Cold, dark and wet. That's what the world looked like at that moment as a young woman slowly walked the street.

As she passed a street light, she looked down, the light seemingly bothering her slightly. Why? Because the world was cold, dark and wet to her then.

Rain was pouring from the sky, but she did not care for the rain. All she cared for was the confusion in her head.

Chaos. That's a better word for it. Everything was chaotic to her at that moment, yet she found some kind of strange peace as she walked the dark streets.

Perhaps it was because it felt like she was running away and never going back home. It was something she had considered in a moment of blind panic.

But when she came back down to earth, she realized it was impossible to run away. She was already too far in. Everything was already too much of a mess.

And she was stuck in that mess. Until the mess was cleaned. Though it seemed like it never would be. Not after what had happened.

The girl slowed her pace for a few steps before quickening it, heading towards the corner of the street.

As she turned the corner, her body collided with that of someone else. She stumbled but she didn't fall. The other person, a teenage girl, not one, but four, stood in front of her. The one she had bumped into had already opened to scold her, until she saw her face. The girl froze, but only for a second, before her face changed to an even more disgusted expression.

"Hey! You're Hyomin! How could you?! So what, I got in your way and now I have to be eliminated too?! " The girl's voice was slightly highpitched and filled with rage, perhaps it wasn't actually that highpitched when she wasn't upset, Hyomin didn't know, she simply stayed quiet.

"Oh so now I'm not worth your attention either?! You're disgusting! You're a waste of space! You should kill yourself!" The girl's words echoed through the dark streets before they were followed by a loud snapping noise.

That was the end of it. Hyomin, gripping her recently slapped cheek, turned around and ran. She didn't look where she was going. Why would she when her goal was to get lost so no one could find her ever again? Why would she want to go home if everything was waiting for her there yet again? She had to get out. 

Go. Anywhere. It didn't matter where or how long it'd take to get there. As long as she could be away from everything that was happening to her at that moment.

A short sweeping sound and then a splash. Hyomin had slipped as she turned a corner and fallen into a puddle. Of course. Because that's what her days had been like ever since everything went so terribly wrong. She didn't try to get up, instead she stayed still, staring at the dark water she was lying in.

Maybe she had deserved it? Maybe she did. After all, even though the thing people were accusing her off was a lie, there were other things they might find out about her. And if that happened, she was done for. Because no idol lives long after something like that comes out. Or well, no idol lives long after they come out. 

They had ways. They would find out, somehow. Or at least accuse her of it. And what was she going to do if they did accuse her? Lie and say it wasn't true? 

She couldn't. Not after the years of having to hide it and wanting to just tell people where her heart really was. If they asked, she would tell them. And she would get out of the wretched world she was stuck in. She would build a smaller existence, as a normal citizen. She didn't care anymore, as long as she could be with the one she loved. However, that was another problem. She was fairly certain the one she loved didn't love her. Why would she? She was simply dumb, weird, little Hyomin. Or the monster Hyomin as she had been called by multiple people because of the recent bully accusations. 

It hurt her that people believed she would act like that towards her fellow group member. She actually really liked her and they got along just fine. But 

even though there was no evidence, as soon as the word "bully" was mentioned, everyone went wild. It wasn't safe for Hyomin to go anywhere anymore without a disguise. And yet she did. Maybe she actually wanted to get caught. Because she wanted to explain what happened. But she wasn't allowed to. And it killed her.

And yet, even that couldn't live up to how much it killed her that her perfect life as a normal citizen, with the person she loved, was just a fairytale she wrote in her head. It would never become reality. It was fiction, as Hyomin would call it. Because why would someone like the girl she loved love her? 

Especially now. Especially after all of these bad things were said about her. After all, she wouldn't be able to tell truth from lies either. She'd probably believe the rumors. She was probably sitting at home, wondering why she was ever even friends with Hyomin.

Drops of liquid, falling into the puddle. Rain? No. Just Hyomin's pain. As she knew that no matter how much she wished for it and how long she would lie 

there on the ground, she wouldn't come.

"... H-Hyomin?" 

Her whole body tensed up. That voice. It couldn't be. Was she going mad? Was her brain playing tricks on her? Did she fall asleep and did her dreams provide her with a new chapter for her little fairytale? She couldn't bring herself to hope it was reality. And so, she stayed still.

"... Hyomin?! Are you okay?!" 

