"What the hell was that?" Sumi exclaimed when the busking ended.

"I know, right?" I sighed.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" she asked, glaring at me.

"Why would I do that on purpose?" I exclaimed, glaring back at her. Sometimes I really don't get her logic. Why would I want to sabotage my own performance?

"Because it makes you look good if you save the performance. You can be the hero and get everyone's attention and appreciation. Isn't that what you wanted? The perfect princess is perfect all the time.."

"You are delusional."

"Delusional, but still better than you." she smirked.

"GIRLS!" Jinu rushed over to us.

"What is it?" Sey asked, her mood obviously not good.

"You did a good job." he smiled brightly.

"Stop lying, will you? we ." Sumi said bitterly.

"You handled the mishap well."

"Why did it happen?" Yujin asked.

"Technical problems."

"So annoying. Isn't it the basics to make sure everything works beforehand?" Sumi exclaimed.

"Shut up already, you annoying brat!" I lost my patience. I felt like my head was going to explode from all the noise she was making. I'm not in a good mood as it is, and she is only making it worse.

"Oppa! she is mean to me!" Sumi whined to Jinu. "She is always bullying me like this!"

I sighed heavily. I know she is spoiled and that she always acts like this, but somehow I'm still surprised every time like it's the first time.

"Sumi, stop talking nonsense." Jinu said and poked Sumi's forehead.

"The performance was bad." Eun Hee mumbled, a grumpy expression on her face.

"We are going to get scolded, right?" Yujin asked, looking miserable.

"No one is getting scolded." Jinu said, but it didn't help to ease the tensed atmosphere.

"What about you?" I asked, worried. I know he always gets scolded for things we do, and I'm worried he'll get fired one day because of us.

"I'll be fine." he smiled, trying to reassure me.

"Hyung.." one of the staff membrs approached us.

"What?" Jinu asked him.

"We might have a problem."

~

"Thanks, Hyeri." Sey said and wrapped her arms around my stomach, back hugging me.

"What for?"

"For earlier, when we performed. I got nervous and forgot my lines." she admitted.

"You're welcome." I smiled. "It can happen to everyone, it's fine. And you did well in the end, you just needed a little help.."

"What would I have done without you?" she asked, tightening her grip around me.

"You will be just fine. I'm useless." I smiled.

"You are not useless."

"What are you two doing?" Eun Hee asked, examining us suspiciously.

"Nothing." Sey smiled and released me.

"If you say so.." Eun Hee muttered.

"Hyeri!" Sey called me.

"What?"

"Our leader is the best!" she exclaimed and did a thumbs up. I chuckled. She is so funny and random sometimes.. But I'm glad she is here.

From the corner of my eye I could see Sumi roll her eyes, but I ignored it. It's just doesn't worth it.

~

"Do you see them?" Youngjae asked Himchan, who was looking outside the window. They were all waiting inside a souvenir shop in order to avoid the girls.

"No." Himchan answered after scanning the area one more time.

"He was probably just lying earlier about seeing them coming here.." Daehyun said.

"I didn't!" Himchan exclaimed, not moving his eyes from the view.

"Liar!" Youngjae teased.

"Can we go?" Zelo asked. "If we stay here any longer we'll have to buy something!"

"Here." Jongup put an Olaf magnet in Zelo's hand.

"You keep it." Zelo pushed the magnet back to Jongup, who smiled sheepishly.

"I can't believe the music stopped when we needed it the most!" Yujin's voice could be heard from outside.

"See?!" Himchan exclaimed, happy he was right.

"Shh!" Youngjae hissed, signaling the older male to stay quiet. They had to be quiet if they don't want to get discovered.

"We have Hyeri.. She always finds a solution." Eun Hee said, smiling.

"You are exaggerating." Hyeri's voice was heard right after. Yongguk unconsciously smiled. Of course Hyeri will claim she did nothing and that she is nothing special.. She is always humble and underestimating herself. Her humbleness and selflessness are the main reasons he fell for her.

