Sunshine's Secrets {NCT Donghyuck/Haechan}

Chapter 10: Jisung the expert

Cold silence

Jisung and Mark each held his hands as the other hyungs treat every cut and wound littered all over his body frame. He's slightly shivering because he's stripped to his boxers. He kept his eyes close the entire treatment, not wanting to see what and who produced the faint sobs and whimpers around him, but Donghyuck knows which sound belongs to which hyung anyway.

"H-hyuckie, I call the manager to inform you're not feeling well so you could just rest okay?" the latter snaps his head at the sound of his leader, eyes filled with disbelief "What? But I'm fine! I don't have to skip anything, there's no reason for me to back out of schedules" he's clearly upset already, but this is annoying him.

"You're...not hyuck, you need to rest." But the vocalist just groans in frustration, "This is why I don't tell, you don't understand, nobody does" he mumbles. "Hae-" the boy glared at Dooyoung shutting him up, "No, don't call me that...that person......I'm not him, I can't even be him" Johnny sighs, "We're helping you, and now we're saying the first step is to rest. You're tired, get some rest if not for yourself than do it for us"

"Hyung, he's.... right. Yes, he's tired but not in the way you think" Jisung says as he helps his hyung slip on a shirt. "We know Jisung, he's mentally tired." Taeyong answers, rolling his eyes. "I'm still here you know? Fine, I'll stay out of outside schedules, but I'm still going to Dream's vocal lessons and dance practices" the older ones are hesitating to give permission, Donghyuck's previous words are still lingering in their minds.

"I want to die, I was planning to kill myself"

Taeyong truthfully doesn't want his baby, his sunshine, out of his sight. Too worried, scared, he wouldn't know what he'll do if...if they hadn't known about this. "Let him, I'll make sure he's taking it easy" Jisung offered. "Okay that settles it" Mark chimes, "Are you seriously letting Jisung, the maknae out of everyone to babysit me?"

"No, you're not going anywhere. Mark doesn't get to decide for you, you're staying at the dorms and that's final" Taeyong states, firm in his voice. "Hyung, trust me when I say, that'll do more harm than good" Jisung speaks up, and Taeyong was so surprise seeing the maknae so serious. "Jisung, listen, I know you want to help but hyung knows what's best-"

"Hyung, do you even know anything about high-functioning depression?" Donghyuck glared at the maknae. "I don't have such thing" Taeyong looked stunned at the maknae, mostly because he pulled out a big word and that he doesn't know what that is but he does know Depression. "Illness hyung, it's not a choice. It isn't wrong or weak to have it"

"Taeyong," Dooyoung started, "Maybe let him explain why we should let Hae-hyuckie go?" the leader thinks about it for a moment. "Fine" Donghyuck stared at them, completely annoyed now "I don't get a say in this?"

"Excuse me hyung, someone struggling with high-functioning depression experiences many of the symptoms of depression, but less severely. This allows the person to be able to function mostly normally, performing well, keeping up with responsibilities." Donghyuck raise an eyebrow at that, did he just pluck that one out of a random website?

"The mind is the main problem and the thing is Donghyuck hyung clearly uses schedules as distractions from his mind, aka the less ugly coping mechanism than what you saw. Keeping him at the dorms will get him to overthink things. And one thing will lead to another......you get the idea. I'm there, I'll make sure he doesn't overdo it"

Johnny pats the maknae's back, "You grew up too fast" a fond smile on his lips, Taeyong sighs and looks at Dooyoung. The other gives a reluctant nod, "Fine"