"You'll be the anchor that keeps my feet on the ground, and I'll be the wings that'll keep your head in the clouds."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chaeyeon could almost literally feel the music currently blasting out of the speakers taking her to a whole different place. She and the rest of DIA were suddenly no longer in a tiny dance studio at the heart of Cheongdam-dong, but on a stage somewhere surrounded by deafening fanchants and blinding lightsticks. They’ve danced to Mr. Potter probably a million times by now but it never gets old for Chaeyeon. No matter how beat up her body felt or how exhausted they were, whenever they got into formation DIA felt invincible. Untouchable even. It was the best feeling in the world.

Which was also why when the music was suddenly cut off, Chaeyeon felt herself plummet back into reality with an unceremonious crash.

“Take 5 everyone.”

Six pairs of eyes snapped to the doorway of the practice studio where their manager stood, one finger still pressed onto the pause button of their sound system.

Confused and panting, the girls just nodded and broke out of formation. Some walked towards the water cooler in the corner for a drink while others such as Chaeyeon and Eunchae sank to the floor in exhaustion as the adrenaline slowly left their veins. Chaeyeon didn’t really appreciate being interrupted mid-practice because once her body was in the zone, she was all in. Fully ready to dance and sing and trip and fall for hours on end but interruptions just allowed her to pause, and pausing usually reminded her how overworked her body was. It was always harder to start back up after a break.

“Chaeyeon.”

Ah. So she was the reason their practice session was being interrupted.

Then again, it’s happened so often now she probably should have guessed.

“Yes oppa?” The pale girl replied, looking up at her manager from her seated position on the floor.

“Take a moment to freshen up and then head on over to the 4^th floor. The director would like a word with you.”

“Would you happen to know if it’s a good word or a bad word?”

“He didn’t sound upset when he asked me to call you, although that could always be subject to change.”

That was fair enough she supposed. At least she is semi-aware of what to expect when she enters the director’s office later. Chaeyeon has been careful, making extra effort to avoid giving the tabloids any reason to spread her face between their pages. She’s been a good idol and an exemplary rolemodel for her younger fans, so by right there shouldn’t be any reason for her to be scolded today. Of course, the director can be unreasonable at times, and she really hopes that right now isn’t one of those times. She was exhausted, which meant that she really wasn’t in the mental state to handle being lectured.

“I’ll be right there.” Chaeyeon replied in as calm of a tone as she could. As much as she did not appreciate the interruption, there was no sense in her shooting the messenger. Her manager was just doing his job, and now it was time for her to do hers.

Her manager nodded, and sauntered away towards the water cooler for a drink of his own. He’s been having it rough too. The idols weren’t the only ones who don’t get any sleep during concert preparations. Chaeyeon probably owes a significant amount of her success to Yoon-oppa’s efforts and impressive driving skills, and thinks maybe she should buy him dinner or something one of these days. She should buy them all dinner as a matter of fact, for filling up her space during those times she has been absent from group activities due to her other schedules.

Yebin hands her a small towel to wipe her sweat off and Chaeyeon smiles gratefully at her fellow member. With all the favoritism blatantly going on, her members never once allowed her to feel guilty about it. Chaeyeon’s popularity meant DIA’s popularity of course, but it wouldn’t hurt to give the other members solo schedules once in awhile would it? Chaeyeon would welcome it honestly. It’ll give her more time to rest her bones.

It took more effort than it should have for Chaeyeon to get up from her seated position on the floor, and with a small smile and a nod directed to the rest of her members she leaves the practice room to take the elevator to the 4^th floor where her company director is waiting for her.

The double doors that led to the director’s office felt a tad bit heavier today than they usually did. Maybe Chaeyeon was just weak from malnourishment. Maybe a part of her somehow knew the answer to the question she had asked her manager earlier.

“Sajangnim, you called for me?” Chaeyeon called out as soon as she opened the door. Mr. Kim looked up from his papers and greeted her with a pleasant smile. A bit too pleasant if Chaeyeon would allow herself to overthink, but she should probably just take this meeting in stride. It’s barely been 5 seconds since she’s stepped into the office and she’s already jumping to conclusions.

“Ahhh yes! Chaeyeon! Come in, come in! Take a seat.” Chaeyeon does just that, pulling up one of the plush armchairs that stood facing Mr. Kim’s intricately carved and well-polished desk. Director Kim is a tall man in his mid-fifties, with hair dyed jet black in an attempt to appear younger than his age and he had eyes sharper than anyone else Chaeyeon knew.

Chaeyeon could see him as a father figure, if she squints and angles her head just right. He’s definitely not unkind, but it’s usually fairly obvious that in a matter of money versus happiness, he would much rather cry in a luxury yacht. Which was also how he managed the idols under him.

“I trust everything has been well?” Mr. Kim asked as he carefully arranged the papers he had been reading into a neat pile, placing them in the centre of his equally as immaculate table. Everything had it’s place in his office. From the stapler at the far corner of his desk to the idol sitting meekly across from him.

“Can’t complain sir. Preparations for our Fan Concert has been tiring, but in a good way.”

Mr. Kim nods at her answer before leaning forward slightly, eyes cold as steel looking directly into Chaeyeon’s. “Listen Chaeyeon. Today is a particularly busy day for me, so would you mind if I cut straight to the point?”

“By all means sir.” This was good for her too. They have known each other for too long to dawdle and waste time with pointless pleasantries. Chaeyeon knew he wouldn’t call her out of practice just to talk about the weather.

“I trust you know what schedule you have tomorrow evening yes?”

“Are you talking about the Happy Together shoot sir?”

“Yes exactly that. In regards to that, the people over at KBS have sent over a list of potential questions that they might ask tomorrow for screening. Take a look.”

Mr. Kim gestures over to the pile of papers that he had been reading earlier, and Chaeyeon picks them up carefully, not wanting to make a mess of his office. Screening questions was a common practice as most interviews would like her to be prepared and not get caught off guard with an unexpected question. She’s had to deflect a few ridiculous questions in the past with a shy chuckle and a blush on her cheeks, but skimming through the sheet of papers in front of her Chaeyeon couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Just standard fair stuff that she could probably answer half-asleep. Whatever it was Mr. Kim wanted her to see, she couldn’t find it.

“Doesn’t seem like anything I haven’t answered before sir. Is there a problem?”

“Yes, there is. Question number 17 could prove to be….troublesome.”

Chaeyeon skims the pages until she finds question number 17. ‘Were you popular in highschool?’ Chaeyeon reads the question multiple times, flipping it around and tossing it about in her brain. She still couldn’t find the problem. Was this question really worth interrupting her practice session?

“How so sir? Can’t I just answer with a truthful ‘Yes’?” Chaeyeon asked tentatively. She was aware that she was quite well known in school, the result of coming from a small town where everyone knew each other and dating one infamous Ki Heehyun. Mr. Kim however, didn’t seem impressed with her answer.