"I'm going to call my Gukkie!" Sumi declared and the boys twisted their faces in disgust, their eyes wandering to Yongguk, who had the same expression as them. "He will cheer me up if I'm feeling down!"

"Can I cheer her up with a poisoned apple? She can fall asleep like Snow White and give us some peace and quiet." Himchan grumbled.

"Are you going to kiss her afterwards so she'll wake up?" Youngjae chan.

"Yongguk woke the dragon up, so he has to put it back to sleep."

"I'm handling humans, not monsters." Yongguk said.

"My Yongguk is so perfect! I can't believe it took him so long to dump you!" Sumi said happily, probably to Hyeri. Yongguk's fists clenched. Hyeri must be annoyed and hurt at the moment, she doesn't need Sumi's remarks. The other boys were looking uncomforatble as well.

"One step closer to my heart, one step closer to you.." Yongguk's phone rang and he hurried to turn it off, to the amusement of the boys.

"What is that?" Daehyun asked, can't control his laughter.

"I would have never thought this was your taste in music.." Youngjae said, laughing as well.

"Hyeri changed it." Yongguk said, glaring at the boys.

"Oh right.. She likes them or something, right?" Himchan asked and Yongguk nodded. Himchan's memory is amazing.

"Why didn't she put their song as the ringtone?" Jongup asked.

"Isn't it too obvious, though?" Zelo wondered.

"Hyeri hates their title song." Yongguk said.

"No wonder." Youngjae scoffed.

"Oppa is mine!" Daehyun started imitating Hyeri's high note in her song.

"But it's not like this song is better.. It's even more suspicious if you have that as your ringtone. People might think you want to hit on them." Himchan said.

"Because people know what my ringtone is?" Yongguk mocked. "People will probably think that I'm a fan or something, so it's fine."

~

"He is not answering me!" Sumi pouted while staring at her phone and stomped her feet. Luckily she didn't see me smirk, or else her tantrum would have been bigger.

"I should call him again!" she exclaimed and I rolled my eyes. It's just pathetic.. Was I like that as well?

"What are you thinking about?" Sey asked me quietly. I guess it was obvious that my mind was elsewhere..

"Nothing." I smiled.

"Is it him again?"

"Yes." I admitted, burrying my eyes on the ground.

"It will be alright." she reassured me.

"I hope so.."

~

"Why is she calling me again?" Yongguk sighed while looking at his phone.

"Do you really want an answer to that?" Himchan asked.

"No."

"Just ignore her call.." Daehyun offered.

"Wouldn't she be even madder if he ignores her?" Zelo asked.

"Please don't make me hear her whining and her high pitched voice.. I can't handle it!" Youngjae pleaded.

"Don't worry, I won't."

~

We walked past a souvenir shop when I heard someone's phone ringing. I wouldn't have paid any attention to it if it wasn't for the fact that I set the exact same song as Yongguk's ringtone not so long ago. It must be a coincidence, right? He can't be here. It's just my wishful thinking.

Wishful thinking.. As much as I hate to admit it, I want him to be here. I need his reassuring hug telling me it will be alright and that I did well and I need his gummy smile that improves my mood instantly no matter how bad it was.

If he was here.. Would he have been proud of me tonight? Did I do well? I know the girls and Jinu told me I did great, but it's not the same.

"Oppa!" Sumi said sweetly to the person she talked to on the phone. I guess Yongguk eventually answered her call.. Why wouldn't he? They are dating now.

"We did terrible because of Hyeri." Sumi whined and I really tried not to explode. It's like she chose to do everything she can in order to annoy me today.

"Just ignore her." Sey said, noticing my clenched fists.

"What did I actually do wrong?" I asked, looking at her.

"Nothing. She is just special."

"Whatever." I shrugged.

"You know, she can bluff as much as she wants, I doubt Yongguk will buy it."

"It doesn't matter. It's not like he has to take my side or anything.. We are not related anymore."

"Yongguk is always on your side, even if it doesn't seem that way."

"And that's why he goes kissing other girls, right?" I snorted. "Don't try so hard, he is not worth it."

