"Oppa.." I called Jinu on the way to the pre-recording.

"What is it?" he looked at me through the car's mirror.

"We can go to sleep after we record this, right?" I tried to stifle a yawn.

"Yes. This is the last schedule you have today." he confirmed and turned his attention back to the road.

"Thank god." Sumi muttered from her seat.

"Would you stop complaining?" Sey exclaimed, glaring at Sumi.

"No. I'll complain if I want to complain. Don't tell me what to do!" Sumi retorted.

"Disrespectful brat. Learn to respect people older than you." Sey muttered.

"You?" Sumi scoffed. "I don't have any respect for you or your little friend over there." she said while eyeing me.

"What is your ing problem?" I finally interfered in their little argument.

"Hyeri, don't curse." Jinu scolded.

"Sorry, oppa." I apologized quickly.

"My problem is you." Sumi answered, her eyes shooting daggers at me. "Can't you just disappear or something?"

"And who will do the high notes and the acrobatics? You?" Yujin mocked Sumi.

"I can do that just fine. I'm better than her anyway." Sumi said confidently.

"In what universe?" Eun Hee snorted.

"In this one." Sumi crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't make us laugh." Sey said.

"Girls, we are here." Jinu announced while parking the car. "At least pretend you like each other for the recording?" Jinu asked while looking at me and Sumi.

"Ask her, I'm not the problem here." I said and pointed at Sumi. Now everyone turned their attention to her.

"Fine." Sumi sighed, realizing she doesn't have a choice.

"Good." Jinu smiled. "Now let's go."

~

After a couple of hours that mostly consisted waiting, we finally finished the pre-recording. We performed "Dreams" and it went well. Soon, we were heading back to our dorm.

"Girls, be at the company at six. We have a few things to do tomorrow." Jinu said when we arrived home.

"Today our schedules started at seven. Why is tomorrow different?" Sumi asked. She really talks too much.. Does she have to complain all the time? She is not the only one suffering.

"Because I said so." Jinu said dryly. He is starting to get tired of Sumi's complaints. He knew she was spoiled, but he didn't think it was this bad. Why can't she be more like Hyeri or the other girls? Even if it's hard on them, they bear with it because it's their job and they don't complain all the time like Sumi

"Oppa!" Sumi whined.

"Go to sleep. You need to get up early tomorrow. Don't be late."

"Yes, oppa." we said and bowed. "Good night!"

~

"Good morning, girls." Jinu entered the practice room with Gun. We were already doing stretches and warm-up when they came in. Unlike yesterday, this time everyone arrived on time.

"Good morning!" we greeted.

"Finish doing your warm-up and practice well with Gun. Afterwards we are going to film your dance practice." Jinu said, smiling, and we all got excited.

"You should have told us you are going to film us, we would have dressed accordingly." Yujin mumbled, pouting.

"I'll tell the stylist to drop by and give you some clothes if you want to change." Jinu said.

"Let's practice!" Gun said cheerfully.

~

"We are going to film one dance practice of all of you together and then we will film the individual versions." Jinu said when all of us gathered around him after practice.

"What does it mean?" Eun Hee asked.

"The main version is the one we will upload to YouTube, Naver and all the other sites. The other versions will be uploaded only to Naver. You will dance like usual, the only difference is that the camera will follow each member closely instead of following everyone from a farther distance." Jinu explained. "It's like an eye-contact version, so make sure to do some aegyo to the camera while you dance."

"Yes, oppa."

"So we do this six times in total?" Sumi asked.

"If you don't make any mistakes." Jinu replied and all of us frowned. It can take hours if someone makes a mistake.

"Make sure you don't mess up because we don't have all day. You have other schedules today." he added. I sighed quietly. Just what we needed.. More pressure.

"Let's do it." I said happily, trying to hide my distress.

~

"Guess what I heard!" Himchan stormed into the practice room where the boys were practicing.

"What now?" Youngjae asked, uninterested.

"I talked to Yoona." Himchan started talking.

"Talked or flirted?" Daehyun teased. Knowing Himchan, it's usually the second option, although he tries to behave when he is in a relationship. Old habits die hard..

