It was hard to navigate the sharp decline after being on the radio show. You weren’t sure why Terry had pushed for you to attend the show in the first place, and after the crash course in how to present yourself given to you by staff the morning of, you realised just how messy this was becoming.

They had no desire to debut you alone. So why had you appeared on the show?

The reaction to your connection with Kihyun worked, though. Monbebe were quick to promote you around as the singer chosen by their favourite main vocalist, and surprisingly there were only a handful of people jumping to a conclusion that you were dating. The majority were just interested in your voice and what you looked like.

“This is going to .”

Turning to the girl leaning against the wall of the small studio space, you sighed heavily. “Nina.”

“I’m not you, Y/N. I don’t get this at all.”

You had both resigned to the fact that to debut, you would rely on one another. And today, you were monitoring Nina’s execution of your debut song Reach Me, ensuring that she opened in the right way so when you sang live, she would be able to mimic how it should sound. The tension was mounting between you, both desperate for this to go well.

Both disappointed that your debut was built on deception.

“I can’t sing, can I?” Nina whined, crouching down, and holding her legs tightly. “Be honest with me.”

“I can’t dance or look nearly as good as you do in that outfit,” you countered, not wanting to admit to the girl that she was entirely tone-deaf. It broke your heart to see her this shattered, even though you were dealing with your own emotions over being too damaged.

The body issues you had before all of this were now magnified. You knew you would sing backstage for the entirety of your career. Even if you were comfortable in the shadows, you had desired your time under the limelight so much that you had signed that contract as a singer, not an idol. And the hard thing to get your head around was that you were proud of this album, more than you realised you would be after finding out what the Starlet project was really about. The fact that it wasn’t you who would take to MCountdown’s stage in two days, but Nina, was weighing you down.

Still. You comforted her before yourself.

“You know if I didn’t want this so badly…” Nina trailed off, blinking hard. “I would have walked away.”

“We can’t. We signed that contract,” you reminded, and Nina growled. “Under false pretences, I know.”

“Can we get out of it?” she asked, staring at me intently. “We could, right?”

“Do you have the money for a lawsuit? Because I think it’s going to be tricky to avoid this. Besides. You will shine up on that stage. Look at you. You’ve got this.”

“I’m getting all the credit, though.”

You shook your head. “My name is right beside yours on the album booklet.”

“It doesn’t say who we are.”

“We’re Starlet,” you reminded shakily, giving her a watery smile. “And being an idol is tough. I just have to sing. You have to carry our image. That’s going to be more work than you realise.”

“Am I taking advantage of you?” she whispered, and you didn’t answer, not knowing how.

You worried about how this would all play out. Especially when Kihyun would find out that your appearance on Idol Radio – without cameras – had been your one and only chance of promoting your voice with your own merits. How many radio shows would you be able to attend once Nina’s face was matched with your voice? It made no sense.

Boah was going to kill you the next time she saw you, too. You could already feel her disappointment building in your heart.

It amazed you how readily the music shows accepted your deception. Listening to the MCountdown producers talk about your placement near the stage like it was completely normal for idols to have a singer backstage was jarring. Nina had been nervous about it all until then, her steely resolve kicking in as she practised her moves next to you. Her mic set wasn’t hooked up to anything. The cords running from your in-ear device were the only ones that actually mattered.

There was too much that people could get away with when they had power and money.

It was tough to talk to Nina, though. She had stepped up after the salon appointment, determined to carry the Starlet name to success. You tried to squash down the jealousy you felt when you saw how beautiful she was all ready for the stage. It was unfair, and that critical little voice in your mind bitterly rejoiced that Nina couldn’t sing at all to give her at least one weakness.

Whilst you nursed many.

“Y/N, are you ready?” Terry asked, coming to your side backstage as Nina geared herself to go out there. He patted you on the back, unaware that the gesture had hurt you.

Shrinking away, you nodded once. “I can do this.”

“Good. I’m counting on you to not let Nina down.” Staring at the man incredulously, he finally glanced at you and sighed. “I know you can sing in your sleep. But Nina is relying on you to match her perfectly. She is the performer, but your job is to make her shine.”

“With my song.”

“Details,” he muttered and then nodded at you and walked off.

You had never expected your debut stage to feel this lonely.

Digging deep, you watched the monitor in front of you and held your microphone a little tighter. Thoughts of Kihyun’s encouragement flooded your mind, and even if you knew he was going to lose it when he found out you had lied to him, right now it was what grounded you. The cue was given, and Nina was ready.

You started to sing.

You managed to avoid the onslaught for three days. Granted, it was because you were doing every music show for the weekend, and there was no time to give in between. It was getting easier to sing in time with Nina’s performance, but it didn’t relax your heart any.

If anything, the more you sang for Nina, the more you realised how much you had sold out. However, Nina was thriving. Her performances grew bolder, her smile never disappearing as the compliments rolled in for how talented she was. It thankfully hadn’t made her arrogant towards you, though it wasn’t easy for either of you to travel together.

The number of times you had been mixed up as her manager now had both of you boiling over.

