"I'm here, hyungs."

"The work's here as well," Himchan said, pointing to the floor.

Without a word, Zelo got on his knees with a handful of wet paper towels and began wiping up the spill as well.

Yongguk turned toward the hotel doors as he saw Daehyun and Youngjae enter. Yongguk waved the two of them over.

"We went scouting nearby restaurants," Youngjae said, running up to them. "And we found — whoa, what happened here?"

"Did Himchan finally snap after too many comments about his being overweigh — " Daehyun began, stopping immediately when he noticed Himchan's glare of death.

"Just some orange juice spilled, that's all," Yongguk said, making sure to position himself in the middle of Daehyun and Himchan so that Himchan didn't have a chance to kill Daehyun. "What kind of restaurants did you guys find?"

After another wary glance at Himchan, Daehyun relaxed and smiled. "I got to say, America really does have everything. It's got a Chinese restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, and some French places. But we struck gold just one block away from our hotel."
"He's right," Youngjae said. "I smelled it from half a block away."

"What'd you find?" Zelo asked from his crouched position on the floor.

"Korean barbecue," they said together.

It was amazing how two simple words could create such a change in the group. Instantly everyone was up, pitching in and helping Zelo and Jongup clean the floor so they could get to a restaurant that served perhaps the best dish in the world. After a quick mentioning to their manager as to where they would be going, the boys struck out, running to the restaurant and finding it pleasantly crowded.

"Do you smell that?" Zelo asked, nearly floating on his tiptoes as they entered the restaurant.

"Just like home," Yongguk said, stomach already growling.

"It's paradise," Himchan said.

Whether it was because they were famous, or just because the place wasn't very crowded, Yongguk didn't know, but within two minutes they were seated and had their orders taken. They sat there for five minutes without any fan maulings or kidnappings, then Zelo picked up his menu and began folding it into an airplane before Himchan stopped him.

"That barbecue is going to taste so good," Daehyun said.

"And the dumplings," Youngjae said.

"Don't forget the chicken and — " here Himchan nudged Yongguk playfully, " — the ramen. You always order that stuff, don't you?"

"I'll eat it until the day I die," Yongguk said.

"Hey, Zelo, you look kind of sweaty. Are you all right?" Jongup asked.

"We ran here, didn't we?" Zelo asked.

Yongguk glanced over at Zelo and saw that he did, in fact, look slightly tired. He was about to say something, but at that moment the food arrived and all thoughts except eating were driven from everyone's minds. Even the ramen paled in comparison to the sacred barbecue sitting in the middle of the table.

"Let's eat," Yongguk said, already tasting the food on his palette.

The six devoured. They ate with only the occasional grunt of pleasure as food disappeared into mouth, and only after their table had been refilled three times did they finally sit back and stretch.

"That was delicious," Daehyun said.

"I'm surprised," Himchan said. "It was almost as good as home."

"But nothing beats Korean street barbecue," Jongup said.

"Yeah, right off the grill," Youngjae said.

"It was still really good, though," Yongguk said. "The ramen was tasty."

"What'd you think, Ze . . . Zelo? Are you feeling okay?" Himchan asked.

All eyes were suddenly on the youngest of the group, and Yongguk was surprised to see a pained expression on his face after such a great meal.

Zelo quickly took away the hand he'd placed over his stomach. "Ah, my stomach hurts a little bit. I think I ate too much."

"Isn't that Daehyun's job?" Youngjae asked.

A laugh rose up from their table, and soon the six had paid for the meal, left the restaurant, and returned to the hotel. They all sat down in the lobby and quietly hummed "One Shot" before Yongguk sat up. "So what should we do now? We've seen all the sights," Yongguk said.

"We could just go up to our hotel rooms and hang out," Youngjae said.

"Or maybe we could practice for the concert," Himchan said. He looked at the group and Yongguk saw him pause. "Where's Zelo?"

Yongguk looked around, not even noticing that Zelo had gone.

"He said something about the bathroom when we came in," Jongup said.

"Maybe he really did eat too much," Daehyun said.

"He'll be okay," Youngjae said.

Just then Zelo returned, and the entire group looked him up and down while assessing his physical state. Yongguk noticed that he looked a tinge pale, but then he remembered that none of them had gotten any sleep the night before.

"You all right?" Himchan asked.

Zelo blinked. "Yes, I'm fine, Himchan-hyung."

"Then let's get up to our hotel rooms," Himchan said.

