It was pitch black when the duo stepped inside the practice room. The room was only illuminated by lit candles on a fancy-looking chocolate cake (which were the girls’ favourite) that was slowly melting. The atmosphere was thick with tension, and they stood still staring at the cake, not knowing what to do.

There was a loud clicking noise before the lights flickered on. The two motionless members turned their attention to the switch located near them, and found Sungah, who was smiling bitterly at the both of them. They turned their gaze back to the cake to find the other six members surrounding it, a grin on each of their faces, even though their eyes were red and puffy.

"Happy graduation day!" the seven yelled in unison, as Erin threw confetti into the air. Hyuna briskly walked towards Sam and Eunji, placing a mortarboard on each of their heads. Their retired leader, Sera, hesitated for a moment before slowly walking up to them and moving the tassel on the mortarboards from the right side to the left, signifying that they have both officially ‘graduated’ from the group. She pulled the two members, who have been there ever since the start, into a hug, closing her eyes shut to prevent tears from falling.

Eunji tried her best not to shed tears as the other girls began walking forward to hug the two, which gradually evolved to become one, big and warm group hug. Unlike Eunji, Sam let a few tears fall. But even while crying, she was smiling widely, hugging the girls back just as tight. The two ‘graduates’ felt a sharp pain in their chest, feeling guilty that they couldn’t stay as a member all the way to the end, even though they were the ones who said that they wanted the group to last forever. They both began to apologize countless of times to each of the members, in between sobs. “We don’t want your apology,” Sera said as she wiped the tears off of Eunji and Sam’s cheeks lovingly. “We just want you two to be happy, and healthy.”

They all seperated from the hug slowly, their hearts feeling hollow. Minha quickly wiped away a forming tear with the sleeve of her jacket. Being the youngest, she has grown attached to all of the members and she couldn’t bear to see any of them leave. Hyemi noticed this and held her hand in hopes of comforting her. Then, Sungah held Hyemi’s hand. One by one, all nine of them found each other’s hands, holding it tightly, never wanting to let go.

"Nine Muses is never ending!" Kyungri yelled out of the blue, surprising everyone. Soon enough, everyone echoed the group’s famous catchphrase. And then silence engulfed them for a rather long time, as they all stared blankly at the cake.

"…Blow out the candles," Minha suggested in a small and shaky voice, not being able to stand the rare noise-level anymore. Even Erin, who was usually the noisiest among the nine, was being awfully quiet today. Sam and Eunji did not respond to the youngest one’s request, so Hyuna gently pushed them towards the middle, where the cake was placed.

Eunji did a quick spin, looking around the practice room, as four years-worth of memories flooded through her mind. From preparing for Nine Muses’ debut, to comforting Sera when Rana, Bini and Jaekyung left. But now, it was her turn to leave. She glanced quickly at the remaining members, and realized that she would miss each and every one of the unique individuals dearly.

Eunji’s eyes, which were slowly starting to water again, met with Sam’s. “On three?” she asked, her voice barely audible. Sam placed a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze as she nodded in agreement. “On three.”

With heavy hearts, they both inched forward and bent down a little to be able to blow out the candles at ease.

"One."

"Two."

"…Three."