Narrator's POV

"-my poor baby sister" Mark frowned spoiling the girl with her favorite- well everything. They were watching her favorite movie, he cooked her favorite meal, he even convinced Youngjae to let her be inseparable with Coco since dogs were favorite animal.

"how come you don't treat us like this, hyung?" Yugyeom asked

"you're not hurt right now" Mark said patting Vi's head "and you're not my baby sister"

"you never know that" Jackson scoffed turning around

"noona, you've been here for 4 days already" Bambam said "no news from your friends?"

"not that I've checked" Vi answered looking at her phone, just a few messages from Joshua, Sori, XiaoMei, S.Coups, and Hoshi.

"what are you planning on doing Vi-ya?" Jr asked curiously, sitting next to her on the couch

"molla oppa" she sighed and turned to Mark "ge, I didn't realize how much this could actually affect me"

"what do you mean, Princess?" Mark asked

She looked down, petting Coco before answering him in English "lately, all I want to do is go home and see mommy and daddy. I don't even have the urge to practice. I feel like I'm losing the willpower to continue training"

"but is it what you want?" Jackson asked and she shrugged

"I don't know, I've always loved to perform and I mean, I still love it. But with what happened lately, it's starting to hurt" she said

"maybe a break is what you need" Mark said "I'm sure mom and dad would gladly take you back"

"but I don't want to go back forever" Vi protested

"of course not forever, Vi-ya" JB said

"maybe just a month or two" Youngjae suggested

"I'll call them" Mark said standing up "guys, make sure she finishes this otherwise she won't eat"

"I'll make sure, hyung" Jr said waving him away

"it's such a waste if you throw all your hard work away Vi-ya" JB said joining them "You're such a talented girl"

"well, happens sometimes oppa" she said

"I wanna beat your friends up" Bambam said putting his fist in his hand

"I'll join you" Yugyeom said as Jr spoon fed her

"you guys are sweet, but it's okay. I can beat them up by myself" Vi chewed

"I talked to mom and dad" Mark said coming back "they're more than happy to have you come back, but they said you have to talk to your CEO first"

Vi nodded "I'll do that now"

"want us to go with you?" Jackson asked

"ani oppa, you guys will only attract attention" she answered

"well what about me? I'm your brother" Mark said

She shook her head "oppa, let me do this by myself for once"

He knew there was no point in fighting her do he nodded, letting her go. The girl took a cab to the company building, going up to talk to the CEO.

"Vivian, come in come in" the CEO said warmly. He was a man in his mid 30s, tall with glasses. He came off stoic and harsh, but he was usually very gentle - at least to Epitome he was. "what brings you here today, my dear?"

"depyeonim" she said playing with her hands "may I request a leave?"

He looked at her semi-confused "a leave? What do you mean?"

"it is for personal problems sir, may I go back home for a month and decide if I permanently want to quit or not" she explained bluntly

The man sat at his desk, hands clasped together, thinking "I don't want to let you go Vivian, you are such a talent and a vital member to Epitome"

"jebal-yo depyeonim" she said bowing her head

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke "very well, you may take a leave for a month. I hope you know that if you do come back, we will very much welcome you, but you will be behind in Epitome's training. Are you sure about this?"

"deh, kamsahamnida." Vi said

"I hope you come back to us Vivian" the CEO said wishing her farewell. On the way out of the company, she ran into the 3 unit leaders of Seventeen: S.Coups, Hoshi, and Woozi.

"hey sweetie" Hoshi said remember the facade they have in front of Woozi. S.Coups rolled his eyes at their amusing cover "what are you doing here?"

"talking to the depyeonim" she said avoiding Woozi's eyes. The girl looked down and hugged S.Coups "I'll miss you oppa"

"uh same?" he said confused "what's this about Viv-ya?"

