Chapter 4: For Her

JUNWON took occasional glances at the presenter, who was directing questions to one member at a time. He blinked to focus his vision and attempted to listen to the question that was directed at Kaedan, their youngest member, but failed as his brain was finally exhausted.

And all he needed to do was to go home and cuddle with his lover until they both fell asleep.

He could almost thank his company for giving them three interviews in their schedule for the day.

"Junwon," the presenter began, "could you please tell us how you felt when you were in the survival show? You all made a lot of friends there and most of them were eliminated, is that correct? How do you overall feel about that?"

Junwon nodded his head, holding the mic close to his mouth so he could answer the question.

"I do believe that some members of the survival show deserved to debut just as much as us. When we were still contestants, each of us have made a lot of friends and to me, it would've been better if we could see our friends occasionally."

The other members turned their heads towards him at the mention of the first sentence, sending death glares that pierced through his skin.

"Well, we hope our viewers have enjoyed this interview today! This was your favourite presenter Sarah, and I was here with our favourite group..."

Junwon's eyes fell to the floor, his mind drifting off to the image of his lover. He inhaled, his heart pounding loudly in his ears as he realized his relief, which was caused by the fact that they were finally done with the schedule.

As soon as the cameras were turned off, the eleven members turned to their leader, their eyes filled with disgust and pure hatred.

"How dare you?" One of the older members, Minseo, began. "How dare you say something like that?"

"Excuse me?" Junwon replied, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"'Some members deserved to debut just as much as us?' What the hell does that suppose to mean?" Sungmin, one of the younger members, bitterly questioned, standing up from his seat with his arms crossed to his chest.

"I said what I thought. Isn't that what an interview supposed to be?" Junwon shrugged, knowing that whatever he said was how he genuinely felt. After all, he didn't intend to harm them.

Did he?

"Might as well just say that some members from the show deserved to be here instead of us, right?" One of the members retorted, causing Junwon's head to bolt in his direction, causing him to automatically stand up from his seat.

"That's not what I said!"

"Did you say that because two of those Thai contestants are best friends with your dumb girlfriend? You think that they deserved to debut instead of some of us, right?" Soul's question caused Junwon to turn to him, his blood boiling with anger.

"Do not call my girlfriend that! If you even mention—"

"What are you going to do about it, huh?" Soul replied with a tone of challenge, jealousy and bitterness altogether. "Santa and Yacht weren't as good as everyone thought. They did not deserve to debut with us."

"And yet at the show you were kissing their—"

"Enough!" The second oldest member, Hanbin, exclaimed, standing up from his seat. "You all are not only supposed to be a good example for the younger members, but also a good example for the audience."

Junwon rolled his eyes, covering his stomach with his arms to cover himself. "You be a good example, hyung. I'm going home!"

"Yeah, run away like the coward you are, Junwon Yu!" Soul screamed, stomping his feet on the ground. "You'll regret your words soon!"

Junwon let out a huff of annoyance before hurrying out of the room, his heart beating fast between his ribs while his blood boiled in anger.

And just like that, his dream of being a famous idol in a popular, talented group crashed before his eyes.

. . .

Unlocking the door with the keys his lover gave him, he hurried inside and shut the door behind him. He ran a finger through his hair in distress, stepping inside the living room, where he spotted his girlfriend sitting on the giant, black couch with paperwork in her hand and on the coffee table before her.

He made his way further into the room and let out a long, shaky breath, finally allowing the tears that were filling his eyes to stream down his handsome face.

"N-Noona," he muttered, causing her to turn her head in his direction. "It's Junwon. I-I need a hug..."

Without a word, Mal shoved the paperwork to the empty area beside her on the couch before getting up from her seat, and stretch her arms to let him know that she was okay with the idea. He didn't hesitate to run in her direction and throw himself between her arms, breaking down into tears of pain and desperation.

"Noona..."

"It's okay, sweetheart," she whispered, rubbing his back in reassurance, "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

Placing a kiss on his hair before pulling his hand down, helping him sit on the couch in the process.

"What happened, baby? Are you ready to talk?"

He shook his head and sank his face into her neck, her vanilla mixed with roses scent filling his nose. Her famous body wash, of course. The familiar scent caused his muscles to relax almost immediately.

"I m-messed up, noona..." He whispered against the crook of her neck.

Did he actually?

At some times, he did wish that his group mates were different. At least so that some of them could tolerate him and make his life less miserable.

But that wasn't his intention when he said those words.

After all, he would never try to hurt someone on purpose, let alone his group members who already hated him.

And he did believe that there was something wrong with the show overall.

It was true that he happened to be biased because two of the contestants were Mal's best friends ever since she went to Thailand with her company to sponsor some events a few years back. But he wasn't biased just because they were her friends. They were talented, after all, and deserved their spot in the group along with everyone else.

"Why, sweetheart? Why are you saying that?"

Her nickname of him sent immediate butterflies to his stomach, causing him to roll his eyes at how desperate he sounded. He had no idea how he managed to be head over heels in love with her.

But their relationship was the only thing he believed in, exactly like how she believed in him. He had a reason to wake up every morning, and to work hard doing what he loved the most just so she could be proud of him.

For her.

"I..." He let out a small, heartbroken sob, the events he went through that day crossing his mind. "C-Can we just c-cuddle? That's all I need right now..."

She nodded her head and stretched her body on the couch with a soft plop, then opened her arms to invite him into her warm embrace.

"Come here, sweetheart."

He nodded his head and stretched his body to lay on the empty space beside her on the couch.

And as soon as he closed his eyes to enjoy the moment, she ran her fingers through his soft hair. His muscles relaxed at that, relieved at the fact that he was finally getting the break he needed.

But not for long.

"You're everything to me in this world, baby." She whispered, her voice sweet and reassuring while she embraced his waist as tight as she could go. "Sleep tight, and get the rest you need."

He sent her a small, appreciative smile before closing his eyes one last time, wrapping his arm around her torso and giving in to the darkness.