At first, you could hear the sounds of your surroundings slowly coming back. Then, you felt a touch on your cheek, so soft like a feather gliding along your skin, causing you to snuggle closer to the warmth. You felt the touch stop, prompting you to groan as if to urge whoever was in control to continue the motion. You heard a light giggle before the touch came back, relaxing you in the process. 

"Eli-ah?" you heard the angel-like voice greeting you, "are you awake?" which caused you to wake a little more from your slumber.

"Sunshine?" you eventually mumbled as you tried to open your bleary eyes, squinting at the sight in front of you. Her soft smile was the first thing you saw. 

"Hi, sweetheart. Why are you sleeping here instead of in your room?" the ever-so-attentive leader couldn't help but ask, knowing this was not something you've done many times before. 

You closed your eyes again before you tried to explain yourself, knowing why she was asking. "I got back really late, or should I say super early, and didn't have the energy to go more than the living room so I decided just to sleep here," you replied lowly, almost mumbling in your state of exhaustion. 

Irene furrowed her eyebrows in both worry and anger. She'd been worried for a while about how packed your schedules were but hadn't said anything because she knew you knew your limits and she deeply regretted it now. This almost had never happened before, how could the substitute manager overload your work schedule so much to the point where your body could only afford to go to the nearest proper surface to sleep instead of your own comfortable bed? Did the other managers not check in on the substitute manager to see if he was doing a good job at managing you for the time being? What was he doing, overworking a senior idol like this? She was so close to the point of being pissed. 

"Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry," Irene couldn't help but utter, feeling the slightest bit guilty for not raising the issue to her own manager, or the other managers for that matter, much earlier. 

You opened an eye to try your best to get your point across. "No need to be sorry, Hyun-unnie, this isn't your fault," your answer was cut off by a yawn, "can I have my cuddles so I can sleep better?" you asked instead, eyes involuntarily closing. 

Your innocent question brought the sweetest smile to the leader's lips, current anger diminishing by the adorable sight in front of her. She knew this needed to be talked about but her priority was getting you your much-needed rest. 

"Of course, El. Come on, let's go to my room and you can sleep as much as you want, alright? I'll have the managers cancel all your schedules tomorrow." She thought that was the best idea, only hoping that your schedules were something that can be postponed without causing too much trouble for all the people involved. 

Although her tone left no room for arguments, it was in your nature to follow the schedules that have been given to you. "But Unnie-" you tried to argue as you sat up sluggishly, missing the glare from your soulmate. 

"No, you need to rest and that's that. I'll deal with the consequences." Her no-nonsense answer made you chuckle amusedly, though you nodded in agreement. 

"Alright, we'll deal with it together." You made sure she knew you meant what you said before taking the hand that was offered to you, on your way to the embrace of comfort and warmth you've grown very familiar with. 

Your manager stood in front of you with apologetic eyes a few weeks before that, before bowing her head to emphasise how sorry she was. "I'm sorry I have to leave you for a while, Eli-ah," your eyes widened in surprise, "I tried to get the other managers to handle your schedules during my leave but they couldn't, so we had to get a new one from the other crew. I'm so sorry," she bowed once again, lower this time. 

"It's okay, Unnie," you inched closer to your manager that was almost like your older sister, "I'm sure you've tried your best, just like you always have. Can I ask why you're leaving for a while?" 

She heaved a sigh. "My mother just underwent a pretty heavy surgery and I can't get anyone to take care of her for now, at least for the next month or so, so it was up to me to take care of her for now. I promise I'll come back as soon as possible, Eli-ah, I'm not leaving for good I promise." 

You gave her your signature comforting smile, causing her posture to relax even if only a little bit. "Family should be your priority, Unnie, it's okay. I'll make sure you're still my manager when you come back, I promise," you couldn't help but and she slapped your arm in retaliation, playfully glaring at the mischievous look in your eyes. 

"You better." 

You laughed out loud this time before naturally draping your arm over her shoulders in a side embrace. "Have I ever lied to you before, Unnie?" 

Now, you didn't have a problem with the substitute manager. You could tell he hadn't been in the industry for long, knowing that he was one of the newer staff from one of your junior groups, so you tried your best to not make things even more difficult for him. You were aware that working with individual idols was harder due to the fact that it was only the two of you most of the time, so if you didn't have a good bond with your manager, you're screwed. Lucky for you, the manager was nice and polite, always listening to your concerns and someone you can ask opinions to. However, you knew with new managers there's this desire to prove themselves to others that they can manage someone else and sometimes if they can't find the right balance, it becomes their downfall. That seems to be the case with your temporary manager. 