She said nothing and hugged Hoshi next, whispering "I'm leaving tomorrow, good luck with Yumi. Tell the others I said goodbye"

"take care of yourself" he frowned sadly, hugging her tightly "come back"

"maybe. I'll text you more about it later" she answered pulling away. Vi looked at Woozi, putting a hand on his arm for a second, before removing it and exiting the building. She went back to GOT7's dorm and prepared for her flight the next morning.

"what was that?" S.Coups asked Hoshi as they went back to the dorm "what did Viv say to you?"

"it's nothing" Hoshi said

"Kwon Soonyoung, that is the biggest bull I've ever heard from you" S.Coups said

"what's happening?" Vernon asked as they returned

"we ran into Viv at the company, she was talking to the depyeonim" S.Coups answered "before she left she said she would miss me so I'm like same"

"why would she miss you? it's not like noona's going anywhere" DK said

"molla, that's why. She said something to Soonyoung too" S.Coups said. Hoshi said nothing and went to his bed, putting the covers over him.

The next morning, Vi was at the airport saying goodbye to GOT7 in their car as they had a schedule to attend

"good luck noona" Bambam frowned wishing her goodbye

"if you want us to rough up someone" Yugyeom said hugging her next "just give us a call"

"I really hope you come back Vi-ya" Youngjae smiled sadly

"we'll miss you Vi" Jackson said almost choking her with his hug

"take care of yourself oh?" Jr said motherly, patting her head before giving her a hug

"don't give up on your dreams Vi-ya, when you're ready it'll come back to you" JB said wisely, hugging her next

She nodded and turned to her brother, who was silent at first before hugging her and kissing her crown "call me when you land. Eat on the plane, always take your medicine, don't get sick, remember all your stuff, when you get back home rest a ton and just relax with the fam. Take care Princess, I love you"

"I love you too ge" Vi smiled at him before turning to all of GOT7 "thank you for letting me stay with you, good luck for your schedules, take care you guys"

"go Vi-ya, before Mark hyung changes his mind about letting you go" Jr joked, patting her head again. She chuckled, waving bye, and went inside to security. While waiting for her flight, she received a call from Sori.

"yeobosayo?" Vi answered

"Vivi, please tell me it isn't true" Sori said desperately. Vi guessed that they found out from Hoshi, but she wasn't upset "you can't leave. Why are you leaving? Vivi!"

"I'm sorry unnie" Vi sighed "but I need a break"

"we can't do this without you, unnie" Ayana said. From the sounds of it, she's been crying. There was ruffling and Joshua took the phone

"why didn't you tell us?" he asked gently

"because I wanted to do it quietly. Both of my best friends hate me and it wasn't like I was much of a difference anyway" she said a tad bitter

"noona, you're so important to us" Vernon defended "you're like our family. Yumi noona and Jihoon hyung don't hate you"

"I appreciate it Hansol-ah, but I can't believe that" she said and heard the announcement of her flight "I need to go"

"wait, where are you going?" Wonwoo asked

"here, there, somewhere" she answered

"Vivi, please don't go, it won't be the same without you" XiaoMei pleaded her

"unnie, I'm sorry. I've been so hurt these past few weeks and I don't want to bring any of you behind, so I'm leaving" Vi said, finding it harder to speak

"but we'll be so behind because you're leaving!" Lihua shouted "unnie please!"

Vi sighed, hearing that the boarding was about to start "I love you guys, Yumi-ah..I'm sorry. Jihoon-ah, I hope you have...a great life with Aeji. I'll miss you guys so much and I'm sorry for leaving like this. Soonyoung-ah, when the time comes, you know what to do. I have to go"

With that she hung up, leaving the 19 teenagers, sitting in silence.

"I did a ty thing" Yumi said guiltily, finally breaking down "I'm terrible, I can't believe I said all those things, and to my best friend...just because I was upset about you"

"in my defense, I didn't know you liked me and vice versa" Hoshi whispered hugging Yumi in hopes to comfort her.

