Here is the first chapter of Lamentation. I hope you guys like this.
I know I am working on Hell's Castle but I wanted to post at least one chapter for this story in the meantime.
Please tell me what you guys think about it.
Love you guys ~ ♥

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Author's POV

Fans file inside the building, eager to see their favorite artists perform. Each holding a poster of their biases as they take their assigned place in front of the stage. Many fandoms were present in the audience; whether they were BABYs, E.L.Fs, Shawols, Inspirits, etc, they each were getting along with one another as they wait for the show to begin.

Backstage was crowded with different groups, getting ready for their performances on Music Bank. Many of them mingled amongst one another, chatting away with smiles on their faces. Along all of the groups, only a few were nervous while others were completely excited. One girl group, however, were very nervous since it's their first time performing with their debut song, "I Believe In You". The girl group, named Dynasty, sat in the confines of their waiting room while the other artists, one by one, performe on stage. The group consisted of five members, starting from the age of 22 to the age of 19, coming from the popular music company SM Entertainment. Coming from such a well known company, the girls knew they had to nail it and become well known among many fans. Four of the members didn't worry or mingle in their jumpy nerves but the maknae of the group, wasn't so calm like her fellow members.

 

Mariah's POV

I can't stop the shaking in my hands as I try to calm my racing heart and jumping nerves. Today is the day my unnies and I debut as a group under SM. This is suppose to be the best day of my life. I imagined it to be perfect, non-nerve wrecking with me being happy and in great shape along side my fellow members but, this is far from being perfect. Aside from my unnies, who were perfect, I wasn't in the greatest shape of my life. When I was born, I was pre-mature, being born only at 6 and a half months. Because of that, I had many difficulties weighting me down from doing what I love with full strength. Unfortunately, I still have some difficulties even now wheither it being my frail body or the limp when I walk. I know I am not the most strongest person and I've struggled a lot to get where I am today but I managed to face the hardships to do the thing I love most, singing and dancing. I snap back to reality when I feel soft, warm hands wrap gently around my own. I lift my head and became face to face with the leader of our group, Moon Na Rin. Na Rin unnie gives me a soft warm smile.

"Cherry, are you alright?" she ask in a gentle tone. I bite my lower lip and slowly nod my head in response. Na Rin unnie gives me another warm smile before placing her soft pink lips to my forehead. "Okay. We will be performing soon." she says, giving my hands one last squeeze before leaving my side. I didn't take notice of the burning in my cheeks as I watch Na Rin unnie speaking to her younger sister, Joomi unnie. I look down at my lap and took a deep breath. I hear the door open.

"Dynasty, you girls are up." a coordi-unnie informs us. I take another deep breath as I stand from my seat. Our staff members check our mics one last time before sendings us off. Na Rin unnie walks up ahead with Joomi unnie and our Chinese member, Xia unnie. I follow behind them while trying to make my limp non-noticable. As I exit the dressing room, I already feel people's eyes on me, giving me odd looks and what I hate most... pitied looks. I really hate it when people took one look at me and feel nothing but pity for me because of my limp. I keep my head down as I walk pass other groups, giving them the tiniest bow. We wait by the stage until the current group on stage finish with their performace. I keep my head down, not really listening to who is performing but I know from the cheers coming from my fellow members that is probably one of our sunbaes.

When the music stop, I hear a huge cheer coming from the fans as they shout the names of the members of the now exiting said group. I raise my head, my eyes widen as I see who the group is. One of our sunbaes, the ones I really didn't want to see at the moment... SHINee. I bow my head a bit and kept it down to refrain from meeting any of their eyes... especially his eyes. A coordi-unnie tells to get ready to go on stage since it was now our turn. Just as I was about to follow behind my members, someone grips my left wrist tightly in their hand. "Cherry." the person spoke my name and I wince quietly as I recorgnize that voice anywhere. I slowly turn my head to see the one person I didn't want to see even thought I would be lying if I said that. I very much wanted to see this person. To hug him. To kiss him. To run my fingers through his long light honey brown hair mixed with extensions. As I look at his beautiful face, I notice his fringe covering most of his piercing brown orbs. I gulped down the sudden urge to just reach out and gently brush them out of his eyes and trace my fingertips along his smooth pale cheek.

"Taemin sunbae... what is it?" I ask, my throat feeling completely dry. This has been the first time in so many years he has spoken to me. Ever since he debuted with SHINee, he has stop speaking to me for some odd reason. The only time we would actually speak was when it was related to business, nothing else. I stare at Taemin's face as his lips pressed into a tight line.

