From the last attack of the sasaeng fans, Nari received a grand total of one phone call from her father. Now, she sat around the dining table, but rather than eating, she gathered all the adults to give them an overview of what was to happen within the month. They all remained silent as Nari informed them that she would also be leaving SK for the time being, to return home, to go back pursuing music through making music videos for YongKi’s YouTube channel. She also aimed to apply for Producer positions in various music labels in the country. She was determined to continue her path of music, even if she had to do it alone. 
Her family understood and, as Nari expected, her father and Mary decided to remain in Korea for the time being, for the sake of her pregnancy. 
Nari understood and told them that if anything were to change, she’d be sure to let them know. Before they insisted that she stay for dinner, she excused herself and headed back to the apartment. 
When she arrived at her front door, she found Lee JongHyun sitting outside, waiting for her. She greeted him and proceeded to open the front door. However, he quickly swiped her hand from the keypad and turned her to look at him.
“You cannot leave, Nari-ah,” he told her, sternly looking into her eyes. She pushed his hands away from her shoulder and said, “The decision has already been made. I’m leaving by the end of the month. I just cant stay here any more!” Nari was aware that she was yelling, but she didn’t care. “Please, just leave.”
He pulled her towards him and embraced her. “I know you’re scared, but I can protect you. You never gave me the chance, but I’m begging you now, please give me a chance.” 
Nari sensed the eagerness in his voice, and she ignored her instincts to return the hug. She wanted to hug him back, but she no longer wanted to lead him on. She owed him that much; she just wanted him to forget her and move on. There was nothing left for her in Korea without her friends and she was not foolish enough to risk getting hurt again just because someone is nice enough to want to protect her. She could not allow herself to fall for that. She needed to leave. 
She pulled away from him and said, “It was a mistake to come here. I’m sorry I led you on, you deserve better.”
She moved to open the door again, and JongHyun didn’t move to stop her. He watched as she closed the door in his face before leaving the complex. 

Nari said goodnight to her members and retreated to her room, locking herself away from human contact. She just needed to keep quiet until her contract expired and news got out to the media outlets that YongKi would not be re-signing with FNC Entertainment. 

The days passed on and Nari limited her interactions with the outside world. She tried as best as she could to avoid leaving the apartment. Her Manager conveyed everything that was happening and the articles about her assault lost momentum. She was starting to regret leaving Korea, but she knew it was in her best interest. When her thoughts became really dark, she turned to her notebook, in which she wrote all of her songs. She began sketching melodies in the manuscript book and even made the effort to remove her guitar from its stand. She made the effort to create new material, hoping that she could produce them once she went solo. 
A week before their contract expired, Nari had received personal phone calls from other agencies, like YG and JYP, and she told them the same thing on every occasion: she would speak with her members and get back to them. 
However, she never did this. She knew it was now pointless to mention these calls to the other members as they were preparing to send out their applications to various US Universities for the next Fall. 
Every time she came out of her room, she saw at least one of her members on their laptops, with the page of a University on the screen. It just served as a reminder that their SK journey was ending and her dreams of making it in Korea with her friends were disappearing right before her eyes. Each time she saw them, she returned to her room, even more deflated that before.