This time she was close. Very close. She had ran over to her and kneeled down. Turned Hyomin on her back and cupped her cheeks, her worrying eyes travelling over Hyomin's features, looking for any sign of pain, or perhaps signs of life, as Hyomin hadn't moved since she arrived.

"Hyomin?!" 

She screamed this time, her voice skipping, it seemed so strange to Hyomin. Why would she get so worried about her? Why would she scream when it's just her?

"Hyomin, please! ... Please..." 

The last part came out in a highpitched whisper, as if it was forced out of her lungs.

Hyomin's eyes opened. She wasn't sure why. And she wished it hadn't happened. As the sight was one she wished she never saw.

Short blonde hair, wet and messy, quivering lips and tears rolling down red cheeks.

"... Why are you here...?"

It came out in a raspy whisper. A question Hyomin was asking herself the whole time since she had heard the girl's voice.

"That doesn't matter! Why are you here on the ground? Are you hurt?" 

A worried response came from the girl. A small smile found it's way onto Hyomin's face. She couldn't help but feel happy that the girl was actually concerned about her well-being. It was rather... bittersweet. As she knew that if she really wasn't mad at Hyomin, she was worried because Hyomin was her friend.

"I slipped..."

"Why didn't you get up? Did you hurt anything?"

"I don't know..."

"Come on, you can't stay here, you'll catch a cold..."

Two strong arms lifted her off of the ground. She didn't understand why. But when she moved, trying to get out of the girl's grip, she only grabbed on tighter.

"Don't. I'll bring you home." 

And so, Hyomin stayed still as the girl carried her. It seemed a long trip. It probably wasn't, but Hyomin's awareness of time had disappeared a while ago.

The girl walked, carrying her, going into a building, not bothering to wait for the elevator, she simply went for the stairs. And eventually, they ended up in an apartment. It seemed vaguely familiar to Hyomin.

"Come on, let's get you a towel and some blankets. I could also look for some clothes. My size won't fit you, but I can try Sooyoung's? She's not around to get mad at me anyway." 

The girl said after she put Hyomin down on the couch, looking at her. She didn't move.

"... Okay..." 

Only after Hyomin muttered a reply did the girl move. She quickly walked around the apartment, going into a few rooms before coming back with a set of clothes, Pajamas, a towel and three blankets.

"Do you need help with your clothes?" The girl asked after Hyomin silently stared at everything she had brought.

Without answering, Hyomin reached over and grabbed the towel, slowly pulling it towards her before lightly drying her hair.

"... Do you want to talk about it, Hyomin?"

Hyomin froze. opened, but no sound came out. She wanted to tell her everything. How everything was lies. How much it stressed her. How much she wished to run away. And even how much she loved her. But instead, only tears came.

"... Sunny..."

A small mutter escaped her lips eventually, before the other girl rapidly approached her and hugged her tightly. Her warm embrace encircling Hyomin as she started sobbing softly.

"Shh... It's okay... You don't have to tell me what happened..." Sunny said, but Hyomin shook her head violently.

"It's not true... I never bullied Hwayoung... We never bullied her... It's all lies... but it hurts so much..."

"I know."

Sunny's response made Hyomin freeze again for a second or two.

"You're too kind to harm someone like that. I know." 

More tears.

"Oh no, don't cry, did I say something wrong?" The warm arms pulled her closer again as she was obviously worried if she had upset Hyomin.

"No... It's not that... It's... you... You're not supposed to be this nice to me..."

"What? Why not-?"

"Because if you keep being this nice to me I'll keep on falling in love with you..."

Silence.

"... I'm sorry... I never should've said that... I never should've felt it either... I understand if you hate-"

Silence, but for a different reason.

Eyes widened, cheeks tinted red and lips meeting the other's.

"... I never should've let you walk away without telling you what I felt. And... what I still feel."

Hyomin stared at her, the words entering her mind, her brain slowly processing the information it was receiving.

"It's not wrong. Don't you ever believe it's wrong to love someone. Especially not me because... I love you too." The last part was a whisper as Sunny leaned closer to Hyomin again, her lips hovering an inch from Hyomin's. As if she wasn't sure if she was allowed to kiss her.

"... Sunny!" The sudden shout startled the blonde, but before she could do much more than jump a little, Hyomin's arms wrapped around her neck and pulled her closer, closing the gap between their lips once again.

 

-The End-