Walking towards the cafe, you hear a boy and a girl talking in an alley right next to the cafe. The voices seem familiar, so you take a quick peek and see that it's Mark and Herin. They seem as if they are arguing, but they don't want anyone else to hear.
"Stop it! I know you met up with Y/N last night!" Herin yells. 
"I did! But I just told her off. Don't worry," he replies. 
"You still love her, don't you? Don't lie, Mark," she says. 
"No. I don't," Mark tells her, "She doesn't mean anything to me." 
"She better not," Herin replies, crossing her arms. 
Just as they finish their conversation, your heart splits in two, and you walk away. Hearing Mark say that you don't mean anything to him just hurts you terribly. Jaemin walks towards you as he exits the cafe, and he gives you a worried look. 
"Jaemin-ah!" you yell, immediately running into his arms. 
He hugs you back and asks, "Why? What's wrong?" 
You let go and reply, "Do I...really mean nothing to Mark?" 
"What? What are you talking about? He loves you!" he exclaims. 
"No. I just overheard him talking to Herin and he said that I don't mean anything to him," you quietly tell him. 
"I doubt that," Jaemin insists. 
"Well, does he talk about me often nowadays? Now that he's with Herin all the time on that reality show?" you ask, crossing your arms. 
"Uh...well, not...really," Jaemin stutters. 
"Then how can you just assume that he's still in love with me?" you ask, starting to feel tears in your eyes. 
"I just know!" he exclaims. 
"You can't just know! You have to be sure about it," you tell him, letting the tears fall. 
"Y/N, I'm really not sure," he tells you, wiping your tears away. 
"Then, why did you say he was in love with me?" you ask. 
"Because last night, he told you he did! He doesn't talk about you often, but last night he did," Jaemin reminds you. 
You can't seem to say anything else, so you just stay silent and Jaemin does as well. You're in so much pain right now that you just feel so exhausted from overthinking. Training is really stressful and having to deal with all of this is just too much. 
The days pass and nothing has changed. Mark and Herin continue to be affectionate with each other on TV, and according to Koeun, they are really affectionate when they are not in front of cameras as well. You've called and texted Mark a few times, but he has never replied. Not once. The CEO is making you work even harder, and now he is making you have a diet in which you cannot have carbohydrates and junk food for more than four months. With not being able to eat, sleep, and think properly, you feel like your body will fail both physically and emotionally. Of course, Jaemin is there for you always, but he gets busy at times when he's practicing with the NCT members. You sit down in a vocal room and see that Koeun is there. 
"Hey! What's up?" she asks, smiling. 
"How do you manage to smile and sleep?" you ask, barely even breathing. Your eyes are so puffy and red, making it obvious that you get less than four hours of sleep a day. 
"I was like you the first time I came here. Except that was a long time ago and I think my training was less intense. I've been here for more than three years, and I still haven't debuted. The CEO is being really harsh on you," she sighs. 
"Just because I'm debuting in less than six months doesn't mean that I have to suffer like this," you groan, feeling pain in your muscles from dancing for more than six hours the previous night. 
"I'm wondering why he's being so harsh on you as well. Have you shown signs that you're still in love with Mark?" she asks, pulling out a bagel. 
"Are you...eating a bagel in front of me?" you ask, gulping while looking at the bagel. 
Koeun laughs, "Yes. I'm sorry! Just endure your diet a little bit more." 
"Anyways, what do you mean by showing signs?" you ask, getting curious. 
"Do you think the CEO knows you still love Mark?" she asks, carefully putting cream cheese on her bagel. 
"Maybe, but why does that matter? If the CEO was really human, then he would understand that I can't get over Mark that easily," you explain. 
"The CEO isn't human at all," she tells you. 
You laugh, "Good one." 
"I'm serious! Ever since Mr. Lee Soo Man let