"Appa, I know you're sad but please don't make it harder than it has to be." Kyungwon sighed, bending to pick up the heavy cardboard box in her room.

"How can I not be when my only daughter is moving out?" Her father complained as he watched the girl move out of her now 'old room' and head towards the door where other piles of boxes were stacked up. Kyungwon was trying to contain her emotions as best as she could, but it was proving to be difficult after watching the tears pool in her father's sorrowful eyes.

She moved back to her room to pick up the last of her things, stepping around her father who simply stood in the way and watched her do these things. "Please, Appa, you know this has always been my dream." She tried to negotiate, though finding that her voice cracked when she observed her bare room.

The room had been her home and sanctuary for the past seven years ever since they moved from Gwuangju to Seoul. She remembered when she first entered the room that she was still in that music school, unknowingly attending exactly the same one as Minkyung and even going to the same year. Her hopes and dreams had been high at that time and her innocence was still very much intact, especially after being in that singing competition and confirming that this was what she wanted to do. Here she had grown up from her thirteen-year-old self into the young adult she was today.

Biting her lips, she skimmed the edge of the door frame with her fingers and observed the dents made at different heights. She remembered making her father measure her height every six months to see if she was growing well. The smallest one touched her shoulder.

She shook the memories out of her head and picked up her bag. The room wasn't completely bare, since the covers on the bed were still on and all the furniture was left where they were. The only things missing were the many objects that had previously littered the desk and bed side table, along with the closet being stripped down so it was completely bare. But the posters of some of her idols were still hung up from years ago.

"Ah, I can't believe how mature you are." Her father said a little remorsefully, taking her by the shoulders and looking at her face carefully. "You're such a beautiful young woman, Kyungwon-ah."

Kyungwon smiled lovingly, wiping away a stray tear from her father's eyes. "That's only because I had beautiful parents, Appa." She said, grinning into her father's shoulder when he pulled her into a hug. She was definitely going to miss seeing her father so often now.

When they pulled back, he gave her a stern look. "I don't want anything bad happening to you just because you're not taking care of your health properly, okay? I don't care what that agency says, don't you dare skip any meals because you are far too skinny anyway." He clenched his jaw tightly, Kyungwon laughing gently whilst wiping her own tears. "You better take care of yourself and call often, okay?"

Nodding, Kyungwon tried burying the feeling of loss and sadness beneath her happiness of finally getting to debut.

"Don't worry, Mr Kang, I'll make sure she does." Eunwoo commented from the doorway, a lazy smile on her face. She gave her a sympathetic smile because Eunwoo had already decided to move in this morning during training time, so she had had to say goodbye to her own family too.

"Ah, Jung Eunwoo, I have faith in you to take care of my daughter." Kyungwon's father said, finally releasing his daughter from his tight hold and stepping towards the shorter girl. Kyungwon knew it was his own way of coping with his feelings, which was to push them away and ignore them. Something that she had also made a bad habit out of.

Eunwoo nodded eagerly, grabbing Kyungwon's hand when she was near enough. "Yes, but I'll need help from the others too," She said with a mischeivious glint in her eye. "Unnie can be a handful."

Pushing the younger girl out of the door, Kyungwon hugged her father goodbye for the last time and heived the box up, letting Eunwoo carry the lighter things. They moved towards the elevator and Kyungwon tried not to turn back to look at her father, who was probably still standing outside of the apartment door watching their every step. She didn't want to regret her decisions more than she already did.

Once they were inside and the doors closed, Kyungwon allowed a tear to slip out of her eye and she let out a heavy breath. There was this empty feeling resting inside of her chest, like a small piece of her had been carved out of her and put some place that was too far to reach. Perhaps the dawning realisation that she was growing up quicker than she had expected, or the fact that she would only be able to see her father twice a year if she was lucky. Whatever reason it was, it made her feel just a little more empty than usual.

Eunwoo babbled about nonesense as they loaded their things into Yongsoo's car, laughing excitedly when she got to the highlight of her tale and nudgin Kyungwon to get a desired reaction out of her. Unconsciously, she filled up the gap inside Kyungwon's chest and helped the older girl realise that she had gained a new, slightly larger and crazier family.

Yongsoo gave her a smile as she sat down in the passenger seat, patting her thigh softly in a comforting manner before telling Eunwoo a quick joke and moving out from the parking space. "We're still up for tomorrow, right?" He asked the brunette staring out of the window at the apartment quickly decreasing in size as they drove away, eyes blankly watching the buildings run past her gaze.

Kyungwon snapped her gaze away from the mirror and looked at her brother, who was shootng her worried glances. "Um... Yeah, I only have a two hours before I have to go back to the company and start practicing..." She trailed off, realising that all she was spouting were useless excuses to cover up her guilt.

