Jisung headed to the base camp with the biggest frown plastered on his face. As if the boy had just encountered a group of bullies, though it's just him and his thoughts all night long.

Ever since he saw the other part of Minho: the more flirtatious side, Jisung decided to cut his deal with Seungmin regarding the jealousy plan. Seungmin himself respected his decision wholeheartedly.

"You're late" was all Chan said to him the moment he turned the door knob to open the door.

Jisung didn't bother to make an excuse, he's too mentally and physically tired to pick a quarrel. Instead, he went to Felix and laid his body on his back.

"Are you okay, Bro?" Felix touched Jisung's hand but his body temperature took him a surprise. Jisung's skin was burning hot. "You're crazy hot. Are you sure you can survive two to three hours practicing?"

Practicing? Jisung thought a little too deeply, he even fell asleep while thinking. The blonde had missed their usual Straight Kids meeting on the base camp because he was at a better place: Minho's house.

In contrary of Jisung's action, Minho just woke up from his deep slumber.

"Hyung, can I go home?" Minho rubbed his eyes, pointing to the exit door behind Changbin.

Chan scratched his head, confused. "We haven't started our practice yet and you missed the last practice." But Chan could sense something, he somewhat felt like it's an urgent matter. "You can go. If you need any help, just contact us."

Minho nodded, then stretched his body. Seconds later, he was no longer in the room.

To be honest, Jisung just wanted to give Minho a big hug if he, himself wasn't sick and tired.

"Practice? What kind of practice are we doing?" Jisung scrunched his nose as he felt the slimy liquid coming from his nostrils.

"Remember when I planned to separate us into three sub-groups? Yeah, that thing won't happen anymore." Chan glared at Changbin. He gulped, petrified by the look on Chan's fiery eyes.

"What? Why? I was lowkey eager to be in 3RACHA," Jisung admitted.

"3RACHA my ass, we're doing 9RACHA now." Changbin crossed his legs.

Flashback...

Chan stood up, trying to explain his plan. "If we performed on three different groups consisting three people, it would be much easier for us. Too much cook spoils the broth, so we must lessen the amount of people in the group." He looked at Changbin in the eyes and continued, "Last time we're having a meeting here, we have all agreed to this terms and conditions."

"Objection." Changbin raised his hand, much to Chan's displeasure.

Changbin stood up, giving Chan the provocative look. "I like your plan, except it sucks. So let me do the plan, and that way, it might be really good," he commented nonchalantly.

"Did you just make a Marvel's reference?" Hyunjin suddenly asked.

Changbin hissed. "Hyunjin, what are you talking about? We're having an important argument. This is no time for a Marvel's reference."

"There's always time for a Marvel's reference!"

"Alright, okay! I was making a Marvel's reference," Changbin admitted. Both Changbin and Hyunjin were crying because of a Marvel's reference.

my source of inspiration

"I'm still here."

"Okay, back to business." Changbin cleared his throat. "In my opinion, rather than having three people, it's always better to have nine."

"That's not a good enough argument," Chan remarked, crossing his arms.

"Are you dumb? We don't have enough time to create three sophisticated performances. Having nine people proves that we're a cohesive group. Haven't you heard the more the merrier phrase? Besides, you choose nine people, so we have to combine our strengths together."

"He's right!" Felix cheered from behind.

Woojin supported Changbin's argument. "I agree. You choose nine, so it's either nine or none."

Felix interrupted, "Nine is my least favorite number to be honest."

Yet he was ignored.

Changbin smirked upon receiving approvals. "And the only way to make us stand out is to perform something different."

Chan challenged him. "By different, do you have any idea or you just wanted to bully me?"

Felix jumped out in excitement. "Ooh, I know! Let's do cosplay as cartoon, anime, or game characters! I wanna be Kanye West." Changbin gave him a thumbs up.

"Yeah, then we dance to a song about protecting our environment," Seungmin added.

