Note: LISTEN. The fic isn't doing the thing in the way I wanted, SO we're going to do something different. Here's the bullet points for the intended fic for this prompt. I need to cross off Feveruary before my brain will write anything else. So here goes:
Takes place a little around 2010-ish.
The SM leaders meeting runs over time. They usually do; the company has so many expectations, and often incites competition between the groups. It's exhausting.
As the meeting drags on, U-Know (Yunho) notices a worrying pattern appearing in Onew (Jinki). The usually cheerful, peace-keeping leader has gone silent, overly critical of himself, more easily overwhelmed.
Yunho fears the Two Year Curse is striking again. Two years into his tenure as leader, Yunho broke down from the stress. It wasn't pretty, but he ultimately emerged stronger for it. However, he hates that this appears to be a pattern in his dongsaengs, and has made it his mission to catch it early in others.
So, as a manager drives the two of them home, Yunho attempts to push the issue, but Jinki simply smiles him off (something Yunho, unfortunately, expected. He had, after all, been here before.)
Yunho then pretends to have left something important back at the company building, something that can't wait overnight, but asks the manager to drop Jinki off first, since they are close to the dorms. Jinki says he doesn't mind going back with Yunho, but the elder refuses.
Once Jinki is out of the car, Yunho asks the manager for a favor.
Jinki arrives back at the dorm and is received with joy from his members, that he acknowledges but quickly retreats from as he disappears into the shower.
After, this scene happens:
A few minutes after he’d heard the door close, Jonghyun stood from the couch and knocked on the door. “Hyung?” He got no response, so he pushed the door open slowly. Jinki was fast asleep on his bed, a small towel on the pillow under his wet hair. Jonghyun stepped forward, sitting down gingerly on the edge of the bed. Jinki didn’t move. “Jinki-ya?” Jonghyun rubbed the older boy’s shoulder until his eyes cracked open. “Hey hyung. You okay?”
Jinki nodded, pulling in a deep breath. “Yeah. Just tired.”
“Did you eat at the meeting?”
“No.”
“Then you should eat now.”
“I’m okay. Just wanna sleep.”
“Fine. I’m gonna make up a plate, though, so you can have it if you change your mind in the middle of the night.”
“Okay. Thank you, Jjong.”
~
When Jonghyun came back, water bottle and granola bar in hand, Jinki was asleep again. Jonghyun bit his lip, depositing his supplies on the bedside table. He ran a hand through the leader’s hair, fingers lingering on his forehead. He didn’t feel a definite fever, but still… something was off.
That night, Yunho texts Jonghyun, informing him about his scheme, which is to get Jinki a few days off to reset before a full breakdown can occur.
In the morning, Jonghyun gets the group ready to go while attempting to not wake up their leader. That, of course, doesn't work, and when Jinki asks what's going on, Jonghyun tells him, every so gently, that 'the boss called' and he's off today.
To which Jinki immediately tears up and asks "why? what did I do wrong?"
Cue a SHINee group hug, and somehow Yunho and Changmin get there, and Yunho explains that his is normal. It happened to him, and Leeteuk, and Taeyeon, and would happen to Victoria and every other leader after them.
