groupie

-twenty-three-

EunChae groans softly and nuzzles her face in the crook of Chan's neck as his alarm buzzes loudly. Chan reaches over to pick up his phone, humming as his arms leave her body to stretch above his head.

"Mhm—good morning, love." Chan mumbles groggily before pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

"Wanna go back to sleep." EunChae whines, stilled wrapped in exhaustion.

"I know, love. I know you're still tired, but you have to get up. You need a shower. While you shower Channie will go get us both some breakfast. How does that sound?" Chan offers, running his fingers through her hair.

"No—don't leave me. Don't wanna shower." EunChae shakes her head, scooting as close as she can to Chan. She drapes her leg over his, settling it between his legs.

"What if Channie has it delivered? Hm? I'll get it delivered and sit in the bathroom with you while you shower." Chan adjusts his plans to adapt to her needs.

"If I shower you're gonna take me home. I don't wanna go home." EunChae refuses to budge, clinging to Chan with everything she has.

"Baby—I know—I know it's hard to let me go when you haven't been able to have me for so long—but I promise—I promise I'm not going to leave you again. You'll see me either later tonight or tomorrow. You can text me all you want. I have to get you home and I have a schedule I have to go to this afternoon. We gotta get moving." Chan frowns, feeling awful for having to force her back home, but he doesn't have a choice.

MinHo said before noon. He made sure they were up with extra time because he figured it'd be a bit of a challenge—but he didn't think it'd be this hard. He thought she'd just whine and complain a bit—he didn't think she'd refuse all together.

EunChae doesn't respond, she just snuggles closer to Chan and hides her face. He sighs softly, delicately taking hold of her and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. She's going to cry when he drops her off—and it's going to kill him—but he has no choice. He has to follow MinHo's rules.

"Come on, love. We'll shower together. I need one, too." Chan carefully carries her toward the bathroom, using his shoulder to hit the light. He sits her down on the counter, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"You gotta let go. I can't undress either of us if you've got a death grip on my neck." Chan reaches up to gently loosen her hold on him.

Her head hangs low as he manages to pull away. He can't help but feel bad, but he knows it needs to be done.

"Hey—look at me." Chan takes her face in his hands and forced her to lift her head.

"Tonight—as long as it doesn't interfere with your schedules—you can come back. You can't spend the night—but we can watch a movie and eat dinner together. I have to be up super early tomorrow, so I don't wanna have to wake you up when I get up. Okay? The only thing is—Sung and Bin might be here, too. We gotta work on music after our schedule today." Chan offers up more of his time for her. Anything to help her feel more secure in their relationship.

He knows once she's sure he won't vanish again it won't be like this. She'll be okay being away from him for a little while. Texting, calls, and FaceTime will be enough for the days between their in person meetings. But—but right now she's far too insecure about herself and them—and it's partially his fault for pushing her away for so long.

"How does that sound, love? Dinner and a movie with me tonight? We'll stay here for it all. Just us—and maybe the boys." Chan questions, placing a delicate kiss to the tip of her nose.

"They don't know." EunChae shakes her head.

"They know, love. I know you were hesitant about them knowing, but they know. JiSung called me last night frantic because MinHo was calling him about you. They were scared something happened to you and were convinced we were together. So I had to tell them. I had to let them know you were safe." Chan frowns, he hadn't wanted to tell them, but he had no choice. They deserved to know—they needed to know. If she's going to disappear to be with him, they need to know that she's safe.