The continuation of Believe. requested by 

It happened again.

Yunho sighed as he looked down at the back of his left hand that had an IV needle as he slumped backwards, landing softly onto the pillow that had stacked behind him, the nurse had tilted up the upper bed moments ago. Yunho huffed, remembering what happened that had landed him in the hospital, again.

He had been feeling unwell 3 days ago and told the others. They believed him, but his fever wasn't that high thus he decided to just go along with them for schedules but the manager had given him special privileges, where he could stop anytime while recording or filming if he felt too tired to do so.

It was fine for the first 2 days, the other members, including his boyfriend, had treated him well, letting him rest and all whenever he needed it. The 3rd day where the problem arised. Things had gone bad since morning, everyone seems so stressed out because they didn't get enough sleep the previous night, unlike Yunho, who the manager had sent him to the bed before midnight with medication.

All of them minus Yunho had a scowl on their faces,all piled up in the big van enough for 10 making Yunho a bit guilty because he get to sleep earlier but really, his fever is still there so it wasn't much but he still felt guilty and tried to cheer his members up, by softly telling them, "You guys should sleep for a bit, we have 1 hour to the venue. I'll wake you guys up when we arrive."

Really, Yunho was just being nice, like he always does but the members took it as he was mocking all of them.

"Yeah, says you who get to sleep before midnight." Wooyoung scoffed, making Yunho gaped a little at him.

"Baby, just be quiet, you're not exactly helping right now." Mingi huffed as San nodded his head, agreeing with Mingi. "W-what do you mean by that?"

"We have to double the progress whenever you're not with us. So really, we're tired because of you too."

Yunho blinks at them and looks over to Mingi, hoping that his boyfriend doesn't agree with what San had said but then he remembered what Mingi had said too. "Y-you think that this is my fault too, Min?" Yunho whispered to Mingi and shockingly, Mingi nodded his head before huffing, "Yeah. Now just be quiet or you'll make it worse."

Yunho stayed silent for the entire ride and for the whole day too.

Yunho also forced himself to finish everything that day, lying to his manager that he's feeling better and that he could finish their schedules. Which led him to faint after the last schedule, while walking to their van to go back home. His fever spiked because he didn't let his body rest. Yunho didn't even remember what happened and he woke up alone in the hospital.

He sighed, staring at the white ceiling before he heard his door opened. Yunho weakly look over to the door and saw his manager walking towards him quietly. Yunho lips wobbled when he caught his manager's face. I'm in trouble again aren't I..? All you did was giving everyone a hard time, Yunho. Yunho thought before he burst into tears, spurting apologies to his manager. "M'sorry hyung.. I..T-they.. I d-didn't want to give them a h-hard time.."

To Yunho's shock, his manager didn't yell at him, he went to Yunho and sat next to the distressed boy instead and pulled him in gently, making Yunho cry even more in his manager's neck. "Am I in t-trouble again, hyung..?" Yunho mumbled, laying his head on his manager's shoulder. "You're not, pup. I'm angry at your boyfriend and your members, not you."

"Why..? I'm the one that makes a lot of trouble.."

"Because they pushed you to the edge, that's why. They shouldn't have said those things to you earlier because I know that they know you would do anything to please them. You're sick with fever, pup. You shouldn't even be present in these schedules but I let you because you begged me and you promised me that you would tell me if you're getting worse." His manager huffed, flicking Yunho's nose, gently, to indicate that he's a bit disappointed with him as he lied being better.

The manager caressed Yunho's hair quietly until Yunho started to speak.

"...Hyung?"

"Hmm?"

"Am I a bad person..?"

"What? What makes you think that, pup?"

"...I can't help feeling like I am.. All I did was give them a hard time with schedules.."

"You can't help with your low immunity system, pup. That's not your fault."

"...I don't know.. It feels like.. I'm not good enough... Am I hyung? Am I not good enough for Ateez anymore..?" Yunho mumbled, his eyes already full of unshed tears, looking very dejected.

"Who gave you all of these ideas, Yunho? Not good enough? Did someone tell you something that I didn't know of?"

"...No one.. I thought about it myself.. I mean I always fall sick and have to stay in the dorm and it makes things hard for the others as they have to reschedule everything and such.."

"I repeat it again, that is not your fault, pup."

