SeolHyun's POV

Today is the first day we perform on a music show, ever. MusicBank is very famous and it takes a lot of courage from our side to perform there. Ever since last night I haven't been able to stop thinking about what MiNa said. She said Wonho liked me, not platonically. And I do believe her in some weird way. He's been acting different ever since we reconnected. He's been friendly like he used to, but something tells me this is different. It feels different. And I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking it.

Monsta X also have their comeback stages here. They've been running around all day, playing around until it's their turn to go and practice. I'm a nervous wreck because it's hard to face Wonho after realising he likes me. And of course it's hard since it's our first time being broadcasted on national TV. 

The girls are almost as nervous as me. But since yesterday went really well, they are practically fine. The people seemed to love us and they've been talking a lot about us online. Last night when we came home, we all sat around the computer and read what they were saying. Most of it was very positive, of course there were some negative comments too, there always are. We refused to read those in their entirety. The good ones were really encouraging and they made me very happy since it's so positive to know they love us. A fanbase is already creating and we're hoping it'll be even bigger after our live performances on TV for the next few weeks. 

"Hey there!" Seungcheol says as he walks in. Their promotions ended last week, but still he's here to cheer us on. 

"Hey! You didn't have to come!" I'm happy to see him though. 

"I know, but I figured you guys could use all the support you could get", he smiles widely and hugs me. There are only a few people I'm truly comfortable with and Seungcheol is one of them. He's been training here as long as me and is an absolute sweetheart.

"Are you staying for our performance too?" I ask him while sitting us both down on chairs. It's pretty hot in here so I'm waving a paper to cool myself down. 

"Yes and I have another surprise", he smiles and motions for some other people to come in. The whole bunch of Seventeen shows up and they're a loud bunch too. Everyone is surprised to see them here since they're not promoting anymore. 

"Dude, you did not", I grin from ear to ear while my girls mingle with them. 

"I did", he is such a rebel. And I love him for it. 

"Did the president agree to this?" I ask a bit worried for them. 

"Yes, actually he suggested it." 

He keeps on surprising me time after time. The president, that is. He told me last night he can't make it today, but he'll come by once more. It's really endearing to know he looks out for us like this. 

The boys are loud and attract a lot of attention from others. Some even shoot us angry glares since they're trying to focus. They shouldn't get their in such a twist. Maybe they're even jealous because they came to see us and not them. Well, bad luck to them then. 

"Maybe you guys should go to the stage to cheer us on. We're up in a bit actually", I tell s.coups and he complies. I'm sure he's seen the angry looks on their faces too. 

"We'll see you after", he informs me and takes the group of adolescent boys with him. It's quite a hassle since they don't want to leave the backstage. But in the end they always listen to their leader. That makes him the great leader he is. 

"Hugs&Kisses?" Someone calls out for us and we all stand in a line in front of her. "You're up after EXO." 

Great. We have to go after one of the biggest comebacks of the year. What if they don't like us? It's so hard to please a crowd that has just seen one of the best performances ever. Because let's face it: EXO's comebacks always slay. I'm loving their new ones too. It's killing me. And the nerves are clearly getting to me. Wonho sees us and joins me. 

"You look like you're going to throw up", he teases me but I can't seem to find my smile. 

"Don't joke around like that", I sigh and try to calm down internally. 

"I see you're still wearing my necklace", he notices and I'm blushing again. "Of course you are, I do pick out the best gifts." He's being so full of himself. 

I whack him in the shoulder and he pretends to be really hurt. It makes me smile. And before I know it I'm not thinking of the comeback anymore. The nerves are gone and it's all because of him. Wonho knows how to make me smile. He always has. Even in the darkest periods of my life, he's been there to make me forget about all of it. Except for the time I needed him most. But I can't keep holding it against him. It wouldn't be fair for the both of us. I can actually say we've evolved to a good friendship again by now. It's still not easy to let him in. That's why I don't tell him what happened. 

"I like seeing your smile", he tells me with a shy smile. That makes me think of the comment MiNa made, again. Then I shake it off and try not to let it ruin the thing we have now. 

"Believe it or not, you're the only one who can kind of make me forget about my nerves", I sigh, admitting to it out loud is so much more difficult. But I want to be honest with him to some degree.

"Hugs&Kisses? You're up!" The PD lady calls us and we have to enter the stage. 

"Good luck", Wonho says softly and it earns him a small smile before I go on. It's showtime. 

Wonho's POV

SeolHyun's confession took me by surprise. She's been very guarded ever since the day we rekindled our relationship, but the past few times she's been opening up to me. All I want is to be in her good graces again. Seollie is the closest thing to family I have here and I want to protect her from this harsh world. But I guess this harsh world is way better than the reality she used to live in. 