"Jung Daehyun!" Himchan exclaimed, annoyed. "I don't flirt anymore!" he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever you say.." Daehyun shrugged.

"Anyway, I sniffed around a little.." Himchan continued his story.

"And?" Yongguk asked impatiently.

"And I have bad news and good news."

"Go with the bad ones first." Youngjae said.

"The CEO is mad."

"What did we do?" Jongup asked.

"Not we, the girls." Himchan corrected him.

"Then what did Hyeri do this time?" Daehyun asked.

"Why do you always blame Hyeri?" Yongguk exclaimed, glaring at Daehyun.

"Hyeri is the troublemaker of their group, why else? She is usually the source for troubles, even if you don't like hearing it."

"Hyung, they have Sumi." Zelo said quietly.

"Well, Sumi is just spoiled, Hyeri is the one making the CEO mad most of the time." Daehyun claimed, not changing his opinion.

"It's not Hyeri nor Sumi." Himchan said, calming the tensed atmosphere down.

"Then who?" Youngjae asked and now everyone stared at Himchan curiously.

"It's what."

"They don't have aliens in their group, how can it be a 'what'?" Jongup pondered and the boys chuckled.

"So the bad news is that the CEO is mad because..?" Yongguk tried to goad Himchan to talk.

"The girls are not doing well." Himchan finally said.

"No kidding.." Youngjae mumbled. "You needed Yoona to tell you they are not doing well? It's a miracle if they were doing fine with their song and name and all the other things the company forced on them."

"Youngjae, shut it." Yongguk growled.

"Sorry, hyung." the younger male trailed off.

"What do you want us to do with that information?" Daehyun asked Himchan.

"Can't we help them somehow?" Zelo asked no one in particular.

"Wait, if the CEO is mad.. He is going to put all the blame on the girls, isn't he?" Youngjae asked what all of them were thinking. One of the things their CEO hates the most is losing money. If the girls are not doing well it means there will be consequences.

"You mean Hyeri.." Yongguk said bitterly. It's pretty obvious who is going to take most of the responsibility.. He was in her position, and not so long ago.

"I'm not sure yet." Himchan admitted, moving his feet nervously.

"You made all this fuss when you don't have the most important information?" Daehyun asked in disbelief.

"This is where the good news come." Himchan said. "Jinu and Yoona are trying to help the girls."

"By doing what?" Zelo asked.

"For now they managed to convince the CEO to wait until the girls finish promoting, and they have plans for promoting the girls better."

"It's about time they promote them, and actually do their job." Youngjae snorted.

"What does it mean?" Yongguk asked impatiently, ignoring Youngjae's comment.

"Get ready to not see your girlfriend much. They are going to milk Hyeri as much as possible."

~

"Hyeri, for the tenth time, you are a few seconds late doing this move." Gun scolded. "What's wrong with you today?"

"Sorry." I bowed. "I'm just tired."

"We are also tired, and you are making us more tired by doing this ten times more than necessary." Sumi said.

"I'm sorry." I apologized again. I didn't do it on purpose and I'm really trying, I just can't get it right for some reason. Maybe the tiredness and the lack of sleep affected me.. It's not like I don't know the moves, I've done this routine a hundred times by now.

"Main dancer my . A kindergarten kid dances better than you." Sumi continued venting her anger.

I gritted my teeth, ignoring her. She is just being her usual self, the one that wants to destroy me. It's useless arguing with her and it will just stall us more and annoy Jinu and the girls, so it's better to just ignore her and continue like nothing happened. We need to finish fiming this dance practice and I need to focus. I can't delay everyone more than I already did.. It's already hard on them, especially on Yujin. I can see her struggling, and it should motivate me to do better regardless of my tiredness. We stil have a long day ahead of us..

"Girls, let's film this again." Jinu said and we stood in our initial positions.

Gun played the music once more and this time it went well. We tried to look cheerful and energized and we even did some adlibs.

After the normal version was done we started filming the individual ones according to age.

~

"What do you mean?" Yongguk asked.

"I heard that besides music shows and fansigns and the things you have to do as a group, the CEO wants to promote only Hyeri."