"....But M-mingi and the others never said that to me.. Maybe they feel the same way as I am..? That I'm just a nuisance in Ateez.."

"Okay, stop right there, pup." His manager said, pulling himself a bit to look at Yunho properly. Yunho avoided his manager's eyes, looking at the blanket pooling at his waist instead. "You thought that you're a nuisance in Ateez?"

A small nod.

"And what will you do about it?"

"....leave..?"

His manager widened his eyes before composing himself and asked Yunho again, "How long did you feel this way, pup?"

"...I don't know when it started.. but it's been months.."

Yunho felt his manager cupped his face gently, and gave him a small kiss on top of Yunho's head making the younger burst into tears again, burying his face in his manager's neck once more. "I d-don't want to l-leave.. I l-love them so m-much hyung.. but i-if me l-leaving will help Ateez t-then I'm willing t-to do so.."

"No. You're not leaving Ateez. We're going to help you but I need you to be strong. Okay? Can you do that, pup?"

Yunho chewed his lower lips, the habit he had whenever he's thinking hard or nervous. "W-what should I d-do?" Yunho whispered as he fumbled with his fingers, minding the IV drip on the back of his left hand. His manager thread his fingers through Yunho's lock gently, "First, we need to get your mindset right again. You'll need some therapy, pup. Will you do it? This is for your own good."

Yunho frowned. Therapy? Why..? "Why..?" Yunho voiced his question out loud.

"Because you need to know that all of this is not your fault and how you should think about yourself more than the others."

"....Okay.. I'll do it.." Yunho exhaled a long deep breath, looking at his manager with a new strong will which made his manager smile, ruffling his hair softly. "Second, we need to teach your members a lesson." Yunho tilted his head at that, staring at his manager with a very confused look. "How..?" Yunho mumbled with a pout.

"Trust me. Okay?"

"...Okay."

--

"What do you mean we can't go see Yunho??" Hongjoong looked at their manager, perplexed by what he just told them. His manager had his arms cross over his chest, looking at them with disappointment and nodding his head at Hongjoong's question. "You heard me right, all of you are forbidden to go see the pup until further notice."

"Not even at the dorm..?" Seonghwa asked quietly, he had known this thing would happen, all of them always took their rage towards Yunho just because that boy is the softest of them all. Seonghwa had reprimanded the others especially San and Mingi but they scoffed him away, only Yeosang seems to agree with him that they are being at it again with Yunho.

"Not even at the dorm. He'll be staying at a different dorm until we sort all of this out."

"It's that bad..?" Yeosang muttered while trying not to yell at the others for doing this to Yunho, again. Seriously, only Seonghwa and Yeosang who figured out months ago that they always took advantage of Yunho softness and both of them had stopped doing so but the others still couldn't see that Yunho was not alright, not even his goddamn boyfriend realized about it.

"It's already a mild one. We don't want it to reach the high line so the higher ups agreed to do this."

"What do you mean?" Mingi frowned as he didn't understand any of it.

"We did this to him, Mingi. No. You guys did this to him. Me and Seonghwa hyung had tried telling you guys to stop but you guys didn't." Yeosang huffed and rolled his eyes when the others only gave him a confused stare.

"He wanted to leave Ateez." The manager suddenly announced, making the others widened their eyes and gasped. "We took him to the psychiatrist and the result was Yunho is currently having a mild depression and anxiety. He thought that all of this was his fault, that his low immunity system is his fault. He even thought that he is only a nuisance in Ateez. Now tell me, how did he come to think like that? That boy was a ball of sunshine since he entered KQ but look at him now? Who's fault is that? Any idea boys?"

Everyone lowered their gaze to the ground, finally understood what was happening.

"When will you boys realize that words could damage a person? Do you want something serious to happen to Yunho to finally wake up? You guys could say that it wasn't your intention or you didn't mean any of your words the next day after you spewed nonsense to the poor boys but do you realize what it does to Yunho? He told me he kept hearing those words even after you guys apologize and that he couldn't stop it and it's only getting worse because he believed those words with all of his heart."

"B-but we apologized to him!" San retort, still having his pride and ego on the line.