“You could….but the problem lies in the show’s hosting style, more specifically Yoo Jae Suk’s. I’ve known him for many years, and I’m confident he’ll use that question to somehow find out if you’ve ever been in a relationship before. He’s a clever one. Should that situation arise, do you know your answer to it?”

Chaeyeon’s eyebrows furrowed, not quite sure what answer he was expecting of her. “….Yes I have…sir?”

“That won’t do, Chaeyeon.”

Oh. Wrong guess.

“The answer is no. The answer to these sorts of questions is always a resounding NO. You are Jung Chaeyeon, worshipped by teenage boys as the purest thing alive since God created doves and munchkin cats. If word gets out that you’ve been in a relationship before, interest in you might plummet as you’ve been…to put it crudely touched before. Tainted by another.”

Tainted. Tainted. To have been loved in this industry is to be tainted. Chaeyeon wasn’t sure if she was more upset with the terminology, or the truth behind it.

“So you want me to lie?” Chaeyeon asked after a brief pause, finally understanding the purpose as to why she was called into this office in the first place. Her company wanted to make sure their little golden goose did not slip up. Standard procedure. She’s lied about other things before for the sake of maintaining her image, this should be no different.

She watched the corner of Mr.Kim’s lips tug into a small smile of satisfaction. Happy, that his little doll was playing his game. “Yes. That is exactly what I want you to do. You’ve been in this industry long enough to know how the game works.”

She has, and she does. Her beauty was one that stood out even in an industry filled with beautiful people, which was a blessing and a curse. All Chaeyeon wanted to do was sing, not get involved in this backstage, behind-the-scenes political bull. She had been thankful that her company had enough decency to not her out to some network executive in exchange for favours, but this… lying about this was something that she could not do. Lying about her was pushing a boundary that Chaeyeon had not realized she had set.

“I refuse.”

Mr. Kim looked taken aback, either by her sudden insubordination or her lack of honorific. “I beg your pardon?” He managed to sputter out in his surprise.

“I said I refuse.” Chaeyeon repeated with a bit more confidence. “I refuse to pretend that I’ve never been in a relationship before, because that is a blatant disrespect to Heehyun-unnie and everything she’s done for me. I can’t just pretend that our relationship never existed! She’s…She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me! What about my feelings sajangnim? Doesn’t my feelings on the matter mean anything?”

“This is a business, Jung Chaeyeon. Your feelings can’t make a profit! The best thing that’s ever happened to you?! Don’t make me laugh! Better than ALL THIS?? Worldwide phenomenon, award winning actress, multi-millionaire by 19, is she better than all these things you’ve accomplished since you broke up with her?! Better than all these things you’ve managed to accompli—What this company has helped you accomplish since you left her and that small town of yours behind?”

Chaeyeon stayed mum at that. There really wasn’t much she could say to refute what her director had said because she did indeed leave Heehyun behind for this life. She had chosen to become an idol and she had literally signed her past life away in black and white on a piece of paper tucked away somewhere in Mr. Kim’s safe. Wasn’t this all par for the course?

“Look Chaeyeon.” Mr. Kim started, realizing that his precious idol wasn’t going to retaliate. “You see, imagine if word gets out that you’ve been in a relationship before. Wouldn’t that instill a bit of curiosity in the netizens? Wouldn’t they feel intrigued to see who this lucky person could be? And when they do some digging and find out—Oh believe me they WILL find out—that the person you dated was actually a girl, how do you think they would react? It’s actually a wonder that news hasn’t gotten out already, since it was pretty common knowledge in your town who you were dating. Never underestimate the loyalty of small-town folk, I guess. They must have all kept the secret so that their greatest export doesn’t mess up.”

Chaeyeon nodded slowly, letting his words sink in. She didn’t like it. She didn’t like what he was saying one bit, but maybe it was for the best. Maybe she could play dumb for just one, brief, stupid question.

“Are you going to mess up Chaeyeon? Are you going to ruin your future, the future of your groupmates, for some girl you dated four years ago?”

“I-I…..I think….” Chaeyeon couldn’t seem to complete her sentence. The room suddenly seemed to suffocate her, and the air tasted vile. Everything in her felt vile.

“When tomorrow evening comes Chaeyeon, I trust you’ll find the answer to that question. And for your sake, I hope it is the right one.” Mr. Kim finished, not waiting for her to finish voicing out whatever it is she was thinking. He wasn’t giving her an option in the matter.

“You may leave.”

Chaeyeon did a minute tilt of her head which could barely pass as a nod before getting up and turning to leave the office, a jumble of thoughts and a whirlwind of emotions wrecking her.

***************************************************************

Heehyun couldn’t remember the last time she sat down today. It was a particularly busy day at the shop and she and her small crew had been on their feet serving customers since they opened shop at 9am. She had tried to keep the number of her employees to a bare minimum so that they could be a more cohesive and effective unit, but as she saw the fourth tour bus today park itself across her shop she figured that maybe it was finally time to print out one of those “Help Wanted” signs.

As another customer came up to the counter to complain about "not having enough rainbow sprinkles" on her banana and toffee sundae and having to prevent Minkyeong (for the third time that day) from punching said customer in the face, Heehyun also figured that maybe she should add some bright neon lights to that afore-mentioned "Help Wanted" sign. The sooner they get help the better.

“I swear if I have to describe how ‘Nayoung’s Dumb Face’ tastes like to ONE more tourist that doesn’t speak Korean I’m going to throw something heavy at you unnie.” Minkyeong hissed at her senior coworker who guffawed in the corner at the mention of her latest concoction.

“That’s why we don’t explain. We just shove a spoon into their faces to taste test.” Taehyung interjected with a bored drawl, efficiently scooping up dollops of ice cream like the trained professional he is.

“Taehyung dont be rude. We dont shove things into people's mouths unless we have their consent. Learned that the hard way.” Eunwoo replied distractedly, muttering the last line.

“I don't want to know but at the same time, I do.”

“Listen, high school was a weird time for me.”

Heehyun was about to remind Eunwoo that they had children around so she should age-appropriate whatever story she was about to tell when the familiar chime of the front door opening cut her off. Preparing to face another onslaught of Chinese tourists that asked too many questions in broken English (Heehyun's English was pretty bad. Eunwoo's was atrocious. Ironically enough, Minky's was near impeccable), Heehyun looked up and instead saw a gaggle of very familiar faces entering her store, some she hadn't seen in years.

"Caaaathyyy where's our favourite deeeemonn~" Sejeong sang obnoxiously as she walked in, ignoring the strange looks the other patrons were throwing at her.

They were still absolutely embarrassing it would seem. The lot of them hadn’t even fully stepped into the store before they had already drawn everyone’s attention towards themselves. "Hey guys could you please not cause a scene in my shop? We’ve got a pretty busy day—“

“PINKY BABYYYY~!!”

