3. The young ones’ safety is a big priority

 

Siyeon, Sungyeon and Kyla were at the amusement park. It has been quite a while since they had bonded together as normal teenagers, not as the ‘Pristin Maknae Line’. Siyeon had organized this trip specifically for them only.

 

Sure, she had pulled some lies here and there, especially to Minkyung. The poor sub-leader was unaware of the true nature of the sentece: “Unnie, we’re just gonna go and hang out in the convenience store!”. Sure, the second maknae felt a little bit of guilt, but she shook it off since she wanted to enjoy the rare day off with the two members who were the same age as her.

 

Sungyeon was immensely enjoying herself. She hasn’t enjoyed herself for a long time, what with being packed with lots of schedules and composing songs for her group. She might even find inspiration for her songs in this place? Who knows?

 

‘I deserve this break’ she mused to herself.

 

Kyla, on the other hand, was the only one who was 99.9% sure that they will be grilled by either Nayoung or Manager oppa later. She knew better than to defy the company rules, but her desire to break free for a while proved to weigh more than the desire to be a diligent idol. However, this didn’t stop her from constantly worrying about the consequences of their actions.

 

“Illa! Come on! Let’s ride the vikings next!” Sungyeon yelled to the maknae, clinging to Siyeon with a big smile on her face. Kyla chose to shrug off the worries she had in exchange for the precious time she would spend with the precious people in her life.

 

She made a mental note to invite the other unnies out too. It would be fun!

 

 

 

~-~-~-~

 

After trying out the Vikings, Siyeon held on to every single railing she could get on her hands on while her free hand was wrapped around her stomach in an attempt to maintain the equilibrium of her bowel. Sungyeon was by her side with a hand rubbing the younger girl’s back.

 

“Umm.. unnie, are you... okay?” Kyla asked cautiously, eyeing the older girl for any signs of sickness.

 

“I’m... I’m fine, Illa.” Siyeon forced out while holding the motion sickness in. She gave a forced smile to Kyla, though the maknae didn’t seem to buy it. AT ALL.

 

“You shouldn’t have suggested the vikings if you’re not gonna be able to handle the consequences. Geez... thank God you didn’t eat anything, or else-“

 

“DON’T...” Siyeon made a huge gulp “even finish that sentence, please.”

 

Sungyeon sighed as she rummaged through her bag to find a medicine for motion sickness. She whipped out a bottle of water from her things and gave Siyeon the said things to drink.

 

The second maknae popped the tablet in and took a huge swig of the water. When she was finished, she wiped with her sleeve, making her two companions look at her in disgust.

 

~-~-~-~

 

The maknae line had just finished trying the horror house in the park. The whole tour consisted of Siyeon laughing, Sungyeon screaming, crying and clinging to her two companions, and Kyla just being cool with it all.

 

“Oh my gosh... HAHAHAHA! Sungyeon unnie is... I can’t even... oh my gosh!” Siyeon sputtered out between laughs once they completed the horror house. She held Kyla’s shoulder for support as she laughed so hard. Kyla also let out soft giggles, but not as loud as Siyeon did.

 

 

“Yah! Stop it! If this is payback time, I swear, Siyeon! You will regret this!” Sungyeon pouted and she looked so cute even though she was crying that Siyeon started to laugh again.

 

“Well... nothing is gonna beat Eunwoo unnie’s scream that one time when we tried the Japanese Horror Booth. That was still the.... the superior one” Siyeon laughed some more before she calmed down and hugged Sungyeon apologetically.

 

Kyla checked her wrist watch. It displayed 3:00 pm. She turned to her unnies and suggested something.

 

“Hey. Let’s go grab something to eat, unnies.” Kyla smiled.

 

“Yeah! Let’s do that! I’m famished and parched!” Sungyeon exclaimed in english.

 

“Let’s go then!” Kyla responded back in English. Sungyeon grinned at Siyeon, who was sulking at her two members because of their communication in English.

 

When they reached the stall, Kyla pulled out her credit card. Siyeon smirked evilly at the maknae. She nudged her by the shoulder.

