𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 | csc

𝙫𝙞𝙞𝙞.

The weather was not too warm nor too cold, landing at a welcoming 70 degrees. There was not one sound in the Eclipse dorm, something Aerin used to her advantage to take a walk outside before her lovely members awoke from their deep slumbers and became ready to annoy her.

Aerin wasn't a runner—and she never would be—but for some reason, the athletic wear she had recently bought was more tempting than she had realized.

After a decent jog, Aerin finally reached the dorm complex once again and was greeted by not only her members but also their manager sitting in a cult-like fashion in the living room. What scared her even more was the fact that the moment she entered the dorm all of their heads turned to her completely in sync.

What is this? Choreography?

She awkwardly took her shoes off as they continued staring at her.

"You guys are being a bit weirder than usual, what's up?" Aerin tried her absolute hardest to put together all possible reasons for their weird stares—which hadn't left her even after she had slowly sat down in a vacant area on the large couch—but sadly, nothing came to her.

The leader tapped her foot as she waited in anticipation. Luckily, the girl's gazes had diverted to either their manager, the floor, the ceiling, or the hem of their shirts, very slightly loosening the tension.

Manager Yoo's sigh of boredom caught Aerin's attention and she subconsciously held her breath, waiting for her to speak.

"Aerin, explain." The formally dressed woman flipped the iPad screen towards Aerin, allowing the girl to cautiously scan it.

Her jaw dropped to the floor as she continued reading the lengthy article displayed before her. Well damn, a few weeks into their debut and everyone thinks she's dating HER LITERAL COUSIN? How peaceful and not bothersome! Note the sarcasm.

Aerin finally turned her vision to Manager Yoo who had her eyebrow raised, awaiting the answer from Eclipse's leader.

"I- uh wow. This is just unbelievable." Words struggled to leave her mouth, her main shi coming from the fact that this was evidence someone could only see if they had a very specific angle and weirdly amazing camera quality. How could saesangs be that many steps ahead?

The majority of her felt guilty though. Even just one scandal could be the downfall of a group and some part of her was rethinking her position as a leader. If she couldn't even spare her members the standard of not having any scandals for at least the first few months of their debut, was she really fit for this?

"Sorry, what I mean is that I'm not dating Jihoo-Woozi. He's my fucking cousin." Everyone in the room had their mouths wide open along with their eyes. Aerin simply sat awkwardly, smiling as her members stared at her with complete shock. Oh how the table had turned.

"Rin...please come out. You haven't left your studio, something up?" Hyunjae had annoyingly yet necessarily disrupted Aerin's plan to drown herself in her work. It was a bad habit she often gave in to. Cousin like cousin.

The screen on the desk shut off as she removed her headphones and spun the swivel chair to face her member who now sat on the couch. The dim lights of the studio gave little to no light though were sufficient enough for Aerin. She disliked working in brightness solely due to the comfort night brought her. Through the light-blocking curtains and lack of lights in the area, that became evident to anyone who dared walk in.

"I won't push you, but you know I'll always listen." Aerin sighed and contemplated for a bit but found a small smile upon her lips watching her younger member act so motherly. Being a person who always cared for others, sometimes Aerin forgot to care for herself. It felt nice when others returned the favor.

"I know the statement was published today but we already have been getting backlash and it's all because of me and I just-" Rambling was often a thing Aerin caught herself doing whenever stressed, something Hyunjae was more than well aware of.

"Hey, we're okay alright? Besides, it's not like you were actually confirming the scandal, it was a familial hand-shake and if people can't accept that, then that's their problem. You know we all hate when you put unnecessary guilt on yourself." Aerin had now found herself in her younger member's embrace. She hated being vulnerable, but she trusted Hyunjae, so she eventually fell into her care.

They sat in silence as Aerin tried her absolute hardest to conceal her tears, but failed as they were soon rolling down her cheeks.

From what Hyunjae remembered, there was not one time that Aerin had cried in front of her or anyone for that matter. She was always perfect, she was the star of the show, she couldn't cry.

"Well, I made some tea. Have some, it'll make you feel better." Aerin smiled at Hyunjae's gesture and gladly received the teacup, failing to notice the hesitance in her voice. Even if it was for a few minutes, Aerin's sadness had disappeared. That was satisfactory for the moment.