Inna awkwardly coughed, before forcing her eyes to dart away. Even though she couldn't see the raven-haired boy's reaction, she somehow felt like he had sent her a smug smile, before casually walking back to his room. 

"Sorry about that," Jimin apologized, after Jungkook had closed his door. "I didn't expect someone to be with him today." 

"Oh, er, I understand," she replied hesitantly, unsure of what to say. Although Jimin didn't seem the least bit bothered, probably because this seemed to be a reoccurring event, Inna would definitely feel flustered if one of her roommates had done that in her shared dorm, and she was sure that Jion wouldn't let it go lightly, but perhaps things were different with boys. Shaking off the discomfort she felt, the two dived straight back into their project, talking about various things while putting all of the research together. 

Despite that, Inna couldn't help but think about earlier, and Jungkook's presence still lingered on her mind, even after she left their dorm. 

Why was she so fixated on him? 

She pondered over that question as she quietly walked back to her dorm, holding tightly onto the half-finished poster board that she started with Jimin. They would have to meet again in the next few days to actually finish it, but she wasn't too sure if she was comfortable enough to do that. She could always invite him to her dorm as a last-minute resort, but she didn't particularly feel like asking her roommates, and she felt like Woori and Jisoo would've just gawked over him, instead of leaving them alone. 

With a sigh, she realized that she'd have to possibly see Jungkook again, and silently groaned to herself. She thought she saw something different in the twinkle that rested in his eyes, but she must've been mistaken. Afterall, it wasn't like she had the ability to sense if someone was a good person or not just by looking into their eyes, though she'd admittedly like that. 

After what seemed like forever, she found herself at the foot of her building, reluctantly walking inside. She felt like a million stones rested on her shoulders, but even then, she just wanted to sit in a secluded area, so that she didn't have to interact with anyone. Unfortunately, she'd just have to pray that her roommates didn't say much to her tonight. 

"Good evening Inna!" Jisoo greeted as the girl walked in, and Inna weakly smiled back in greeting. 

"Hello," she answered simply, taking her shoes off. 

"How was being with Jimin?" Woori asked curiously, and Inna immediately felt even more exhausted. 

"Oh, it was okay, we only worked on a project," she said politely, forcing a fake smile on her face. She could tell that they were eager for more details, but she excused herself to her room quickly, stating that she was 'really tired', though she just wanted to get away from all annoyances. 

Once she stepped inside her room, she met eyes with Jion, who laid in bed with her phone propped up on her stomach. "Oh, hey," her roommate greeted indifferently. "Sorry, I'm watching a show, do you want me to turn it off?" 

"No," Inna shook her head, as she put everything down and started changing into her sleepwear. For once, she was glad to be drowned out by some sort of noise, and if Jion noticed that Inna was acting strangely, she didn't make any sign of it, as she absentmindedly continued watching her drama, visibly reacting to everything that happened.

After brushing her teeth, Inna immediately crawled into bed and at this point, Jion could probably see that there was something wrong with her, but instead of asking what was wrong, she just cleared and mumbled, "Good night Inna." 

The other girl turned to face her, as she flashed a soft smile. 

"Good night Jion." 

With the weight of the world on her shoulders, she wondered how she was even able to close her eyes, but slipped into a deep slumber soon enough.  

***

The next morning, she woke up feeling quite under the weather and the burning sensation that swept throughout her entire body trapped her to the safety of her blankets. Great, she thought quietly to herself, prodding her hot face with the back of her hand. 

Her entire mouth felt extremely dry as she reached over to grab the half-drinken water bottle she left on the nightstand the night before, feeling an ache in the base of her head. She quickly downed it, before putting it back and laying her head on her pillow, contemplating if she wanted to go to school or stay at home. She certainly wasn't struggling, but she hadn't ever really missed school, just because of the overwhelming pressure to succeed - which again, comes with the Yang family name. 

Inna counted the number of assignments that she probably would've had that day silently in her head before Jion walked in, probably from a shower, as she had a towel wrapped up like a tower on her head. "Oh good morning Inna," she greeted, pulling out her uniform from her side of the closet. 

