Flower ||| Ateez

30

A few weeks passed and Lily did her best to stay happy as she did the same thing, every day. Cook for Seonghwa, clean the house, do any laundry, cook again, try to distract herself for a few hours, cook again, fall asleep next to Wooyoung. That was the best part of her day because she finally got to be alone with him.

The boys would come to her for advice, valuing her opinion, and she always gave her honest answer. She'd listen to them sing and work on lyrics, watch them practice their dances, and even lend a hand with their outfits when the designer came over.

But she couldn't help it when she started thinking she was more of a member of their crew than part of the household...

She spent a lot of her free time in the backyard, laying among the flower beds and watching the clouds move lazily across the sky.

Whenever someone came to find her, she was so happy to be needed, they missed the sad expression she had had on her face before they got there.

Wooyoung would ask her constantly if something was wrong, but she would always tell him no and kiss him.

He was happy to see that her old habits from their time apart were fading. She didn't jump when a door opened and she never looked down when speaking with someone anymore. She also leaned into his touch and even made an effort to initiate hugs whenever they were together.

She seemed like she was happy, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

One night after rehearsal, while Lily was making dinner, he finally voiced his concerns to the others.

"Guys, I'm worried about Lily."

"Why? What's wrong?" Yunho said, sitting up from where he had been laying on the floor.

"I don't know how to explain it, but something just seems off."

"I agree." Jongho said, sitting up straighter. "I catch her sometimes when she thinks she's alone and she always looks so sad."

The others exchanged concerned glances.

"But she always has a smile on her face when she's around us. And she helps whenever we ask her too. She's been a huge help with getting us prepped for this concert." Hongjoong said, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh..."

"Exactly." Wooyoung said.

"Shit." Hongjoong sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. "We messed up guys."

"I'm a little confused," Yeosang said. "I thought you just said she was happy helping us."

"Exactly." Wooyoung said again, staring at the floor. I'm such an idiot.

"She is happy because she is with us." Jongho said quietly, looking at the door. "But she must feel so lonely when we are spending all day practicing. Haven't you guys noticed that she does everything around the house for us...?"

"I..." San said, pausing and his eyes widened in realization.

"We need to do something for her." Seonghwa said, standing up. "I know we told her we'd be busy with performances and such, but I think we got a little too wrapped up in it. I'm to blame as well. When she first offered to help with the cooking I was hesitant, but she insisted. Now... Now that I think about it, I feel like I've just pawned off my work on her." He let out a little sob and Mingi grabbed his hand.

Everyone looked to Wooyoung when he slammed his hand against the floor. "We brought her to another prison. And she's been lying about her feelings, so we didn't get distracted from our work. Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit."

They stayed silent for a long moment, then jumped when Lily opened the door, beaming, and said, "Dinner's ready! I'm sure you guys are famished. I made something special for you." She came in and grabbed Wooyoung's arm to help him off the floor but faltered when she saw the tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "What's wrong?"