(ON HOLD) Signs of Destruction // Chanyeol + Ot9

VIII - Concert

Chanyeol woke up in cold sweat, quickly getting up from his bed, running to the bathroom, not having time to close the door as he crouched on top of the toilet, spitting out the acids of his stomach. He was sure someone had woken up from the noises he made, and sure enough Minseok was soon by his side, rubbing his back carefully as he sighed deeply, followed by Baekhyun who was now leaning on the doorframe, glancing at the digital clock on the small counter that showed 5:12 am, and rubbed his eyes.

"Feeling any better now?" Minseok whispered as Chanyeol wiped his mouth and flushed the toilet, leaning on the cabinet behind him as he nodded. The disgusting feeling of his stomach turning around was gone, but he still felt weak and somehow distant of his own body.

"I really don't think you should perform today..." Baekhyun's voice was full of worry as he stepped inside the small tiled room, closing the door behind him.

"I don't have a choice, unless I have a deathwish... And I'll be fine, just gotta remember to drink enough and.... Eat something." Even the thought of eating food made Chanyeol feel sick all over again, and soon he was bent over the toilet bowl again. Minseok and Baekhyun shared worried glances between each other while Chanyeol wasn't looking, but it was true: Chanyeol couldn't just not perform.

After spending at least half an hour in the small crowded room, the three males got up, helping the tallest one back to bed with a medicine that was supposed to help his stomach to settle, until they went to lay down too. But neither Baekhyun nor Minseok could catch sleep anymore, feeling too uneasy about the incoming performance from exitment but also having never settling worry for their rapper.

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Chanyeol was told to take the practise easily, to not strain himself since they had a performance later, so he didn't. He went through each of their choreography once or twice, even though he wasn't exactly confident of being able to perfect them on the stage under the burning spotlights, like he was expected to do, but that was just what he had to do.

Now he was playing with his fingers nervously while sitting next to the younger rapper in the middle seats of the van that was taking them to the concert place. They'd still have a few hours time, but the turning and swaying car surely didn't make Chanyeol feel any better.

"Are you okay? You look really pale..." Yixing asked seeing he had turned around on his seat to see how the sick member was doing. Chanyeol just pressed his lips into a thin line as they went from a few bumps, making Sehun look at him worriedly too, placing his hand on the other's forehead.

"I'm fine..." Chanyeol muttered when he was sure nothing would happen as he opened his mouth. He pressed his nails to his palms, leaning his head on them for a moment trying to ease up the feeling.

"He's still burning up... Not as badly as earlier, but it's not really good either..." Sehun mumbled worry evident in his voice. But no one could say anything to it. It was an order from higher aspect that he was going to perform, and he was not going to disobey.

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Chanyeol was pacing around in the backstage, cold sweat forming on his forehead regardless of the suit he had on. He was fixing his ear plugs, making sure that they were fine, while the make up artists and hairdressers running around him, trying their best to fix his appearance and make him look like nothing was wrong. As the countdown for the stage performance began, Chanyeol could only hope that nothing would happen while on stage.

They had had a soundcheck and dress rehearsal earlier and it was confirmed that the stage had stairs going down from the end, so that it would be possible for them to run down at one point, and borrowing Junmyeon's words, for Chanyeol to get out if it became crucial.

It's just one concert, once it's done, I'll get rest at least I'm losing weight like this Chanyeol thought to himself as he jumped up and down a few times, before getting ready to go on stage. The fans' screams could be heard already, making each of the members smile enthusiastically. Baekhyun and Minseok gave Chanyeol a last encouragement by patting his back softly, before they stepped in front of the blinding spotlights to the stage.

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~Note! The following event is based on the Mama 2014 performance, but is no way significant to that time or the actual event. In here it's just a normal concert with ot9 EXO, I just used the Mama incident since there hasn't really been anything else happening to Chanyeol on stage.~

After a few songs were gone, Chanyeol was already full on sweaty, quickly grabbing the waterbottle Yixing handed him, walking a bit back from the others to get out of the brightest lights. He felt like he could faint any moment now, body half numb and burning from the fever, throat dry as a sandpaper, eyes twisting the actual scenery in front of him. He got worried glances from the members, but assured them with a wave of hand and a smile. He'd be able to go till the end.

Or so he thought. But as they were performing Overdose, he could feel a wave of nausea hit him, and the world seemed to swing in his eyes. They would have a change of outfit before the next song, and a short break while Kai was performing, but Chanyeol wasn't sure if he'd be able to go back on stage. He sighed from relief as they rushed down the stairs, quickly stumbling to the bench beside the stage, holding his head and heaving, feeling like he could throw up any minute now. The staff rushed to him, fanning him with their hands and fans, giving him a water bottle and loosening the neck of his shirt. Chanyeol knew he had been caught by the fans by now and would be in the news, so he knew he had to continue the concert till the end. He listened to the beat of Kai's performance beginning, getting up to get changed by the help of a staff member.

They didn't have many songs left anymore, so Chanyeol pushed himself to the limits, not messing up even one bit of lyrics. But it got it's toll on him, and once they were finally done with the songs and goodbyes, Chanyeol stumbled off the stage with staggering steps, holding on to Sehun once they got out of the public eye. Sehun quickly wrapped his hand around Chanyeol's shoulders, leading him to the nearest sofa, helping the jacket off of him while Jongin bought him a bottle of water. Chanyeol gladly took the bottle, even though he was contemplating could he even hold it with his trembling hands.

It didn't take long for the manager to run to him, shooing away the other worried members, asking what was going on and why couldn't Chanyeol perform well, or why didn't he say it was that bad etc, going on and on about showing fans the good side of him instead the sick him, but if being honest, Chanyeol couldn't concentrate on his words well. It was like his mind sucked in the words, turning and twisting them into wicked things that were nothing like the reality. The constructive criticism turned into mockery that was dragging him down on self confidence. But it was right wasn't it? He deserved to be told off stuff that he didn't do well.

Those thoughts clouded his mind, making his surroundings hazy till he was safely back in his bed with the help of others.

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Sorry about the shitty chapter I wrote this in my English classes and paying attention to what I was writing was sometimes a bit hard but I hope you enjoyed, I'll make the next chapter better and try to go forward in this story a bit I just have the problem that I don't want to go forward too fast, only to realize that the story isn't literally even going forward.

If you have any ideas on how to make this better, don't hesitate to tell me!