You began to notice that your schedules seemed more packed than usual, and even the fans began to notice. You could go from one interview to the next in the span of a few hours, before having to shoot some pictorials for an ad or magazine cover that lasted throughout the night. Though your schedule as a newly debuted idol was almost as packed as this, at least you were younger and had other people besides you, so you were not doing this alone. This, constantly moving and doing something, was definitely taking a toll on your body and you began to realise that about three weeks into it. 

At first, you thought it was just the scheduling that your original manager had set and although a little bit more packed than usual, you didn't say anything. Later on, though, you realised your new manager added more things into your original schedule. 

"Did Soeha-unnie make my schedule for the past few weeks, Joon-ssi?" 

Your current manager nodded, though he then added with a sheepish tone. "She did but I added some more to it, I thought there could be more things added in there." 

You furrowed your eyebrows in disagreement. Although you detected no malicious intention behind his statement or tone for that matter, you still thought it wasn't the right thing to do. "Just remember that I still need my rest and activities outside of my work, Joon-ssi. Please take care of my health too." 

"Of course, Eli-ssi." He immediately nodded, though you didn't know how much your words made an impact on him. 

From then on he did decrease the number of activities you have to do in a day, even only for a little bit, and began providing you with vitamins and other health supplements he thought you might need. It went on for a week before you realised your schedule was picking up again. 

"I'm so tired," you sighed as you sat down on the dining chair, head on your hands as you closed your eyes in exhaustion. You were so tired you didn't even hear the footsteps coming in your direction.

"Liza?" Your head snapped up at the call before turning towards where your older sister was. 

"Wan-unnie," you breathed out with a smile, albeit a tired one. You could feel your body being so sore to the point where it was physically exhausting for you to move around, and you knew it wouldn't be long before you crash. You never wanted to come to that point, though you thought it'd be inevitable at this point. 

"Did you just get back from your schedule?" Wendy asked as she glanced at the clock before turning her attention back to you, "at this hour?" Her question was accompanied by an incredulity tone in them and if you were in the right state of mind, you'd agree with her. 

You could only nod in response before getting up from your seat with a heavy grunt. 

You honestly have never felt this tired before. You thought you could take all the schedules thrown at you but at this point, you thought you could just fall over in exhaustion. Maybe you were exaggerating, maybe if you held on for a little longer your body would get used to it and you'd have more energy? You didn't know at this point. 

"I should wash up and get ready for bed, Unnie." It was a problem for another day, you thought. Right now all you needed was a long rest considering tomorrow was your day off. 

Wendy continued to watch with worried eyes before eventually going over to your side to give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek, all the while patting your back in a soothing manner. "Alright, get some good rest, okay?"

You nodded with a grateful smile before making your way to your bedroom. 

"She's going to crash soon," Wendy muttered. She nodded to herself, maybe it was time to raise the issue with the leader. 

So, when the next day came, she immediately made time to contact the leader to make sure she had time for a short but very important discussion regarding the pillar of the group. Luckily, Irene was free that morning. 

"Joohyun-unnie," the main vocalist greeted with a warm smile, though Irene could definitely tell she had a lot on her mind. 

Irene gave her a smile, trying to read the younger. "Seungwan-ah, what's this about?" the leader asked as she gestured the other girl to follow her inside her room so they could talk. 

Wendy sat down and heaved a sigh. "Have you talked to Eli recently?" 

Irene furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Not really no, unless you count greeting her in the morning as talking. She's been really busy I've noticed," the leader voiced out her observation, causing Wendy's to widen in agreement. 

"Yes! That's what I want to talk about," Wendy paused to make sure her voice wasn't too loud so it'd wake you up and there weren't any sounds coming from your room before continuing her explanation, "so last night I went out of my room to get a drink, it was pretty late and I noticed someone was at the dining table hunched over. After I got closer, I realised it was Eli and after I called out to her, I noticed she looked exhausted Unnie, so exhausted she could barely stand up straight afterwards. I'm worried so I thought it'd be best if I talk to you ASAP." 

Irene looked at the younger with furrowed eyebrows and eyes full of both concern and confusion. "She hasn't told me anything aside from how her schedule's been going," she paused, "I now realised she looked more tired than usual the last time I talked to her but it wasn't anything bad..." she trailed off, looking at Wendy with unsure eyes. 

"Wouldn't she say anything if it's getting too much to handle? I know she knows her limit, that's why I haven't asked her about it," Irene finished her reasoning and knew her question sounded so out of character for you but she'd like to think you've gotten better at knowing your limits and listening to your own needs. 

Wendy smiled sympathetically. "We all wish she would, Unnie, but knowing her, at this point I think she just thought if she pushes through the tiredness she'd get used to it. It's what I would've done as well and you know how alike we are sometimes," Wendy watched as the leader's eyes widened in recognition, "it's a likely possibility." 