"Good luck with your performance and..." he begins, narrowing his eyes at me as he bites his lower lip. I tilt my head to side, getting a better as his face under his fringe.

"And..?" I speak softly and cautionly. Taemin bites his lower lip once again before letting it slip away slowly from his teeth as he looks down at me, letting go of my wrist.

"Nothing. Just... good luck." he says and turns to leave. I watch him leave with the rest of SHINee as a sad soft sigh escapes my lips. A rough shake of my shoulders pulls my eyes away from Taemin's retreating figure and I turn behind me to see our Korean-Chinese member and second maknae, Lumin.

"Cherry, come on! We are going to be performing any minute now!" she says frantically with a huge smile on her face as she pulls me up the stairs and onto the stage. As we walk onto the stage, I hear faint screaming coming from the audience as we get into position as we wait for our song to begin. I stand in my spot beside Xia unnie, who looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What did Taemin-ah wanted to tell you?" she ask. I flush a bit as I bite my lower lip.

"He told me 'good luck'." I reply softly as I lower my head. I feel Xia unnie squeeze my shoulder. I look up at her.

"Hey, at least he spoke to you, even if it was those simple words." she says with a small smile. I nod my head a bit.

"Yeah... at least." I say. Just as I say that, the lights lit the stage and our song begins to play. We begin the intro dance before Na Rin unnie begins to sing the beginning verse of the song. As she sings, I begin to think about what Taemin was going to say. What was he going to say? I'm sure it was going to be something else other than 'good luck'. Because my head was in the clouds, I messed up on one or two occasions but I made up for it when I pushed Taemin out of my mind. As our song came to a end, the cheers of the fans became loud as they chanted our names. We bowed our heads and we exit the stage, me being the last one off. I've notice a lot of our sunbaes praising my fellow members with smiles and pats on the back. I let out a sigh since I was completely ignored. I was used to it. I squeeze pass my fellow members and the sunbaes and make my way back to our dressing room. By now, my limp is more noticable like it always was whenever I danced. It also becomes a magnet to people's pity since they shower me with more pitiful looks and comments. I grit my teeth as I open the door to our dressing room and slam the door behind me. Our staff members were in the room when I entered and watched with wide eyes as I yank off the mic and gather my things. One of the staff members walks up to me.

"Cherry, aren't you going to wait for the rest of the members?" she ask in a gentle voice. I shake my head.

"No... I want to go back to the dorms and lay down. I'm not feeling well." I lied. The staff member looks at me with concern and I give her a fake smile so she can let go. She takes it and lets me leave the dressing room. I bow my head briefly and exit the room. When I exit the room, I turn my attention to the left as I see my unnies talking and joking around with the sunbaes still. A exhausted sigh escapes my lips and I turn to walk -- better say limp -- out of the building towards our waiting van. I open the back door and use my right leg to hop in first before slowly lifting my left leg up and into the warm van. I sit in my usual spot in the back by the window after closing the door behind me. The driver looks at me through the rearview mirror but doesn't say anything. A couple of minutes later, the van door opens and the rest of my group files in. I am hoping they won't say anything about me leaving first.

"Cherry." Na Rin unnie says once she sits in the front seat. . I take a deep breath before meeting her eyes. I wince when I saw anger flaming in them.

"N-Ne, unnie?" I stutter and curse myself mentally for doing so.

"Why did you leave before us? Some of the sunbaes wanted to congratulate you but you just ignored them and left. What is the matter with you?" she says, nagging me like a mother. I sigh softly, shaking my head.

"My leg just hurts... and I couldn't stand the pitied looks they were giving me." I reply.

"They weren't pitying you! They just wanted to congratulate you!" Na Rin unnie says, raising her voice. I hear the other members wince at her tone of voice. I sigh once again before finally meeting her eyes.

"I'm sorry okay... I didn't mean to leave ahead before you guys. And I'm sorry for disrepecting the sunbaes like that." I mumble. The anger in Na Rin unnie's eyes dies down as she sighs, shaking her head.

"It's alright Cherry. I just..." she begins, bitting her lower lip. I look at her, waiting for her to finish what she was going to say. "I just want you to open up to other people and befriend them. I want you to have more friends other than us and our SM sunbaes." she finishes. I look at her before nodding my head a bit.

