Thirteen

Thailand got confirmed.

2 weeks after the scary run-in that Yeojun had had, things had died down quite a bit. Comments were still doing their rounds but even I had stopped following up on what everyone was saying on Twitter and other such platforms. I read what I needed to and then backed away.

However, there was one thing that popped up in between that made even me pause and falter in my resolve to stay unaffected.

'S.T.A.Y's popularity seems to have more to do with 04:00 am than S.T.A.Y themselves.'

That was more of a personal attack for me though, given my history with 04:00 am and its members- or rather, member. Ever since debut, we were seen as 04:00 am's Hoobaes. We were always their little brothers, especially after they became so popular.

Even though the extent to which our friendship goes has not quite been made public, people knew that we were closer than other groups within DayBreak itself. That made them pitch us together often.

To say that S.T.A.Y became popular because of our association to 04:00 am was a bit much. S.T.A.Y got visibility because of 04:00 am, admittedly, but our popularity was purely because of our music- or so we would like to believe.

In fact, looking at it that way, 04:00 am had been more of a wall casting a shadow over us rather than a helping hand.

'Oh, S.T.A.Y? The Idol group signed with the same agency as 04:00 am?'

No.

S.T.A.Y- the group that released 'To You'.

I sighed and looked around me. We were in a studio somewhere outside of Seoul. We had already finished our pre-lunch recording. They let us take an hour's break after lunch. That was welcome news for everyone.

"They sure fell asleep fast, huh?" One of the senior staff of the team commented on seeing the sight around me.

"They did." I smiled, bowing a little.

I was sitting on the floor. I had closed my eyes for a bit but had not managed to fall asleep. Hanseol and Jaehyeon were leaning against each other's shoulders and sleeping, their backs to the wall, sitting on the floor a little away from me. Yeojun was sitting and sleeping on a couch in the room and Mingyu was asleep on a chair with his head on a table nearby.

They looked exhausted even in sleep.

The man crouched next to me and looked around at them with me. He was a director at the company that ran this studio and a pretty accomplished one at that too. He was in charge of our shoot. He was but a stout little man who looked ready to sit down with a cup of tea the moment anyone suggested it and yet, he had everyone bowing to him in genuine respect.

"Are you not sleepy, Jeongwoo-ssi?"

"Yes, I am." I nodded. "I don't sleep much during the day though. Plus, I feel that if I sleep now, I might not wake up in 20 minutes."

"That would be a problem for us, wouldn't it?" He laughed.

I nodded. "Thank you for today's work. It has been a really pleasant experience thus far."

"Likewise." He said and pulled out his phone. "Well, it's just convenient timing but you wouldn't mind taking a photo with me, would you?"

Hm? "A photo, sir?" Just me?

"You see, I've got two girls at home. They love S.T.A.Y. In fact, it's to such a point that even I know all your songs by now. They both just fawn over you and K-Soul-ssi. Since K-Soul-ssi is asleep and we have this opportunity, why don't we take a picture? Ever since my girls heard that I would be shooting with S.T.A.Y, they had been asking to be allowed to come here but that isn't possible. The least that I can do, then, is to get them at least one photo."

This man was one among the list of people no one could refuse. I had to oblige. It wasn't that I had any complaints though- it was just that I actually looked tired.

"Okay." He said after taking two selfies. Going through them, he commented. "They have come out well. Ah, but I look so old next to you. I guess I am old, for that matter."

"These are good photos." I nodded when he showed me the photos on his phone.

"The only way to make my girls jealous of me." He shook his phone to emphasise his point, then put it away and stood up. "Thank you, Jeongwoo-ssi."

"The pleasure's all mine." I bowed, seated.

"Then, rest up a bit more. We'll start in another 20 minutes."

"Understood." I nodded as he walked away. After that, I went back to leaning against the wall and began playing my regular soccer game on my phone.

It was Manager Kim who had come with us for this program. Manager Park was held up at the agency. He had gotten really busy after Thailand got confirmed the previous evening. It wasn't going to be just a few live shows either. We were going to do proper promotions. We were going to go on shows and do some shooting of our own too.

We were going to get busier.

"Jeongwoo?" Someone called softly.

I looked up from my phone and found Hanseol looking at me. Jaehyeon was still sleeping. "You woke up?"

"Ah." He rubbed the back of his neck and groaned. "I'm not too comfortable."

"You can use the other couch. There's space." I motioned to the unoccupied couch next to the one that Yeojun was using.

"But Hyung…" He looked at Jaehyeon who was still leaning on him and then shook his head. "It's okay. Why are you… Not sleepy?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

"You hardly sleep when you get the chance, Jeongwoo." He frowned. "It can't be good for you in the long run."

Worried, were you?

I smiled, got up and went over to sit next to Hanseol. "Maybe I could close my eyes for a bit."

He chuckled softly. "What am I? Everyone's body pillow?"

I shrugged and leaned against his arm, crossing my arms over my chest and shutting my eyes. "You're not very comfortable."

"Go away then."

"Mm." Not going away. "Then… 20 minutes."

"Less than."

"Whatever." I adjusted myself a bit. "Kick me if you have to."

"Just shut up and sleep already, Jeongwoo." He spat, trying to get comfortable himself. That would have been a little difficult for him considering that both Jaehyeon and I were leaning against him.

Even though I had settled in with the intention of trying to get some shut-eye once again, it seemed impossible. Hanseol had slept off again within just a few minutes of not talking and the other members were so lost in their slumber that I got the feeling that I might have to go around waking them up for the remaining shoot when the time comes. We had been practicing whenever we weren't shuttling between shows and other work. Even after getting home, we had work to ponder over. Despite daily life having become a mad dash from here to there and from practice to shooting, we were undeniably at our most productive and most happiest, albeit a little stressed. The thought of going places and knowing that our True were waiting for us and supporting us and loving us through it all, regardless of whatever happened, made it all worthwhile.

The rush, and the lack of sleep, were immensely rewarding, at least for me.