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The atmosphere was oppressive. The pain could be felt even in the air, not to mention the six pairs of glass eyes.
Heeseung was pulling things out of the closet, holding back the trembling in his hands. In the last week, the dorm was quiet, which was too unnatural for the group. Jay had bruises under his eyes, and his smile didn't reach his eyes. Sunghoon and Jake did not leave each other's side, constantly looking for physical contact and quiet support. Sunoo and Jungwon sincerely tried to support everyone, including Heeseung himself. They cooked, joked, and tried to eliminate the burden of the future.
Ni-ki had the worst time of all. It was no secret that maknae loved his eldest hyung very much, and the information about his departure broke the boy. Heeseung could have sworn that he had never seen anyone so hysterical. Heeseung's heart was broken by one phrase: "Hyung, tell me, is this just the most disgusting joke? I won't be offended, I promise!"
And in the last week, he no looked like himself. Pale, with dark circles under the eyes and a blank stare. He didn't turn away from Hisung. No, on the contrary. He clung to him so desperately at any moment, as if to lose sight of him-to let him go forever and never see him again.
It was painful for Heeseung to see his family break down. He knows that deep down everyone supports him and doesn't hold a grudge, but they all need time to come to terms with this situation.
Heeseung folded the T—shirts carefully, trying not to think that every touch of the fabric was a farewell.
The door creaked. Ni-ki stood in the doorway, his tall stature hunched under an invisible weight.
"Hyung," his voice was a thin thread, ready to break. "Today, Jake-hyun, Sunghoon-hyun, and I went to that bakery, remember, with strawberry eclairs? You always gave me two."
He paused, gulping for air, and his fingers unconsciously rubbed the seam on the sleeve of an oversized hoodie.
"Jake-hyung said I ate four. And Sunghoon... Sunghoon just bought a whole box and silently placed it in front of me."
The tears he had been so desperately holding back broke in a quiet, treacherous stream down his cheeks. He wiped them away abruptly with his fist, as if angry at his own weakness.
"I'm sorry. Sorry, I don't… I just can't do it. Without you in the studio. Without your laughter, when I can't come up with a choreography again. It's all going to fall apart, Hyung."
Heeseung put down his folded T-shirt. His movement was slow and precise as he closed the distance between them and hugged Ni-ki, pressing the younger's head against his shoulder. The trembling coming from the frail body echoed in his own chest.
"I'm not going to the other side of the world, Riky. My studio will be in the same building, two floors up. I'll go to the bakery with you every weekend. You'll rush in to me when you're having a creative crisis and you can't come up with new moves. I'll come to you when Jake wants to experiment with food again and all the floors will stink of burning."
Heeseung gently lifted the younger's head, wiping away the tears that wouldn't stop.
"I'll be there to watch your every success, shout your names to the crowd of fans, and be proud to think that the boys I raised have grown so big."
Ni-ki burst into tears harder, hugging Heeseung.
The door opened softly, letting in a wave of heavy air. Jay was the first to stand on the threshold, his usually gentle gaze glazed with pain. When he saw the scene, he swallowed hard, but he couldn't stop his lips from trembling. The others followed him like shadows: Jake, who was already wiping his cheek with his fist, Sunghoon with reddened eyelids, Sunoo, who clenched his jaw until it cracked, and Jungwon, whose face was wet with tears.
The silence was broken by Sunghoon. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around both the sobbing Ni—ki and their creator of hopes and dreams, Heeseung. His embrace was steely, as if trying to bind reality. The others followed him.
"Stupid," Heeseung whispered, and his voice, always so confident, cracked. He pressed his palm to the back of Ni-ki's head, and hugged Sunghoon with his other hand. "I'm not disappearing. I'll just... look at you from a different place."
Jake leaned his forehead against his shoulder, hiding his face, and his shoulders were shaking slightly. Unable to speak, Sunoo just nodded, squeezing Hyung's hand as if it were a talisman. The close circle smelled of expensive perfume, tears and grief, which was as sharp and physical as a cut.
"Promise… that you'll be coming," Jungwon breathed out, his fingers timidly touching Hisung's sleeve.
Heeseung slowly looked at each face, these features that had grown before his eyes from boyish gentleness to masculine harshness. The lump in his throat was like a red-hot coal.
"I promise. I will always be your hyung. Always." His gaze fell on Jay, whose eyelashes were stuck together. "Keep an eye on them. Become their new pillar of support.
He gently ran his thumb over Jay's wet cheek, leaving a warm streak. There was all the unspoken tenderness in his touch, all the bitterness of separation, and a quiet, barely perceptible... promise of another kind, of what could await them outside this room when the pain subsided and only a pure, unflagged bond remained.
Seven forever.