S.Coups cleared his throat and faked a smile "hey..girls it's okay. We can fix things without Viv. Hoshi already finished the choreo and he can relay the girl part-"

"shut up" XiaoMei said sharply "don't try and act okay because we all know you were pretty close to Vivi too"

"Xei" Sori said sternly "it's okay...I have a way to figure out what's going on with her"

"what do you mean?" Seungkwan asked

DK picked up her drift and gasped "noona, your boyfriend"

***

"hey kiddo" Joey grinned

"kiddo? I'm 17 minutes younger than you" Vi said lightly hitting him. She laughed, relieved to be back home and away from all the conflict in Korea "I missed you Joe"

"did you really?" he teased getting her bag

"hey! I haven't seen you in years and you're still being mean to me!" Vi whined

"you're my twin sister, of course I'll be mean to you" Joey chuckled messing up her hair

"Mark ge isn't mean to me" she defended

"that's because ge completely spoils you" Joey said "even more than mom and dad"

"stop annoying your sister, Joey" a man said. Vi turned around and gave him a hug "welcome home Vivian"

"glad to be home daddy" she said. The three of them entered the car and made their way home from LAX airport

"did you only have a backpack?" Joey asked

"it was a sudden thing Joe" she answered

"are you hungry Vivian?" her father asked

"not really" Vi said

"but I'm hungry" Joey said "can we get some In'n'Out?"

"actually some In'n'Out sounds good" Vi answered

"In'n'Out it is" he chuckled taking a turn

"copycat" Joey commented

"if I didn't say anything, daddy wouldn't have turned so you're welcome" she said smartly

"so why are you back? and Mark isn't?" Joey asked

"ge has schedules with GOT7. Me...I needed a break" she said "stress and stuff"

"aww my poor twin" he cooed pinching her cheek "you know what we should do tonight? party"

"I'll have a pain-in-the- jetlag" Vi excused

"not if I keep you awake" Joey said "come on Vi, it'll be fun. Bond with your twin, eh?"

"just do it Vivian to shut him up" their father said making her laugh and him complain. She missed her family, a lot.

***

It's been about two weeks since Vi arrived in LA. She was honestly much happier. She met up with old friends, bonded with her family, did lots of things in LA she couldn't do as a kid. She was relaxed and at times completely forgot about what happened just a few weeks before, but she definitely missed performing and she missed her friends back in Korea. She hasn't talked to them since landing, and maybe that was for the best, but Vi knows that it's killing her not being able to talk to them. Right now, she was at the gym with some of her old cheerleader friends, they were doing stunts and were more than happy to let her join them

"man you looked swamped when we first saw you Vivian" one girl said. There were 7 of them in total

"yeah, guess being in Korea totally drained you?" another asked

"more like the people" Vi answered

"hold on, are you staying here for sure?" one asked

"I don't know, maybe?" she said "I have 2 more weeks to decide if I wanna stay here and live a normal life, giving up my dream or let it live and go back to all the problems I had there"

"well you know Vivian, problems will never get solved unless you face them" a girl pointed out

"you idiot, that's not what we're supposed to be telling her" another said "no one asked you Einstein"

"just because I'm smarter than you doesn't mean you have to be a about it" the girl retorted "I was trying to help"

"woah, girls chill" Vi said trying to stop them "let's run the drills again, I'm starting to get cooled off"

After their little stunt practice, Vi received a call from Dino. Confused, she excused herself and answered it. He sounded afraid "noona.."

"Chan-ah, what's wrong? It's like 2 am there" she said

"it's Jihoon hyung" he said "please come back noona, he's starting to scare me"

"Chan-ah, Jihoon's like a rabbit. Just crack him" she said

"maybe to you, noona. But please, he's becoming more aggressive and angry. Hyung keeps locking himself in the studio. He doesn't even talk to us that much anymore" Dino said

"but why are you asking me? Ask Aeji to fix it" she said

"noona, his work of the collaboration is done. They haven't met up in 3 days" Dino said "please noona, I'm afraid hyung will die or something"

"Chan-ah, he's fine. He will be fine. Ask Seungcheol oppa to talk to him or something." Vi said

