"Today's the practice day for Inkigayo MC performance, right?" Jennie asked.

Blackpink members were in YG cafeteria, enjoying their high-quality lunch. After their morning practice, they finally had a few hours of break.

"Ne, it's today." Jisoo flatly answered. She took a spoonful of rice and chewed slowly, while she swiped through her Instagram.

Lisa, Rose, and Jennie glanced at each other, knowing full well what was in each other's mind. Since early morning, Jisoo was not in a good mood despite everything the members did to cheer her up. Jennie had already asked her for almost a hundred times if she was alright, but Jisoo stubbornly assured them that she was fine. She tried to fake a cheerful attitude but the other three Blackpink members refused to buy that.

And the fact that Jisoo kept going back to check her phone all morning was an apparent indication that something was definitely happening.

"Unnie, we'll help you to practice! We can convince our managers to spare us a few hours to help you!" Lisa talked with her chubby cheeks, talking with food in .

"Aiya, gwenchanayo, maknae-ah. I don't think manager-unnie will let you guys practice with me. It'll be a brief practice, too. Don't worry about it."

"And don't talk while you have food in your mouth." Jisoo added, throwing a sharp gaze at Lisa.

"Ye, algesumnida, ma'am."

"Nope, I think you need a PD. I can become a PD and give judgment on your entire performance." Jennie put down her chopsticks on the table and looked straight at Jisoo's eyes. "And to find out why you are acting so strange lately."

Jisoo could only stared back at Jennie, but then she realized that the other members were looking at her, too. Her doe-eyes widened as she tried hard to act innocent.

"Strange? I'm normal, though?"

"Nu-uh, unnie. You are so weird lately. Not your usual 4D-weird, but like....weird, weird." Rose tried to explain with her limited Korean. Jisoo narrowed her eyes.

"Guys, this is getting annoying. I've told you several times that there is nothing wrong with me, why are you keep pestering me with these questions."

"See?" Rose turned Jennie who nodded in agreement. When the two of them looked at Lisa asking for any response, the maknae could only shrug. Unnie never gets angry. Lately she becomes a bit sensitive, and she worries a lot, Rose thought.

"Listen, Jisoo. What is happening between you and your phone? Is it broken?" Jennie asked, pointing at Jisoo's phone. In defense, Jisoo automatically took her phone and hid it.

"I don't have any problem with my phone. I don't get you."

"Well, if you don't have problems with your phone, then why do you check it so religiously?" Rose interrogated her unnie. She even narrowed her eyes and folded her arms, adding emphasis that intimidated the main suspect.

"Check it? You might mistaken me with Jennie. I don't play with my phone as much as her." Jisoo frowned as she started to get impatient. Jennie gaped in shock when Jisoo mentioned her name.

"Ugh, what? Excuse me, Jisoo-yah. Just admit it you are waiting for a reply from someone!" This time Jennie raised her tone, as she got even more irritated. Below the table, Rose held Jennie's hand, comforting her. Jennie need to calm down; being a rookie group they HAD TO avoid any trouble.

Lisa, too, put her hand on Jisoo's shoulder as she softly explained, "unnie, we are just worried about you. You really did check your phone too often than you realized. And each time you checked, you let out an exasperated sigh. It was too obvious for us not to notice."

Jisoo thought for a while before she exhaled a deep breath as if she had held her breath for a long time. She really need to calm down. She almost started a fight between them.

"Let's talk in the practice room."

The members nodded and they resumed their eating in silence.

~

"Okay, nice. Prepare for Style #2." The photographer exclaimed.

Right away, Jinyoung let out a deep breath he didn't know he held. The stylist called him to the dressing room, ready to dress him up with the second look of the photoshoot. Today's photoshoot was unbelievably hard even though usually he was quite the photogenic one. Out of GOT7 members, he and Jackson were said to be the best in photoshoot. Both of them had amazing features in every angle, it was easy for the photographer to shoot them. However, he didn't know why his body didn't cooperate well this time.

Maybe because he was sick.

Two days ago, after he had an almost fight with Jaebum, Jinyoung was sent back to the dorm to rest but he didn't do it. He read until the members came home and they ate dinner together. Oh, he was quite healthy at that time but on the next day, when they had to shoot an MV, the temperature dropped so low that he began to feel uncomfortable. Nonetheless, they still need to go through the filming because they didn't have much time. Their comeback date was near and they hadn't finished their MV.

The stress. The burden. And the temperature. Oh, not to mention that Jinyoung had to shoot a scene under the water, too.

He drank vitamin before starting the filming, but his thin outfit was not helping. Jinyoung could see the breath coming out from everyone's mouth. Everyone was working hard to suppress the cold so he had to show even more effort.

"Are you really going to be okay?" Jaebum came to him before he shoot the underwater scene inside a glass box.

