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A SAD SILENCE FELL BETWEEN THE GIRLS AS AERA STOPPED BY THE DOOR. Her suitcase sat by her side, blocking her from opening the door. She turned toward her members with a sad look, her eyes red from holding back tears. "Oh," Eunjin voiced upon noticing the sheen in the girl's eyes. She was first to pull Aera into her arms. Her arms caged her in, hands pressed into her back. "You're not leaving forever. You'll return and everything will be the same as you left it." A few tears broke out and ran down her cheeks, trickling onto Eunjin's shoulder. "I know," she sighed gently. "I'm just going to miss you. I've gotten so used to seeing you all every day."
Once the two pulled apart, Aera casted her eyes toward her other members. Hoshika was the next to embrace her, letting Aera bury her face in her shoulder. "The peace and quiet will be nice," the Japanese member jokingly said, though the waver in her voice gave her true feelings away. Maria, who had been the one Aera had spent the night with, was already crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, lips bitten from anxiety. Beside her, Liana was close to breaking down as well. Aera grabbed Yuming after letting Hoshika go and held her in a tight grip.
"I can't believe you'll be gone for so long," Maria cried out, finally pulling Aera into her arms. The two hugged one another as tight as they could, letting their emotions pour into the act. Aera felt her body convulse as she finally cried; cried in worry of leaving her members, cried in nervousness of being on her own once more. "I don't want to leave," she wailed, clutching Maria tighter. "I wish I could bring you guys with me." Liana finally wiped at the pouring tears and turned her head. She knew she would miss her sister; Aera was family now, like the rest of the girls. "You can still text us or call us," Eunjin tried to reason with her anxious friend.
Aera wiped away the wetness of her cheeks after parting from Maria. Right after, Liana wrapped herself around the older girl. They fell silent as the maknae cried, allowing the two to say their goodbyes. "I promise I'll message you guys every day," she spoke up. Maria sniffled. "You have to tell us everything. And I mean everything." She pinched Aera's cheek with a sad smile. Just as the group were finishing up, the sound of a car horn interrupted them. "Oh," she whimpered. "Okay. That's my que."
Eunjin ruffled the girl's hair with a sweet, sympathetic smile. "You've got this," she whispered. Aera nodded her head, once again wiping her face with her sleeves. "I love you," she spoke in a broken tone. She grabbed the doorknob and opened the door just enough for the morning light to peer in. "We love you, too," Yuming responded. The five members waved as she drug her suitcase out the door first. Aera pressed her fingers to her lips before waving back at the girls. This is so hard, she thought to herself. She didn't want to leave them. They were the people she wanted to live life with forever.
