Warning:

In this chapter, the main character mentions depression, social anxiety, childhood trauma, and verbal abuse. If you are sensitive to these topics, then don't read this. Or read up until the next warning. Ty!

Enjoy!

Jungkook's POV:

*Flashback*

"HYUNGGGGG! Do I add tofu into the stew or not?!" I yelled at Jin hyung. I didn't get an answer from him. "HYUNGGG!" Still no answer, so I walked into the living room.

All of them were too focused on the tv, they were watching a variety show. I looked up at the screen and I saw some unfamiliar faces on there.

I sat beside Yoongi so I could watch. "Hyung who are they?"

"I think they're from Canada, and their name is ND Dance Crew."

Nd Dance Crew? I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. I'm not quite sure though.

"Ahhh okay." I nodded my head and looked back at the tv.

They are performing 'Into The New World' by Girls Generation.

They are amazing, and their vocals were very stable. I was also shocked at how good their pronunciation of Korean was. They were also perfectly in sync too.

They finished the performance, and every one of us had our mouths hanging open at how good they were.

"Wow, I am so impressed at how good they are. I'm still shocked that they're all self-taught." Namjoon hyung said clapping his hands.

I looked at Namjoon in shock. "They are self-taught?! Like no professional help or lessons?"

Namjoon nodded and chuckled at my surprised expression. I looked back at the tv still in shock.

I was impressed at how good they were. I agree with the hosts that they were better than some groups that trained for years.

Then one of the members who I think the name was Zoey, sang 'Rise Up' and she was amazing. Her vocals were on point and she hit the high note perfectly. I was even more impressed.

I watched the show until there was an ad, I whipped out my phone and I search 'ND Dance Crew' on YouTube. I feel like I've seen one of their covers before or something.

I clicked search, and there it was, it was their cover of IU's 'Good Day' that I watched before. That girl Zoey was incredible, she hit the three high notes perfectly and they were all amazing dancers.

*End of flashback*

I was in the car with the other members heading to an interview. It was a special episode with 2 of the members of ND Dance Crew.

Our managers asked us if it would be ok that we did the interview with them. Obviously, we agreed to do it with them, they are amazing and we wanted to meet them.

We made it to the studio and they took us to do our hair and makeup first before we go to meet the girls. I was growing more and more anxious.

When we made it to the waiting room, and I saw them standing there. It was Zoey, the girl I saw on tv and on YouTube. We sat down and talked for a bit.

They were talking with the other members for a bit. Both Zoey and her cousin Caroline were very bubbly, and they were both very kind.

Zoey didn't seem like the crazy fangirl type of person, her cousin on the other hand... wasn't crazy, but she was definitely an ARMY.

We talked for a bit more and then we had to start filming.

The hosts asked the girls why they named their group 'ND'. I was curious too.

Zoey was the one to answer the question. "We name our group ND because it stands for Night & Day. And you may ask, "why night & day?" Well, that's because we are always practicing night and day. We practice from morning to night, till sometimes 5 am. We practice night and day for performances even though all of us are busy, and we never gave up or backed down. So that's why I thought of it."

The meaning behind their name was deep but meaningful. I liked it.

*****

Warning:

This is when she starts talking about her past. Please exit now if you aren't comfortable with these topics. If you are okay with it then you may proceed.

Zoey's POV:

[Present time]

"Well... I never really had a good relationship with my parents. I wouldn't say that they didn't feed me or anything, they did, but the thing is, they lacked in raising me well." I look down at my hands since I was feeling kind of uncomfortable while everyone was looking at me.

"So at the age of 16, I thought to myself that I couldn't handle the pain anymore, and I wanted to go back to Canada and start fresh again and heal. So that's kinda why I decided to move away from my parents." I say calmly trying not to break down. Caro noticed me breaking down a bit, so she grabs my hand and squeezes it reassuringly.

"Ahhh okay, can you tell us more about your childhood and how your parents raised you? And what do you mean by pain?" They were starting to dig a little too deep, but then again, this isn't something new to the public.

