At first, it was just a sneeze. The sneezes turned into coughs then later headaches, and eventually, you had a full flown fever going on. You tried not to say anything to your members because you knew they would be worried as hell but then again, you should've known someone was going to find out sooner or later. 

Didn't mean you weren't going to try though. 

You tried to hide your fever by wearing hoodies and sweatshirts outside of the schedule, which you knew none of the members would find weird since that's your usual attire 90% of the time. It helped that the group's schedule had been hectic so it had been easier trying to hide the fact that you weren't in full health. You tried to drink enough water, eat a little (even if you had no appetite) and took your medicine religiously. You were positive it would work but it was surely taking its time.

It's not like you were trying to hide your sickness from your members, okay? You just don't like it when they worry over you and on top of that, they've been tired themselves and didn't have the energy to take care of other people so you'd just take care of yourself. So, you tried to act normal, joking around and making sure your members were eating and resting but there were moments where you just tried to be alone so no one would realise you were warmer than usual and had been sneezing periodically, head resting on any surface (preferably cold ones) to help with the headache.

After days of hectic schedules, it was time for some actual rest and the members were spending it cooling down and hanging out with friends they weren't able to see during the comeback preparations. One morning, everyone was out and about aside from you and Irene. Since she'd been exhausted Irene had been trying to restore her energy by sleeping and the members didn't dare interfere with that. Irene woke up later in the morning to find the kitchen empty, which she immediately found strange.

Knowing you were an early bird, she'd expected you to be either in the kitchen cooking or at the dining table, eating away the delicious breakfast you had made for yourself and the members. That morning though, everything was silent and you were nowhere in sight. Everyone was already out so she had no one to ask whether you had gone back to bed or had gone out. Not wanting to jump to any conclusion, she tried to eat breakfast by herself but after a little while and you still not coming out of your room, Irene's concern bubbled up and she decided to check on you. 

She came up to your door not which was not too far from hers and leaned closer to the door to listen for any sign of movement. After knocking and not receiving any answers, she opened the door softly to not disturb you too much. She opened the door to find you still on the bed, face scrunched up in discomfort in your sleep. She grew concerned and when she ended up beside you she was even more concerned. You were shaking slightly and your face was covered in sweat, though you had your duvet up to your chin. She sat beside your figure and put the back of her hand on your forehead only to come into contact with noticeable heat.

"Eli-ah?" Irene took a seat next to your body and realised the closer she got the warmer you felt. She loved you warm but not this warm.

She your cheek softly, rousing you awake. You groaned a little as you opened your heavy lids to come in contact with her warm, concerned ones.

"Hey, Hyun-unnie," you greeted her croakily and her instinct kicked in. "Let me get you some warm water." 

After she came back with a warm mug, she sat beside you again and hugged your warm figure a little more as you sat up slightly to drink. 

"Have you been sick all this time?" 

You winced in pain from the fever, your body aching all over. You leaned back on the bed and she took your figure in her arms, fully hugging you and you were basically lying on her. "I thought it was just my allergies and it would go away like it usually does," your voice was croaky and she caressed your cheek to soothe the discomfort. You subconsciously leaned into her touch even more, eyes closing in slight relief and the action made her smile. "But then I started feeling feverish so I thought some water and rest would help," you looked so defeated she cooed, finding the sight of you pouting adorable. 

"Why didn't you tell me? Or at least Manager-unnie?" She asked softly, voice low. She knew how sensitive your body was right now and loud noises would only create further discomfort. 

You looked guilty and she immediately knew what you were going to say. "We were so busy and everyone was tired, so I didn't want to worry anyone..." 

"Eli-ah," Irene sighed, placing her cold lips on your burning forehead and you cuddled even closer into her embrace if that was even possible. "You know I'll always worry over you, right? I'm sorry I didn't realise sooner that you were sick. Maybe we could prevent it-"

You cut her off with a shake of your head, face wincing in pain from the headache the motion had created. Although you regretted the movement you needed to make sure she didn't blame herself. "It's not your fault, Unnie, please don't blame yourself," you looked up with shining eyes, sincerity pouring out of the gaze. "I'm the one who didn't say anything and I understand that you, everyone really, was caught up with their own things, okay?" 

You gave her a warm smile and she wondered how you do it. Even sick and you still make her feel warm. "Well, let me take care of you to make up for it then." 

She was determined and you knew nothing could make her waver. "Fine," you eventually sighed in defeat though a grateful smile was still on your face. "You have nothing to make up for but okay. I can never say no to you taking care of me, right Hyun-unnie?" You gave her a slightly teasing smile and her body betrayed her by blushing, making your smile turn into a smirk.

She slapped your shoulder lightly in retaliation, forgetting for a moment that you were aching all over. "Stop with the flirting, Eli-ah, that's not nice." 

You smirked even more, scooting closer despite the discomfort it created. "Are you sure? Your face says otherwise." 

