Kihyun was exhausted from touring the nation, even if it did feel amazing to be back on stage after the recent world events. Only two days remained, and then he’d be able to have a few days off.

He had already arranged with you a time to meet up in his studio again.

And right as he was preparing to go up on stage, his phone vibrated in his hand. Answering the call instantly, Kihyun grinned. “How’s my favourite singer?”

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you? You’re the one about to perform in front of all your fans.”

“You’ll follow me next. I still cannot believe you’re a signed trainee at my company. Wait. Why does it sound so noisy in the background?” he asked, and you cleared your throat loudly.

“The, um, television is on.”

“I can’t wait to hear Monsta X live tonight!” an unfamiliar voice cried in the background, causing Kihyun to frown.

“Are you… here?”

“Where?”

“At the concert,” Kihyun breathed, suddenly gaining the attention of the man seated next to him.

Minhyuk swivelled. “Y/N’s here?!”

“Someone sounds excited,” you mused, and Kihyun tried to fight Minhyuk off from taking his phone.

“Tell me you’re not here,” he insisted, standing up suddenly and thinking through all the variable possibilities. “You cannot be here.”

“It’s just a concert—AH!”

“Are you okay?!” he blasted, heading straight for the dressing room’s door, his heart in his chest.

“Kihyun, what’s going on?” Hyunwoo asked, grabbing onto his shoulder, and he spun around, his eyes wide.

“Where are you, Y/N?”

“I’m fine. I’m okay.”

“There’s a crowd all around you out there. A concert isn’t a safe place for you!”

“Why isn’t a concert safe for Y/N?” Jooheon asked, and Kihyun waved him off.

“I’m going to be in a seat once I get there, and honestly, I thought you’d be happy I’m coming to hear you sing tonight.”

“I’ll get someone to bring you backstage. Just tell me where you are.”

“It’s unnecessary. I’m not a porcelain doll who is about to break. I have to get used to being out of my comfort zone.”

“I’m about to break if you don’t tell me,” Kihyun stated, heading out the door, ignoring the calls around him. “I’ll come find you myself if—”

“Okay, I get it. I’ll go back into the foyer. I’m wearing a purple hoodie. Will that make you calm down? God. I never expected you to react like this.”

“Nor did I,” he admitted, gesturing to his manager to come up and take his phone. “I’m going to get Joonhyung to come get you. He knows you. He’s got my phone, okay?”

“Kihyun.”

“I’ve got to go,” he mentioned exhaustedly, slumping against the wall as he explained hastily of your whereabouts to his manager, urging him to go get you backstage safely.

And then he made it back into the waiting room, five pairs of eyes fixated on him. He nodded slowly, dropping into the closest chair. “It’s not what you’re thinking. Y/N can’t get hurt by anyone.”

“Who would hurt her, Kihyun?” Hyungwon asked, stepping forward. “You need to explain what’s going on.”

“Y/N was in an accident six years ago. And it’s scarred her body. That’s… that’s why I’ve been protecting her all this time.”

Changkyun’s eyes flashed with something, no doubt from the day when he had held your hand. Kihyun knew your skin felt different from the small handful of times he had touched you when being playful together. He was unsure if Changkyun’s hand had reached further than your wrist, though the look in his eyes eluded that he had.

“And Starship has signed her, knowing all this?” Minhyuk breathed out, his eyes knitting together. “That… doesn’t seem right to me.”

Kihyun didn’t want to admit he held the same concerns. The high he had been on when you had gotten signed faded when he had an afternoon to consider the whole situation. Terry, whilst he had known the man for years, wasn’t exactly the most accommodating producer at Starship. He expected results, and whilst Kihyun didn’t need to worry your voice would fail to meet those expectations, he had been thinking about how they would present you physically.

He had wanted to voice it with you every day since considering it. However, you were still on cloud nine from being signed, seemingly uncaring of the physical burdens you were so adamant would hinder you from ever living out your dreams.

Perhaps the elation made your pain disperse.