"Okay... I'll try to open up to people more. I promise, Na Rin unnie." I say, looking up at her with big hazel green eyes. Na Rin unnie smiles a bit and nods back before settling into her seat as the driver pulls out of the building parking lot and takes us back to the dorms.The rest of the drive is silent as I look out the window. Suddenly, I feel something softly hit my shoulder. I turn to see what it was and I smile softly upon seeing Lumin's head gently resting on my shoulder as she sleeps. I shift a bit, making it more comfortable for her. She nuzzles her head against my shoulder and places her hand on mine, that was resting on my thigh. I smile a bit, nuzzling my nose againt the top of her head and look back out the window.

We arrive at the dorms a couple of minutes later and Na Rin unnie, along with Joomi unnie and Xia unnie all exit the van first while I lightly shake Lumin awake. "Lumin. Lumin, wake up, we're here." I whisper into her ear as I shake her shoulder. Lumin groans as she lifts her head from my shoulder slowly and stretches out her arms. She looks at me and smiles.

"Thank you for waking me, RyRy." she says. I smile back, nodding my head.

[A/N: It's pronounced the same as RiRi].

"No problem, Minnie." I reply. Minnie grins at me before exiting the van. As I exit behind her, she holds onto my arm, helping me down. I look at her for a moment before smiling. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now come on, let's go inside." she says, closing the van door and walking towards the dorm. We enter the lobby, where the other members were waiting for us. Na Rin unnie's eyes widen when she sees Minnie holding onto my small waist for support. She runs towards us.

"Cherry, are you okay? Does your leg hurts bad?" she ask, a motherly aura radiating off her. I giggle a bit before shaking my head.

"No, it doesn't hurt that bad. Minnie was just helping me out of the van that's all. I can walk." I say and as if on cue, Minnie lets me go and I stand properly on my own. I gave my shoulders a light shrug. "See?" I say with a smile. Na Rin unnie looks me over one last time before smiling softly.

"Alright then. Well, lets head up to our dorm." she says. We take the elevator and head towards the second floor. The door opens and we exit. We head down the corridor towards our dorm at the end of the hall. My unnies reach the door before I do and Na Rin unnie punches in the code, allowing the door to open. Na Rin unnie looks at me with a concern face. "Cherry, do you want me to help you?" she ask, already walking towards me. I raise my hand, stopping her in her tracks. I smile a bit.

"I'm fine. Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute." I say. Na Rin unnie bites her lower lip, seeming hesitant but nods her head and walks into the dorm, leaving the door open for me. Once she was inside, I let out a sigh and lean against the wall, letting my head drop as I rest for a moment. I bite my lower lip as my leg begins to hurt. My hand squeezes my thigh as I take deep breaths until the pain goes away. When I am sure that the pain has subside, I lean away from the wall to head into the dorm but my leg gives out and I am falling forward. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact but to my surprise, it doesn't. Instead, I feel strong arms wrap themselves around my small waist from behind and pull me up to stand straight. My back is pressed up against a muscular chest -- indicating that it's a male that saved me from my fall. But, who is it? I open my mouth to speak but the person sighs.

"What have I told you about being careful? Especially after dancing, Munchkin?" the familiar older male voice says. I bite my lower lip, trying to hide my obvious huge grin as I rest my head against his chest and look up at him.

"Mianhae, U-Know sunbae." I say, smiling up at him. U-Know sunbae sighs before ruffling my dark auburn hair. I giggle softly.

"Haven't I told you to call me U-Know oppa? Not sunbae." he says with a slight frown on his beautiful face. I giggle once again.

"Right, mianhae, U-Know oppa." I reply. U-Know oppa smiles down at me and gives me a tight back hug. I smile softly, squeezing his arm with my small hands.

U-Know sunb-- er, I mean U-Know oppa has always been there for me, ever since I was a trainee. U-Know oppa would teach me how to dance and help me out whenever he wasn't busy with a schedule. Whenever I wanted to give up, U-Know oppa would always tell me not to give up and to keep on trying. It was thanks to him that gave me the strength to work harder than ever, along with Changmin oppa (who is married to my older sister), Donghae oppa, Eunhyuk oppa, and even Onew oppa. Each one of them has helped me out along with the other sunbaes, well, except Taemin that is. Out of everyone, I wanted HIM to teach me how to dance, I wanted HIM to tell me not to give up and work harder. Why? It's because I am madly in love with Taemin ever since we were trainees. I have always had this odd feel of wanting his admiration like my other sunbaes but, all I ever got was the cold shoulder after he debuted with SHINee. I don't blame the SHINee members for this because I love them as much as I love U-Know oppa and my other sunbaes. I respect them so much, especially Minho and Key sunbaes. They are like older brothers to me and I care for them very much.

