"You've lost so much weight," Sunny says out-of-the-blue one day in the dressing room. All the other girls look up, mildly surprised at Sunny's sudden words. They follow Sunny's gaze to Hyoyeon innocently lying on the couch.

"Huh?" Hyoyeon says, confused. Sunny doesn't reply and continues staring at the blonde.

So I'm not the only one who noticed, Seohyun thinks inwardly.

Hyoyeon shrugs a little and rests her head back on the small pillow. She pulls the blanket around her tighter and curls into a ball.

"I guess it happens," she murmurs. Sunny looks like she wants to say something else but Yuri places a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder.

"Maybe she's just tired," Yuri convinces Sunny.

Seohyun looks at Hyoyeon again. She's doubtful.

They're all at the SM building practicing a new choreo- Seohyun, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Yuri, Taeyeon, Tiffany, Sunny, Yoona and Jessica. It's water break time and Seohyun can't help but worry about Hyoyeon.

She watches from a corner as Hyoyeon sips from the bottle. She takes two sips before screwing the cap back on and putting the bottle back onto the floor. Hyoyeon then drags her body to the centre and slowly lowers herself onto the ground to stretch.

She looks so tired, Seohyun can't help but think. She's been so tired for months now; always pale and energyless. Seohyun worries.

"Hyo Hyo eonnie?" She taps the older girl on her shoulder.

Hyoyeon releases her stretching pose. It takes her a few seconds to register Seohyun talking to her.

"Hm?"

"You look tired," Seohyun says softly. "Do you want to rest?"

Hyoyeon smiles up at the maknae but it isn't her usual bright, cheery smile- it looked drawn and tight. She shakes her head. I'm okay.

"No you're not" Seohyun wants to tell her but Hyoyeon had already risen to her feet and had went over to Tiffany to help her with the dance moves.

It's Sunday and World War Three is currently about to happen. Seohyun glances between Jessica and Taeyeon and their Manager Oppa nervously. The atmosphere is tense and strained.

"Taeyeon, Jessica, calm down," Manager Oppa instructs but his voice gets drowned out by the two shouting girls. Seohyun doesn't even dare to move.

Beside her, Hyoyeon muffles her coughs by covering a hand over but Seohyun still manages to hear it. Hyoyeon's sick again with what must be her third cold this month.

Slowly, the members begin to rise from their seats to control Taeyeon and Jessica, but not Hyoyeon. She remains seated.

Strange, because Hyoyeon's usually the first to act in a situation like this, being the 'mother' of the group.

"Eonnie," Seohyun whispers and grips onto Hyoyeon's wrist.

Hyoyeon manages a shaky smile but then resumes her coughing. Seohyun's heart clenches. She releases her hold on Hyoyeon.

Later, when the girls exit the room, Seohyun can't help but notice the faint finger-shaped bruises on Hyoyeon's wrist at the exact spot Seohyun had held her.

Seohyun's blood runs cold.

"I feel like we should take Hyoyeon eonnie to the doctor," Seohyun finally tells Yoona one afternoon in the kitchen.

Yoona looks at her strangely. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Seohyun frowns a little. "And that's the exact reason why she needs to get a checkup."

"But Hyoyeon eonnie's only been getting minor colds and flus, hasn't she? Idols get that all the time," Yoona says, puzzled at Seohyun's concerns.

Seohyun nods. "I know. But she's been getting sick so often." Seohyun stresses her words to try to get Yoona to realise the severity, but Yoona doesn't seem to understand. "Right after she recovers, she just falls ill again. There's no reason for that."

"Maybe her immunity system is just a little weak," Yoona suggests.

Then, Taeyeon walks into the kitchen and she's having a phone call with one of the SM officials. That interests Yoona more and Seohyun is left alone with her frustrations.

When Seohyun awakes to a crashing sound and finds Hyoyeon standing in the middle of the room, she really starts to panic.

"What are you doing?" Seohyun asks. Hyoyeon hurriedly bends down to pick up the fallen books.

"I'm sorry," Hyoyeon apologises. "I didn't mean to wake you. It's just dark and I need to go to the toilet."