"Good morning," the other girl responded hoarsely, and she knew that she already was not starting the day off well. Jion raised a brow as she glanced over, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the girl. 

"Sick?" She asked, putting on her skirt. 

"Yeah," Inna said, her statement coming out as a strange whimper. 

"I hope you're not planning on going to school because you sound like absolute  right now," Jion said firmly, turning to the girl for affirmation. There was a look of determination in her eyes and Inna knew that even if she wanted to go to school, her roommate definitely would not have let her. 

"B-but I have to work on the project with Jimin, we're supposed to get it done today," she insisted, cowering under the scrutinizing stare Jion sent her. Usually, she wouldn't have been scared of her, but for some reason, Jion definitely looked adamant on making sure she didn't go to school. 

"Okay well, that's going to be later anyway and I don't care if you get Jimin or any of his couch buddies sick, but you won't be able to properly learn anything in school and you need to rest now. I'm worried about you, you know?" Jion added the last part with a deep blush growing on her cheeks, and Inna giggled in realization. The stubborn, tsundere-like girl always had a hard time expressing her emotions, and Inna could see that, but the sudden announcement of worry made Inna's heart warm up. 

"Thank you," she said finally. "You're right. I'll stay here for the day, but if I feel better later, maybe I'll go and see Jimin." 

"Okay good," Jion nodded with satisfaction. "Don't overwork yourself." 

Inna nodded, as she watched Jion leave, before laying back and staring at the ceiling in wonder. She'd never really stayed home like this and wondered if she should just go back to sleep or get up and do something. If she were just going to stay at the dorm, she should just make herself useful right? 

Despite that, Inna took Jion's words into consideration and wondered if she was just going to exhaust herself the same if she were to go to school. She thought about it for a minute more before slowly getting up and resolving to at least make some breakfast before allowing herself to go back to bed. Inna didn't quite need to cook so much at home, as they had a live-in chef, but after looking up recipes for congee, she assumed that it wasn't too hard of a task - after all, she at least knows how to make rice. 

After setting up the pot and placing the rice and water in it, she the stove and watched it timidly for a few minutes, before going to sit down on the couch in the living room. She occasionally glanced up at it in worry, wondering how long she should let it cook, but if she followed the recipe accordingly, it probably wouldn't be more than thirty minutes, so she sat there quietly, scrolling through social media. 

First, Inna looked up her brother's private account, wondering what he was up to. He had kept it quite hidden, only sharing it with close family members and friends, but even then, a lot of the things he shared was nearly not everything that happened in his life. With him being a celebrity and a member of such an elusive family, Inna assumed that he had to keep a lot of his life private and suddenly her heart ached for him.

She contemplated on it for a few minutes, but eventually decided to call him, as she had nothing else better to do and realized that she hadn't talked to him in quite a bit because of how busy he was. Luckily, he picked up after three rings and his comforting voice rang through her ears. 

"Inna! How are you, I haven't talked to you in so long," he greeted, and she could already imagine the smile on his face. "I missed you so much!" 

"I missed you too," she said breathily, noting how horrible her voice sounded. Clearly, he could hear that as well as he sighed loudly. 

"You sound terrible... Are you sick?" 

"Yeah, unfortunately," she replied back with pursed lips. The longer she was sick, the more she wanted to get better already. She just wished that she could snap her fingers and have the sickness go away in an instant. 

"Don't forget to take care of yourself okay? Are you staying home?" 

"Yes I am, my roommate told me to stay home and get better," she chuckled at the memory. 

"That's good. I hope you're not feeling too bad..."

Inna noted the worry in his voice, and felt herself feeling lonelier than ever. They barely saw each other because of the different responsibilities they had, but she wished that he could've been there with her. It sometimes felt like he was the only one who understood her, but sharing concerns with him was always difficult because of his lack of free time and Inna's timid hesitation to talk about anything regarding that matter. 

"Hey," she started to say before shyly clearing . "Um, can I ask something?" 

"Huh? Sure, go ahead. You don't have to act all polite or anything, I still remember you trying to eat mud cakes when we were younger," he snickered playfully, and Inna immediately grew red. 

