Another day had come, which meant another training session with the seven boys who wanted to fulfill their dream.

Despite her conversation with Jackson yesterday, Sky had slept quite well. She had come home, sat by the door for a while, pondering over what had happened throughout the day, and then, without taking a shower or eating, simply lay down and immediately fell asleep. She must have been really tired after all those days when she averaged only 4 hours of sleep per day because she didn't even remember feeling a pillow under her head.

She woke up in a great mood, and she managed to go through her entire morning routine, which she had skipped the night before due to falling asleep so quickly.

Sky was surprised by her good mood, even though a brunet guy had upset her so much yesterday that she canceled her English class and decided to take a walk along the Han River instead. Unfortunately, that had been a mistake, as all the couples she saw along the way reminded her of the brunet all over again.

Even the weather seemed to be on her side. The past few days had been cloudy, and there had been occasional drizzles. Today, however, the sun had been shining since early morning, indicating that it would be beautifully warm in the afternoon. Sky didn't need to worry about it, though, as at that moment, she would still be in the JYP building with piles of work ahead of her.

She entered the building, and Hayun greeted her with a smile, though she was more focused on the man who looked very important. He was wearing a suit, his hair was perfectly groomed with a lot of gel, and he was carrying a briefcase. His shoes were polished in such a way that you could use them as a mirror. Therefore, Sky also returned the smile and headed for the elevator.

She entered the studio, and it was silent as no one was training at that moment. Sky decided to change that. She had arrived exceptionally early today just so she could practice her choreography. The last time she practiced the choreography, she no longer kept falling to her knees constantly, so she could move on to the next part.

Her knees had managed to heal. Sure, there were still bruises on them, but they would be there for a while, and they wouldn't disappear anytime soon because that's just who Sky was – she wouldn't be herself if she didn't have any bruises.

She trained for a solid six hours before the guys started coming in. Sky stopped her training as soon as the first one of them opened the door because she didn't want them to see her practicing the choreography. She had to look her best in front of them, and that definitely wouldn't be the case if they saw her struggling with a single move. No, she had to keep that to herself, and they should never find out about it.

She had finally managed the entire choreography and was just fine-tuning the details. However, she hadn't noticed how long she had been training.

She was so immersed in the music and her reflection in the mirror that she completely forgot that she should eat. Her stomach reminded her of it, but she ignored it because she was finally doing everything perfectly without any mistakes.

Despite having had a long sleep, she felt tired after a long practice. However, she didn't want to show it because that would mean the guys would be afraid of her, or worse, that she wouldn't be able to teach them what they needed.

She couldn't afford to be tired. So she pushed her fatigue aside and smiled at the boys who were already in their places.

She had learned to suppress her fatigue. She had been at the end of her limits so many times, but because of her parents, she had to pretend she was perfectly fine since they didn't support the concept of tiredness. And especially for the team's sake. She was the captain of their dance group, and as the captain, she couldn't show weakness. She couldn't just tell her members that she didn't feel her best today, that she would slack off. That simply didn't exist. She had to work just as hard as the others, and fatigue had to be set aside.

"So, warm-up, and let's begin," she encouraged them. "Today, we'll have a bit lighter training since I pushed you hard yesterday." Her voice sounded weak, and most likely, she looked terrible herself because all seven boys were staring at her with concern.

And she did look terrible. When she saw herself in the mirror, she was horrified. She had never looked so pale. Dark circles under her eyes that even a raccoon would envy, despite having slept for more than eight hours.

And there was something else that they couldn't see, but Sky could feel it. Hunger. She hadn't felt such a grumbling in her stomach from hunger in years. It got worse with every movement, and she even got cramps in the area where her stomach was.

"Are you okay?" Sky was surprised when she realized who was speaking to her.

It was Jackson.

The person who had ignored her up until now, not even noticing what she was wearing. Now he was actually paying attention to her. He noticed that something was wrong with her, that she didn't feel well.

"I am, don't worry," Sky lied and attempted a smile to show him that she was okay. However, she wasn't, and the other boys thought the same.

Even a blind person would notice how she looked. She looked like a zombie, someone who would collapse on the ground exhausted and never get up again.

"Don't look at me, focus on the training," she scolded them when she noticed that none of them were paying attention to the song but instead, all seven of them were focused on her. Not only was it uncomfortable for her, but she also didn't want them to think that she was weak in any way.

But that's exactly what she showed. Two minutes after their conversation, Sky's legs gave way as she walked past Jinyoung. Fortunately, he managed to catch her. The others immediately stopped and looked at Sky, who was now lying in Jinyoung's arms.

Jinyoung waved his hand in front of her face as if she were a fan, trying to get some air into her. Sky's vision blurred, and she felt like she was about to lose consciousness for real.

She gathered the last remnants of her strength, got up, and ran out of the room. She ignored the seven boys' yelling, as they just wanted to know what had happened.

She run to the rooftop, where she had been last when Jackson had been scolded by Park Jinyoung.

The fresh air made her feel a bit better, but even so, she immediately fell to her knees and tried to catch her breath.

The blurry vision gradually disappeared, but Sky couldn't muster the strength to stand up. She was afraid that something would happen if she got up. So she sat down in a cross-legged position, closed her eyes, and focused on her breath.

She concentrated so much that she didn't notice someone had come to the rooftop.

That someone hugged her around the shoulders and pulled her head closer to theirs. Now Sky had her head on their chest, but she didn't mind. She felt safe. She felt a little better.

"You don't have to pretend to be tough in front of us. You can tell us that you don't feel well, that you're tired," the person spoke. Sky widened her eyes when she realized who the person was.

She looked up. Their gazes met immediately.

He was smiling. He was smiling at her.

"We'll take a fifteen-minute break, then we'll go back in there, and you'll tell them what's going on," he ordered. Sky sighed but nodded. She didn't have the energy to argue.

She didn't want to argue. Not with Jackson.