~Hyukjae~

I’m fine, I said. I’m just tired, I said. I didn’t want to let anyone down.

I started to feel bad for Donghae since we still hadn’t written any official lines for our script yet. Day after day I’ve been busy with my schedule and we still had to discuss who would play what role. There was only one week left and most pairs were already done and practicing to memorize their lines. I told Donghae that we’d work on it this week, but I couldn’t promise anything.

I found myself envying those around me with spare time on their hands and hated those who had too much and complained. They had time to hang after school and socialize with their friends while I was stuck with a tight work schedule. The only people I could socialize with at the company were the trainees, and some of them were brats. Some attempted to flirt to no avail in getting anything in return. I put no effort into giving them reactions. It was too bothersome to begin with.

Usually I was very tolerant when it came to adolescents like myself, but the higher the fatigue rose, the lower my mood went. I had thoughts of strangling a trainee once, but that’d be pretty scandalous, so I resisted the urge.

This morning when I woke up, it was terrible. The dark circles, the red eyes, pale skin, I looked like a vampire, but I was still handsome. It felt like the Olympics when I was getting out of bed, a cold shower was only able to keep me awake temporarily. As I walked in the halls of school, it was like running a marathon. I was out of breath and my body felt like collapsing. It hurt everywhere. All I could think about was the pain. However I didn’t want to disappoint Donghae by not showing up to school and leaving him to work on it alone.

I dragged my feet, too tired to walk like a normal human. I wondered when my dad would consider giving me a break. To be fair, I always told them I was fine even if they insisted I stop. Plus, I’ve been secretly dancing from right when my schedule ended – which is usually around midnight – to 2 in the morning. I was well aware that it was my fault for making myself so damn tired, but that was only where my physical exhaustion came from, aside from my sleep deficit. My mental exhaustion was even worse. The constant studying, the endless paper work, the stupid meetings, and with barely any leisure to myself. My mind was losing its sanity. I was on the edge of breaking down. I think it have might be time to throw in the towel because everything was not alright.

My head hung down and my feet automatically moved by themselves. I was like a zombie. My backpack felt like it weighed a ton, but my head weighed even more. It was a miracle I made it this far by sheer will power.

I accidentally bumped into someone, but I just stared at their feet. It was a girl. I wondered who.

“Hyukjae?” I heard her say. Looking up, I found that unknown girl to be Jessica. I smiled, or at least I tried.

“Are you okay?” Her voice was urgent and worried.

No.

“Hyukjae, are you okay?” She repeated.

My head dropped onto her shoulder. It felt good to rest it there. Her floral scented hair made me miss my bed more than anything. I was very close to falling asleep in this inconvenient position.

She said some more words that I couldn’t even make out. I stopped listening and focused on just staying awake. I knew I probably wouldn’t remember anything tomorrow – I couldn’t even recall what has happened this past week.

Someone’s hand grabbed my neck collar and pulled me away from Jessica. I choked a bit to breathe again and I stumbled back into a wall.

It was Donghae who had pulled my collar. He glared at me. I just looked back at him, lifelessly. No smirk, no smile, nothing. He wrapped his arm around his girlfriend and waved his hand in front of my eyes. I only saw a black shadow as my vision unfocused. I began to panic. My breathing was loud in my ears and the world spun. An intense heat wave hit me along with breathlessness.

A million tons weighed my eyes down and it took nearly all my remaining will power to keep them open at least half way. I was concentrating on my mental state so much that I forgot about the rest of my body and it gave out. I slid down until my hit the ground. They were alarmed and frantically tugged on my arms and called out to me. I had no idea what they were saying, but I managed to choke out a few world to them. Something that made Jessica hurry away while Donghae stayed with me. His expression was priceless. He was genuinely concerned about me. If I could I would, but now was not the best time.

I tried to stand up only to collapse right back down. Donghae caught me, putting me down gentle. My hands clawed into his arms, “No.” I whispered. “I want to stand.” He didn’t listen and guided me to the floor. He kneeled to hold me, which I desperately needed. The faster the darkness swallowed me up, the harder I held on to him. Donghae rubbed my back, hushing me. “It’s okay. Hyukjae, it’s okay.” I heard my name being repeated many times. Each time gave me a little more strength.

Minutes later Jessica rushed back, but with two other people that looked like teachers. They were asking me questions and I was positive I fail to answer any of them. I just wanted to be in Donghae’s arms. I leaned my head back and wished for everyone to leave.

Some students that were passing by watched. The teachers shooed them away and paramedics arrived after an eternity of waiting. I found Donghae again as I was being put onto a stretcher. He was the only student that stayed to watch. It couldn’t find Jessica anywhere in my limited field of vision, not like it mattered where she was. Once my body was laid flat, I lost all determination to stay awake. I could no longer fight the fatigue. It was time I let everything just go and sleep the dreamless slumber I had been longing for.

This chapter moves a bit quick and it's short, but the work has finally taken a toll on Hyukjae's body. I have Eunhae plans after this so do keep reading. ^^ Thank you~