𝕃𝕚𝕞𝕓𝕠 [LEE KNOW]

14

My Pace

It has been 9 years since Yumi left the space, the place where she considered her second home for five whole years, 5 years since she went to Korea to pursue her dreams, and 4 years since she pursued her dream.

Debuting as an idol was definitely no longer part of Yumi's plans. She wanted a stable and private job, away from the cameras. When Jieun practically pulled her to SM to audition, she decided to shoot her shot back at her childhood dream and to her surprise, passed.

They just finished their world tour and was given a chance to spend some time off break. She decided to catch up with her friends whom she haven't met in nearly two years.

Entering a fancy and private hotel, she was greeted with staffs who immediately took her bags and guides her towards the place that seemed like a restaurant inside the hotel. She silently followed the staff, and a smile quickly found her face when she saw three familiar faces.

She hastily removed her face mask and sunglasses before sitting down on one of the comfortable chairs. "This hotel is elegant, Jieun." She complimented.

Jieun became a CEO, much to their surprise. Her grandmother left her the inheritance and the family business so when Jieun reached the right age, she took over the company and began leading them. She faces countless of struggles - mostly because of misogynistic people - yet she stood strong and faced everything. With that being said, she received countless awards, and several articles were published about her being one of the youngest CEOs to succeed.

Somi became a model. She always said she wanted to be the one to take the pictures, but she found herself enjoying being in front of the cameras instead. She was one of the models that are sought after. Somi became one of the highest paid models and built a name for herself. She appeared as a model for several luxurious brands and continued to walk on runways.

Yejin was the only one who did follow her original dreams. She became a fashion designer and works on one of the most popular clothing brands. Oftentimes, she works with Somi the most seeing as Somi models with their brand.

Yumi became a kpop idol under the group, Aespa. She was one who took the most drastic change among the others. Being a popular idol, she worked with Yejin as well.

Nobody really knew of the friendship these four women have. They wanted to keep their privacy and comfort of being private. Their friendship was one of the consistent things during the past few years.

"Damn, Yumi. Nine years, still him?" Somi chuckled, her eyes darting towards the red necklace on Yumi's neck. Throughout the years, the necklace continued to stay with her through thick and thin.

Yumi nodded, raising her glass of wine. "Nine years, still him." She answered.

"You have tried dating before, right?" Yejin asked.

"Why didn't it work?" Jieun added.

Yumi shrugged. "I don't know? To be honest, I did not really believe the first love theory at first but now that I experienced it, it's damn scary." She chuckled dryly.

"Elaborate." Jieun spoke.

"For some reasons, every time I try to entertain someone, I find myself asking such questions. I would compare them to Blue. It's toxic- I know." She interrupted before they could even speak.

"What questions are we talking about?" Somi asked.

"Like, why am I forced to talk back with him when with Blue the conversation seemed natural. Why does this seem so rushed when with Blue it seemed like the normal pace."

Yumi sighed sadly. "I think it's better if I focus on my career now until I am finally ready. I don't want to be a toxic partner."

Yejin nodded at that. "You know, even if we did not know that Blue boy, we saw how he made you happy."

"You were the happiest with him."

Yumi knew the truth in those words. With Minho, the conversations and laughter were as natural as breathing. She knew how scary first loves are. She wasn't necessarily waiting for him to appear once more; she did not know what she wanted.

"What about you three? How's life?" She asked, trying to change the topic before she ends up crying once again.

During the span of four years as an idol, Yumi focused on her job alone. Unlike the older generation of idols, she could only interact with female idols or else her career was about to be destroyed by a dating scandal. That is how sensitive the current industry is.

When she met Taemin five years after leaving the space, she couldn't help but feel immense euphoria upon meeting the man. Other idols in their entertainment got confused on how and why were the two close but they just shrugged it off.

Debuting as the third eldest of Aespa and as a main vocal of the group was something she did not plan at all. However, she doesn't regret it. Not even a little bit.

A few days after meeting her friends, Yumi was staying inside their dorms. The rest of the girls were probably already sleeping, and she did not want to bother them.

She was exhausted.

After their world tour, she felt lost and empty. Everything was starting to be overwhelming. Every single move she makes gets criticized and she had to act in front of the cameras to be her 'perfect' self.

She wanted to be an idol. She was happy as an idol She is grateful for her members and for their fans. But recently, it was draining her more than she would love to.

It was starting to affect how she did her job.

Her dancing was affected. She once did it as a passion and she felt free while doing it but recently, she felt as if she was restricted.

Day by day, she began to isolate herself, not wanting to bother the others with her own problems. They probably have enough to deal with already and she did not want to add to those problems.

There was an itch inside of her that she can't quite pinpoint.

"You'll always be welcome at the space. Idol or not."

Yumi remembered what Taemin told him.

Staring at the starlight, she grabbed her mask and glasses before taking the all too familiar path.

a/n: Spoiler: Woo, Dobi, and Jun are from different boy groups:))