L POV

"L, stay with the group!" The director yells to me as we're practicing 'Bad.' I roll my eyes inwardly, losing my focus on the dance. I end up bumping into Hoya and we both fall on the floor. "Stop the music!"

"Aish, Myungsoo, don't you remember my ankle is still healing?" Hoya asks me, wincing as he gets back to his feet.

"Sorry," I mutter, standing up myself. Brushing off my clothes, I look up to see the other members glaring at me. "What's the problem?"

"Your blankness is the problem. What's with you?" Sungyeol asks me.

"Don't even bother talking sense into him," Woohyun intervenes, making my hands clench into fists. "That Krystal chick is probably still clouding his mind." His face is covered in bandages now. We had explained to the press that he fell down some stairs.

"Don't even start," I tell him through gritted teeth. He snorts and with a "whatever," walks off to talk with the other members.

"Alright, boys. Take 5 and we'll continue rehearsal," the director calls to us. We all nod and head off stage to get water. As I walk over to my designated rest spot (away from the others), I am pulled aside by my manager.

"Aish, can I help you?" I ask in exasperation. He shushes me and glances around to make sure everyone else is out of earshot.

"I've thought of a resolve for your scandal," he starts. I raise an eyebrow and wait for him to go on. "We'll just claim she is your cousin and you two were just catching up with each other."

"You forget that no one's seen her with any of us before, Hyung. Plus there are a lot of fanmade profiles on my family lines, anyway. No one will buy that," I point out . He sighs and crosses his arms.

"Do you have a better idea?" He asks me. I think to myself for a moment before an idea pops into my mind.

"We could claim she is a part of our staff. However, the only way fans will believe that is if we hire her into our agency," I explain, a sudden tinge of hopefulness rising in my chest. Despite the many times we've bickered, I've actually become quite fond of Krystal's company. Besides, it'd be nice to have someone who's not so against me nowadays. Not to mention my wanting to protect her well-being after all I've brought upon her, what with the fan hate and scrutiny.

"Are you kidding? That'll just put even more burden on us!" Manager Hyung scolds. I cross my arms and give him a skeptical look.

"Do you have a better idea?" I redirect the question at him. He and I continue our staring contest until the director calls out for INFINITE to return to the stage.

Manager Hyung averts his gaze. "We'll g