Inked

Chapter 12 - For the better

It has been a few weeks since I last met and left GOT7. I was keeping myself busy to not think too much about them and concentrate on the upcoming tour with PLT. As a team we decided to work on a tones of new solo songs and collaborations to keep each show special and unique. The result of each session that I mointored was amazing. Just seeing two colors collide and become one but still be visible. My songs were all sounding similar and I knew it. I tried writing happy songs but they all turned out to be sad.

It was late at night when Gaho, Villain and I were in the studio listening back to the song I recorded just 1 hr ago. I sang about being alone and noticing that something was missing. The song was honest and maybe that is why I did not like it. I was weak and I could feel the old scars still bleeding. I jumped off my seat and stopped the tape. The boys looked at me suprised and I just sat back down.

" It is really bad... I will try something else. Just delete this", I said and went over into the booth and started to play the keys. I was not myself and I could not concentrate. The door to the studio opened and both men came in.

"Noona you should head home and rest. We have our first show tomorrow and the flight will be long. There are enough songs already so we should all call this a day and rest. A cab will pick you up at 6 am and we will meet you at the Airport", Gaho said cheerful and I caved in since I knew I could not make any songs today. I was feeling down and I could not pick myself up.

The next morning a cab was waiting for me as expected and I soon met the boys and the crew at the airport. I pushed my clouds away and concentrated on the tour and the shows. We first headed to Europe where we played in London, Paris and Berlin. The turn up was unbelievable and the crowd was insane. I forgot my clouds and lived on the adrenalin that rushed through my veins everytime I stepped on stage. Although we were all not too familiar with arenas we were doing more than well. We headed from one city to the other with no time to take a look around and the little time we had we used to practice and plan the shows. Gaho even looked at footage from each show to see where we lacked. The response of the shows was more than we could wish for and by the time we played in the US we were invited to several interviews which I cordintated to fit in our schedule. We made our message heard and the US crowd was even bigger than the one in Europe. It was like a dream and after 3 weeks away from Asia it was soon the last leg of the tour. Thailand was crazy, Hongkong was a beyond my imagination and Japan was unique. Each show was special. Each interview we gave was different and they all were curious about us and how long we prepared for this tour since we presented a diverse set of songs.

We boarded the plane to Seoul where we would be playing our last show. The mood in the plane was a bit gloomy since we loved performing and touring for the last couple of weeks.

" Noona when can we tour again? I already want to fly back to the US and play more shows", Mito whined.

I looked up from my screen where I read the last interview we gave.

" Soon... I promise", I said and looked back on the screen.

We landed in Seoul and as we headed to the exit we were greeted by a massive amount of fans screaming our names. My tired body was in alarm mode since we did not expect people to know when we return. Security guards pushed through the crowd and helped up to get to the car but on the last inch I hit my ankle. A wave of pain went through me but I gritted my teeth and got inside the car. I looked down at my foot and cursed inside since I knew that I could not perform if I hurt my ankle badly. Villain was the last one to jump in the car and our manager pulled onto the highway.

" Hyung drive us to the hospital. Noona hit her ankle and it looks swollen", Villain said to him and all the boys looked at me concerned. He was the only one who had noticed the incident. I wanted to tell them it was fine but I knew it was too obvious. I was anxious about the injury and as we were at the hospital I knew it was bad since I could not even walk myself.

A Doc came and inspected my foot and to my dismay he told me that it was slighly fractured and that I should rest. I could not perform at all.

" Doc what if I sit down? I really want to finish this tour with them. Please", I begged him in desperation.

The Doc was thinking about it and gave his ok. He treated my feet and put a cast on it which was uncomfortable and walking was hard. I was angry at myself on what kind of situation I got myself in. We headed to the venue to rehears and I affirmed them that I will be fine. Villain was always next to me helping me walk and I felt even more useless. As we reached the venue we headed to the stage where a chair was waiting for me. Frustrated I took at seat and rehearsed the set list we created in the plane. The feeling and excitements that I had on stage were robbed by being trapped in this chair and singing in it. After the rehearsal we had just enough time to get changed and eat before the show started. Gaho did a small speech backstage and we all headed to the stage where the fans were waiting for us.

My adrenalin was back and I enjoyed the show a bit but still I felt like I was unnecessary here. The boys were hyping up the crowd, dancing, rapping and connecting with the fans while I was trapped on that chair. It was soon time for the last song but instead of hearing the playback from our final collaboration song I saw the boys all grab their Mics and came over to me. They stood in a half circle infront of me and asked the fans to be calmer. They all thanked me for the hard work and the successful tour. June and Mito left while Gaho and Villain stayed.

" So you know guys being with us is not easy. We can be a handful and she never complained at all since we are still kids", Gaho started to say.

" Yeah NJ. We are kids and you kept an eye on us all the time. Protected us at your own expenses. You guys, did you know that this lady here wrote the most beautiful song I ever heard and called it bad...", Villain said smiling at me. I was obvilious on what he meant.

" Right. I remember. It was the most honest and relatable song I ever heard. Sometimes you have to be honest with yourself. PLT thought that this song needs to be heard. Sing it NJ and feel free. Let the bird out", Gaho said and both ran off stage.

I was confused on what was going on until I heard the song " Alone" play. The song that I wrote and wanted deleted. They did not delete it. I exhaled since I knew that they were right and started to sing the song. In the chorus all the boys joined me and I was already a crying mess. The fans were all cheering so loud until the end that I felt grateful for everything.

" Thank you all for coming and believing in me. PLT- thank you for letting me be part of this amazing story", I said bowing and officially ended the show. We all headed to our dressing rooms to change and then celebrate. My dressing room was at the far end of the corridor and one of the makeup artists helped me to get there in one piece.