"How can he promote only one member?" Daehyun asked.

"If I didn't know any better I would think he is interested in Hyeri, but we know it's not that.. He wants to kill her ninety percent of the time." Youngjae reasoned, earning a glare from Yongguk.

"Like you know something about being interested in the other gender.." Daehyun mocked.

"Hey, I dated in the past!" Youngjae exclaimed.

"An inflatable doll?" Daehyun pondered.

"That's Himchan's department." Youngjae said with a straight face, making everyone laugh.

"Yoo Youngjae!" Himchan raised his voice, annoyed.

"What? We are not judging, you can have your weird hobbies.." Youngjae said innocently, annoying Himchan even more.

"I don't need props when I have the real thing." Himchan stated and the people present in the room rolled their eyes.

"Anyway, did you dated a real girl?" Daehyun asked, looking curiously at Youngjae.

"Yes." Youngjae answered.

"Anime or video game characters doesn't count."

"Sorry to disappoint you guys, but nobody cares. Your love life is boring either way." Himchan said, silencing the two. "Yoona told me that she and Jinu are planning to promote the other girls as well, but the CEO might sabotage them if he is determined to promote only Hyeri.. He still has the last word on everything."

"I really don't understand his logic.." Zelo mumbled.

"I think he is building on Hyeri being a little more famous than the other girls. He didn't really plan their debut or getting them known to the public beside sticking Hyeri next to Yongguk when he promoted." Youngjae said.

"Watch it!" Yongguk warned.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way!"

"What if it still fails?" Jongup suddenly asked, bringing everyone's attention back to the subject.

"Why are you being pessimistic?" Himchan asked, slightly annoyed.

"He is right. The odds are not on their favor at the moment.." Youngjae said.

"Can't we help them somehow?" Zelo asked. "You know the CEO.." he added quietly, almost whispering.

"We have to do it quietly and behind their backs." Yongguk said. All the guys turned their attention to him. "Unless you want Hyeri to kill you, because that's what will probably happen if she finds out you pity her and her group members."

"Sorry, Bang, I'm going to die in a glorious way." Himchan said.

"Like in the middle of having ?" Daehyun teased.

"It's better than dying in the middle of eating something, which will probably be the way you'll die." Himchan retorted. "At least I won't die from the lack of having like Yongguk." the boys started laughing, except for the frowning Yongguk.

"That's enough." Yongguk said. His tone and expression told the guys he was serious, so all of them wiped the smiles from their faces. "Don't tell them how bad their situation is or what the CEO is thinking. They are already stressed enough as it is."

"Yes, hyung."

~

"Good job, girls." Jinu smiled brightly when we finally finished filming everything. It was tiring and took longer than expected, but at least we're done.. Our fans will be happy.

"Good job!" Gun said, smiling as well.

"Thank you."

"Take a quick shower and meet me at the entrance, we need to go soon." Jinu said.

"Oppa.." I called before everyone started to disperse.

"What?"

"When will you upload it?"

"Probably during the week. I still need to talk about it with Yoona and the PR team."

~

"I'm tired." Himchan sat on the floor in the practice room.

"You are always tired." Yongguk teased and gave him a bottle of water.

"Yongguk.."

"What?"

"Do you think it will work?"

"I really hope so." 

~

"Girls, come here." Jinu gathered us when we were in the waiting room for "Inkigayo". We already performed our song, we are just waiting for the ending segment.

"What is it?" Sey asked while taking her seat. All of us sat next to her, in front of Jinu.

"Tomorrow you don't have a music show to attend, but you do have a fansign and busking and a few other activities." he said and handed us papers with our schedules for tomorrow written on it.

We examined it:

9:00-10:30 - Workout

11:00-11:30 - Performance in a mall in Jamsil

11:30-12:30 - Fansign in Jamsil

13:00-15:00 - Vocal & rap practice

15:00-17:00 - Dance practice

17:00-19:00 - Meeting with Jinu & the PR team

19:00-20:00 - Mention party

20:30-21:30 - Busking in Hongdae 

22:00-23:00 - Performing in Hongdae

"What is all of this?" I asked after going over the list.

