"Hyoyeonie... Hyoyeoniee... YAH KIM HYOYEON! ARE YOU WAKING UP OR DO YOU WANT ME TO THROW THE RICE COOKER AT  YOU?!?!?!" An ajumma holding a roll of kimbap in her hands covered with plastic gloves. "YOU ARE LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

"Ummmaaaaaa!" The girl lying on the bed whined as she sat up from her bed lazily while messing her hair up. "I went home late last night! Because opp- I mean my classmates and I finished our thesis so late!" The ajumma then went closer to her and then pulled her arm until she was out of the bed.

"Aigoooo! Get out after you shower and get dressed!" The ajumma hissed at her. "If only I don't have food in my hands, these fingers would surely give pain to that head of yours! Faster!" Then she went outside, leaving Hyoyeon lying on the floor whining.

Hyoyeon stayed on the floor for a while, ruffling her hair in annoyance as she did not have any proper sleep for the whole week. Knowing that her mother never jokes about her threats, she stood up and started to fix herself. She took a bath first, then went out to change into her school uniform and grab her bag before going out to eat. After a few bites of her kimbap, she stood up and bid goodbye to her mother, saying that she needs to go for she was already running late. 

She arrived at the school ten minutes past her call time, earning a punishment of squatting out side their room for the whole homeroom class which lasts for about thirty minutes. She stood up in the hallway, not really planning on doing the punishment unless her teacher was looking. "MISS KIM HYOYEON!" An authorative voice of an older male shouted while looking beside their room door with furrowed brows.

"Aish..." Hyoyeon can't do anything but bent her knees, lift up her arms staright on the air and wait until the home room subject ends.

--AFTER 30 MINUTES--

"Hyoyeon-ah! Why were you late? I know you don't like studying that much but... you've never been late-" A tall girl with long brown hair and round eyes came up to her with a worried expression as she stood in front of Hyoyeon. "Did something happened?"

The blonde girl was sitting on her seat, face burried on her arms that were leaned upon the desk. "I'm fine Seohyun. I just... watched something last night-" She opened her eyes, only seeing the darkness inside the cover of her arms upon the desk while she remembered the real reason why she couldn't sleep properly last night- heartache. The pain of seeing something you worked hard for being thrown away or disregarded by the person you gave it to. "I stayed up laste just to see it and it ended up sadly. The girl in it was in pain the whole time."

"Are you watching late night dramas now?" The brunette girl asked curiously. "I didn't know you like those- anyways, it's a relief that nothing happened. Maybe you just need rest for staying up late." She smiled and patted Hyoyeon's head before walking back to her own seat.

The whole day lasted like that for Hyoyeon. Just staying silently on her seat while pondering on things not really related to whatever her teacher was saying or teaching. She was called a few times by some teachers for not listening but she just bowed at them, apologizing and saying that she just got distracted for a brief moment. But after she sat down again, she would stare blankly at the blackboard, while her mind was filled with empty thoughts.

Two minutes more and the bell signalling the last period of the day willl ring already. Though the teacher hasn't dismissed the class most of the students were already fixing their things, putting their books under their desk or in their bag. Some are already talking about what they would do after class and others are just plainly excited to get home while Hyoyeon...

--BELL RANG--

"Yah! Hyoyeon!" A cute petite girl with short hair and side bangs came hurriedly towards her. "Yah.... aren't you going home?" She said while staring at the blonde girl who was playing with a crumpled piece of paper. "Don't you know? EXO will be filming on your neighborhood! Why are you still here?!?! I heard Kai is going there too."

The previously blank girl turned her head to look at her friend, eyes widened at what she just heard. "WHAT?? Are you sure with that??" Her friend nodded in response and as fast as she can, she stood up and put her books inside her bag, not even caring what book was not in need to be taken home. She smiled at her friend and patted her shoulders. "Sunny-ah, you're a true friend. Thanks for the information. I'lll be going home now. BYE!" Hyoyeon then waved at her before rushing off the room to go to where her friend told her EXO was.

Sunny was left in the room, confused of why Hyoyeon didn't know about EXO coming to their neighborhood when before she even knows where EXO was eating lunch during oversead schedules. She was about to leave as well when she noticd the crumpled paper that Hyoyeon was playing a while ago. She picked it up and was about to throw it into the trash when she thought of opening it first. "HBA?" She furrowed her brows upon seeing a drawing of what seemed to be a jacket, written on the front letters H,B and A.

