⋆ ☄︎. · ̊ * 🔭
chapter forty

After Si-Hyuk politely asked the girl to leave his office, so that he can discuss it with the group, all of the members grew loud and threw questions into the room as if to bombard him.

"What do you mean we're getting a new member?" asks Jimin in a slightly raised tone, eyes widened in horror. "It's already 2015!"

Seokjin sighs, and then adds in a much more calm voice, "PD-nim, we don't even know her. How is she supposed to harmonize with us when she missed those two years?"

Si-Hyuk cuts all of their thoughts and opinions off. "Silence," he says, and everyone obeys while bowing apologetically.

"First of all, it's not even official yet if she'll be another member," the manager clears up, causing the group to sigh in relief. "But you guys haven't had a success, and as you said, it's already 2015!"

"But we're working on it!" declares Namjoon, desperate and hopeless. "You just have to trust us. Our comeback will be something more fresh and way better!"

Nodding, Si-Hyuk states, "I do trust you guys. It's just that she could bring more achievement into the group."

There's an unusual silence after their manager had finished his sentence. Si-Hyuk's mouth turns downward as he notices their frightened faces, mumbling, "She isn't in the group yet, guys. It's not official, and I'm still thinking about it. She's just here to train right now."

"Will she be living with us?" questions Jeongguk, his voice small and slightly terrified.

"Well, she does not have a house in Seoul," states Si-Hyuk, rubbing his yes tiredly. "I would be glad and thankful if you accept her in yours because, otherwise, she'd have to live in the practice room."

As Yoongi mumbles, "She can live with us," all heads turn to him in a questionary behavior, wondering why he'd obey, even though they don't want to. "We were once broke and homeless too, okay? Stop acting like non-empathetic sociopaths."

His words sink in, and then the group sighs and nods, agreeing with him. Except for Yona, who has been silent since she had seen the girl.

"She's a sweet girl, guys," explains Si-Hyuk, a weak smile appearing on his lips. "Just bear with it until I make the decision. I mean, Ahri is already good friends with her, so there won't be a problem."

Yona scoffs dryly to herself, a sarcastic chuckle escaping her. Taehyung nudges her side, causing her to look at him with a threatening and questionary expression.

The group exits Si-Hyuk's office, as he finishes, "You are dismissed."

The black-haired girl is waiting expectantly as she watches the group taking steps toward her. With a wide smile, she bows and introduces herself, "Hello, my name is Kim Kyungmi, and I'm a 96' liner, so 18 years old."

"Isn't your name Ahri as well?" questions Jeongguk, examining her figure with squinted eyes.

She softly shakes her head. "No, I changed my name as soon as I turned 18."

The eldest starts with a polite smile, slightly bowing, "Hello, I'm Kim Seokjin, born in the year 1992. But you can call me Jin, also."

"Min Yoongi, 1993," he mumbles, waving a small hand. "My stage name is Suga."

Hoseok smiles nervously as well, shifting his gaze to Ahri to not say anything wrong. But as he notices that her gaze is thoughtfully buried in the floor, he sighs in relief, exclaiming, "I'm Jung Hoseok, 94' liner! Stage name is J-Hope!"

"And I'm the leader, Kim Namjoon. Rap Monster is my stage name," he states, smiling while bowing. "Also born in the year of the dog."

Jimin has an unsure expression on his face whilst he keeps glancing over at Yona, but spins toward Kyungmi after Namjoon nudges his side. "Hey, my name is Park Jimin, and I'm 19 years old!"

"Kim Taehyung. Same age as Jimin," Taehyung mumbles awkwardly, his gaze casted at the floor as well. "Stage name: V."

Jeongguk hesitates. He protectively stands in front of Yona, his eyebrows furrowed in distrust. "Jeon Jeongguk, 17."

Everyone is expectably staring at Yona, who has no emotion painted on her face. She slowly looks up, tilting her head slightly with a deadly serious expression. "Kim Ahri Yona, 17. Stage name is Yves."

Kyungmi has that perfect smile graved on her even prettier face. "It's so nice to meet all of you! I can't wait to see what happens next!"

"Firstly, you will move in with us," declares Namjoon, smiling. Before she could protest, he holds his hand up, stopping her. "We actually have practice now, but that will be postponed and done tomorrow, so that we can help you move in. Where is your luggage?"

"Oh, it's right here!" Kyungmi points at the end of the hallway, all eyes soon following there. "We can go now if it's comfortable with you."

They nod in unison, sighing softly. Most of the members are building up a conversation with Kyungmi, in purpose to get to know her better.

Yona keeps her eyes fixed on the streets, as if they're whispering secrets to her. "Are you okay?" Jimin asks in a small voice.

She nods softly, her face staying bland. Hoseok pushes Jeongguk closer to her while motioning to him to lighten her mood, but the youngest simply glances in between them in panic.

