a/n: how could i post a month of blurbs and no angst? sike u thought bitch.
you can tell the exact moment she breaks. youâve been trying to tell her youâve noticed it all, but you always missed her.
âhey, wheres mina?â the last group arrives at the dorm, but instead of four, itâs only sana, jihyo and momo.
âpracticingâ momo responds absentmindedly, her mind completely on the cold noodles they picked up on the way.
âagain?â jihyo shares your concern, both your eyes speaking for themselves. she almost stops eating to come with you, but you reassure her itâs better you go alone.
if this wasnât your partnerâs breaking point, it was yours.
you couldnât believe you were, but in your head, silently, you were weighing out whether this or her anxiety break had been worse.
from a while back, you noticed mina had been spending way too much time practicing than normal, dancing, singing, all of the above. for some reason, her diet was much stricter than yours or the others and her scheduled was way more packed all of the sudden.
come to think of it, you never heard her say no anymore.
âmina, elle wants you for their july-â âyesâ
âafter the shoot, do you think you can take a couple of picture at the grand opening-â âsureâ
âdo you have any free time slots tomorrowâ âiâll make the timeâ
but she wasnât enthusiastic about it either. and trust, the sex was there and so were the loving kisses and whispers, itâs just, her eyes, mina isnât there anymore.
âokay. i hear youâ jihyo rubbed your back up and down as she listened the first time. you felt so bad you had woken her up in the middle of the night to complain, but more than your leader she was your best friend, if anything she could possibly get through mina. ânot me, i can try, but thereâs no way sheâll hear me out before youâ
âsheâs killing herselfâ jihyo wipes your tears and takes a deep breath to hold some of her own.
âi know itâs hard to think about but y/n- i need you to break her-â the entire time the words came from her mouth, she can see the denial in your eyes and how the pout on your lips deepened.
that was then, now, youâre angry.
âoh, this again. awesome, iâm kind of rusty myselfâ you drop your gym bag on the floor and begin to tie your hair as you get in position.
you canât lie and say you willingly got out of bed at almost ten at night to practice. you willingly got out of bed this late because of her. one more night feeling the bed deepen with her body at some much late hour than you tried going to sleep was going to drive you off a cliff.
ây/n? what are you doing here baby?â your eyes press shut and you turn your head to the side when she pauses the music, arms crossed as a tactic to not let her in this time.
âwhat are you doing here mina?â you never did what jihyo asked, it hurt you to hurt her, but now you had to, because you love her, and you want her to love herself again too.
âiâm.. rehearsingâ she replies as if it were obvious.
âi can see that, but why? do you know what time it is?â
âitâs late, if we donât go home weâre going to have trouble waking up tomorrowâ her chest stings at all the âweâs, and you can see her now usual facade start to lessen. sheâs heard you before, she just never listened.
âgo home. iâll be there soonâ she tries to shake all the red blaring sirens telling her sheâs tired, that youâre right and that she should go home with you, try to sleep more than four hours tonight.
âiâm not going anywhere without you minaâ your hands fall at your sides and you begin to walk towards her, stopping only a couple of steps apart. âyou canât tell me you donât know what youâre doingâ
âiâm just practicing babe, iâll be there soon. i promiseâ
âyouâve broken a lot of promises lately, you know that right?â you watch her swallow, turn around to fidget with something at the radio station instead of looking at you. âif you know exactly what iâm talking about, why tip toe?â
âi donât know y/nâ her voice raises higher than the usual whisper, and you donât know whether to be upset at her or put yourself in her shoes. âitâs working. iâll be home soonâ
âyeah, you said youâll be home soon. but youâve told me that the last three nights and it wasnât true. whatâs working?â
âmina, this is not working. nothing is working. im worried about you all the time and youâre not even letting me in. either we go home and talk about proper help or iâll be joining you.â
âbaby. it doesnât work like thatâ sheâs scared, you can see that much now, sheâs finally allowing herself to feel rather than bottle it up and swallow it down with her usual work ethic.
âall these late practices, the crazy diets. cramped schedule? count me in, iâll do it all if thatâs what it takes for you to stopâ she looks like sheâs been caught, biting her lips and looking down in shame. and you let yourself calm down, soften even as you walk towards her, closer until youâre asking for her hands. âiâm worried mina. let me help youâ
âyou donât understandâ a single tear falls on your hands, now clasped together with hers as she stares at them.
âthen tell me. iâll listen. if youâre scared, iâm here. mina. i love you, iâm done letting you go through this aloneâ you squeeze her hands, hoping for some sort of emotion, thankfully she squeezes yours back.
âi donât want the girls to knowâ she sniffles, watching you nod and swallow a lump in your throat, hoping no tears came out, because youâve cried enough. you needed to be there like mina had been for you when you needed, loving you through all your hardships.