Dino sighed "why can't you come back? I thought you cared about us"

"I do Chan-ah, I care about all of you" Vi said "but I need time"

"everything's so different. Everyone's so different. It's like there's a hole in our lives" he said sadly

"I'm sorry Chan-ah, I truly am. But if I do stay here forever, you guys will get over the fact that I left. Every wound heals eventually" Vi said trying to be positive. She could hear him sniffling on the other side "please don't cry Chan-ah. It hurts me to hear you like this"

"noona, you're the only one that can fix all our wounds right now" he said before the line disconnected. She sighed in frustrated, putting her hands through her hair

one of the girls noticed "are you okay Vivian?"

"this decision will be harder than I thought" Vi said "but that, let's get ready for that beach party"

***

"nothing huh?" Mingyu asked the maknae during breakfast at the practice room

"ani hyung" Dino answered putting the phone down next to the speaker

"do you think Viv will actually come back?" Junghan asked

"she has to" Dino said "noona has to"

"I'm not so sure" Jun said "of course I want her to...but right now she seems firm about staying where she is"

"like look at this" The8 agreed showing them his iPad. It was a new Instagram post of Vi's. She was with a group of friends at the beach, being lifted by two guys, a smile on her face

"beach squad comes in clutch" Vernon read and translated

"noona looks happy" DK said

"Soonyoung-ah, you're back" Wonwoo greeted the incoming boy

"How was your date with Yumi noona?" Seungkwan asked

"how are the rest of the girls?" Joshua asked coming in the practice room

"it was good" Hoshi answered simply "I told them something that Viv trusted me with and I think it's time you guys heard too. Since, Sori noona's boyfriend won't crack"

"what's happening?" S.Coups asked coming in

"hyung sit down" Hoshi said and the 11 gathered around in the middle of the floor "Jihoon-ie neun?"

"where else would he be" Mingyu said "His studio"

"I'll get him" Hoshi said leaving the practice room to go to Woozi's studio. He knocked on the door "Jihoon-ah, can you come to the practice room? We're gonna talk. It's important"

"I'm busy" Woozi said harshly

"it's about Viv" Hoshi brought up. He waited a minute

"go away" Woozi said quietly. Sighing, Hoshi went back to the practice room.

"no luck, huh?" Jun asked as he returned. Hoshi shook his head

"this isn't good because he's the one that needs to understand this the most" Hoshi answered "whatever, when Jihoon wants to listen, he will"

"so what's wrong?" Joshua asked

"Aeji has been tormenting Viv, telling her to go away from Jihoon, calling her names, and harassing her even though she's not even touching her" Hoshi said

"how is that possible?" Seungkwan asked

Hoshi thought for a minute on how he was supposed to go by this "when Viv was young she was almost "

"almost?" DK asked shocked

"before it could happen, her brother saved her" Hoshi answered "the was using a feather pen on Viv hence how she's scarred of them ever since. Aeji likes using a feather pen around Viv and only around her. She's been threatening Viv about it and using it against her."

"oh my God" Joshua said horrified

"I don't know what bull she's been telling Jihoon, but apparently it's big enough that he chose her over his own best friend" Hoshi said "do you know how heartbroken she is because of him? it didn't help that Yumi got mad at her either"

"where is she now?" Junghan asked

"LA" Hoshi said "she'll be staying there for a month with her parents. If she wants to come back after a month, she will. If not...then she'll quit and stay there forever"

What the boys didn't know is that Woozi was listening to them all along. He cursed himself of how stupid he was being, realizing how much more he missed Vi now that she was gone and now that he knew the reason why. He was going to make this up to her, for sure.

A/N
[7-8-15]
many hellos~ tbh idk what to say rn, I'm still jet lag af and I'm honestly yawning rn, but it's only 10 am and I can't sleep. LoL my summer pretty's boring right now, ugh I miss people! I'm legit so lonely *cries*

I'm gonna go watch some Seventeen now lmao