Golden braids of sunlight stealthily sneaked through the glass windows, as if playing hide and seek with its ebony black curtains to finally reach the duvet covered bundle on the messy bed. In the end, it was all for nothing seeing that after all that bundle was wide awake. Haechan hadn't slept a wink yesterday; forasmuch as this wasn't the first sleepless night he has to suffer through as it's been going on for a while now actually. He has been having trouble sleeping, in the sense of waking up abruptly in the middle of the night and then finding it hard to slip back under. This is a quite huge problem for him now, the reason being they are currently preparing for a comeback and he desperately needs all the rest he's unfortunately not getting. For the past two days, it's painfully confirmed that he, plain and simple, is sick. He's been exhibiting cold symptoms a rather severe version. Coughing, which is hard to hide when all you want to do is hack your lungs out, but you can't so no one gets suspicious, a mild fever, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, and a supernova sized headache. All in all, he feels like death warmed over. Add old good-for-nothing stress to the mix and you have yourself a disaster in making.

That's why at 05:00 am, he started to remove himself from his comfy bed, an action he will come to wholeheartedly regret later on in the day. Since there wasn't a chance in hell he was getting any sleep in the future, he began to prepare himself for the torture ahead. You would wonder what torture, he would say: ''Having to pretend to be well-enough and all right in front of people who are supposed to be his family, see them ignore his very existence while feeling sick and going through countless hours of hardcore practice.''Of course, it didn't happen overnight, yet it's been months now. It was the little things that they neglected about and towards him that made him draw this horrid unrealistic conclusion, yes they talk and laugh, sit and eat together but still, they feel so far away. His purported 'family', his loving hyungs, and his so-called best friend went all AWOL so to speak. But alas, he has a flair for the dramatic and this is just his stress and worries talking, but for months??.

Standing in front of the bathroom's mirror after a relaxing shower, Haechan forlornly gazed at his reflection. Soulless eyes, a blank face, dark eye bags, and a pale complexion. That's what was glaring back at him. Sighing, he went out to get ready before having to leave his comfortable heaven behind and see his band members. Don't get him wrong, he loves them and will always do no matter what. He just realized that the problem is him. Period. But what Haechan doesn't discern is that its due to this gloomy darkness looming over his head, teeth sunk deep into his delicate fragile mind, playing tricks and blurring the already bleary line between his reality and his imagination reducing it into a jumbled hazy mess of truth and fake. Done with his morning routine, he took his practice backpack and trudged to the kitchen, following the chatter of what he can recognize as his Taeyong and Jaehyun hyungs. He left his bag by the couch closest to the door in the living room on his way there and stepped into the kitchen.

Taeyong woke up early as usual, well earlier that s; to prepare a simple but nutritious breakfast to feed a small army, also known as NCT127 to start the day on the right foot. He finished getting ready and went to wake Jaehyun up (since he is the easiest to wake after a few soft calls of his name unlike others) and marched to their dorm's kitchen. While he was prepping the ingredients, he heard footsteps behind him. Knowing its Jaehyun since they are the only ones up, he said:'' Good morning Jae, slept well? come help me.'' Jaehyun replied softly:'' Good morning Hyung, yes I slept well. Of course, just let me wash my hands.'' In silence, they started preparing the food since it was super early and unlikely anyone would be awake, unknown to them they were not the only ones and Haechan was in turmoil with his sleep-deprived tormented body through the wee morning hours not getting the rest he needs. At 06:30 am, they heard soft almost non-existent footsteps, and with puzzled faces, they turned not expecting to see anyone awake before seven since today was one of their lenient training days where practice begins at 09:00 am.

Imagine their surprise when they are welcomed by the worrisome view of a quite quiet pale Donghyuck. The minute Donghyuck set foot into the kitchen, the sound of knifes hitting cutting boards, spatulas stirring sizzling food and calm tranquilizing chit-chatting stopped. He lifted his head from the ground to look at his Hyungs. Letting a small soft smile grace his features brightening his face despite looking gaunt and pale.'' Good morning Hyung-ies.'' Donghyuck said as he moved to the fridge to get a water bottle for his parched throat. Both older boys replied with soft smiles. A light bulb went off over both of their heads at the same time!!. Now that they thought about it, they remembered that their maknae, especially near comebacks, gets insomnia and that would explain why he is awake now. Resuming their work, little do they know that this transient insomnia is not so acute as they believed, and their maknae has been suffering chronically. They were interrupted by Donghyuck's whisper, asking if they needed any help.

Now alarmed, Taeyong has been suspecting that there might be something wrong with his precious Hyuck. And seeing as Hyuck is never this quiet nor demure, this just solidified his doubts.'' Aegi, are you ok? you're never this quiet especially off-stage, even if it was only a few of us together? Did something happen?'' He said, using the endearment the Hyung line uses to address the younger members. He left his post by the stove to reach Donghyuck and hug him, knowing that the youngest thrives on touch. However, since he is the leader of a group of this magnitude and he's been busy drowning in his responsibilities that magically seems to auto-refill whenever a comeback waves on the horizon, he missed so many critical changes and crucial signs. Not expecting this, he was about to wrap Hyuck in a hug but to his shock, Donghyuck flinched and stepped back. Lowering his head and tugging down his hoodie's sleeves, Hyuck stayed silent in fright of what might come. By now, Jaehyun stopped chopping the veggies he was preparing and went around the counter; to stand beside Taeyong who still has his arms outstretched before him. '' Hyuck? are you ok? '', both older boys looked at their youngest member with worry.