"Um..." begins Jeongguk, awkwardness dripping from his voice. Yet, soon, a light shines on top of his head. He puts his arm around Ahri's shoulder, saying smoothly and with thick confidence, "My love for you is like diarrhoea, I just can't hold it in-"

Hoseok and Jimin shove Jeongguk away with a nervous chuckle. As the three boys try to awkwardly bring her into a conversation, Ahri always nods or shakes her head as an answer.

But Ahri's head jerks upward almost abruptly, as soon as she hears, "Yeah, I'm really grateful that I can re-experience those lost memories with Taehyung again." Kyungmi gazes at Taehyung with a faint smile, caressing his arm.

"Someone hold me back—" whispers Yona, already squared up and ready to jump on her. That is until the three boys take firm hold on her arms, stopping her.

She sighs out a deep and devastated puff of air. "It's only been seven minutes, and I've already had enough of her," mumbles Ahri with an eye-roll.

"What did exactly happen in between you two?" Hoseok asks in concern, a frown on his face. "You never act like this."

Ahri is in deep thought yet again, and her mind wanders off to all the memories that are shared with Kyungmi. "I just..." She struggles to form a sentence and pauses, but then finishes, "Don't trust her. That's all."

"Are you sure?" questions Jeongguk. His eyes are squinted, knowing that she isn't telling the whole truth by the way she's not holding eye-contact. He doesn't want to push her buttons, though. That's why he simply sighs as she nods her head as a response.

After a short walk, they arrive in their dorm. "It's quite small, but we hope that you'll feel comfortable," exclaims Namjoon. "I'll show you around—"

"Wait, can't Taehyung show me around?" asks Kyungmi, cutting off Namjoon and causing his eyes to widen in slight perplexity. "Not to be rude or anything, but I wanted to talk to him anyway..."

Taehyung's eyes dilate, his mind a surging perplexity as he keeps on glancing at Yona's reaction. "Oh, that won't be a problem," says Namjoon. "Right, Taehyung?"

But the said-boy is in another universe, his face remaining blank. That is until Namjoon hits his side, causing his mind to be pulled back into the real world. "Uh, yeah, of course."

Ahri watches them leave, a scoff escaping her in the process. "If I don't sleep or eat something in the next three minutes, I will throw myself out of this window," she deadpans in all honesty, pointing at the nearest window.

"I'm cooking already!" yells Seokjin with a kind voice from the kitchen. As soon as he finishes his sentence, Ahri blasts to join him.

Dinner is soon ready, and after Seokjin has called his members to eat, they all sum up in the kitchen.

The female member takes a seat on her usual seat, which is right beside Taehyung's. Yet as the boy is about to sit down next to her, Kyungmi interferes and says with a sweet voice, "Tae, could you sit here?" She points at the stool next to her own, a sickeningly kind smile on her face.

"Uh, I don't think—" he responds, but gets cut off by Seokjin clearing his throat, motioning for him to stay polite.

With a deep sigh, Taehyung takes a seat next to Kyungmi, resulting Yona's jaw to clench while holding her fork up a bit too tightly.

Jeongguk feels the impact, somehow. He can feel his throat drying, as if somebody is curling a corset around his neck, which surprises himself.

So he slowly places his warm hand in her free one under the table. Yona is caught off-guard slightly, moving her head to gaze at him with a questioning look on her face.

Just a reassuring smile of his, in which his heart shines through, causes her bewildering thoughts to slow down, slowly loosening her tight grip on the fork.

Hoseok is desperate to break the ice, chuckling awkwardly while glancing in between everyone. "So, um, Kyungmi, I heard that you were about to be ran over by a bobby-car from Yona."

Everyone's eyes dart at Hoseok, confused about why he would change the subject to something so stupidly. "I mean, uh... you went to the same school as them, right?"

"Yes, I did," replies Kyungmi, smiling brightly. "Since Ahri is one year younger than me, I didn't go to the same classes as her. But I got transferred into a higher class because of my grades, and that's why I was in one with Taehyung oppa."

The last word results Ahri to choke on her drink, coughing loudly as Jeongguk pats her back in concern. "I'm about to gag, man," she whispers to her other maknae, causing a small giggle to leave his lips.

"So, you're smart, too?" asks Namjoon, nodding his head in high-regard. "That's quite impressive! And what about the position you're thinking about?"

Kyungmi hesitates, but then responds shyly, "I really like to sing and dance. Rapping is not really my type, since I feel like that's more of a guy-thing."

Ahri's meanly squinted eyes dart at her, a lava-like fire soon erupting from them. She gulps harshly, evidently triggered by her choice of words.

Jimin watches as his female member snaps Kyungmi's neck only by her eyes, knowing damn-well that Ahri's sizzling fire is about to burst through, sipping on his tea excitedly.

