Areum POV

I stared at them before turning to the city. Taking a few steps forward, I got to the ledge. Instead of climbing onto it, I stood there, staring. Was it worth it? I felt my tears continue to trickle down my cheeks slowly. Was it really?

The voices in my head continued to fight with me. Some reasoning with me from what Minho and Hyunjin had just said. Others telling me to not listen and just go for it. There were the ones reminding me of people like Duri and Kyunghee. Some reminded me about the comments I had seen earlier that day. Others would tell me that I was just not good enough. But in the end, Minho and Hyunjin's voices were the loudest.

Sighing, I stepped back. I guess not today. I turned slowly to the two guys were standing and watching me. A look of relief washed over both of their faces. I turned back to look at the city once more before heading back to the two guys. Minho put his hand out for me to take and I did so as he ended up completely lifting me off of the platform.

"Don't you scare me like that ever again." He whispered as he embraced me.

I chuckled as I pulled away. "I'm sorry."

He gave me a tired smile. "Don't worry about it." He brought his hand up to wipe my face. He let go of me and I went over to Hyunjin.

"I'm sorry." I said as he pulled me towards him.

"Don't be." He held me tight. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize-"

"Shush, you shouldn't be sorry either." I pulled away.

We let go and I stared at them both. A wave of guilt and sadness took over me. They seemed to notice. I turned away from them and looked over the ledge to see the drop. I was going to do that? I began to question myself. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shoulders.

"Don't even think about it." Minho let out a breath. "I'm not losing you."

Sighing, I paid no attention to his comment and continued to watch the city. Again, the voices started to fight in my head. I did my best to suppress them as I watched. Would it be better to just jump? I asked myself. You heard them, they don't want you to jump. Another sigh escaped my lips. But the future...

"Areum," Hyunjin stepped up and stood beside me. "Give us a chance. Let us fix this." He looked fondly at me. "Please?"

"Alright." I nodded. "I'll give it a chance..." I gave them a weak smile. Suddenly, loud sounds filled the silence, causing me to flinch.

"Would you look at that." Minho looked at the sky. "Perfect timing." He looked at me. "It scared you, didn't it?"

"Hm?" I stared at him. "Oh, uh..."

"Don't worry. Let's go downstairs now." Hyunjin said as he grabbed my things. "The others will be worried."

Minho took my hand and led me to the door while Hyunjin was getting my stuff, leaving the fireworks behind us. "You wore it." He said, fingering the bracelet on my wrist.

I nodded as we silently went down the steps. "You like me, don't you?" I suddenly said.

"What?" He stopped me in my tracks. "Who said that."

"No one. But I mean, you and Hyunjin were always fighting."

"I-" He paused. "I think fondly of you. That's all." He kept walking ahead of me, letting go of my hand.

Standing still, I let him keep going while I waited for Hyunjin. He came with my bag, phone and shoes. I put my shoes on while telling him to put the phone in the bag. I took the bag, slinging it over my shoulder as we walked down the stairs.

"Just give us a chance." Hyunjin said. "I know, things may be hard, but you have us, you shouldn't need to jump. You have us."

"I know." I said as we continued down the stairs. "It's just... I miss them and things around here are just not helping."

"Hey, it takes little steps." He nudged me lightly. "First step? No more arguments between Minho and me over you."

"I guess." I opened the staircase door which led into the hallway to the apartments. "How do you think they'll react?"

"They'll be worried." Hyunjin said. "Just go in, you can't hide it from them."

Minho had already gone ahead of us and was already inside. I stood staring at the door. Hyunjin stood by my side, waiting until I was ready to go in. He watched me, telling me it would be alright, that I should just go in. Eventually, I got the courage to open the door.

"Areum!" Jisung was the first person up and he had already found himself attached to me. "Don't do that. Areum I love you, we all do, please don't."

I let out a small, weak chuckle, trying not to break down again. "I didn't do it. That's all that matters, isn't it?"

He held onto me and I took a moment to look at him. He had tears in his eyes and had obviously been crying before I came. I stroked the back of his head as he hugged me. In the midst of it all, I was taking off my shoes and walking towards the living room where everyone was silently watching me. Jisung reluctantly let me go, the next person engulfing me soon after.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Felix had tears running down his face still.

I brought my hand up to wipe away his tears. "Because I didn't..." I paused to look at them before continuing. "I didn't want to get in the way of your success."

"I would rather lose that success than lose you." He spoke in English as he pulled me closer to him, probably afraid I could disappear at any moment.

At this point, I was no longer replying to what anyone would say. I was stunned to silence and just could not find the words to say anything. Seungmin was the next to come to me. Though he did not hold me until I could not breathe like the other two, he still hugged me, pulling away quicker than the others. Looking at his face, it was extremely obvious that he had cried. The tears were all over his face and he still had tears in his eyes. I did my best to wipe them away while he told me how scared he was. He was the one to ask if I had changed my mind. If I was going to stay for good. I had to explain to him that I was giving it a chance.

By the end of it, I had said something to everyone and they all had their moments. Haneul was the only one who did not know. She was still asleep. Eventually, I asked everyone to get their rest. It was already two in the morning. I went into Changbin's room and took Haneul's envelope. I'll explain to her later. I walked out of the room to find a whole bunch of guys already fallen asleep in the short time I had used to go into the room and take the envelope. I had a weak smile on my face as I watched them sleep. As I thought of them, I felt a few tears falling down from my eyes. Did they really care? I asked myself. These are my friends. Did you just make them suffer like that? I wiped my tears as I continued to watch them peacefully sleep.

Instead of sleeping myself, I got my things and headed towards the door. They could stay here, I would be sleeping in my apartment. Just as I was opening the door, I heard a frail voice behind me.

"Noona?" I turned to see Jeongin rubbing his eyes and silently standing there. "Don't leave us." He paused. "I don't want you to be gone when I wake up."

My heart shattered. "I'm not leaving you, I'm just going to my place." I said as I continued opening the door.

"Can I come with you?" Jeongin stepped forward, grabbing his things.

"If you want to." I waited for him as he sleepily got all his things. Just as we were about to leave, Jisung was up as well and walking towards us. In the end, both of them had joined me. I let them come in my house and they both sleepily walked around. I ushered both of them into my room. My bed was big enough for the both of them so I let them sleep there while I headed out the room and to the couch. In a matter of seconds, I was passed out, having a restful sleep which I had not had in months.

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;-; these chapters are sad. But hey, it makes for a good story.

I won't lie, I think I related way too much with Areum and what she felt in this story. I know how she feels but I also know how her friends (skz) felt. 

Well, there's your New Year's gift! The most intense parts in this story. :P

Happy New Year!

Tell me how you're feeling about this story in the comments :)