Hyoyeon was running as fast as she can while checking her phone on EXO's whereabouts online. According to the posts in forum threads, they were filming on a vacant lot which was two blocks near her house. While on her way, since she was not really paying too much attention on where she was going, she bumped on a few people to whom she gave only a light bow of her head instead of apologizing formally. "Ajumma mianhae! I am in a hury o please forgive me!" She shouted at a middle-aged lady that she bumped on the way to the bus stop. She arrived there, waiting for a bus so for the mean time she checked her SNS accounts first while catching up on her breath. 

"Omo- I know this place! This was the lot dad was supposed to use for our restaurant! Aish- I should've told dad to just buy it. AISH!" She said in annoyance, not knowing that the bus already left her. Upon lifting her head, she finally noticed that the bus already left and was one block away from her. She placed her hand on her hips, hissing and hanging her mouh agape in disbelief. "There's no other way." She narrowed her eyes and bent down to tie her shoe laces tightly before holding onto the starps of her bag. "One, two, three!" After counting Hyoyeon started running. It was the only way that she could go to the location she was headed to in the fastest time. The subway takes time too much, taking a cab costs too much and using her legs were the only way. She ran for almost thirty minutes, with hopes of her favorite group still not ending what they was filming. I hope Lay forgots a lot of lines and that chanyeol laughs a lot and kai... She was thinking these thoughts while running until she bumped into a staff who was hurriedly carrying the lights back to the van.

"A-ah-ah..." She bit her lip while sitting up from the ground, as she was thrown off due of the impact from thr light. "Aish..." She rubbed her forehead in annoyance to herself not taking caution as she got near the filming set. She tried to stand up but her right leg was falling and upon looking down on it, she saw a big scraped reddish wounds on her where a bit of blood where coming. "Omo-" She just can't help but sigh at what happened but she can't blame anyone as well but herself on having that wound. 

She ended up walking while limping, her white handkerchief wrapped on her knee as marks of red blood stained it. Hyoyeon managed to go where the crowd of fans were, holding banners of their idols. "Hi, is Kai still there?" She asked a fan holding a long towel with EXO's name on it.

"The filiming ended 20 minutes already. They said that it was a wrap but Kai looked like he was sick when they were shooting his scenes." The girl explained while Hyoyeon nodded, muttering 'thank you' before she walked away, looking around while limping due to her wounded leg. After checking for a while, she just decided to go back home upon seeing the staffs already left and only the fans who volunteered to clean was left.

Hyoyeon walked back home. It has been indeed a long day for her. Her day started with her mom scolding her for not waking up early, followed by getting a punishment for being late in school and now, having a painful wound on her knee for trying her best to see Kai. Aside from the sruggle of knowing what she wants in life, the struggle of trying to do and follow what she wants was also hard. She needs to make decisions which eventually end up in difficult sacrifices.

On the other hand, Kai was riding in a van with his manager but this time, he was alone inside as they took a different way that the other EXO members. "What did you do huh?? Where did you go?? All the other members are fine and you're the only one who's sick!" Kai's manager said while driving. "It's that sasaeng right? That sasaeng might have been sick and infected you! I told you not to be too ni-" He was cut off when Kai started talking.

"Hyung stop it. She didn't even held my hand. Even an inch of my hair. Stop blaming people when it's normal for people to get sick. Not just because I am an idol being ill is a crime for me." Kai explained tiredly to his manager while leaning his head against the head of his seat. His manager didn't say anything anymore as he let the boy rest silently at the back until they arrive at the hospital.

--AT THE HOSPITAL--

"It's just a light cold. But if not given attention right away, it could lead to something serious." A man wearing a white lab coat said. "Here." He handed Kai's manager a paper with a list of medicine names. "I listed the medicines he needs to take. How often and the does is included as well. Follow that for a week and it's all good." The man in the white lab coat then smiled at them.

"Thank you seonsaengnim." Kai's manager said as they both bow their head in thanks to the doctor.

"Oh and by the way, I advice him to take a few days break from work. He caught a cold because of over fatigue and lack of sleep. If possible maybe the whole week but at minimum, three days can do." The doctor said lastly before they left.

--BACK AT EXO's DORM--

"Jongin-ah, are you okay? Why did you go with hyung in the hospital?" A short guy with worried round eyes and heart shaped lips said as he approached Kai.

The younger male smiled lightly and shook his head before answering. "I'm okay hyung. I just got a slight cold that needs to get rested. Don't worry hyung, I just need to sleep it off." Kyungsoo then left and let the boy rest.

Kai rested his body on his bed, usually the room was shared with another but for that night, he was allowed the privilege to take in alone. On his own, he rolled his body around the bed a few times as he was not able to get sleep. He would hum and try to make himself sleepy while closing his eyes but it was useless. Finally then he got his phone and played games, giving up on sleep when suddenly he thought of something and dialed a number.

