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A Little Worried

Little: Hyunjin

Caregiver: Felix

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Hyunjin groaned as he woke up to the sound of his alarm. Reaching over, he grabbed his phone to stop the annoying and repetitive sound and checked the time. 5:45am. Way too early to be awake, but with the amount of modeling gigs his company has booked him with he has no other choice but to be up so early in the morning.

Normally Hyunjin doesn't mind doing modeling gigs-he actually quite enjoys them-but lately he feels like he's been falling behind in dance practice. Hyunjin goes from gig after gig resulting in going to probably only half of their group practices. In turn, the lack of group practices fed into Hyunjin anxiety. He felt anxious knowing he wasn't there learning the new dances with everyone else, anxious knowing he was falling behind.

So, to combat his anxiety and compensate for time lost, Hyunjin has been doing his own personal practice late into the night, long after everyone had already gone home, pushing himself until he reaches his body's limit night after night. But despite this, the weight of his mounting anxiety never seemed to fade.

This kind of work usually has Hyunjin regressing at least every couple of days, but by spending any and all of his free time playing catch up he hasn't left any time for his headspace as of late. The familiar comfort of his safe haven had become an afterthought, replaced with the burning desire and obsessive need to catch up with his dancing. This cycle Hyunjin created has repeated itself over the course of these last couple weeks, and Hyunjin can tell he is almost at his breaking point.

With the absence of his regression Hyunjin felt like he was increasingly on edge. He knew that he needed to regress so he could unwind, to ease the stress he's put on himself, but the guilt and anxiety of not practicing gnawed at him. Even the thought of taking a long break had Hyunjins heart racing with worry, he couldn't imagine how anxious he would feel if he actually went through with it. But... maybe he could do both? If he feels anxious about not practicing, but knows that he will collapse from mental strain if he doesn't regress then maybe the solution is to regress and practice at the same time.

Technically, this is something Hyunjin isn't allowed to do, as one of his rules his hyungies set for him is to not work while he's regressed, but what the other's don't know won't hurt. Hyunjin mentally confirms this plan in his mind as he gets ready for the day, hoping that by the time he has his individual practice everything will run as smoothly as he hopes it will.

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That night, Hyunjin finds himself alone in the practice room as he had anticipated, all of his members probably long gone. To help him ease into his regression, Hyunjin brought along his favorite baby blanket that he's had since he was, well-a baby. Letting his mind slip into his headspace, Hyunjin got to work.

Shortly after, the studio was filled with a variety of sounds. The music bumping through the speakers combined with the soft echoes of his movements and the squeak in his shoes. Little Jinnie was doing his best in feeling the music like big Hyunjin would do, but it wasn't as easy as he was hoping it'd be. Most of the time he felt like he was playing catch up with the beat.

In an attempt to get back on the right count, Hyunjin had decided to try and skip some movements which he realized very quickly was ultimately not a good idea, In one mistimed step, Hyunjin's foot landed awkwardly against the floor of the room, and a shock of pain shot through his ankle. Crumpling to the floor, tears quickly welled up in Hyunjins eyes.

While his injury felt pretty painful, Hyunjin felt more fear and anxiety than actual pain. What should he do? He can't call his members and tell them, otherwise they'd know that he broke one of his rules and he'll get in trouble. But if he doesn't tell one of them then he'll be stuck in here overnight.