"Your schedules for tomorrow." Jinu said innocently.

"Why are you telling us about it only now?" Sey asked.

"We put a notice for the fansign and the mention party on the fancafe, didn't you see it? We also put your other schedules in there."

"We don't have time to breathe, do you want us to check our fancafe?" Sumi exclaimed.

"Your fancafe is part of your SNS and part of your fanservice, so you should check it on a regular basis, just like you check your twitter and instagram. Your fans wrote things over there as well."

"You should tell us important things like that even if you put it in the fancafe! We could have missed it!" Eun Hee claimed.

"I am telling you this now." Jinu said calmly. "And speaking of it, I want you to tweet about the mention party tomorrow. The hashtags should be #Peppermint and #OppaIsMine."

"What's the difference between busking in Hongdae and performing in Hongdae?" Yujin asked.

"Busking is perofrming in the middle of the street and the performance is in a closed place."

"What kind of place?" Sumi asked.

"You'll see tomorrow."

"Is the fansign happening inside the mall?" I asked after looking at the page again. We don't have time to go somewhere else, so that's the most reasonable option..

"Yes. It's in an open space in the center of the mall, so everyone can see you when they are doing their errands. You are going to perform there as well, there is a small stage over there."

"When do we eat?" Eun Hee asked.

"On the way. Or you can skip your meal, nothing will happen if you'll lose some weight." he said and we frowned. "Any more questions about tomorrow?"

"What is the meeting about?" Sey asked.

"You'll find out tomorrow." Jinu smiled. "Now please tweet about the mention party. Tomorrow morning I'll explain everything about the fansign and the performances."

"Yes, oppa."

I took out my phone and started typing - "Our lovely Refresheners! You can ask us anything you want, tomorrow at 19:00! Just tweet me your question and I'll try to answer :) I'm looking forward to your questions! <3 #Peppermint #OppaIsMine". I attached a selfie I took earlier today and posted the tweet.

I noticed the girls tweeted similar things, and it made me smile.

~

"Hyeri.." Yujin sat next to me when we were left alone in the waiting room. I noticed the other girls paid attention to our conversation, even though they didn't approach us.

"What is it?" I looked curiosuly at her.

"What do you do at a fansign?"

"Well, I've never done one, but from what I know you just talk to your fans and sign albums."

"What if nobody comes?" she pouted.

"People will come. Besides, we are performing in the middle of a shopping mall, so we might get new fans as well."

"How do you know?"

"If there are people crowded somewhere you'll probably want to see what's going on over there, right?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Then it's the same thing. It doesn't matter if it's in the middle of the mall or in the middle of street, a performance is still a performance and there will probably be people interested. I mean, who wouldn't want to watch a free concert?"

"Like in the bathhouse?" Yujin asked.

"Yes, like in the bathhouse. People stopping by means more people stopping by to see what's going on, which means more crowd and more people watching us, including potential fans."

"But it's embarrassing."

"Hey, you thought that performing in the bathhouse was embarrassing and it was fine, right?"

"Yes." she admitted.

"Then we will be fine tomorrow as well. It doesn't matter if it's small or big, it's still a place to perform, and we should be grateful for that. We just have to work hard and do our best and it will pay off someday."

"So much bull. I want to throw up." Sumi muttered from her seat.

"Nobody is stopping you from going." I smiled innocently, looking at her.

"Don't delude Yujin. No one promise us that there will be people watching, just like nobody promise us that we'll have fans at the fansign or that we'll make it big someday."

"Why are you so negative?" Eun Hee asked Sumi, trying not to show her annoyance. Hyeri was doing a good job at reassuring the nervous Yujin, but Sumi just had to ruin everything and bring Yujin back to square one, ignoring the long conversation she just had with Hyeri. Yes, nobody can promise them things will be different tomorrow, but at least Hyeri tried to make her feel better, and Sumi's comment just discarded Hyeri's effort like it was nothing.

"I'm being realistic." Sumi stated.

"By making all of us depressed?" Sey questioned.

"It's better to face reality than delude yourself and fall harder afterwards."

"Who says we are going to fall?" Yujin asked quietly, in a barely audible voice. But we all heard her, loud and clear.