I guess I'll just go along with it for now. "Well, I was born in Canada, and I was raised there till I was about 11 years old. And I wouldn't say that my life at home was normal, it definitely wasn't the same as other kids. Mostly because my parents aren't as loving or supportive. They never supported me in what I wanted to do, or any hobbies. They always got angry at me or yelled at me, so I never really hung out with them. I was usually in my room, by myself doing my own thing."

I paused, "So then we moved to the Philippines, and my life there really wasn't... the best I guess you could say. Mostly because I had become severely depressed and I didn't have any friends to talk to about my problems." I looked around at everyone as I spoke, they were all looking at me and listening intently.

I paused for a bit and continued, "And since I have social anxiety, I found it really hard to communicate with other people, and that really affected my school and my social life. So instead of addressing my problems, I decided to try to find things to help cope with the depression. And mind you, I was 13 at this time." I wasn't sure if I should keep going, but since im already this deep, I might as well keep going.

I sighed, "So I started doing things as hobbies. Such as painting, singing, dancing, writing stories, journaling, and some other things. But my parents being the judgmental toxic people they are, they kept telling me that what I was doing was useless and that I was wasting money on buying materials and stuff." At this point, I was starting to tear up a little, but I kept strong.

"They also kept saying that instead of wasting my time on these "useless things" I should go and clean the house or something. What I hated the most is that they would just sit around and do nothing while I cleaned the whole house and did all the chores. And all they would say was, 'Since you are a girl, you should be the one to do all the work. Be like your cousins, they are already smart and pretty yet they also do all the house chores. Look at you, you never do anything around here. All you do is your useless painting and drawing, that won't get you anywhere in life, you won't earn money from that. You aren't even good at that... You are useless compared to your cousins.'"

"It hurt me so much when they would say that, but I always kept strong and not cry while they were in front of me. But when I get to my room, that's when the tears come out." At this point I shed a few tears, it felt as if I was revisiting those scenes again.

"This was actually happening since I was little, but it wasn't as bad as it was when I was older. I told people about it, and after telling them, they would talk to my parents and tell them that what they were doing wasn't right. But my parents would say 'that's just how we do it in our culture.' But honestly, I hate how that is normalized in some cultures, children shouldn't be treated that way. It was always like that so I was just used to it since I was like 6. And when I was 16, it just kept getting worse. So that's when I made the decision to change my life and start again without the pain." A few more tears left my eyes and were rolling down my face. I looked down and I wipe my eyes quickly with the back of my hand.

Everyone except Caro looked shocked. They were still trying to process what I had just said.

I looked up again and looked at everyone. When I looked at Caro, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it reassuringly, then she gave me a nod.

I smiled at her. "Even though this was years ago, the pain is still with me. Almost like it would never go away. And as a result of their verbal abuse, I ended up getting depression, social anxiety, and childhood trauma. Sadly I still have both of these to this day."

"And that's something that children shouldn't have to go through. It's wrong to treat your child like that, and not care for them afterward. It's painful for me to know that both my parents, to this day still think that what they did wasn't wrong. And that really upsets me. But here I am, stronger and happier than ever."

I looked down at Caro's hand holding mine, then I looked up at her. "I am very thankful to Caro since she was the one who helped me get away from the dark place that I was in. Without her I don't know where I would have been, I probably will be really broken and sad."

The hosts looked at me still in shock and asked, "So... your parents didn't care about you?"

"Well they definitely cared enough to at least feed me and give me a roof to live under, but they never actually loved me. Like... I never felt loved by them. They also never supported me in the things I did since it was apparently "useless". I don't think I ever got any positive feedback from them about my hobbies or anything. Even when I got awards at school, they never cared to even watch me receive it." I shrugged like it was nothing since I was used to it.

They were even more shocked and sad. I glanced at Caro and she looked sad as well.

"We are sorry to hear that about your childhood." The host said looking a little guilty for having to ask.

I shook my head, "No it's alright, I've already talked about it on my YouTube channel anyways, so it's not a big deal."

Since that went a little too deep, the producers thought it was a good idea to cool down a bit. So they gave us a 20-minute break.

We went back to the waiting room and we sat down on the sofas.

My head was still kinda hurting so I got up and took some medicine.

Caro was talking with the boys, it looked like they were having a serious conversation.