"We've got two days, everyone, then we're performing right here in Los Angeles," Yongguk said. "Let's do our best, okay?"
"B.A.P, fighting!" everyone shouted.

The six of them went up to their hotel rooms, parting ways since there were only two bedrooms per room. Yongguk went into his and Himchan's room and fell onto the nearest bed. "This is always so weird."

"Touring?" Himchan asked, falling onto the bed beside him.

"No, having separate bedrooms," Yongguk said. "I'm used to the three bunk beds we've got at home."

"And Youngjae's snores," Himchan said.

The two of them laughed.

"But there won't be any snoring tonight," Yongguk said.

"Because there won't be any sleep," Himchan said.

"Just give them ten minutes, and everyone will be cramming into our bedroom so we can practice until the sun comes up," Yongguk said.

"Don't we do that all the time?" Himchan asked.

"Pretty much, but you and I both know that whenever we're on tour, we practice twenty-five, seven," Yongguk said. "Instead of the normal nineteen, seven back home."

"We'd better get our dancing shoes out of the luggage," Himchan said. "Is your bag in the closet?"

"I think that's where our manager put it, yeah," Yongguk said.
Sounds of Himchan rustling through their bags coupled with the fact that Yongguk hadn't slept in over a day helped lull him into a semi-conscious state. Suddenly, he was woken up by something hitting his chest. He looked up and saw his dancing shoes sitting on his chest.

"You just had to put your shoes on the bottom of your bag," Himchan huffed, slipping his own dance shoes on his feet.

"Sorry, Himchan," Yongguk said. "Don't worry, they'll be here within a minute, so you'll know that you searched fast for a good reason."

"Really? One minute?" Himchan asked.

"Count on it."

"You're on."

Yongguk began counting aloud as he put on his own dance shoes, and by the time he reached ten seconds, someone knocked at the door. He smirked at Himchan. "Told you," he said, getting up and answering the door to see Zelo, Jongup, Daehyun, and Youngjae all standing there. "Hey, there. Come on in, gu — " Out of nowhere, a pillow slammed into the back of Yongguk's head, and he turned around to see an equally smug Himchan casually watching television and acting as if nothing had happened.

"What song is first in the lineup?" Jongup asked as he sat down next to Himchan.

"It's . . . 'Badman,' " Yongguk said, tossing a pillow back at Himchan and frowning when Himchan dodged it and it hit Jongup instead.

"What did I do?" Jongup asked.

"Sorry, wrong target," Yongguk said.

Himchan turned off the television and stood up next to Zelo, frowning when he looked up at him. "Why are you taller than me?"

Zelo smiled. "Sorry, Himchan."

Yongguk saw the danger just before it happened. With a bark of laughter at Zelo's joke, Yongguk jumped between Zelo and Himchan as Himchan's eyes flashed and he reached out to strike Zelo for not treating him with respect. Even though Yongguk was effectively holding Himchan back, Zelo's smile was wary as he leaned away from Himchan.

"Come on, Zelo. Treat Himchan respectively," Yongguk said once Himchan had calmed down.

Zelo smiled, this one genuine. He bowed. "Sorry, Himchan-hyung."

Himchan reached out and tapped Zelo on the head. "Just don't do it again, Zelo."

"I won't."

Yongguk caught Zelo's appreciative glance and responded with a nod, but he was surprised to see Zelo's expression suddenly become one of intense discomfort. With a hand on his stomach, Zelo quickly ducked into the bathroom. Yongguk turned to the rest of the group and was about to mention something about Zelo's strange behavior when Himchan got his attention.

"Yongguk, help me push these beds out of the way so we can have room to dance."

Yongguk helped Himchan move the beds while Youngjae grabbed some water from the fridge and Jongup took a roll of tape out of his bag and marked the borders and center of the hotel floor, successfully converting it into a dance practice room,

"How many songs are we doing for the concert?" Daehyun asked.

"Twelve for the main concert," Yongguk said. "Three for the encore, so that's fifteen all together."

"Unless we do a song before the intermission," Himchan said. "Then it would be sixteen."

"Right," Yongguk said.

"Where's Zelo?" Jongup asked.

Yongguk was about to mention what he'd seen, but he didn't feel like embarrassing Zelo, so he simply shrugged with a, "bathroom."

"Again?" Jongup muttered.

No one else seemed to hear Jongup, but Yongguk glanced over at Jongup in surprise. "What do you mean, 'again'?" he muttered back so no one heard them.

