"Unnie, are you okay?"

Suzy looked up towards Chaeyoung’s voice, and spots immediately clouded her vision. A sharp pain shot through her head simultaneously, and she rubbed her temple to ease it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where are we again?"

Chaeyoung frowned, brows now knitted in concern. She set aside the script they were reading just a few minutes ago, and opted to focus on Suzy who's leaning heavily on the couch.  "Should we stop and rest first? I'm sorry for taking up your break, I'll leave your room now -" 

"No, let's continue going through the lines."

“Are you sure? You don’t look so well."

“I said I’m fine” Suzy waved her hand in dismissal, instantly regretting the action as waves of nausea hit her.

Her stubbornnness to take this drama despite multiple ongoing projects was getting back at her. She’s been running from one schedule to another for weeks now, barely getting any rest in between. Unsurprisingly, she's burned out.

And all of these to what gain? Her relationship with Minho didn't even progress an inch. The only saving grace in this whole situation is her success in sabotaging the movie date last week.

Suzy inwardly groaned. “Chaeyoung, just continue reading so I can help you on your parts. We don't have much time.”

"Okay” Chaeyoung reluctantly agreed, taking the script back in her hand. “Umm, so we’re right at the part where you just confessed to Minho in the rain and…”

A knock on the door interrupted Chaeyoung's sentence, and a staff informed them that the set for said scene was ready. Suzy sighed, definitely not looking forward to filming it.

The scene was supposed to be a pivotal moment between Suzy's and Minho's characters, with the former confessing her unrequited love under a heavy downpour.

True enough, the rain curtains were already set up when Suzy headed outside, and a harsh shower was pouring on the pavement. Several industrial fans were also blowing nearby to add to the drama.

Suzy wrapped her arms around her body, willing herself to stop shivering as a gust of wind hit her. She forced her attention to Minho and the director a few feets away, who were discussing some last-minute details for the shoot.

“Suzy, you’re here! Let’s proceed with this as we’ve agreed?” the director greeted loudly, while Minho barely spared her a glance.

His coldness stung, and paired with her own exhaustion, Suzy found her eyes pricking with sudden tears. 

Pull yourself together, Suzy told herself, don’t be an inconvenience

Drawing a shaky breath, Suzy composed her emotions and walked towards the pair. But before she can reach them, a hand gently grasped her arm.

“Unnie, I don’t think this is a good idea” Chaeyoung stood in front of her, voice filled with worry. “You’re clearly not feeling well, and this cold might worsen it.”

“Is that true, Suzy?” the director approached them. “We can take a break first and let the medic check on you to be sure.”

Chaeyoung nodded, placing her jacket over Suzy’s shoulder despite the goosebumps on her own skin. “Yes, let me find the medic so he can check on unnie – “

“No need” Suzy cut the blonde off. “I don’t want to cause any delays. Plus, Minho has another schedule lined up after this so we need to shoot now.”

Minho stayed mum at her words, while Chaeyoung opened to protest –

“But –”

“Chaeyoung” Suzy snapped, tone coming harsher than she intended. “Thank you for your concern, but you should leave now, you need to prepare for the next scene as well.”

Suzy then removed the jacket framing her body – ignoring how her skin instantly missed the warmth – and pushed the clothing onto the Chaeyoung’s hands. “I promise I’m fine, stop worrying about me.”

And that seemed to do the trick in convincing Chaeyoung, who finally walked away before the director yells action.
 

-----------------

Suzy shook her head, willing her ears to stop ringing. She and Minho are curently standing under the pouring rain, filming the drama’s confrontation scene. Every water droplet felt like ice on her skin, and Suzy found it harder to breathe every passing second.

Minho is gazing at her now, eyes void of the man she fell in love with, and only all of the character he's portraying. Like the seasoned actor he is, Minho delivered his lines perfectly, pausing to wait for Suzy's turn.

"I..."

She opened to speak, memorized dialogues already at the back of , but none came out. She attempted to do so again – but the ground started swaying beneath her, and Suzy can only remember a pair of strong arms catching her before she lost consciousness.
 

-----------------

Suzy sat bolted upright, blinking as she adjusts her blurry vision. She scanned her surrounding, body slumping in relief when she realized she's in her own bedroom.

"Suzy, you're finally awake" her manager breathed out. Jihyun hurriedly got up from her chair and poured Suzy a glass of water.

Suzy accepted the drink with gratitude, downing it in one go. She tried to get out of bed, but the loud pounding in her head convinced her ot