"I'm okay, it's going to be short."

"Once you're out, go take a warm shower and drink more vitamin."

"I'll be okay, hyung." And the camera rolled. But...

I'm not okay, Jinyoung reflected. After the filming, the members went back to the dorm and they were all weak from the cold. Jaebum cooked a warm soup right away and told everyone to eat it to warm their bodies. Meanwhile, Jinyoung went straight to his bedroom because he felt like his head was going to explode. A migraine and a fever, perfect combination. Just what I need, Jinyoung sighed. He heard Jaebum calling him from the outside of his room, but when he didn't answer, the leader let himself in.

"You got a fever. Do I need to call the manager? I don't think you can go for tomorrow's photoshoot." Jaebum carefully placed a cold compress on Jinyoung's forehead. He still asked, knowing full well that Jinyoung would still go for the photoshoot.

"Gwenchana, hyung. I just need more rest. Sorry to trouble you." Jinyoung apologized as he closed his eyes. Yugyeom came inside bringing a paracetamol and a glass of water for Jinyoung. The sick man took it and drank it right away.

"Anything else you need, hyung?" Yugyeom asked.

Jinyoung laughed slightly. "What? Since when are you this kind."

"Aish, hyung, this is not the time to joke around," but that earned him another laugh from Jinyoung. He stopped when he saw Yugyeom's eyes were somehow a bit teary.

"Hyung, you always overwork...," Yugyeom trailed off and before he finished his sentence, he excused himself and exited the room. Jinyoung looked at Jaebum, asking for explanation.

"Everyone is just a bit overwhelmed with everything. I thought we have done this a lot of time, we should've gotten used to it. But even I think this is too much, and the weather is not helping." 

Jinyoung nodded but he remained quiet. He adjusted the cold facecloth on his forehead and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, when he thought Jaebum had left his room, he suddenly felt someone sitting on his bed.

"You know, I trust you whenever you say you just need a bit rest. Out of everyone in GOT7, you always take care of your body. But you should also trust us when we say you need to rest. We won't be this worried if it's not severe. Have you seen yourself in the mirror?" Even though Jinyoung closed his eyes, he knew well that it was Jaebum who talked.

Yeah, I have. I guess this time I can't really convince you guys, Jinyoung thought. His face was pale, and his eyes were drowsy and red from fever.

"I heard you still have practice for Inkigayo performance?" Jaebum asked.

"Yeah."

"And you're still planning to go?"

Jinyoung paused. "...I don't want to disappoint them." And I made a promise to Jisoo.

The leader sighed. His longtime brother was a hard-headed, indeed.

"I just wish you know that it's fine to call in sick, even if you're an idol, Jinyoung. No one will blame you for being sick."

"I'm sorry." The only phrase he could utter. Jaebum shook his head.

"Say sorry to yourself. Rest, man." That was the last thing he heard before Jinyoung fell asleep.

Now here he was, in the dressing room while Allure stylist and make up artist did their job, forcing himself. The entire time, he was only wishing that he could finish this photoshoot. He disliked the concept, the hairstylist curled his hair and he wore something he thought was a bit ridiculous. He saw the photographer clicked his tongue a few times and it added to his burden. His manager was rather unhappy to see him like this, discouraged and unprofessional. From his spot he could hear the stylist whispered to his manager.

"What's with him today? He's giving us a hard time."

"He is a bit sick." The manager could only give that one excuse.

"Still, he should've been more professional. Thank God he is drop-dead handsome, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten a few good shots."

Jinyoung could only stay quiet. This is the life of an idol, huh. From the corner of his eyes, he saw his manager glared at him. , at this rate he won't let me practice for Inkigayo.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to put even more effort.

This time he received praises from the photographer. "Ah, look at you. You look like a Spanish prince. Just pretend you're a handsome young prince, looking sweet and composed. Yes, yes, like that!"

~

"So..."

The three Blackpink members were intensely looking at their oldest unnie. They ate their lunch in lightning speed, and then ran straight to the practice room so that they would have more time to talk before they need to start practicing again.

They were sitting in circle, so that they could keep the volume down.

"Yesterday I sent Jinyoung-ssi a text, asking if he could come today for our practice but he didn't reply my message. And this morning, I sent him another message but he still didn't reply. Until now." Jisoo explained, and as soon as she mentioned that GOT7 member's name, the girls were already smiling (or smirking) at her.

"And then?" Rose asked.

"Um...that's it?"

The girls gasped loudly. "Unnie, just like that? Just because he didn't reply to your text and you became so distressed?" Rose asked, partly surprise and partly excited.

"Ah, I can see now. Everything is crystal clear~" Jennie sang.

"Yes, unnie, you can't shrug this off any longer. Okay, admit it." Lisa pointed a finger at her unnie excitedly.

