Zhang's mother took care of Zhang Yixing every step of the way for a week, and watched his pain ease a little and he was able to get up and walk slowly.
She just watched her son pretend to be nothing and smiled as he boarded the plane back home, looking back every few steps.
Before leaving, she tightly grasped Ouyang Guang's hand, her eyes were red and swollen, and her voice was choked with sobs: "Xiaoguang, thank you Auntie... Yixing... please... keep an eye on him..."
"Also... take care of yourself... you kids... have suffered so much..."
Ouyang Guang nodded vigorously: "Don't worry, Auntie."
Ouyang Guang concealed the fact that Zhang Yixing was injured and hospitalized, but because of credit card issues and his parents inquiring with Kim Seung-hyun, his parents found out.
After seeing off Zhang's mother, Ouyang Guang returned to the empty dormitory. The phone screen lit up, and it was a video call request from home. After the call was connected, the screen was immediately filled with the worried faces of his parents.
“Son! Are you okay? Seunghyun said that Yixing was seriously injured! And that kid named Jongin! Is your training too intense?” The mother’s voice was fast and urgent, her eyes fixed on the screen, trying to find any sign of abnormality on her son’s face.
"Yeah! Yixing is injured so badly? How is he? How are you? Is your waist uncomfortable? How about your legs? Dancing is so tiring, can your knees take it? Are you okay? Is there something wrong? Don't force yourself!"
Dad's calm face was filled with unrelieved worry.
"Are you really okay? You called me last time and said you always had cramps when you slept at night."
“Mom and Dad, I’m happy, really.” Ouyang Guang tried hard to make his smile look relaxed and natural, and even stood up and jumped twice on the spot, “Look, they are full of life! Yixing and Zhongren are suffering from old injuries. I usually take good care of them. Don’t worry about me! I’m fine.”
"Are you sure?" Dad frowned, his eyes sharp. "You've never complained about pain since you were a child. Don't force yourself. What about your legs? Didn't you say that dancing legs would be uncomfortable? Do they still hurt now?"
Ouyangguang's heart skipped a beat, but he kept smiling and spoke in a relaxed tone as if he was talking about the weather.
"Oh, Dad, that happened so long ago! It doesn't hurt anymore! The doctor said it was growing pains, the bones are growing! Now I don't feel anything at all! Look at me," he deliberately stamped his feet hard again, "I'm still strong!"
He skillfully avoided the pain deep in his calves, knees and ankles that was now coming from him, as if he were being pricked by needles.
"Mom and Dad, I'm fine, really! I'm just growing taller and having growing pains!" Ouyang Guang leaned against the wall, feeling waves of soreness in his knees. He tried hard to make his expression and voice look relaxed and natural.
"Brother Yixing needs to rest, but it's nothing serious. I'm fine, eating well and sleeping well, there's nothing wrong with me. Don't worry."
He even smiled at the screen, a warm smile that belonged to "SUN" and had been practiced countless times.
"Are you really okay?" The mother was still worried.
"It's really okay! I'm fine!" Ouyang Guang said firmly, with a dazzling smile, "I'm about to debut, I'm so excited! Just wait and see my performance!"
He cleverly changed the subject and excitedly described the plans and interesting things about his debut stage practice.
The mother and son on the other side of the screen looked at their son's cheerful face and their tense nerves finally relaxed a little. They repeatedly reminded him to take care of his health before hanging up.
The moment the screen went dark, the forced smile on Ouyang Guang's face disappeared instantly, and fatigue and a hint of pain crept up his brows.
He lowered his head and gently pressed his aching knee joint through the fabric of his pants.
Growing pains? For the first time, he began to waver in his self-comforting excuse.
Are you really okay?
A familiar, bone-deep aching pain was spreading stubbornly from deep within the legs, especially the knee joints, which felt like they were being continuously pricked by countless tiny steel needles.
This pain has been with me ever since I started dance training.
When he was sweating profusely in the practice room during the day, he could barely suppress the pain with his willpower; but when it was late at night and his body relaxed, the pain was like a dormant beast awakening, gnawing at his nerves ferociously.
Cramps and paralysis were frequent occurrences, often waking him up suddenly from his sleep. He could only curl up and wait for the suffocating spasms to pass.
When his legs started to hurt at first, he thought it was because he had just started learning dance and didn't take it seriously. When he got cramps at night, he just thought it was just growth.
Later, the injuries became more and more severe and frequent, so he went to see a doctor. The diagnosis was clear: long-term overload training had caused severe strain on his knee and ankle joints.
The doctor seriously warned him that he must reduce his training volume, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.
Reduce the amount of training? Is it the sprint stage before debut? Is it the moment when Jong-in and Yi-xing fell down one after another and Wen-kui left sadly?
SUN… He repeated the name silently, as if to draw strength from it to fight the pain.
He must be the light, even if there are shadows hidden deep within him.
Ouyang Guang spoke to himself, and it was as if he was speaking to the stubborn pain.
It's okay, it's just growth. It's just that the training is too intense. It will be fine after you get through it.
SUN…If you can’t even bear this little pain, how can you be worthy of being EXO’s Sun?
"It's just growing pains," he said in a low voice, looking at himself in the mirror, repeating this lie he had told countless times. His voice echoed in the small space. "It will grow taller... I'll just get through it."
In the days before debut, time rushed forward at an almost tearing speed amid the shadow of injuries, intense preparations, and the hustle and bustle of announcements for each member.
Every time a new trailer is released, it is like throwing a drop of water into a boiling oil pan, causing huge reactions and discussions.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
