Under the Stars {Hani x RM}

Dec 25, 2016: Christmas Confession

Sunday (December 25th, 2016) - 7:48 PM

Hani tiptoed up the steps to Solji's apartment. She could see her breath every time she exhaled and could barely feel her fingers wrapped around the present box she was holding. Despite the freezing cold, the temperature was the last thing on her mind.

Once Hani reached the apartment door, she gently knocked on it, shivering from head to toe. Solji eventually opened the door and looked shocked when she saw the cold girl in front of her.

"Heeyeon! What are you doing here? It's freezing; come inside."

Solji motioned Hani to enter, and she happily obliged. The inside of Solji's apartment was very simplistic yet elegant, very fitting for her personality. Once the redhead closed the door, Hani turned to give her the present box.

"Merry Christmas, unnie! I didn't want you to spend the holiday alone, so I came to visit!" Hani put on her brightest smile as Solji cautiously took the present.

"Hani-ah, you really didn't need to do this," she said while unwrapping the box.

Her eyes widened as she took out the first thing she saw. It was a little hand-sewn doll of herself. She was wearing her signature maid outfit from the "L.I.E." music video and had bright, doe eyes that complemented her bright red hair. Solji looked inside the box again and saw that there were dolls of the other members too.

"Heeyeon... did you... did you make these?" Solji asked, picking each doll up one by one.

Hani nodded, "Yeah! I'm no expert in sewing, so I'm sorry if they're not very good. I just wanted to make you something special."

Solji whipped her head to face Hani, who was shocked to see tears in her elder's eyes.

"I love them, Heeyeon! I will always treasure them. Let me put them on top of my dresser," she said before running to the wooden drawers across the room. All of a sudden, Solji collapsed, making the dolls fall across the floor.

"Unnie!" Hani exclaimed, rushing to help her stand.

"Sorry, I guess I just got too excited. The doctor has me on some intense medication, so I've been really weak."

"Don't apologize! Let's just get you to bed," Hani insisted.

The two girls slowly made their way to Solji's bed. Hani fluffed her pillow and carefully tucked her in before going to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water.

"Thank you," Solji said before drinking, "I'm really sorry about your dolls."

"Don't worry about them," she responded, while placing the dolls on Solji's dresser, "They didn't break or anything, and I'm much more concerned about your health."

Solji shook her head, "Trust me. I'm fine. I'll just need to take a break from activities for a while."

Hani looked lovingly at her leader, "I believe you, unnie. You've always been responsible. We just miss you a lot already."

It had only been 4 days since the announcement of Solji's temporary departure, but EXID already felt incomplete. The members would talk about Solji everyday, always mentioning what she would probably do in every situation. She was the members' role model.

"Well I know you all will be fine. You've all been responsible yourselves," Solji said sweetly, while rubbing the back of Hani's hand.

Hani sighed. It was time to confess.

"Actually... there's another reason I came here to see you today," she began, slightly trembling.

Solji tilted her head.

"I haven't been completely honest with you, unnie," Hani stated, looking straight into Solji's eyes, "I know you always wanted me to avoid interacting with boys whenever possible, but..."

The words got stuck in Hani's throat. She found herself unable to continue, her heart pounding against her rib cage. That is, until Solji took Hani's face in the palm of her hand.

"Hani-yah, I knew already," she said with a weak smile.

"Wh-what?!" Hani couldn't stop her eyes from bugging out of her face.

Solji chuckled, "Hyojin told me about what happened with Rap Monster, and it's not like I couldn't see you giggling and blushing while looking at your phone. I'm not that oblivious, you know?"

"But LE-unnie said she wouldn't tell anyone! How could she just lie to me like that?" Hani whined.

"You know Hyojin is trustworthy, but she also knows what's best. She told me what happened because she knew I would keep insisting you tell me. She also wanted to make sure I didn't hold you back."

"Hold me back?" Hani asked, perplexed.

Solji sighed solemnly, "She didn't want me to hold you back from making your own decisions. She said she already gave you advice on why being with Rap Monster would be difficult and that I needed to give you your own freedom to choose your path."

The leader sat up in bed and gave Hani a hug. Tears began to well up in both girls' eyes.

"You know me. As your leader, I always want to make sure you're safe, whether that be physically or emotionally. I never want you to have to face heartache from a lover's betrayal, violence from a jealous fangirl, or trauma from evil netizens. I just worry about you, Heeyeon-ah."

"Unnie..."

Both girls were full out sobbing at this point. They stayed like that for a while, holding each other as they wept.

Solji pulled away and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "But I know that you don't need me to make decisions for you. If you want to be with him, then you should do that. I have developed enough trust in you to know that you'll make the best decisions for yourself, and even if you make a mistake, I'll always be here."

Hani was at a loss for words. She was smiling more than she ever had before, but her face was red and covered in tears.

"Unnie..." Hani sniffled, finally able to speak, "Thank you... not just for giving me freedom but for everything. You've always been like a mother to me and the other members. We don't know what we're going to do without you, but we'll do our best because we want to make sure we're all still standing strong when you return to us. Until then, please keep taking care of your health."

Solji nodded and rubbed the top of her member's head. Hani then grabbed some tissues for the both of them. The girls laughed at how emotional they had gotten, but they both seemed much more vibrant and full of life. After talking for a little longer, Hani tucked Solji back into bed and gave her a peck on the forehead.

"Rest well, unnie!" she exclaimed as she opened the door to leave.

Solji simply waved and smiled in response before closing her eyes. Hani gently closed the door, happily embracing the cold air. 

Nothing could ruin this day.

A/N: Hello again! I hope you enjoyed these character development chapters :) I know they're kind of short, but we'll be back to our regular length romantic interactions next chapter, OK? ^^

I really love this chapter in particular. I'm not really sure why, but I almost cried while writing it lol. I guess I'm just really empathetic and love EXID too much ;~;. Anyhow, thank you for your support, as always!