A Sound from the Moon

Thirty One

I'm out with the members a week before school starts. I don't want to go to school. I'm not in the mood for anything but training and working.

I'm always exhausted since I'm saving up for my mother's surgery. I barely have any time for myself. The rush has faded away again and I'm back at the very start.

"Yerimie..."

I slowly wake up and find myself in the car. I gently stretch out my legs and turn to see Seulgi giving me a tender look. "We're here."

I didn't want to come. I was already mentally tired from training and I have work later today. The one day I have some time in between to rest, they decide to go shopping. But I can't complain. They've been so kind to me. They always look after me. Joy and Wendy are the two that encourage me with training, and Irene and Seulgi are the two that keep me sane outside of training life.

Whenever I tell them I'm struggling with anything in training, Joy and Wendy make sure to give me tips or even practice with me. Then when I frantically run to work or training, Irene makes sure to look after me. She makes sure I eat. Seulgi makes sure I'm smiling, too. She always brings out a laugh from me no matter how exhausted I am. I feel like I'm back in the States with constant exhaustion, but it's different. I have them now.

Today, Seulgi is the one that takes my arm as we walk up the stairs of the mall. My tired mind makes me look around in silence as we follow an excited Joy. She's been wanting to go shopping for her last semester in college, while I want to hide from any reminder that school will start soon.

We enter a clothing store and everyone goes off on their own to look at different racks. I find myself admiring a beautiful dress. I smile at its design. It brings back a memory of a healthy mother I once had. It's so far away, but this dress strikes it back as if I saw her in that dress just yesterday. I run my thumb over the stitching of flowers on the borders and let out a small breath through my nose. I wish I didn't have to wear a uniform.

"That's a pretty dress." I smile at Joy approaching me with clothes already on her arm. "You should get it. You would look beautiful in it."

I quickly let my hand fall from the dress and give Joy a small smile. "It's okay. I want to save up for my mother."

A flash of sadness runs through her eyes. "How about I pay for you just this time?"

"No no," I quickly say. "It's okay." I give her a kiss on her cheek, hoping that it'll convince her. "Thank you. Let's catch up with the rest!"

I take her arm and guide her towards the checkout line. Wendy is already there chatting with the employee behind the cash register. Seulgi stands close by with Irene as they checkout their items. I stay outside of the stores and observe some of the carts in the middle of the large walkways. I smile at the cute things I find and walk away before I have the urge to buy anything.

I then stop at a shoe store. I have been wanting a few new shoes. I sold off the last few I got for the last surgery my mother got. I wonder how much it will cost for this surgery. I wish I could see her now. It feels wrong to be here when my mother is all alone.

"Yerimie!"

I turn at the sound of Seulgi's voice. I smile wide as the members catch up with me and let Wendy wrap an arm around my waist to give my cheek a quick kiss. I let a small chuckle escape my lips as Seulgi gives me a quick kiss on my other cheek, too.

"Yeri," I hear Irene call out to me. Wendy and Seulgi let go of me so they can join Joy. I go back to Irene as she stands where I was observing the shoes. She gives me her gentle smile as she gestures at the shoes. "Do you like those?"

I give her a small nod and she immediately says, "Let's buy it."

"Not today," I say as I stop her from guiding me inside. She quietly listens to me as I sigh. "I need to save money, unnie. My mother...She needs a surgery..."

I look down as I hold back tears and Irene runs her thumb down the side of my face with a tender touch. "It'll be okay. I'm going to buy it for you."

"What?!" But Irene is already taking my arm and guiding me inside. "No wait. Unnie."

"I won't hear it. Now try them on. And get good shoes for school. Comfortable ones."

I'm so surprised at her gesture that I seem to be frozen in place. I look at the shoes and then back at Irene. She does a small scoff as she crosses her arms on her chest. "Well? Which ones do you like?"

"Unnie..." I swallow before my voice breaks. I wrap my arms around her waist and softly say, "You don't have to..."

"I want to," she says with a firmness that makes my heart melt. "I think those would be good for school." She guides me to a row of shoes after giving my hand a soft squeeze. My heart begins to dance again and I let it be this once.

Soon, the other members seem to join in with these kind gestures. Wendy was next to buy me a backpack she thought would be great for school. I insisted I already had one, but she shook her head and helped me choose my favorite. Then Seulgi bought notebooks and school items needed for notes. She picked out mostly what she liked but luckily, they were all cute. Then Joy disappeared for a while and came back with her eyes reflecting on her warm smile as she carried two bags. Inside was the dress she told me to buy before and a school uniform.

"I thought you could use a spare uniform just in case. And I still think this dress would look gorgeous on you."

My heart flew with their kindness. I gave Joy a tight hug and pulled away to give the members a bright smile. "You guys are so cool. How will I ever repay you?"

"Be your best," Irene said with a knowing wink and in that moment, my heart made a promise to do just that.

As I get ready for work when I got back from the mall, my heart feels lighter. I smile again without worries and excitedly get ready to see Chan. Then I get a phone call and see that it's Chan's number. I answer with that cheeky smile I always get when I talk with him or about him.

"Hey, boss! I'm on my way!"

"Yeri. I thought you could rest today. Don't worry about coming."

My smile turns small as I hear the seriousness in his voice. "But why? You know I need the work. I'm okay. I promise. I had a small nap today."

"I don't know, Yeri. I'm worried about you."

I did a small scoff. "You don't have to worry about me, Chan. I'm serious. I'm okay!"

"Look. School starts soon and you need your A-game for training, too. That's more important right now!"

"Chan please. I need to work. Don't do this. I'll be fine! I promise I'll let you know when I'm not okay."

He does a soft sigh and instead of getting annoyed, I try to understand his concern. The members can see my exhaustion just as well as he does. I cannot hide from them what's so visible from the inside. He knows me all too well and says, "Okay. With one condition."

"Anything, boss."

"I want to see the other side of your world, Yeri. I want to walk among future stars."

I do a smirk at his request and my heart jumps with excitement. "I think I can do something about that..."