LO$ER=LO♡ER

Chapter 28

A couple hours later, Amara sat in the dorm with the others. A movie was playing on the TV, at medium volume. Quiet enough to not be disturbing, but loud enough to hear. The guys had picked a Disney movie. She wasn't really watching it, as her attention was elsewhere.

She was staring down at her lap. Sunghoon was holding her hand, his own ring glittering on his finger. She'd been staring at their hands for the past couple of minutes. She finally looked up at him, seeing his attention was fully on the TV.

She picked up her phone and took a picture of their hands. She opened Instagram and went to her profile, adding the picture to a post. She hesitated on whether she should post it or not. She even had a captioned typed out. While she was debating, Sunghoon took her phone from her.

Amara looked at him, surprised. He looked at what was on her phone and smiled. She watched him post the picture, her eyes going wide. The others got the notification for it, as they pulled out their phones to see. Seonwoo turned to look at her, grinning widely.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to wait to tell the others first," Jay said, turning to face her.

Hearing his words, made her frown. She reached over and took her phone back from Sunghoon.

"Why should I tell them what's going on in my life? They dumped me. They don't have to know about my choices," Amara scoffed and crossed her arms, pouting.

"We're just teasing, silly," Riki said, laughing softly.

He reached over and ruffled her hair. She grumbled in response.

"Don't worry. If they don't like it, that's their problem. Not ours, not yours. They're the ones who gave you up," Sunghoon said, poking her cheek.

She smiled softly. "Besides, we get to have you back with us. You were ours first anyway!" Jake said, leaning over and kissed her cheek quickly.

She laughed softly at his words. These boys always knew how to cheer her up. She got to her feet and left them to go in the kitchen for a drink.

Amara opened the fridge, taking out a water bottle. She felt her phone vibrating in her hands, making her lift it up. She saw somebody calling her. She didn't know the number. She accepted it anyway, for some odd reason.

She usually didn't answer numbers she didn't know. So, why did she answer this time?

"Hello?" she answered, a bit confused by the unknown number.

"Amara," the voice said, in an annoyed voice.

She recognized it as the voice of Enhypen's manager. "Oh, yes?" she replied, unsure as to how or why he was calling her.

"That post that you just put on Instagram..." he started, sighing.

"Oh, I didn't do that! Sunghoon took my phone out of my hands and posted it. I'll take it down right away, sir!" she said, panicking about this.

"Please do. And I also need you to give them that ring back," he continued.

That one caught her off guard and she was confused. Before she could ask why, he gave her the answer.

"Give the ring back and tell them you can't accept the proposal."

Amara was shocked into a brief silence, before answering, "I... I can't do that. I already told them yes. I can't just--"

"I don't give a damn! Return the ring, tell them you take back your answer and leave! I don't want you near my clients! Especially not after the shit that took place with TXT," he snapped, making her frown.

"What do you mean by that?" She mumbled

"I mean that I don't want the boys near somebody like you. You're already causing way too much problems for TXT. I don't need you doing the same for Enhypen. Not only that, you're pregnant right? They don't need the burden of that responsibility. They're too young. You'd just be a problem for them. So, do what I said and leave them alone."

There was a soft click on the other end, signaling the end of the call. Amara stood there in silence, slowly taking the phone away from her ear. She stared at the floor, the words echoing loudly in her head, over and over. She turned her gaze to the ring on her finger.

What was she going to do? She'd just told them yes a few hours ago. If she took it back, she would hurt them. And she didn't want that. But, their manager seemed to think she was a bad person. The issues with TXT seemed to have painted her as such, even though none of it was her fault.

She could hear the boys laughing in the living room, having bright conversations. She could feel her chest tighten with stress and anxiety. She stood there for another couple of minutes, not sure what to do.

Eventually, it all built up and she couldn't take it anymore. Every single one of her bad emotions, thoughts, and insecurities burst through her, like breaking through a dam. Amara left the kitchen, going to the front door. The others noticed this.

"Where are you going?" Jay asked, getting up from the couch.

She ignored him, pulling her shoes on. She grabbed her jacket and unlocked the door.

"What's the matter?" Sunghoon asked, frowning.

She still didn't answer, yanking the door open. She went out into the hall and was about to leave, when somebody grabbed her hand, stopping her. When she looked over her shoulder, it was Heeseung.

"What's the matter? Why are you leaving?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.

She looked away and tried to pull her hand out of his. But, he didn't let go. He gently tightened his grip.

"Hey, why are--"

"Get off me!" Amara suddenly cried out, surprising him and his grip loosened.

Her hand fell from his. The others came out into the hallway quickly, having heard her. They came out just in time, to see her pulling the ring off her finger. She handed it to Heeseung, but he didn't accept it.

"Take it..." she whispered to him.

"No, put it back on. What are you doing?" he tells her, frowning.

"Just take it," she said, tears stinging her eyes.

"No. Why are you doing this? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?" he asked her, his voice cracking.

"Please just take it," she said softly.

When he still refused, she lost the calm demeanor she was trying to keep.

"Just take the damn ring, Heeseung!" Amara screamed, catching everyone off guard by her outburst.

She suddenly shoved the ring into his chest and ran down the hallway.

"Amara, wait!" he yelled, running after her,

She quickly pushed the lobby button for the elevator. Thankfully, the doors opened quickly. She got on and pushed the button again, whimpering.

"Amara, stop! Don't do this!" Heeseung said, getting to the elevator.

He was a second too late as the doors closed, just before he could get on. But, not before he made eye contact with her and saw tears streaming down her cheeks. Seeing that made him wonder what happened.

Amara burst into her apartment, slamming the door behind her. She breathed heavily, leaning against it. Her heart was pounding in her chest. It didn't take long for everything to come out. She released a struggled noise, sliding down the door. She fell to the floor, hugging her legs to her chest.

She broke out into heavy sobs, her tears flooding down her cheeks. She put her hands on her face, crying into them. Amara could feel her heart breaking from what she just did. She never thought she'd have to do something like that.

Now, what?