Together As One

Why the long sleeves Hyejin?

[Wheein's POV]

When we were in middle school all the way till now, some things never changed. Hyejin and I were stil the best of friends, which I was so immensely grateful for, and we were always there for each other. But, Hyejin's habit of keeping her thoughts to herself stayed as well. Since young, it would take a long time for me to get her to share her problems, it wasn't that she didn't trust me she said, she just had a hard time expressing herself and found it difficult to be sharing her burdens with others. She wasn't the only one like that though, as I similarly wasn't fond of sharing my problems as well. But we had often reminded each other and since we understood each other's body language and eye contact so well, it didn't need much sharing for us to know what the other half was thinking or feeling.

[Hwasa's POV]

I felt so bad. I was a walking disaster. Everyone was already stressed about the upcoming performances for the summer festivals but here I was, waddling deep in my negativity. As the unnies left my house, Wheein continued to sit by my side, cuddling my arm and resting her head on my chest as I breathed harshly.

"Hyejin-ah...promise me you'll tell me if you feel bad or anything okay? I can feel you breathing so hard now I feel like my head is on a roller coaster." My one and only best friend says in a calming tone, adding a pinch of humor at the end to make me feel better.

"Okay..." I replied in a small voice.

/The next day at RBW agency/

I had decided not to take a few days of rest. I needed something to occupy myself with anyway, so practicing with the rest of the members would be a good distraction and source of comfort. As I put on my sports bra, I realised I couldn't wear the revealing clothes that I used to anymore. The scars and fresh cuts on my limbs would show if I did that. I mentally slap myself for not cutting at a place that was more hidden, like my ankles or something. I looked into my dressing room and picked out a few sweatshirts and hoodies before setting off for practice. Just as I open the door to the dance room, I see CEO Kim and the rest of my members standing and chatting away.

"Oh? Hyejin ah, you're here?" CEO Kim greets me and pats me on the back gently.

I nod my head and give a small smile.

"Then that's great, I need to say something to you all anyways. Hyejin ah, I heard about what happened, and I'm worried that it will take a toll on your physical and mental health. I would like it if you receive professional help like I told Yong San and Manager already but Yong San says you have declined it, preferring not to. In that case, I would need you to follow a stricter schedule okay. Eating at regular timings, and all of you, as Mamamoo, will have formal group sharing sessions. I know it's kind of weird, but I just hope to provide a way for you to share with them more since they say you've been keeping to yourself as of late. If you have any dissastisfaction feel free to talk to me." Boss says in a fatherly tone and we all nod and thanked him before he left to settle other duties as the CEO.

Since I shifted to Seoul to be a trainee, CEO Kim had been a fatherly figure for me, treating us like his children, worrying about us and also scolding us when necessary.

"Shall we start practice?" Yong San unnie says and we begin practice.

[Solar's POV]

The next day we had to meet our stylist to check for the fitting of our outfits for the summer festival. We were all given sleeveless tank tops and cute little shorts to wear and we were all very happy with the outfits. Except for Hyejin. Her face looked like she was deep in thought through the whole fitting time and she refused to change together with anyone, requesting to change in a separate area from us. I frowned to myself. This wasn't the Hyejin we used to know. The Hyejin previously would openly change in front of us as we were all very close and felt comfortable doing so, besides, it wasn't that we had anything to hide.

As we walked out of the fitting room, Hyejin stopped and gestured for us to keep going while she went back in to the room and spoke to the stylist.

I knew it wasn't really right for me to do so, but concern overpowered any other thought in my head and I hesitated at the door for a bit to try and hear what she was telling the stylist.

"Unnie, can you get me a long sleeved sports top and slightly longer pair or shorts? I don't feel like showing too much skin exposure..." I hear Hyejinnie say quietly and the stylist replied something which I couldn't catch and I heard Hyejin's foot steps getting louder which unfroze me as I ran on my tip toes ahead to catch up with the other 2 members.

It doesn't make sense I thought to myself. Hyejin, doesn't want skin exposure? That was like saying Byulie wanted to wear something that was see through. It was far too strange.

"Wheein ah, correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure Hyejin likes to wear sleeveless clothes and shorts right?" I ask when I caught up to the other 2, turning around to see if Hyejin was catching up already. Nope, she was still walking slowly looking at the walls of the corridor.

"Ya, why unnie? Is something wrong?" Wheein replies, slanting her head slightly as if confused.

"Did you 2 notice something? For the past few days and today, she's been wearing long sleeved sweatshirts and trackpants to our practices and literally everywhere we go under the scorching hot sun. Is that not weird?" I ask again, this time in a softer volume.

The 2 stare at me for a while and we stop moving. Our eyes opened wide and I see the other 2 nodding their heads slowly.

"Okay, then we'll just ask her after lunch during the fixed group sharing session." Byulie says calmly and we turn to ask Hyejinnie to hurry up.

[Moonbyul's POV]

No... no.. no way... it's not what I'm thinking of right? It better not be. I pray it isn't. Nevermind, we shouldn't be jumping into conclusions.

We went to a nearby fried chicken restaurant to grab some food to go before returning to the agency to eat comfortably without people staring at us.

As we ate in silence, I counted the pieces of chicken that Hyejin ate. 2 drumsticks today. It was a good effort since we knew she was getting the nutrients she needed... or so we thought...

"Hyejin ah, don't you feel hot? It's like 30 degrees Celcius here and I'm drenched in sweat." Wheein asks all of a sudden.

I see Hyejin stop chewing and furrow her eyebrows before replying.

"No? It's quite cold today for summer don't you think? Plus, these clothes are so comfortable, I like them so much!" She says in a sing-song manner though slightly suspicious we brushed it off.

"Then why did you ask our stylist to give you long sleeves for the summer festival? We don't you to get a heatstroke you know..." Yong San unnie fires another question in a fiercer tone than Wheein.

"Oh? Because I tan easily and I've been getting quite dark recently so I want to shield myself from the sun as much as I can while enjoying the summer heat." She repleis again calmly with a smile on her face.

That smile though... that smile was too fake to be true.

[Wheein's POV]

LMAO did Hyejinnie think I was stupid? I wasn't born yesterday you know. Anyone could tell you're hiding something from us again, but okay, I'll give you the space you need before I ask anymore questions. The last thing I wanted now was for her to feel like we were trying to operate on her mind and dig out all her thoughts, though it did hurt me that she was keeping her secret away from me.

[GROUP CHAT POV]

This is the same group chat without Hyejin from before.

Wheepup: Do you all wanna grab a late night snack at Hyejin's place? I told her I'm going up to crash earlier so I wanted to ask if yall wanted to...

Doremi: Sorry pup, I've got to meet my unnie tonight

Moonstar: Same here sorry puppy. I've got to run an errand tonight. How about tomorrow?

[BACK TO WHEEIN'S POV]

Oh? The unnies were busy tonight. Haha, it's okay. Then I'll have alone time with my best friend finally! I missed being with just her alone so much. Her presence comforted me, and I just wanted to be the best company and source of support she could have.