Bloody hell how did Eunwoo get there so fas—Is she...is she flying through the air...?

 “ARCKK!”

Eunwoo had somehow managed to cross the distance from behind the counter all the way to the front door in a matter of microseconds to get to Jieqiong, only to get swatted out of the air in mid-hug attempt by an annoyed-looking Im Nayoung.

“Heehyun, you have a pest infestation. You should get the exterminators in here.” Nayoung stated flatly, pointing to the crumpled heap on the floor that is (was) Eunwoo. Did she...did she just swat Eunwoo out of the air with a rolled up magazine?! Of all things?!

“No, uh…I think you managed to deal with the problem." Heehyun dared a brief glance at her assistant manager's twitching body on the floor before deciding it was too sad a sight for her to stomach. "Yeap. You uh…just killed my best employee. Kinda short on employees these days. Would appreciate if you um...didn't do that."

“Unnie WhAT AboUT mE?!”

“What about you Minky?"

"Aren't I one of your best employees?"

"If either Eunwoo or Taehyung suddenly died, I guess you would be the bes—put down that knife this second Minky!"

"Oh it's okay. Living was starting to be a chore anyways." Taehyung drawled on again, somehow being able to serve 3 customers simultaneously while looking bored out of his mind.

“So, to what do I owe this pleasure? Y’all back here for a reason?” Heehyun finally turned to her friends after preventing Minkyeong from forcefully becoming the shop's best employee. It’s been awhile since she’s last seen them (her personal vendetta against Seoul being one of the chief reasons) and it felt slightly odd to see the whole group together under one roof. Odd in the best of ways. She absolutely missed these bastards.

Instead of a straight answer though, all Heehyun got in response was her friends exchanging a look that she couldn't seem to decipher, a few giggles and shrugs as well as Jieqiong glaring daggers at her. What was that about? “Isn’t it amazing how well I know our Cathy Ki, resident Demon of the Living-Land?” Doyeon chirped, -eating grin plastered on her face.

Jieqiong aimed her glare at Doyeon, obviously unhappy about something. "Pfft. Proves nothing. Stop acting like you knew this would happen, and Cathy you can stop acting like you forgot too.”

7 pairs of eyes focused on her, and Heehyun cursed her horrible memory and lagging braincells. It was as if she was at the final round of a quiz show that she didn't study for and didn't even know what the prize was. Stall for time Heehyun, stall for time!

“…Aha! You caught me! Of course I was just PRETENDING to forget! Of course I didn’t! I knew ALL ALONG why y’all are back here! Yup! Marked it on my calendar too! I shall…uh….drop the act now…”

“Really?” Doyeon asked, sounding rightfully unconvinced. Heehyun had absolutely NO CLUE what she was supposed to remember but it must be something huge if it involved getting everyone back home.

“Yes! I mean…how could I…forget that—uh—Sejeong’s hamster is getting married tomorrow! Wow! Didn’t slip my mind at all!”

“Wow Cathy. Sejeong’s hamster died last year. You were at the funeral. In fact, I think you were the one that accidentally stepped on it in the first place.” Yeonjung tutted, shaking her head while Sejeong could be heard wailing in the background.

(“Ki you MONSTER!!” - Sejeong Kim, 21, former hamster owner.)

“C'moooon Cathy.” Chungha spoke up, looking like she hadn’t given up hope on Heehyun just yet. Heehyun always appreciated Chungha’s blind faith in her, bless that adorable dancer’s soul. Being one of the only sane friends Heehyun has left in her life, she often wondered when Chungha would get with the program and realize that betting on Heehyun to remember anything of importance was a bad decision. Chungha still tried though. By gosh did she try.

“The gathering we planned? TV at Dani’s house? Does that ring any bells Cathy?” Chungha continued, while Doyeon started sniggering in the corner.

TV? How was Heehyun supposed to know what was on TV? She’s been so busy with the school holidays bringing customers into her shop. Who has time to watch TV when all her time has been spent dealing with children, grumpy parents, crying children, screaming children, crying parents, and a combination of all of the above that she literally hasn’t left her office in the last 2 days. Do they know how uncomfortable the couch in her office is? It was totally bad for her spine alignment. Keep it up for a few more nights and she’ll have a posture as bad as Sohye—

Oh.

Ohhh.

Sohye.

Riiiight. She remembers now. They were here because of Sohye.

Everyone could practically see the moment the lightbulb in Heehyun's head turned itself on. It was like somebody switching on the lights in a long abandoned house. It was blatant, so was the fact that Heehyun indeed had absolutely no idea what they were talking about all this while.

"Alright. She forgot. Dammit. Here. I hope you choke on the marinated chicken feet you’re going to buy with this.” Jieqiong growled, slapping a wad of cash into Doyeon's waiting palm as the latter grinned triumphantly.

So they placed bets. Heehyun snorted as she saw Nayoung patting her dejected girlfriend's shoulder. The Chinese girl should've known better. Heehyun would've bet against herself too.

“Why don't all of you help yourself to some ice cream, and I'll be right with you in a sec? Minky, theirs is on the house." Heehyun called out and Minkyeong gave her boss a springy salute in response. It was another busy day though, and Heehyun couldn't seem to find a spot in her shop that could seat this many people. "Gonna have to wait to get a seat though, it looks like the tables are all full. Unless y'all wanna have it to go and I can meet you at Dani's?"

“Nah, we already came all this way. I think this couple right here is just about ready to leave.” Nayoung nonchalantly stated, and sure enough the couple hurriedly got off their seats and nearly scrambled out the front door. Heehyun was actually quite sure that the couple had just only sat down, but all it took was Nayoung giving one of her signature cold stares while casually swinging around her rolled up magazine that still had bits of Eunwoo on it to chase them away.

Heehyun could do nothing but sigh as she watched two of her paying customers run away into the distance. Wasn't Nayoung a prefect in highschool? It was actually appalling how low the (often times) disciplined girl would go if the situation benefited her. It was moments like these that reminded Heehyun how similar Nayoung was to her, and a small part of her actually felt proud of that.

"Y’know I should probably get mad at you for chasing away my customers Nayoung, but it gives me a reason to sit down so I’ll—Oooooohhhthatsgood—let it slide this time.” Heehyun let out a moan of satisfaction as she plopped herself down onto a chair.

Heaven. Heehyun's legs were in heaven. Absolute bliss. What a joy to be able to sit down after standing up and running around for hours on end. She could practically feel Minky's jealous stare all the way from here.

“I've got your free ice cream right here Pinky Baby!" Eunwoo sang, twirling and spinning around Jieqiong like a ballerina on bath salts while holding out a cup of colourful confectionary for the Chinese girl to take. "Triple scoops of my latest creation, I call it ‘You Can Do Better Than Her’! Is there anything else I can get for you? An extra napkin? A new girlfriend perhaps?”