Seohyun sits up and flicks on her bedside lamp. She squints at her alarm clock.

"Eonnie, it's four in the morning," Seohyun says, her eyes back on Hyoyeon. She gasps.

In the light, she can see Hyoyeon's soaked tank top sticking to her body like a second skin. Hyoyeon looks so so pale; a ghostly figure against the dark, and even more shocking: two streaks of blood coming from her nose.

Hyoyeon uses the back of her hand to wipe away the blood but it doesn't stop flowing. Seohyun is robbed of speech.

"I know." Hyoyeon's voice is trembling. "I'm sorry. Go back to sleep, Joohyun."

"Eonnie," Seohyun whispers, already out of the bed. She takes too large steps and takes hold Hyoyeon on her shoulder, turning the blonde girl to face her. Up close, Seohyun can see beads of sweat trickling down the sides of Hyoyeon's face.

"You need to go to the hospital. Come on, we're going now." Seohyun attempts to pull Hyoyeon towards the door but the blonde backs away.

"No. I'm alright, it's just a minor nosebleed. Must be because of the weather," Hyoyeon says. "Please, Joohyun. Don't tell. The whole thing about Jessica leaving is already too much."

Hearing that, Seohyun wants to cry. Right, it's because of that the other members aren't noticing something's wrong with Hyoyeon.

"Hyun? Help me?" Hyoyeon pleads. Seohyun sighs and slips her hand in Hyoyeon.

"Promise me that once it's settled we would go the hospital?" Seohyun says as she helps Hyoyeon with the blood. Hyoyeon nods.

Seohyun tries to ignore the splotches of red on Hyoyeon's shirt. Something is very, very wrong.

The next morning, Jessica's departure from the group is confirmed. Seohyun doesn't know if she should worry more about Jessica or Hyoyeon.

"Don't go," Seohyun had heard Hyoyeon beg Jessica during breakfast.

"I'm sorry, Hyo," Jessica had said. Neither of them said anything next and Seohyun's sure she heard sobbing.

She just doesn't know if it was from Hyoyeon, Jessica or herself. Probably all three of them.

It's the day of their Shanghai fanmeet when Seohyun brings up the issue of Hyoyeon's health again. This time, to Sunny.

"You're saying that she had a nosebleed?" Sunny asks.

"Yes, and it wasn't minor. There was so much blood, Eonnie," Seohyun says with her voice low so no one else would hear them.

All around, make-up artists and stylists rush about. "That really is worrying," Sunny agrees. Seohyun feels like screaming her thanks to her heavens. Finally, someone understands.

"And she said she would go after everything is settled?"

"Yeah, but I want her to go earlier. Her condition doesn't look good. You know how Hyoyeon eonnie is; she's stubborn. I alone won't be able to convince her."

"That's true. We'll tell the others and then talk to her later alright?" Sunny reassures Seohyun. Seohyun agrees grudgingly. She wants Hyoyeon to go to the hospital right now, but that obviously isn't possible.

However, they didn't have a chance to talk to the rest. Jessica didn't turn up for the fanmeet.

"What now?" Yoona asks quietly in the car. No one replies her.

"Sorry," Taeyeon says, her voice barely over a whisper.

"It's not your fault, Tae." Yuri squeezes Taeyeon's hand. "If we had to blame someone, I would say it's SM." Yuri's eyes flash in anger. Tiffany hushes her, pointing to the driver seated at the front.

"I just feel that there were so many things that could be done differently," Taeyeon sighs.

They lapse into silence after that, no one able to quite find the right words. Seohyun glances at Hyoyeon seated to her right. She had been deadly silent the whole time.

Hyoyeon looks...well, tired. Exhausted, even. She looks like she's about to pass out.

Seohyun reaches to guide Hyoyeon's head to lean against her body. Against Seohyun's bare shoulder, Seohyun can feel Hyoyeon burn with a fever.

No one's noticing. They're all fretting about Jessica's sudden departure. Seohyun wants to scream and shout, but being the maknae, all she can do is sit down and drown in her own desperation.

Hyoyeon's not well. How can they not notice that?