"Who even said that rapping is a guy-thing? Like, who the f—"

Seokjin is quick to interfere Ahri's harsh remark, exclaiming to Kyungmi, "That's so cool! We are already four vocalists, but it's never bad to have more company! To be honest, you'll probably be a better singer than me." He scratches the back of his head, chuckling nervously, while adding, "I'm not a great singer..."

"Hyung, that's not true," mumbles Yona with a pout, her mood swinging into a softer one almost immediately. "Your voice always reminds me of honey."

His cheeks are tinted by a soft red by now, his head casting downward, feeling coy and flustered. "Thank you..."

"I agree with Ahri," rushes Kyungmi, smiling. "Your voice is extremely soft and lifts my mood immediately."

All of the compliments and attention result in Seokjin's face to be the same hue as an overripe tomato, thanking her quietly.

Yona's soft smile falls immensely, as her gaze moves from her eldest member to Kyungmi.

There she is, wiping the corner of Taehyung's lip with a napkin. "You have some sauce there," she mumbles while examining his striking features.

"Fuck this. I'm done," mutters Ahri aside, slamming her fork on the table while abruptly standing up.

Almost immediately, Taehyung stands up, saying, "Yona—" Yet he is cut off by Kyungmi rambling about something that he is so not interested in. The only thing that causes him to sit back down is Namjoon's stern stare.

"Where are you going?" asks Hoseok, a pout on his lips as he watches her leave.

She responds nonchalantly, "To Yoongi hyung's studio."

━━✦ :･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

"No."

Yona pouts and stares at him puppy-eyed. "Please," she says sweetly while pressing both of her hands together in a prayer position.

"No," he repeats in the same dull tone. Yoongi is about to close the door to his studio, but Ahri's foot stops him by swiftly placing it in the door frame.

She mutters in annoyance, her cute act falling fast, "Boy, just let me in, or I will tell Seokjin hyung how you threw away his Mario figurines."

Yoongi rolls his eyes. "It was an accident, Ahri," he mumbles in the small gap between the door, him, and her.

"Yeah, it was," she affirms with a shrug. A small smirk takes place on her face, as she adds, "But, in my story, you burned the figurines as a revenge because he woke you up annoyingly."

His eyes squint at that, being well aware that she would do that, and more importantly, that Seokjin would rather believe her side of the story over his.

With a tired scoff, Yoongi opens the door wider and sits back down on his chair, which is placed right in front of his desk. He continues his activities on the computer, which simply make no sense to Ahri's confused mind, while he mumbles sternly, "Sit down. Don't touch anything. Don't read anything."

"Don't tell me what to do," she informs him casually while loudly taking a seat in front of the piano, resulting Yoongi to fiercely glance at her as a warning.

Slowly yet surely, Ahri grows tired of the silence. "You're boring," mumbles the female member, pursing her lips while sighing deeply.

"And you're annoying," Yoongi states while being pre-occupied with his beloved computer.

As she notices that her member isn't watching her, Ahri silently takes the tons of papers that are splattered around Yoongi's entire studio.

Her eyebrows scrunch together while she reads through the whole lyrics in interest, but her facial expression grows concerned, as she quietly reads out aloud to herself, "On the first visit to psychiatric ward, my parents came up with me. We listened to the consultation together. My parents said they don't truly understand me. I don't understand myself well either. Then who would understand?  Friends? Or you? Nobody knows me well."

"Hey, what are you doing?" Yoongi questions in a raised tone, snatching away the sheets of paper in the process.

Yona still holds her hands up, as if the papers are still in her hold. Moving her concerned gaze at him, her lips curl downward while she keeps on staring at him, trying to read his true thoughts and feelings.

"What?" he asks in a harsh voice. There is an extremely evident frown on his face, staring at her as if she's his enemy.

But she doesn't get intimidated by his aggressive tone, cold eyes, or distrusted posture. Yona questions, her voice small and fragile, "Hyung, you know I'm always there for you, right?"

There is no response from his side, whatsoever. He just keeps on staring at her with those eyes that learnt to build a monstrous wall, brick by brick.

"I don't mind whether you tell me your problems or not. It's not my decision to make, and I won't judge you for that," continues Yona, shrugging with a weak smile. "But I want you to know that if you need someone, I'm always by your side."

And then, there's a soft and rare gush of warmth spreading through Yoongi's stomach, blossoming like a freshly opened spring flower.

A soft smile curls up on his lips, nodding his head lightly. "I know now. Thank you."

After continuously smiling at each other like dumb drunks, Ahri pushes her chair beside Yoongi, analyzing his computer screen. "What are you doing?" she questions in utter curiosity.

"I'm producing some songs," says Yoongi, nodding his head while clicking on the computer-mouse.

An excited hum leaves the crook of her neck, clapping her hands lightly. "Teach me!"

