fever | ateez lore story

CH 14

•yeosang•

Another day, another day to train.

-"Yeosang~"

I hear the familiar voice behind me sing, his voice fluctuating occasionally due to the bouncing he does. I'm almost flung forward with the way he launches himself onto me, and I see that sunny face rest itself on my shoulder.

"Hey, Woo! Did you rest well last night?" I ask, making our way to the company.

"Yes sir, I did! I'm sure you did, too!" He states.

I nod, but in truth, I could barely sleep a wink last night. My head was aching with ways to tell my father that I'm leaving the company. More over, how I'll tell Yeonjun and the the trainees. It's hard enough to tell my father, but it'll be harder and more painful to tell the people who have trained with me for years now. We've been through many hardships together, and I have no doubt they'll understand me completely, however, the guilt does not subside. I feel like a criminal for leaving them behind like this.

"Good good. Let's train our hardest today. Whenever you're ready, we'll march right up to your father and tell him our decision!" he says, huffing his chest out, imitating a tough guy. Wooyoung's always so optimistic, so I can always rely on him to give me some motivation. I wish I was more like him.

---

"Yeosang! Wooyoung!"

The first thing we hear when we step into the practice room, Yeonjun and his loud voice at the other end of the room. It's never a dull day with him around.

Our bags don't even touch the floor before Yeonjun's playing the song we are practicing. I quickly drop my satchel and position myself next to Yeonjun, quickly stretching my limbs before hopping straight into the choreography.

"Go on, Yeo!" Yeonjun says, a smile growing on my face. The other trainees haven't arrived yet, but we just want a refresh on the choreography. With Yeonjun on my left, my right is empty. I look around and find Wooyoung stretching alone in the corner, awfully...slowly.

"Wooyoung, pep in the step! We need to make sure the choreography is perfect." I say, continuing the dance.

"Just carry on. I'll, uh, join a moment later." He insists.

---

Me and Jun have run through the choreography about 3 times already, and Wooyoung's still not ready?

"Yo, how about you join us this time, eh?" Yeonjun insists, panning heavily. The light in the room shows off the beads of sweat running down his temples, and I can feel my own hair stick to mine like glue. Heat radiates off my body, I feel like I might evaporate.

"Let me go to the bathroom, first. I'll be right back." He giggles nervously, jogging out the room. Me and Yeonjun do nothing but stare.

Wooyoung went from this energetic entity so big that it filled the practice room to a deflated balloon. Something must have happened.

"Should we go again while we wait for him?" Yeonjun suggests, wiping his forehead with his forearm.

I'm tempted to chase after Wooyoung, but I have been slacking in this choreography. Another practice wouldn't hurt.

---

It's been almost an hour. Where is Wooyoung? The other trainees were half an hour late and still managed to get a practice or two in before Wooyoung did.

"Is he okay?" The other trainee asks. We all share glances, not one of us having an answer to give.

"Let me find him." I say and I head out, jogging to the bathroom.