I-Doll | Choi Seungcheol

07.

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Seungcheol saw it happen before it happened. He had his eyes on the dangling light from the moment he had stepped on the stage, deciding to inform the staff when he could. It wasn't glaringly obvious but he could notice the slight change in light that came from it moving.

When the cable seemed like it would split, Seungcheol looked down to see who was under it. It was Yuri. She was standing right under it, distracted by her fans who she was smiling and posing for. His heart sank and only a split second earlier, he ran to her. His eyes widened at the sound of the cable breaking and the light coming hurling down. Instinctively, his body lurched forward in her direction as she looked up at the death that was about to collapse on her. She looked at peace as she stared at it, knowing full well that she didn't have enough time to walk away.

She had given up hope but he hadn't because whilst she contemplated her faults, he was already there. Not close enough to pull her completely out of harm's way, he bent a knee forward and pulled her by her hand, pulling her back as the light collapsed on the floor with a large thud.

In the nick of time, Choi Seungcheol had saved Yuri's life.

Not completely though. The ends of the light weighed on her right leg, drawing blood as she screamed in pain. The people around had gasped, cried out, yelled and within seconds were rushing to their aid. Jihoon was the first to reach the scene. He stepped over the rubble and walked to the pair, where Yuri lay in Seungcheol's arms.

"Yuri?! Seungcheol!" He yelled, walking in their direction, numbly. "Are you okay?" Jihoon asked Seungcheol who nodded having lost his voice. Seungcheol had only acted instinctively and the gravity of the situation was barely coming to him. Yuri struggled instead, wincing, "My leg's stuck." She bit her lip in pain, a tear rolling out, "Do something."

Choi Seungcheol pulled himself up slowly, adjusting Yuri's weight slightly. Jihoon who understood what Seungcheol was trying to do, dug through the rubble and threw it away to free Yuri's stuck leg. Soon enough, he was joined by security and immediate medics.

The crowd was trying to rush forward to the scene and the security was having a hard time. Immediately, an announcement requiring the audience to head out the exit was made and the stage was covered with small curtains to hide the situation.

Pulling her out the rubble and placing her on a stretcher, the medic team rushed her out the area within minutes as the crown still lingered behind to watch what had happened. Most cameras followed Yuri's leave along with other idols and members. Choi Seungcheol stood from his place alone looking down at the broken shards of the light and dusted the dirt off his clothes.

This was definitely going to make the headlines.

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"Where's the damn ambulance? It should've arrived by now!" Backstage was chaos as the manager yelled at the frantic staff. She turned to the other members of the group and instructed them to return home immediately in the van with the road manager as she would accompany Yuri to the hospital.

"Take me too," Seungcheol spoke from amongst the unrest outside the room. The medic team was already looking at Yuri's injury within the room as the rest waited outside. "Take me with you."

Seventeen's managers showed up then, checking for injuries immediately. One of them spoke up, "The ambulance will be here soon. We'll accompany you." He looked at Seungcheol, "You shouldn't be walking by yourself like this. A wheelchair has been arranged, just use it until we get everything checked."

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The trip to the hospital was silent and in the pressuring situation, no one dared to speak. Upon reaching, Yuri was rushed to the emergency room and S.Coups was sent for a checkup. In a huge suite on one of the top hospital floors, they treated his wounds. "Can you give me my phone?" He asked his manager who was standing. The man nodded and fumbled around to find the phone, handing it over.

In a single minute, Seungcheol dialled a number, "Dad? It's me... Have you seen the news?" He frowned, "I'm alright. No, I didn't get hurt. How's mom? Tell her not to worry, please. No no, don't let her come here. A video call? Okay, I'll call you in a bit."

He sighed as he cut the call and looked at his manager. "My mother's going to be bothering you a lot, hyung. She'll probably be here as soon as she can too." He looked up, "The company doesn't need to call my home now. I'll text the members too, so it's fine."

Seungcheol checked his social media. Both Yuri and him were trending everywhere. What was more, was the name of the award show that was being dragged down for its poor stage management. Scoups looked up at his manager, "Is our company going to file a suit for this?"

"No idea." The manager shrugged, "The legal team is still in discussion with the marketing team. I've already reported your well-being so we'll see how it goes."

Seungcheol nodded. He hadn't really gotten hurt, just a scratch or two to name. It was Yuri he was worried about. "What about her?" He asked.

The manager had just mentioned that he didn't really know when Jihoon turned up from behind the door. He asked, "Are you alright?" And S.Coups simply nodded.

"What are you doing here, though? I thought the members went back to the dorms."

"I'm here as Yuri's guardian. Technically, mom is but I was the closest to the scene so I'm here instead. We're the only family she has here."  Jihoon rubbed his eyes, worry etched on her face.

"How is she?"

He sighed, "She's alive, thankfully. Some broken bones and a few scratches. She probably won't be able to walk for a while." Jihoon looked down knowing full well the meaning of his words. The atmosphere grew heavy and he could hear Jihoon's voice be strained when he spoke, "If you hadn't been there, if you hadn't saved her when you did..." But he couldn't finish the sentence. The implication behind the sentence was too heavy to carry and the what if, too scary.

Seungcheol looked away, trying to not look at the tears in Jihoon's eyes. No one wanted to finish that sentence and an eery silence fell between them only interrupted once every few seconds by Jihoon's soft sobs.

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