Lani was discharged from the hospital the next day. Chunji on the other hand had to stay a few days longer due to more serious injuries. The week passed by quickly with Lani cooped up in her apartment since her manager gave her orders not to leave. The only place Lani was allowed to go was the hospital to visit Chunji. She only stayed for a short while since there were reporters always trying to get to him. News about the anti fans traveled quickly and fan wars began. Everyone knew that they had gone too far now that they had hurt someone else and many fans regretted it. L.Joe was outraged that someone would try to hurt Lani that badly and also was furious about Chunji being hurt. Lani became quite miserable but tried not to show it. She told L.Joe not to come by so often until everything calmed down a bit. CAP visited her a few times trying to lift her spirit; she would just smile and laugh hiding her misery behind a mask.

“You’ll be wrapping up promotions tomorrow,” Lani’s manager said to her over the phone. “It’s just one last performance for your fans who have stuck by you. Get lots of sleep and try not to think too hard about everything that’s going on.”

“But… Chunji hasn’t recovered yet, how am I supposed to perform without him?” Lani asked warily.

“Don’t worry, I have that covered.”

Lani couldn’t help but be curious about who would be singing with her. She sat at the table thinking about it as she drank hot tea before bed. She was deep in thought when she heard a light knock at the door.

“Who is it?” she called out as she approached the door.

“Open up,” the familiar voice chanted from the other side.

Lani smiled and gladly opened the door. “CAP oppa, what are you doing here?”

CAP shrugged his shoulders. “I was just bored. You gonna let me in?”

“Oh, sorry,” Lani said realizing she hadn’t let him in yet. She opened the door and walked back to the table where CAP followed her. “Want some tea?” she asked him.

“No thanks, I’m not really the tea kind of guy,” he stated with a slight chuckle.

CAP explained that he had come over under the orders of Chunji. He had asked him to check on her since he himself couldn’t do it. They sat and talked comfortably for awhile. Lani asked CAP if he by any chance knew who she was to sing with the next day, but as she expected, he had no clue. They continued their conversation until Lani yawned, indicating she was sleepy.

“Well I think it’s passed someone’s bedtime,” CAP said jokingly.

Lani let out a small giggle, “I guess it is.”

“I’ll get going so you can go to sleep.”

Lani led CAP to the door and said goodnight to him. She quickly returned to the kitchen to wash the remaining dishes. Once she was done, she headed to bed. She slept soundly that night, happy that promotions for her song were almost over. The next morning Lani woke up bright and early. She took a hot shower and then cooked herself a small breakfast. Once she was ready, she sat on her couch watching TV. Her manager called moments later telling her to come down. It was safe for her to go out through the front since the reporters had all left when they couldn’t get any more information from her and decided to start stalking Chunji in the hospital. Lani rode down the elevator in a good mood and walked through the lobby. She exited the building and as she hoped there weren’t many people around.

“Lani noona!” someone called from behind her.

She turned around at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and saw a boy slightly taller than her standing there. He walked up to her and bowed.

“Annyonghasseo Lani noona!” he said in a cheerful voice.

The way the boy smiled reminded her of Changjo and Ricky. It had been awhile since they lasted talked to her in such a cheerful manner and seeing the boy in front of her reminded her how much she missed their old friendship. They had become friends again, but it wasn’t the same. She didn’t feel as close to them as before and felt like they were starting all the way from the beginning again.

“Annyonghasseo,” she replied slightly bowing.

“I’ll always be your fan noona!”

Lani smiled at his wittiness. It had been awhile since anyone called themselves a fan of her’s.

“Do you want an autograph?” she asked him.

“Can I have a picture with you instead?” he asked excitedly.

“Sure,” she smiled.

The boy pulled out his phone and they both posed with a peace sign.

“Say kimchi!” the boy chanted.

“Kimchi~” Click.

Lani smiled and waved goodbye before getting into her van where her manager was waiting. She sat quietly thinking about how cheerful the boy was. He was so much like Ricky and Changjo that she couldn’t get him out of her head. It seemed like forever since she had a friendly conversation with the maknaes. All their conversations were filled with awkwardness and stuttering, and even though she could speak to them about personal matters, they weren’t able to have light conversations and joke around as they did before. They seemed to be very cautious around her and that saddened her. She thought they were her best friends, but why weren’t they there when she needed them most? Before Lani could let her mind wander into the lonely world of misery, the van came to a stop and her manager opened the door for her.

Chatter was heard throughout the dressing room as the stylists prepared Lani for her goodbye stage. Lani spoke comfortably with them and it took no time for her to return to her cheerful self. She asked if they knew who she would be singing with, but no one but her manager seemed to know. Lani went on to do her rehearsal still not knowing who it would be. Her manager said she would find out soon enough, but the curiosity was killing her.

After rehearsals, Lani met with her manager to have a small lunch. They ate cup ramen in her dressing room along with the other staff members. She got last minute touch ups on her makeup and hair and was then sent to the waiting room. She sat on the couch alone as she waited for her stage. As she was playing on her phone, there was a light knock on the door.

“Come in,” she called out as she paused her game.

The door opened a crack and someone stuck their head in.

“Hey, I’ll be singing with you tonight.”

:OOO who do you think it is? i guess you'll just have to wait and see ;D

subscribe & comment please ^^ <3