Joohyun was quietly going over her moves, looking at the wall of the practice room. She bounced on the balls of her feet to warm herself up.

It was getting late to start practicing, everyone was already practicing from what Joohyun could tell--hearing the quietness of the hallways and the bass creeping up to the sole of her feet. She was starting to wonder if Seulgi had fallen asleep again, or if she never woke up to begin with.

With a sigh, she shook her head at Seulgi's heavy sleeping habits. She was ready to scold the girl once she finally made it inside, but she was greeted with something else...

The door slowly creaked open as Seulgi shyly came into the room, her fingers fiddling with a handkerchief. The girl was red-eyed, her face looked puffy and she looked incredibly tired and defeated. However, Joohyun did not turn around and only continued to warm up as she spoke out loud and clear.

"You know what time it is? It's time we started practicing a few minutes ago, Seulgi..."

Seulgi opened and nothing came out.

Nothing.

She felt her tears starting to fall again while Joohyun did not turn around.

"You really shouldn't sleep so late, we have things to do! We have to work hard," Joohyun continued, still not looking at the girl.

It did not take long before Seulgi walked up to Joohyun and tugged her sweater to get her attention.

Finally, Joohyun turned around and was completely frozen. "S-seulgi, what is it?"

Seulgi shook her head, trying to talk but nothing came out.

Joohyun frowns and tilts her head. It doesn’t take long before she realizes that Seulgi can't say anything. She always greets her with utmost joy and warmth, she always tells a few jokes, hugs her real tight...

She always calls her by 'Unnie' even if Joohyun told her again and again that it wasn’t necessary; she did it without fail, everyday. But she could not hear it this time.

Seulgi pointed to and then made an X sign with her fingers, sniffling and trying hard to keep her composure. She had been crying for a while, since she woke up, worried out of her mind, but she didn’t want to cry in front of her best friend.  But when Joohyun kept looking at her with those worried eyes, spreading her arms apart, the poor girl started to bawl and instantly wrapped her arms around the woman, clinging to her in any way she could as she left her tears to flow and leave out all her emotions.

Did this mean the end of Seulgi’s career? Something she fought so hard for?

Joohyun just hugged the girl close, feeling her heart drop to her stomach, and unable to do anything else--to say anything--but to weep with her in silence.


**

That night, Seulgi had snuggled up against her calmly and quietly. When Joohyun wrapped her arm around her and hugged her closer, she felt warm and safe despite having a terrible day behind her. Seulgi only looked up at her with her big puppy eyes and Joohyun could instantly understand what Seulgi was saying. The eyes could talk to her clearly, she understood her looks well, her body language.

She wanted to sleep like that, on her chest, hugging one another.

"Want to sleep like this?" Joohyun asked to make sure, earning a nod from Seulgi.

It was incredible how easily they understood each other without words, without actions, just a simple stare. Seulgi was amazed at how attentive and intuitive Joohyun was to her... but then her eyes watered again. Was it going to be like this forever? She heard of people losing their voices for a long long time, and some could even not be able to sing well after it. It was starting to stress Seulgi out, and the fact that Joohyun had already gotten accustomed to the idea of Seulgi not talking?

It was all so scary, so sudden.

Crying was not helping her voice in any case, but she could not stop. She was frightened, she needed someone to hug her and tell her she was OK. She needed her mommy. But with the Kangs out of town, she only had the comfort of her best friend. The only person she trusted deeply, that she loved.

Joohyun could only ruffle the weeping girl's hair and hug her close as she cried again. She did not say anything, she just kept Seulgi close to her body. She did her best to keep her calm, to keep her in an environment where she felt she could cry out as much as she wanted to, be vulnerable.

Even if Joohyun felt on the verge of tears each time, her heart sore.

Eventually, she heard the sobbing stop, and so she knew Seulgi was asleep.

Good, she needed it.

**

A quiet, lethargic Seulgi sat on the counter as Joohyun finished up fixing their tea

Gargling salt water, drinking a lot of water, trying to talk normally, avoiding chocolate and citrus--nothing was working as of yet but it had only been a few two days. Long, stressful and sorrowful two days for Seulgi, who was starting to think of the worst.

Joohyun was already calm but still preoccupied with taking care of Seulgi as much as she possibly could. A cold morning was not helping the somber feeling of silence in the dorm. Seulgi's usually cheerful demeanor was nowhere to be found and her voice was gone entirely. No 'good mornings', no 'unnie~', no nothing.

Gently stirring Seulgi's tea, she looks up and gently smiles, hoping that the girl will smile, too. "It's ready," Joohyun softly said, pushing the cup closer to Seulgi and watching her drink slowly, her back hunched and slumped.

"Seulgi," Joohyun began, grabbing her own tea cup and leaning against the counter next to Seulgi. "I-I read online that if you continue crying, you probably will have a slower recovery."

Seulgi, whose head was still low, merely nodded and slurped on her tea a little more.

"Okay," Joohyun said to herself, looking around a little bit. "Have you called your parents about this?"

Seulgi looked up with a saddened glare before looking down again.

Oh… She can’t speak on the phone, at all.

"I'll call them if you want, Seulgi."

She shook her head rapidly.

"Why not?"

'I don't want to bother them, not now' Seulgi mouthed, attempting to be as clear as possible.

Joohyun tilted her head and squinted for a moment before she finally understood what she meant. She just nodded and softly sighed, slurping into her tea as well.

It was starting to hit Joohyun soon enough. They would have to go into the vocal coach's room today and just tell them that Seulgi could NOT sing. She could barely talk.

