141 - Momo is not okay.

Wordcount: 1479

 

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Mina looked over to the girl who was sitting to her left. She was looking out of the window, her elbow propped on the car door and her gaze seemingly distant. Mina sighed knowing what was going through the girl's head. The girl had been unusually quiet from the moment they got off the stage, to which Mina tried to attribute it to exhaustion, but now looking at the girl, it just confirmed that all these silence were not products of fatigue.

 

 

FLASHBACK

"Momo?" Mina called as she finished packing her stuff. She walked over to the older girl who was still tidying her belongings in her bag. 

"Mmm?" Momo hummed in response, giving the girl a signal to continue.

"I'm sorry Momo." Mina was truly upset. No, she was not unhappy that there were other idols who did better than them, every idol did truly well and honestly speaking this whole voting thing was unnecessary because you can't just judge how well someone dances based on something like that. Dancing was extremely different from singing, and bringing this voting concept from singing shows to this dance show was probably the worst idea ever. Not that these idols had a say in that, though. Back to it, Mina was unhappy because she was sure that their performance itself, together with the hardwork they put in, they deserved so much more than 141. Momo deserved so much more than 141.

The older girl paused her actions momentarily and shifted her attention to Mina. "It's not your fault, Mina, you did great. Thanks for agreeing to dance with me, it was really fun and your presence made me a lot more comfortable too." 

Momo gave a half-sincere smile, and though Mina managed to see through it, she decided not to push the girl. The older girl was never one who liked to speak about her thoughts and insecurities, not until the circumstance makes her do it, such as interviews and such. So, instead of telling Momo not to blame herself, Mina decided to compliment the girl instead.

"You did great too, no, you were wonderful just now, totally awesome." Mina walked closer and wrapped her arms around the girl's waist. "You're the best tonight, Moguri."

FLASHBACK END

 

 

Mina reached over to where Momo's other hand is placed and intertwined their fingers. This action made Momo look over. Mina gave her a smile and squeezed her hand a little. Mina did not say anything, and neither did Momo. There was no need for words, Momo knew what the other girl was trying to say. You were amazing tonight, don't blame yourself anymore.

 

 

***

 

 

When they opened the door of their dormitory, they saw that the lights were still on and some of their members were still awake, which surprised them a little since it was quite late. Only the younger ones were asleep, for they had to go to school the next day.

The remaining four members snapped their head over once they opened the door. It was obvious that the only reason they were awake was to wait for the two to return home.

"Hey, welcome back. We bought jokbal and we thought of waiting for you guys before eating. Join us?" Nayeon, the one who always made a special effort to take care of the foreign line, asked.

Momo was the first of the two to reply.

"I'm a little tired so I'll just take a quick shower and head to bed. You guys can go ahead, enjoy your meal." Momo tried to sound as normal as possible. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and was not in the mood for any kind of interaction. 

The members watched as Momo made her way to her room and shut the door, before turning their attention to the other girl who just came back. "How was it? What happened?"

"Erm.. Well.. Let's just say it was not too bad but not great either? We weren't last, but it was still quite disappointing. And you know how she is." Mina did not elaborate at the end, but they all knew what she meant. The members were well aware that the main dancer of their group had very little confidence of herself due to SIXTEEN as well as their haters, and that she was one to take it upon herself. It really whenever they saw her bash herself up. She always put in maximum effort, but nothing seemed to affirm her of her abilities and hardwork.

"Anyways, I'd love to join you guys but I'd like to shower to freshen up first." Mina said, giving a slight smile in hopes to lighten the mood. 

"Sure, we'll wait for you."

"You sure? It's quite late and I'm okay with you guys eating first."

"We'll wait." They smiled back at her too. They just wanted to spend some time with the two, which was something they had not been able to do since the two were busy practicing for their stage.

 

 

***

 

 

Mina felt extremely refreshed when she stepped out of the bathroom. It had been a long day, with the filming lasting almost the entire day. Not that she minded though, she got to spend her day with Momo. At the thought of Momo, she headed to the living room where her members were and asked them whether Momo was done showering.

"Yeah, she went back to her room already."

Now that they had both freshened up, Mina thought it would be a good time to talk to Momo. "I'll go talk to her for a bit then come out to join you guys, is that okay? Just start eating first!"

 

 

Mina knocked on the door, but even when she did not receive any reply she went in. She saw the girl cuddled up in her blanket, back facing her. It pained her to see the girl like that.

"Momo?" Mina called softly as she walked over to the girl's bed. As expected, she did not get a response.

The younger girl sat at the end of the bed and placed her hands gently on the side of Momo's body. She shook the girl slightly. "Momo, I know you're not asleep. Don't keep it all to yourself. Talk to us, talk to me, please?"

Momo had the intentions of just ignoring the girl until she went away, but every bit of her determination to do so just disappeared the moment she heard Mina's voice. It sounded rather desperate, and it really should not have been that way. Her members were practically pleading her to share her thoughts and feelings with them, yet she just kept pushing them away.

So Momo sat up quickly and pulled the younger girl into a hug, with the other girl returning it immediately. "I'm just tired. I'm feel so drained, Mina, I thought I could handle it but I couldn't."

Mina rubbed the girl's back in circles, hoping to comfort her a little. She could feel her shirt getting a little wet, but she did not mind. Momo would definitely feel better after this, and that was all that mattered.

When Momo calmed down enough, she continued. "I'm so tired of all these survival shows, Mina. It's been a year after SIXTEEN and I thought I could handle Hit The Stage. It's not exactly a survival show so I thought I'd be okay. But Mina, the votings hurt so much, Mina, it hurts.." She started sobbing, and Mina just held her closer, tighter.

"Momo, listen to me, alright? You did great today, every day. You were amazing, and though the number of votes might not have reflected it, I'm sure people who watch the performance will know. They can feel it. They will. Momo, I don't care about the votes, the other members don't too, and our fans don't either. You showed your abilities, and that's what's truly important. Screw the 141 votes, to me, you were the best today." 

Mina waited until Momo's breaths were a lot more stable, before pushing the girl back a little to look at her face. She cupped the older girl's face with both her palms and used her thumb to wipe the tearstreaks away. "You're very talented, Momo, and also beautiful both inside and out. Please don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise, and please don't do so yourself too."

"Thank you, Mina."

The touching moment was, however, interrupted by Momo's always-empty stomach, who let out a sound of protest. The girl had been hungry after all. The owner of the stomach smiled sheepishly, embarrassed at the situation, while Mina just chuckled.

"Let's go out to join the rest for jokbal?" Mina stood up and offered her hand.

Momo smiled and nodded, taking the younger girl's hand in hers and holding it tightly. "Let's go, before they finish all of it!"