"We are not falling." I said confidently and squeezed Yujin's hand reassuringly.

"Yeah, right." Sumi snorted.

"Then how about you go look for a successful group instead of sticking to us?" I asked, glaring at Sumi.

"Because I want to see you fall. Badly." she smiled innocently. "It's going to hurt a lot, and even Yongguk won't be able to soften your fall."

"Just ignore her. She is crazy." Sey said, trying to make the atmosphere better.

There was a knock on the door and we turned our attention to the person standing at the entrance."Girls, get ready for the ending segment."

~

"You can go in now, the CEO is waiting for you." Sohyun smiled and gestured Jinu and Yoona to enter the room. They smiled back at her and took a deep breath before stepping inside.

"Nice to see you again." the CEO smiled.

"You too." Jinu said and Yoona nodded.

"Sit down." the CEO ordered and they obeyed.

There was a short silence. Yoona and Jinu kept exchanging nervous glances between them. Both of them had a bad feeling about this meeting, but they couldn't do anything about it. They have to follow orders.

"Do you have what I asked for?" the CEO asked Yoona.

"Yes." she said and handed him a bunch of papers with numbers and graphs on them. The CEO scanned a few pages from the pack and looked at Yoona again.

"I want the bottom line." the CEO said coldly and Yoona felt a shiver running down her spine.

"There is an improvement."

"But?" he questioned, catching the hesitance in her voice.

"But not enough. We are working on it."

"You told me that the last time we met and I don't see results yet!" the CEO slammed the papers onto his desk. Jinu and Yoona flinched from the loud noise.

"It takes time." Yoona tried to explain.

"I don't care." the CEO glared at her, making her freeze in her place.

"Sir.." Jinu tried to speak.

"You are at fault as well. Why are your girls so incompetent? Or is it because of your inability to manage them?" the CEO now glared at him.

"That's not the case." Jinu said softly, trying not to trigger the CEO.

"Then what is the case?" the CEO questioned, annoyed.

"We are going to push the girls so the public gets to know them, and this way they are going to gain fans." Yoona said, trying to save the situation and distract the CEO from scolding Jinu.

"Tell me how." the CEO demanded, looking at Yoona.

"Tomorrow they are starting with fansigns and busking." she started explaining.

"I want more."

"I have a list of pilot shows that I can send the girls to. Do you want to see it?" she asked and started searching for a specific page in her stack of papers.

"Send them everywhere, I don't care how crappy the show is."

"That's a bit.." Jinu started to speak, but the glare from the CEO shut him up.

"And focus on Hyeri." the CEO turned his gaze back to Yoona.

"What about the other girls?" Yoona asked.

"Second option."

"Al.. Alright." she stuttered. "Next are the Chuseok specials. Some of the shows are being filmed this month, so we need to prepare for it."

"What is B.A.P doing?" the CEO asked.

"Here." Yoona showed him a paper with a list of shows, two of them are circled.

"See if the girls can join them. As for the other shows, try to get Hyeri on the show. If they want all the girls send all of them, but Hyeri is our main focus."

"How can you do that?" Jinu finally spoke.

"Easily. I want to earn money." the CEO smiled, and it crept Jinu and Yoona out.

"Sir, about those shows.." Yoona started talking.

"What is it?"

"We already tried getting the girls on these shows. We succeeded in some of them, but we have a little problem."

"What is it?"

"We managed to get the girls to participate in ISAC (Idol Star Athletics Championship), but.."

"But?"

"They are doing a rhythmic gymnastics competition this time in addition to the regular competitions. It's the first time they are doing it, so this competition gets a lot of attention."

"And?" the CEO asked impatiently.

"We worked hard and managed to get Hyeri in, but we are two weeks late, so she has two weeks less practice than the other girls competing."

"She can do it."

"What about her normal schedules?" Jinu asked. "The other girls participating are not promoting at the moment, so they have more time to practice."

"Promoting comes first." the CEO said dryly. "But it doesn't mean she can slack off in her other activities."

