I Will Make You Love Again (Hoshi x reader)

Chapter 48

A/N: It can get quite sad somewhere in the story. Just saying. 

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Almost instantly after we returned, Hoshi continued working for Seventeen's repackaged album. As usual, he would leave early and return late. When I had meetings with the stylists, I would drop by to check on him. Every time I did, his eyebags got darker. It also did not take a genius to figure out he was tired. I could not stop him as it was his job after all.

I stopped by after my third meeting. I peered into the room to see him practicing his choreography on his own. He danced, facing the mirror and repeated certain steps to perfect them. I stood by the door and watched him. For 15 whole minutes, I stood by the door unnoticed and watched him. He did not even stop for a brief moment to take a break. He was sweating profusely and muttered under his breath whenever he made a mistake.

"Good afternoon, noona," a boy's presence made me jump up in surprise.

"Oh, hi Dino. You shocked me there," I greeted him.

He asked me how long I had been there. I informed him that I had been in my position for 15 minutes straight. He brought me away from the door and further down the corridor. He had a worried look on his face.

"Umm, I don't know if I should say this but I think hyung has been overworking himself lately. Actually, I just came back from lunch. He did not eat much for lunch and left first. He usually does. He said he needed to finish up a part of the song. I tried to get him to eat more and take more breaks but he refused. He's been really stressed out lately. Maybe you could do something to help. I'm afraid he might fall sick if this goes on," he confessed.

He was extremely worried over his fellow teammate. He pleaded me to help him. I took a while to think. Seeing him like this was painful. He was probably pushing himself too. Even I saw him practicing and the changes reflected on his body. What was he really stressed out about? Was he being rushed? He usually knows how to pace himself.

"I'll try my best, " I reassured him.

He nodded and thanked me. I asked him to give me some time with Hoshi to talk to him. He heeded and leaned against a wall n the corridor. I knocked on the door as I entered.

"Welcome back, Dino- Crystal? Why are you here? Um, hold on. Let me finish up this part first," he told me.

I let him finish up and he came up to me. When he did, I could see his features more clearly. His eye bags were quite obvious. His face showed exhaustion, no doubt. He was definitely holding himself up. He probably wanted to just lie down then and there. He might not be able to take all this. He seemed almost at his limit. It almost made tears well up in my eyes just by looking at his condition. I quickly hugged him. He was quite surprised and asked what was wrong.

"It's not me, it's you. Did you forget what I told you? Don't overwork yourself you dummy. I know you need to work hard for this but you should know your limits. It is ok to rest. It is ok to have a 30 minute lunch. But it is definitely not ok to overwork yourself like this. Dino told me, don't blame him. It was the right thing to tell me about you," I let go of him.

I squished his cheeks which was not very chubby anymore. He had lost weight and looked skinnier. I did not even give him time to reply. I carried on.

"You're a lot skinnier now. You under ate, didn't you? You needed the extra time in lunch to practice. Your eye bags too, you haven't had enough sleep. Even your face screams that you're exhausted. Admit it, you just want to lie down and rest but you can't because of work and deadlines," I pointed out his changes.