I feel U-Know oppa's hug get tighter before he finally lets me go. I smile up at him, the smile reaching my eyes. U-Know oppa ruffles my hair. "Come on. Let's get you inside the dorm before your unnies get worried." he says. I smile again, nodding my head. I place my right arm around U-Know oppa's shoulder and waited for him to grab my waist but instead, his left hand reaches down and lifts up my thighs as his right hand holds my back as he holds me bridal style. I blush lightly as he makes his way towards my dorm. He enters and I hear my unnies' gasp. Na Rin unnie, being the leader and the umma, runs towards us first.

"Cherry! Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? Why didn't you let me help you before?" she rambles questions at me as she checks to see if I am okay. U-Know oppa chuckles as he gently sets me down on the ground. He holds my waist just in case I were to tumble sideways.

"She's alright. Her leg was giving her a bit of trouble, so I decided to help her out." U-Know oppa says with a smile. I see Na Rin unnie's cheeks flush up as she bows.

"I see. Thank you so much for helping her, U-Know sunbae." she says, bowing nintey-degress. U-Know oppa chuckles, waving his hand.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it. I'm just looking out for my Munchkin." he says pinching my cheeks.

"Aish! U-Know oppa, cut it out! You're embarrassing me!" I whine, my blush becoming darker. U-Know oppa laughs once more before allowing Na Rin unnie to take a hold of me as he slides his hand away from my waist.

"I better go now. Remember to take care of yourself, Munchkin. Don't overwork yourself." he says. I nod my head and blush even darker -- if that's even possible -- as he plants a kiss on my forehead. I hear my other unnies gasp softly. U-Know oppa smiles at me and Na Rin unnie before leaving our dorm. Na Rin unnie closes the door and let's out a sigh that I think she was holding in all this time. She looks at me and smiles softly.

"Are you alright?" she ask. I nod my head.

"Ne." I reply. She slowly let's me go and I stand straight. I smile and slowly make my way towards the bedroom I shared with Na Rin unnie. "I'm going to bed, okay. Good night." I say with a smile.

"Good night Maknae." Xia unnie says with a soft smile.

"Night night, Cherry Pie." Joomi unnie says with a grin. I laugh softly.

"G'Night RyRy!" Minnie says. I laugh once again before looking towards Na Rin unnie.

"Good night, Cherry. I'll be there in a few minutes to make sure you are okay," she says with a motherly smile. "And to also give you your medicine." I groan.

"Aww man! I hate taking that medicine. It taste like !" I hiss, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Ow!" I exclaim when I feel someone's hand make contact with my mouth. I look up to see Xia unnie with a glare in her eyes.

"No cursing, Maknae." she hiss. My already big hazel green eyes becomes bigger as I slowly nod my head. Xia unnie smirks and pats my head before returning her seat. I hear my other unnies giggling. I blush. I turn on my heel slowly and walk into my bedroom. I change into my Jack Skellington PJs and lay down on my bed. A couple of minutes later, I hear the door open and Na Rin unnie enters. She smiles at me before walking to the bathroom. I flip to lay on my stomach, resting my head against my pillow. Minutes later, Na Rin unnie exits the bathroom and walks towards her bed in her blue PJs. She opens my bottle of medicine, pouring the irky orange liquid into a table spoon and holds it out to me.

"Say 'ahh'." she says with a angelic smile on her face. I groan into my pillow before sitting up and leaning over, taking the spoon into my mouth. I shiver as the bitter liquid slide down my throat and it takes every fiber in my body to not puke the nasty out. Once I shallowed every last bit of medicine, Na Rin unnie smiles. "There. Wasn't that bad." she says. I make a face.

"Of course it wasn't bad for you. You're not the one who's drinking that nasty ." I grumble, laying back down on my bed. Na Rin unnie sighs, standing from her bed and taps me on the mouth.

"Stop cursing. You don't want Xia to wushu your , do you?" she ask. I gulp, quickly shaking my head. Na Rin unnie smiles sweetly. "Good. Now go to sleep." she says, kissing my forehead. She tucks me in as if I am a five-year-old and turns off the light. I sigh, staring up at the ceiling while Na Rin unnie leaves the room to wash the spoon and to put my medicine into the fridge. I wait as sleep slowly begins to take over me. I yawn once before closing my eyes and falling asleep.