One Together| Monsta X 8th Member

☆ Episode 37

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"He was the one leaking information."

Shownu's words echo in my head, there is no way Chanwoo did that to us.
"No, that can't be." I mumble. "He wouldn't do that to us."

"Are you sure you heard it correctly?" Wonho faces Shownu, both snapping out of the moment of shock.

"Maybe... maybe it's just a misunderstanding."  Jooheon's words sound hopeful, yet his voice reveals the deep disbelief and disappointment he must be feeling right now.

"Please, let's just go home. I think we need some time to process all of this." Kihyun massages his temples, looking overwhelmed with what's going on.

~~
We quietly walk home and even after arriving, there is silence most of the time. We've known our manager for three years now and he always treated us like his kids and even called us that. Even the thought of him being the one giving away all of our information, our locations and so much more, hurts. And now I'm supposed to believe he was the one behind all of this?

Why am I so surprised though?
Even my own mother abandoned me.
Why would a stranger not do what my mother already did to me?

"I'll go take a shower." I say, not really caring if anyone heard me or not. I just really need to do something to organize my thoughts.

The water feels like a hug, with every second it gets hotter as it rains down on my skin, almost burning. It reminds me of my mom, the person who convinced me I wasn't worth anything, that I was just a burden for everyone, including her very self. I never let anyone know about it, not even Hoshi. And that's how I lived, pretending to be happy and bright.

That was until 7 men appeared into my life. And these 7 made me want to come out of my shell. I let my isolated past out. And they listened.

I quickly finish up and go to my room to change into my pj's.

Knock knock

"Yeah?"

"Hey, it's me." Wonho opens the door only sticking his head through the little gap. "Can I come in?"

I nod giving him an encouraging look.

"Here" he hands me a sealed envelope "Found it in the Mailbox. It has your name on it."

"Thanks." I say as I put it on my desk.

"How are you feeling?"

I sit down on my bed and sigh "Terrible."
Wonho takes a seat next to me "Hyejin, why did you want to leave the restaurant so suddenly? Did anything happen?"

I nod "I saw someone, a person who was dressed up in black with a mask and cap. I was so scared that it might be Youngchul. But when I looked again no one was there."

Wonho puts his hand on mine as he seeks my gaze "Please tell us immediately the next time you're scared...Do you really think it was him?"

"I don't know. I don't even know if it was just my imagination." I scuff at myself, why do I sound so helpless?
"I can't believe Chan woo would do such a thing to us." I try to change the subject.

"Me too, I can't help but think something might be off." Wonho stops talking, like he's thinking about something. "You told me, Youngchul was speaking about a female staff. This doesn't make sense at all."

"You're right, hyung. I'm so confused." I bury my face in my hands.

The sudden sound of the doorbell makes me jump. Wonho and I stand up going to the door.

"Huh, Cho Hee noona?" We hear Minhyuk, who already opened the door, say.

"Hello Minhyuk, can we come in?" Cho Hee point to herself and Jinsoo, another staff working at the company.

"Uh sure." He nods, still a little surprised that staff came to our dorm at such a late hour.

"Hello." I politely greet Cho Hee and Jinsoo, who I haven't encountered a lot. The only thing I know is that she works in the management team.

"I'm guessing you guys know what happened to your manager right?" Cho Hee asks as she follows us into the living room.

"Yes, we did. We got a call. " Wonho replies sitting down on the sofa.

"Oh right, I actually came here earlier to tell you in person but you guys weren't home, that's why you got to know about it through a call."

"We're sorry we were out to eat." I quickly apologize and bow.

"Don't worry about it."

"First of all, we're so sorry that all of this happened to you guys, especially you Hyejin ssi." Jinsoo turns her head towards me giving me an apologetic look.

Before I can reply Cho Hee continues "The police found clear evidence on his laptop. Apparently he has connections to various sasaeng accounts on social media as well."

My heart sinks, hearing her words. I don't want this to be real.

"Oh." Shownu enters the living room "Sorry, I didn't know you were here." He politely bows and sits down next to us.

"Don't worry about it. We just came to personally apologize to you in the name of the company as we couldn't protect you well enough and also to tell you that Jinsoo ssi will be your temporary manager from now on." Cho Hee gives me a guilty look.
A look that confuses me. Does she pity me? Or does she feel like it's somewhat her fault?

"Anyway, we don't want to disturb you any longer." Jinsoo stands up and hands me a piece of paper "Here that's my number. Call me when you guys need anything." She smiles softly.

"Thank you." All of us bow and accompany them to the door.

"Guys, I think I'll head to sleep."

I don't really think I'll be able to sleep but I should at least try. There is no way I'm gonna have a single clear thought today.

As I'm about to lay down on my bed, my eyes land on the envelope on my desk. I almost forgot about it. The envelope is completely blanc. No stamp, no address, just my name.

Weird.
I open it and pull out it's content.

Photos?
The confusion is instantly replaced by fear. My heart rate speeding up.
A single note falls down on my lap.

Hello princess,
I missed you. Since I know you won't come to see me on your own. I thought I'd send you a little invitation.
I suppose you saw the photos of you and your little friend. Imagine if these found their way into the media. Not only your group but his as well would suffer a lot from that. But I'm not evil, I wouldn't do that- at least not if you come to the address on the back of the note. I'll meet you in two days, my love.

A/N:
I'm so sorry, I feel like this chapter is lowkey boring. Buuuut it's necessary as a build up to the next few chapters. I'll give my best to write them more exciting.
Thanks for the support y'all 🥺