Minho watched the girl cry besides him, her sobs quiet while the water driped from her chin.

Tears and more tears, tissues and more tissues, pain and more pain.

His heart was bleeding at the sight of the damaged girl. His hand slowly raised but stopped in mid-air. He wanted to touch her so bad, but frozed. His trembling hand slowly fell back down to his side. He was hopeless at the sight of her hunched torso and her face hidden with the long locks of extensions creating a curtain over her face.

"I can't do this anymore." She breathed in hard, her pale fingers dropping the wet tissues into the rest of the tissue pile. "What did I ever do for them to hate me?"

"They don't hate you." His soft whisper melodic against her cracking voice.

"They don't love me, Minho. Fans are against me." 

"That's because they don't understand. They don't know what's really happening and they  are making up false words. They don't know anything." 

Her whimper was all he heard and her knees went over the couch, her hands hugging her legs as if she was going to make her own shell. Minho could visibly see how shaken she was by the trembling arms and her body getting more and more fragile. She was letting her health go. 

"I can't do this anymore." Sulli repeated, finally pushing her hair away. 

His body felt as if piercing needles went into his skin at the sight of her blood-shot eyes. The makeup was ruined and the running mascara was the proof. Her sweet and angelic face, ruined in pain and the reality of life she didn't deserve to be treated with.

How much he wanted to sacrifice his soul to be suffering instead of her was a thing he was praying for but not answered. Sulli was a precious girl since young, not a girl who deserved the life she was thrown into. She was now bashed, criticized, and judged for small reasons. She was criticized for not smiling when the song's concept is dark, not bright and happy. She was bashed over her not being energetic. How can she when she's a 'mistake' for every single thing that she does? Her self-esteem is going down, and fast. She was in scandals about false dating rumors, and criticized over her attitude. Sulli doesn't deserve such things.

"You are a strong girl, Jinri." Minho whispered.

Sulli only remained in her crying position over the mirror and Minho knew the outcome of this. She wasn't going to perform today like the rest of the week. Even if he was the MC of Music Core, she wasn't going to go on stage. It was almost final by the way she looked.

"I'm not. I'm a human, but I'm treated like a robot." Minho finally allowed his pride to vanish. Her mourning was growing, and so was his heart. He couldn't handle it anymore, and his body reached for her. His arms wrapped over her fragile form while bringing her into him.

"You don't deserve this."

"I don't need to be given pity, Oppa." She aimed those words towards him as she tried to pull away, but Minho was strong enough to hold her in him. She shedded tears to his red shirt and he knew he would have to change later for the cameras. 

And still, he could only chuckle with a shake of his head. "I'm not giving you pity, I'm giving you my affection."

"Affection?"

"Can't you see that I like you?" He pulled away, brushing away the tears even if they wouldn't stop. "I like you so much, it hurts. Seeing you like this is a funeral for me." 

She was left speechless, no words to say at all. Her eyes landed on him, seeing the honesty in them. It was too much, it was overwhelming. She was h