ATEEZ 9th Member AU

Lucky To Have Us

Nari's knee acts up again

"That was good! You faltered a little when you landed, but your form was perfect. Take a break, we'll try again in a minute." Byeol smiled at Nari. Nari nodded, chastising herself for messing up the landing again. It was her own fault though, she was lost in her head this morning that she had forgotten to grab her knee brace and now her knee was killing her.

She refused to look at it, not wanting to see just how bad it was. Instead, she placed her cold water bottle over it, hoping it would bring any bruising or swelling down. "You okay?" She jumped at Mark's voice and he chuckled. "Anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on people? I could've hit you." She said and he laughed, sitting next to her.

"You're too little to hurt me anyways." He teased and she punched his thigh and he feigned like it hurt. She rolled her eyes, wincing a little as she moved her knee. "What's wrong?" Mark asked, concern laced in his eyes and Nari shook her head. "Nothing. Knee's just bothering me a bit but I'll be fine. It's been nice having Byeol back."

Mark sent an adoring smile towards Byeol and Nari smiled at that. "Yeah. It has been." Nari could speculate there was a deeper meaning behind that, but she didn't want to push; it wasn't her business and she had been doing really well in keeping herself out of things that didn't concern her. It was a lot less stressful if she was being honest.

"Don't push it, okay? Byeol can be a little—airheaded. She barely notices when she's hurt let alone someone else." Mark said and Nari chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm fine, really. You helping today?" He shook his head. "Nope. Just gonna sit back, relax and watch two of my favorite girls flip around." Nari felt her cheeks heat up but turned her face away. Mark had always been good at making her feel flustered.

She stood up, feeling her knee give out a bit and she stumbled, but Mark caught her, standing her upright. "I think that maybe you should call it a day." His voice was laced with worry but Nari shook it off. She knew her limits and when she needed to stop and she was fine. "I'm fine, seriously. Don't worry. Just sit down and watch your two favorite girls work." She walked away from him, doing her best not to limp.

"Ready to try again?" Byeol said with a wide grin and Nari nodded, offering a matching one. They started again and Nari felt the pain in her knee getting stronger every time she landed. Then, it happened. She landed and collapsed, pain throbbing through her knee. "Are you alright?!" Byeol said, dropping to her knees next to her. Nari nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. Maybe she went just a little too far.

"I called in back up." Mark snorted, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. Nari picked her head up, about to ask him who until two people burst through the door. She groaned, letting her head fall back on to the matt. "I could've just gotten a taxi." She muttered and her member scoffed, leaning down to pick her up.

"Shut up, old lady." She glared at Yeosang and if she was being honest, she was a little surprised that he had been one to come and help her. He had apologized and they were working on their issues, but it was still awkward when they were together. However, hearing him teasing her was a relief she needed at the moment. "Kim Nari, I swear to Jesus, Joseph and Mary if your knee is broken again; you're not performing with us for a whole year."

"OPPA!" She screamed out at Hongjoong. He looked—understandably—pissed. "You can't just deicide that!" Hongjoong clicked his tongue, moving to help Yeosang hobble her over to her stuff. "Watch me." He glared at her and she pouted. "It really wasn't hurting that bad." She hissed as Yeosang practically ripped the leg of her leggings off. "OW! Stupid! Are you trying to break it again?!"

Yeosang scoffed, shaking his head. "You probably already did with it looking that way." She looked down and gulped. It definitely hadn't looked this bad in a while. It was black and blue and her hopes that her cold water bottle would bring down the swelling was short-lived. "It's probably the size of your head, Yeo." She said with wide eyes and he flicked her arm.

Hongjoong sighed, helping her stand up again. "You two can argue in the car, but we need to go. Manager is gonna have to take you to the hospital. You probably let fluid buildup again. Why didn't you say anything?" He continued on and on as she waved goodbye to Mark and Byeol and as Yeosang politely bowed to both of them. Nari sighed, leaning her head on Hongjoong's shoulder.

"Yes, Joong. I messed up, again. I know I'm always causing problems." She meant it in a teasing way, but her blue-haired leader stopped in his tracks, looking at her with a new kind of fury in his eyes. "Don't say stupid things like that." His voice was hard and cold but Nari could only help but smile at him. "I was kidding, oppa. But thank you." She said quietly and Hongjoong sighed, patting her head before continuing to walk.

"Hyung, maybe we should get her head checked out to." Yeosang said from behind them and she turned to look over her shoulder at him, sticking her tongue out. "Maybe yours. All that bleach must've gotten to your brain." She retorted and he rolled his eyes. Hongjoong groaned as he helped her into the car. "I think I liked it better when you two were fighting." He muttered and both of them turned to glare at him.

"DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!" They both yelled at the same time, causing their manager to jump from the sudden loudness and Hongjoong to rub his temples. "Hyung-nim. We need to go to the hospital. I'm pretty sure she has fluid in her knee again. Also, if you have earplugs, they'd be much appreciated." He said and Nari scoffed, crossing her arms and turning her nose up.

"You just can't seem to appreciate my humor." Yeosang hummed in agreement, copying her pose. "Seriously, hyung. We're two of the funniest in the whole group. You should be grateful to be in our presence." Hongjoong just groaned, pressing his forehead on the window and Nari giggled. She laid her head on Yeosang's shoulder and she felt him tense. "Sorry! I forgot that you don't' really like that." She said, sitting up.

Yeosang shook his head, forcefully pulling hers back down on to his shoulder. "It's fine. Just rest. I'll wake you up when we get there." She snorted, a smile on her lips. "Yeah, if you don't fall asleep too." He rolled his eyes but didn't argue back because she was right. He probably would fall asleep. Now that the worry about her being seriously injured again had dissipated, he felt exhausted. "Whatever, babo. Just sleep."

She snuggled into him and he let a small smile play on his lips. "Thanks. For coming." She murmured sleepily and Yeosang patted her good knee.

"I told you, I'm here. Always."