I was about to go back and sit with them when I got a text on my phone. It was from one of our group members Ella.

I quickly opened the text and read it.
It said, "Hi Zoey! So we know you are probably busy right now, but if you have time can we video call so that we can show you the dance we've been working on?"

I texted her back and 'okay' and I quickly went over to tell Caro.

I sat down beside her, the boys were in front of us like earlier.

"Umm hi, yeah sorry to bother you all, but I need to take a call from the members. They just need me to look over something. Is that okay?" I looked at everyone.

They all nodded their heads. I gave them a thumbs up and I went to the vanity area a little bit further from where they were.

I called Ella on FaceTime and I was greeted by all the members.

"Hey, guys! How are y'all doing?"

Caro's POV:

Zoey was taking her medicine while I sat down in the seating area with the boys.

"I feel bad for Zoey, she's been through so much when she was a kid," Jin said looking really sympathetic.

I agreed with him. "She has been through a lot. She hasn't revived from it till this day. She was a great kid growing up, she was really bubbly and playful. But when she left for the Philippines, she changed a lot."

"How so?" Suga questioned.

"Well, she became quieter. She wasn't as bubbly or talkative. She looked physically and emotionally drained and she was so negative. She became... almost scared of people in a way. Like, She was scared of talking with other people. I think it was cuz of her social anxiety. And I tried my best to get back the old Zoey, the happy and bubbly Zoey."

"Well, it seems like whatever you did to her helped. She seems more bubbly and happy now." Jimin said looking at her.

"That's only because she got really good at hiding the pain. Tell me, when you first looked at her, could you tell she has been through all that?"

They all shook their heads. "That's because she can hide it. It may seem like she's fine, but feel down she's broken and I don't even know how to fix it. She's great at hiding her problems."

They were all silent. Speechless.

Zoey came and sat beside me. "Umm hi, yeah sorry to bother you all, but I need to take a call from the members. They just need me to look over something. Is that okay?"

We all agreed and she ran off to sit somewhere else to take her call.

"See she looks fine, but she really isn't. She took therapy for 2 years and it kinda helped. But due to her busy schedule and stuff, she wasn't able to keep going. I tried to make her keep going since it was gone her mental health, but we just really had no time. She keeps on insisting that she's fine, but she really isn't." I looked at her and frowned. I felt really bad for her.

"We are quite the same since we have similar childhoods, except mine was less painful."

"Really?" Taehyung asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. My parents were divorced when I was 5, my mom remarried when I was 12 and had my half-sister. Then they also divorced and she just started dating a lot. I didnt like it since she would just keep bringing over guys to our house, I felt uncomfortable since they would stay overnight. But then again, my mom was supportive and caring, unlike Zoey's parents. But my mom lacked in things as well. She never cared about how I felt about her relationships, and she didn't care about my safety or anything. I was sick of it, so I left and moved in with my boyfriend, I never talk to my mom or sister again. I was 17 when I moved out, and when I was 18, that was went I could take Zoey in to live with me. So at the age of 16 shots moved back to Canada with me." I said my story calmly. I was already used to telling others about it, so it didn't really affect me much. I wasn't looking at them since I spaced out.

I looked back at the boys since they were quiet. They were lost in thought thinking about what I said.

"It's shocking hearing your guys' stories," Jhope said looking sad. It was unusual for him since he always looked really happy and bright.

"Well, since we are cousins it just seems like having bad parents runs on the family." I frowned remembering the shitty parents we both have.

We talked for a bit more about each other's childhoods and things.

Zoey's POV:

"Hey, guys! How are y'all doing?" I waved at them and smiled. It was great to talk to them again, even though it's been less than 3 days.

"We're good!" Everyone said at the same time.

I chuckled at them. I miss them so much.

"Why are you guys practicing now? It's getting pretty late there. Shouldn't you guys go home now?"

"Oh no no, we are fine. We've only been practicing for a few hours. Right guys?" Ella said, looking kind of suspicious.

I squinted my eyes at them. I put on my serious face and said. "Hi many hours exactly, and be honest or you're dead?"