She's scarred, very damaged and has trust issues. It's not hard to be like that after having a childhood where no one even wanted you. The only person who actually cared for her was me. I can't count the times she was over at my place, sleeping over or eating with us. She was always very grateful to my parents and they saw her as a second child since we were so inseparable. 

After I left she became more retreated and kept to herself a lot. She didn't have a lot of friends to begin with, so it wasn't a real surprise. She kept on calling and texting me, but she insisted she was okay. In hindsight I think she didn't want me to worry about it all. I've seen the scars she has on her back these days. I wonder what happened to her since they weren't there when I left. 

Now she has just debuted, the people love her and she seems to be thriving on it. I'm standing backstage, looking at her on the screen of the stage and she's totally in her element. It's not an easy thing to do, come on after EXO, but they seem to be pulling it off rather nicely. The fans already know a part of their song and they're even doing some kind of soft fan chant. Every time they do it, I swear I can see the smile on Seollie's face brighten and widen. She's been a nervous wreck, I could tell without even asking her. She's always been like that, nervous. I know just how to handle it: distract her from the things that make her nervous. It always used to work and it worked again today. We've both changed a lot since we last saw each other, but some parts remained the same. This is one of them. And I'm happy it stayed that way. It makes me less concerned of her to know I still know some parts of her. No matter how deep they lie buried underneath her skin. They're still there. 

What I do have to admit to is that Seollie looks amazing in those outfits. It's stood out to me ever since I saw her on the TV that first day. She's grown up a lot and in a good way. Back in the day she used to be really awkwardly built. She was a little taller than most of the boys her age and she had long legs. The rest of her body hadn't caught up yet, but not it certainly has. Her legs are still really long, but her hips have set in as well. So has the rest of her upper body and it looks phenomenal. The stylists sure know how to accentuate the best parts of her body, not that she has any bad ones. 

That night when she came to me after practice, just dressed in her shorts, sports bra and cardigan, she nearly gave me a heart attack. These are not the kind of feelings I should be having towards someone I consider as my baby sister. She stirred something inside of me and I feel weird ever since. She hasn't caught on to it, yet. I'm pretty sure some of her members already have though. The hug I gave her yesterday was a dead ringer for indicating how much I like her. What really is weird is I don't know in what type of way I like her. Is it the boyfriend/girlfriend way? Or is it just because of the way her body looks nowadays? We don't really know each other anymore so it's hard to tell. 

Seollie is done with her stage and I welcome her back. She's all sweaty and her hair is sticking to the back of her neck. There's something about the sight of this that makes me want to shelter her from all of the other people here. I've seen the stares she's been getting from the KNK boys in the corner. She's the oldest one of her group, so of course she looks the most mature. Even some of the girls have been gaping at her from the side. Now that she has red hair, she even stands out more between her group. They all have different types of hair colours right now, but she is definitely the most beautiful one of them all. 

"How did we do?" she asks me, a little out of breath. I hand her a towel and smile my toothy smile. 

"Amazing. You had the crowd in the palm of your hand!" I compliment her. I always try to be chirpy around her since she has a tendency to lose her self esteem really quick. She always has had that. 

"You think so?" her face lights up like a tree on christmas day.

"Yes," I pat her shoulder and she looks like a ten year old again. The little girl looking for approval is there again. "You're blowing them away. You all are." I try not to be obvious about it. 

"We try", she boasts and looks at her girls. They're all pretty exhausted while they're dapping their necks with a towel against the sweat. 

"You're going to be an amazing leader", I say softly so only she hears it. Some girls are looking at us funnily. 

"I do hope so. They deserve only the best and I'm not sure if I'm qualified for that task", she sighs and I know where she's going. 

"You always tend to sell yourself short. You've always done that. It needs to stop. You're more than qualified for this job." I'm kind of angry with myself for giving in to the urge to always make her feel better. How did she do this without me in the first place? Or do I bring out this kind of thing in her? Was she like this when I wasn't around? It kills me not to know these types of things.

"Thank you for believing in me. You always have", she's grateful for me saying these things and that's all I need from her.

"Now, let's go to the prize show and then leave to go somewhere. I want to have a good time", I make sure she knows it's only with her though. As much fun as I had yesterday with her whole group, I want to be alone with her. To get to know her again. And that's only going to happen if we're completely and truly alone. 

The prize show isn't that long since EXO is taking home all the prizes for today. But they were competing with Seollie's group though. They lost with a very little margine, which is surprising since EXO is so big. I'm pretty proud of her and also kind of annoyed since we've never ever gotten that close to a prize before. After that we take off, quietly without anyone really noticing us.