That had to be why you chose to recklessly throw yourself into the crowds of a Monsta X concert. He knew his fans were energetic at best, and without meaning to, an excited burst of pushing to get into the venue could have you in a whole lot of pain. From the research Kihyun had done on second-degree burns, he knew that the nerves could be damaged, some dead entirely if there were healing complications.

You hadn’t spoken in full about what happened to you to even be in a fire, to begin with. But he knew it hadn’t been a straightforward healing process for you from the little you had shared with him. Kihyun didn’t even know the extent of your injury. Some days, he didn’t want to hold the knowledge, fearing how ridiculously protective he already was of you.

He felt as if he was getting whiplash often from how reacted to you.

“We should have given Y/N a special ticket to the venue,” Hyunwoo mentioned, and Kihyun broke out of his thoughts, nodding softly.

“I had no idea she was coming.”

“Because it was meant to be a surprise. And an experience for me to feel normal,” you announced, walking into the room with Joonhyung close behind you. Shooting Kihyun a dark look, you sighed. “I guess that’s not a thing anymore.”

“Y/N’s here!” Minhyuk attempted to sound bright and cheery, coming over to your side. “I’m yet to have met you. But I’ve heard that pretty little voice of yours.”

For a moment, the room burst into formalities and gentle laughter that Kihyun couldn’t quite bring himself to get involved. He brooded, wondering where the version of you who would hide behind doors, hold the ends of your sleeves in your hands constantly, avoid getting too close to people, and regard everything as a threat to your safety had gone.

You shot him a quizzical smile then, and he realised it was because of him that you were trying new things and opening up. Kihyun closed his eyes for a moment, praying that everything he had manifested would work out for you.

He couldn’t be the reason you got hurt this time around.

It wasn’t his best performance of the tour, but knowing you were safely watching the concert from the staff section allowed Kihyun to relax enough to sing. The crowd hyped him up towards the end, and he let loose, forgetting the anger and confusion from earlier. But when he saw you again after it ended, he didn’t know how to feel. Brushing past you as Hyungwon chatted about your favourite part of the show, Kihyun stepped inside the men’s bathroom and into a cubicle, breathing deeply.

What was he going to do in the future? He couldn’t be everywhere you were, and it was unfair of him to think he could do so. You were a grown adult, someone who had been doing just fine without him before he met you.

Were you, though?

Your singing had already come along well within his sessions with you. Even if they were mostly for fun, you had picked up on some of his training ideas and implemented them with success. Your ability to change tones had already been seamless, but now it seemed to be minimal effort for you to do so.

You were too good to keep locked up in that practice room.

And yet, the selfish part in him wanted to put you back there. He’d caused such a mess and stirred up all your hopes for that to be fair to do that to you now. Besides, you had signed the contract for the Starlet project – whatever that was.

Perhaps it was the fact that he didn’t know exactly what the plan was for you that had his hackles up. Especially after Minhyuk’s remark about Starship’s past records. He knew first-hand how cruel the industry could be to s and the one they had lost in the fallout.

Banging roughly on the stall door as Kihyun thought over what kind of scandals could come your way, he cursed himself out for even recording your cover in the first place. If he hadn’t gone around boldly sharing your voice with everyone, this wouldn’t even be happening right now.

“Kihyun?”

He stood up straight, blinking several times at the voice that sounded very out of place in a men’s bathroom.

“Why are you hiding in here?”

“What are you doing entering the wrong bathroom, Y/N?”

You chuckled. “Some fool I came to watch live decided to make a big deal earlier in front of me and has me worried that he’s avoiding me. So, I decided to come find him, even if it means seeing a urinal up close for the first—”

Kihyun opened the stall door quickly and pulled you out of the bathroom, your giggles tugging at his chest.

He didn’t want to relax. Not when his mind was full of conflicting thoughts he wanted to resolve. But the delightful noise made him finally in another deep breath as he looked at you. “You’re getting bolder by the day.”

“I have someone who believes in me,” you announced, shining a bright smile at him.

