She falls through the door of the hotel room, taking unsteady steps on shaky legs still thriving on the adrenaline of the performance and the crowd. She’d taken the heels off in the elevator, shoes dangling by the strap in one hand and throws them somewhere on her side of the room. They never unpack neatly anyway, various garments strewn across whichever room they sleep in for the night, and Chaeyoung isn’t going to be fazed by another object added to the ever increasing pile of clothes littered on the floor.

  The heels clatter noisily, smacking against the dresser in the corner as she flops lethargically onto the bed. The sheets are crisp and clean and she inhales heavily as she scrunches them in her fists, pressing her face into the scent of what she thinks is lavender. She exhales, all of the taut restraint in her body melting away into the soft, plush mattress and rolls herself in the thick duvet, not bothering to take off her makeup or clothes.

  Her mind is everywhere, thoughts filtering through at an unthinkable speed as she processes the day; where she went, the faces of thousands of people staring at her as she mechanically moved to the music blaring from the over-sized speakers behind her, that slight mistake she made on the second turn just before the chorus where her foot wasn’t quite in position, the -

  She shuts her eyes, tries to let the rustle of the sheets drown out the disorganized jumble of thoughts each trying to demand her attention in full.

  It’s a lot, all of this. She wouldn’t exchange it for the world; she’s worked hard for this, she wanted this more than anything, and it’s good. She loves what she does - performing fills her with a self-injected cocktail of adrenaline like nothing else ever could, and she couldn’t ask for eight better people to ride the wave with.

  However, it was tiring. That much she would admit, and some days it got a little too big for her to handle.

  She did her best. She was good at that, but sometimes she just wishes she could lay there for a while - not thinking of the steps for a new routine, or how she’d have to wake up at 4am to have her hair and makeup done, or having to watch her every minute movement in front of a crowd of eager eyes just waiting for her to trip up.

  She breathes in, long and deep and slow and the thoughts start to filter out.

  In, out.

  The mattress dips suddenly and her eyes flit open, greeted by darkness as grabby hands wrap her even tighter in the duvet cocoon she’d managed to wrap herself in and press her into the mattress. She hears giggling, meaning there’s multiple assailants as whoever’s on top of her begins to rough house her around, rolling her childishly and bouncing both of their bodies maniacally against the complaining bed springs. She grins, tries to fumble her way out of her self-induced restraint but she’s pinned, entirely at the mercy of the girl on top of her.

  She’s greeted by the bright light of the hotel room as the duvet is tugged away from her face, revealing a mischievous grin staring down at her from her vantage point.

  “Hi.”

  Sana huffs a strand of hair out of her face, sure that it’s flushed red and her hair is everywhere at this point. She blows a raspberry at Chaeyoung in response, scrunches her face in faux anger as her grin widens. She looks behind the younger girl to see Dahyun and Jihyo watching in unmasked bemusement, not even the slightest bit sheepish.

  “Is there a reason for this unprovoked attack,” Sana begins, wiggling her arms free to pinch at the girl on top of her, ignoring her screams as she did so, “or is this just for fun?”

  She manages to pin the younger girl, throwing the duvet over her unceremoniously and wrapping her tightly in it’s confines. There’s muffled screaming coming from under the duvet as Sana jostles both of them, mixed with breathless laughter that they all ignore in favour of conversation.

  “We were coming to see how you were,” Jihyo begins, mirth laced in her tone as she fixes the older girl with sleepy, half-lidded eyes, “and to ask if you wanted to watch the moon with us.”

  “It’s super pretty tonight.” Dahyun chimes in, throwing herself onto the mattress with a heavy thump that elicits more muffled screaming from Chaeyoung.

  Sana smiles at the younger girl, easing up on Chaeyoung enough to let her breathe comfortably again, but not enough to let her gain the upper hand. She ignores the look of betrayal being levelled at her from the squinting girl, turning to focus on Dahyun with an easy smile painted on her face.

  “I think I might pass,” Sana says, tries not to feel guilty at the look of disappointment that sweeps over all three faces in the room at her words, “I’m just really tired.”

  They nod understandingly, although a little despondent, and Dahyun rests a hand on her shoulder.

  “Get some rest.” She says, voice soft and comforting and Sana almost finds herself leaning on her shoulder instinctively. Chaeyoung sits up, finally free from Sana’s hold and wraps herself around the older girl in a loose, love filled hug that makes something soft flutter in the space between her ribs.

  “We’ll all be in Nayeon and Jeongyeon’s room if you need us.” Jihyo speaks, low and muted as the two younger girls on the bed disentangle themselves from the impromptu cuddle puddle in a mess of limbs and light giggles. Chaeyoung’s hands reach out to fix the disheveled hair all over her face, tucking the stray strands behind her ears with a meek grin and a mumbled ‘sorry’ as she did so.

  They filter out the room, throwing out ‘good nights’ and ‘sleep well!’ as they leave, Jihyo reaching out to turn off the light and shutting the door softly behind them with a small click.

  Sana smiles to herself in the dim light of the room, illuminated by the street lights outside that were casting luminous slivers of light against the walls through t