"YAH!" She all but shouted and slapped your arm harder this time, you wincing in effect. 

"Okay, I deserve that one." 

"Damn right you do." Irene glared with a blush still on her cheeks but her soft, tiny hand was rubbing your arm softly in apology. 

After that your fate was settled, the rest of the day was spent in bed with Irene making sure you eat at least a little and drank the necessary medicine. She had told the members and they came home as soon as possible, all prioritising the second pillar of the group. They felt guilty for not realising that you were ill but they knew you didn't want to worry them so they also tried to make up for it, all coming home bringing different things to make you feel better and always making sure you were comfortable and had everything you needed. 

Sometimes you forgot that you had other people, outside of the group, that cared about you so you totally dismissed the thought of them worrying over you when you didn't reply to their messages. Due to your sickness, you hadn't opened your phone in about two days and seemingly everyone had been wondering where you were, including the managers but Irene had informed them why you had not replied to anyone's messages. The ITZY girls had been wondering the same thing and eventually went to Yeri because you had not replied to their messages in the group chat you were in and they were seriously getting worried. 

"Yeri-unnie, sorry for disturbing you," Yeji said through the phone, her voice sounding apologetic and concerned at the same time. "Is Eli-unnie okay? She hasn't been replying to any of our messages and her SNS had been inactive for the past few days. We're just worried." 

Yeri smiled, finding the action adorable. "Hello, Yeji-ah. Eli-unnie had been sick-" Yeri heard multiple gasps and she just knew she was on speaker, "and hadn't opened her phone in a few days, sorry about that. She didn't mean to worry anyone, she hates doing that." 

"She's sick? What kind of sickness, Unnie?" This time it was Ryujin and she sounded rightfully worried. They've known you as a strong, healthy figure that rarely gets sick so when you do, they were very much concerned.

Plus, Yeri knew the girl admired you and even had a crush on you so she could understand her predicament. 

"We think it's a heavy flu but we're not too sure," Yeri explained, voice betraying how worried she was even though she tried not to show it. "She's been hiding her sickness for days and Joohyun-unnie found out yesterday morning and has been taking care of her since." 

"Oh no, that's bad," Chaeryong commented and she heard the sound of agreement from the others, making her chuckle lowly.

Yeri looked over at your sleeping figure on the bed, taking a seat next to you. "She's looking better though so that's an improvement," Yeri wanted to kiss your cheek but she knew she'd wake you up instead.

She cursed the fact that you were such a light sleeper. 

"Don't worry, we're taking care of her and she'll be healthy again soon, okay?" 

It was silent for a little bit before Yuna piped in. "Will it be okay for Eli-unnie to be visited, Unnie?" 

Yeri grinned. "I'll ask Joohyun-unnie and let you know, okay?" Yeri was about to continue when Irene came in, a tray of food in her hands. 

The leader sent her a questioning gaze regarding the person on the phone. "Unnie, the girls from ITZY want to visit Eli-unnie. Will that be okay?" 

Irene mulled over the question whilst putting the tray on your bedside table before settling down next to you, Yeri already scooting slightly away to make room for her. 

"Tomorrow." 

"What's tomorrow?" Your voice could be heard from the other side of the phone and the girls all got excited, making Yeri laugh but slightly feel guilty. She ended up waking you up regardless. 

"Sorry to wake you up, Unnie." 

You gave your little sister a warm smile, taking her free hand in yours. "It's okay, Dongsaeng-ah. It's time to eat anyways, right Hyun-unnie?" You turned to look up at Irene and she gave you a warm smile, kissing the side of your head. 

"ITZY is on the phone and wanted to know if they can visit you, that's why I said tomorrow just to make sure you're feeling better before you see anyone." Yeri always admired how insightful Irene was, already knowing the whole context just by her explaining once and connecting the dots herself. 

Your eyes lit up in excitement and you nodded, giving Yeri a grin. "Yeah, that should be okay. Are they worried? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" 

"It's okay, Eli-unnie!" You heard Yuna's voice from the other side, making the three of you laugh. The maknae was too cute. 

Yeri turned the phone on loudspeaker and moved it closer to you, you leaning closer to Irene in an attempt to be more comfortable. Already knowing what you were about to do, Irene moved to adjust her body so you could lean against her the way you wanted. 

"Hi." 

"Hi, Eli-unnie!" Their excited reply made you smile. 

"We'll see you tomorrow, Unnie." 

"Is there anything you want? We can bring you something." 

You smiled. "That's okay, Ryujin-ah. Your presence is enough." 

"Yah!" Irene protested to your cheesiness and Yeri cackled, finding it funny how even sick you can still be cheesy. The reaction from the other side was no less funny, everyone teasing how cheesy you were.

"Ryujin is blushing!" 

"Lia-unnie! I'm not!" 

"Yes you are, Unnie!" Yuna joined in, making you laugh even more. 

You were glad for the love you're surrounded with. You're definitely going to heal much faster.