"She will collapse." Jinu warned. Like it's not enough Hyeri has to work harder to make up for the two weeks of practice she lost, she also has to do her normal schedules, including the shows the CEO wants her to do alone. There is no way she will handle it, no matter how strong her stamina is and how healthy she is. 

"She can handle it." the CEO said as a matter of fact. "When is she starting to practice for ISAC?"

"Tomorrow, after I talk to her about it. We were waiting for your approval first."

"Who will train her?"

"We were thinking about Gun." Jinu said.

"Bring Matt as well."

"That's.." Jinu mumbled.

"That's not open for discussion."

"Yes, sir."

"Anything else?" the CEO asked.

"Yes. The online show." Yoona said.

"Tell me everything about it."

~

"Hey, guys." I entered the practice room the boys were at. It was the first place I went to after reaching the company.

"Hyeri? What's wrong?" Jongup asked worriedly. I guess it really looked like something was wrong with me if even Jongup noticed it..

"Is Yongguk here?" I asked, ignoring Jongup's question. I looked around the room, trying to find Yongguk, but he was not there.

"He went to get us some water. He should be back any moment now." Youngjae answered.

"Here, kiddo." Himchan put somethig in my hand. I looked at it and saw it was a lollipop. I looked at Himchan, confused.

"You look like you need it." he shrugged.

"Thanks, oppa." I tried to smile. I was grateful he didn't ask any questions or said something stupid.

"Hyeri?" I heard a deep voice coming from behind me.

"Oppa." I turned around, faking a bright smile.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried expression on his face. I sighed. I forgot I can't really trick him.. He can read me like an open book.

"Are you okay?" Yongguk asked again when I didn't answer, caressing my cheek gently.

"Are you free?" I asked. He looked at the boys, who stood behind me. I didn't see their reaction because my back was facing them, but after what felt like forever Yongguk spoke again.

"Let's go." Yongguk smiled brightly and grabbed my hand, leading me somewhere. I didn't have to ask where because it was obvious to both of us - His studio.

I entered the room and sat on the couch, waiting for him to join me. I relaxed when I felt him sitting next to me.

"It's rare for you to come looking for me during practice.." Yongguk spoke softly.

"I'm sorry." I fixated my gaze on my hands that rested in my lap.

"Don't be." he tucked a few hairs behind my ear. "What's wrong?"

A few tears started making their way down my cheeks. I tried to control my crying, but it was useless.

"Do you want me to kill someone?" Yongguk joked, trying to get a reaction out of me. "I'm serious. Just tell me who made you cry and I'll go hunt him down."

"Don't." was the only thing I managed to say.

"If you are trying to make me break up with you, you should change tactic. I'm not leaving because you're crying." he tried a different method. I only shook my head.

"Babe.."

"I can't do this." I mumbled quietly.

"Do what?" he asked softly. His eyes never left me.

"Everything."

"What's wrong?"

"Everything I do is not enough and no matter how much I try, I don't get any results. I'm really trying my best and until I made some progress, Sumi ruined it with a single sentence. I can't do this." Now my tears were falling uncontrollably.

Yongguk felt his fists clench, but he tried not to show it. He didn't want to stress Hyeri out even more than she already is. "What happened?" he used the softest tone he could master. He didn't want to pressure her or to make her think she is at fault somehow.

"I can't handle Sumi anymore. I try to ignore her, but she keeps bugging me, and it's really hard to handle. I'm not as strong as everyone thinks I am. I do get hurt, and her plan works because I get affected."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Yongguk offered.

"No." I stared at him, letting him know I'm serious.

"Alright.." he trailed off. "But my offer still stands."

"I just.. Can't she leave me alone for a day?"

"She wants to hurt you. Don't let her do that."

"Easy to say." I scoffed. "You know what annoys me the most? Today I was trying to help one of the girls. It wasn't even for my own good, but she had to contradict everything I said and it made my efforts useless. Sumi just did more damage than helped."

"I'm sorry."

"And she keeps blaming me for the fact we are not doing well. How is it my fault? I want us to succeed more than anyone, and I didn't sabotage the group on purpose! I will never do that.." new wave of tears made it's way down my cheeks.