 

“Hey, you gonna pay for us? Come on, you’re the maknae.” Siyeon said with a mischievous grin.

 

“No.” Kyla deadpanned with a tone that rivalled even Nayoung’s stone cold responses.

 

She was savage, alright.

 

 

~-~-~-~

“Ah... I’m so tired. My legs hurt.” Siyeon sighed as she massaged her calves. They had been walking for hours, trying ride after ride and booth after booth. Now, they found themselves sitting on the bench, eating the normally expensive food they got for zero won  in exchange of a picture since the vendor was a big fan of theirs.

 

“Hope he won’t upload it immediately, though. Nayoung unnie would grill us if she finds it on instagram.” Sungyeon said with full. Kyla sighed and wiped off the crumbs ocassionaly falling off the older girl’s mouth.

 

The three looked above them and saw the slowly darkening sky. Siyeon then took the last bite of her corn dog before throwing it to the trash bin. She jumped from her seat and looked at her two friends.

 

“Well, what do you say we ride the ferris wheel before going home?” She grinned with excitement.

 

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Sungyeon agreed while dragging Kyla with her.

 

Siyeon failed to notice the ringing of her phone, signifying a call from Minkyung.

 

~-~-~-~

 

 

Nayoung had just arrived in front of the dorm from a day filled with ridiculous schedules. The others were left back at the dorm since the leader was the only one who had individual schedules. Just as the manager opened the door to her, she felt a wave of relief wash through her. She hopped out of the car and bowed at Pristin’s manager, thanking her before making her way to the dorm.

 

She knocked on the door and eventually, Kyungwon opened it.

 

“Welcome back, unnie! Come in! We were waiting for you.” Kyungwon pulled the leader inside the dorm. The first thing Nayoung sees was Minkyung, Yebin and Jieqiong playing some kind of fighting game on the PS4 while Yewon and Eunwoo were helping each other out in composing songs. What she noticed the most, however, was the absence of one of the sources of noise, Park Siyeon. Nayoung also noticed the absence of Kyla and Sungyeon since you could always see the two together. She frowned. This was weird.

 

“Hey, unnie. You’re back!” Minkyung called from the sofa and didn’t even bother to spare Nayoung a glance. Jieqiong quickly let go of the controller from her hands and greeted Nayoung properly. Yebin just smiled at her before resuming her game.

 

“Yeah I am. Where is the maknae line?” Nayoung looked at Eunwoo and Yewon. They just shook their heads and answered with a small “no” before turning back to their composition.

 

“Yah. Kim Minkyung! Nayoung unnie is asking a question.” Kyungwon pointedly called out to Minkyung whose eyes were still trained to the flat screen tv and whose fingers were still mashing the buttons of the ps4 controller to defeat the enemy.

 

Minkyung paused the game and approached Nayoung, who was already glaring at her. She sighed and ruffled her hair.

 

“The maknae line told me they’d just go out and be back soon. They didn’t tell me where though.” The subleader said, her eyes shaky which indicated that she was nervous. Well, who wouldn't be when Leader Im Nayoung was glaring down at you as if you were the vessel of sin itself.

 

"You didn't ask?" Nayoung hissed through gritted teeth.

 

"I tried calling then earlier but Siyeon wasn't answering the call. I texted Sungyeon and Kyla too but they didn’t respond."

 

"How long ago was that?"

 

"About two hours ago." Minkyung answered with her brows furrowed in worry as she realized what she said.

 

"Two hours ago?! Minkyung, you should have told me or Manager oppa." Nayoung finally lost her temper. It was really rare for her to do so since she was usually calm and collected but when it came to the maknae line, she could be pretty fierce; like a protective lioness to her cubs.

 

"Nayoung unnie, calm down..." Yebin held Nayoung’s shoulder to calm her down.

 

"I-I didn't want to make you worry! Besides, I think they just needed some time out, you know?" Minkyung reasoned, struggling under Nayoung's fierce glare.

 

"Well, I AM worried. Maybe way worse!" The tall leader said through gritted teeth and Jieqiong tried to appease her. It was effective, though Nayoung was still visibly seething, breathing deeply and eyes still flaring through her glare at the subleader.

