Seungyoon tugged his arm away from Jennie’s grasp and frowned. “Don’t you have rehearsals today? Monthly evaluations are coming up,” he said, trying not to sound too annoyed, but still conveying that he wasn’t completely thrilled by her presence. He regretted not taking  advantage of his hospital room’s silence earlier. They say you only appreciate what you had when you lose it, he thought sullenly. As much as he was grateful for the gesture, now that Jennie knew he was here, he was sure she was going to stick around for as long as she could.

“Please. You know YG loves me. I don’t even have to try,” Jennie flipped her hair and got off his bed before picking up the basket of flowers she laid down on the floor. Seungyoon watched as she lifted the plastic bag from that girl earlier, and carelessly dropped it on a chair while she placed the flowers on the table instead.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? I heard you’ve been here since Saturday. A simple text couldn’t hurt, you know.”

“That ’s because I didn’t want anyone else to know,” Seungyoon replied, disappointed that Jennie didn’t take the hint that he’d much rather be alone right now. Although knowing her, even if she knew she wasn’t welcome there, she’d still insist on staying. In the years they’ve been friends, Jennie always had problems with taking no for an answer.

“I’ll be out of here soon anyway,” Seungyoon continued. “No need to make a fuss about it.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you just took care of yourself more,” Jennie nagged, causing Seungyoon to look up at her. He would have said something back, but Jennie looked at him with a worried expression, so in the end, Seungyoon just sighed.

Jennie was still busying herself with the flowers while he tinkered with his guitar when the door opened and Mino came in, whistling a tune. Seungyoon almost yelped out in relief seeing his friend.

“You seem happy,” Seungyoon remarked with a raised brow. “Does it feel nice to be healthy while your leader is suffering on this bed?”

“Why yes I’m feeling grea—,” his smile faded when he laid eyes on Jennie. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Mino,” she said sourly, giving him a displeased look.

“Aish this brat,” Mino mumbled as he approached them. “YA! I’m older than you, ima! You call Seungyoon ‘oppa’, how come you call me by my first name?” He griped. “You don’t even use honorifics when talking to me!”

“That’s because you’re not at all respectable,” she bit back with a smirk before turning to the boy on the bed. “Seungyoon oppa, is there anything you need? I can fluff your pillows for you,” she said sweetly and leaned over, her face dangerously close to Seungyoon’s. Mino made a gagging motion behind her.

Seungyoon recoiled, avoiding Jennie’s face as she adjusted his pillows. He glared at Mino. “I told you not to tell her.”

“It wasn’t me! You know I don’t want her here as much as you do,” Mino said innocently, causing Jennie to jerk her head in his direction with a sharp scowl on her face. But Mino wasn’t easily intimidated. He was one of the few people in YG High who can actually resist her wiles. “Ya, Kim Jennie! I bet you threatened Seunghoon hyung again, didn’t you?” Mino accused her.

“It’s not my fault he’s so weak,” she said coldly.

Seungyoon’s phone rang – thank God – and he picked it up right away seeing the caller ID. Meanwhile, Mino and Jennie had started one of their usual annoying fights so he just turned to the other side to drown them out.

“Did Hana come by yet?” His uncle’s voice filled his ear.

“Yeah,” Seungyoon replied dryly. “Although it took her too long. I barely had a minute alone to play before visitors came,” he complained, still trying block off the noise of Jennie and Mino’s argument. “But thanks anyway. And thanks for the orange juice, although I specifically remember asking for coffee.”

“What orange juice?”

Seungyoon shifted on his bed to look at the plastic bag full of bottles on the chair. “Didn’t you ask her to bring me a few bottles? You know, for the toxins and antibodies and all that?” He furrowed his brows, trying to remember what the girl said about orange juice.

“I didn’t.”

“Huh,” Seungyoon furrowed his brows, still looking intently at the plastic bag on the chair. He was lost in thought until his friends’ voices can no longer be ignored. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Goddamit, this is a hospital. He rolled his eyeballs, knowing he had to step in soon before it escalates. He sighed onto the phone. “Samcheon, I gotta hang up before a fight breaks out. Oh, and the doctor said I might get discharged tomorrow or in two days. I’ll just update you.”

After his uncle said goodbye, he ended the call and turned to his two visitors who looked like they were about to slit each others’ throats. Mino was generally a laidback, chill guy, but his face was all red now – something that only Jennie was capable of causing. On the other hand, Jennie had her arms crossed and was staring at Mino with her murderous glare. Seungyoon leaned forward and pushed their shoulders away from each other. “Guys, if you plan to fight, can you not do it in front of a sick patient? It’s not good for my health.”

“It’s this guy’s fault!” She scoffed at Mino. “Why are you even here? I thought WINNER had rehearsals? Slacker.”