Fine, they will find out anyway, Jisoo thought. She put her hands on her face, covering her blushing face and..

"I think I like Jinyoung-ssi."

"KYAAAAAAA!" The three girls stood up, squealing and jumping around as they tried to contain the excitement.

"Wah, daebak, unnnie. This is what we've been waiting for! Our unnie finally fell in love!"

"B-but it's just the beginning, okay! I mean who won't like him? W-wait, maybe I don't like, LIKE, him but I..uh..I admire him! Yes, yes that's right, I admire him!"

"Too late, unnie!" Rose, still jumping, told her sister.

"Alright, alright, please sit down. Don't be too loud! What if Sangwon-unnie heard about this! Shushh!"

"Okay, okay, Rose's heart, please calm down." Rose calmed herself before she got scolded by Jisoo.

"But that's not it. I really have a bad feeling right now." Jisoo worriedly told them. Since last night, she was feeling a bit restless. She texted Jinyoung yesterday morning but he hadn't reply her at all. It was weird, because it was impossible for someone to avoid looking at his or her phone that long. There could be many reasons, though: one, Jinyoung just didn't want to reply her, or two, his phone is broken. Or he could be super busy, too. But even so, she was worried.

"Unless he thinks this practice is not important..."

"No, I don't think so." Jennie cut her off. The maknae line nodded.

"Anyway, please don't talk about this everywhere. I don't want anyone to find out, especially Sangwon-unnie. I mean, everything is new and I don't even know him that well so...maybe it's just a temporary sensation. Let's just see what will happen in the future." Jisoo begged them.

~

After hours of photoshoot and interview, Jinyoung and manager sat inside of the mini van, talking. Despite the difficulties (as in his pounding head and foul mood), the photoshoot was successful since Jinyoung had motivated himself to do his best in order to leave early. However, the interview took longer than he thought so now it was already 4:25 PM. Inkigayo practice started at 4.

"What are you going to do, now? You're tired and YG building is a bit far from here so it will take time to get there."

"It's okay, hyung, at least I can listen to the song and took a video of their dance."

"Well, you can always ask one of them to record a video."

"Hyung, please. I really want to join the practice." Jinyoung begged his manager.

"Fine."

"Thank you, hyung."

They went quiet. Jinyoung was leaning onto his seat while his manager drove quickly. He almost fell asleep when his manager spoke again.

"I'm more worried about your health, actually."

"I'll be okay, hyung." Honestly, Jinyoung was already so sick of saying the same phrases over and over again. Can someone actually believe me when I say that I'm okay. It's getting annoying.

Well, I mean, I still have my headache but I can still manage. What if I say that I have a damn headache? Everyone will make a fuss, telling me to rest or sleep in the dorm. Exaggerating as always, Jinyoung thought.

When he thought things couldn't be worse, they got caught in a really bad traffic. When he opened the GPS for the first time, it said that it should have taken no more than 30 minutes to get to YG building. But when he checked again, he saw the red lines on the road, meaning that the street was packed with traffic jam. The expected time arrival changed into 45 minutes. His manager saw him checking the GPS and asked once again.

"We're not too late to change course, Jinyoung. Let's just go home and finish for the day."

Jinyoung shook his head in disbelief, starting to think that maybe he was being unreasonable to force everything. He followed his manager's advice.

"Alright, now the only thing we have to do is to wait in this ty traffic jam." Manager-hyung said, putting the car on neutral.

Jinyoung exhaled a deep breath. He did try so hard to get out quickly from the photoshoot. I'm sorry, Jisoo-ssi, Doyoung-ah. I guess I need to tell the group about this.

However, when he opened his KakaoTalk for the first time that day, he saw a lot of messages.

(Group Chat)
Kim Doyoung (3:50PM):
Hyung, noona, I'm on my way! Please wait for me!

Jisoo (3:55PM):
Be careful on your way! We'll start at 5PM! Jinyoung-ssi, will you come?

Kim Doyoung (4:20PM):
Whae? Jinyoung-hyung won't come to the practice? And here I thought we could hangout to eat meat after we practice..

Kim Doyoung (4:20PM):
Hyung! I know you want to come. I can bring hyung and noona to this super delicious SM-approved restaurant that has a private room for celebrity! If I'm not mistaken it is owned by a celebrity, too, who wants his or her name remained a secret. We can hangout comfortably there!

Jisoo (4:21PM):
Jinjjayo, Doyoung-ie? Kajja! Let's go! But I think it's going to be only you, me, and AKMU. My manager told me Jinyoung-ssi is still having an interview. And can my members join as well? Jinyoung-oppa, fighting! ㅋㅋㅋ

Kim Doyoung (4:21PM):
Jinyoung-hyung, fighting! Don't worry, we will of course send you the pictures of grilled samgyupsal! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

(Private Chat)
Jisoo (8:00AM):
Jinyoung-ssi, will you join us for today's practice?