"Hospital?" Seohyun grasps onto Hyoyeon's bicep once they were alone.

"What?" Hyoyeon replies, in the midst of washing the dishes after dinner while the other members were in the living room.

"You said we would go," Seohyun whispers anxiously. "After...you know..."

"Not now..." Hyoyeon murmurs. She places another washed plate onto the counter, her eyes not meeting Seohyun. Seohyun sighs and drops her hand. She stares, resigned, as Hyoyeon picks up yet another plate.

Then, a drop of red onto the sink. Seohyun straightens up. Her eyes slowly travel upwards, fear spreading throughout her heart.

"Eonnie, you're bleeding again," Seohyun whispers. Hyoyeon looks at her, confused before her eyes widen in realisation.

Another drip. The red gets washed away with the water in the sink.

Seohyun takes the plate from Hyoyeon's weak hold and practically drops it back into the sink. She pulls the stunned dancer into the toilet and shuts the door. With trembling hands, Seohyun pulls at the toilet paper and rips out many pieces. She gently dabs at the blood.

"Hospital," Seohyun says again. Her eyes burn and she knows she's crying now.

"Don't cry, Seo." Hyoyeon uses her thumb to brush away her tears. "I'm sorry."

Seohyun shakes her head fiercely. "Please just go see a doctor. I'm scared."

Hyoyeon lets out a breath. "Okay. I'll go this Friday afternoon; I don't have any schedules then."

Seohyun nods wordlessly and stares into Hyoyeon's dark eyes. Please, let there be nothing.

Turns out, they didn't have to wait till Friday afternoon.

It was Wednesday night when Seohyun stepped into the dorm after her individual activity.

She pulls off her shoes quietly and flicks on the light switch. "Eonnies?" She calls softly. No reply. They must be still at their schedules or at their own homes. Seohyun flings her handbag onto the couch carelessly and yawns, padding her way to her bedroom. The thought of taking a hot bath and then diving under her warm covers causes Seohyun to smile.

The moment she opens the door, Seohyun is drawn to the crouched figure beside the only study table in the room.

Hyoyeon.

The blonde girl raises her head at the sound, startled at Seohyun's sudden entrance. Hyoyeon is holding a bunch of tissues to her nose, her legs tucked to her chest as she slumps against the wall. Seohyun can see the tissues stained red. "S-Seohyunnie?" Hyoyeon stutters softly.

"Oh God..." Seohyun rushes to her Eonnie's side. "Are you okay?"

Despite everything, Hyoyeon nods and her head drops at the effort. Seohyun places her cool hand against Hyoyeon's heated forehead and nearly flinches away. , it's hot. She slides one arm around Hyoyeon and the other clutches her free hand. Slowly, she helps Hyoyeon to her feet.

"What are you doing?" The barely conscious Hyoyeon breathes out as Seohyun leads her out of the room.

"Taking you to the hospital," Seohyun says. "Can you walk?"

The dancer doesn't reply and Seohyun takes it as a 'no'. Together, with Hyoyeon leaning against Seohyun for support, they hobble their way out of the dorm slowly. Seohyun buckles Hyoyeon up before starting up the car and driving off. "Seo, we have a filming to do tomorrow," Hyoyeon mumbles faintly.

"You look like you're about to die," Seohyun deadpans firmly, but on the inside, it's a tornado of fear. "Stop talking."

Hyoyeon strangely complies and just rests tiredly against the seat, her eyes closing. Seohyun takes hold of her eonnie's limp hand, rubbing small circles onto the back of it. Please, please, please.

Seohyun listens to the steady beeping of the heart monitor. It's been three hours since they had arrived at the hospital and one hour since Hyoyeon fell into her much needed slumber.

The doctors had run tests on Hyoyeon, and even an MRI to play safe. The results would take awhile to come out, they had told Seohyun and meanwhile, Hyoyeon had to be hospitalised so that her fever would go down. Seohyun ignores the buzzing from her pocket; she doesn't really want to talk to anybody currently.

At five in the morning, the doctor knocks on the door gently and beckons Seohyun to come out.

