Sungyeol woke up to Sunggyu’s alarm again. However, this time, Sunggyu heard it and woke up. Sungyeol saw Sunggyu get off of his bed and Sungyeol shut his eyes, pretending to sleep. He realized that Myungsoo was still deep in slumber with his arms wrapped around his waist, but Sungyeol doesn’t make a move to remove the younger’s arms. If he did, then Sunggyu would know that he was awake.

            He waited for Sunggyu to come and wake him up.

***

            Sunggyu woke Sungyeol up last that day, though the younger didn’t really know why.

            Sunggyu had seen Sungyeol and Myungsoo in bed together, and he wasn’t that surprised to see Myungsoo clinging to Sungyeol. The interview yesterday hadn’t gone so well, and Myungsoo was always good at comforting the very prideful Sungyeol. It wasn’t that Sunggyu wasn’t good at comforting others though; it was just that he wasn’t that good at comforting Sungyeol. Sungyeol was always a hard person to crack. To this day, Sunggyu still never fully understands what goes on through that his head when he thinks, which isn’t something a leader should be like, but he excuses himself for it because it’s Sungyeol, and only a few people in this world can actually understand him.

            Sunggyu had to come back to the dorm late last night, tired and feeling more conflicted than ever. The CEO had asked to talk to him, and he had told him that the promotions for ‘Man in Love’ were going really well. He also said that after promotions, Infinite would take a little break before the follow up song. When Sunggyu looked relieved at finally getting another break, the CEO had just given him a smile. He wanted Sunggyu to release another solo album.

            At first, he was pretty ecstatic about it. He was happy. He was actually getting a second chance for his solo career. It was something that he had secretly wanted ever since his first try. ‘Another Me’ hadn’t gone so well. Sales weren’t as good as Woolim was expecting, and Infinite H had done so much better. It made Sunggyu wonder why he was getting another chance, because Infinite H should be preparing for another comeback, not him, but it wasn’t like he was going to question the person giving him another chance.

            He was going to tell the members about his opportunity today, but he was a bit worried about their reactions. He hoped they’d be happy for him.

            But then again, he wasn’t so sure he was still happy for himself.

***

            Sungyeol was tired.

            His body was aching, and the disgusting sweat trickled down his makeup-covered face. Everything seemed to have gone against him that day, and it wasn’t just physically. It was mentally, too.

            They had so many recordings that day. They had to record for Music Bank, Star King, Beatles Code 2, and three other interviews, all in one day. After that they even had to go to the practice room to practice for a few hours. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to practice a song he knew with his eyes closed 30 times.

            His head hurt, and his legs were starting to feel sore. He leaned against the wall, sighing.

            They were finally given a five minute break, but instead of resting Sungyeol let his mind run wild.

            Sungyeol still couldn’t believe it. Sunggyu was going to get another solo album. He exhaled heavily, looking around the room. He wanted to be happy for him, he really did.

            Everyone else had left the practice room for their break, and he was the only one in the room. He was sure that Sungjong had rushed to the bathroom, having been whining the entire practice, saying that he had to go. Woohyun had just left the practice room, but Sungyeol doesn’t really know where Woohyun goes during breaks. He never seems to be around anymore. Hoya and Dongwoo went to the convenience store to get some more water, so Sunggyu must’ve gone with them, while Myungsoo usually just stood outside, escaping the idol life whenever he could.

***

            Myungsoo put on his scarf and hat. The scarf clung to his skin and the hat forced his hair to lie against his sweaty forehead. It didn’t matter to him how hot it was after practicing for that long. He didn’t even care about the sweat that was sticky against his skin and clothes. He put on his sunglasses and walked outside. Being able to go outside was the only thing he cared about.

            He breathed in the night air. It was cold, refreshing. The silence was nice, and he did all he could to treasure it and take it all in while it lasted.

            It didn’t last for very long, though. He cringed as he heard some shrieking. It seemed like Dongwoo, Hoya, and Sunggyu came back the wrong way, because there were multiple voices yelling out their names. He heard the fangirls screaming and the sound of cameras clicking.

            He was glad he had gone out the back door.

***

            Practice went on for about another hour, and everyone came back tired and sleepy.           

            Sungyeol glanced at the clock. It was 2AM, and they had to wake up in three more hours. He just knew that it was going to be another tough day tomorrow.

            He fell onto his bed and pulled the covers over himself. Sighing, he decided that he could just shower the next morning. He hoped none of the other members had the same thought, though he was pretty sure that they were all planning to shower in the morning since they were all so tired.

            He glanced towards the bathroom and was glad to see that the lights were still on. That meant that at least one person was showering tonight, and that meant that there was one less person to fight with for the hot water for the shower tomorrow morning. He thought that maybe they’d be early to the salon for once and that they’d all actually be clean.

***

            The lights in Sungyeol’s room turned off, but the lights in the hall were still on. He could hear the shower water hit the floors from his bed, and he could hear Sunggyu and Myungsoo’s light breathing in the darkness of the room.

            Sungyeol closed his eyes, thinking about the other members and every single success they had that he didn’t. Somehow, every night ended with him feeling like a complete deadweight to Infinite.

            It wasn’t fair.

***

            The next morning Woohyun had woken up early, sleeping for only about two hours instead of the three he could’ve slept. He checked his phone, and saw that it was about thirty minutes before everyone else had to wake up, so he decided to go into Sunggyu’s room to turn off his alarm. He didn’t want to have anyone be forced to listen to that loud music without absolutely needing it.

            He opened the door slowly, knowing that Sungyeol was a light sleeper; however, when he walked into the room, he saw that Sungyeol was already up and awake. The younger was lying in his bed, eyes open and staring at the floor.

            “Sungyeol,” he whispered.

            Sungyeol glanced at Woohyun from his bed, and his breathing hitched. He was surprised to see Woohyun awake and in his room. No one was supposed to be awake for another 30 minutes.

            “What are you doing here?”

            Woohyun bent over Sunggyu’s body to turn off his alarm and then walked over to Sungyeol’s side of the room, crouching down near his bed. He knew that they could probably talk without whispering, but it was a habit that they had since they had always talked before at night, when everyone else was still supposed to be asleep. However, no one would be able to really hear them now. Sunggyu’s music was still on high, and it was almost impossible to wake Myungsoo up, anyway.

            “Just to turn off the alarm,” Woohyun said.

            He looked at Sungyeol, then at his sleeping roommates. He noticed that Sungyeol still smelled of sweat from last night and that his eyes were red from not sleeping. He reached out ruffled his hair carefully and affectionately, not wanting to have Sungyeol flinch away from him. He knew that the two had drifted a bit lately, but it wasn’t something that he wanted.

            Woohyun stood up and reached his hand down towards Sungyeol, taking his hand in his.

            “Come on, Sungyeol, you need a shower.”