Jisoo texted me this morning? Jinyoung wondered as he continued to scroll. 

Jisoo (2:22PM):
Annyeong, Jinyoung-ssi. I just want to let you know that we start later than we scheduled. Doyoung-ie has something to do before he can come to the practice. We'll start at 5PM!

Jisoo (4:01PM):
Jinyoung-ssi, I heard you have a photoshoot and interview? Fighting! If you can't come today, I'll make sure to record a video of our dancing and singing so you can catch up. Take care and stay warm!

He finished reading all Jisoo's texts, and he could sense a rush of guilt building inside his heart. His body felt hot but it was not from fever; it was that unfamiliar feeling. Jisoo was patiently waiting for his answer but he was too busy to even look at his phone. He cursed himself for being insensitive.  me, right?

Suddenly a new message came from Jisoo.

Jisoo (4:40PM):
I wish you'd be here, though...

Jinyoung felt as if his heart stopped beating for a split second.

Jisoo..

, I should have checked my phone sooner, Jinyoung cursed himself. His habit of avoiding KakaoTalk, or avoiding his phone entirely, really often put him in a troublesome situation. He looked at the clock. 4:40 PM. He still could make it!

"Hyung, I think I can still come to the practice. A bit late, but it's fine. They changed the time to 5PM." Jinyoung turned to his manager. Manager-hyung raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I know about that. Jisoo's manager told me."

Jinyoung couldn't believe his ears.

"Why don't you tell me?"

"I thought she messaged you already?"

"Hyung, let's just go. We probably can still make it." Jinyoung looked straight to the road, fully realized that the car in front of him didn't move an inch. They were basically moving at 0 km/h. His manager didn't react to his comment because he couldn't do anything right now.

This is bad, I don't think I can make it like this. And I can't push hyung, he must be really tired.

"Hyung, how long this might last?"

Jinyoung's manager took his phone and opened the GPS. They still need to go straight for 700m before they had to turn right.

"You see, the traffic jam is only here, on this road. But once we turn right, it might only take 20 minutes to YG, top speed." His manager showed him the map, pointing his finger at the screen.

Suddenly, as if his brain was switched on, Jinyoung came up with something crazy.

"Hyung, I'll just run to this intersection and hail a cab there!"

His manager made a face in an instant, shaking his head like crazy. "Are you kidding me? I can't just let you go by yourself. First, it's dangerous. Second, you're sick and tired. Third, you're a FREAKING CELEBRITY, Jinyoung!!"

But as if he didn't hear anything, Jinyoung took his wallet and phone, carefully putting them inside his jeans' pocket. He also took a white mask and a black cap. His manager saw him, put his car on handbrake and immediately pulled Jinyoung's arm.

"Don't do you dare, Jinyoung!" he shouted. But Jinyoung was much stronger and he forcefully unclasped his manager's hand from his arm. The manager tried harder to grasp Jinyoung's hoodie.

"Jinyoung, sshibal, Jinyoung! Don't you dare!"

The young man opened the car door and flee.

"JINYOUNG!!!"

~

Jinyoung ran as fast as he could. He could save more time if he ran faster, despite his worsening headache. He didn't know what kept him going; was he really going crazy? Or because a certain someone really wished that he could be there for the practice.

Jisoo.

Jisoo wants me to be there.

He felt his head was pounding so hard and he was panting but he kept running. When he got to the intersection, he waited for a while until a taxi passed by and he called it.

"Sir, YG building."

~

Jisoo (4:40PM):
I wish you'd be here, though...
Read (4:40PM)

Stupid, stupid Jennie, she thought.

"Yah, Jennie! What did you just do? Michyeosseo?" Jisoo screamed so loud as she chased the girl. Jennie ran away but it was hard for her to run as she was laughing so hard. The girl, sly as a fox, took Jisoo's phone and typed something embarassing to Jinyoung.

"What should I do now that he had read the message?" Jisoo was now desperately looking at her phone, reading the sentence over and over again.

"Well, you did tell me that you want Jinyoung to be here."

"But he doesn't need to know that!"

"Unnie, you could say that Jennie hacked your phone." Lisa tried to mediate but she was interrupted.

"But Jinyoung-sunbaenim will feel betrayed, no?" Rose quickly said. Hearing that, Jisoo shouted in defeat.

"Ottoke.."

"But isn't it a bit weird that he reads the messages but he doesn't reply any of them?" Jennie provoked Jisoo, as if the whole ordeal was not confusing enough. Jisoo glared at her. She was about to chase the girl again when her phone rang.

P. Jinyoung (4:50PM):
Wait for me.

----------

Another chapter is up! Next chapter will be spicy~

Btw, to avoid the confusion, please pay attention to the clock/time of each KakaoTalk messages!