Knowing Ms. Know-it-all (TXT Taehyun X Female OC X Enhypen Jay)

Ch. 36: Multitasking at its Be(Wor)st

"Gah! I made it!" Heeseung barges into the music room where Zenith would usually practice in. And basing on the look on his face and the amount of sweat dripping down his face, it's almost pretty obvious that he had come running here straight after practicing with the rest of the dance team.

"So... What have you guys practiced so far?" The boy eventually asks the other members as he raises his head, forcing himself to look fine despite the obvious exhaustion showing, not just on his face, but in almost all of his overall appearance.

"Uh... are you even sure you're good to practice right now? You look tired," Geonu asks Heeseung with concern on his face and tone.

But Heeseung pays him no heed. And he just shakes his palm as he stands straight and approaches the band. "Oh, no, no. I'm fine, really."

"Did you even eat lunch? That won't be good, especially if you've been dancing and running." Kai inserts himself into the conversation, looking just as concerned as Geonu. And if that were ever the case — that unserious Kai would show the same emotions as serious Geonu — then it meant that the case was, undoubtedly, serious.

"I'm fine, guys. Really."

Even Taehyun who had just begun seriously joining in practices noticed what's new. After all, it's festival season, and with Heeseung being a member of the band, the dance team, and still being the SC president who had to help with managing the teams for the festival, it couldn't be helped that he'd be really busy.

But this busy?

"What's up anyway? It's almost like you're pushing yourself even more this year?" Beomgyu asks Heeseung just as the latter begins adjusting his mic on its stand.

But just like his response with the others, Heeseung would only feign cluelessness. "What do you mean? I'm not pushing myself. Now come on, guys. We only have a few more days left until the festival, so let's just get on with our practice so we have better chances at winning."

Well, at this point, it was already clear that anything any of the other band members say will just be tossed aside by Heeseung. So they eventually stopped trying, and went on with their practice as usual. Though not one of them (all members except Heeseung, of course) couldn't deny the amount of concern they had for their leader that had piled up in the past days.

He really has been overworking himself. Enough to the point that not only the members of Zenith would notice...

"So, how was Heeseung-hyung when he showed up for band practice?" Jay asks a dazed Taehyun as he takes his seat. He had noticed the latter's troubled expression when he approached their seats, and it didn't take long for him to realize just what it was exactly because it wasn't even long since their senior had rushed out of the dance room to head straight to band practice. Not even taking a break to have a snack or drink some water, at least.

"He's overworking himself, isn't he? Did he ever even take any breaks while practicing with you guys?" Taehyun asks the other boy as he turns to him. Unfortunately, Jay shakes his head, causing Taehyun's frown to deepen.

"He refused to stop, even after Riki and I both did to take a break. Unfortunately, you really can't say much when that happens. He's as stubborn as a mule when it comes to his... 'responsibilities'." Jay makes air quotes while stating that last word. It was clear that even he isn't impressed by his senior's recent actions. "I don't even know what's gotten into him. He's really hardworking, alright, but he's never really pushed himself this far before!"

"Oh, yeah? Tell me about it." All of a sudden, Heejin appears, causing both boys to jump and yelp at the same time as they turn to her. But the girl doesn't seem to care about their reactions as she takes her seat with a tired look on her face. "We're talking about my brother here, aren't we?"