“What did you say?!” Mino exclaimed. “I’m his best friend, you weirdo! You’re the one who isn’t supposed to be here. Can’t you see you’re only causing stress to Seungyoon?”

Seungyoon massaged his temples, his patience wearing thin. “Guys, please.”

Mino scowled and bent down to grab one of the juice bottles from the plastic bag. He was unscrewing the top when Seungyoon’s eyes widened. “Song Mino, that’s mine.”

Mino paused and looked at him judgmentally, like he was acting ridiculous. “You have three other bottles, you greedy boy.” He proceeded to drink from the bottle, which only irked Seungyoon. They’re for my antibodies and .

“So inconsiderate,” Jennie muttered, while Mino just made a face at her and finished the bottle.

It was increasingly becoming apparent that his friends’ presence wasn’t doing him any good. He’d been feeling better today, well enough to want to start writing even on his hospital bed – but they’re being extremely stressful he can already feel a headache coming.

“What do you two plan on doing here anyway?” He asked, sounding aggravated. “It’s not like I’m well enough to play with you,” he jerked his chin at Mino before landing his gaze on Jennie. He frowned slightly. “And I’m not nearly healthy enough to withstand your childish rants, either.”

Jennie stepped back and huffed. “Whatever. My mood’s ruined now that he’s here anyway,” she gave Mino a side glance before slinging her bag over her shoulder. “I’ll come back tomorrow, don’t worry.”

Please don’t, Seungyoon begged. Jennie sneaked in a quick hug to Seungyoon before turning around and deliberately bumping shoulders with Mino on her way to the door.

As soon as Jennie was out of the room, Mino turned to him. “How do you put up with that evil witch? Seriously. Sure, she’s cute, but even if she had the face of Song Hye Kyo and the body of Han Ye Seul, I’d still be repulsed by her horrible personality.”

Seungyoon let out a sigh, his attention still on his guitar. “Cut her some slack. She’s just being a teenage girl. She’ll grow out of it.”

“Fat chance,” Mino dragged a chair from the corner, placing it next to Seungyoon’s bed and sat down. “She’ll grow up to be even more evil, I tell you. What’s sad is she’s probably going to be the next IU or Suzy with her looks and talent, but no one will know she’s a bitc—

Seungyoon glared at Mino, and he stopped what he was about to say. “I’m just saying, she needs an attitude readjustment.”

“Most celebrities are stuck-up anyway,” Seungyoon said as he resumed fiddling with his guitar. Although he didn’t care much for Jennie’s attitude, he always admired that she was headstrong and sure about herself and what she wanted in life. In that regard, he saw a reflection of himself in her. So even though Jennie could be a pain in the , and really, really cruel, she was okay in his book.

Mino studied his friend mockingly. “Are you defending her? What—after two years of the girl throwing herself at you, you’ve finally fallen for Jennie? Are you gonna be her boyfriend now?”

Seungyoon shot him another glare and Mino just laughed. “I’m kidding, geez! Lighten up, will you? You’ve been cranky these past few weeks.”

“You know why.”

Seungyoon had a lot on his mind. Their debut was weighing in on them, and as much as he wanted to feel more secure that it was going to happen soon, no one can really predict YG’s actions. Seungyoon felt even more responsibility to make sure it was going to push through because he was the leader. s should be able to depend on him in anything.

Not to mention, he hasn’t finished a song in months. He was in a songwriting slump, and that just added to his overall negative mood. He wanted to have fun with the members, joke around like they used to. But these days, all he could think about was putting in more hours in the studio, and concentrating on the songs he has yet to complete.

But nothing seemed to go right. The reason why he was in the hospital now was because instead of going to Shibuya with the boys during their free day in Japan, he opted for a trip to a quiet park in the hopes of finding inspiration in nature. He spent almost six hours there. But instead of a completed song, he came back with Dengue fever. It was absolutely tragic it was almost funny. Although he can never bring himself to laugh at anything these days.

Mino pressed his lips into a tight line, his expression thoughtful. Out of all the members, it was Mino who could sympathize with him best since he’s been in Seungyoon’s position before. “You can’t keep the stress to yourself though. I know it’s tough being the leader but that doesn’t mean you have to carry the burden alone. Don’t make us feel completely worthless by getting sick by yourself.”

Seungyoon flashed him a lopsided grin. “Are you saying we should all get sick together? Like a team?”

The older boy kicked Seungyoon’s outstretched leg playfully and smiled.“If that’s what it takes to show WINNER’s solidarity, then my body is ready.”

Seungyoon let out a laugh, glad that Mino came to visit.

“Dude. You won’t believe the rumors about us in school though.”

Seungyoon scrunched his nose, knowing that the students at YG High can get a bit carried away when it came to gossip. It was something he has gotten used to over the years. “What are people saying this time? That Taehyun and I are gay for each other?”

Mino shook his head. “That was last semest