"I know you're hurt.." Sey started talking, but I cut her off.

"I'm not hurt. I was the one breaking up with him, not the other way around, so I don't have any lingering feelings. He can have a happy life with her, I couldn't care less." I said and started walking faster, leaving her behind. I quickly wiped the tears from the corner of my eye. If I wipe them away it's like they were never there.

I kept walking until someone bumped into me. I looked up and saw it was a male.

"Sorry.." he apologized, smiled and continued walking. I didn't pay any attention to it until I felt something stuck to my clothes. I looked down and noticed a sticky note. It was handwritten but I couldn't recognize who wrote it. It didn't seem familiar at all. I read the note - Watch out. Someone is after you. I searched for the guy, hoping I could ask him about it, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Hyeri!" I heard Jinu call me.

"What?" I asked, turning my attention to him.

"We are going that way!" he said and pointed at the opposite direction.

"I'm coming!" I smiled and approached him and the girls. I shoved the note into my bag. I'll deal with it later.

~

"Can we leave now?" Youngjae asked.

"Yes, it looks like they are gone." Himchan said.

"Anyone wants to eat?" Daehyun asked.

~

"What is this?" Eun Hee asked when we stood in front of the place we were supposed to perform at.

The big building looked fancy, but the thing that bothered us was a small sign that Jinu pointed at, indicating the place we were heading to.

"A bathhouse?" Yujin asked in disbelief.

"Bathhouse idols, do your magic." Jinu smiled.

"Please tell me you are joking." Sey said.

"I'm serious." Jinu answered with a straight face.

"Let's all thank Hyeri since it's her fault." Sumi said venomously. I stayed quiet, moving my body weight from one foot to another. Saying something now will only make things worse.

"Let's do this. It doesn't really matter where we perform, right?" Sey asked, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"True! We get to perform." Yujin said happily.

"Let's perform!" Eun Hee exclaimed. I was relieved that the girls seemed fine with it and didn't blame me like Sumi.

"I'm sure the PR team thought about it a lot, so we shouldn't let their efforts go to waste and do our best." Sey reasoned.

"That's right!" Eun Hee and Yujin agreed while Sumi still looked pissed.

"Good girls." Jinu smiled. "Let's go in."

~

"That was a nice evening." Himchan said when B.A.P went back to the company.

"Indeed." the other boys agreed.

"Should we get back to practice?" Jongup asked and everyone headed to the practice room.

~

The performance went smoothly and this time there were no technical issues. We performed all our songs and a few covers and the people in the bathhouse seemed to enjoy our performance.. At least no one looked grumpy in front if us.

We headed back to the company and the girls dispersed for their own business.

"Hyeri." Jinu called me before I left.

"Yes, oppa?"

"Yujin is still falling behind, so make sure you practice with her some more."

"Alright." I tried not to show my dissatisfaction. It's not that I don't like spending time with her and helping her out, it's just that I have a lot of other things to do as it is, especially with the individual activities, and I don't think I have the time for this.

"And Sumi is a bit.. You know." he swallowed his saliva.

"I know and I'm not helping her out."

"Hyeri.."

"Forget it. I'll do whatever you want, but not this. You know how she treats me and there is no way she'll listen to me, even if I'm just trying to help her."

"Fine." he sighed heavily. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

"Are you going to practice with Matt now?" Jinu asked.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No. Work hard."

"Thanks." I smiled.

"Oppa.." I called before he left.

"What?"

"You won't get scolded because of the busking, right?"

"You are too kind for this world." he smiled and ruffled my hair lovingly.

"What does it mean?" I asked, confused.

"You are kind hearted and it's a good quality, but don't let it get you in trouble."

"Why would I get in trouble because of it?" I was even more confused after his answer.

"Be careful of who you trust." he said and walked away, leaving me flustered. His answer didn't help much, but I remember Yongguk told me something similar not so long ago.. Do I have a reason to worry?

~

"Let's take a break!" Daehyun exclaimed and sat down on the ground.