"You want me to teach you how to produce songs?" he repeats, glancing at her with a surprised face; eyebrows raised and mouth ajar.

She shrugs, nodding. "PD-nim is going to get me a studio, and then, I need to produce songs as well. Don't want to leave my boys hanging now, do I?"

Chuckling softly, Yoongi affirmably nods his head, requesting, "Would you like to help me with something first?"

As he only receives a excessively excited and pure nod of her head, Yoongi states, "I need a female voice for a track. I thought a lot about who I should work with, and in the end, it always came back to you."

"Ooh, you think of me a lot, huh?" Ahri teases him, sensually brushing her shoulder with his while wiggling her eyebrows.

Slapping the back of her head, he throws her a warning glare. "As I was saying... I want you to be featured in this song. I'm not sure if I will add it in my mixtape or in our new album, though."

"Wait, you're going to release a mixtape?" questions Ahri with a wide and excited smile. After he nods shyly, she exclaims, "That's so cool!"

Before she begins to read the lyrics, he hands her the papers over. "It's a song that intertwines my past experiences with my own message for the future."

"So far away, if I had a dream. If only I had a flying dream. Don't far away, if I had a dream. If only I had a flying dream," Yona reads the lyrics out loud. After she's finished, the female rapper asks with slight uncertainty, "Do you really think that those parts can be rapped, though? Like, I don't really think—"

"I want you to sing it," states Yoongi in a confident voice.

Ahri begins to laugh loudly. She starts to slap her thigh, as if he said the most hilarious joke on earth. As she notices that he isn't laughing along, she grows silent. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Dead-serious," he stresses.

"But I can't even sing!" Ahri begins to complain in a louder voice, talking to him as if he's lost his last remaining brain-cells. "I'm a rapper for a reason!"

Yoongi throws her a 'are-you-serious' look. "Stop lying."

"I'm not!" she denies. Her cheeks are a darker shade of red by now, eyes sprung out widely while her mouth is apart in embarrassment.

"You always sing." He starts counting with his fingers, "In the shower, in the bedroom, while cooking, while studying, while writing lyrics, when you're alone, when you're with us—"

She states as a matter of fact, "That doesn't mean that I'm good at it!"

Without blinking an eyelash, Yoongi snatches his smartphone and calls somebody. As the person answers the call, he immediately asks, "Can Yona sing or not?"

The device is on speaker, so Jeongguk's voice comes out loud and clear, "Well, duh! Her constant singing would be annoying if her voice wouldn't be good."

And with that, Yoongi hangs up the call, a confident smirk on his face.

"That doesn't count. Jeongguk would say anything to praise my useless soul," mumbles Ahri, shaking her head with tired eyes.

"Hey!" yells Jeongguk from the other side of the line, causing Yoongi to really hang up the call now.

Yona continuously throws arguments into the conversation to prove her point, yet nothing changes Yoongi's stubborn mind. He simply keeps on shaking his head while a wide smirk is plastered across his face.

Noticing his reaction, Ahri sighs and sinks deeper into the chair. "Whatever I say just goes in and out of your ears anyway, right?" As Yoongi nods his head with a shrug, she purses her lips. "Then, let's try it..."

After Yoongi had helped his female member with moving into the recording-room and putting the microphone on, he says with a small smile, "Okay, I already showed you how you can sing this. Just go with your feeling and everything will be fine."

"O-Okay..." whispers Yona, nodding her head insecurely while skimming through the lyrics for the millionth time.

While holding his thumbs up in an encouraging manner, Yoongi moves out of the studio and turns the beat on.

But suddenly, every muscle in Ahri's body feels tight, sprung for action that she couldn't even move. Her body screams at her to sprint down the street, to spend the energy that keeps piling in regardless of her inability to use it.

Even her face feels tight, like smiling just wasn't an option today. Her usual calmness has been replaced by a carousel of ideas, each one more worrying than the last.

A bad voice means no feature for her member, no admiration from him, so how is she going to cope with the situation? She'd fail.

"You missed your part, Yona," states Yoongi, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"

His words cause her to be harshly pulled back into the world, eyes stretched widely. "Huh? Oh, yeah... I was just going through everything again."

The fact that she can't hold his gaze tells Yoongi that she isn't telling the truth. With a quick sigh, he stands up and makes his way toward her.

Carefully pulling the headphones down from Yona's head, Yoongi remarks, his voice soft and certain, "I understand that you feel anxious and nervous about this, but trust my words when I say that I know that you can pull this off. If not you, who else?"

"G-Dragon," states Ahri with a shrug.

Yoongi hits the back of her head. "I'm trying to be sentimental here, so play along." Later on, he adds, "I'm serious, though. Stop your over-thinking mind and do things out of your comfort zone for once."

Yona breathes like she has made it an art form, her chest rising and falling with the sedative qualities of a lullaby. "Okay." And right there is that sweet smile of her again.