Jongup opened his mouth and was about to answer, but Zelo returned just then and broke up their conversation. Yongguk stole a glance at Zelo as he passed, and Yongguk noticed that Zelo's face was slightly pale.

"Come on, everyone," Himchan said. "Zelo's back, so let's get to practicing."

Pushing his worries to the back of his mind, Yongguk took his place on the 'dance floor' as Himchan took his phone and played the first song on the list, blasting the music so all could hear. The dancing started, and after a few times through the song with much playing around, everyone got serious and dedicated themselves to performing the song perfectly.

"All right, that's one," Yongguk said as they finished the choreography to 'Badman' for the fourth time. "Ten songs to go and we'll be pretty much done." He turned to look at everyone behind him to see that they weren't even breaking a sweat. They were, after all, dancers. But as Yongguk's eyes came forward again and he saw Zelo, he was surprised to see one of the best dancers of the group already had his hands on his knees in exhaustion.

"Zelo, you okay?" Himchan asked.

"I'm fine, hyung," Zelo panted, looking over his shoulder and flashing Himchan a smile. "Just tired, but I will continue."

The second song played, then the third song, and Yongguk forgot all about Zelo's tiredness as he focused on the choreography and singing. But when Zelo came forward to perform a dancing solo, Yongguk was almost frightened to see that his clothes were now drenched in sweat and his movements were screaming of exhaustion. What was going on?

Suddenly, the music stopped and Himchan came over to Zelo. "We should take a break, everyone."

"No!" Zelo panted. "I-I'm fine, hyung. Let's just go through one more song."
"No, we need to take a break," Yongguk said, moving to stand beside Himchan in agreement.

"Then I'll practice on my own," Zelo said, touching a few buttons on Himchan's phone and starting the next song they were to perform. Zelo began dancing, and everyone else shrugged and followed suit since they knew Zelo wouldn't give in. As though spurred on by the thought of being looked down upon, Zelo's movements had cleaned up and he began dancing like his normal self again. The song continued, and everything was good. But things took a turn for the worse as Zelo came forward once again for another dancing solo. Yongguk glanced over at Zelo and gasped when he saw how ghostly pale the boy was. He watched in horror as Zelo's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he barely had time to get under Zelo to catch him before he passed out then and there.

"Zelo!" Yongguk shouted. "Wake up!"

Everyone froze in the middle of dancing then crowded around Zelo, the choreography forgotten.

"Is he okay?" Jongup asked.

"Is he dead? He's not dead, is he?" Youngjae asked.

"He's breathing, idiot," Daehyun said.

Yongguk carried Zelo over to the bed and carefully set him down. Seconds later, Zelo's eyes fluttered open.

"W-what?" he groaned. Then he blinked twice. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Himchan said. "Now, Zelo, tell us; what in the world is going on?"

"I don't . . . know," Zelo said, carefully sitting up and clutching his stomach.

"You were in the bathroom a lot when we came back to the hotel," Jongup said. "Did anything happen to you while we were out sightseeing?"

"No . . . "

"Are you sure?" Himchan asked.

"Y-yes."

"Did you eat anything that could've been bad? Spoiled?" Jongup asked. "How about those cherry tomatoes?"

"They tasted fine," Zelo said.

"And if he got a little bug there, why wasn't he trying to use the airplane bathroom?" Younjae asked. "It would've cleared up by now."

"If bad food's the culprit, there's a better chance that I would've gotten sick on that onion those crazy fans gave me than you on the cherry tomatoes I packed," Daehyun said.

"Are you sure you didn't eat anything bad?" Himchan asked again.

"No . . . wait, Daehyun, what'd you say?" Zelo asked.

"I said that I should've gotten sick on that onion those fans gave me."

"That might be it!" Zelo said, shooting up but sinking back into the bed a few moments later from exhaustion. "That orange juice I drank."

"But you said you got it in the hotel and that it was the last of the stuff there," Jongup said.

"It was," Zelo said. "Some girl came up and gave it to me so I drank it."

"You, what?" everyone yelled.

"So some stranger gives you something to drink and you just decide that it's okay to drink it?" Himchan was exploding with anger now. "How could you think that it might not have something in it? What if it had been a really strong poison?"

"What if it is a really strong poison?" Yongguk asked.

The entire team went quiet for a second, then Youngjae was at the hotel telephone calling 911. He paused then looked at the group in exasperation.

"Hello? What is your situation?"

Yongguk snatched the phone from Youngjae and began speaking, so full of adrenaline that he began in Korean for a few sentences before correcting himself. He stumbled out English as best he could. "Friend, poisoned . . . help!" Whoever was on the line seemed to understand him, then she said a few words which Yongguk understood.