"Be right back. Roach is still alive." Nayoung muttered, patting Heehyun on the shoulder before getting up to finish her earlier job.

“I love the names of these flavours. They're so discreet. You'd never guess they were created by a lovestruck puppy." Yeonjung noted sarcastically next to Heehyun, digging into her cup of 'Jieqiong Makes Me Smile'.

“You'd be surprised how well those flavours sell.” Heehyun responded lazily, watching from her seat as Nayoung demonstrated on Eunwoo just how deadly a rolled up issue of Time Magazine can be, as Sejeong and Minky whooped and cheered from the sidelines. Jieqiong should probably stop this, but knowing the git she was probably enjoying having Nayoung fight for her like this.

"Probably won’t be that surprised. People would buy into anything these days. Take this for example.” Doyeon replied, spoon sticking out of as she waved around her half-empty cup of icecream. “It's called 'Nayoung' but it's really just Vanilla ain't it?"

"It's Vanilla, cause it’s like saying Nayoung is a basic . I speak Eunwoo-nese." Yeonjung chimed in matter-of-factly, giving her girlfriend a chastising look as the latter continued to stare at her Vanilla-flavoured icecream with a look of dissatisfaction.

“This 'Nayoung' tastes absolutely delicious though.” Doyeon stared incredulously at Heehyun, who flashed back a proud grin. “Why does it taste this good? Anything named Nayoung shouldn’t taste this good. It’s giving me weird vibes."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that sweetie."

“I’m serious Yeonjungie. Wanna try some of my Nayoung? I promise it’s the best Nayoung you’ve ever tasted.”

“Can confirm. I’ve had some pretty delicious Nayoung’s in my life and a Nayoung is always best when it's in icecream form, or between your legs.” Heehyun chimed in.

“Ew. Cathy please. That's gross.”

"Doyeon don't pick on Cathy. She's my best friend. I'll have to fight you."

"Best friend?! Since when?!"

"Since free icecream."

Heehyun observed the back and forth between Doyeon and Yeonjung with a small smile on her face. The couple was adorable to be honest. A pairing that at first glance had no business working out but somehow, they’ve managed to last through all these years. Being one of the few single people in her group of friends, Heehyun secretly spent a lot of time observing the couples (sometimes with a wistful sigh and other times with a teasing cackle) but the Doyeon and Yeonjung pairing was secretly her favourite to observe.

“You two look like you're going strong.” Heehyun playfully brought up, failing to hide the amusement in her voice.

“Are we? I can't tell sometimes. She's the most oblivious girl I know. Dumb as a bag of blind rabbits. Can't stand her.” Doyeon commented offhandly while contradictingly spoon-feeding ‘the girl she can’t stand’ the last remaining remnants of her ice cream.

“I can't stand you too, . Your breath smells like my granddad’s leather armchair.” Yeonjung replied in kind, giving Doyeon a small peck on the cheek as thanks. Heehyun nearly squealed at the adorableness.

“I see the Chaeyeon shrine is still up."

Heehyun snaps out of all fluffy thoughts at the mention of that name. Doyeon was referring to the wall of newspaper clippings and random memorabilia Heehyun had set up next to the door leading to her office. The wall of course, featured pictures of their town’s greatest export, the nation’s little sister Jung Chaeyeon. Pictures from when she was a snot-nosed little kid clinging onto Heehyun’s skirt from the pink-haired girl’s personal collection all the way to newspaper articles from when Chaeyeon won actress of the year last week, proudly displayed in view from every corner of the shop.

"It's not a shrine. It's a display." Heehyun replied pointedly, but she could already see the all too familiar mischievous glints in the idiotic duo’s eyes.

"Oh it's displaying something alright. From here it looks like a display of affection."

"Y'know babe, if you tilt your head slightly to the left, it kinda looks like a cry for help."

"Oooh I see it! Yeah! Kinda hard to make it out tho cause most of those photos are smudged. Must be from Cathy hugging them pics to bed while crying her eyes out on lonely nights."

"How bout the smudges on those y-concept pics yea? Chae in that tight, short skirt. We all know what Cathy does with those photos."

"I hate you, I hate you both. I hope both of get run over by Mr. Kang’s dumpster truck as soon as you step out of my shop." Heehyun could only mutter in a low voice, cursing the pair to oblivion and back as she tried to hide the fact that her face was currently burning up. Chaeyeon would always be her kryptonite. Just the mention of that name left the almighty and proud Heehyun susceptible to teasing.

Heehyun watched the couple high-5 each other and guffaw into the remainder of their icecream, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Eunwoo, can you man the fort? I’m gonna head out for the rest of the day.” Heehyun called out to her assistant manager, who was currently still trying to get Jieqiong to pay attention to her.

“I could…but do I get a raise?”

Heehyun's jaw dropped at the sheer audacity. “I just gave you one two weeks ago!”

“What! Where’s MY raise?! Taehyung did YOU get a raise??” Minkyeong yelled out from her station behind the counter, turning to the lone male employee in the shop who was nonchalantly chewing on gum while completing an order of quintuple-scoop icecream.

“I did. I got three raises.”

“THREE?! H-How is that even possible?! What does that even MEAN? I thought we were all equally broke! This is racial discrimination!”

"Minky we're all the same race here."

"DON'T CALL ME MINKY YOU TRAITOR!"

Rolling her eyes at her two coworkers, Eunwoo leaned against the wall (no doubt trying to look cool and it would kinda work if her hair wasn't sticking out in odd angles after the beating Nayoung gave her) and turned to the woman who signs her paychecks every month. "Look Boss. Either I get another raise, or I close the shop early today. There’s like, a line out there that stretches so far down the block you’d think we were giving out free Ed Sheeran tickets. Imagine losing all that revenue~”

“I demand a raise too! Minkyeong needs her play-funds! Angry-face emoticon!”

Heehyun looked defeated. She really couldn't afford to give Eunwoo another raise (oh well she could, but she doesn't want to make it a habit for the younger girl) so she wracked her brain for a solution that could benefit all parties. “Look, how about….how about I give you a couple of days off, and uh...maybe Jieqiong’s phone number?”

“DEAL!”

Welp that was easy.

“Heehyun what the actual hell? You better not be giving out my girlfriend’s phone number or so help me god…”

Aaand now she was going to die at Nayoung's hands. How on earth does she make a rolled up magazine look that threatening??

“....What on earth am I supposed to do with Jieqiong’s phone number??"

“NOT YOU MINKY YOU GET NOTHING!”

******************************************************************************

Somehow Heehyun had managed to bribe Eunwoo into taking care of the shop without doing too much damage to her own pocket. She was getting good at this “delegation of duty” thing, although a part of her kinda felt bad for her employees for leaving them in the middle of peak hour to spend time with her friends. It was a pretty bad look on her as a boss, but as Somi cuddled closer to her on the couch she decided that she could worry about her image later.