"Good," says Yoongi while patting her shoulder, a soft smile on his face. "I believe in you."

"I do, too!" Jeongguk exclaims. He suddenly stands in the doorframe while waving cutely, his eyes holding parts of the galaxy as he smiles.

Her eyebrows raise higher, asking while gazing at her older member, "What is he doing here?"

"Yoongi hyung called me here for emotional support," replies Jeongguk in place of the older one. The male rapper shrugs, stating, "You always seem to break out of your shell and when he's around. You're simply more encouraged and happy in his presence."

Ahri could feel the heat growing in her cheeks. Before she could begin to protest against their ways of thinking, Jeongguk interferes while winking, "I know you can't resist me, baby."

As soon as Yoongi sends Jeongguk a weirded-out stare, the youngest is quick to say in a cute and fast voice, his tone resembling the one of a chipmunk, "I'm just joking, hyung!"

After both of the boys take a seat, Yoongi motions for Ahri to begin singing while putting the beat back on.

Sighing deeply, Yona tries to maintain her breathing while she makes sure to keep her eyes on her members. In a quiet yet soft voice, she sings the lyrics into the microphone.

"Whoo! You go, Yona!" yells Jeongguk from his seat as soon as she's finished, throwing his fist into the air.

The male rapper nods his head affirmably, clicking on a few things on his computer. "That was quite good for the first time, but make sure that your voice stays stable and a bit louder throughout the whole process. Understood, Yona?"

"Yes, hyung!"

━━✦ :･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

"No, hyung!"

"Ahri-ah!" says Seokjin in a raised tone, staring at her with stern eyes. "Don't be rude."

"It's not even about being rude, I just don't want to sleep in the same room as her!" Ahri states as a matter of fact, a small pout on her face.

Namjoon sighs tiredly. "Ahri, first of all, we don't have enough beds in our already packed bedroom. Second of all, she's a girl and can't sleep in a room with seven guys right at the start. Third of all, don't be rude!"

"Why do I have to sleep in the living room with her?" asks Ahri, her expression changing into a sulky one.

Raising his eyebrows, Seokjin suggests, "Oh, if you don't want to, Taehyung could always do it—"

"Bring the blankets," she cuts her eldest off without even sparing a single thought of his suggestion.

Seokjin smiles in satisfaction, being well aware of the strategy on how to manipulate her. He hands a glaring Ahri the pillows and folded blankets over, patting the dust off his hands afterward. "I wish you two a good night."

While walking out of the bedroom backward, Ahri keeps her dramatic glare on her eldest member. She is about to succeed in exiting the room in perfect exaggeration, but not until her back harshly bumps into the doorframe, resulting the boys to stifle their laughter.

"Do you want me to help you?" asks Kyungmi in a small voice as soon as Ahri enters the living room. She stands up abruptly, ready to give a hand to help.

That is until Ahri shakes her head, declining her offer coldly. "It's fine."

After placing the blankets and pillows on the mattress, the duo slowly yet surely lay down on it, Ahri making sure to keep a huge gap in between them.

Both of their eyes are directed at the ceiling, watching a sliver of moonlight spilling into the room. Without even needing to open the door, Yona knows that it is a cloudless night and that the sky is freckled with stars.

The silence accompanies the duo throughout their train of thoughts, enjoying the rare calmness of being in each other's presence.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Kyungmi asks in an extremely quiet tone, uncertain and her voice filled with fear.

Ahri stares into space with a blank face, her chest rising up and down as she breathes calmly. Turning around, so that she won't face the other female, she ends their conversation with the mumbled words, "Good night."

Meanwhile, the boys are excitedly gossiping about the duo, not a single one of them sleeping.

"I'm betting my ass that at the end of this week, Ahri will beat up something," confidently states Jimin. "And my bet is on either Kyungmi, a wall, or herself."

Seokjin throws a pillow in Jimin's direction. "Don't say such nonsense. Yona is way too much of a lady to do that."

"Yeah, a lady with an anger like a psychopath," Yoongi adds sarcastically, snorting. "But I agree with you, Jimin. I don't think that she can stay calm and collected for more than five days."

The leader shakes his head in disagreement. "I have faith in Yona that she won't do something she'll regret. And if she gets too irritated, I will tell PD-nim to not get her a studio."

"And then, she will verbally abuse you for doing that," concludes Jeongguk, shrugging his shoulders. "Seriously, she's been wanting a studio ever since she found out that you three have one. She would strangle all of us to death to get one. And I'm not exaggerating about that."

Hoseok waves his negative train of thoughts off, a smile soon taking place on his face, as he proudly states, "You guys have the wrong picture of my Yonnie. She's sweet, caring, thoughtful, could never hurt a fly—"

"Yeah, when she's with you," deadpans Jimin. "She said she was going to break my 'already short-ass' if I eat her strawberry-chocolate-marshmallow yogurt ever again! And don't tell me she didn't mean it, okay? She gave me the mackerel eyes - she meant it!"

