Littles || Stray Kids

Tantrum

    Stray Kids were filming another dance practice for God's Menu, and the boys were exhausted. This was the fifth time they were filming the dance. The staff seemed to find something wrong with anything in the other clips, making the group re-shoot time and time again.
    As Hyunjin came down from a jump in the group's dance, his knee buckled and his ankle rolled. He cried out as he crumpled to the floor. Pain shot up his leg when he tried to move. His groupmates rushed to his side, the cameras stopped rolling, and the staff watched on worriedly. "Hyunjin, are you okay?" The boy shook his head violently, crying out as he tried to move. "No! Hurts!" he said loudly, sounding alarms in Seungmin's head.
    "We're gonna take him to the dorm, is that okay?" Seungmin asked the head staff. She nodded her head, still shaken at the event that had taken place. "Please call someone to come look at him." Once more, she nodded. With the help of Chan, Seungmin helped Hyunjin all the way to the van.
    "Hey, you're out early!" their driver said, pausing upon seeing Hyunjin's teary eyes. "What happened?" Seungmin smiled, explaining the situation. The car ride home was silent, except for Hyunjin's sniffles. When they got inside, Seungmin and Chan helped the now crying boy to the couch. "Minnie! Please make it stop!" Hyunjin wailed, bringing tears to his caregiver's eyes. "I know, honey bun... I know..." he said as he cuddled the freshly regressed boy.

    After a visit from a doctor, it turns out that Hyunjin only sprained his ankle. However, given the fall was a little nasty, he had an X-ray done, was put on crutches, and given an ankle brace. "I'll come and check on you in some time. For now, here's a list of things you can do by yourself." the doctor had said, writing down a small list of things and giving it to Hyunjin. The little didn't say a word during the whole check-up, too frightened by the stranger and situation.
    To say Hyunjin got annoyed with his handicap almost immediately would be an understatement. The boy woke up every day frustrated and without a how-to on dealing with it. He was extremely sensitive and snappy no matter what he did to try and stop himself. What made everything worse, was that he hadn't been able to slip in the past week. He'd snap at anyone who said the wrong thing or even looked at him a certain way.
    Felix was in an extremely playful mood, using his energy to play with the littles. "I think Binnie is the most handsome prince!" he'd said loudly. This hurt Hyunjin's feelings because wasn't he the prince of the group? There were so many reasons for Hyunjin to blow up and yell. Chan had the stuffie he'd been waiting to play with all day, Seungmin had a headache and was laying down, and now, Felix was calling someone else "prince".
    Picking up the nearest object, which was a stuffed bear, Hyunjin threw it at the wall as hard as he could. This action startled everyone in the room, members looking up from phones and toys alike. Because of the hard eyes hitting the wall, it sounded a lot worse than it was. "Hyunjin, what are you doing?" Jisung asked from his seat on the couch. Tears of frustration built in Hyunjin's eyes as he picked up something else and threw it. This was the only way he could think to express himself.
    Nothing the caregivers could've done would prepare them for their first tantrum.
    Sobs racked through Hyunjin's body, loud and high pitched. Felix, who was closest, moved the littles and other toys from Hyunjin's reach. The little cried loudly, screams mixed in with erratic breathing, snot, and tears. Hyunjin laid back on the floor, flailing about before lying still and letting out an ear-piercing scream.
    Hurried footsteps came from the hallway, Seungmin appearing suddenly. "Take Chan, Minho, and Changbin to another room, please," he said calmly. It took a second for the other caregivers to understand what Seungmin had said over the screams and sobs but, once they did, they took the littles and left the room.
    Seungmin flinched as Hyunjin screamed again. Looking down, Seungmin watched as Hyunjin rolled from side to side. He had read up a little on how to deal with tantrums, but most of it said to leave the little or child alone. Seungmin didn't like that idea. "Hyunjin, I need you to try to use your words," he said over the cries. Hyunjin looked at Seungmin, breathing heavily and trying to stop his sobs.
    "It's okay to cry, Hunny. There's nothing wrong with that," Seungmin said. Moving slowly, he sat on the floor a few feet away from Hyunjin. He wanted to give him space. When he was told it was okay to cry, Hyunjin let loose. The two sat there as the little cried his eyes out, no longer flailing about or rolling on the floor.
    Around ten minutes passed before Hyunjin calmed down to quiet sobs and hiccups. "Can you tell me what happened?" Seungmin asked. "It's bad..." Hyunjn said. "What's bad?"
    "Everything! My foot has an ouchie, Channie has what I wanted, and I not the prince no more!" the little explained. "Do you want a hug?" Hyunjin nodded slowly. As Seungmin got up and walked over, something seemed to click in the little as a fresh batch of tears came to his eyes. "What's wrong now, hm?" Seungmin questioned while wrapping his arms around his boyfriend.
    "It's embarrassing... Why does little me have to be a drama queen?" Hyunjin said, face gaining color. "I threw a fit for no reason!" Seungmin hummed. "Well, it might seem like nothing now, but then? I think little you might just need some help with handling emotions is all," he said, smiling down at the boy in his arms.
    "Will you help me?" the little asked shyly. "Of course," Seungmin said, placing a feather-light kiss on his little's forehead.