Mino POV

      I crumpled the piece of paper I wrote on, hiding the several words I managed to get out of my brain with hundreds of wrinkles. After creating a satisfying ball out of my hard labour, I tossed it in the trash, walking out the room. It was no surprise that something else of our's was rejected...again. By now, we got so used to rejection that it was considered a norm at this point. Winner was heading nowhere and a comeback was too far ahead to conceptualize. We wrote songs everyday, only for them to be deemed 'not good enough'. We were special, especially after winning the survival show. We had higher expectations, and anything that we wrote had to be made more 'unique' and 'colourful'. But the process was akin to slave driving. 

      I walked down the halls of YG entertainment, making my way out to get some rest. My mind was wandering, but I noticed Jiwon walking the rest of iKON down the halls, laughing with great joy on their faces. The way he smiled with ease made it feel as though he was mocking me, saying 'who's the loser now?'. I walked past him, but he must have noticed me because a few moments later, I felt a light tapping on my shoulder.

      "Hey hyung! I haven't seen you for a while. How have you been?" he asked eagerly, flashing a toothy grin. 

      "Alright," I replied halfheartedly, not bothering to put enough emotion. I was just tired.

      "Ah...I see. Oh, hyung, iKON is having a comeback soon! Teddy hyung produced it and it sounds super good!" he exclaimed, bubbling with excitement. How nice. They are cooler after all, with more upbeat songs. Nobody cares about our raw emotion. People care about youth and joyfulness. Of course they would be exposed to the public more. "How about you guys?" Oh.

      "Meh, I don't know. Maybe next year," I responded, showing him a smile. It hurt to say that. Here I was, a sunbae, being undermined by a hoobae. A hoobae whose much much better. It only made my heart ache to say it out loud. It was as if mouthing the truth made it even more true. That we were simply to be pushed aside. Jiwon was silent for a moment, probably sensing my bad mood.

      "Don't worry! You guys are still loved!" he cheerfully told me before rejoining s again. Yeah right.

      Back at the dorms, I was greeted with the sight of Seungyoon strumming along to his guitar, intently staring at the computer screen full of notes and lyrics in front of him. His fingers, I noticed, were full of new cuts and bandaids sloppily covering the old, but he never failed to strike the right tunes with perfection. Dark bags marred his usual lighthearted eyes, which twinkled upon seeing us all. He didn't notice my prescence until I slid over to him on the couch, picking up a pen and paper.

      "Let me help," I offered. He usually would refuse, telling us to get rest like the good leader he is, but I guess he too was tired.

       The others were working on music too, but fell asleep around 11 PM. Seungyoon and I continued discussing and arguing, trying to find what exactly will work, but eventually sleep stole us as well, our eyelids heavy as lead. The struggles would have to wait till tomorrow.

      I woke up with Seungyoon on my shoulders and was rather comfortable. However, my body felt heavy, as though gravity was trying to fight against me. My body was sleek with cold sweat, but my skin was on fire. ...I can't afford being sick now.

      "We have to go over some old dances today. We have to head to the studio," Seungyoon said immediately upon waking up. His voice was urgent and he nudged everyone else awake, complaining about being late. No matter how much I just wanted to plop myself on the cool, white sheets of my bed and be met with lovely dreams again, we all had a duty to fulfill.

      "Can