"Stop that, I was only four and you encouraged me!" She retorted in embarrassment, hearing Inhyuk laugh loudly. "A-anyway, I just wanted to ask... Do you ever regret your lifestyle or I don't know... I guess, do you ever just regret being born a Yang and uh, kind of not having the freedom that you'd kinda want in the creative industry?" 

There was a long pause as her brother thought about the question and Inna gulped. She had never asked him too much about how he felt about being in the family before, and it was only a passing thought to Inna that had become stronger and stronger as she grew up. 

"Well..." Inhyuk started to say. "I definitely love you and the rest of the family and I love the benefits that I get from being a 'Yang', per say, like getting opportunities given to me more easily than others but... I think I agree with what you said the last time we talked seriously about things. I think that it's restricting and no one really tries to get to know the real me anymore, especially since I'm considered a celebrity but... it's tough." 

The raw frustration and hurt in his voice made Inna ache. She never would've really thought that her upbeat brother would have felt things like things, but once again, she saw that people aren't exactly who they make themselves out to be, and her brother wasn't an exception. Her heart hurt at the fact that she assumed such things from him.

"It's really tiring you know? Like I feel like I always have to fake my emotions and everyone sees me as a happy-go-lucky person, but even I want to cry sometimes." 

"Yeah..." Inna nodded in agreement, even though she knew that he couldn't see her. Regardless, she understood him emotionally, and wished even more that they could've had this talk in person. "It's hard. I didn't know you were in pain like that, but you know that you can always talk to me right? I understand you... I understand the feeling that you have to live up to an image that someone else has created of you." 

Even though her brother was the one talking about his frustrations, hot tears fell down Inna's cheeks. 

"Well, you're certainly being sweet," he chuckled, before adding in a softer tone, "I hope you know that it's the same for me. I bet it's hard having to fill up to everyone's shoes, especially since you're so young and you're not exactly going down the road to becoming an actor like me. I hope you know that you can do whatever you want and you don't have to work for anyone's approval." 

Inna sat there silently for a moment, absorbing his words before she sniffled back a reply. 

"Thank you. That means a lot to me," she murmured back, wiping the tears with her sleeve. Even though she felt like she seemed so far away from her brother, he always managed to make the distance seem like it were a misty illusion. 

"Of course," he said, almost in a purr. "Well, I've got to get to the set now, so I'll let you go, but I'm always a text away! Don't forget to talk to me every once in a while, I miss you, you know?" 

"I miss you too," Inna said back. "Have fun." 

She placed the phone on her table, as she saw that he hung up and sighed, staring at her ceiling. It was always refreshing talking to her brother because it always seemed like the weight on her shoulders began to disappear, but she also felt even more alone where she actually was. Inna barely had anyone she could talk to on a deeper level, except perhaps maybe Jion, but even then, it'd seem too awkward.

She just wished she knew someone who understood her exactly the same. 

Reluctantly snapping out of her thoughts and getting up to check on her porridge, Inna walked over to the stove tiredly, before lifting up the pot and seeing that it was done. She turned off the heat and began to pour it into a bowl carefully. 

She noted that while being home alone was great and felt quite relaxing, she just wished that her mother was here with her. After all, it was a mother's love that made everything better. 

Despite that, Inna merely grasped onto the bowl and sat at the dining table, slowly blowing at her hot meal and digging in. It was piping hot, but why did everything feel so cold? 

***

After finishing her meal, Inna made sure to return back to bed, enveloping herself in the warm covers. She had napped for a few hours, but when she had awoken, she felt possibly even worse than before. 

It could possibly be because of the fact that she forgot to take medicine after she ate, but Inna reached over groggily to sip some more water. Every part of her felt hot and dry, and she hated the feeling, hoping that she'd get over this sickness soon. She peered over at her phone to check if there were any updates, but there wasn't much other than a few news updates, some texts from Jin asking about her health and reminding her to take medicine, and Jimin asking if they were going to meet later on. 

Inna sighed tiredly as she responded to Jin first, and then opened up Jimin's message, wondering if she actually wanted to go. She knew that it'd be better to finish the project, so that she wouldn't have to catch Jungkook at an awkward time once again, but the feeling of resting under her warm covers trapped her from even getting out of bed. 