"I'm in!" Himchan said and sat next to him. Jongup and Zelo shook their heads at their lazy hyungs but sat on the ground as well, giving up on practice.

"When are you uploading the video from the busking?" Yongguk asked Zelo.

"I'm not sure.."

"How about we do it now?" Youngjae offered. "We just have to open a new account."

"Let's do it!" Himchan said excitedly and the boys rolled their eyes.

"What should we use for a username?" Youngjae asked after turning his ipad on and going online.

"The village idiot." Daehyun suggested and looked at Himchan, making the boys laugh.

"That's you." Himchan retorted.

"He is 'The cheesecake monster'." Youngjae teased Daehyun.

"I don't eat cheesecake anymore.. I ate too much of it."

"Then 'The vaccum cleaner' should fit.. You are eating eveyrhting you see, it doesn't matter if it's yours or not or if it's edible or not."

"Hey, I have standards as well!" Daehyun protested.

"Can you focus?" Himchan grumbled.

"Just pick whatever username that's available.. It's not like we'll use this account much anyway.." Yongguk said.

"Yes, hyung." Youngjae said and started typing some things.

~

I changed clothes and entered the practice room where I was supposed to meet Matt. I took a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for what is about to come.

"Good night, whale." Matt greeted with a smile. I didn't miss this nickname or his presence, but I can do this. I have to endure just until we are filming the program.

"Hello, Matt." I greeted.

"I can see you lost a bit of weight, but you need to lose some more. You are still fat."

"Yes, sir." I tried not to show him that I'm not comfortable. I should act nicely and not argue with him, it will be better for the both of us.

"Did your manager update you about what we are going to do?"

"Not really.. He only told me that we are doing rhythmic gymnastics for a TV show."

"Yes. And you are going to use the ribbon." he said and showed me a ribbon, the one I'm going to use for practice and the competition.

"That's nice.." I smiled. I always liked this apparatus, along with the ball. But it also looks complicated..

"It might look nice, but it's hard to maneuver. It's long and it's always gets stuck and and you have to open the ties, so in the end it's up to how much you practiced and how well you can control it." he said and moved his hands along the ribbon.

"I see."

"Do you have any song preference?" Matt asked.

"Well, I haven't thought about it.. I didn't have the time.." I stuttered. No one told me I can choose the apparatus or the music..

"Good, because even if you had one we are not going to use it. We are doing what I say." he smiled and I started to get annoyed. Idiot. Why ask if you are not going to consider my opinion? 

"So what song are we doing?" I asked.

"No by Meghan Trainor."

"Alright." I smiled.

"Start doing warmup, we don't have much time." he ordered.

~

"We should take a break." Matt said after what seemed like hours of practice. He went out of the practice room and I took this chance to go to the restroom.

The restrooms were empty because of the late hour. I was washing my face when I got a twitter notification. I opened it and saw that Zico tagged me in a tweet. I opened the tweet - "I was just walking around in Hongdae and saw this acapella cover of 'You are me, I am you' and I just had to record it and share it with you. Good job, Hyeri!" and there was a link to a video from the busking when we performed his song. The blood drained from my face and my hand started to tremble. I held the hand holding my phone with my free hand to stable it and stop it from moving. I can't break my phone.. I don't have money to fix it.

Stop trembling, Hyeri. It's Alright. Nothing happened.

How can you call it nothing? Zico was there.. He saw me perform.. He could have done something to me.

No, no. He doesn't have a reason to hurt me anymore if I'm not dating Yongguk.. And if he wanted to hurt me today he would have probably done it by now..

The room started to feel stuffy. I was wearing thin clothes, but it felt like I was wearing a thick sweater. I tried to pull on my clothes to loosen it up a bit but it didn't help much. I started to feel sweat beads forming on my forehead. Why is it so hot all of a sudden? It's like someone suddenly turned the heater on on 40 degrees.

I walked around the room, moving nervously. Why am I still hot? I started fanning myself, hoping it will help. I need to cool down. It's so hot..

I took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling. My heartbeat grew faster, as if my heart is about to explode. What is wrong with me?

