Together As One

So there was more: Part 1

[Wheein's POV]

I decided to stay overnight by Hyejin's side in case she woke up. Unnies tried very hard to persuade me to go back home to at least freshen up but I was adamant about being by my other half's side at every moment.

"Wheein ah, you need to rest also okay... Hyejin... Hyejinnie wouldn't want to see you like this too... You know she will probably comment on how you look like a zombie... We can come back tomorrow at dawn if you want." Byulie unnie tries to persaude me one last time before they leave for home to change up and get some stuff.

"No unnie... I need to be by her side, I can't rest anyway if I'm not by her side. So no point in me going back with yall. See yall tomorrow unnies." I shake my head in response, waving goodbye to all 3 unnies.

"Alright... but you need to get some sleep okay. You don't want to be asleep when she wakes up right... And we'll get some sets of clothes for you from your apartment. Give us a ring if you need us to grab anything else from your house okay..." Our unnies say and I thank them.

Now I was all alone in the room with Hyejinnie. I stay at her skinny face, her cheekbones so high and defined, her jawline so sharp, in the words of some fans, her jawline could even cut paper. Sigh... I wish she was awake now. I wish she didn't have to go through so much. All these years, she was the one who had it the hardest. She struggled with stupid people petitioning to get her kicked out of the group the moment we debuted, even having to hear the nastiest comments and rumours being spread about her. I remember coming across some disgusting articles and discussions about her online before. I winced at the memory of the incident. I immediately reported the articles and websites to our legal team in our agency. Thank God they took immediate action before those sites blew up and garnered more attention.

I shift my chair closer to her bed and rest my head on her left hand, playing with her fingers, intertwining them with my own. Slowly, my eyes grew heavy and I zoomed off to lala land.

/IN WHEEIN'S DREAM: THROW BACK TO WHEN THEY JUST DEBUTED/

"Wheein! Wheein ah! Let's take a photo together!!!" Hyejin excitedly shouted at Wheein. We were at the Han River after going out for a meal at one of the nearby bibimbap stores.

"Okay!" I whipped out my phone and pulled Hyejinnie closer to me. The smell of the special perfume she used entered my nose. Hyejinnie was sensitive to smells and tastes so when she founds a scent that she was able to appreciate, she stuck to it like super glue.

"hahahah! look at our lazy smiles HAHAHA wheepup!!! you really look like a puppy here!" Hyejinnie excitedly points to the image in my phone.

I say nothing but just smile at her. Her eyes were full of innocence and joy, yet I knew beneath it, she was hiding some pain. Pain that she refused to show to the world because she wanted everything to think of her as a strong lady.

"Hyejin ah... do you think you will ever change your onstage character?" I ask her as we strolled along the river.

I hear her sigh, deep in thought.

"I don't know Wheein ah... you know... sometimes I do think about it, what if I let my softer side out for others to see... Will they still like me? Will it taint the image of Hwasa? I feel like I'm playing around with masks sometimes. On stage with the persona called Hwasa, off stage as Hyejin, and inside of me, I'm just... I don't even know the word for it, I feel so empty after having to switch around the different personalities..." She says after a moment of silence, her head slightly lowered, voice a little shaky.

"Aigu... my poor Hyegi..." I didn't really know what to reply her but just continued to walk hand in hand with her, squeezing her hand tighter as a form of comfort from me.