"Low white blood cell count." The doctor hands Seohyun a piece of paper with numbers and words on it that she can't understand.

"What does that mean?" Seohyun fears the answer.

The doctor tightens his jaw and swallows. His eyes dart away from Seohyun's. "Leukaemia," he says.

Seohyun stares at him. She frowns and her head fills with a dizzying sensation. No, it can't be.

"L-leukaemia." suddenly feels so dry. "Th-that's..." She can't say it, she doesn't want to.

The doctor nods grimly. "Cancer."

Seohyun closes the door behind her. Her eyes fall to the petite dancer lying on the hospital bed and hot tears start spilling from her eyes. The bruises, the nosebleeds...how could she not have known? It seems startling obvious now: the answers to Hyoyeon's constant fatigue and illnesses. How could she not have known?

When Seohyun finally collects enough of herself together, she calls Taeyeon and she hasn't cried so hard ever before. The call gets answered only after one ring and the kid leader's voice comes through.

"Hello? Seohyun? Where in the world are you? And where is Hyoyeon?"

Seohyun gasps out a sob, unable to speak.

"Seo? Are you crying? What happened? Where's Hyo?" A different voice now. Probably Sooyoung's.

"Hospital," Seohyun chokes out. "You have to come now. It's important."

The girls along with Manager Oppas and Eonnie file into the room one by one- the first being Taeyeon. Taeyeon halts at the sight of the blonde and Sunny crashes into her. The rest manage to squeeze their way in and their mouths immediately open in shock. From Hyoyeon's bedside, Seohyun watches them silently.

"," Yuri curses under her breath. She shuffles to the sleeping girl and gingerly takes Hyoyeon's cold hand in hers. None of them say anything afterwards. Yoona is already crying, and so is Tiffany and Sunny.

"Leukaemia," Seohyun finds the words tumble out from . "She has cancer."

"I'm so sorry," Yoona whispers. "I'm so sorry, Seo. If I had known...I would have..."

Seohyun just shrugs. It's not her fault. It's not anyone's fault.

Their schedules for the following day gets cancelled, or at least until noon it was cleared. The girls along with their Manager Eonnie were scattered around Hyoyeon's spacious hospital room. Seohyun was still glued to Hyoyeon's bedside while Sooyoung took the other bedside chair available. Yuri and Yoona and Manager Eonnie sat together on the couch, Yuri's head resting on Yoona's shoulder, and Sunny was sitting on the armchair. Just then, the door clicks open and Manager Oppa walks in. Beside him, is Lee Sooman.

"Uncle," Sunny says, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

The girls immediately rise to their feet and greet their boss. Lee Sooman nods at them in acknowledgement. He takes a few steps to Hyoyeon and stops just by the foot of her bed. He sighs, brows furrowed and eyes clouded with worry.

"S-Sajangnim," Sooyoung stammers as she speaks up. "Hyoyeonnie-"

"I know," he interrupts. "They told me."

"Poor girl," Sooman murmurs. He sighs again and shakes his head.

"I'll leave you guys alone now; I have things to settle back at the office," Sooman gives them a tight smile and strides out of the office.

"He's not thinking of th-that," Yoona says once he leaves. That. Forcing Hyoyeon out of the group. "Is he?"

"No, of course not," Yuri says a little fiercely. "Hyoyeon's staying with us."

"Where am I staying?" Hyoyeon's voice suddenly echoes through the room, making everybody jump.

"Eonnie?" Seohyun sits upright and gazes intently into Hyoyeon now open eyes. "You're awake."

"Yes, I am," Hyoyeon laughs a little but then dissolves into a coughing fit. Seohyun hurries to give her water.

"How are you feeling?" Sooyoung asks gently.

"Fine. When can I go home?" Hyoyeon looks up innocently. Sooyoung hesitates and exchanges looks with the others.

"Hyoyeon, about that..."

"Leukaemia, huh?" The dancer repeats slowly. Seohyun tightens her grip on Hyoyeon's hand, holding her breath. "So am I going to die?"

"There's treatment. You will get treatment...right?" Yoona asks nervously.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Hyoyeon barks