"On their way."

After the line cut out, Yongguk hung up the phone and turned back to Zelo. "How do you feel, Zelo?"
"Tired," Zelo groaned. "And my stomach still hurts."

"We'd better tell our manager," Himchan said, picking up his phone and calling him. Yongguk heard a few shouts over the line after Himchan said that Zelo had been poisoned, and exactly six seconds later there was banging on the door. Yongguk opened the door to see their manager standing there. He had a robe on, only one slipper, and was holding the stem of his glasses in one hand and the other part of his glasses in the other hand.

"What do you mean, poisoned?" he yelled.

"He drank something that a fan gave him, and ever since then he hasn't been feeling right," Himchan explained.

"That's why you were spending so much time in our bathroom," Jongup said, snapping his fingers. "Were you puking?"

Zelo blushed briefly, and shook his head. "I was . . . ah . . . I think it was a laxative."

"Laxitive or no laxative, it must've been pretty strong to cause you to faint," Daehyun said.

"Here, have some water," Himchan said, giving Zelo a sip off a water bottle.

"What if he can't perform?" the manager asked.

The five of them glared up at their manager, not saying a word.

"No, I should perform," Zelo said, starting to get up even though he was still ghostly pale. "I need to be part of our image and do my best — "

"And now the best thing you can do is rest," Yongguk said, pushing Zelo back onto the bed. "You've already worked hard; you deserve it." He shot another glare up at their manager.

Then there was another knock at the hotel door, and their manager opened it to see three paramedics coming onto the scene.

"We got a call for poison?" one of them said. He looked around, spotted Zelo on the bed, and knelt beside him.

"We'd better get him to the hospital. If he's poisoned, we're racing against the clock," another said.

"Did you get a stretcher? We need to get him out of here, now," the first one said.

Yongguk looked from one to the other, somehow understanding what they wanted. "I got it," he said, picking up Zelo in his arms and walking toward the door with everyone else following.

Zelo was blushing a bit. "I can walk, hyung."

"Not after you fainted," Yongguk answered.

The six of them descended to the main floor of the hotel and went outside to the where the parked ambulance stood idling. Two of the paramedics took a gurney out of the ambulance, and Yongguk placed Zelo on it. Zelo was frowning up at Yongguk for carrying him the entire way, but suddenly his body let out a shiver and he placed his hand on his stomach again.

"Thanks, Yongguk-hyung," he said.

"Don't mention it, Zelo," Yongguk said, reaching down to tousle his hair.

"Just get better," Jongup said.

"We'll be right behind you," Youngjae said.

As the ambulance doors closed, Yongguk and the others ran over to their manager to get his car keys so they could follow Zelo.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "You can't leave to check up on that idiot who's stupid enough to get himself poisoned! If he's dumb enough to do something like that, he deserves to be kicked out of your group! You five need to stay and practice for — "

"Shut up!" Jongup snarled, stepping out of the group with a look in his eyes that clearly stated that he would fight their manager if he had to. For a moment, everyone froze in shock, including the manager. Yongguk had never seen Jongup angry, and by the expressions on everyone's faces, no one else had, either.

As he glanced around, Yongguk saw surprise in his team members' faces as they stared at Jongup, but he saw fear in their manager's eyes despite the fact that Jongup was half their manager's age.

Jongup held out a hand. "Just give us the keys. Now."

The keys were quickly handed over with no fight necessary, then Yongguk and the others climbed into the manager's car and drove to the hospital.

"All I can say is . . . wow, Jongup," Daehyun said.

"Daehyun's right. That was amazing," Youngjae said.

"You could stare down an army with that glare of yours," Himchan said.

Jongup smiled tersely, then looked out the car window. "I just hope Zelo's okay."

"Don't worry; he'll be fine," Yongguk said as he pulled the vehicle into the hospital parking lot. The car was barely parked before the five boys jumped out and ran into the hospital, screeching to a halt and nearly crashing into the receptionist's desk since they were still wearing their dancing shoes.

"Name, please?" she asked.

"We are B.A.P, yes, sir!" they said automatically.

"Looking . . . name, Zelo," Yongguk finished.

"Ah, yes. He's recovering just fine. He's down in room 122 that way — "

She had barely pointed them in the correct direction before they took off down the hall, screeching to another halt in front of the correct door and cramming into the small hospital room. There stood a doctor, and on a nearby bed sat Zelo.