry." he says weakly. I don't think he intended to come into school today, but he did for us.

He looks up to find Mingi, not near but close enough to appreciate his arrival. His hands are stuffed in his pockets and his smile is one that gives off some form of uncertainty; whether he deserves to be greeted by Yunho or not.

Man, for such a big and scary guy, he sure is sensitive.

Yunho makes his way to Mingi, staring into his eyes as Mingi avoids his.

"Stop it. It wasn't your fault and it never will be." Yunho says softly, the rest of us gasping as Mingi sniffs.

"Mingi can cry?" Jongho teases before getting a smack from Hongjoong. That was kinda funny.

When neither Mingi or anyone else responds, I decide to add to the reassurance, even what he did was really unnecessary and dangerous. It can't be justified, but he had good intentions. He only cares for his friends, and a lot of people don't try to understand this side of Mingi. It's always "the school bully" or "the delinquent" or "the holligan", but it's never "Song Mingi" or "the weirdly tall guy in Class 4 who always has his ears plugged with earphones".

"Not your fault, Mingi!" I say, hoping to lighten the atmosphere thats awkwardly tense, yet, loving.