"I know you won't." he reassured me. "The girls know it as well. Don't listen to Sumi."

"I can't."

"Hyeri.."

"We sold two albums today." I said, biting my lower lip nervously.

"Alright.." Yongguk said, a little confused, not getting Hyeri's intention. Sure, it's a low number of albums, but it's better than not selling anything..

"We sold ten albums yesterday."

"Well, it's the weekend." Yongguk reasoned.

"What don't you understand? We are not selling anything." I started to get annoyed.

"You sold twelve albums in the last couple of days, it doesn't sound like nothing to me. Besides, the day isn't over yet, the numbers can still go up.."

"We have a fansign tomorrow. You usually sell a lot of albums on the day before the fansign because fans wants to get in." I explained because he didn't seem to get my point.

"Well, maybe they bought it beforehand.. And I believe one album is enough to get into your fansign, so your fans don't have to buy a lot of albums." that sentence made my blood boil.

"Nobody is going to come tomorrow, and we are doing the fansign in a shopping mall. Do you know how humiliating this is? Oh, wait, you wouldn't know because you never had that problem! You always did so well, what can you possibly know about my situation?!" at this point I was practically screaming at him.

"Babe, stop." Yongguk tried to stay composed and not lose his temper.

"DON'T TELL ME TO STOP!" I screamed. We're lucky the studio is soundproof, or else someone would have barged in by now.

"HYERI!" at this point he raised his voice as well and grabbed my arms, trying to stop me from moving. I struggled and hit his chest repeatedly. I didn't care if I hurt him or not, I just wanted to vent my anger and frustration somehow.

"I hate you. You are always so perfect, you never struggled. Do you know how it feels like to be a complete failure? Like you are not good at anything? While you are doing fine, I can't even sell 100 ing albums. I can never be close to your level, and you know what's worse? Everyone is expecting things from me, and I can't do anything. Everything is just so ed up. I'm ed up." my tone was lower, but I still kept hitting him. Somehow it helped me calm down a little.

"Babe." he called softly.

"Don't call me that."

"HYERI!" this time he sounded more determined. I stopped hitting him and finally looked up at him.

"You are freaking out. Calm down." Yongguk said while staring intently at me.

"No." I hit him again.

"Stop." he grabbed my hands to stop me from hitting him. I tried to release myself, but he tightened his grip around me.

"LET GO!" I glared at him.

"You can use me as your punching bag, but it won't solve the problem."

"I don't care."

"Babe.." he tried again, softly. When Hyeri is closing herself to people it's hard to get her to open up again, even to him.

"You won't understand me anyway."

"Try me."

"I'm such a failure." I snuffled and wiped my tears with the back of my hand.

"Hey.." he lifted my head so I'll look at him. "I thought we talked about it already.."

"I'm still a failure." I started crying again.

"You are not a failure." he said and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to a hug. I buried my face in his shirt, letting the tears stain it.

"Why do you think I can't understand you?" he rocked us back and forth slowly, trying to make me relax.

"You are successful." I mumbled quietly, burying my face deeper in his chest.

"Success is not anything. And it's not like we don't know how it's like to fail.."

"Don't lie. You were successful from the start." I unconsciously wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

"And we are on a decline at the moment. We are not popular as we used to be." he said while looking at me.

"Your fans are loyal, I don't have any fans."

"You have a few. They were at the fanmeet you did and they came to see you in music shows." Yongguk reasoned.

"But.." I started talking, but he cut me off.

"Why are you rushing? You just debuted. Sometimes it takes time. I'm sure you'll gain more fans in the future." he smiled warmly.

"What if nobody comes tomorrow?"

"They will come." he tried to sound confident, but truth is he didn't believe what he said. It didn't matter, though. He needs to make sure Hyeri is relaxed and more confident.

"It's in the middle of the mall. Everyone will see if nobody comes. We are going to be a joke." I pouted.

"I know it's uncomfortable because we did fansigns there as well, but you get used to it and at some point you forget you are a living exhibition." he ruffled my hair lovingly.

"You don't understand. You were never in a position where nobody came. People stand in line to get into your fansign, while we have to beg for people to come."

