The pattern continued for a few weeks, unchanged. Every night Lee Chan would stay with Jihoon until the early hours of the morning. Every night practically no words were exchanged, but it didn't necessarily bother Lee Chan. Just being there was enough.

    However, the moment Lee Chan opened his eyes one morning, he knew he was very sick. His face felt like it was burning and his pillow was slightly damp from sweat. Feeling an itch in his throat, he began to cough uncontrollably for a few seconds. 

    Slowly Lee Chan sat up, his vision swimming. He knew he couldn't take a day off from practice no matter how bad he felt. He didn't want to disappoint the members, especially Jihoon.

    So, Lee Chan began his morning routine and made his way to the practice room with the others, trying not to show how sick he felt. On the walk over however, he stumbled around more than usual causing Soonyoung to ask him if he was okay. Lee Chan just nodded and tried to not concentrate on the pain.

    He was a little sluggish throughout dance practice. When he glanced at himself in the studio mirror he could see a noticeable grimace on his face when doing the harder moves. Every once in a while he would lock eyes with Jihoon when checking the mirror, and Lee Chan even thought he might have seen a tiny bit of concern in his gaze. 

    Lee Chan took water breaks whenever possible in order to prevent his throat from getting too dry and leading to more coughing fits. He continued to practice for most of the day without too many problems. Around 9 o'clock when the sky had become dark and the city lights were shining bright, the members were done for the day and were leaving to go back to the dorm, except for Jihoon who was already in his studio and Lee Chan who was planning to go in shortly despite his sickness. 

    Suddenly, Lee Chan felt a hand wrap around his wrist as he began to be pulled to the door to leave the studio. He turned around to see the face of the person tugging him and realized it was Soonyoung who looked worried.

    "I've been watching you all day Chan, and you've looked like you've felt absolutely horrible. I don't know why you've been staying late the past few days, but today you're coming back to the dorm with me and you're going to rest up so this sickness doesn't get worse!" said Soonyoung.

    Too tired and weak to disagree, Lee Chan let himself be led back to the dorms where he immediately plopped into bed and fell into a deep sleep.
                                                ______________________________________________________________________________

    When Lee Chan woke up next, it was morning and somehow he felt even worse than the previous day. Not even able to raise himself to sit up in the bed, he just lay there until Soonyoung came to check on him.

    Putting a hand on his forehead, Soonyoung exclaimed,"You're burning up! I don't think you should try to practice today with that high of a fever."

    Looking like he was contemplating something, Soonyoung finally added,"I'll just tell the manager you're extremely sick, so don't worry about practice and just go back to sleep!"

    Lee Chan was only able to quietly grunt in response before his eyes closed again and the world became dark. However, the next time he opened his eyes it was morning again. He realized that he must have slept for nearly a full day. Noticing the members had left already for practice, he began to get out of bed to get dressed and join them, but as soon as he stood, purple dots danced across his vision and his legs began to buckle.

    Quickly grabbing onto the side of the bed, he pulled himself up slowly. Knowing he probably couldn't make it to the practice room in his current state, Lee Chan decided to just get a glass of water and go back to sleep. 

    Hours later he woke up again, but this time it was dark outside except for the twinkling street lights outside the windows. He could hear soft breathing and a few loud snores coming from the corners of the room, so he knew the members had returned from practice. Lee Chan thought to Jihoon, who was most likely still in the studio, and decided since he was awake he would try to visit him.

    As he pushed himself up again he felt slightly better than hours before and his vision wasn't swimming as badly, so he knew he could at least attempt to walk to Jihoon's studio. Although the walk took a little longer than usual, Lee Chan made it to Jihoon's door in about fifteen minutes. Checking the clock in the practice room before he opened the door, he noticed it was only 1 o'clock in the morning, so Jihoon would definitely still be there.

    Pushing open the door, he began to shuffle in while turning around to close it back. While his back was turned he heard a low creaking noise, and when he looked up he found Jihoon finally, finally, turned around in his chair, facing him with a concerned and confused expression.

    Looking surprised, Jihoon finally spoke. "What are you doing here?" he asked while staring intensely at Lee Chan, his gaze never leaving his face.

    Lee Chan was frozen, couldn't open his mouth, couldn't say anything with that gaze on him. So, he just sat down in the empty chair that had begun to somewhat become his. 

    Jihoon continued to watch him expectantly, waiting for an answer, so Lee Chan tried to slow his racing thoughts. 

    "I woke up a few minutes ago and came to keep you company because I wanted to." 

    'I didn't want you to be lonely while I was sick,' he thought.

    Lee Chan softly smiled, looking at Jihoon's face in the dim light. A strange look crossed his face and he turned around once again, beginning his rhythm of clicking. Lee Chan just sat contentedly in the dark, listening. 

    "Soonyoung told me you were sick," Jihoon said after a few minutes. 

    "Yes, I was," he replied. "It was so bad yesterday morning that I couldn't even get out of bed." 

    "Soonyoung told me that too."

    "I'm feeling better right now though. When I woke up a few minutes ago it was almost bearable," replied Lee Chan, quietly laughing to himself.

    Jihoon remained silent yet again, but then softly spoke after a few more minutes.

    "I was worried about you."

    And then they locked eyes.