"We can also promote metal straw and other environmentally friendly products." Jeongin pulled out his metal straw and continued, "Our school supports recycled products. Pay attention, all the utensils in the school's cafeteria are recycled products."

"See?" Changbin was happy that everyone supports him.

"And that's the story about me being a joke for five minutes." Chan finished his story with a poker face. "Gosh, I still one more person to share this story with. What a way to embarrass myself."

"That's fine, Mate. We made mistakes too. Maybe this is just one of your karma."

"Enough of that. Let's get straight to practice." Chan cued the boys to stand up.

"Aye-aye captain!"

┉┉

"Jisung, are you okay?"

"Mhm." Jisung wasn't alright. His head wouldn't stop spinning every time he made a move. Practicing wasn't a great idea after all. He's sick but he kept pushing himself further.

"I think you should rest in your house." Felix stopped the music. "Woojin-hyung! Do you have any medicine that can help Jisung?" He could only think of Woojin since his girlfriend is a part of the red cross community, thus he considered the couple as adept doctors.

"Let me see." Woojin checked on Jisung's body condition, then he fiddled with his waist bag. "I'm still an apprentice, but believe me, this thing works." He pulled out an item from his bag. Jisung nodded, too weak to give out his usual impulsive attitude.

"T-thanks." He coughed while talking.

"Now, why don't you head home before your head kills you first." Woojin helped Jisung stood up and collect the things he brought. "It's okay, Chan won't kill you."

"I'm not afraid of him." He laughed with his weak tones. The object of their gossip, Chan himself, was rather too busy calling out for sponsors to notice that Woojin and Jisung were talking about him behind his back.

"Thanks for the medicine, bye-bye!"

With that, Jisung walked out of the building. The sound of pouring rain surprised him. He flinched as his headache started to disturb him. Jisung stayed silent, not wanting to be burdensome to the people who cared for him.

Jisung always fell ill whenever the season starts to change. His body was still partying in summer vibes whereas the seasonal change saw this as their opportunity to attack Jisung. Poor boy, he didn't do anything wrong.

Outside, the boy saw nothing but few cars passing through the rain, sometimes he heard honking sounds from the cars as they attempted to call out someone to open the gate within the Cape Cod styled house. The design looked somewhat simple, yet the stone drafting elevated its value. He reckoned it's an old house, judging from its front porch's worn off white paintings—slightly dirty now. From a few meters away, the boy was busy capturing images which turned out blurry like his eyes.

"Eunwoo, are you busy?" Jisung dialed his assistant in loudspeaker whilst feeling the raindrops falling on his left palm.

"I was but I'm willing to sacrifice my time. Do you want me to pick you up?" He offered from the other line. His voice sounded weird as he tried to speak after gulping a large amount of water.

"Do you plan on going somewhere else?"

"Don't bother. It's too imaginative anyway. Should I pick you up now?" Jisung could hear Eunwoo's panicked voice, judging from the increasing number of speed when he's talking.

"Tell me."

Eunwoo refused but Jisung refused back. "I haven't met my boyfriend for months and I was thinking about paying him a surprise visit, but if your schedule collides with mine, I shouldn't force things according to my will." He could feel the disappointment in Eunwoo's voice.

"Eunwoo, take a break. Meet him. I can go home on my own. Besides, the sky is clear here, perfect for a sidewalk." He slipped out a big lie. The sky was anything but clear. "I'll order a cab as soon as I spot one."

Eunwoo sighed. "You don't have to. A random cab won't ensure your safety."

"And making you drive all the way here with an empty hole in your heart won't ensure mine too."

"Fine. Thanks for your kindness, but please be safe, okay? You know how much it scares me to see you alone in the darkness of life."

Jisung smiled. "I'll be fine, momma Eunwoo. I promise."

"Well, if you say so..."

┉┉

School sucks. I mean, school is important, but there's honestly too much homework and project. Srsly you'll hate it too when you're having your time spent for nine hours in a place called school and the moment it's over, you just wanted to lay your body on the comfy mattress, but decided against it since there's a pile of school works to be finished.