OPEN YOUR EYES (BLIND I) - MUSIQ SERIES PART 2

21. ALONE VS. LONELY

TW: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

With Alix knowing what her relationship with Mrs Kim was like, Heejin tried to avoid her at all costs when she was in the company. Between the fight with Minako and that, Heejin felt even worse, if that were possible, and not even rehearsing seemed to clear her mind. She just spent the day repeating the dance over and over again hoping that her body would just go on autopilot and she would not have to think about it. She felt completely exhausted and drained, but she had to push through because the evaluations were just around the corner.

It also felt like the trainees wanted to avoid her at all costs except for Juiyu, Eunae, Nari, sometimes Zia and the members of the «Libido» team. Every time she passed by them, they looked the other way and pretended they could not see her. She had gone from being one of the trainees everyone spent time with to looking like an outcast, which did not help her whatsoever.

"Heejin?" Nari said going inside her practice room but not finding her. "Heejin?"

The music was playing and the lights were on, which did not make sense to her, so she looked around the room and finally found Heejin sitting on the floor right beside one of the couches fast asleep. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep wherever, but Nari only knew half of what was happening to her and shook her awake.

"Oh, Nari!" Heejin exclaimed as she woke up. "I can't believe I fell asleep. I was just going to rest for a couple of minutes."

"You must have been working really hard," Nari told her with a smile. "I just came by to tell you that I will be coming back right after the evaluations, so we will be able to prepare the song then. Sorry for making you go through the creation of the dance alone as well as having to prepare another song in such a short time. Let's work together on the next evaluation too and I will work just as hard if not harder than you!"

Although Nari was the same age as Eunae, they were opposites in the way they dressed and behaved. Nari was a very sweet and cute girl who you would never catch saying anything harsher than 'silly', and she very easily made Heejin smile, even at the darkest of times.

"Let's focus on the one we have first and not rush things." Heejin smiled. "Is your mother doing better?"

"She is responding well to the treatment, thankfully. It is not like she will recover in a month or even a year, but she is working hard, or at least that is what it seems. She keeps asking me to forgive her."

"Just being with her is better than any forgiveness you could give her. You haven't left her side since, and that shows how much you love her."

"I hope she sees it as well..."

Although she was struggling on her own, Heejin never had trouble pushing her thoughts and worries aside in favour of others, hence why she always checked on Axel and forgot about what she was dealing with to comfort Nari. It was an unhealthy coping mechanism that also did not let others see that she was not all right, but that was the way she dealt with it, and she regretfully knew no better.

"I just came to see you before leaving again, so I sadly have to go now," Nari said, checking the time. "It's lunch time, aren't you going to the cafeteria with the rest?"

"I actually don't know what to do..." she admitted. "I guess I have to eat."

"You should call Eunae and Juiyu. I saw them practicing with Axel for their performance just now, so maybe you could all eat together. I have already been updated about that topic. Congratulations, by the way. I would have never seen it coming just a year ago, but I guess you really bonded ever since the evaluation earlier this year."