"You think that will solve what you brats did to him?? YOU BOYS INSULTED HIM, SPEWING NONSENSE TO HIM, HURT HIM WITH WORDS AND PUSHED HIM TO THE EDGE WITH YOUR FUCKING MOUTH. DO YOU REALLY THINK AN APOLOGY CAN MAKE IT BETTER?" The manager hissed and took a deep breath to calm down. "Not to mention, you guys did this all the time. It's not a one time thing, these had been going for months. You guys broke him down and expect for him to heal the same without any marks left in him? You broke a fucking plate and even if you glued them back together, you could still see the lines marred the once broken plate. Just because Yunho didn't say anything to any of you, that didn't mean it didn't leave scars in him!"

"C-can't I go see him for a while, hyung? Please?" Mingi pleaded, wanting nothing but to be on his knees and begging Yunho to forgive him for being such an asshole towards his own baby, again. "No, he doesn't want to see you right now. He told me that he always ALWAYS thought that you'll be at his side, defending him from the others' harsh words but you joined them instead. He doesn't even know if he is truly your 'baby' or 'boyfriend' anymore Mingi."

Mingi bit his lips, swallowing the sob that threatened to come out of his mouth. There's no use crying right now, he's fucking too late. "I'm so so sorry baby.." Mingi whispered to himself as the others, minus him, Seonghwa and Yeosang tried to talk to their manager in letting them see Yunho.

"No means no. Maybe 2 months without Yunho will finally open your eyes. Yes, boys. Yunho will take 2 months of hiatus from Ateez and KQ and it's not even the final decision, we'll see how he fares after 2 months and decides after. As of now, you'll continue to promote with 7 members." The manager stated. "And maybe all of you will have some therapy sessions as well, no excuses. If you want Yunho back, then you guys have to work for it and make sure that none of this will happen again. Ever."

--

[BREAKING] YUNHO OF ATEEZ WILL BE ON HIATUS TO RECOVER FROM HEALTH ISSUES, ATEEZ TO CONTINUE PROMOTING WITH 7 MEMBERS!

--

"...So I'm not a nuisance in Ateez..?" Yunho mumbled, playing with his sweater paws as he sat on the couch in the living room, his knees close to his chest. The psychiatrist had come to the dorm where Yunho is staying as it makes Yunho less anxious than the actual office.

"No, pup. You're not a nuisance. You are just a very nice boy. Too nice, pup."

"...Because I love them.."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that you could sacrifice everything for them and didn't get anything in return. Love is a big word so they have big responsibilities too. When you love, you have to give and take, you can't only do one of it, you have to do both. It's the same for the others too. When you only give but you don't take, it won't work, it's the same vice versa."

"...I don't know what to do.." Yunho mumbled, his lips wobbled as tears ran down on his cheeks and he shakily wiped it with his sweater paws. He missed them, but he needed to do this right and only then he could see them again. He missed Mingi so much and even though Mingi had hurt him again, he still loves him.

"You need to start focusing on yourself. Your well-being and the love you have for yourself."

"H-how do I do that?" Yunho sobbed, pulling his knees even closer to his chest and huffed, putting his chin on his knees.

"For now, take care of yourself. Eat properly, relax your body and mind. Do something that makes you happy. Don't think about your boyfriend and members for now. You have to focus on yourself first."

"...I'll try.."

--

The practice studio seems so quiet now, all of the members quietly get on with their routine, none of them tried to cheer the others as usually it would be Yunho's job. They painfully realized how Yunho was the one who always cheered them up without asking, throwing his body into doing anything that could make them laugh and do practices without stress.

They started practicing after Hongjoong told them to and after 4 hours of dancing, Hongjoong stops the music as the others sprawled on the floor, trying to catch their breaths. "I can't get the footing right!! Yunho you have to help me after this, please!" Wooyoung yelled suddenly while lying on the floor before he remembered that Yunho is not there with them. "Oh.. Nevermind.."

The members sighed, it's not the first time someone slipped about Yunho and it made them realize how important Yunho is in their lives but they fucked it up and couldn't do anything about it for now.

"I want Yunho hyung back.. I missed him.." Jongho mumbled while playing with the hem of his shirt. He might be one of the members that didn't throw some harsh words towards Yunho, but he didn't stop the others either so he felt like he's in the wrong too. "We all do, Jongho-ya. We all do.." Seonghwa said, patting Jongho's head.