Heehyun couldn’t remember the last time they were all gathered in one place, but having all 9 of them together in Dani’s living room definitely brought back memories from much simpler times. The only two people missing in their little band of miscreants were Chaeyeon and Sohye, the former not being able to escape her schedules, and the latter being the reason why they were all currently gathered around the TV in the first place.

It’s been two years since they had accompanied Sohye to the city to give her moral support for her audition. Heehyun tries not to remember much of that day because it was also the day she had broken up with Dani, but the one good thing that had come out of that trip to Seoul was that Sohye managed to pass her audition with JYP Entertainment…somehow. The Penguin was almost immediately whisked away and locked inside the almost infamous JYP Dungeon (Heehyun always assumed the existence of the Dungeon was more figurative than actual, but apparently it’s an actual place with amazing massage facilities, according to Sohye) and she was barely seen again, until SIXTEEN happened.

Somehow, the once hopeless and bumbling Penguin had managed to impress the higher ups of her company enough to earn herself a spot on SIXTEEN, a survival audition program where viewers could choose from a list of 16 (aptly-named ain’t it?) trainees and vote for their favourite to be part of JYP’s next girlgroup.

Of course that meant that Heehyun and company had spent almost every cent they could spare to vote for their precious friend, but competition was tough. There were 15 other girls to compete against, and they were all ravishingly beautiful and equally as hungry for the spot on the team.

 “That girl to Sohye’s left kinda looks like you, Som.” – Doyeon

“Really? I don’t see the resemblance.” – Somi

Today was the finals of the competition, and they had all made a promise ages back to gather at Dani’s house as per tradition and watch the show together. Somehow that had managed to slip Heehyun’s mind with how busy her shop has been.

“And the last member to be added into JYP’s new girlgroup is….”

“ my heart is about to swandive straight out of my THROAT if they cut to commercial right now I’m going to burn Sejeong’s Wonder Girls collection!” Jieqiong started rattling off, bouncing on Nayoung’s lap in anxiety.

(“WHY MY WONDER GIRLS?!” – Sejeong Kim, 21, sincerely praying they don’t cut to commercial.)

Heehyun would seriously contemplate throwing a cushion across the room to shut both Sejeong and Jieqiong up but she herself wasn’t any better. She had one hand clawing into the leather of the Kim family’s Chesterfield sofa while the other hand firmly gripping the wrist of the Kim family’s only daughter’s girlfriend. The anxiety was killing her. Did Sohye make it? Was the small fortune she spent voting on her close friend enough for this?

 “…KIM SOHYE!”

“YES! THAT’S MY PENGUIN! I KNOW THAT PERSON! WOOHOO!!”

“God shut UP Jieqiong you barely even voted for her!” Doyeon barked, flinging a metal spoon at the excited Chinese girl although Doyeon herself had a smile on her face a mile wide.

Sohye had done it. The timid girl that Heehyun had looked out for as if she was her own little sister had managed to take a huge step in realizing her dream. The jittery penguin that had once massacred a DIA song trying to impress Chaeyeon in this very living room all those years back was now a part of an idol group. Not just any idol group, an idol group belonging to JYP Entertainment. This was huge. Everyone in the room was cheering and tweeting and uploading pictures onto their Instagram to congratulate the new idol and with good reason.

Sohye had conquered her nerves and chased her dreams. She was a star.

Heehyun watched Sohye’s tear stricken face on TV, she herself not believing that she had earned a place on the roster. This show had no flukes however. It was strictly based on votes. The nerdy girl that was ignored and overlooked throughout her years in highschool had managed to earn the recognition of the entire nation, based on her own hardwork and determination. Heehyun couldn’t have been more proud.

“Unnie, you okay?”

Somi’s voice was low, almost whispered. A slender hand reached up to wipe at Heehyun’s face and only then did the pink-haired girl realize that she had tears running down her cheeks. “Yeah.” Heehyun quickly muttered, rubbing her eyes with the back of her oversized hoodie’s sleeve before anyone else in the room caught sight of her crying. “I’m all good. Just…I’m just proud of her Som. What are the odds that this tiny spit of a town managed to churn out two idols yea? Ridiculous if you think about it. What are the odds?”

“1 in a million.” Somi replied back, grinning before turning away to join her girlfriend in jumping around the living room in joy.

On screen, the members of JYP’s latest girlgroup stood in a row, wearing a bright smile to offset the tear tracks running down their cheeks. Sohye stood at the very end, bowing fervently to the audience in attendance. Heehyun couldn’t help but feel the sudden distance between her and Sohye, realizing that the Penguin was now out of reach, the latter moving onto the same place amongst the stars that Chaeyeon existed in.

All the good ones leave for greener pastures. Heehyun was still tied to this town.

“So what now? Movie marathon?” Chungha asked once the excitement had died down. It was still far too early to call it a day, with the clock on the wall only reading 5pm.

“Not really up for that. Let’s just channel surf and see what else is on.” Dani suggested and the remote was lobbed at her from across the room.

As the occupants of the room busied themselves with finding something new to watch, Heehyun let her mind wander. Almost everybody in the room had a significant other except for her. Dani had Somi, Nayoung had Jieqiong, Doyeon had Yeonjung, Chungha had a boyfriend waiting for her back in Seoul, Sejeong was courting too many girls at the same time, while the closest thing Heehyun has to a girlfriend is the on again off again relationship she has with Kim Nayoung, which decidedly isn’t going anywhere further than their bedroom and that one café Kim likes to go to for dinner.

She wasn’t alone right? Heehyun definitely didn’t feel alone. She’s surrounded by people in her shop every single day. She has Eunwoo looking out for her, Taehyung can be kind of entertaining when he is in one of his moods, and…..Minky. The problem with living in such a small town is that everybody knows each other and treats the other like family, so going on a date with someone feels more like dinner with a distant cousin than an opportunity for love to blossom.

There’s also the deep-rooted problem of Heehyun not being able to move on from—

“….Chaeyeon!”

Yes. Yes her.

Wait a minute.

“Turn the volume up! I can’t hear a thing!”

For one brief, frightening moment Heehyun thought Doyeon was reading her mind, which would be highly inconvenient to say the least because the taller brunette probably wouldn’t appreciate how often Heehyun thinks of wringing her neck as a form of therapy. It took the pink-haired girl a moment to realize that the Chaeyeon Doyeon was referring to was not the one in her head, but the one currently on the TV screen.

“….many friends in the industry?” Heehyun caught the tail end of the question being directed to Chaeyeon by the very familiar MC Yoo Jaesuk. Heehyun doesn’t watch much TV, but she was familiar enough with the local celebrities to recognize some familiar faces on screen.

“Ooh! Chae’s on Happy Together! I love this show!” Dani squealed, bouncing in her chair as she turned up the volume of the TV to almost unhealthy levels.

