Make Me STAY

Piece of a Puzzle

Things with Chan were resolved, their bond was on the mend, and everything was right in the world again. Or at least that's how Rose should have felt.

Two of those things were true. After their talk, Chan and Rose's relationship had been better than ever. They hadn't needed to visit a soulmate specialist to know that their bond was healing. They could both feel it.

However, Rose could feel that something wasn't right. It was strange because somehow, she could tell that it had nothing to do with Chan which only confused her more.

Yet, what really worried her was the way Changbin had been acting. Ever since she had sorted things out with Chan, the rapper had been distant. Rose was even starting to consider the idea that he was avoiding her.

While she was at odds with Chan, Rose had spent most of her time with Changbin and the two had gotten even closer than they were before. The rapper had become her safe space. At the end of each day, she had started to long to have his strong arms wrapped around her. His presence was comforting. She had always felt happy around him and he was constantly making her laugh, but they had also talked about their innermost thoughts and feelings.

So, Rose thought that it was just a temporary thing and that things would go back to normal soon. The boys were busy with work. 3RACHA were particularly stressed as they had started work for their next album. It was going to be their third full album and there was a lot to do.

However, things didn't go back to normal. Changbin continued to keep his distance. Months went by where he avoided being alone with her, never sat next to her when they had movie nights, he always found an excuse not to work out with her. He barely talked to her let alone gave her hugs anymore. Rose missed his hugs.

Rose missed him. She missed him so much that it hurt and that hurt scared her. It scared her because it felt familiar. It felt the same way as when Chan had been avoiding her. Changbin made her feel the same way as her soulmate.

The old Rose would've pushed this aside and never mentioned it to Chan, but the two soulmates had a deeper bond now. They had promised to always talk to each other. Anything could be worked through as long as they communicated with each other.

So, when Chan got home one night, Rose was waiting for him in bed thinking about how to start the conversation.

"You waited up?"

"Did rehearsal go well? Are you ready for next week?"

"We might have overdone it a bit. This MAMA performance is definitely the hardest choreography we've ever done. Everyone's struggling a bit."

"You'll pull it off. I have faith."

Chan got into bed beside her and kissed the top of her head as she snuggled up against him.

"Something's on your mind."

"Chan, I need to talk to you about something."

"Is everything okay?"

"No, not really. I..."

"You can tell me anything, remember?"

"I know. I just don't know how."

"Take your time."

"Well, it – it's Changbin."

"Changbin? He has been acting strange lately... he looked a bit sickly at practice today, but I asked him, and he said he was fine."

"He's been avoiding me for weeks. Ever since - since..."

"Since?"

"Since we fixed things. He's been avoiding me since we fixed things between us."