Chapter Text
Seungmin was seated in the softly illuminated practice room, his fingers idly moving across the loose strings in his sweater. The notes reverberating through the space carried a sense of melancholy, mirroring the internal turmoil he was experiencing.
Weeks had passed without a moment of break, the disagreements with the other members of Stray Kids due to the stress plunging him into a profound unease that surpassed even the persistent ache in his stomach. As Seungmin sat in the quiet, deserted practice room, his reflection in the mirror seemed to echo the events of that morning.
"Seungmin, can you at least try to keep up?" Minho's voice pierced through his thoughts, tinged with frustration.
Seungmin winced, feeling a sharp pang in his abdomen as he straightened up.
"Sorry, hyung," he mumbled, pushing himself to concentrate on the dance routine.
"Sorry isn't cutting it," Hyunjin added, his gaze narrowing.
"We can't keep covering for you. We are all tired. Come on, you can do better than that," said Han, grumpy as well.
Seungmin suppressed the urge to respond, stifling the bile that threatened to rise in his throat.
The reality was that he had been grappling to keep pace for quite some time now. Over the past few months, he had been contending with persistent nausea, searing pain, and sporadic bouts of vomiting, which had unfortunately become a grim routine. However, he had chosen to keep it to himself, reluctant to burden others with his struggles. He never did, anyway.
Therefore, the practice sessions carried on amidst an atmosphere fraught with tension. Every misstep and stumble elicited more criticism from Seungmin's group members.
Seungmin quietly absorbed it all, feeling the weight in his heart grow as the days go. He understood that they couldn't comprehend his situation. As Han mentioned, they all had issues and stress to handle. Nobody had time to understand why Seungmin grew quiet and distant or why he was having a hard time in practice . And Seungmin was too exhausted to explain.
He knew that something was wrong with himself because the constant pain in his upper abdomen, coupled with overwhelming fatigue, signalled a troubling decline in his health. But he has seen the worst. His teenage years were far worse as he had nothing then.
So, What's new now that the pain won't go away no matter what he does?