Ella smiled innocently. I knew it wasn't gonna be good. "Umm... We were practicing since 7 am today." She flashed me a small guilty smile.

I shook my head. "Didn't I already tell you guys that you should practice for that long? If you want to perfect your dance, but you need to get some rest and you guys are also really busy."

"Nah, we're good. Plus we are having fun." They all nodded their head to what Ella said.

"Ok fine, but promise me that after you guys show me your dance you must go home. If you don't I will fly back there and kill you all."

They shouted an ok and they got into their positions. I laughed at how cute they were.

They started the music and They started dancing. We were practicing 'La Vie En Rose' by IZ*ONE before we left. So Since Caro and I have been gone, they decided to practice themselves.

They were doing pretty good without my help. I am pretty proud.

When they finished installed my hands together. "You guys were really good!"

They clapped their hands all excited. Their hard work paid off.

"There are just some things that you guys need some work on. Like on the chorus." I got up and made sure they could see me. I demonstrated how it should be, and they copied me. It was just like our normal class, but we were thousands of miles away from each other.

I continued on for a bit showing them how the dance should go. Then I made them end the call so they could all go home. It was pretty late there already.

I finished talking the Ella about the things that we needed to finish then I ended the call.

Just as I ended the call, the producer came in and told us we had to start filming again. I put my phone back into my purse and we headed out.

Jungkook's POV:

We were taking a bit with Caro. I looked over at Zoey to see how she was doing and it seemed like she was dancing.

I saw her on FaceTime with her group, I guess she was teaching them the dance.

She was good at teaching. An wasn't going too fast not too slow, she explained each step perfectly also Mak I g sure the members were getting it, she was a bit of a perfectionist but she was doing well in teaching. It makes sense why she is a professional dance teacher, she is gifted with many talents.

I watched her for a bit until she finished teaching the dance, then I asserted my attention back to the conversation.

Zoey's POV:

We started filming again, and no we were doing the dancing and singing portion.

BTS went first in performing their song, they performed 'Dynamite' and 'Life Goes On'. It was so cool to watch them perform live, right in front of us.

I was kinda sad when their performance ended, I wanted to see more.

Then it was our turn to perform. Caro and I got up and e headed to the center.

Caro and I decided to dance a cover on 'Lisa' s cover of City Girls'. That performance went by smoothly and then we had to do our second song. We decided to do a duet on 'If The World Was Ending'. I sang the boy part while Caro sang the girl part.

It felt nice to perform with her, just the two of us. It reminded me of when we first started dancing together.

After our performance, the hosts kept complimenting us on our performance. I felt really flattered and happy.

Then they let us have our lunch break. For lunch, they prepared spicy rice cakes and kimbap. It was delicious. We all sat down and ate together. It was nice to have them with us, it felt as If we were family.

After eating we proceeded with the rest of the interview. Mostly talking about our latest plans and stuff.

"We were wondering if you two ever considered becoming kpop idols. Have you?" The host asked us.

"Actually yes indeed we have. But for me being a kpop idol isn't really my dream in life, or should I say, it's just not for me. And for Caroline, she just wants to be a dance teacher, nothing more. But it would be amazing to be a kpop idol."

"Have you ever been scouted by any companies".

"Yes we have, but we always turned them down."

They went on and on with the questions. We finally finished 2 hours later. I was exhausted so was Caro.

The boys on the other hand looked fine. They were just used to having interviews this long I guess.

It was time to go back to the hotel, but I didn't want to go yet. We talked a little bit with the boys, and they even have is their numbers.

I had each of their numbers with their names on them. I feel so lucky to have their numbers, I will cherish this moment.

I grabbed my stuff and we good our goodbye to the boys, and they headed to their van, and Caro and I headed to ours.

Today was a good day, even though it was pretty hectic.

~~~~~

Authors Note:

So that is all for this chapter. I know it went really deep but I had to, I needed to add it so that later on in the story things go smoothly.

I hope yall liked this chapter, I didn't really plan it, so it's really all over the place. If you guys liked it them make sure to vote on this chapter.

Also, feel free to comment anything, I love reading your comments. It really makes my day!

Bye for now! I'll see you guys in the next chapter! ﾞ('• ω •')ﾉ