Seeing that, Hyuck tried to come up with any reasonable excuse, and all he could come up with was:'' I'm sorry Hyung, I was thinking about today's practice lost in thought, you just startled me. Don't worry Hyungs I'm fine.'', ending his sorry excuse of an explanation with a cute smile that didn't reach his eyes but hoping to placate their worries with. Both Hyungs didn't want to let it go, but as they heard the uprising ruckus signaling that the rest of the members are waking up, they vowed to talk to him the minute they are all done with their day. Except they were entirely unaware and oblivious to what the day holds for them, in the dark of how today's grave turn of events will alter their lives into a terrifyingly harsh reality, a web of well-fabricated lies and fake facades. Hyuck let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding while under the sharp scrutinizing gaze of not only one but two overprotective Hyungs. However, the insidious monster caging his mind without a key warped the nothing short of worry and concern for him into annoyance and disdain. '' Why do I have this eerie feeling that something is about to go wrong and I'm going to be smack dab in the middle of it? '', Hyuck thought. Famous Last Words.

Exhaling deeply, he went and sat at their rather humongous dining table, waiting for everyone to gather for breakfast. Agonizing over his everyday drill of feigned laughter and forged parade of play pretend. Pretending to be interested in whatever conversation is going on around him, pretending to still have the enormous appetite he used to have while he can't even stomach the mention of food sometimes nowadays, and pretend that the only thing he wants to do is to be sitting here and not hiding between the sheets of his bed, definitely not. Everyone finished scarfing their breakfast down and went to get ready. Fifteen minutes later, NCT127 all regrouped in front of their dorm; waiting for their manager. At 08:45 am, NCT127 were all in their practice room stretching and getting ready for the day ahead full of vigorous practice. During the entire ride to the company, no one noticed Donghyuck being silent and withdrawn, assuming that maybe he was tired or something, except two pairs of eyes. Now if a stranger was to come into the room, and their gaze fell on Hyuck, they wouldn't suspect a thing. But in reality, everything was wrong on so many levels with the picture of Hyuck stretching quietly alone in the corner, and not in the middle of the chaos that is NCT127 as per usual.

Discreetly, both Taeyong and Jaehyun, now joined by Johnny and Taeil kept their gaze on their youngest member; to try and decipher the strange behavior of one Lee Donghyuck. The arrival of their choreographer halted their one-sided staring contest, and with that their practice begun. '' If in the morning it was just an odd absurd feeling, now it's like a full-blown panic attack waiting to happen!!. I just want to go back to my room''. Hyuck miserably pleaded to himself, trying to fight the waves of dizziness that kept assaulting him since this morning. Not only that, but he was finding it hard to concentrate on the new choreography no matter how cool and amazing it was, but he somehow powered through it. Add to that, the practice room was really cold and it was not helping both his dry nose and mouth. Practically today's practice for him was hell. Four long hours and sheer will power later, their choreographer deemed them good enough to continue practicing on their own. So, with their manager, both men left the boys under the watchful eyes of their leader. Now alone, they took a Five-minute break and dove right back into practicing diligently.   

A few hours later, sun out of sight, day turns into nightfall over hardworking youth. Everything was going smoothly, until at precisely 06:00 pm, all hell broke loose. Now from another perspective, you have Nine boys stuck in a room for Nine hours only sneaking a few minutes in between to rest and eat, repeatedly going over the same routine for who knows how many times, nerves are bound to fry, and tempers are guaranteed to snap. Through all of this, Hyuck wasn't faring well, and the long hours of practice were taking a toll on his already sick beaten-down body. But being the sweet considerate boy that he is, he thought that it was nothing of importance to complain about; since everyone was probably tired just like him. Even throughout haphazardly thrown grimaces through the practice room's mirrors, the maknae kept mum. At some point, the most unexpected member snapped; after seeing Hyuck do the same move wrong for the millionth time. Mark suddenly stopped dancing and stormed his way to the poor youngest with determined anger not minding the ongoing heavy beats of music thrumming through the walls of the practice room.

When he reached Hyuck, he pushed the unsuspecting youngest out of formation, not expecting him to fall from such a light push. Although not caring and blinded by the haze of his anger and stress, he missed how the normally agile male clumsily climbs back to his feet and clamber away from him. By now, the whole group had stopped, and Johnny had turned off the music. Taeyong, now equal parts angry and shocked, stalked forward and stood in front of Hyuck directing his displeased scowl at Mark after making sure the maknae was fine. '' Mark, I know you're stressed and tired, all of us actually, but that's not an excuse to treat anyone this way, especially not the youngest member of your group and your best friend.'' Being teased about how he acts like a mother to the group, he never felt the truth of that alleged title until this moment. '' Hyung, with all due respect we have been practicing for hours now and could have been done also hours ago if he (scoffing, he pointed an accusing finger in the direction of the maknae) didn't keep missing up such simple choreography.'' By the end of his sentence, Mark was shouting which was so out of character that everyone stuck to where they were. Distracted, no one noticed Hyuck moving from behind Taeyong towards the door, except for Johnny.

Peering at the youngest, he saw him almost to the door. Since the sound system was near it, in two long strides he reached out, closing and locking it wanting to resolve the situation and end the day calmly. By then, everyone turned their attention from Mark's red face to the meek boy standing trapped in between Mark and Johnny. Everything went downhill so fast from that point onwards. Hyuck knew that yes he made mistakes but he also knows he wasn't the only one. However, truthfully he couldn't find the strength to argue back, and he could feel he was running out of time. His body won't tolerate much more, he could feel it shutting down and numbing halfway through the practice. What he didn't ever see coming was true anger and resentment, directed at him from his best friend. Yes, they argue, yes they might