groupie

-nineteen-

EunChae claws at her thighs, her heart racing as the bright lights beat down on her. SeungMin told her he'd be at her side the entire time—but then they stole him. They took him away from her and left her all alone.

"Breathe." KeonHee whispers softly, coming to a sudden halt beside her. He keeps his hands calmly in his pants pockets, trying to not draw too much attention to them.

"I—I can't." EunChae shakes her head, tears threatening to spill the moment one more thing hits her.

"Just hold on. Who do you need? Which one of them do you want me to grab?" KeonHee offers without hesitation, his eyes following each of the boys just waiting for her to say the word.

"Seung—SeungMinnie—please." EunChae chokes his name out, her hands starting to tremble to the point of concern.

"I'll be right back." KeonHee doesn't waste a second stepping into action. He swiftly makes his way toward the small group of boys, prepared to do what he has to in order to remove the younger.

EunChae closes her eyes tightly, doing everything she can to stop herself from running for her phone. She can't call Chan. The moment she does is the moment she accepts defeat. Chan was right. She can't always rely on him. How can she be an idol if she can't even do the basics of what's expected of her?

"Hey—you okay?" SeungMin mumbles softly, reaching out to gently rub at her arm.

"You—you said you wouldn't leave me." EunChae sniffles, her nails digging into her palms.

"I'm sorry. They just kinda pulled me aside—I didn't mean to leave you." SeungMin apologizes, the world around him fading as she becomes the only thing in his sight.

"I wanna leave." EunChae whispers, shaking her hands at her sides with a breathy chuckle of discomfort.

"We're almost done. I promise. Do you wanna go sit in the changing room? I'll come with you. Just me and you—I just gotta let the others know." SeungMin glances back in MinHo's direction, hoping MinHo noticed the two of them.

"I wanna go home—wanna see him." EunChae reaches up to rub at her eyes as tears finally start to fall without consent.

"Breathe, Chae. I know. I know it's a lot to handle. We'll go somewhere alone. I just have to tell Min." SeungMin gently takes her hand in his, delicately guiding her toward MinHo as quickly as he can.

"MinHo." SeungMin calls out to him as they approach him.

"Hm—shit." MinHo frowns the moment he turns to lay eyes on them.

"You okay, ChaeChae?" MinHo takes her face in his hands, using his thumbs to dry her tears.

"She's too overwhelmed—needs a break." SeungMin explains short and sweet. He's not going to out her need for Chan—it's not his place to.

"She can be done. I'll handle it. Take her to the dressing room. You can sit with her for a few minutes, but you'll have to come back to finish shooting. I can get her out of it, but they won't be happy if you aren't here." MinHo instructs, his eyes immediately searching for their manager to get the plan set in motion.

SeungMin nods, swiftly moving EunChae out of the bright lights and crowded space. Her legs grow weaker and weaker with each step she takes. The dressing room seems so close yet so far all at the same time.

Carefully pushing the door open, SeungMin peeks inside to ensure it's empty. He leads EunChae toward the couch, watching as she falls down beside her bag. The tears fall freely the moment she's out of sight of prying eyes.

"Shh—it's okay, ChaeChae. Seungie is right here." SeungMin whispers, kneeling down and reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"I wanna go home." EunChae sobs, clutching her stuffed pig to her chest tightly.