Biting her tongue, Kyungwon looked straight ahead and let her mind wander elsewhere.

Along with the small TV series and tour that they would be on with Seventeen, they also had to film individual videos of their performances and take pictures for their teasers. Not only that, but they still had to listen to their title track and get a feel of what their concept would be - she was praying hard that it wasn't anything too cute. This meant that all of their time and energy from tomorrow onwards would have to be spent preparing for their debut next year, which meant no skipping training and definitely no relaxing during practice sessions. Their roles had also yet to be assigned, though Kyungwon was sure that hers wouldn't be anything too special...

Just thinking about it made her tired, but she also couldn't help the overriding excitement that was constantly on her mind at the thought of finally getting to accomplish her dream. She couldn't bear to imagine how Siyeon was feeling - being the one who had been at Pledis the longest and watching trainees tirelessly join and leave. She must be ecstatic.

Everything was going right.

Kyungwon didn't feel like doing anything when she woke up that morning, but her brother's insistant calling had managed to annoy Kyla enough to drag her out of bed and push her out of their dorm.

So now she found herself sitting sulkily beisde her brother as he drove them over to the place she had been dreading ever he had first mentioned it. There was this faint feeling of dread at the mere thought of even trying to talk about her feelings or reliving the death of her mother all over again - which had taken her a lot of time and effort to get over. She really didn't want to take a million steps backwards just so she could go back to the over-sensitive girl she was a couple of years ago.

Yongsoo simply hummed along to the radio as if he weren't driving her little sister to the therapist so she could stop being so 'self-destructive'. And the weather was certainly mocking her, what with the bright clear blue sky, sun perched high in the air as it shone down its light on the brown leaves on the trees. It was the perfect day to grab a cup of hot chocolate and simply bask in the sunlight.

She pulled herself out of her reveree when she remembered that she'd have to go straight back to the company building to officially start on their preparations. The nervousness and anticipation returned, making her heart flutter in her chest.

As soon as they pulled up into a parking lot, Yongsoo got out of the car and moved around to open the door for her, knowing that she wouldn't get out willingly.

"Let's go, we're a little late because of all your complaining." He said cheerfully, gesturing for her to get out.

Kyungwon threw him the dirtiest glare possible, but huffed frustratedly and snatched her bag from in between her feet and did as he asked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're pretty happy to see me suffering." She deadpanned, though she really didn't mean it. And to show her brother that there were no harsh sentiments behind her words, she gave him a sweet smile and hooked their arms together, almost mockingly.

Yongsoo let out a short laugh and uneasily lead her to the front doors. The receptionist told them that the therapist was already waiting and ''has been waiting for the past ten minutes''. They simply exchanged amused glances as they headed towards the door with the correct number on it.

"Oh, you're here." Kyungwon could detect the bitterness in the man's voice as they stepped inside, and she decided that she already didn't like him.

He looked a little scary: grey suit with thin purple stripes running down it's lengths; small glasses hanging on a metal chain from his neck; greying hair and small, slit eyes looking intensly at them. She honeslty didn't understand how someone so evil-looking got a job that was meant to comfort people who were in need of warmth and love.

Though maybe she was being a little judgemental and defensive.

Sitting down on the small love seat opposite the impatient looking man, she avoided his gaze and instead took a look around the room.

There were two paintings: one with black and white splodges above his desk that was situated to their left and one with different shades of blue by the wooden door they had just walked through. The windows were wide, and the blinds allowed the light to flood pleasantly into the room, though the silhouette of the man wasn't a very pleasant sight. Overall, the color scheme seemed to be a mixture of browns, whites and greys, including the mahogany bookcase which held a couple of pictures of him and two other children and books of psychology.

The place was very professional for what the man's job description stated him to be, and despite containing a slight touches of his personal life, it still didn't feel like it was a place she would feel comfortable being in.

Yongsoo and the man were talking about her condition, which she managed to block out until he asked her a question.

Blinking cluelessly, she tilted her head slightly. "I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?" She asked politely, but frowned when the man's expression tensed in annoyance.

"I asked if you've been feeling well." He asked once more, voice full of fake sympathy and patience.

Kyungwon blinked again, but this time slowly, making sure he knew that she wasn't very pleased with his attitude. "Yes, and you?" She replied as if she were having a normal conversation, not being able to hold back the aggression.

"Good." The man replied curtly, shifting in his space and shuffling through papers that were rested against his clipbaord. Kyungwon seriously didn't like him.

The sesssion continued as such. The man asking her questions that required deep, elaborate answers and her replies always dodging the subject at hand and reflecting the question back at him. Yongsoo didn't look very pleased as he shifted in his space beside her, constantly shooting the man apologetic looks as if he had something to be sorry for.