The lead rapper shakes his head in a high-and-mighty manner, calmly saying, "Jimin, Yonnie threatens people all the time. She threatens Yoongi hyung everyday. She probably even threatened Taehyung before breakfast this morning. It's what she does. Grow a pair—"

"Wait, speaking of Taehyung..." Jimin mumbles, his head moving toward his best-friend. "Why are you so silent?"

The said-boy's' arm is comfortably propped under his head, gazing at the ceiling. As he soon on realizes that the attention is on him, his eyes cast at his members, looking at them with a questionary expression.

"He knows something!" yells Jimin all of a sudden, pointing at Taehyung accusingly. "Tell us right now!"

Taehyung still doesn't understand his intentions, gazing at him, confused. Jimin jumps up and sits down on his bed, staring at him intensely while repeating, "Tell us the beef between Yona and Kyungmi!"

Eyes dilating, Taehyung's mind stutters for a moment, perplexed with the situation. "T-There is none."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Jeongguk chimes in, pointing at the older one with his finger. "Just tell us. No one will know!"

Regardless of Jeongguk's words, Taehyung stays silent, looking ahead with a blank expression.

His mind causes him to travel back to the past, remembering the sacred memories. After a small pause, Taehyung wets his lips, slowly whispering in worrisome, "Yona will never be content with her."

"How would you know?" questions Namjoon.

"I just do."

━━✦ :･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

The curtains add an orange glow to the morning light, every morning a perfect sunrise.

Reluctantly standing up, Ahri starts folding the blankets back together, while mumbling in her morning voice, "Wake up."

Kyungmi rubs her tired eyes, glancing around the room. She slowly remembers her whereabouts and yawns. "Is it always so quiet here in the morning?"

"No," denies Ahri, her voice guarded and cold, every sentence cut off to be as short as possible. "The boys just left, that's why."

Her eyebrow furrow at that, slightly confused. "Are we not supposed to be all practicing together, though?"

"We have to practice in different companies because of financial circumstances," responds Ahri. "And you have to come with me. Alone."

"Oh..." mumbles Kyungmi.

To say that Kyungmi is scared of Ahri would be an understatement.

She is simply terrified of her; thinking that Ahri will slit her throat without anybody watching just by her glares and ice-cold voice.

After the two of them got ready, they leave their dorm and make their way to the Entertainment.

Outside, the cold creeps onto them. Though the winter has been long, the first signs of spring grow boldly, as if commanding the warm weather to come all the faster.

It is as if the teeth of winter have shattered and the kiss of a new season is approaching. Yona breathes in deeply, so wanting the pretty flowers and blossoms that she could almost smell the promise of their fragrance.

Just to imagine the change of season relaxes her and she walks down the wide and crowded street, her steps bolder than they have ever been before.

And soon on, they arrive in the company and enter the empty practice-room. "Woah, it's so cool here," exclaims Kyungmi with widened eyes and ajar lips.

"Let's get down to business." Ahri rushes herself, not even minding to respond to the other girl, turning the up-beat music on. "I will start to dance through this whole choreography once, and then, you can follow along."

Kyungmi simply nods as a response, motioning for Ahri to begin. And she does, her body flowing the rightful movements with the right amount of boldness and grace, causing the other girl to gape at her with a tiny bit of envy in her eyes.

The music comes to an end, and Ahri's body halts while she breathes heavily. Turning around, she faces Kyungmi, saying, "It's not that hard, actually. War of Hormone has very bold yet simple moves."

"Okay, I'll try..." The music repeats itself, and Kyungmi's body begins to lighten up as time passes on. Ahri watches with slightly squinted eyes, bobbing her head to the beat to make sure that every movement is done right.

"Both of your feet have to be together while you jump forward," remarks Yona, pointing at her legs. After Kyungmi failed again, the female member sighs. "Wait, let's do it together."

And this goes on for hours and hours - Ahri trying to teach Kyungmi all of the important choreographies.

Their eyes are invaded by sweat by now, the hot liquid flowing down their backs and forehead like a free waterfall. "Ahri, I'm exhausted..." whines Kyungmi through the choreography, breathing heavily.

"If you want to seriously become a member, then you have to practice more than just eight hours!" states Yona, not stopping her moves.

But as she gazes at the other girl from the corner of her eye, she could see the exhaustion radiating from her; eyelids draping, her body being close to collapsing.

Yona's heart sinks at that, eyes widening in worrisome. Ahri, you harsh bitch. Abruptly stopping the music, she clears her throat, causing Kyungmi to stare at her in confusion.

"Let's go to the cafeteria," suggests Ahri, throwing a towel in her direction in the process.