 

Eunwoo and Yewon were also staring at the two in shock.

 

After Nayoung had calmed down, she neared the shoe rack and hurriedly put on some random slippers, not caring if they are not the same anymore.

 

"Unnie! Where are you going? Dinner's almost done boiling!" Yewon called out.

 

"I'm doing what Minkyung should have done hours ago instead of playing nonstop." She said coldly before sprinting out of the door.

 

“Unnie, I’ll come with you!” Minkyung hurriedly put on her shoes before sprinting out the door with Nayoung. This made the remaining girls look at each other in worry.

 

“That’s the first time I’ve seen Nayoung unnie that mad.” Kyungwon said in a way that you could say she was still in a daze about what happened.

 

“Me too. Well, this is the maknae line we’re talking about.” Eunwoo sighed and pulled out her phone to send a text message to Siyeon.

 

~-~-~-~

The two eldest members of Pristin were silent as they took strides to look at the different places the three have gone to. They had tried to search for them in the convenience store, the local supermarket and even some of the side walks, hoping they would find their three youngest members.

 

They searched for almost an hour already and cold sweat was dampening Nayoung’s bangs, making them stick on her forehead. Minkyung could only look sympathetically at Nayoung. It was her fault for not assessing the maknaes’ intentions before allowing them to go out.

 

But it was DEFINITELY not her fault that she had a soft spot for them. She knew how hard they worked the past few months, so she agreed with the three hanging out without a bat of an eye.

 

Minkyung and Nayoung found themselves sitting at one of the swings in the park, with Nayoung constantly shuffling her feet in an anxious way.

 

“I am SO worried about them.” The leader said and held her head in her hands. “They aren’t sending me texts AT ALL. Even Kyla and Sungyeon’s phones are turned off.”

 

“Maybe they’re on their way back, unnie. Calm down.” Minkyung tried to appease Nayoung, but it did little to no help at all. Nayoung was still worried. Her eyes travelled downwards. She saw Nayoung wearing different slippers and she could also see a few blisters materializing, which presumably started during the morning when the older girl attended a schedule.

 

“I can’t calm down unless I know they’re safe. I know I may be possibly overreacting, but I can’t help it.”

 

Minkyung remained silent. She didn’t know what to say.

 

After a few more minutes, Nayoung’s phone vibrated and stood up, nodding at Minkyung. The younger girl needn’t be informed twice. She knows what it means.

 

~-~-~-~

 

Nayoung and Minkyung power walked to the company as the former texted the manager about the situation.

 

“Manager oppa said he’ll be meeting us at the company. He’ll have a car ready in case we need to travel.” Nayoung told Minkyung as soon as she received a message from their manager. The sub-leader kept silent, guilt washing over her as she walked beside Nayoung to the building.

 

 

Luckily, it was kind of late out and it was dark. No one could notice the Pristin members that much. It also helped that Minkyung was bare-faced and Nayoung had a cap, although their heights still stood out much.

 

 

Within twenty minutes, they reached the company and saw their manager talking to three people. Three girls to be exact. Three Pristin members to be accurate. The MAKNAE LINE to be specific and precise.

 

Nayoung and Minkyung widened their eyes. The leader immediately sprinted towards the direction of the manager.

 

~-~-~-~

Siyeon, Sungyeon and Kyla had their heads down as their manager oppa scolded them about being late.

 

“Where have you been?”

 

“We were at the amusement park, manager-oppa.” Siyeon muttered lowly. She was the one responsible for dragging the maknae line out for a girl’s day out in the amusement park since they haven’t been bonding much lately. She figured that Nayoung would never allow them to do that, so she took the opportunity of Nayoung’s full schedule.

 

“Do you know that-“ Manager oppa’s words were cut short when a rush of dark red hair rushed past him and stopped in front of the people he was talking to. Siyeon widened her eyes at the sight of her leader’s dishiveled appearance and worried stare. She was even more shocked when Nayoung pulled her and her two companions in a fierce hug.