As soon as they got out of the room, a notice telling them to contact them again within a week in their hand, Kyungwon let out a heavy breath and ran her hand down her face. She felt as if her brain had just ran the longest marathon ever unprepared. Her eyes were practically closing by themselves.

"Well," Yongsoo started, his voice full of emotion as they headed back out of the building. "that could have gone better."

Kyungwon gave him a look before slumping into the passenger seat. That was one of the worst moments in her life. Not only was the man moody and scolding, she had a feeling that he disliked her a lot despite only knowing each other for an hour max. How were they still in business?

Her brother noticed her silence and sighed, rubbing his temples in a stressed manner. "Kyungwon, I'm sorry. I didn't know that he'd be like that." He said, sounding regretful.

With her own huff, Kyungwon straightened in her seat and glanced at him. "It's okay, oppa, it's not like you know much about therapists." She grimaced when she saw his shoulders droop further, her comment not helping at all. "Maybe the next one." She suggested quietly, a little reluctant to suggest a repeat of this small session.

Yongsoo brightened at that and smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you, Kyungie."

He drove her towards the familiar company building and dropped her off with a small, timid hug. She waited until the small car was out of view, taking a right turn into another street, before mentally hyping herself up to be productive today. She had one language lesson, two vocal lessons, one dance lesson and free time to practice everything.

She could do this.

As soon as they arrived at the dorm, Kyungwon found the couch and collapsed onto it, her face melting into the soft cushions and all of her muscles relaxing immediately - which she was immensely grateful for. She felt as if she had just lived two days in one.

She wasn't that surprised to feel another weight crashing into her when the door to the dorm closed loudly, the sound of girls talking over each other and yelling dibs at who got to shower first filling in the four walls of the large dorm. It was probably a few minutes past midnight, seeing as Nayoung had been eager to push them to their limits with her new responsibility of being the leader of nine other teenage girls. Not only was she physically exhausted, her mind felt strained.

Kyungwon mumbled something into the couch, not even bothering to lift her head to be heard properly.

"Shush, I'm tired." Eunwoo lazily smacked the side of her face, making her yelp in protest, and simply cuddled further into her back.

Closing her eyes briefly, she could see white spots dancing around in the back of her eyelids; she suspected it was due to lack of nutrition after having a couple of dried fruits for lunch. Her head was spinning and her stomach wasn't feeling too great, but then again, the thought of having finished their 'Adore U' cover completely was a greater satisfaction.

"Hey, you two! Get up and go wash up!" Nayoung scolded quietly, shaking both of them at the same time.

Eunwoo groaned, tightening her grip around her waist further. "Unnie~ just leave us... we can die here, it's okay."

Kyungwon nodded in agreement, hiding her face away into her arm.

"Come on, everyone is done and in bed." Nayoung tugged the youngest first, relieving Kyungwon of the extra weight and allowing her to breathe a little better.

Once she was sitting up, she realised that she had fallen asleep on the couch and that there were no signs of life from the other girls. Had she really fallen asleep for that long? It had only felt like two minutes to her.

She tiredly pushed herself up from the couch and observed as Nayoung attempted to push Eunwoo towards the bathroom and the younger girl simply let herself fall limp in the older girl's arms. With much effort from her already soring limbs, she managed to make her way over to her two members and hook an arm around Eunwoo's small waist.

"Come on," Kyungwon mumbled as she rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "Let's get you all washed up."

Eunwoo pulled her closer by the hip as they tried to get through the bathroom door at the same time, making her heave a breath at the tight squeeze. She already knew her best friend was clingy by nature, but handling her whenever she was fatigued was like trying to calm down one of those baby pandas. Not that she ever minded, because she also loved skinship.

Nayoung gave her a greatful look before disappearing from the doorway and into her own room.

All her younger friend did was groan and hiss whenever Kyungwon's movements were too harsh, but the older girl shrugged it off and simply smeared the face wash harder. "You know you could always do this yourself, you have arms for a reason..." Kyungwon growled playfully, angling her head better to observe Eunwoo's face.

"Nah..." Eunwoo hummed, the corners of her lips lilting up slyly. "I prefer it when you do it. Makes me feel powerful."

Kyungwon mock-gasped and poked her forehead so she had to take a step back to regain her balance. "Remember your place, dongsaeng-ah." She felt relaxed despite having to do this by herself and use her aching muscles. There was a certain serenity that the process of taking care of someone she loved provided, and it made all her inner turmoils come to a ceasefire for a while. "Make yourself useful and help me out." She jolted herself out of her trance and waited for Eunwoo to proceed with her task.

The silence that spread through the apartment could almost be physically felt, but Kyungwon found herself comfortably fitting into it and enjoying the momentary peace and quite. There weren't many times where she could embrace the lack of music and loud voices talking over one another. Unconsciously, the corners of tugged up and she wiped away the bit of foam that had lodged itself between Eunwoo's eyebrows. The younger girl was washing her face with her eyes closed yet was seemingly making her way around her features without poking her finger in .