Before the duo makes their way to the cafeteria, though, they dry themselves and cool down a tad bit.

Their exhausted bodies walk back toward the practice-room after buying some food and water, an awkward silence taking upon them. "Thanks for buying me water..." mumbles Kyungmi, smiling nervously.

"Whatever. SM-water tastes like shit anyway," states Ahri, gulping down the entire bottle of water.

Trying to find a topic to talk about, Kyungmi asks, "So, do you have any friends here?"

"I'm here to work, not to make friends—"

Suddenly, Ahri is pulled into a room by her wrist. Almost as an instinct, she grabs Kyungmi's arm and pulls her in as well.

"Ahri!"

As soon as she recognizes the voice, her heart begins to beat quicker. Her eyes take in more light, slowly discovering him.

"What the fuck, dude?" barks Ahri, slapping his shoulder with a playful chuckle, though.

Jaehyun wraps his arms around her, engulfing her in a heart-warming hug. "I missed you..." he whispers.

"I did, too! But there's no need to drag me for that!" exclaims Yona, smiling widely. She pulls away from his hold, commenting, "They just won't let you out of the SM-Basement, huh?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Jaehyun scratches the back of his head, his cheeks a light shade of red. "We cannot be seen with any girls around, so, as soon as I heard your voice, I just had to drag you in here."

"We?" repeats Ahri, a frown on her face.

Smiling lightly, Jaehyun moves aside, revealing five boys sitting comfortably on the floor while sipping from their capri-suns, all of their gazes directed at them.

One of them speaks up while nodding curtly, "'Sup." With lightly furrowed eyebrows, Yona waves at them, chuckling to herself because of the funny-looking scene.

A boy around the same height as Ahri jumps up, making his way toward her confidently. "Finally, I get to meet the Kim Ahri Yona Jaehyun keeps on talking about."

"What the fuck, dude?" mutters Jaehyun aside, but the boy next to him doesn't spare him a single glance. He simply continues, bowing, "Hey, I'm Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, but you can call me Ten. Yes, the number ten."

"Well, since we're all about introducing right now..." The tallest of them all stands up with a kind smile, bowing as well. "My name's Johnny. Extremely nice to meet you!"

The boy that was the first one to greet her introduces himself, too, a tiny bit of shyness dripping from his voice, "What's up. I'm Mark."

"My name is Renjun, and I'm the youngest... for now at least," the small boy greets her with a coy smile, waving.

"Just talk to her right now!" whisper-yells Johnny to a figure that is hiding behind him. "You said yourself that she is nice!"

Without thinking about it twice, Jaehyun and Johnny push the familiar boy in front of Yona. His heart and mind halt in its motions, body stiffening up as he stares at her, blinking.

"Wait, you're Yuta, right?" exclaims Yona with a wide smile. "You were the Japanese boy from the last fan-meeting!"

"Oh, my God, Senpai noticed me," he mumbles to himself in Japanese.

Yuta is quick to hide himself behind Johnny again. Ahri stifles her laughter, smiling at him while peeking behind Johnny's tall figure. "Hello, Yuta. It's nice to properly meet you!"

"Actually, it's nice to meet all of you," states Yona, smiling at all of the five boys. They return her smile and bow again.

But their eyes soon land on Kyungmi, who smiles widely as the attention is on her. "I'm Kyungmi. I train under the same company as Ahri." The boys bow politely while kindly greeting her. Her head suddenly turns to Jaehyun's striking face, a grin taking place. "Call me Noona, though."

With ajar lips, Jaehyun turns his head to an irritated Ahri and back at a smiley Kyungmi. "Um, of course... noona."

"You finally got some female friends, Ahri. Congratulations," teases Jaehyun, changing the subject, throwing his arm around her shoulder in a comfortable manner. Ahri throws him a deadly yet playful stare, nudging his side.

Ten's eyes roam over the duo, examining their body language with a big smirk on his face. He pokes Johnny's side with his elbows, motioning at them with his head.

Soon on, the entire group grow silent while watching Jaehyun and Yona with smirks. Only Renjun, the youngest, stands there awkwardly, oblivious to their thoughts.

Eyes squinting, Kyungmi curiously watches them, curling her hand into a tight fist. "Should we head back now, Ahri?" she asks, a sulky expression on her face. "It's quite late, and I think I want to go home..."

"Oh," blurts out Ahri, forgetting about Kyungmi's presence for a second. "Yes."

After bidding farewells with the group, the two girls head back home. Kyungmi cant hold her curiosity back, so she asks, "Was that your boyfriend?"

"First of all, that's none of your—" begins Yona, but cuts herself off as she thinks back to Seokjin's words about her acting rude. With a sigh, she responds, "No, he's just a close friend."

"Oh, okay..." mumbles Kyungmi, nodding her head in acknowledgment. She catches herself in a thought-filled carousel; thinking of all the pieces and how they would fit in her plan.