Monday arrived, and that signalled time for you to relax. Nina’s schedule was still your own, but at least you weren’t needed to be emotionally present when she was doing her promotional work offstage. She had the ruse down to a fine art within a mere few days, and you didn’t even need to worry if people would question her. After all, it wasn’t until you listened back to her first recording that you realised you both spoke with a similar tone.

Terry had found you the perfect match in Nina.

Because you weren’t necessarily the focus of any of this, your mind had enough time to overthink. And your usual habit of relying on your phone to unwind had become tricky. You had a multitude of texts blowing up your phone. Missed calls were stacking up, and you couldn’t bring yourself to tap into your messaging app. The barrage of notifications proved that it would be only time before Kihyun and Boah sought you out in other ways since you weren’t replying. It was cowardly, but you didn’t want to face their disappointment just yet.

“Can you get us some drinks?” an MC of another radio show asked, and it was a moment before you realised they were directing the message at you.

Glancing up at the request and then over at Nina, you watched her expression turn explosive. She was going to stand up for you, but with how important her image was to build, you shook your head at her in a silent plea to calm down. Turning to the MC, you nodded tersely. “Sure. I’m not doing anything.”

Once you had the list stored in your mind, you headed out of the studio and down to the coffee shop on the first floor, ordering what was requested and waiting for the drinks to be made. You tried not to put weight into the menial task or the fact that you were being disregarded as part of the act. Of course, you were. No one aside from your staff knew that you were part of Starlet. No one would ever know either. And with Melody in the bathroom, it made sense that you looked like a rookie staff member waiting on Nina to be done with the show.

Stepping forward when the order was ready, you thanked the barista and started your way back up to the floor you were on, waiting on the elevator to open. It did, though when you saw who was about to exit, your eyes widened, and you glanced around yourself for an escape.

You weren’t lucky. Minhyuk’s hiss was loud as his hand s out to pull you inside. You didn’t get a chance to tell him he was hurting your skin with his tight grip, and thankfully once the doors were closed, he let you go. “Y/N!”

“Don’t Minhyuk,” you said softly, looking at your feet. “I’m not ready yet.”

“They sent you to get coffee?”

“I offered.”

“You offered?!” he screeched, moving over to the panel on the wall and slamming his hand down on the emergency button. He then spun on you, his eyes dark. “Wait until Kihyun—”

“Please don’t tell him.”

“Why did you not tell us? Imagine our surprise when we watched the performance live that you were nowhere to be seen. But your voice sure was. I’ve never seen Kihyun that destroyed, you know.”

Snapping your gaze up to his, you faltered. “He… what?”

“He’s blaming himself for getting you in this mess. And since you haven’t been talking to him, well, it’s not been great fun to be around him. Not to mention the rest of us are just as furious. After what happened with Hoseok I knew this was suspicious. I should have stopped this.”

“No.”

“Yes. Because this isn’t fair on you. They’re exploiting you.”

You didn’t know what to say, tears welling in your eyes. For a moment, you were certain he would continue venting, but he must have seen how emotional you were, stepping closer and placed a hand on your shoulder. “Are you okay?”

It was such a loaded question. You had to be okay. You’d prepared for all of this for weeks now. You had guessed before Terry announced it, and then you hadn’t even disputed it. Acceptance had come and gone, even if it left you feeling stupid for ever expecting to have proper recognition. The chance for that had gone up in flames six years ago.

Yet you were only human too. And your head was shaking back and forth in answer, tears now slipping down your cheeks. “No, I’m not okay.”

“.” Scooping you up in a warm embrace, Minhyuk gently held you before reaching for the button and starting the elevator up. “Do you have to follow her around all the time?”

“After this, Nina has to go back to practice. I’m on vocal rest.”

“Reckon you could shake off your team?” he asked, and you glanced up at Minhyuk curiously. “Go deliver the drinks. I’ll wait.”

“For what?” He raised an eyebrow that spoke all too loudly, and you cursed under your breath. “Do I have an option?”

“Reckon I’m giving you one, Y/N?” Minhyuk answered, and you groaned, nodding in reluctant agreement.

“Give me ten minutes, and I’ll come with you.”

Your heart was pounding harder than you ever remembered. Even within the fire and your need for survival, you hadn’t felt it thump this hard in your chest. With each step you took closer to the place Minhyuk had taken you to, your ears roared with the erratic sound, your mind reeling with pure anxiety.

You hadn’t expected the fallout to be this bad. With how grim Minhyuk was, you could only imagine Kihyun’s state of mind.

Glancing at you as he reached for the keypad on the door, Minhyuk gave you a weak smile before punching in the numbers. The door unlocked, and it was only then when you realised he had brought you back to his dorm house.

You had no idea what to expect, but from the way Minhyuk had immediately started in the elevator, you steeled your heart for Kihyun to explode at you.

Slipping off your shoes in the doorway, you had only stepped up into the apartment when you saw movement, barely catching Kihyun’s presence before he scooped you up in his arms and held you to him protectively.

“I’m so sorry for letting you down,” you whispered, the emotions now overwhelming you.