[Request made by @femmieindi! Thanks always for the requests and hope you like this one!!]

#Song suggestion: Give Me A Shoulder - NU'EST (Ft. Kye Bumzu) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wscnKUDwsMc

"When it's hard to handle, I need you"

Haknyeon's POV

I sighed as I walked out of the Produce 101 training centre.

It was right after the position evaluation performances, and we were given a short vacation out of the training centre to rest before the second set of eliminations. Usually, I would have felt happy to be out of this place, be able to talk again with my friends, and use my phone to communicate with my family who was all the way in Jejudo. But not this time.

I didn't want to face my family or my friends, because I knew that they were all worried but curious about me. I didn't want to use my phone, because I was afraid that I would get nasty messages and see negative comments about me online.

The recent episodes of Produce 101 only showed my bad sides, when I had small arguments with Eunki hyung while practicing for our performance. To be truthful, it wasn't even that bad in real life and Eunki hyung and I were as close as siblings, but the power of editing was great.

"Hey Haknyeon, get a lot of rest! It will probably be hard for you.. But we all know that it was the editing's fault and not yours, so don't feel so bad. Alright?"

I turned around, to see Hyunmin standing behind me. He gave me an encouraging smile and a small hug, before giving me a nod of assurance and walked off towards his manager with his suitcase.

I felt really grateful, but it still didn't make me feel any better. I was still scared about what the netizens would have said about me. I was afraid to go on the internet, just in case I saw anything about me in general. I sighed for the 10th time today and got into the car which was waiting to take me back to my aunty's home.

When my manager dropped me off, there was nobody in the house as it was still midday and both my aunty and uncle were working in their respective workplaces. I placed my bag in the living room and immediately left to go to the nearest park to breathe some fresh air, and to empty my head.

"Joo Haknyeon!"

I heard a voice behind me, and I didn't even have to turn around to see who it was, because I already recognised the voice.

"Hey, Haknyeon.." Nari greeted with a smile, although worry was written all over her face.

"Nari, hi!..." I said, trying to brighten up the mood but failing to do so.

I could see it all on her face. She was curious about if the me on Produce 101 was the real me. She was worried if I saw the hate comments on the internet. I could see her face being in a dilemma, if she should bring up the topic or not.

Nari and I were friends since little, since I lived in Jejudo. When I announced that I wanted to move to Seoul to become an idol, she was the first to know and the first to cheer for me. She even came to Seoul from Jejudo last week as it was holidays, and insisted that she was going to be my 'manager' to encourage me every day and listen to all of my problems during my short vacation.

"Nari... You can bring it up if you want. If it was anyone else, I would have said no but you know me so well, so..." I said, signaling that it was okay for her to ask me questions.

"Haknyeon... I know that the Haknyeon shown on Produce 101 isn't the real you... What happened? It was really evil editing, right? I can't believe that they would do it on anyone who is trying so hard to achieve their dreams.. They are so cruel!" she exclaimed, and as if I had been waiting for her to say these things, my mind suddenly felt way better.

From here, I began to tell her all the stories of what happened in Produce 101. From the beginning when I received F grade, to current when I was edited in a negative way which reflected my rank. She listened to all of the stories, never interrupting and always agreeing with what I was saying. Usually, I never told anyone all of my feelings and what happened in my daily life, but with Nari, I felt like I could tell her all the secrets in the world.

I was in the middle of talking, when I happened to look up at Nari's face. All of a sudden, seeing her gaze softly at me while nodding her head seemed like a beautiful sight. With the sun making her hair shimmer and her head tilted slightly to meet eyes with me, she looked as stunning as ever. It was absurd, but I had just fallen in love with my best friend.

"Haknyeon.. Haknyeon? What's wrong? You suddenly stopped talking!"

I must have zoned out when I started staring at her, because she was soon waving her hands in front of my hand, trying to get me back into reality.

"Nari.. this may sound weird, but I think I just fell in love.." I said unintentionally without thinking twice, and immediately regretted my decision to say this.

"With who..? There's literally just you and I here right now.." she drifted off.

Seeing her confused face made me fall in love even more. It truly was sudden, but I had fallen hard for my friend right at this moment. I decided to let out my feelings for her, and just hoped that she would feel the same.

"Exactly, I think I fell in love with you. I know that we've been friends for so long and we know so many things about each other - in fact, too many things. And you were always by my side, ready to hug me when something good happened, ready to pat me on the shoulder when something bad happened, and ready to high five me when I was about to take a challenge. I can't imagine a life without you. When it's hard to handle, I need you. I need you, Kim Nari."

Nari looked surprised for a moment. I don't blame her though, if I was her, I would have also felt the same.

"You know what, Joo Haknyeon? You have no manners at all. How could you just say these things all of a sudden and expect me to react normally? I hate you but I like you too." Nari replied after a few more seconds of silence.

I looked up, and met eyes with a smiling Nari. I brought her to my embrace, as we happily smiled in each other's arms.

"I guess we should head back home now, let's go." Nari said, as she got up from the bench and held her hand out for me to grab.

I happily took her hand and got up, ready to leave. But I realised that I didn't even know where Nari was staying while she was in Seoul. For all I knew, she had no relatives living in Seoul.

"Wait, where are you staying?" I asked, tilting my head out of confusion.

"Your aunty's place, of course! She offered me to stay at her house, because she knew me anyway!" Nari replied, giving a cheeky grin.

"Wait, what...? Really?"

"Well, you did say that you needed me when you couldn't handle things.. And this is the time, right? I am and I will always be here for you Joo Haknyeon." she said, while squeezing my hand.