Slowly injecting the key into the door as they arrive home, Yona opens it and enters the dorm, immediately rushing into the bathroom.

While Ahri is in the bathroom, Kyungmi goes to the kitchen, wherein a few members are in already. "Does Ahri have a boyfriend?" she questions.

Seokjin chokes on his drink, turning into a coughing fit right after. "My small baby doesn't date," mumbles the eldest, still coughing. "She's only allowed to date when she's 34."

"Who said that?" asks Namjoon in a questionary behavior.

"Me!" Seokjin answers, evidently offended.

"Don't mind them," says Hoseok, rolling his eyes. "But back to your question: No, Ahri does not have boyfriend... yet."

Just as his sentence is finished, Kyungmi's eyebrows furrow. "What do you mean by 'yet'?"

Hoseok shrugs. "She's most probably going to date one of her best-friends."

"My bet is on Dongmin!" Jimin chimes in, gaining their attention. Yoongi nods along in agreement.

The leader shakes his head, stating, "Jaehyun is a smart boy and has always helped Yona out. I'm for him."

Jeongguk and Taehyung glance at each other in secrecy, crossing their arms, noticeably irrititated. "Why are you so silent?" queries Jimin sassily, bobbing his head to the side.

"They're just jealous and over-protective," Seokjin says as he notices Kyungmi's questionary gaze, waving the two boys off reassuringly. "They don't like to share Yona."

"Why would someone share me?"

All of a sudden, the boys' eyes widen and they begin to panic internally. "Uh..." stutters Hoseok in fear of Ahri.

With narrowed eyes, Ahri takes slow steps into the kitchen, analyzing their faces for an answer. "Again, why would someone share me?"

"Because... you're too cute?" Namjoon tries to convince her, but to no avail.

But Yona waves them off nonchalantly, taking a seat beside Taehyung, her head collapsing against his shoulder. "You know what? I'm so exhausted that I don't even care what you guys talk behind my back again."

"What?" Hoseok lets out a nervous chuckle, prolonging the vowel. "We never talk behind your back."

She mumbles tiredly, her eyes closed, "Stop it, hyung. You're the one I trust the most, so don't ruin it."

Her eyes weary with the burden long-closed eyes, she feels like having a physical percentage of five, yet she is subconsciously awake.

"I think someone needs a nap," says Taehyung with a small smile. He stands up and takes hold on her, casually carrying her out of the kitchen. "I'll bring her to bed real quick."

Kyungmi watches them leave. Her eyes are squinted in utter envy, jaw clenched. But as the boys gaze at her, she quickly puts a sweet smile on, asking innocently, "What just happened?"

"Yona loves to be babied by either Seokjin hyung or Taehyung," Yoongi states, shrugging like it's a normal thing to happen in their household. "Today is his lucky day, I guess."

"Oh," whispers Kyungmi, feeling quite thoughtful all of a sudden.

Meanwhile, Taehyung carefully places Yona into the warm bed, tucking her in softly. He lays down beside her himself, propping his head up by his arm, gazing at her closed eyes.

"Which lullaby would the Miss like to hear today?" he asks quietly while pushing a few strands of hair out of her face.

As she shrugs her shoulders, Taehyung starts to sing loudly, "Hello, hello. Hello, hello. Tell me what you want right now!"

Yona's eyes spring widely open as she flinches in fear. She throws a pillow on his head, causing him to giggle a few times. "Just kidding." Taehyung laughs quietly while watching her close her eyes again.

The two of them grow silent again, enjoying the calmness that's captivating them. Taehyung starts to lightly stroke her hair, humming a small melody while softly singing, "One day, I wrote a long, long letter to the moon. It would not be brighter than you, but I lit a candle..."

"That'd be a good song," mumbles Yona in complete exhaustion while snuggling into her member.

"It would be a good one," Taehyung agrees thoughtfully. "It could've been a good one."

( INCORRECT QUOTES ! )

ahri: omg i lowkey wanna die
bts: no you don't, we will always be with you
jimin: yes we will die WITH you
namjoon: no wait no—

ahri: *sighs*
jimin: you bored?
ahri: yeah
jimin: wanna start drama for no reason?
ahri: thought you'd never ask

jungkook: can you help me with my wedding?
ahri: oh, you're getting married?
jungkook: yes
ahri: that's nice. what do you want me to do?
jungkook: be my bride.

ahri: hey jungkook, i think jin mixed up our lunch boxes. look
ahri: *shows a paper with "i love you so much" written on it*
jungkook: oh, that explains it
jungkook: *shows a second paper with "please be good. for the love of god, be good" written on it*

ahri: whoever took my strawberry-chocolate-marshmallow yogurt can admit it and won't face any physical damage
bts:
ahri: smart, you knew you would face physical damage.