Seulgi's identity, her biggest pride, was her voice. Without it, she was lost in a sea of many talented people. What if she never got her voice back? She could not fathom the idea, the idea of not hearing Seulgi's beautiful voice again. The company would probably toss her to the side if said scenario happens. She'll lose her only friend in the company, aside from Yerim. She'll also lose a potential band mate and the person who she has shared her birthday parties with for years now.

Day by day, female trainee's were leaving SM because the producers were only interested and working on the male trainees, so she clung tighter and tighter to Seulgi in hopes that Seulgi would remain with her. The slim bear-faced girl was strong and was hellbent on making it as a dancer, singer and entertainer. Joohyun shared the enthusiasm.

It was absolutely frightening to suddenly feel Seulgi lose her drive to do anything, especially when she was the last person on earth to do so. Seulgi was on the edge of losing all of that hardwork, Joohyun concluded.

At that moment, Joohyun was looking at Seulgi with sudden concern to her face. Seulgi instantly knew what was going through Joohyun's mind, only sharing gazes in a brief moment was enough. The slim girl put her tea down and slid off the counter, quickly engulfing her best friend in a tight hug.

The pale girl clung onto Seulgi's sweater tightly, trying her very best to keep composure, but the girl sobbing now was Joohyun, not Seulgi.

**

Explaining the situation to the vocal coach was heartbreaking enough. The coach seemed disappointed and decided that leaving Seulgi's voice alone was necessary. Joohyun have temporarily been stuck to the girl's side as they walked by the building.

Now, explaining this to Seulgi's parents was more heartbreaking than anything. Seulgi's mother instantly started to freak out, while her father had to take the phone and continue getting the rest of the information. Seulgi had refrained from crying, sitting in the couch completely speechless and unable to say anything.

They offered to get Seulgi to a doctor, and by all hells they did.

Naturally, the doctor told Seulgi to take it easy, gave her advice and encouraged her to rest and drink things that are good for the throat. While her parents insisted on her sleeping home and staying there, Seulgi declined and clung to Joohyun's arm, to which Joohyun understood immediately what she meant.

"Let her stay with me, I'll take care of her," Joohyun said firmly to her parents.

At first, they were unsure, but when they saw Seulgi clinging to Joohyun, they knew that this perhaps was going to be best for her recovery. They trusted Joohyun as well, so they allowed it.

It was an entire week of just Seulgi and Joohyun being with one another, watching movies, playing a game, relaxing together, training together, dancing together.

Joohyun basically cared for Seulgi like a baby almost. She did everything like making her food, setting her tub--if it wasn’t too weird, she’d help Seulgi dress up. This was making the slim girl softly giggle and motion her to stop.

In a notepad, Seulgi wrote: "I still have my limbs, unnie!"

And of course, they both laughed. It was the first time Joohyung saw Seulgi smile since she lost her voice. The second time Seulgi smiled after finally winning against Joohyun in rock, paper, scissors. Against the woman who never wanted to lose, but honestly, Joohyun was caught off guard. When she saw Seulgi celebrating so eagerly and wiggling around, she laughed with her and continued to lose on purpose. Well, sometimes Seulgi DID win, and it made it all the better.

It was a beautiful smile, Joohyun hadn't realized it how much she missed it. How much she loved it.

One night, Joohyun made it later to the dorm than usual after practice, catching Seulgi asleep. However, the notepad laid on the night stand. And of course, Joohyun read it.

"I already ate something and showered, so don't wake me up~

Unnie, I love you."

Those three words made Joohyun's heart flutter, a goofy smile coming to her lips.

In that entire week together, she learned more about Seulgi than what she knew before. She knew that the girl could not sleep without a nice warm glass of milk before bed, that she liked to snuggle and nuzzle the blankets, that she did a tiny dance when she ate something she loved just like when she won something, that she was a bit of an airhead at times but also incredibly intuitive at other things--all of these things Joohyun was oblivious to until that week.

She learned that when Seulgi looked at her it transmitted a message of help or concern, but the more she looked at that gaze, the more she noticed something.

Seulgi's gaze was intense.

And Joohyun had to admit, she was loving all those quirks. Snuggling close to Seulgi was becoming a lot warmer and fun, playing with her was a lot more fun, just talking to her--through signs, through eye contact, through writing--it was so much more fun and intimate.

Finally, Joohyun felt like she really had a friend by her side.

A friend she was getting to love deeply.

**

There Seulgi was, bringing out those magnificent notes. Her sweet and powerful voice was shadowing the beautiful piano tune matching up to her. It was like she had never lost her voice, like she was never afraid in the first place.

Those notes, that voice, it all made Joohyun's heart waver and quiver in delight, watching from afar how Seulgi was so focused on singing. She was passionate, she was giving it her all, like never before.

It had been quite a few days since she recovered her voice and she had been taking it easy. But now she was singing her heart off--singing away all the sadness and raising victorious once again. Her dream was still with her and there was a chance for her in stardom. In fact, the experience made her mentally stronger, made her grow more as a human.

Joohyun was leaning against the end of the piano, watching Seulgi with the biggest smile on her face. It wasn't only a smile of joy but one of pride, one of relief...

One of love.

She was hearing that amazing voice once again that would lull her to sleep again, she was watching her best friend sing after seeing her saddened and crying for days.

It there was something to learn from that slump was to continue moving forwards, since there could always be a way out of that slump.

However, what Joohyun learned was that she could never be sure where love would bloom and how long it would take.

Seeing as her love for Seulgi bloomed in less than a week.