"The company wouldn't do it if they know nobody will come. They put money in the fansign as well, they won't risk losing it." he tried to reason.

There was silence for a few moments. The only sound that was heard in the room was Hyeri's sniffles and soft sobs. She was still crying, but not as hard as before. Her face was buried in his shirt and it looked like she clung onto him for dear life.

"Babe.." he rubbed her back gently. "I'm not perfect and you don't have to feel obligated to reach my level or whatver you think you should do because you are not good enough for me. I don't care about those stupid things."

"But I do." Hyeri mumbled quietly. Yongguk sighed. Why can't she understand he really doesn't care about that? He really doesn't know how to convince her that he truly means it.

"Hyeri.." he called and I looked up at him. "Let me know if Sumi bugs you again."

"No." I stated. It's my problem, not his.

"Babe!" he exclaimed.

"Don't get involved in this thing. I will handle her somehow."

"Then promise me you won't let her affect you." he pleaded.

"I'll try."

~

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" the CEO asked.

Jinu took a deep breath before speaking. "I have something."

"What is it?"

"Sumi."

"What about her?" the CEO asked.

"She is rude. She always complain and she is bringing the mood down. The girls are already struggling because they are trying to adjust to the promotions, but Sumi is not helping them."

"Then talk to her." the CEO said dryly.

"Can't you talk to her? She is not listening to me."

"If you managed to tame Hyeri, Sumi shouldn't be a problem."

"Hyeri is a good girl, she is just a little reckless sometimes. I can't say the same about Sumi.."

"Watch your words!" the CEO glared at Jinu.

"But.. The girls can do just fine without her. They can cover her parts."

"We need her."

"For what?" Jinu exclaimed. "Unless you are doing a ballet recital, Sumi is useless!"

"We are not removing anyone from the group." the CEO declared. "Find a way to deal with Sumi, it's your responsibility." 

~

"Is everything okay?" Himchan asked Yongguk when he entered their room at B.A.P's dorm.

"Could have been much better." Yongguk shrugged.

"What's wrong? Hyeri didn't seem too well earlier.."

"I think that maybe letting her be the leader wasn't such a good idea after all.." Yongguk sighed heavily and sat on his bed, facing Himchan.

"Why? I think she is doing a good job, and the girls seem to depend on her.. Minus Sumi, but she won't listen to anyone."

"She is too fragile and sensitive to handle it, especially with the way things are going for them. I'm scared she will really break down soon." Yongguk buried his face in his hands.

"Hyeri is a lot of things, but fragile is not one of them."

"You are part of the problem."

"Huh?" Himchan asked, utterly confused.

"All of you think she is like a wonder woman or something so you keep throwing at her, and then you are all suprised when she breaks down like it's a miracle or something. Guess what, she has feelings as well." Yongguk snapped.

"Hey, hold on. I don't know what's going on, but I didn't do anything to her, so don't take it out on me."

"You are making fun of her as well. All the time."

"And she is making fun of me as well. You know that."

"Stop messing with her." Yongguk glared at Himchan, who was starting to lose his patience.

"If it bothers her she should say something about it insead of pretending she is fine. People can't read minds, so she should stop pretending being something she is not."

"You did not just called my girlfriend fake." Yongguk stood up, clenching his fists.

"Yongguk." Himchan said calmly and stood up as well, getting closer to Yongguk. "I think that you are getting too involved in this thing and it's not healthy."

"Don't change the subject." Yongguk growled. "Apologize."

Himchan was about to say something when his and Yongguk's phones went off at the same time. They checked their phones and saw that the girls are doing a v-app. Both of them sighed and sat down on their beds to watch it.

Author's Note:

Surprise.. This chapter is long like two chapters :)

I know it's long and a lot happens in this chapter, but I wanted to make it up to you for the delayed update :P

The next chapters will be shorter, don't worry!

In case you don't remember, the CEO mentioned in the ious time he met with Jinu and Yoona that he wants to promote Hyeri, so it didn't start today (and that's how Himchan knows about it :P).

P.S - Happy belated birthday, Zelo! <3

Thanks for reading, commenting, subscribing, etc. It means a lot to me! <3

M.