foreign ⁺ ʰᵃᵉᶜʰᵃⁿ

07

It was the first day or recording for the group and the first time Tenshiko had seen something like it. The ninja was all new to her job, hearing Haechan sing and work on lyrics with the other members warmed her chest. Their recording lasted for ten days, the two ladies waking up earlier than usual to drive the boys and accompany them. It was mostly waiting for hours, buying them lunch then driving back to the dorms and when the producers were finally done with the song, the rest of the week was for them to rest.

Been to soon, it was already time for the boys to learn and practice the choreography. It went on for a whole month and Tenshiko felt bad for the idols, coming home only to sleep and bathe, it was unhealthy. There were a lot of times when they all skip breakfast and lunch just to rehearse then their dinner would be too late or they wouldn't eat in a day at all. Not even a week in promoting Kick It, Haechan began recording for the Reload album with NCT Dream. They were backstage when Koruji received a call from their manager.

" What? Why now? Can't you reschedule it for him? The awarding just ended. " Koruji

" What is it? " Taeyong

" Haechan, he said you should be recording with the dreamies right now. " Tenshiko was stunned, he didn't even get to rest for a bit. The boy, on the other hand, knew this was coming. The complete schedule wasn't given to him yet there he was, heading to another place to record for another album. It went on for a week, him going straight to record right after music shows and Tenshiko became concerned. One early in the morning, the eighth dance session for Ridin' ended and Tenshiko could tell how tired Haechan was.

Tenshiko's POV

" Do you want to eat anything? " I asked Donghyuck while stealing glances at his half-asleep figure on the passenger's seat of my car. He didn't reply so I just went to a McDonald's drive thru and ordered a meal for him. For almost two months, he and I have grown close, majorly because of our jobs. I saw how much of a positive person Donghyuck was, despite his full calendar of activities, he never complained or had a mood. He even smiles at the staff or make them laugh from time to time but when the day ends, he was burned-out.

" Eat this before we go home, Donghyuck. "

" I don't want to. "

" But you have to. You've been skipping meals for a week now, Hyuck. "

" I could eat later at the dorm. "

" You'll go to sleep when we get there. "

" You don't know that. "

" Of course I do, you've done that for the whole week. Its just rice, chicken and fries. "

" I don't want to, Tenshiko, I'm sleepy. " my heart broke. For the past days, its like practice and sleep were his only options. If it continues for a few more days, its gonna take a toll on him and that's what I was afraid of. " Hyuck, just this once, eat. " we made it to the dorms and just as I expected, he laid down after taking a shower.

" I want to sleep already. " Johnny watched as I pull Donghyuck's arms to make him sit. Trying hard to feed him, he got annoyed and slapped the fries away, littering the floor. " I told you I don't want to. "

" But you have to eat or you'll pass out. "

" I won't, now I have something to clean. "

" Leave it, I'll clean. Go to sleep, Donghyuck. " I grabbed some tissue and wet wipes from his desk. By the time I was done, he was already snoring. He was really tired, I shouldn't have forced him. The other members were worried about him too, seeing him pale and eyes sunken during practice, but they couldn't do anything. After that night, we were never the same. The air around us was tense and this time, my pride remained. Jaemin told me that Donghyuck started eating heavy meals, we were in speaking terms but that didn't last for long.

Their promotions began and so did the preparation for the next comeback, with 127 this time. He got back to his old routine and became really skinny, something bad happened. They were in the middle of shooting the mv for Punch when he collapsed and all of us panicked.

" Is there an oxygen tank? " Doyoung

" Why? What happened? " Koruji

" Haechan passed out just now! " one of the managers pulled out a tank on a trolley and we ran to the scene. Donghyuck was seated on the side, leaning on Johnny, and the rest was asked to not come closer. Koruji and I stood across the room, watching as he gets back to filming. For every second that passed, my heart sunk as he pushed his limit. My phone rang from a call and I had a bad feeling. " Hello? "

" Is this Jinichi Tenshiko? "

" Yes, who is it? "

" Tenshiko! Its me, Ikato. "

" Uncle? I'm sorry if I haven't visited, how are you? "

" I'm fine but Shiko, I called because of your father. "

" What a-about him? "

" He's dead, Shiko. " I was beyond appalled. Just as I thought the day couldn't be worse, this news comes out of nowhere.

" How d-did he d-die? "

" Lung cancer. I shouldn't have tolerated his smoking, now this happened. The hospital called me this afternoon and told me, the funeral will be tomorrow. Can you come home? "

" I'll....come home. " the overwhelming feeling lingered until we made it back to the dorms. Koruji caught on my distress and offered to drive the whole group so I could chill. There was this park that Donghyuck and I used to visit during Kick It, this would be a place where the silence calmed us and helped him stay optimistic. The whole quarters had a laden atmosphere due to Donghyuck's incident, they were in the living room when I got there.

" We told you to eat regularly, right? " Doyoung

" I'm fine. " Donghyuck

" Its a relief that the promotions are moved for another week. We could use the time to rest, especially you, Haechan. " Taeyong

One look at Donghyuck and I lost it. He was really pale and I felt like I didn't do a good job at taking care of him. The room was spacious but I felt suffocated, everything was just too much for me. Maybe I was too happy the last months and didn't know there was a price.