"Unnie?" Eunwoo broke the silence first, sounding a little unsure of herself.

Kyungwon hummed before answering. "Yeah?" She directed Eunwoo to the sink to help her wash her face clean, grimacing a little when she felt the water was a little too cold for comfort.

Once she had resurfaced, Eunwoo took the towel from the rack and let Kyungwon finish her ritual herself. "Do you think that it was destiny?"

She stayed quiet for a while trying to process the question a little better. There were a lot of things Eunwoo could have meant with that, but if she knew her best friend well enough then it could only ever truly mean a number of things. And when she thought about it, what she was trying to hint at actually made a little sense.

"I'm not sure." She replied non-commitially, leaning over the sink to wash her face. "But if there are things that have that higher power over our lives, then yes. Definitely. You were born for this life, Eunwoo."

There was no reply, just a small grunt to confirm that the other had heard what she had said. Kyungwon could tell that there was a lot going through Eunwoo's mind at the moment, but she knew better than to go prying in someone else's thoughts and feelings when that was the last thing she would want for herself. Instead, she applied cream on her face and glanced over at the exhausted stance of her best friend.

"Come on, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow, too." Kyungwon wrapped her arm around her smaller shoulders and pulled her into her side, leaning her jaw against the side of her head. Perhaps the reason why she felt so connected to the younger girl was their similar behaviour when faced with hardships.

Her mind was quieter that night than any other nights. There was too much fatigue looming over her for her to actually feel anything other than a distant calm mood.

"Pst." She was already in bed when someone from the bunk on the other side of the room demanded for attention. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she knew that she would recognise that voice anywhere.

Groaning softly as an answer, Kyungwon turned her head towards the direction of the sound. She didn't want to wake the other girls -- they deserved their well-earned rest.

"Do me a favor?" Minkyung breathily whispered, her voice sounding far too awake for someone who had been awake for longer than recommended. She carried on, not waiting for an answer. "I can't sleep. Stay up with me?"

Kyungwon groaned again, knowing that there was no way she could ever refuse anything that the other girl requested. Especially if it meant spending even more time with her most favourite person at the moment. She didn't have another choice either because there was already the tell-tale creaking of the bunk frame as Minkyung made her way towards her.

"Fine, but you can't blame me if I fall asleep." Kyungwon mumbled as the covers were lifted and another warm body joined her in the tight space. She didn't know what was going on through the other girl's mind, but whatever it was was making her heart beat faster inside her chest.

"I'll just make you stay awake." Minkyung retorted, playfully grinning in her face before trying to make herself more comfortable.

"Sure, wake up the whole building, why don't you." Kyungwon jested sarcastically, referring to the ruckus that the girl was causing. She was secretly glad for it: that way Minkyung wouldn't be able to hear her heart trying to escape from its place.

"Oh shush." Minkyung shuffled down the bed and repositioned herself repeatedly in place of a comfortable position. "You can't say you don't like cuddling. It's the best thing ever."

She didn't reply to that, knowing that if she denied the statement then she'd be lying to her and to herself. Instead, she put her arm underneath Minkyung's lifting head and shifted so she too felt at ease. The other's movements stilled and after a while, an arm was thrown over her mid-riff, legs tangling together and face nuzzling closer.

"You're a hugger..." Kyungwon teased nervously, trying to close her eyes and ignore the light brush of the girl's breathing on her neck. This seemed like it was a scene straight out of one of her dreams.

"Mm-yup. You're comfy." Minkyung said. She appeared to be content with her current position so Kyungwon didn't do anything other than pray that she'd get through the night without having a heart attack. "Sing me something..."

Kyungwon didn't really have the energy to do that particular activity after exhausting today, but when she felt the prod against her ribs she sighed in defeat and began to rummage through her inner music playlist. There had to be a song that she remembered, right? She lived for music, after all. There must be a song somewhere in there.

"Like what?" She whispered, cursing her brain for not being able to come up with something. She blamed the tight grip that Minkyung had on her. She then remembered a familiar memory from the past and bit her lip tightly. Would she...? "Never mind, I got something."

The melody came easy -- as if she had just listened to it on the way home in the van. She hummed it softly, not too loudly so the other girls wouldn't be disturbed, but strong enough for Minkyung to let out a satisfied sound and nuzzle closer to her. There were an onslaught of memories rushing into her head as she revived them from past. She didn't think she'd ever hear this particular tune ever again, or even try to mimick it herself, but maybe it was the momentary calm of the storm within her that had helped resurface it.

She unknowingly hugged Minkyung's body closer and squeezed her eyes shut -- she hoped the stinging in them would go away and sleep would come soon.