 

“Nayoung unnie...” Sungyeon said softly before taking in the soft lavender scent of the leader. It reminded her of home. She lowered her head on Nayoung’s shoulder as guilt crept up her spine. She was the oldest among the maknae line and she felt so irresponsible. She observed Kyla and Siyeon do the same out of the corner of her eye.

 

Their manager noticed that they needed space so he turned to Minkyung instead.

 

“I’ll just leave you two leaders to deal with this for the night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. We still need to decide on the kind of punishment we should give them for breaking the rules.” He finished. The sub leader remained silent. If there were someone who would answer with the right mindset, it would be Nayoung.

 

“Okay, manager oppa.”

 

“Be careful on your way home.” With that, their manager left them to their own devices, entering the company again.

 

It had been a couple of minutes yet Nayoung still didn’t release the three maknaes in the hug.

 

“Uhh, Nayoung unnie?” Kyla asked. At that moment, Nayoung released the girls from the fierce hug. The leader shed a few tears of relief, wiping them with her palm.

 

“You three... NEVER do that again. You have to contact ME. I was so worried about you!” Nayoung bawled out, not caring if they were in the middle of the street. Kyla, Siyeon and Sungyeon were shocked. They never saw Nayoung act like this. She must have been very very worried.

 

Without another word, Nayoung walked back to the dorm. Minkyung sent a look to Siyeon and slowed down to fall into step with the younger girl.

 

Siyeon felt guilt creeping up her spine as she walked side by side with the subleader. She could feel the stares of her fellow maknae line members boring into her skull. She knew in herself that she screwed up when she deceived Minkyung by telling her about hanging out in a convenience store only.

 

“Unnie...” Siyeon started, her breath stopping in nervousness as soon as Minkyung gave her a side glance, which, in her case, appeared to be similar to a glare. Hesitantly, she linked arms with the tall girl.

 

“I’m sorry...” she muttered, but it was loud enough for Minkyung to hear her. She felt the older girl stop in her tracks and bring her into a bone crushing hug.

 

“It’s okay, Siyeon... At least you’re safe... I understand why you did that, but please, don’t do that again.” She whispered against Siyeon’s hair. The younger girl returned the hug and teared up a little.

 

“You still have to apologize to Nayoung unnie though...” she said, turning to the other maknaes to let them know that it was also for them to hear. “ She was very worried. She didn’t even get the chance to change her clothes, freshen up or anything. She... she cares for you girls even though it may be very subtle.”

 

Sungyeon, Kyla and Siyeon looked at their leader who was walking ahead of them. Their eyes travelled down her figure and they saw her wearing one bunny slipper and one alligator slipper. They also saw blisters peeking out from her heels too and Sungyeon had to prevent her tears from falling.

 

Have they been inconsiderate?

 

~-~-~-~

As soon as the five girls arrived in the dorm, they were greeted by the members with worried looks, yells of worry for the three maknaes, and furrowed brows of pity for Nayoung, especially for Jieqiong, who was Nayoung’s bestest friend.

 

Nayoung ushered the other girls to the room and asked Minkyung to remain. She made the maknae line sit on the sofa and she herself and Minkyung stood in front of them. The three girls were visibly nervous.

 

“Where have you been, you three?” Nayoung asked. She had already calmed down and was no longer sobbing.

 

“We... were at the amusement park, unnie.” Kyla explained for all of them. The two others nodded in agreement.

 

“Why were you at the amusement park?”

 

“We... wanted to enjoy. It has been six months since we last had that kind of fun and we miss it, unnie. Also, we missed the times we could still go on School Field Trips with our classmates since we always miss out on those.” Sungyeon explained with a small voice. Nayoung’s eyes softened at the three.

 

She knew that the three hadn’t experienced much of the School Field Trips for many years since trainee life had already chained them down, especially Siyeon, who has been in Pledis for as long as she can remember.

 

“How about you, Park Siyeon? How could you lie to Minkyung about just hanging out in a convenience store?” Nayoung’s voice raised a few octaves, and this alarmed Minkyung since she was the receiving end of a much higher frequency of Nayoung’s voice earlier. She quickly placed a hand on the leader’s shoulder to calm her down.

