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3.3

     [I'm back.]

     I walked into the building, hearing tiny steps behind me. "Jun! Come eat." I heard Joshua say from afar. While walking, I took a glance back. Huh? My mouth formed into a gasp as I realized who was trailing behind me. It was Xiaohua..! I looked back 1,2,3,4 times before I began walking backwards, staring at her. But why was I getting a different feeling from this? Dark circles surrounded her eyes and she wore a messy white shirt and some sweats. Not to mention her hair. What did she do with it? Instead of her long locks dragging down her back, it was now a shoulder length cut, very messily trimmed. I could hear her hoarse voice, a bare whisper. Her posture was killing me, back slouched, feet dragging herself. All this because of Minghao?

     I heard a yelp from behind me as I tripped but caught myself. "Jun! Watch out." Seungcheol scolded before realizing what I was so distracted by. He ran back into the room, probably to tell the others. I looked back at her, she was holding a coffee and walking back to the office. I wonder how Seonghee will react, but more importantly, how Minghao will react.

——

     First few cuts, it hurt. It hurt to see as they fell down on the ground. It looked like pools of black ink falling at my feet. That's 16 years of growing it out, only trimming when necessary. But now, I want a change. I want to put back that past. A new me? But not new, only worse. The ends were uneven, but I didn't care. The tears fell down like a meaningless waterfall. It all meant nothing.

——

     As I walked into the office, it felt like a hundred pairs of eyes were staring at me. I quickly ran to my desk while hearing their muttering.

     "What happened to her?"

"Is she okay?"

"What did she do with her hair?"

     I slapped my head when I found a pile of papers on my desk. Don't tell me that I have to sign all these papers again.

     I could hear the heels clicking and then stopping, right next to Seonghee's desk. "Xiao- Xiaohua?" she stuttered. I didn't bother to look. Let's save everyone from this scary sight. "Yes, Seonghee?" I replied, my eyes glued to the papers in front of me. The heels began clicking again until I heard the chair squeak a bit. "You're back!" she exclaimed while rolling to my desk. Finally, I gave her a smile, a dark, gloomy one. Her face turned into a gasp. "What happened?!" She reached out to touch the bruise, I flinched and pulled away. "This?," I pointed at the bruise, "I have no idea." I slammed my head into the desk which only made the bruise hurt more. "Why don't we get you a first aid kit first?" She suggested while cringing at the bruise. I sighed, following her to wherever she was leading me.

     Seonghee brought me into the snack room where she put some medicine on the bruise. "You really have no idea where you got it?" she asked. I shook my head. "Just woke up one day and it was there." I still wonder how I got it. A bruise can't just pop up from nowhere, right?

     While working on those papers, our manager walked in. "Oh, Xiaohua! You're back." I nodded while he took out some papers. "There'll be a performance tomorrow, but we need to get there by today. Be ready by 5." I checked my computer for the time. 2.01. Better get my things ready now.

     Seonghee stopped by my apartment to keep me company. (or maybe just to nag at me.) "Don't forget your toothbrush!" she yelled to me from the kitchen, which kind of reminded me of my mom. "I already put it in my bag!" I yelled back. 

     "Did you bring a snack?" 

"Yes~" 

     She checked through my bag to make sure I didn't forget anything. "Clothes, toothbrush, snacks, make-up case. Yup, I've got everything."

     We sat in the office while waiting for our manager to call us. I scrolled through my phone, organizing my schedule for the next week. Aren't I so organized?

——

     "Okay everyone, get on the bus." Instead of a van, a bus. I guess it was going to be a longer ride this time. I put my bags in the overhead storage and sat on the seat. Seonghee sat next to me.

     Right before the bus started, another guy ran into the bus. "Sir- Sir, we've got a problem." He said while panting. They exchanged whispers until our bus driver and manager gave a nod. What's going on?

     "Sorry everyone, just give us a few minutes. There's just a little problem we need to solve." Seonghee and I groaned impatiently. "What is it this time?!" she complained. I leaned my head on the window in annoyance.

     There were a few distant chatters in the background. "Hoshi-hyung!" A yell came from outside of the bus. I began to piece everything together. Are we, riding the bus with the members? My question would be given an answer when the members showed up at the front of the bus. Seonghee hit me playfully while I looked at them. Their eyes scanned the bus until they finally landed on me. "Xiaohua?!" Joshua yelled while running toward me. "Hua!" Jun exclaimed. I don't know if I should be smiling or hiding. This might cause trouble.

     Jun and Shua sat in front of us. But that person—I won't mention his name—sat on the complete opposite side. Didn't even give me a glance. He really hates me, and if I'm being honest, I would too.

     "Xiaohua, what happened to your hair?" 

     "And your head?" Jun and Joshua questioned. "I- don't know." I stuttered. So many questions flooded in all at once. I feel overwhelmed.

     "Sir~ Are we there yet?!" Seonghee whined. I groaned in annoyance. She's been asking that same question every 5 minutes. "Why don't you sleep to pass the time?" I suggested. She whined again, laying on my shoulder. "This is taking sooo long."

     Eventually, Seonghee finally fell asleep while I played a game on my phone. I grabbed a bag of chips out of my bag to eat. "Hey, give me some." Joshua looked back at me. "I want some too." Jun added. I passed them the bag while rolling my eyes. I brought those snacks for me and me only.

=====

a/n 

the amount of writing blocks i'm getting while writing this part. 

gods now i'm getting unmotivated as usual.

isn't that ironic ?

don't expect too much from me, this book might be on hold forever ;(

also i heard if you press the vote button you get a free cookie~ 🍪 (pls vote)