She read his message once more and even though she knew that she wanted to lay in bed for the rest of the day, she also felt obligated to help him as soon as possible - probably because she had never been given quite much freedom to be so... carefree in a sense. She never would've allowed herself to stay home with a sickness as small as a cold (or at least her family wouldn't have), and the ordeal was slightly overwhelming for her. 

With another longing sigh, Inna typed up a simple message asking when she'd be able to come and even though she expected him to be the cold type on text as well, he answered immediately, giving her a decent and succinct time to come over. It was in a few hours from then, so Inna merely put her phone back on the table and went to sleep. 

Perhaps she felt slightly more relieved than usual because she talked to her brother about her problems or because she got to stay home, but for some reason, she had a dream - something she hadn't had for quite a while. 

***

When she woke up, it had been about time for her to leave and meet Jimin, but she sat up slowly, rubbing her aching head in confusion. She immediately forgot what she was dreaming about, but the warm feeling that it left in her heart made her feel like it was something good.

What could it have been about? She pondered over it as she got ready, putting on multiple layers and even a scarf to protect herself from the bursts of cool winds. Even though she thought long and hard about it, she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly she dreamt about and merely shook the thought out of her head as she left the dorm. 

Inna made her way towards Jimin's dorm, which was only a short walk, but even with her many layers, she noted how cold it was getting outside. It was only the beginning of the school year, but fall may be approaching faster than she had anticipated. The leaves were starting to lose the bright green hue that they donned for so long, and she could already spot a few golden specks on the trees. 

Continuing to silently walk towards Jimin's place, she kept her gaze mostly lowered, until she looked up quickly and met someone's gaze. 

And even though she's seen it before, it never fails to keep her locked. 

Jungkook sent her an unassuming wave, as he approached her, and Inna noted that the girl she caught him with the last time she came to the dorm was staring at her, rooted to the spot she was standing in. Awkwardly, she waved back at him and he kindly smiled, stopping right in front of her. 

"You look warm," he commented, and even though Inna hadn't quite really talked to him before, he didn't seem too bothered to act all friendly with her. 

"Yeah..." she responded back hoarsely, filled with awe. Why exactly was he talking to her?

"Oh are you sick?" He asked, his eyes lighting up with worry, and Inna stared back in confusion. He barely knew her, why was he so worried? She felt overly sensitive towards him at that moment, but tried to shake it off as him just trying to be nice, but every time she saw him, he ignored her, so why now? 

"Yeah, unfortunately," she nodded quietly, unsure of how to properly reply to him. 

"That ," he sent a small frown and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a cough drop. "For you then!" 

Inna blinked back in surprise as he grabbed her hand and placed the candy in her palm, before turning and running off back to the girl, and she stood there, stunned. What had just exactly happened?

She watched him walk off with the other girl, as she glanced down at the cough drop in confusion, before placing it in her pocket and making her way towards Jimin's dorm once more, a brewing storm of questions growing in her mind. Was he just randomly nice like that? To people he didn't really talk to? She silently tossed theories back and forth, trying to find an explanation for his actions, but after a few minutes, she just stood in front of the door and concluded that there probably wasn't a reason for what he did. 

Perhaps he really was just being nice. 

With a sigh, she knocked on the door and Jimin opened it after a few minutes. 

"Hello," she greeted, her voice cracking. A soft blush fell on her cheeks, as she heard how ragged her voice had become. 

Jimin merely stared at her flatly, before raising a brow. 

"Hey. So you're sick too?" He asked, letting her in. 

"Too?" Inna asked, as she took off her shoes. Who was he referring to?

"Oh, Jungkook is sick too. He's dumb though, I told him to stay in bed and he decided to go out with some girl," the other male mumbled disinterestedly, before asking if she wanted tea. 

Inna nodded awkwardly, but the thought of Jungkook arose back into her head. Really, why did he give her that cough drop? She reached back into her pocket, and felt the candy sitting there, her fingers becoming quite warm after touching the tiny piece of candy, and then she paused, deep in thought.

Was the heat of her fever that made her feel so warm in the depths of her stomach?