I need air. Maybe if I'll get inside one of the cabins I can open the window and get some fresh air. That's what I should do.

I walked to the first cabin I saw and locked the door, just in case someone comes in. I opened the small window on top, trying to get the much needed air. A cold breeze hit my skin, but it still felt as if I was boiling.

The stuffiness didn't fade away, so I pulled my clothes. Nothing. It felt like they grew tighter and sticked to my body instead of loosen up.

The small cabin felt smaller than usual. The walls started to close in, approaching me. I don't have room to breathe. I'm suffocating. I need air.

I started to feel dizzy so I sat on the floor, bringing my knees to my chest. The room was turning from the lack of air and I tried to keep my balance.

"You are such a weakling." A voice in mind whispered. My heartbeat sped. "All that reaction because of one tweet? It's not like he'll actually want you.. You know he is only looking for you in order to hurt Yongguk. You are nobody to him. Even Yongguk doesn't want you anymore.. He finally found out your true nature and he saw how weak and useless you are.. That's why he dumped you. Sumi is way better than you, and she actually gives him what he needs. How long did you think he'll stay around you if you kept rejecting him and treated him like ? Everyone has their limits." The voice continued, this time a little louder. Tears started streaming down my cheeks.

"Already crying?" the voice laughed. "Yongguk was right, you are weak. So pathetic.. No wonder even your parents didn't want you. You are not good for anything. It's a miracle you made it this far.. If I was your parents I would have gotten rid of you as well. So useless.."

Now my crying was uncontrollable. "I'm not weak.." I mumbled, rocking my body back and forth in order to relax.

"Don't lie. You always pretend to be strong and like nothing affects you, but I know your true self. You are just a pathetic crybaby."

"No.."

"Whale, how long did you think you could live in your fake fairy tale? It was fake to begin with and like all fake things, it has to break down at some point. You don't deserve to be happy."

"Why not?" I sniffed.

"Pathetic creatures like you should just do all of us a favor and disappear. You are wasting our oxygen and our energy on trying to communicate with you."

"Go away!" I cried. Please stop..

"You can't get rid of me this easily.. I'm always there. I know all your dark secrets."

"I don't have dark secrets."

"You are really funny today." the voice laughed. "Why didn't you tell Yongguk the real reason you didn't have friends?"

"I was busy working and I'm not good at being social."

"That's what you told yourself, not what really happened."

"Nothing happened." I said confidently, raising my voice a bit.

"Are you sure?" the voice questioned. "What about what happened when you were four?"

"Nothing happened." I repeated.

"I'm sure your brother will disagree.."

"I don't know what you are talking about.." I mumbled, hugging my knees tighter. He is lying. Nothing happened. I'm fine.

"Yeah, it's always better to forget unpleasant things, right? It can ruin your perfect image.."

"Stop it!"

"How do you think Yongguk will react if he finds out the truth? He will never get back to you.. No one wants to hang out with a damaged person, not to mention dating one. You will be an even bigger embarrassment than now.."

"I'm not an embarrassment.." I shook my head frantically, like it will convince him. My face was wet from tears, but I didn't care.

"You can't even sell 70 albums and you are a laughing stock. Are you still going to claim you are not an embarrassment?" the voice laughed hysterically. "Even B.A.P doesn't want to hang out with you because their reputation will get hurt if you're seen together. You are the worst artist your company has ever had."

"WE ARE NOT!" I cried. "We are fine."

"You have a twisted definition of 'fine' then.."

"GO AWAY!"

"Why? So you can get back to your life?" he mocked.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I demanded.

"I will when you'll face the reality. You are just a pathetic creature that doesn't deserve to be loved or cared for. That's why everyone leaves you."

"I have friends."

"Who? Sumi?" another laughter. "She can't stand you."

"Sey.."

"Do you think she'll really be there when you'll need her? She has Himchan, she doesn't need you."

"She will be there for me." I was confident. She is my best friend.

"Then why aren't you telling her your secrets and problems? Isn't it because you don't trust her?"

