Jisoo wakes up with a coughing fit. dry and aching, and, on top of that, a headache. The hectic schedule she made for herself finally taking a toll on her body. Going to photoshoots and promotional events is no big deal, but, going to all of Lisa’s events while trying to put in her own practice time and dealing with her own schedule certainly managed to wear her off.

She barely had an appetite the previous night, foregoing a proper meal for a small snack instead, that should have been the first sign, but she merely ignored it.

She sluggishly gets out of bed and drags herself to the kitchen for a bottle of water, aching body protesting the entire way. She makes a detour to the bathroom to grab some painkillers which she chugs down along with the water and goes right back to bed, ready to sleep in until late. She scrunches her eyes for a second, willing the headache to go away so she can think clearly. In passing, she recalls the schedule for the day and mentally curses her newfound sickness and herself for letting it happen. She stretches out her hand, reaching for her phone and setting an alarm for ten in the morning. Not only does she have to get up and be ready for their flight to Japan, but she still has to pack some clothes for the short stay in the other country.

She sighs and sets her phone back down on the nightstand then rubs at her tired eyes.

Just perfect.

Finally, she fully settles back into the bed, the feeling of sinking into the comfortable mattress a welcome reprieve. Somehow the short walk from her bedroom to the kitchen and the small detour to the bathroom had completely exhausted her. She closes her eyes and turns to bury half her face in the pillow, more than ready to pass out for the next several hours.

Dreadfully, ten in the morning rolls around far quicker than she had hoped. Even after a couple of hours of shuteye she feels drained, sick, and like she barely slept two scant minutes. She goes through the normal routine of preparing her travel bag with the essentials, although much slower than usual. It isn’t until just past eleven that she finishes packing and getting ready. She sets her bag by the entrance and shuffles into the kitchen, as per habit. In her current state, her body doesn’t even really crave for food like it usually does. She has a nagging feeling that if she does eat anything she will likely throw up and regret it later.

She shakes her head at the thought and, instead of eating anything filling, she opts to lightly sip on some orange juice. However, that idea is quickly trashed when the liquid makes contact with her taste buds and her first reaction is to gag and grimace. She sets the cup aside and heavily leans on the edge of the kitchen counter, head hung low as she takes deep breaths and tries to control her gag reflex.

Okay…

Water it is then.

When the rest of the girls finally start trickling out of their rooms one by one, all dressed and with their bags packed, they find Jisoo reading a book, an unopened bottle of water in front of her.

She’s not quite reading, she has been on the same page for almost half an hour – the pressure in her head making it impossible to fully process the words and her thoughts becoming fuzzy – but at least she’s trying and that’s enough of an accomplishment for her.

“Good morning,” Chaeyoung chirps, quickly preparing herself something to eat and leaving some for the other two girls that soon come out of their respective rooms.

“Morning,” Jisoo mumbles, glancing away from her book to give Chaeyoung a small smile, far too tired for anything else.

“Can’t wait to get to Japan and get the photoshoot over with later so we can have some free time,” Chaeyoung practically bounces in her seat after settling down to eat, “where do you want to go to eat after our schedule?”

Chaeyoung is looking at her with sparkling eyes, all from the mere thought of food, and Jisoo can’t help but chuckle at the younger girl’s appetite.

“I’m not sure,” she trails off. Food is the last thing on her mind, she has no craving for anything, especially considering how her stomach had churned at the mere taste of simple orange juice earlier.

“Ah, I really can’t wait to have some more of those-,”

Chaeyoung gets cut off by the ringing of her phone and the mumbled good morning from Jennie and Lisa.

Jisoo’s gaze immediately drifts to the youngest, unconsciously eyeing her from top to bottom. Once again, she wonders just how, exactly, Lisa manages to look perfect in washed-out high-waisted shorts and simple black shirt that is tucked in.

“Oh,” Chaeyoung greets them then turns her full attention to her phone, a smile pulling at her lips, “I’ll be back in a bit,” she gets up, taking her plate of food and going back into her room.

“So much for having breakfast as a group,” Lisa jests when she catches sight of the name flashing on Chaeyoung’s screen.

Chaeyoung ignores her in favor of answering the phone, they all catch the initial greeting just before Chaeyoung closes the door, “Hi, baby-,”

Jennie chuckles, “She’s so whipped.”

Lisa and Jisoo smile and nod in agreement.

They all go silent, the sounds of Lisa and Jennie serving themselves being the only noise in the room.

All three girls lost in their own tumultuous thoughts.

I wish I had that with her, Jisoo thinks in passing, her eyes on the youngest.

Lisa gets the prickling sensation of being stared at and turns away from the plate in her hands, her eyes scanning the room and meeting Jisoo’s soft gaze. Jisoo’s eyes widen in surprise and she immediately turns her attention back to her open book, going over the lines like her life depends on it.

She doesn’t notice the way Lisa’s lips form an easy smile as she goes about what she was doing; grabbing her food and settling down across from Jisoo to eat.

Only a couple of seconds go by when Lisa looks back up, this time meeting Jennie’s penetrating gaze. A shiver runs down Lisa’s spine at the inappropriate thoughts that flash through her head all from one mere glance. She clears and breaks eye-contact, focusing on finishing her food and thinking about the schedule ahead of them.

**

Chaeyoung isn’t a big fan of airports.

She never has been.

She simply doesn’t like how hectic everything gets and how rushed everyone always seems to be; stressing over the smallest thing like it’s the end of the world.

After becoming an idol, though, it changed, and not for the better.

She loves the fans with all her heart, it makes her happy beyond belief when she sees Blinks waiting for them and holding up big signs with inspirational words to cheer them on. But, the downside of having such big crowds waiting for them – to see them, give them gifts, or take pictures – well, it’s almost overwhelming. The thought that, in one split second, the fans could get overexcited and break the line, separating the members from each other and their accompanying managers. Not only that, but, mostly the thought that maybe not everyone in the crowd is a fan, maybe they are exactly the opposite.

Maybe they’re anti-fans who blend well into the crowd, awaiting their perfect moment, just one single mistake and they’ll be ready to strike.

It’s terrifying.

She smiles for the cameras that are flashing at them from every direction and reaches back to slip her hand into Lisa’s who quickly catches up with her strides.

Somehow, the walk to the check-in area always seems to be the longest. Chaeyoung keeps glancing around, making sure to keep a smile on her face for the fans, all the while trying not to let her worry shine through. She spares a glance behind them, through the crowd that has nearly enclosed her and Lisa in a bubble and spots both Jennie and Jisoo lagging behind, Jisoo’s hand latched onto Jennie’s arm. She frowns slightly, there is definitely something going on with Jisoo, she certainly wasn’t her usual preppy self in the morning and Chaeyoung is almost one hundred percent sure that Jennie is only walking that slow because of the eldest.

Before she has a chance to worry herself further though, they arrive at the check-in area and the attendant asks to take a look at their tickets and passports before letting them proceed. It isn’t until Chaeyoung is sent through into the waiting area that Jennie and Jisoo catch up. Lisa stiffly walks in right after her, sparing one last lingering look over her