"Goddamn you both," Irene muttered in annoyance and Wendy's eyes widened comically before laughing loudly, causing the leader to slap her on the shoulder. 

"Yah! Lower your voice, Eli's still sleeping." Wendy immediately quietened only to eventually hear slight movements from your room, which caused both of them to sigh. 

"I'm sorry," Wendy mumbled apologetically and the leader couldn't help but smile at the sight. The main vocalist was sure cute. 

"It's okay, she's bound to wake up any minute anyway," Irene comforted the younger as she glanced towards the clock showing it was closer to 9 o'clock in the morning. 

It was quiet for a little while before the leader broke it. "How about I try to see for the next few days how she's doing and how her schedule's going, then we go from there?" Irene eventually come up with what she thought was a pretty logical next step. Knowing how you were, she really wanted to just rush to one of the managers to report this but she felt her arguments would be stronger if she see the evidence herself. 

Wendy almost argued back before understanding the look the older was trying to convey. "Okay, okay," she sighed, "just not too long, Unnie, I don't think she can last much longer if she continues to go on like this." 

"I'll get to the bottom of this, Seugwan-ah," the leader reassured the girl that often acts like your second mother, "I'll make sure our Eli will be okay again." 

That led to the moment where Irene found you on the living room sofa a few nights after and that was it. No more too many packed schedules, more than anyone could handle really, and that's about to end now. 

"I called all of you here due to an issue with Eli's scheduling," Irene started after she thanked the group's managers that had came in, "she's been scheduled for too many things and she's been getting more and more exhausted to the point where she couldn't even reach her bed last night," she paused due to gasps that came from the managers. 

"That's why I asked you to cancel all of her schedules today because she hasn't been getting enough rest. We talked more about it this morning and come to find out, the substitute manager added a lot more to what's been already scheduled by Seoha-unnie, to the point where even the fans have begun to worry," the leader explained in a serious tone, though anyone could detect the worry hidden underneath it. 

"This has to stop," Irene finished in a soft but stern tone, basically daring any arguments if some were to come up. 

You took her hand in yours to give her some comfort and reassurance that you were feeling better. She turned towards you with worried eyes. 

"First of all," one of the senior managers started, "we'd like to say we're sorry. We don't know how your schedule is set, Eli-ah, we just know that Soeha had set some in advance and she said everything's taken care of. We didn't know if Joon-ssi added more to that, especially to the point where you can't get enough rest, and we didn't check to make sure. We're really sorry," he bowed his head in apology and the rest followed, feeling guilt creeping up under their skin. You've always done your best for your group and all the staff, and this is how they repay you? 

You took off your mask so they could see your expression. "Apology accepted, Oppa. I really tried to talk to him before and it seemed to work before everything went back to being super busy just a week after," you explained, "I just thought if I just pushed through my body would get used to it. I didn't know I'd actually crash from exhaustion," you sheepishly admitted and the managers could only shake their heads in amusement while the leader glared at you, punching your arm slightly with her fist.

"Same old Eli," one of the managers chuckled some of them nodded while you whined in protest. 

"Hey, that's mean!" 

"Are they wrong, though?" Irene couldn't help but piped up, causing you to turn towards her with a sad pout. 

"Hyun-unnie, I told you I'm sorry," you muttered apologetically, looking at her with sad eyes that begged to be forgiven. 

Irene looked at you with a serious gaze and you nodded after a few moments, understanding what she was requesting. "I promise."

I promise to listen to my body and myself better, Unnie. And maybe getting help from someone sooner too. 

"Fine," Irene eventually sighed before turning back towards the managers, though her hand squeezed yours a little tighter, "I don't know the procedure to this so I'm leaving it to you. I don't want to see Eli, or any of us, being this exhausted regardless of who the manager is. Please take care of our health," Irene politely bowed but she knew she got her point across. Fix it or change your substitute manager she didn't care, she just wanted you to be healthy and okay again. And if this happens to anyone in the future, they'll be hearing it from her. 

The managers looked at each other before nodding, determination in their eyes. "We'll take care of it. We're going to cancel your schedules for the next week, Eli-ah, please consider this as a break. We'll make sure you won't be reprimanded by anyone you're working with either." 

This time you gave them your signature warm smile, the sincerity calming them down. "I trust you, Oppas, Unnies. Thank you for your hard work." 

As everyone got up to leave, the senior manager turned towards where the both of you were sitting. "And please give your Joohyun-unnie a break," he joked and you glared at him playfully whilst Irene let out her signature loud, untamed laugh. The rest laughed along with her, silently agreeing. 

"You guys are mean! No more free food for you!" 

That prompted protests all throughout. "Eli-ah, we're sorry!" 

You knew you could always count on your members, especially your leader. With them, everything is going to be okay.