Seonghwa woke with a start as someone shook his shoulder rather aggressively.

"Hyung, it's time to go. It's almost 3," Wooyoung whispered in his ear.

Seonghwa shook his head, burying it in the pillow.

"Come on, hyung. We have to go. We've got practice tomorrow. Hongjoong's gonna be mad at us if we don't take you back."

Wooyoung pulled on his arm and San came to help, bringing Seonghwa up to a seated position. Seonghwa opened his eyes a crack, looking around.

"Joongie?" he croaked, quite certain he'd just been sleeping on his shoulder.

"He left a while ago. Come on, we need to go!" Wooyoung whined, pulling Seonghwa up from the couch.

"Take it easy on him, he had a little more than he could handle," San whispered in his ear and Wooyoung sighed.

"Hey, it's okay. I can take care of him. Why don't you guys head back to your place and tell Hongjoong he's in good hands?"

Hyunjin stood in the doorway to the living room, leaning against the frame.

Wooyoung looked at San for his approval.

"It's okay. He'll come with us," San smiled, trying to yank Seonghwa to his feet.

"Come on, hyung," he whispered but Seonghwa was really liking the idea of staying right where he was.

"It's okay. You guys go back. Hyunjin said it's fine," Seonghwa mumbled leaning back onto the couch and curling his feet into his chest.

"Seonghwa," Wooyoung snapped, glaring at him.

"It's fine, you guys. Really. You should get some sleep. You've got your big showcase coming up. I'll make sure he's ready to go in the morning."

Wooyoung stood, giving a huff of resignation.

"Fine. Thank you. I'm sorry about him," he sighed, shaking his head.

San joined him, giving one last glance back at Seonghwa before deciding they had better things to do with their time.

The two left and Seonghwa laid back in smug victory, glad to avoid getting to his feet. After all, he wasn't sure he could move without spilling his guts. It was just way too embarrassing to tell his members that.

"Are you doing okay?"

Hyunjin stepped into the room, coming to sit down next to him. Seonghwa nodded his head, keeping his eyes closed.

"I'm fine. A little barfy. But fine."

Hyunjin laughed and placed the back of his hand on Seonghwa's forehead.

"You don't feel too hot so I think you should be fine with some sleep. I'll go grab you some water."

He stood and walked to the kitchen and Seonghwa grabbed the pillow beside him, hugging it to his chest.

"Sorry for making you do this. I just...I'm not used to drinking. I never really went out in high school or college. Now anytime I do, I don't really know my limit until I've hit it."

"It's okay. We should've been watching. I'm sorry we didn't keep a better eye on you."

"It's not your fault. I always go a little too hard. I should've known better."

Hyunjin walked back in, holding a glass of water and placed it in Seonghwa's hands before sitting across from him on the opposite couch.

"I'm just glad you're okay now."

Seonghwa took a drink gratefully, not realizing how dehydrated he felt. It wasn't long until he'd downed the whole glass.

"Thanks for the water," he mumbled, still a but embarrassed.

"No problem."

They sat in silence for a while before Hyunjin decided to speak up.

"I know you and Hongjoong are pretty close. I don't want to come off the wrong way but...how come...he didn't stay to look after you?"

Seonghwa looked down at the cup in his hands.

"He hasn't really seen me drink very often either. None of them really know about this..."

"But...I mean...he had to have noticed when he was here..."

Seonghwa twisted the glass in his hand.

"He must have had something he needed to work on. He gets random bouts of inspiration that just strike him out of nowhere. I always wished inspiration came to me like that," Seonghwa smiled sadly.

"Does that happen a lot? Where he goes off on his own and leaves you alone with the rest of the group?"

Seonghwa moved to stand, wanting to avoid the conversation.

"I think I need some more water. Do you have any pain meds I could take for this headache?"

But as he gained his footing, the nausea washed over him and he had to close his eyes, grabbing onto the arm of the couch.

"Woah—hey, take it easy. We have some, I'll go get it. You just stay here, okay?" Hyunjin helped him back onto the couch before taking his glass and heading for the bathroom.

Seonghwa sighed, feeling pathetic.

It was a bit upsetting that Hongjoong had left him behind in this state. He knew it wasn't his job to babysit him but...where did he go that was so important?

"Here you go," Hyunjin said as he walked back in, holding the refilled glass and some ibuprofen.

"Thank you so much," Seonghwa smiled gratefully and he quickly washed a few down before his stomach had a chance to reject them.

"Hey...I'm sorry for prying. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable, I was just a little annoyed that he would do that to you."

Seonghwa shook his head.

"No, it's okay. If I'm being honest, it does happen a lot. And I've talked to him about it, so he knows and he's trying to get better. I think it'll just take time. We both used to be leaders of our own groups so it's been difficult to work as a team. It just feels like sometimes...I'm trying harder to be one than he is."

Hyunjin nodded, taking Seonghwa's now-empty glass from him and moving to stand.

"I'm really sorry. That's kind of shitty."

"I know he doesn't mean to but...it still hurts to feel like he's leaving me out of important decisions."

"Important decisions? Like what?"

"Well...when he organized the whole thing with JYP, he didn't tell me until he told everyone else. And I know he didn't have to but...it was weird being as out of the loop as everyone else."

"Well he should tell you! You're a leader, too!"

"I know...but he doesn't mean to leave me out. He just...forgets."

"That makes me so mad, you deserve as much say in the group as he does."

"I know. And he knows that, too. He's gotten better. I think we just need to get used to it. We're still pretty new as a group of eight."

"Still...that's so shitty. I'm sorry that happened to you."

"It's okay."

Hyunjin stood above him, waiting. He seemed unsure if it was okay to leave.

"I'm sorry for unloading on you, right after you already agreed to take care of my sorry ass," Seonghwa laughed but Hyunjin shook his head.

"It's okay. We're all family here. You can always count on us."

Seonghwa smiled, nodding his head

"Thank you."

"Of course. Oh—there's blankets in the closet over there—I'll grab you one after I put these away."

Seonghwa nodded and laid back down on the couch, letting his eyes flutter shut.

He was glad to be making new friends. Even if it was under pretty embarrassing circumstances.

Hyunjin returned with a warm, fleece blanket and laid it over him, making sure every inch of him was covered. Then he stood, smiling down at him and walked over to turn off the lamp at his side.

"What time do you need to be woken up tomorrow?" he asked.

Seonghwa knew he was supposed to practice with the band for Hongjoong's song at 5. But he was pretty sure none of them were going to be up in time for it.

"8."

"Alright, sounds good. Hope you feel better in the morning," Hyunjin smiled and with that, he turned off the lamp and Seonghwa drifted off.