“Well, I’m very close to the members of my group. I don’t exactly have much time to meet people, unfortunately. Taeyeon-sunbaenim bought me lunch once, but I don’t think I can consider us friends just from that, can I?”

Everybody on screen laughed at Chaeyeon’s reply, including Chaeyeon herself. There was a familiar tingle in the pit of Heehyun’s stomach as a response to that melodic laughter, akin to the feeling of skydiving without a parachute or running across a busy highway without looking both ways. Heehyun shifted uncomfortably in her seat, torn between running into the bathroom to throw up or staying and hoping to God Chaeyeon laughs again so that she could freefall one more time.   

Chaeyeon looks good.

Probably one of the biggest understatements one could make, but Heehyun was happy to see the life in Chaeyeon’s eyes and the colour in her cheeks. At least she’s been keeping herself healthy. God, it’s been so long since she’s last seen Chaeyeon in person. Has the younger girl grown taller? Does she still use the same strawberry-scented shampoo? Are her hugs still impossibly warm? Does she still think of home?

Does she still think of her?

“Oh! There is one though!” Chaeyeon clapped her hands, eyes lighting up like a million stars. “There’s a friend of mine from the same town who is currently participating in a survival show on another station! Kim Sohye! I think by the time this episode airs, she would have already been announced as one of the winners!”

“How can you be so certain?! Could it be…could the results have been leaked beforehand?” One of the other guests on the show had asked in response to Chaeyeon’s proclamation. Heehyun wasn’t familiar with his face. He looked to be an actor of some short, judging by his defined cheekbones and broad shoulders.

“Oh no no it’s nothing like that!” Chaeyeon was quick to dismiss any misunderstandings, eyes wide in alarm. Jieqiong commented at how cute the girl looked all flustered. Heehyun was very inclined to agree in silence. “I’m just very certain she will make it. She’s very pretty and determined, and also I’ve spent quite a lot of money voting for her to win….”

“If Sohye does win the competition, there will be a scandal now because Chaeyeon predicted it.” Another host of the show spoke up while laughing. Heehyun recognized him as Jo Seho, famous comedian and frequent patron to her icecream shop. He was a favourite, particularly for his appetite and his tendency to leave very generous tips.

“But the town that you come from isn’t really that big, is it? Having two idols come from it is quite amazing.” MC Jun Hyun Moo questioned Chaeyeon. “Are there a lot of beautiful people in your town? Were you one of the popular ones in highschool?”

Heehyun could see Chaeyeon hesitating to answer. The star idol was doing a pretty impressive job of fielding all the questions being asked of her by the 5 main hosts and 3 guests on the show. It frankly seemed overbooked and overwhelming, but Chaeyeon seemed to be able to handle all this in stride while wearing a smile. 4 years of being an idol under her belt, Chaeyeon continues to impress Heehyun with every little thing she does.

“I guess it would be a lie to say I wasn’t popular, but I was mostly known because the friends I used to spend time with were all very, very pretty. So, I was popular by association…?”

“Yah! There’re people prettier than you? Where IS this miracle town?”

“It’s the town next to Buchon, with the famous ice cream store!”  Seho interjected into the conversation again, answering the question one of the flabbergasted female guests had asked. “I went there 3 weeks ago! It’s amazing! Such a small town has so many things to offer, it should be a national heritage site!”

“Cathy they’re talking about your shop! On national TV!” Chungha cheered, and the entire living room echoed her sentiments with a chorus of whoops. Any other day and Heehyun probably would be jumping for joy, puffing her chest with pride and demand all of her friends to bow down to her. She might even consider giving Minky that raise she keeps being pestered about.

Today though, Heehyun was a bit too distracted by the change in Chaeyeon’s expression at the mention of the shop. At the mention of her hometown. It was slight, but Heehyun knew the girl like she knew her own name. The tiny nuances in Chaeyeon’s demeanor did not go unnoticed, such as the subtle biting of her lips or the faraway look in her eyes. The camera panned out to capture the scene of everyone excitedly talking about their tiny town, and all Heehyun could see was Chaeyeon twiddling her thumbs in her lap.

Jung Chaeyeon was nervous. Heehyun wondered why.

 “I would like to visit that ice cream shop too. I’ve heard a lot about it.”

Chaeyeon’s confession came after a brief pause, that faraway look in her eyes all but gone. Heehyun dared not read too deeply into her words, lest she gained some much unneeded hope. Chaeyeon was just going with the conversation. There were no underlying meanings to her words.

MC Yoo Jaesuk leaned forward, folding his fingers in his lap and looking directly at Chaeyeon, looking as if he was deliberating the question that was about to leave his playful lips. “Since everyone would be very familiar with each other in a town like that, does that make getting into relationships awkward? Chaeyeon if I may ask, did you date much in highschool?”

“No, I didn’t.” Chaeyeon replied much too quickly. The answer was an obvious one, because why would Chaeyeon admit that she had been in a relationship before and risk ruining her squeaky clean image? She dated a GIRL no less. Heehyun would have been more surprised if Chaeyeon had told the truth. No, this was the proper answer for this situation, and surprise was not what Heehyun was currently feeling.

How selfish was she, to wish that for that one moment for Chaeyeon to surprise her? To surprise everyone, by admitting that she had in fact been in a relationship with someone and it had only lasted 2 years but it was the most amazing, breathtaking 2 years of that someone’s life? These past 4 years must have been harder for Heehyun than it has for Chaeyeon because the latter had so easily denied the past they’ve had with each other. Heehyun has moved on as well hasn’t she? The ghosts of the past shouldn’t be able to get to her, but despite all that Heehyun could feel her heart ripping out of her chest and the corners of her eyes burning.

“Actually…”

Heehyun couldn’t sit here and watch this. She could feel the many layers of concrete that she had poured over her heart at the brink of falling apart and Heehyun refused to let it happen in front of her friends. She had a reputation to uphold. She was strong. She was thickheaded and prideful. She did not need to have Jung Chaeyeon break her carefully mended heart again. Heehyun made to stand but someone had placed their hand over her shaking shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, preventing her from escaping the scene.

Heehyun looked up and saw Nayoung slowly shaking her head, the latter’s hand still on her shoulder. Why was Nayoung this cruel, forcing her to sit through this…this torture? Everybody else in the room had their eyes on Heehyun as well, looking at her with pity and sympathy. They knew Chaeyeon’s simple words were killing Heehyun, so why won’t Nayoung let her go? She’s spent the past 4 years trying to forget Chaeyeon, she was not ready to admit defeat now.

“I’ve only dated one person before.”

What?

There was a gasp from Doyeon’s side of the room as all eyes shot back to the TV screen, proving that everybody else heard Chaeyeon say that as well, and it wasn’t just a figment of Heehyun’s imagination caused by too much hope. Well, here is the surprise Heehyun wanted.

