◎    ◉    ◎

It was safe to say that the next few days were hard to keep up with. We were all given one extra day off to let the news sink in but we couldn’t keep up with that forever. SKEES was a company that needed to make money, after all, and we were one of their tools for income. Not to mention, we all also needed paychecks ourselves.

That didn’t mean it was easy to return to our normal schedules when things were suddenly anything but normal.

I still had also yet to hear from Anna. I wanted to be sensitive to how she had to have been feeling but I’d be lying if I said her lack of response didn’t hurt. She was surely grieving more than any of us, I knew that, but I wanted to be there for her. The longer I waited, the more I realized that I would go to almost any length for her happiness. But it didn’t seem like I’d receive a call back or a text from her anytime soon so I decided to get creative on catching any word on how she was doing.

“Hey, Daehyun,” I greeted the man coming down the hallway as I pushed myself away from the wall. Junhong, his roommate, stood across from me. He was the one who set up this whole thing, being a mindful friend to both myself and Anna. We stood in the hallway outside their dorm, hoping to make this a quick but worthwhile meeting.

“Yoongi-ssi,” he greeted politely, but I could tell he was tired. It was the end of a long day of schedules for most of us and Daehyun was just returning home from his. All the more reason to stay sweet and to the point.

“Did you get the chance to talk to the Director?”

“Yeah,” he affirmed with a nod, happy to have achieved what was asked of him by a respected sunbae and a friend of his dongsaeng- especially in this case. “Though, we’re lucky that I’m one of his artists and his son. If I were only one or the other, I wouldn’t have had a chance. He’s really got his hands full.”

Thankfully, Daehyun was a great artist and probably a great son, too, making him all the more likely to get the time of day from his father. This made him a great connection to have in such a time.

“I’m sure he does. I’m sorry if I've asked too much of both of you.”

He waved me off. “Don’t sweat it, it was no problem. Plus, I’d like to know what’s going on, even just a little.”

Daehyun’s expression turned grim at the introduction into our topic of discussion- the remaining girls in America. He admitted to me earlier that he wasn’t really close with any one of the four girls but that just showed the scale of this incident. You didn’t have to know them to feel grief over what happened. It was tragic and horrific and the effect of it was immense.

“Well, thank you anyway,” I said graciously. “So, what’s happening now?”

“My dad says that all of the artists and staff have sort of holed up in their hotels for their own safety and comfort. Not that any of them really want to do much else at this point,” he revealed. “They had been waiting for their flight to get moved up so they could come home sooner. They’re in the air on their way back now.”

“And Anna?”

“Apparently, she’s devastated, as you can imagine,” he informed me regrettably. I could see how pained he was to relay that information to me. And I knew he wasn’t even telling me the least of it for my own sake. “Her manager, Sol Yoon, warned my dad that she hasn’t been very responsive since it happened.”

‘It happened’. I guess my group and I weren’t the only ones having trouble verbally expressing Chun Hwa’s passing. It was hard to even think about. None of us had really come to terms with the whole thing yet and I don’t think we would’ve until the girls came home without her. Only then would the truth be forced upon us so mercilessly that we’d have to acknowledge it.

“Unresponsive like how?”

“Like not saying much, not eating. Things you’d expect from someone who's just lost her best friend,” he explained regrettably. “All the girls are apparently heartbroken but Anna’s got it the worst. Sol Yoon said she’s like a empty, devastated shell of herself.”

“An empty shell?”

Daehyun nodded solemnly. “His exact words.”

My heart sunk. Anna had a really soft heart to begin with, everyone knew that. It wasn't hard to break her down but she had always been really good at hiding it. I didn’t even want to imagine how destroyed she was feeling if she wasn't at all capable of that this time around. I was nervous to witness it. I wasn’t sure what I’d even witness. In all these months, I hadn’t once seen Anna even cry. Was I ready?

I had to be. I had to make it clear that I could be there for her the way she needed me or else she’d never come back to me again. If she needed a person to lend a shoulder to cry on, I’d be that. If she needed love and support, I’d give her that. Hell, that would be the case already if she’d quit blocking me out.

Despite the near despair I was feeling, I gave Daehyun a grateful smile.