Oh no, he thought, instantly plagued with his dark thoughts again. Clearing his throat, Kihyun shrugged. “Maybe you should stop rushing, is all.”

“Boah gave me the ticket for tonight,” you explained, staring at him intently. Not finding what you were looking for in his gaze, you cocked your head to the side. “Are you going to get mad at her too?”

“I’m not… mad.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“I was worried. There’s a difference,” he spoke softly, swallowing after he got the words out.

Silence stood between you both for a moment, and then you nodded. “I’m worried too.”

“About?”

“Everything. I start training next week, and I’m worried they’ll back out of their plans when they realise just how broken I am.” Your voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, and Kihyun gazed at you, noting the vulnerability in your eyes. You didn’t bother to hide it from him anymore, and this made Kihyun’s heart race, an itch within his hand to reach out and cup your face within it.

Nothing was making sense to him right now.

“Still, I want to try.” Turning to smile at Kihyun, you looked down at your hands still linked together and shook them gently. “I have you to thank for this.”

“No. Don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t—”

“There you two are. We’re going out for food. Come on, Y/N, you’re invited too!” Jooheon said eagerly, and Kihyun groaned inwardly at the lost opportunity to tell you how he felt, your expression morphing to match Jooheon’s as you let go and fell into step at the rapper’s side.

“Are you sure that I can join you all?”

“Sure! But you haven’t been around us when we eat. Fair warning, we eat a lot.”

You laughed heartily before looking back at Kihyun. There was that look again that he seemed entranced by. He dropped the scowl and attempted to smile, jogging to catch up to you both.

His concerns would have to wait.

I’m here for my first day as a Starship trainee. Wish me luck!

Kihyun smiled softly at your energetic text message, shooting you a bright reply before turning back to his practice with the members. The tour was over, but preparation for the next comeback was already in full swing. Kihyun knew that his free time would be limited over the next month or so, as would yours now that your training had begun.

There would be little chance for the singing get-togethers you once both cherished.

And he found there was little opportunity for anything. His routine was the same day in and out, and for several weeks, your chatting had been done on breaks through your phones. Even being in the same building hadn’t meant you crossed paths at all, sticking to your separate departments. He soon forgot what it was like to have an in-person conversation with you, too tired to even call you to catch up most days.

As it was, his vocal lessons with Boah had been put on hold with the level of work he was under until a month had gone by, and it was a wonderful reprieve for Kihyun to walk into the familiar building, smiling fondly at all the memories held in here. Out of habit, he walked down to your private room, peering in through the small window.

Frowning when he found the room empty of all your belongings, Kihyun turned and walked down to the main studio in a confused daze.

Boah smiled tersely at his arrival.

Hiking his thumb over his shoulder before sitting down, Kihyun looked at Boah with interest. “Y/N’s room is empty?”

“She’s not coming here anymore.”

“At all?”

“Starship wants to train her there for the interim,” Boah explained, though her tone was bitter.

At who, though? He wasn’t entirely sure.

The session went as well as it usually did, though Kihyun could tell Boah was less relaxed in his company. By the time it was over, Kihyun felt a little offended. “Hey, noona?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you—”

“I’m annoyed that it feels like both of you aren’t coming here, even though I understand why.” Boah finally looked at him and sighed. “I miss the laughter in the building and my other students eager to hear how your training was going together. I also miss Y/N a great deal. I’m attached to her, and I’ve been worried I didn’t guide her properly before accepting that contract.”

“I’ve not heard much from her either,” Kihyun admitted, and this only darkened the vocal coach’s mood further. “It seems like she’s training several hours a day.”

“And then working,” Boah added on, and Kihyun blinked slowly.

“What? Y/N kept her job?”

Boah nodded. “Her boss begged her to work part-time until they found a replacement. I just hope she’s okay.”

Kihyun slumped into the chair. He knew first-hand how difficult being an idol was. Before, you had been so cautious about your body handling it all. Now, it was him who worried if you were functioning properly.

He would have to try and catch you in person soon.