The reaction of everybody else on the TV set wasn’t any different. There was a very brief, almost missable moment of silence that swept the entire scene but it went as fast as it came when Jaesuk skillfully filled in the silence with his hosting expertise.

“Really? Oh wow what a lucky guy! I wonder how does he feel knowing that a girl he dated in highschool is now one of the leading idols of the nation.”

“I…I don’t think that person is that thrilled about it to be honest…. The reason we broke up was because I had to debut and couldn’t possibly keep up a relationship as an idol.” Was Chaeyeon really going through with this? Heehyun couldn’t believe her ears, and the hosting team of Happy Together looked as if they had struck gold with this story, eagerly pressing on for more details.

“It doesn’t sound like a clean breakup, but I’ve heard that this sort of situation is pretty common among idols. They date, and then the management would make you break up with your significant other when it comes time to debut. Do you still keep in contact with him?” The same actor from earlier asked, genuine curiosity on his features.

“Unfortunately I don’t. It’s been 4 years, and I don’t have their phone number any longer.” Chaeyeon looked embarrassed, aiming her gaze into her lap and trying to avoid eye contact with the other occupants of the set. “It’s…it’s a shame.”

“Although it’s a bit awkward to make a video message but is there anything you would like to say to him? This could be one of your only chances since you don’t have his number.”

“Seho-yah you don’t send video messages to your ex! It’s sad!”

As the guests and emcees goodnaturedly debated about how appropriate it was to message an ex you haven’t really kept in contact with in years out of the blue, a tiny voice aimed at nobody in particular broke through the ruckus, causing them to shut up immediately and focus their attention back to Chaeyeon, who was now staring straight into the camera.

“Um…hello. Have you been well?”

Heehyun wanted to answer that no, she hasn’t been well at all. She’s been anything BUT well, although she had far too much pride to admit it.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been in contact, and I’m even more sorry that things ended the way it did. The last time I saw you was 2 years ago, and honestly that felt a bit too brief for me. You were already with someone else though, so there wasn’t much that I could have hoped to happen I guess.”

Chaeyeon paused to collect her words, the smallest of smiles gracing that beautiful pale face.

“I just…I hope we could meet again in the future, and I hope our circumstances would be better when we do. I’ll cheer you on in what ever you choose to do! Fighting!” The idol tried to wrap up her message on a positive note, but the optimism didn’t seem to reach her eyes. Heehyun could see a myriad of emotions in those familiar black eyes, but weirdly enough guilt was the one that seemed to stand out the most.

“Chaeyeon-ssi.” The lone female host of the show began, resting a hand on Chaeyeon’s shoulder as a sign of comfort. “Am I wrong to presume that there are still some lingering feelings there?”

“I-I….” Chaeyeon looked lost, eyes unfocused as the gravity of the words that had left seemed to dawn on her. The pale girl appeared to steel herself, biting her lip before slowly nodding her head to confirm the hosts’ speculation. “You wouldn’t be wrong, no. My...My heart still beats the same as it did 4 years ago. It still has the same amount of love.”

“Chaeyeon are you sure you’re going to be okay saying all this?” Jaesuk asked with a lighthearted laugh as if to play off the situation, but there was a weight in his voice that signaled that he in fact knew the repercussions of her confession. How much this young girl in front of him was putting at risk by admitting to the public that she had a heart all along and that she wasn’t just some robot.

“Probably not.” Chaeyeon replied, an automatic laugh of her own decorating her voice. “But, it’s something that I think needs to be said. It’s something that needs to be known by that person.”

The events on the television screen died down somewhat as the hosts of the show moved on to the next guest, interviewing him about God-knows-what. Heehyun stood transfixed at the screen, trying to process what she had just heard. What Chaeyeon had just announced to the whole wide world.

“Heehyun…?”

A voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she was suddenly hyper-aware of how silent the living room was.

“W-what? What’s everyone looking at me for?” Heehyun asked, flustered by the sudden attention. Overwhelmed. Heehyun was feeling a million and one emotions all at once and she just needs to—to stop. She needed the world to stop turning and just give her a moment to think.

“Are you okay?” Jieqiong asked her, concern etched all over the Chinese girl’s features. They knew. Of course all her friends knew about the hurricane of emotions currently assaulting Heehyun’s battered heart. Chaeyeon had just ing confessed to the entire nation that she still had feelings for Heehyun, after breaking up with the latter 4 years ago. They didn’t know if they should be happy for their pink-haired friend, or symphatise with her.

“Yeah. Everything is great. E-everything is—Oh hey is that the time? I think I should be heading home to do my laundry. Been such a busy week, can’t be wearing the same underwear twice to work when I’m the boss y’know? Haha….”

Heehyun shot up off her seat before anybody could stop her. She needed…she needed to get out of here. She could feel a surge of emotions welling up inside her and she wasn’t quite sure what it is she’s feeling but she was damn sure that when that wave crashes she DOES NOT want anyone around her. She needs to run. Run back to her house, to her room, to peace and quiet.

She just needed to run.

“Heehyun.” Dani’s voice stopped her in her tracks, but she didn’t dare turn to look at her friend. “Don’t think about it too much. Follow your guts.”

Heehyun just nodded in response, not really understanding what the Dani was trying to say. Her guts really didn’t seem like something she should be following because currently it felt as if her guts was on a one-way path to being puked out of . Heehyun ran out the door and bolted to her apartment block as fast as she could, jamming her keys into her front door and ignoring her mother’s questions as she bolted into her room and locked the door behind her.

Exhausted, Heehyun leaned back against the door and slid down to the floor, only remotely aware of the tears streaming down her face.

Why?

Why was this happening?

Chaeyeon was an idol. Not just an ordinary idol, she was one of the most popular idols in the world. Chaeyeon had grown up, and Chaeyeon had moved on. The young girl that knocked on her door wearing a snowman outfit in order to get Heehyun to agree to being her girlfriend did not exist anymore. Chaeyeon dated idols. Chaeyeon slept with idols. Chaeyeon existed on a different planet, while Heehyun was just the owner of a small icecream shop in a small spit of a town 5 hours away from the city. Chaeyeon had broken up with Heehyun in order to follow her dreams.

Jung Chaeyeon had lied when she told Heehyun that her love was forever.

So Heehyun moved on. For her sanity Heehyun had no choice but to move on. She dated Dani and a few other girls after that in order to get the taste of strawberries off her tongue. Heehyun was comforted, spurred on even by the fact that Chaeyeon had moved on. There was no space in Chaeyeon’s life for her, so why should she keep thinking of the brunette beauty? She chose to ignore the dull ache in her heart whenever Chaeyeon was caught in a dating scandal, and she cursed the joy she felt when the rumours turned out to be false. She buried her feelings for Chaeyeon under 10 feet of concrete because she didn’t want to get hurt anymore. She was scared. Terrified of getting her heart broken again by the same girl.

