All eyes followed Sooyoung’s frantic figure as she paced back and forth inside Jessica’s hospital room. It was obvious that she was deeply incensed.

It had been roughly four hours since Jessica was admitted and Hyoyeon, Yuri, and Sooyoung had been up to their eyeballs with worry. Their Manager-oppa called to tell them he’d pick them up so that they could go to the hospital together, a few minutes after Hyoyeon received the call from Mama Jung. They were quickly ushered to where the Jungs were waiting upon arrival and was surprised to see Lee Sooman there with them.

“Oh good, you’re here.” The three bowed in respect to their elders and was about to ask about their friend when Mama Jung beat them to it.

“She’s stable. A few minor bruises because she fell, but thank goodness it wasn’t a heart attack. She needs to stay for at least two days to recuperate.” The girls all visibly sighed in relief that it wasn’t anything too serious and asked if they could see Jessica, to which the adults smiled and nodded their heads.

“Soojung is inside, just go in.”

The girls were curious as to why their superior was there but decided to just ask at a later time. Their priority at that moment was to make sure that Jessica was safe and resting well.

They really did miss their Ice Princess a lot. All nine of them barely had time to see each other on a regular basis but always made an effort to contact each other, either via calls or their group chat. Not having heard from one member for two weeks straight bothered all the girls more than they cared to admit, especially since their last gathering ended in an argument.

“Unnie.” The girls peeked inside the room and smiled at Soojung who beckoned them to come in quietly.

“She’d been sleeping for only about an hour so I don’t think she’s going to wake up any time soon.”

Hyoyeon went up and stood beside the older girl’s head and examined her face. She wanted to get mad at Jessica, to scold her for being reckless for whatever reason that landed her in the hospital in the first place. But, instead, choked upon seeing her best friend with a mask on her face, an IV line stuck to her hand, and probes running from her chest that were attached to a machine, monitoring her heart and respiratory rates that were, thankfully, beeping normally.

“What happened?” Sooyoung asked in a whisper, eyes already moist. She and Yuri were at the foot of the bed, the latter gently caressing Jessica’s sock-clad foot while the former was trying to prevent herself from bawling. Soojung sighed in irritation.

“I knew that she and Fany-unnie had a fight and she was ignoring you guys. That’s why she opted out of her activities with you. But only yesterday did I find out that she had been sneaking out to practice AND cram extracurricular activities as much as she could! She suddenly felt dizzy this morning and the next thing we knew she collapsed while climbing up the stairs!” All the girls present exhaled loudly and internally prayed for patience to help deal with their sister.

“Did she tell you why she decided to do something so stupid?” Sooyoung asked, lips in a tight line. Soojung dropped her shoulders miserably.

“You know how Unnie is. She just wants to make use of her time before you start your tour. At least, that’s what she told me. But I really think she’s not telling me something. She’s not this reckless with her health before.” This peaked the other girls’ interests.

Soojung was right. Jessica might be stubborn most of the time, but she wouldn’t intentionally do something long term knowing that it would tire and stress her heart further. She’d usually wrap things that were needed to be done up until what was necessary (or until she’s satisfied) then stop. Why go out of her way to cram different activities in a span of two weeks with an already packed schedule?

“Soojung.” The youngest in the room glanced towards her tallest Unnie. Sooyoung seemed to be deep in thought before facing her dongsaeng, a look of seriousness masking the worry she was feeling.

“What is Founder Lee doing here?”

“Sooyoungie, calm down.” Said girl continued to pace, trying to reign in her displeasure as she replayed the conversation with their company founder in her head.

“Girls, may I have a word with you for a moment?” Lee Sooman asked as he entered the room, Papa and Mama Jung signaling for Soojung to come out and give them some privacy. Sooyoung immediately stopped questioning the youngest Jung who quickly stepped out as she and the other girls turned their full attention to their superior.

“Seonsaengnim, what is going on?” The elder man sighed and glanced towards a still sleeping Jessica, eyes sad, before addressing his hoobaes.

“Earlier this year, with your parents present, you girls all decided to renew for another three years.” The girls nodded in confirmation.

“You know that you still have time and with enough leverage to make reasonable amendments to your contracts. Because of her last medical visit, Jessica contacted me just recently and made alterations in hers.” The girls were no