"It's because I need to be strong."

"That's tight.. Being strong is the only way to keep people next to you. Nobody wants a weak person as a friend or as a lover."

"I'm not weak!" I raised my voice, annoyed. Why does he keep telling me that?

"If you repeat a lie a thousand times it doesn't make it true. A lie is a lie, no matter how many times you say it." the voice said calmly. "Liar."

"I'M NOT A LIAR!"

"You are Pinocchio's fat version."

"I'm not lying!" I cried.

"Yes you are. You lied to Yongguk about your past, you lied to your group members about being strong, you lied to Jinu about wanting to do all the extra gigs.. Should I continue?"

"I can explain!"

"I don't need explanations."

My breathing became heavier and I felt like I was going to faint any moment now. I took deep breaths, trying to relieve the diziness and stuffiness that were still there and didn't get any better.

"You are such a pathetic liar." the voice teased once more.

"Pathetic.. It's about time Yongguk dumped your pathetic and came to me.. I cam treat him better." I heard Sumi's mocking voice.

"No!" I shook my head and wiped a few tears from my face, making room for new ones.

"Look at you, crybaby.." I heard Yongguk's voice. "It's so like you to break down under the pressure.. You break down so easily. Do you want everyone to know how weak you are?"

"I'M NOT WEAK!" I raised my voice.

"Crybaby!" Yongguk's voice repeated, laughing.

"Pathetic!" Sumi's mocking voice joined.

"Liar!" the voice in my mind said.

All the voices were mixed together, repeating themselves endlessly. My head hurt and I felt like it's going to explode.

"You are so weak!" they echoed together.

"STOP IT!" I shouted, wanting the voices to stop.

"Oh, is the little princess hurt?" the voice mocked. "Too bad we are not going to stop.."

"So weak! You don't fit this industry, so just quit!" Sumi added.

"Weakling!" Yongguk added.

It was chaos. I felt hot and suffocated. I squeezed my ears, trying to block the voices. I don't want to hear it. Make it stop.

I kicked my legs, hit my head, but nothing helped. The voices just got stronger and meaner.

I hugged my knees to my chest again, my hands holding my shin. Without realizing, my nails dug into my skin.

"I'M NOT WEAK!" I screamed my lungs out when the voices turned louder and insupportable. My nails dug deeper into the skin.

I felt a sharp pain coming from my legs. The voices started to fade out, but my breathing was still heavy. I tried to focus on bringing my breath back to normal but the pain from my legs distracted me. I looked down and saw my nails stuck in my skin. They made a cut in the sensitive skin and it looked quite deep.. I took my nails out and I saw blood.

"." I cursed and tried to get up, using the toilet for support. I stumbled in the first two tries, but in the third time I made it, after using all the energy I had left in my body for getting up.

I checked the time to make sure I'm not late for practice. I'm ten minutes late, but I guess I'll just have to deal with the consequences..

I unlocked the cabin and approached the mirror. I looked terrible. My face was wet and my eyes were puffy and red from all the crying. I took several deep breaths in an attempt to bring my breathing back to normal.

"I'm not weak.." I mumbled while washing my face and my hands.

"I'm not weak." I said several more times, until I was confident and my breathing calmed down, along with the stuffiness and the uneasy feeling I had.

When I looked presentable I headed back to the practice room. I put plasters on the marks on my legs, trying to cover it up. I'll disinfect it when I'll get home.

~

"I guess the perfect princess is not so perfect after all.." Sumi said, walking out of one of the cabins in the restroom after making sure she is there alone.

"Thanks for telling me your secret, Hyeri. I'll use it well." she smirked and renewed her lipstick, puckering her lips out.

Author's Note:

Looks like Hyeri finally broke down :\

One more chapter until this never-ending day finally ends :P

I want to thank Fdqfp13 for the help with the part with Hyeri in the restroom, because it wouldn't have looked the same (and not even close) without your help, so thank you again <3

Tell me your thoughts on the chapter! :)

Thanks for reading, commenting, subscribing, etc.

M.