Kyungsoo dances the best he can on an empty stomach and zero hours of sleep, but as expected, he makes mistakes. Plenty of them.
"Pay attention, Kyungsoo! This is the third time you've gotten this step wrong. Are you even listening?" The choreographer, Minsung, sounds angry. His arms are folded and he glares holes into the younger who is still staring off into space, thinking about his argument from earlier. Minsung struts over to Kyungsoo pats his shoulder, jolting him from his thoughts. His mind scrambles for words.
"I-what? Sorry. I'm a little distracted." He sheepishly apologises, pulling down the hem of his shirt nervously.
"Yeah no shit. Pay attention, we only have two hours left before you can go home. Then you can daydream all you want." Kyungsoo nods. He swipes his hands over his face in frustration, growling quietly at himself at his inability to concentrate and keep his eyes open. His eyes feel even more tired than they were earlier and the bags beneath them are noticeable from a considerable distance away. He feels awful and it's gotten to the point where he is struggling to keep himself awake, he has to keep fighting against his body to remain conscious. Baekhyun taps him on the shoulder.
"Are you ok? You're really pale and you look exhausted." He whispers, as the choreographer turns around to restart the music.
"Five, six, seven, eight!"

They all sit down puffing and panting once they've been granted a break; gulping down bottles of water and opening some snacks. Kyungsoo wipes his face dry of sweat with a towel and rests against the mirrored wall, closing his eyes momentarily. He can feel himself relaxing and his eyelids burning less with fatigue as he succumbs to the exhaustion that he has felt for days. It is short lived however when a warm hand brushes against his forehead.
"Are you feeling alright, Soo?" Chanyeol asks and Sehun is hanging over his shoulder, resting his head on Kyungsoo's shoulder to comfort the older. Kyungsoo thinks about lying and saying that he is fine, but then realises that it won't do any good, especially since he pretty much looks dead. He admits defeat by weakly shaking his head and Chanyeol's eyes soften, ruffling his hair. Chanyeol bites the inside of his cheek as he gazes down at the other.
"I think I know what's up. You had an argument with Jongin, didn't you? We all heard it. What was it about?" Chanyeol asks, patting Kyungsoo's shoulder while Sehun's curious eyes flit to Jongin at the opposite side of the room who is trying to mask his concern for his best friend.
"It's- it was nothing. Jongin took something without my permission and I got angry. It was a stupid fight to begin with." Kyungsoo speaks monotonously, heaving a heavy exhale when he finished his short explanation. The two others nod in understanding.

After practice is finished, the boys grab some lunch and then head to their vocal coach's studio to have some lessons.
"Alright. That definitely wasn't your best version of the song." The vocal coach speaks, biting her lower lip and sighing. "Hold on for just a moment, I need to get something." Kyungsoo nods, eyes drooping while his throat burns from lack of sleep. The coach gets a lollipop stick and a small light from a cupboard behind her, and asks the younger to come in front of her.
"Say 'ah' while I check your throat and tonsils. There might be a little bit of swelling and inflammation but I just want to be sure." Kyungsoo nods at the information as he does as instructed. The small light is turned on and the stick holds down his tongue. The tonsils at the back of his throat are red and swollen, causing his voice to be hoarse and his throat to be sore.
"Ok. Nothing major from what I can see, it just looks like you have tonsillitis. With some rest and perhaps some paracetamol or ibuprofen the inflammation should decrease in the next few days. Can I ask you a few questions? How much sleep have you been getting?" Kyungsoo hesitates.
"I didn't get any last night. I got two or three full hours the night before that and I can't remember the day before that one, but it wasn't that many. How come?" She sighs, chewing the inside of her cheek as she takes a few notes.
"Give this to your manager. I want to hold a meeting to discuss your health. It is clear that you have insomnia and it is definitely having a major impact on your work load. I have no idea if you are being worked too hard, but one thing I can say, is that you need some rest. You can't keep on going on like this, you need to take care of yourself. I will inform you if anything changes in the next few weeks. It'll take some time for all of us to find time to meet up." With that, the two say their goodbyes and Kyungsoo's vocal practice is ended early. He grabs his bag and sits in the cafeteria to wait on the others.

Half an hour after he sits down, his phone chimes with the arrival of a new text. He frowns as he pick up his phone.

Unknown:
We have told you many times to keep quiet.
Sent: 20:46   Seen: 20:47

Me:
Who is this?

Unknown:
I think that you already know.
We don't play games.
And we most certainly do not appreciate snitches.
Sent/Seen: 20:49  

Me:
You're scaring me
Leave me alone

Unknown:
You know too much now.
We cannot do that.
Telling the police was a silly move.
Too bad that they won't figure out who we are
-until it's too late.
Sent/Seen: 20:53

Me:
Leave me alone
What do you want from me?

Unknown:
We can see you now, sitting by yourself.
With nobody around.
Your friends will soon no longer trust you.
At least when that happens, you will still have us.
Sent/Seen: 20:56

Do you want to block this number?
Yes or no?
This number has been blocked.

Kyungsoo breathes out a shaky sigh, wide and panicked eyes scanning around the cafeteria for any staring eyes. There is nobody. The kitchen shut down after serving dinner and it is now almost 9pm. He shivers as he re-reads the texts, his heart racing as his breathing quickens. They can see me. They can see me! How long have they been stalking me for? What do they mean by nobody will trust me? What is going on? His mind is a torrent of terrified thoughts and speculations, a rushing river of worries and stresses. He stands up, swings his bag over his shoulder and tucks his phone into the pocket of his pants, walking away from the table. His surroundings lurch and he feels that perhaps it is because he got up too quickly. He falls to the ground but somehow manages to catch himself by quickly grasping onto a table beside him. His stomach feels as if it is climbing into his throat and he darts to the bathroom, kicking open the door to enter as well as the door to the first cubicle he sees. He falls to his knees just in time as he empties his stomach into the toilet bowl and heaves as he feels his insides burn with pure stomach acid. Tears well in his eyes from the pain and stress and fear as he slumps against the wall of the small enclosed space, using some toilet roll to wipe his mouth before flushing the toilet. Beads of cold sweat dampen his fringe as he swallows down the rest of the acid, grimacing at the sensation as he does so. He takes a few moments to compose himself then shakily gets to his feet, swaying a little before finally steadying himself. He breathes a shaky exhale before forcing his eyes open again, telling his exhausted body to move towards the bathroom door. He exits, and bumps into Jongin in the hallway.

Hey guys! I absolutely love each and every one of you and I hope that you have all had an absolutely amazing day. Thank you all so much for the support that you have been giving me and I will try my best to update more often. Each of you are beautiful and please, never change- I love you all the way you are. 🍪❤️💜😘😍

Date: Saturday October 20th 2018

Word Count: 1438