bang chan angst pls, i just love getting my heart sad
This request is such a mood lmao
He’s trying. He really is.
But god, it’s just so fucking hard to do this every day, over and over.
To wake up. To get out of bed. To put on a smile for the cameras, for the younger ones, for the fans. He was older than them - one of the hyungs. He shouldn’t be struggling as much as them, or more than them. He should be helping them! He was the team’s producer. He should be making music. Yet here he was, every night, letting the pain and the fatigue and the bucket load of sadness wash over him. It was like someone had poured tar over his body, drenching every bone and muscle.
He was supposed to be the one that looked out for others, so why was he here, trying so hard to look out for himself - god, shouldn’t that be a basic human thing? To be able to take care of yourself? Why was it so hard-
There’s light knocking at the door.
“Chan, baby, are you done?” You poke your head out from behind the door. “I’m about to head home…”
He spins around in his wheelie chair and pushes himself towards you. Had you not known him so well, you would have thought he wasn’t smiling… but it was there. The smallest quirk of the lips. It unnerved you to see the absense of his usual smile.
His arms wrap around your waist and he leans his head on your stomach. He lets out heavy breath, as if he’d been holding it.
“I need to finish up some stuff…”
“Can’t you do that tomorrow?” You thread your fingers through Chan’s hair, letting your nails drag lightly across his scalp. He lets out a satisfied sigh. “Come home with me, babe. It’s late.”
“I have other things to do tomorrow too, y/n.”
You try to hold back from pouting. “You always have something to keep you in the studio-”
“Do you think I have a choice, y/n ?” He snaps at you, pulling away to look up at you. You flinch slightly at his words.
You hadn’t intended to sound like you were guilt tripping him, but it must have come off that way. You could see how tired he looked, the exhaustion dimming his eyes. He let out a deep sigh before pushing the chair back and away from you.
“Sorry. You didn’t deserve that. I- I’m going to stay here. Go home, y/n.”
“Do you want me to stay with you-”
“No.” He was back in front of his laptop, head in his hands. “I don’t need any distractions.”
You take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Yes, Chan was acting weird and pushing you away. Yes, it hurt you… But he was right. This was his work, and his work took up most of his life. He didn’t really have much of a choice, right now.
“Don’t stay too late,” you say quietly before closing the door.
When you get home, it’s almost midnight. You wash up, and you’re in bed just past midnight. It was a little disheartening to not have Chan next to you, but it wasn’t anything new.
You fall asleep, not long after, hoping that you wake up with Chan next to you.
It’s two in the morning when you get the call.
The voice was familiar, but in your sleepy state, it takes a second to find the name.
“Chang- Changbin?” you rub your eyes, pushing yourself up. “I am, why?”
You can hear Changbin say something away from the phone, and someone reply in the background.
“Binnie, what’s going on? It’s…” you pull your phone away from your ear to check the time. “It’s ten-past-two.”
“Y/n, I’m in front of your house.” You hear a gulp before he continues speaking. “Chan… Look, don’t freak out, please. Chan… He’s in the hospital, and I thought that you should know, or that you might want to stay with him- Hey, are you okay?”
You’re trying to get out of bed. Your legs are tangled in the sheets, and when you kick the sheets off, you’re grabbing a jacket and making your way out. You throw your phone in your pocket, not bothering to end the call. You can faintly make out muffled noises from the phone, but your mind is too panicked to think.
Chan was in the hospital. He was in the hospital. Why was he in the hospital? You were with him a few hours ago-
You’re fumbling the keys as you try to unlock your front door. When you throw it open, Changbin’s standing there in sweatpants and a hoodie. He lowers the phone from his ear, his body relaxing.
“Don’t just stop answering like that-” He steps back in shock when you step out of the house, locking the door behind you.
“You’re taking me to the hospital, right?”
He nods, and leads you to the car. You recognise the driver as one of the managers, and he offers you a sympathetic smile. You climb in the back, suprised when Changbin get’s in after you - you had that he would sit at the front.
The first few minutes are silent. You’re in shock, and your ears are ringing. This had never happened before. Your hands were clammy, and you wipe them on your pants. Your fingers find a distraction in twisting the fabric, but there was nothing besides your own conscious effort to keep your breathing steady.
“I went to get something, and I- I saw him laying on the desk. I thought he was asleep, but he wouldn’t wake up no matter what I did, so I…” He trails off, sounding helpless. “He’s been working so much these days. He’s still there, some mornings. He has a blanket and pillow kept in the cupboard.”
Your heart breaks at this piece of information. You had always thought that he just slept at the dorms when it was late, because the dorms were closer than your shared apartment. But he’d stayed at the studio, alone.
You can’t help but feel angry at yourself. “I was there a few hours ago. I should have tried harder to get him to come home, or I should have insisted on staying. God, if i was with him then maybe this wouldn’t have-”
“Hey, hey, it’s not your fault.” Changbin reaches out and places a hand on your shoulder. “Chan’s normally good at taking care of himself. No one could have seen this coming-”
“I should have seen it, ‘Binnie. I should have. He was exhausted when I saw him. He wasn’t-” You wipe your eyes. You would not cry. Not now. “He barely smiled and I don’t- I don’t even think he was breathing properly-”
You’re crying, and Changbin can only hand you a box of tissues.
“It’s nothing too serious to worry about… He just needs rest. A lot of rest and nutrition. We’ve given him an IV and he’s okay…” The nurse hugs the clipboard to her chest. “It was nothing serious, in the first place. He just fainted from fatigue.”
“Thank you.” Changbin bows as the nurse walks off, closing the door behind her. “Y/n, do you want me to go?”
You’re frozen still, barely registering Changbin’s words. In front of you on white sheets was Chan, his head tilted slightly away from you. His arms rested atop the blanket of the bed, the surgical tape holding the IV needle in place almost the same colour as his skin.
The door opens and shuts behind you, and you finally sink into the chair next to the bed. You take one of his hands - cool, not quite warm yet - in yours, holding it with both hands. Your thumb jumps from knuckle to knuckle, something that you and Chan had started doing since you started dating.
It was heartbreaking to see how peaceful he looked in the hospital bed. All the tension that had been in his features a few hours ago was gone, and his breath came out evenly.
Was asleep the only way he could really be at peace?
Tears blur your vision, and you swear under your breath as you wipe them away.
You eventually fall asleep with your head on your arm, hands still clasping Chan’s. You don’t wake up when he finally opens his eyes, blinking blearily down at the head of hair next to him. He gently frees his hand, and strokes your hair.
“I’m so sorry that you have to see me like this, y/n.”