❝ e u p h o r i a ❞ ᴇɴʜʏᴘᴇɴ 8ᴛʜ ᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ

˗ˋ 01

wooo who is she, two updates in one day

–'episode three'–

–'part 1'–

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Everyone is still in their seats, at war with themselves. We worked so hard and yet got such a low score. Now we would pay for it.

"I didn't think there would be six" Jake mumbled then smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Me neither" I look at him and smile reassuringly. Silently telling him that everything would be okay.

"Voting for member eliminations will begin in twelve hours" The system announced. I wave of dread washed over me. The last eliminations were so hard for me. I almost cried myself to sleep after it.

"What were the highest and lowest scores?" Jay asked "40 and 78" Jungwon answered him.

Daniel look down "78 is a good score" Jay rubbed his head in thought "78..." Jungwon was lost in his own "Did Ni-Ki get 78?"

"You may now check your scores" Jungwon was the first to head up. He came back looking happy.

After that, the guys waited for their turns and finally, it was my turn next. Jay came down and motioned for me to go.

I took a deep breath. I opened the door and stood in front of the small table. Looking at the black screen my heart pumped more furiously.

I rubbed my sweaty palms on the side of my pants. My face on the screen and name next to it.

78

I gasped and my eyes started to sting. I looked at it once again and sighed in relief.

The guys slowly disappeared from the main lobby. Some headed to their rooms or just anywhere else to get rid of this new tension that was felt in the whole building.

I, for one, got rid of this burden by eating. I happily made my way to the pantry but before I could get a snack I decided against it. Instead, I made my way to the purple room where Jay, Sunghoon and Heesung were sitting.

Jay saw me first and patted the space next to him and scooted over for me to sit.

"Don't you feel relieved in a way?" Heesung looks over at us "I'm relieved but also frustrated" Jay responds to which I nod.

"I kept thinking of being sent to the ground" I furrow my eyebrows "I didn't know you felt that way. Don't worry Hee" I rubbed his back "If I keep thinking I'll end up there, I feel like I'll be angry and do better when I'm sent to the ground" he explains.

I nod in understanding. After talking to them I looked for Jake. I found him sitting in the green room looking sad and gloomy.

"Hey, Jake. You okay?" I sit next to him. "I'm fine" He doesn't mean it. Sometimes, when people are sad or going through something, they don't always need words, they just need someone to be there.

"I'm here for you Jake" and with that, he engulfed me in a hug and buried his head in the crook of my neck. Brushing hair away from my shoulder with his nose.

I rubbed his back "It's ok. This is just the beginning. We've got a long way of improvement ahead of us" I ran my fingers through his hair. "Come on now, I'm hungry" he chuckled into my neck and I swore I felt something weird in my stomach.

He stood up and gave me his hand. I took it and led us to the pantry, swinging our hands forwards and backwards like little children.

By the night, it was time to vote. I headed to the voting room and just as I had entered, I had done the voting and left.

The good mood from earlier wavered as I sat on the large couch in the upstairs lobby. I curled myself up and pushed myself further into the cushions.

My mind flashed back to the voting and tears rose in my eyes. I covered my face and let myself finally cry. All this frustration was too much for me to handle.

My sniffs echoed through the large room. I heard footsteps and immediately rubbed my face clear of any evidence of my breakdown.

It was Seon and Sunghoon. "Hey, are you alright" Seon softly said as Sunghoon gently sat down next to me. "Do you want me to get Jay or Heesung" Seon continued. I nodded, swallowing to help my constricted throat.

Sunghoon took my hand in his and caressed him. "It's ok". I heard Jay before I saw him. "Jugyeong!" He ran to me and pulled me into a hug. Heesung was not far behind.

The familiar embrace made me break down once again. My sobs were silenced by his chest and my body racked with slight tremors. Heesung rubbed my head.

"I can't...I can't do this" I managed to get out. "Shh" Jay shushed me and rubbed my back in an attempt to make me stop crying.

My sobs turned into sniffs and Jay slowly pulled back. He sat me down on the couch and handed me a tissue. "Now tell me" My lower lip trembled as I spoke.

"I can't do this" I let out. "What can't you do" He held both my hands in his and rubbed them. "This voting, I feel awful doing it" I explained and he finally understood.

"Oh Ju" Heesung rubbed my back and caressed my face, wiping the wetness the tears had left behind.

I hated myself so much that I couldn't even bring myself to change out of the stage outfits. The crop top had dangerously risen up. Heesung took his hoodie off and put it on me.

I had managed to calm down now and rested my head on Sunghoon's shoulder, who hadn't left my side.

I closed my eyes for just a few seconds but then I found myself drifting into darkness

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