"Mingi, Yunho didn't reply to your messages or pick up your call? At all? Not even once?" San asked and everyone suddenly looked at Mingi with expectations but they all sigh when Mingi bit his lips, shaking his head. "No.. I don't think his phone is with him.."

"Can't we do something? Anything?" Wooyoung said as he really missed his friend and wanted to apologize on his knees so badly. Hongjoong had been quiet since Yunho's hiatus, he only talk when needed and he usually spent his time in his studio, trying to take off his mind how he is a bad leader, that he didn't see how Yunho was struggling to the point that he fell into depression but he did went to the manager and ask about Yunho's well-being whenever he could.

"The right thing to do now is to let Yunho be. He needs to recover from us. Unless, if Yunho asked for us then we could go see him. For now, we should do our job properly, go to the therapy and start to mind our words whenever we talk." Hongjoong said after minutes of silence in the studio.

"Yeah, and we really need to remember not to lash out at people whenever we're tired because even if you like it or not, they are tired too and maybe more, for example like Yunho, he had a fever, yet he still came with us and just because manager hyung sent him to sleep earlier than us, that doesn't mean that he's fully rested. His body still needs to fight the fever. For fuck sake, if I'm having a fever I'm sure as hell don't want to go to schedules and just sleep for 3 days straight but what did Yunho do? He fucking go through with most of our schedules yet we still had the nerve to yell at the pup just because we had to re-organize some of the dance or some shit for the recording." Yeosang reprimanded his members making San, Wooyoung and Mingi feel guilty once more.

--

2 months turns into 4 months and the members are becoming less productive because really, it's not the same anymore without Yunho. They had begged their managers everyday by now, to let them go see Yunho but they still won't let them and it's taking a toll on them.

Until one day, on their off day, while they lazily sprawled in front of the TV, the door to their dorm opened and Yunho slowly walked in and quietly waited for them to be aware of him.

"YUNHO!?!" Mingi shouted a few seconds later, running towards him but faltered for a bit, he didn't know if he could hug his baby. Everyone else had stood up but they remained where they stood, and half of them had unshed tears in their eyes.

Yunho bit his lips before looking at Mingi first then to the others, giving them a small smile, "I-I'm back.." he muttered softly and he nodded his head at Mingi when he saw how Mingi twitched to stop himself from hugging him. Mingi didn't make a move until Yunho opened his arms, inviting Mingi to hug him.

Yunho sobbed into Mingi's neck once the latter had wrapped his arms around Yunho's waist, pulling him in, "I'm b-back M-min.. I m-missed you.. So m-much.." Mingi tightened his hold on Yunho, giving Yunho a soft kiss on his head several times while he sobbed quietly. "Welcome back, baby. I missed you so much too. I'm so sorry for being a bad boyfriend. I understand if you don't want to be mine anymore, bub, but if you just let me make it right again, I swear I won't disappoint you ever again. I've learnt my lesson the hard way.."

Yunho smiled, pulling away from Mingi's neck and wiped the tears on Mingi's cheeks, "I'll only give you one more chance, Min. If you blew this, I won't give you another."

"And he's very serious about that. Don't play with him anymore because he's not the soft Yunho that you boys once knew. He knew where he stood and knew what is his value and if he thinks it's better for him to leave, he will leave and I won't stop him." the manager said from behind Yunho making Mingi nodded his head determinedly.

"Thank you baby, I'll make this right." Mingi said softly, giving a small kiss on Yunho's forehead making the latter blushed, nodding his head. Yunho then looked over to the living room and found how the other members all had tears on their faces so he gave them a smile, opening his arms again and all of them ran towards him forming a big group hug where Yunho is in the middle of them all.

The manager had told Yunho how the members were, they went to therapy, never missing it, they started to mind their words when talking and they no longer blame anyone when they had tough schedules. That was why Yunho deemed it safe for him to go back and their higher ups agreed. They also had written a bunch of letters to Yunho, giving it to the manager and Yunho had read each one of them and knew that his members are truly reflecting on their wrong-doings.

Now is their time to heal together and Yunho knows that they will be alright. Ateez will be alright.

Hongjoong pulled away from hugging Yunho, but he had a big teary smile on his face and he looked over to Yunho and each of his members' faces.

"Dul Set!"

Everyone including Yunho gave him a big smile,

"8 makes 1 team!"