Seungwan found Yerim in her bed, curled into a ball, sobbing into her favorite “Hello Kitty” plush. She was still wearing the outfit that their stylist had dressed her in for the “V LIVE” event; Seungwan assumed that the distraught girl had run off immediately back to their room as soon as the event had ended. Yerim noticed the older girl’s presence, but didn’t acknowledge it as Seungwan came to sit beside her. She reached over and rubbed the maknae’s back gently.

“It’s okay, Yeri…” she said, mentally cursing herself for being unable to think of better words of comfort.

The comments on their broadcasts were usually pretty positive. Most were fans who genuinely wanted to support the girls, but there were always a few people who wanted to be malicious. This broadcast was no different, except now most of the hate was directed at Yerim. Of course, all of the girls had received their fair share of hateful comments, but Yerim seemed to garner the most these days. And, being the youngest of the group, she was the least adept at handling it. It still broke Seungwan’s heart to remember how the young girl’s smile had faded when she’d read what was, by far, the worst comment they’d received to date.

“Seungwan,” Yerim said in a low, broken voice, “Why do people say things like that to me? Am I really that bad?”

“No, of course not, Yerim. They’re just jealous of you.”

The crying girl turned around to face her friend. Yerim’s eyes were bloodshot, her makeup smeared and