“Chaeyeon has moved on, so stop pining for her.”

It became easy to bury her feelings when she repeated that thought like a mantra in her head. Chaeyeon has moved on. Chaeyeon left her. Chaeyeon lied.

Except now she found out that Chaeyeon didn’t lie. Chaeyeon’s love was forever, and she’s been loving Heehyun although she was contractually banned from doing so, all through these years. The younger girl had so much to lose by making her past known to the public and Heehyun was spretty sure Chaeyeon knew it herself, so why did she have to do that? Why did Chaeyeon have to jeopardise her career as an idol for a pitiful nobody that owns a small icecream shop in a town with no name? Chaeyeon was a fool. After all, only a fool would publicly declare their love for another person on national television. Only a fool would risk throwing everything they've worked their whole life towards for the sake of love. 

Only a fool would hopelessly cling on to a love that saw no chance of surviving for four long years.

Heehyun would know. She wrote the book on foolish behavior.

So what was she supposed to do now? Of course Heehyun knew what she needed to do. She always knew. She was just always too afraid to do anything because the last time she let her heart out of the proverbial freezer the world was cruel towards it, beating it into submission and tearing it to pieces. She was still scared. So. Very. Scared.

“.” Heehyun cursed out loud, gathering strength in her legs to stand up so that she could walk towards the pair of jeans she had hanging in her closet. Reaching into the back pocket, she retrieved the small piece of paper Somi had given her awhile back, now crumpled but still legible.

“Don’t think about it too much eh?” Heehyun repeated Dani’s earlier advice to her. ty advice to be honest. Heehyun always thinks too much. Thinking too much was basically her modus operandi. Heehyun stared at the piece of paper for a few minutes more, before deciding that bad decisions was also her way of life and began dialing the number.

“Hello?”

Oh . Oh Chaeyeon picked up fast didn’t she? What was she even supposed to say? She hadn’t finished going through her game plan yet.

“Hello…is anyone there?”

Heehyun was so petrified she couldn’t say a word. This was wrong. No, she shouldn’t have called. She was going to get hurt again. This was a mistake. Heehyun scrambled to press the red button on her iphone to end the call but before she could do it Chaeyeon had spoken again.

“….Heehyun unnie?”

There was no way Chaeyeon could have known it was her. She had changed her phone number awhile back and she knew that none of her friends would have given out her number without permission. The only logical explanation was that Chaeyeon had been anticipating her calling, and the younger girl had been waiting by her phone in case she did. There was so much hope in the way Chaeyeon said her name, almost as if she was pleading for the person on the other end of the line to be Heehyun. As scared as Heehyun was of opening her heart to Chaeyeon again, she was still weak to the melodic timbre of the younger girl’s voice.

“Hey, Chae.”

There was a long pause, and Heehyun waited with bated breath, hands trembling as she held onto the phone with dear life. The minutes of pure silence were the longest she’s ever felt, until it was broken by the unmistakable sound of sniffling on the other end.

“I’ve missed you so much unnie.” Chaeyeon choked out through her tears.

It broke her. Hearing Chaeyeon cry was the final push Heehyun needed to fall completely apart. Feeling her heart that had been sheltered away from the rest of the world beat once more, Ki Heehyun’s armor crumbled to pieces leaving behind a scared 21 year old girl who had too much love in her for her own good.

“I know….I know.” Heehyun shushed Chaeyeon, trying to stop the other girl from crying although she herself had tears spilling down her cheeks.

Maybe this fear was something she could learn to embrace.

“I’ve missed you too.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hello! Wait I'm sorry don't kill me guys I'm so so so sorry! Half a year since the last update huh? What the how did THAT happen? 

So uh, I guess I owe y'all an apology. With my new job, writing has been really hard. It takes a huge toll on me, but recently I kinda took a month long break from work. The last assignment we had to do was so taxing we literally slept like less than four hours a day for two whole months. That kinda mental strain is horrible and absolutely NOT conducive to writing a fic.

This chapter....was insanely hard to write. Taking 6 months off this fic was hard because it was almost impossible to get back into the swing of things. If you notice the way I write, I always do better when writing one on one scenes. Scenes between two people. This chapter had too many people. TOO MANY. God, I'm sorry if it turned out to be a mess but I tried! I tried because all those interactions were kinda important hahaha! It's a load of gibberish to be honest, and this chapter turned out being 11,000 words long. Sorry. 11,000 words of pure rubbish. I should be in jail for littering.

Also, I changed the spelling for Yeonjung's name from the last chapter. Don't ask me why. It just feels right this way. a lot happens in 6 months I guess hahahaha! 

Also, My writing style has also noticeably changed. I feel like I don't write as good as I used too. It's frustrating really. To know you're capable of better but you just can't seem to...to do it. I'm sorry. I feel horrible for not presenting something that I'm fully proud of. This is the best I can do at the moment.
 

Also, this chapter has more use of italics in it than the previous two combined.

Anyways, thank you to everyone that has read this fic, and have believed in me and waited patiently for me to return. I'M BACK! I'd like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart, sincerely and I hope you still have the same amount of love for this fic as you had half a year ago. Please leave a comment telling me off for not updating, or you can tell me the chapter was worth the wait and such. Tell me ways that I can improve, and please let me know your thoughts on this. It's kinda our fic at this point ain't it? Hahaha It's fun writing this knowing people enjoy it, so let me know how I can improve it.

The next chapter will be the last. 

P/S: Random thought. Anyone wanna know some songs that gets me inspired to write this fic, and in some circumstances has even completely inspired certain chapters? Here's some tunes. It kinda shows where my mind is at.

Just Another Girl - The Killers.
(Reason for this whole fic to be honest. This song came on when I was eating dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant and I just sorta...resonated with it.)

Space Oddity - David Bowie feat Kristen Wiig.
(Influenced the 2nd Chapter. I like the spacey feel, and it helped me translate how Chaeyeon feels when she's with Heehyun.)

Ashley - Big Sean feat Miguel.
(This was the song I used to describe Heehyun's feelings for Chaeyeon. Just...I don't know. I feel like I can imagine this song playing as Heehyun watches Chaeyeon sleep in her arms.)

Look At Me - Girls' Day.
(This song helped me write Somi's feelings for Dani at Chapter 8. Just a lot of "Hey unnie, I'm grown up now. I'm not a kid anymore. Look at me!)

Heartache - One Ok Rock.
(Just a good song to get the vibe for Heehyun's feelings after Chae broke up with her. Actually also applies to when Dani broke up with her. It's basically Heehyun's breakup song hahahaha)

Dirty Laundry - All Time Low.
(The song that this chapter owes it's inception to. Used it to get into the mindset of revealing secrets and how sometimes revealing your dirty laundry is okay.)

That's all! Hopefully next update comes soon! Love you guys!