The other line rang.

"Hello?" Kai spoke against the phone. He smiled widely as the person on the other line answered and spoke. "Umma! I miss you..." He said, longingness heard on his voice. "Yes umma. I am perfectly fine. I eat well, sleep well and live well here. The hyungs take care of me really well. I really miss you so much umma. Also appa. It's been... two years already since I last went home. It's tomorrow right? Mianhae umma. Mmm... Saranghae." He looked down the bed as he spoke, sadness was evident in his eyes even if the person on the other line won't see. Kai nodded a few more times before hanging up.

It's been a long and tiring month for Kai. But not only for him as an individual but also for EXO. EXO-M's leader Kris suddenly filed a lawsuit against SM entertainment to nullify his contract, amidst their concert preparations, hence making him be removed from the group. A few weeks later another chinese member, Luhan, filed a lawsuit against their company to nullify his contract as well. The friends he has been together before debut, the friends he fun moments with and promised to be together in the end, gone now. EXO has been experiencing and going through a lot of contoversies and on top of that, the remaining members still needs to attend their schedules.

Kai laid down on bed, closed his eyes and tried to sleep hoping that tomorrow would be a better day for him.

"Jongin-ah....jongin-ah...." Kyungsoo said softly while shaking Kai who was lying down the bed, sleeping. "Manager hyung told me to wake you up."

The sleeping boy opened his eyes slowly, moving just a bit to the side so he can look at the older one. "Why? The doctor told me to rest for a few days..." He said while rubbing his eyes.

"We have to finish the MV filming today. The CEO ordered for the release of the full music video tomorrow. Everyone's on the brink working their asses out today. The oly thing we can do is bear with it and do what they ask us so they can at least do their job." Kyungsoo said, though worry was evident in his eyes since his dongsaeng is sick but still he had no choice but to work or unless, it will be the staffs who would be reprimanded.

Kai nodded and told Kyungsoo that he will be out in a bit. As the older went out, Kai flopped his body tiredly on his bed. He reached out for his phone. It was 3am in the morning. He stared at the little reminder on his phone reading: Umma's birthday. They have filmed nearlly half of the scenes and from the looks of it, they will be shooting busy the whole day. He let out a deep sigh, thinking what kind of a son is he when he coul not even go to see his mother personally on her birthday. 

"Jongin-ah! Faster! We need to go in an hour!" His manager shouted from outside.

Kai stood up from the bed and went to go shower. His manager fixed his things already for him so after he got all fixed, he and all the other members went down to ride their van and go to their filming site. He sat on the seat near the window, all the other members we're either sleeping or playing with the phone but him... his mind was not in the car on in the filing sight. His mind was flying to where his mother is. He got sick because of too much tiredness from all the work they have, though it was a good thing that their group was getting popular, him as a person is important as well. He sacrificed his health just to be able to fullfil his dreams and now, he was sacrificing his mother's special day just to finish a nearly four minute video that contains lyrics that he can't even relate on.

--4:00pm at the filming site--

"Kai, give your dance some more energy. Then do that powerful step again after you turn around okay?" The man behind the camera told him, holding a megaphone as he spoke.

Kai bowed his head at everyone while apologizing for not being able to fullfil his scenes as they wanted it to turn out. It's already afternoon and they have been filming for eleven hours straight now. He only had one break which was to eat lunch for thirty minutes and some breaks when he needed to be retouched with make-up by the cordi noonas. 

He stood again in front of the camera, heart-beating faster. It was unusual, it was his first time to had his heart beat that fast during filming. Usually, he only felt that whenver dancing for hours or during live performances where he puts in all energy and power while dancing on stage. 

The director held his megaphone up. "On the count of three! One! Two! Three!"

It was indeed something stronf from Kai. Everybody stood up in shock of what he did, shocking enough that even the director had his eyes widened in disbelief. 

He collapsed.

The staffs were all running towards him, bringing water and some bringing folding fans to give him more air. All the EXO members as well went to see what happened to him as their manager called the hospital for ambulance. 

For his dream, he sacrificed his self, family, things that he wants to do and... now he was risking his life, just to fullfil that goal he had.

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Disclaimer: I'm not intending to say that in real life EXO is really doing these things stated in my story. It's a fanfic meaning FICTION. I am not hating on EXO as well so I hope everyone who reads it does not bash or hate on me.  You are free to unsubscribe if you find my fic offending or such. Thank you.

Author's note: BTS is in our country today and tomorrow for their concert- I'm barely hanging on. I am not going because of my business in school so I'll be probably here updating a few more chapters today and tomorrow sobs ;;