“Alright, I won’t keep you from sleep any longer. Thanks Daehyun. Seriously, I really appreciate this.”

“It’s really no problem,” he assured me once more. He then turned towards his front door before one last thought came to him. “And hey, I’m sorry for your loss. I know Chun Hwa was your friend.”

I nodded solemnly. “Thank you.”

He nodded once with a sympathetic smile before unlocking his door, leaving it slightly ajar for Junhong to enter behind him. I shoved my hands into my pockets as I looked to the younger boy.

“Thanks again for this, Junhong,” I said tiredly yet appreciatively, referring to his suggesting that I reach out to Daehyun. I hadn’t even thought about the singer being of good use in this situation.

“Like Daehyun said, don’t mention it," he consented, his innocence almost a gleaming light as worry crossed his features. "Just let me know how she is, would you? I’m worried about her.”

I sighed. “I am, too,” I admitted, knowing full and well he was referring to Anna. “But I will. Hopefully you’ll get the chance to cheer her up yourself.”

“I hope so,” he said, though he didn’t sound too convinced. Honestly, I hoped so, too. Anna always talked so fondly of the boy, telling of the fun they’d have. I felt she could use some of that upon returning home.

We went our separate ways, though both hoping for one thing specifically amongst many other things- a decent night’s sleep. I didn’t know about him, but I certainly hadn’t had one of those in days.

And unfortunately, with the foreboding of Anna’s emotional return, my hopes weren’t fulfilled.

◎    ◉    ◎

She was back. They were all back.

By the time I woke up the next morning, that was the buzz on property. It seeped under my door and into the forefront of my attention like an ominous fog. And it made me very anxious.

“What are you gonna do?” Jimin asked me as he joined me at our little breakfast table, his hands cupped around a hot mug for warmth. Everything seemed colder these days.

“I’m not sure yet,” I told him honestly, picking at my toast but not finding much of a stomach to eat it.

I pondered in silence following that. I was fortunate to have Jimin as company, he didn’t mind the lack of conversation. He wasn’t there for that anyway, he just wanted to simply be there with me. I’d noticed him doing that a lot lately, as if he subconsciously feared he’d lose another one of us.

The first thought in my working mind was to send Anna yet another text, asking to see her. But my fingers hesitated over the keypad in our conversation, visually reminded of the messages she never answered. I psyched myself out enough to consider locking my phone and leaving her be for now but I had a responsibility to take care of her. Whether or not she wanted it wasn’t my concern until she told me so herself.

“If you need someone, you know where to find me,” I typed out slowly, choosing my words carefully. I didn’t want to be too aggressive but I wanted to get my point across in a way I hadn't yet.

“Did you hear the latest report?” Jimin spoke up, looking up from his phone and at me warily. I assumed he had read said report just then on it. I shook my head. He looked back to his phone, confirming my assumptions. “People who knew the shooter claimed he was borderline insane. And apparently, witnesses around him said he was screaming that the girls and the guys were traitors to America while they were performing.”

“Traitors to America?”

“Yeah, for moving to Korea to become artists here instead of doing so in America, I guess.”

I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. The whole thing was truly such a mess. It really could’ve been any of them in Chun Hwa’s place when it was at the hands of someone so mentally unstable. All eight of them on that tour were enemies in his mind, not just the poor 17-year-old.

The uneasiness in my stomach made me unconsciously check my messages. I didn’t fret too much when I still didn’t see an answer. I couldn’t help but expect that I wasn’t going to get one. But as her partner, I had to try. So, I waited.

I’d wait until she was ready, whenever that may have been. She’d let me in when it felt right to her, I trusted that much of her. And I’d be waiting with open arms, prepared to take on whatever I had to for her sake.

__________________________________________

Hello to all my returning and new readers! I hope everyone's still enjoying, I apologize for all the heartbreak following Chun Hwa's death :( I hope you all don't mind that things are going to remain a bit sad and dark for a while. This is a tragedy story, after all!

But anyway, one of my readers, Ndapanda, brought up the very good point that there's no ship name for Anna and Yoongi yet! We talked a little about it and the best I ended up coming up with was "Yanna", but if any of you guys have suggestions, leave it in the comments! I'd love to hear what you all come up with.

Thanks again for reading! Until the next chapter :) ♡