I Will Fight For You (A The8 Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

I looked up from my phone and cross-checked the building's name with the one on my phone. It was a definite match! I glanced to the time on my phone. Phew, I was punctual. Imagine how awkward it would be if I were to be late on my first day!

I entered the building cautiously. I headed to the front desk and informed the staff member of my reason for being here. She nodded and gave me directions to get to the desired room. I think I understood what she told me. I was too busy trying not to stutter or embarrass myself. followed her directions, going up to the third floor and walking down a corridor until I saw the door with the specified name. I ended up in front of a grey door labelled, "Meeting Room 2". Nice! I found the room.

"WAIT! I FOUND THE ROOM!I am at the door. Inside are the other stylists. W-what do I do? Do I open the door with a smile? Do I wave? How do I address them? WHAT DO I SAY?! What if I embarrass myself or they don't like me? What if... No! I came all the way here. Just, nod at everything they say and watch my footing. I got this," I thought to myself.

I did a little prayer and took a deep breath before turning the handle and pushing the door open. It revealed a room with a big round table and multiple chairs around it. Seated there were 3 girls who looked senior to me. They turned their heads to face me. My knees went weak and my mouth had difficulty moving. They were looking at me. I felt a sort of pressure. I wanted to hide in a hole right now.

"G-good afternoon. Is this w-where all the stylists gather?" I asked timidly.

"Oh, you must be Hee-young! Come in!" one of them called me over excitedly.

I walked stiffly towards them and greeted them with a bow. I introduced myself. They also introduced themselves to me. The first one to introduce herself was the oldest and the leader, Sun-Hee. Next, was Jessie who seemed to have a mix of Caucasian in her looks but spoke Korean fluently. After her was Kyung Hwa who had an interest in dancing and was considering to be a backup dancer for Pledis. The last person greeted me with immense energy to the point I felt intimidated. Her name was Ji Hae and she was not much older than me.

"Look at our new stylist! Isn't she cute? You look like you're supposed to be in school. Why did you decide to join us?" Ji hae asked as she pinched and squished my cheeks.

I waited until she let go of my now red cheeks before answering.

"Well, I have already finished school actually and I was curious on a stylist job for idols. Since this was the nearest place, I decided to try out a job as a stylist here," I explained.

They nodded my head and listened to me intently. They acknowledged my interest and warmly welcomed me. Sun-Hee went over the basic know-hows of being a stylist here. She went through them on a powerpoint slide that was set up earlier. She also briefly introduced the group we were attached to. They had just debuted and was having a comeback soon.

"Seventeen! They actually have 13 boys. They used to have 17 but 4 left. Basically, what they always say is 13 members, 3 units and 1 team. 13 + 3 + 1 = 17 so yeah," Ji-Hae recited without pause.

Thankfully I could absorb most of what she said. Finding out there were 13 members was interesting but also scary. 13 boys towering over me was the first thing that came to mind. I shivered at the thought.

"Yep, well said Ji-Hae. As for the introduction of members since there are 13 of them-" Sun-Hee was interrupted.

"Oh! Oh! Let's go bring her to meet them right now since they have practice today!" Ji-Hae suggested.

She hopped up and down excitedly. Sun-hee agreed with a sigh and Ji-Hae grabbed my hand, dashing out the door. She flew past several doors and turned a corner. I struggled to catch up with her. She made an abrupt stop without warning and I crashed into her. We landed on the floor and I was cushioned by her.

I stood up and asked if she was fine. I helped her up and she rubbed her back. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I forgot I was pulling you along and stopped without warning. Heh, sorry. You could have been hurt," she smiled sheepishly.

I forgave her and made sure she was really fine. She nodded and dusted herself. I hoped that she did not think I was a burden since I was quite weak. I really did not want to be a burden to anyone. Ji-Hae assumed Sun-Hee would either arrive much later or would not come after us at all. She knocked the door. Within a few seconds, the door opened a crack to a boy with black hair. Ji-Hae said a few words to him. He nodded in response and opened the door wider to let us in.

When he opened the door, I saw a large number of boys who seemed to fill the space of the room. I was scared by the number of boys and hid behind Ji-Hae. I grabbed a small piece of her t-shirt as I slowly walked in behind her. The boy from earlier rallied the boys to gather. They followed and soon crowded around in front of us. I stayed hidden behind Ji-Hae. She started to introduce me.

"Hey guys! So I would like to introduce you to your new stylist, Hee- Wait. Hold on," she paused when she realised I was not beside her.

I cursed under my breath. She spun around to me who cowered in fear behind her. She assured me that the boys would not eat me and I would be safe. I slightly trembled as she held my hand and brought me out to stand beside her. I paid my attention to the wooden floor, not wanting to look up. I heard chatter among the boys. Were they talking about me? Was something about me unpleasant? 

Ji-Hae nudged me and whispered for me to introduce myself. She lifted my chin so I looked up. I took up every ounce of courage I could scavenge before introducing myself.

"Good afternoon, my name is Hee-young. Please take care of me." I introduced myself successfully despite my soft, gentle voice.

They greeted me back. Ji-Hae added some words and warned them to not hurt me.

"As you can see, she is a fragile little being. Such a cute, shy, timid and innocent girl. SO DON'T YOU DARE HURT THIS CINNAMON ROLL!" Ji-Hae pinched my cheeks and hugged me almost possessively.

"I'm beginning to question your sexuality," one of them remarked.

She instantly let go of me and denied having feelings for me. She eventually got them to agree that I was, indeed, cute. My cheeks turned pink and I was still stiff as ever. Ji-Hae then got them to introduce themselves. They introduced themselves to me as a group then, as individuals. There were a few loud ones. I found out that the one who answered the door was the group's leader, Seungcheol, also known as S.Coups.

"Hi, my name is Junhui but you can call me yours," he smirked.

I had no idea how to react to that. The boy beside him glared at him and kicked his leg.

"S-sorry about my friend. Hi, I am Minghao. My stage name is The8 but you can call me Minghao," the boy introduced himself, a blush creeping on his face.

I nodded and smiled. He seemed like someone I could get along with. When all of them had introduced themselves, I tugged on Ji Hae's sleeve and asked if we were done.

"Fine, fine. We'll go now... Bye, guys! We gotta go! Good luck for your comeback!"Ji Hae excused us.

We waved goodbye and I was the first to rush out the door. Ji Hae laughed at me who sighed in relief after leaving the room. It was nerve-wracking to stand in front of 13 boys who had all their eye on you. Ji Hae had gotten a text message from Sun-Hee to return to the meeting room as she still had some other things to brief us. We slowly made our way there. 

I hope I get along with everyone here. I am not very good with conflicts.