“Dear Joonie.
“Today was hard. My back was already hurting me, then I went to volleyball practice. Trying to deflect a hard serve, I fell to the floor. Pain exploded through my back. I was still recovering, hobbling down the hallway later in the afternoon, when some cruel boy, angry with someone else, shoved me into a locker. I felt something in my back shift. And not in a good way.
“It hurts so bad, Joonie. And I’m scared. What if he did permanent damage?”
Namjoon knew this fear too. How many times had one of the Bangtan Boys been injured? Their livelihood depended on their physical health. Their dancing depended upon their spryness. Their singing depended upon healthy throats and whole voices. His mind flashed back to Jungkook when he’d slit his heel open and had been unable to dance for that part of the tour. He was devastated, so disappointed to be disappointing ARMY. He’d told the staff to wrap it, and he’d dance on it anyway, heedless of the pain.
“I have a high pain threshold. I’ll be fine.” His words echoed back to Namjoon now.
He shook his head. Brave boy. Senseless boy.
Take good care of your body, Jungkook. It is an asset to you. Don’t sacrifice it, not even for ARMY. It is enough to see your sweet face on the stage. To hear your beautiful voice. Dancing can wait. Let your body heal.
That’s what Breeze would have said. And all the true ARMYs with her. And Namjoon would have heartily agreed.
At least they’d known Jungkook had injured himself, so they could all protect him from himself, from the overachiever that had manifested in them all. Even in quiet Yoongi. They hadn’t been so lucky with him. He’d hidden his broken shoulder from them all during their pre-debut days because he feared losing his dream. He’d thought they’d drop him like a hot potato if he told them how badly he’d injured himself. So he had danced through the excruciating pain. And his shoulder had not healed right. Namjoon sighed and shook his head. If he had a time machine and one flight in it, he’d go back and heal Yoongi’s shoulder. Poor Yoongi.
Then there was the time Yoongi’s appendix burst. They’d been in Japan promoting the band, and he’d been experiencing severe stomach pain. The next day he’d awoken with a fever. Thank God. It had saved his life. He’d gone to the hospital and discovered his appendix had burst. He was rushed back to Korea to undergo emergency surgery.
Namjoon himself had experienced severe muscle issues and a tension fracture in his leg, so he felt for Breeze. Jimin had struggled more than once with severe muscle pains in his neck and back. He would surely commiserate with her too. Namjoon wondered if her back still plagued her. How many other invisible scars did Breeze carry? He knew about his own. The wounds no one else was cognizant of. Yet those traumas marked him still.
He looked down at the girl still sleeping against his shoulder. Was her back hurting her right now? She was lying at a slant across his chest, her cheek pressed against his heart. He wanted her to stay there forever.