Together As One

This is serious news

[Solar's POV]

As Doctor Lee sat me down at her desk, I had a hunch. Something didn't feel right. It felt like she had bad news to deliver.

"As the leader of the group, I trust you to handle this and speak to the members accordingly. I didn't want to address this earlier as I felt it might be better for you as the leader to bring this up to them."

I nod my head as Doctor Lee carries on.

"I suspect Ahn Hyejin ssi is has an eating disorder." Doctor Lee says calmly yet with a hint of worry in her tone.

I was shocked and stunned. The fact that Doctor Lee used Hyejin's full real name meant that she was being absolutely serious and this was extremely important.

"If what she says about eating meals regularly still and all, then it does not make sense that she lost 10kg in 2 weeks. Furthermore, when I did the full body check up earlier, her hands, the knuckles on her right hand looked like there were bite marks on it. This is a common sighting in those who force themselves to vomit out the food they eat based on my experience with other idols. Her anxiety levels are also relatively higher than average and she mentioned having prroblem sleeping earlier during the check up. I cannot conclude that she has an eating disorder as I do not spend time with the group other than during this fortnightly check up as such I need you and the other 2 members to keep a close eye on Hwasa ssi."

"Okay. I will discuss this with our manager and the other members." I assured Doctor Lee and went to join the rest of the members who were waiting outside the clinic in the car.

As I joined the members in the car, I flashed them a warm smile to assure them that everything was fine. Except, I knew everything wasn't. I just had to find a time to bring it up to them.

"Unnie, can you drive me to the convenience stall further down the road after you alight the others? I want to buy some snacks and drinks to stock up." I asked Manager unnie and she agreed happily.

"Bye unnies!" The loser club waved cheerfully as they exited the car.

As soon as the car door closed, I started talking.

"Unnie, I need to talk to you about something important. Doctor Lee says she suspects Hyejin has an eating disorder." I said and unnie nearly freezes on the spot.

She carries on driving while thinking before speaking up.

"What are you going to do from here then? We can only support her and advice her to get professional help."

"I am planning to raise this matter at our practice tomorrow morning after telling Moonbyul and Wheein first. You know especially Wheein. She would be so upset to hear this news. I've created a group chat for us to discuss this matter and I've also added you in." I tell our manager.

She nods her head and we continue driving in silence.

"Actually Yong San ah, do you really want to go to the convenience stall?" Manager unnie asks me after a minute or 2.

"Heh heh, actually I just used it as an excuse to speak to you privately without alerting the others.

"I figured. I'll drive you back to the building now then."

"Oh hehe, thank you unnie~ You're the best!" I sheepishly thanked her and got ready to alight.

[GROUP CHAT SETTING]

Solar: Hi everyone, I have news for you. As you can see, Hyejin is not in this group chat. Earlier on, Doctor Lee told me something that is very important but I need everyone not to react too drastically and impulsively first. Especially you Wheein ah. Listen to everything I have to say first alright.

Moonbyul: Okay

Wheein: ????

Manager: Ok.

Solar: Doctor Lee says she suspects Hyejin has an eating disorder and she has valid reasons to support her suspicion. She asks us to check in on Hyejin more and try to get her to share with us about what exactly is going on. Doctor Lee also mentioned that based on the tests earlier, Hyejin's stress levels and anxiety levels are much higher than the usual and what concerns her more is that Hyejin is faking being okay.

Moonbyul: Unnie...

Wheein: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHN HYEJIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Solar: I'm going to talk about this tomorrow before our dance practice so don't be late tomorrow please.

Moonbyul: Unnie I'm coming to your house now.

Wheein: Same here. Unnie get your door ready.

[Wheein's POV]

WHAT?! MY HYEGI! Eating disorder?! Ahhhhhhh..... I should have known. I mentally smacked myself for not realising the tell-tale signs earlier. For the past week, Hyejin had been frequently visiting the washroom, especially after eating. I should have known that it was a sign that something wasn't right. She also spoke a lot less during the discussions and even at the fanmeet a few days ago, she was significantly quieter, even her enthusiasm was slightly fake. I can't believe I let that slip my mind.

I walk up to Yong San unnie's apartment and saw her standing there waiting for Byulie unnie and I. I left my flip flops and walked to the sofa before letting myself sink into the cushion of comfort.

After a few minutes, I felt the sofa dip sligthly on both my sides and I turned to greet the unnies with my eyes before resting my head on Byulie unnie's shoulders.

"Unnie... what should we do..." I ask softly, words getting caught in my throat. I felt my eyes beginning to water.

I would never forgive myself if something happened to Hyejinnie. We were supposed to look after each other. And I've failed by not noticing the signs earlier.

"Wheein ah, don't cry. It's not your fault. We all didn't realize it as well." Yong San unnie pat my back gently and Byulie unnie hugged me tightly with her left arm.

"To be honest, I don't know what to do right now. I'm worried that she will be too scared if we confront her tomorrow and she will deny everything." Yong unnie admits and sighs.

That's the thing about Yong Sun unnie. She was the best leader mamamoo could ever ask for. She cares for us members so much, that's why we always called her our mother. She and Hyejin came a long way as the leader and maknae clashed a lot since there were many cases of misunderstandings. But one thing never changed was that right from the beginning, they both care for each other a lot, just weren't good at expressing it. This Hyegi was a total free spirit, doing things her way and ignoring the warnings given by others. Unnie on the other hand, well, she had to carry out her role as the leader and at times was put in a difficult position between being a friend and unnie for Hyejin, or being the leader to scold her.

Byulie unnie on the other hand was more expressive with her care as she had 2 younger sisters and she was a bit more attentive to our moods. She too was a great unnie, always pampering us, and making us laugh with her excessive greasiness. Sometimes, Hyejin and I would joke that we would become fried bacon if we hung out with Byulie unnie too much. I knew Byulie unnie cared a lot for Hyejin as well, afterall, she was also there the last time something so serious happened to Hyejin that shook all of us.

[Moonbyul's POV]

As soon as I heard the news, I was shocked. Those stupid haters were the one that caused Hyejinnie to become like this. They destroyed her. It made me absolutely furious that she had to resort to such methods to try and appease the haters although she didn't need to.

I knew Wheein was worried sick and was also probably beating herself up for not noticing the warning signs in her best friend's behaviour earlier. The last time Hyejin fainted due to skipping too many meals, she was the one who carried her all the way from the dance room to the car. Hyejin too cared a lot for Wheein. Wheein had trouble sleeping alone at night and often suffered from insomnia. Hyejin would go up to her place in the middle of the night just to put Wheein to sleep. Each time she did that, Hyejin herself also forgoed her sleep as she couldn't sleep without someone hugging her to sleep as well. Times like those made them cherish each other more, and made me realise how precious their friendship was.