Behind the Mask

~Chapter 31~

~Yoongi's POV~

"it's time to- time to- time to wake up motherfucker"

Ughh, not again. I slowly turned around to turn my alarm off, then dropped right back into the sheets, draping an arm across my eyes to block the sunlight. I considered going back to sleep for a second, and that plan was starting to sound really good as my eyes were fluttering close, drawing me back into the dreamland. Yeah, I could rest for a couple more minutes, nothing wrong with that..

"guess what, I'm still here"
"hello"
"WAKE UP"

Damn it. My eyes flung open once again as I stared in frustration at my phone, but I sat upright in bed, trying my best to resist the urge of letting my eyes close. I headed towards the closet to find some clothes to put on, finally stepping out of the welcoming sheets, and I soon heard Jisoo's alarm go off, as well. I smiled a little when I heard her groan in annoyance, then she rushed to turn it off.

"Here goes another day, wowee.." she mumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"You know, that's not gonna help. You first gotta wash your face properly and then hope to lose the dark circles." I pointed out, motioning towards her eyes. They were constantly surrounded by dark marks, shadowing her features and making her look a little intimidating, in all honesty. She covered it with make-up, yes, but every morning, they would reappear, even more preeminent.
I was a bit worried about her. I couldn't understand, she always went to sleep early, and woke up after I did, and yet every day seemed to drain her a little more. Somebody mentioned she even dozed off during lunch break the other day, which truly scared me.

"Jisoo-yah."

"Hm, what", she hummed, squinting her eyes to look at me through the dark.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Hey excuse me, it's too early in the morning to talk about that."

"No, I mean what's going on with you? Why are you so exhausted all the time? No offence, but with 7 hours of sleep per night, you should be doing just fine. What's up?"

"I don't know, actually", she answered with a confused expression. "It's just how I am, and have been since I was a kid. I need at least 9 hours of sleep to feel good. I guess I didn't consider that properly before signing up for a career in music, hu-uh.."

I watched her warily as a yawn cut through her words, and I wondered if there was anything that could help her feel better. It was obvious, once you spent a little time with her, that she was being worn out by this lifestyle; waking up at the crack of dawn, busting herself off throughout the day with workouts, diet programs and dancing hours - it was all taking a serious toll on her health. Still, she just stood up in bed and offered me a toothed smile.

"Are you perhaps worried about me, Yoongi?"

"Well of course I am, you're not being normal."

"Gee, thanks! Means a lot." She mumbled, rolling her eyes, and pulled her tongue out at me, grinning childishly.

"You know what I mean. If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

She just nodded quickly and so I headed towards the bathroom to change, thinking the conversation was over. But then a whisper slid past my ear, and made my heart clench.

"If only I knew.."  

~~

"Good morning everyone", I greeted nine drowsy faces surrounding the breakfast table. All I got in return was some humming here and there and a faint smile from Jennie, while the others barely acknowledged my presence, nodding absentmindedly. Seemed as if everybody had a bad night.