 

“I’m... “ Siyeon’s voice cracked and after a few breaths, sobs prevailed from her system. “I’m so... so... sorry, unnie. I didn’t mean to take advantage of Minkyung unnie’s soft spot for us maknaes. I just... I just wanted to hang out with the members who were the same age as us. I miss my friends in middle school, unnie. I missed out a lot so I was making up for lost time...” she continued to sob hardly as the two other maknaes rubbed her back to comfort her. “I... I’m so selfish, so please... if you’re gonna punish someone... Punish me, unnie. You can take half of my income for this month, anything... just please don’t punish Sungyeon unnie and Illa because I was the one who dragged them into this.” She practically begged Nayoung, even going as far as to almost kneel, if it weren’t for her companions.

 

She was expecting another yell from the leader, but instead, she got the opposite.

 

She got a hug.

 

“Pabo... I would  never do something like that, Siyeon. Yes, what you did was kind of... selfish, but it’s still what you feel. I would rather choose that you did this than bottle up all the feelings you have and always follow the rules. I understand how you feel. I was a highschool student once, too. I am not going to say that what I feel is way worse than what you feel, but i just want you to know that us unnies are always going to be here for you and we will always be your friends. Just be honest next time about your feelings... and don't run off next time without informing me.” She felt Siyeon return her hug and nod on her shoulder, making her smile a bit. Siyeon may be young, but she knew that she was mature in her own way.

 

She released Siyeon from the hug and proceeded to hug the two other maknaes, one in each arm, to show that she cared for them. Conveying to them in the most non-verbal way possible...

 

That they were her family.

 

Minkyung later joined in the hug too and cried along with them.

 

It wasn’t until when Jieqiong got out of her room to remind them of dinner that they released each other in the warm embrace

 

~-~-~-~

At 12:56 AM, everyone was tucked in bed, except for Nayoung who was still lounging by the sofa in front of the flat screen tv. Her eyes were trained in front of her, but her mind was still recovering from the events that had transpired earlier. Well, it wasn’t only Nayoung who was awake though.

 

“It’s pretty late, unnie. You need to sleep now.” Minkyung spoke and sat next to Nayoung, releasing a yawn as soon as she had plopped herself down the sofa.

 

“Says the one who stayed up late too.” Nayoung smirked before turning her attention back at the tv which was playing some kind of funny variety show. They both laughed at the older’s joke before falling into silence again.

 

“I’m sorry, Minkyung. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You’re Pristin’s reliable sub leader, and I’m sorry if I didn’t make you feel like it earlier. ” Nayoung was the first to break the silence surrounding the living room. Minkyung turned to her in response before speaking.

 

“It’s okay, unnie. It’s good to know how concerned you are for our fellow members. We can react a lot sometimes because of triggering circumstances.” Minkyung patted the leader’s shoulder before sinking into a comfortable position on the couch. Nayoung felt relief wash over her as soon as Minkyung forgave her.

 

“Well, I’m gonna be going back to bed now, Minkyung. Good night.” Nayoung smiled and threw the remote control at Minkyung, who caught it in ease. She gave a mock salute to the leader accompanied by a grin.

 

“Night, unnie!”

 

~-~-~-~

The next morning, Nayoung had explained the situation to her CEO and her manager and asked them to pardon the three maknaes for  this time.

 

During practice break, she slid down the mirror with sweat trickling down her face and chin. As if on cue, Jieqiong and Yebin sat next to her and the former offered her a drink, to which she received with a small smile.

 

She looked over the three maknaes who were playing some games with Minkyung and Kyungwon.

 

Nayoung reminded herself that they were not kids anymore, but responsible young ladies getting ready to face the world.

 

Though it didn’t mean that Nayoung would let them face it alone. She would always watch over them every step of the way.

 

A/N: Aaaand... Chapter 3 is complete! This is the longest chapter so far(3.8K words) simply because I was carried away and... the dramatic part of this chapter was largely because I was listening to Downpour, Hold Up and When the Cherry Blossoms Fade. I personally enjoyed writing the amusement park scene the most! Only 2 more chapters before this fic ends. Once again, the updates will be irregular. Thanks for reading! Till Next time! ^_^