"Keeping you as a trainee is useless because you are basically our ace and have the skills to even debut as a soloist, so I wanted you to join the girls of ResQ."
*To read this book you don't need to read the previous two as you will be able to unde...
The girls then all did a group hug together and tried to calm down before heading to the main stage to apologise and continue with the concert, still worried about Alix and not being able to get Woojin off their minds.
ººº
ALIX'S POV
"That's right, Alix. Breathe in... and out..." one of the paramedics told me backstage as I tried to recover from my attack. "Don't rush it, just keep your breaths nice and slow."
I had a very bad headache and every single muscle in my body felt like it had been twisted, so I couldn't even remember what had happened for a whole five minutes. As I started coming back to my senses, though, I started hyperventilating again and Yeongjae quickly hugged me and breathed loudly so I started to match his breathing pattern.
"Alix, I read the news too but you need to calm down," he said as I cried onto his shoulder. "When the concert finishes I promise we will try to call JYP and the boys to ask them what happened but you need to calm down."
"The concert!" I said remembering we were in the middle of a concert. "I can't leave the girls hanging! I need to go back with them!"
"Yes, you can," he told me. "You just had a panic attack, Alix. Prioritise your health for once!"
"Precisely because I want to prioritise my mental health I want to go on stage," I told him and grabbed my microphone as I stood up. "I don't want to have another panic attack again and unless I keep myself busy, I won't stop thinking about it."
Even though Yeongjae was yelling at me to not go back, I quickly ran back to the stage and joined the girls in the middle of «Save me, Save You» (Leah: Dayoung + Soobin; Mika: Yeonjung + Bona; Lin: Eunseo + Luda; Alix: SeolA + Dawon; Soojin: EXY + Yeoreum). They were all shocked to see me back, but I tried to pretend nothing had happened because if not I would end up breaking down again and I couldn't let that happen. I needed to be strong for the group and shut down all of my emotions at once because I knew that, by doing so, I wouldn't be hurt. Maybe Alix had to stop being Alix for a while. That was the only way out.
ººº
Once the concert finally ended, we all gathered with Yeongjae to try to contact JYP and the boys. Even Mika's parents had joined us backstage but we were so out of it that we unconsciously pretty much ignored them. We just wanted to know what was going on because it all felt too surreal. It felt like a nightmare.
"Not even their manager is picking up the phone," Yeongjae said after trying to call him.
"Try with JYP again," Mika told him as she tried to call Chan
"If they don't answer, I'm coming back to Korea," Soojin said. "We still have a few days until the concert in Bangkok. I'm going to get answers, I don't care how."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We should wait until they-" he tried to say but stopped since JYP had picked up the call. "Oh, yes! Hello, sir... The girls are here with me, yes... Of course."
He then put the phone on speaker so we could all hear him.
"Good night, girls. How was the concert?" he asked us.
"Please, quit the formalities and go straight to the point. We all know what this call is about," I said shocking everyone there since it was very unlike me to talk back.
"Yes, of course," he said. "Well, after discussing it with Woojin and the boys, he has left the group. It's due to personal reasons. I can't say anything other than that."
"So you basically answered our call to say what your announcement for the fans and the press said?" Soojin asked him this time. "I'm flying back to Korea to ask Woojin himself if that is all you are giving us."
"You need to finish the tour," he reminded us.
"To hell with the tour!" I exclaimed shocking everyone yet again. "I couldn't care less about the flipping tour right now. One of my best friends just left Stray Kids and the company and you are telling me to focus on the tour?"
"Alix, calm down," Leah told me grabbing my arm.
"No, I won't!" I said releasing from her grasp. "I want answers. Can't I have them?"
"Look, Alix, Woojin left due to personal reasons. I can't tell you because he is the only one who should decide who gets to know and who doesn't. I can't give you any answers because I am not the one who can make that decision," he said not minding my tone at all. "The rest of the boys are just as shocked and affected as you are. Believe me, it's all being very hard for them too, but just let it rest for tonight. Go to sleep, clear your mind and maybe try calling them tomorrow. I can't force them to answer your calls nor can I force you to stop calling them. Please, just don't rush things and don't seek immediate answers."
"Quit the philosophical talk!" I exclaimed once again. "One of my best friends is leaving me yet again!"
After I said that, Mika pulled me towards her and embraced me in a hug. I wasn't crying or anything like that because I refused to, but I couldn't help but be angry about the whole situation. Just days before Woojin had promised me to meet up when we came back but now he was the one leaving and without even saying goodbye.
"Alix, I think, although I hate to admit it, that JYP is right and we should try to talk tomorrow when things calm down a little. We are all too overwhelmed right now and aren't able to think clearly," she told me. "We need to give the boys some time too."
"You are all going to be getting on a plane in less than three hours, so use that time to relax, get some sleep and organise your thoughts and feelings. I promise that will help," JYP said. "I'm not your enemy, girls; I'm not doing this to get on your nerves. I really care about your well-being and your mental health but I also know how you all are and know that you will regret it if you cancel the tour now. Please, think about it. Reflect on it and tell Yeongjae to call me tomorrow, alright?"
"Good night, sir," Mika said before Yeongjae hung up.
"God, how I hate that he's right!" Leah said and kicked the couch next to her.
"I just can't believe Woojin didn't say anything..." Lin said. "He was alright before we left. This is all too unexpected."
"I'm honestly very worried about the boys," Soojin pointed out. "I really want to be there for them but we are flipping out of the country. I'm sure they are a mess right now."
"I think Alix may be a close representation," Mika said trying to lighten the mood.
She then approached her parents to explain everything that had just happened and I used that moment to go to the bathroom to wash my face and try to calm down. I had said I would stop my emotions yet had miserably failed, but I was willing to try yet again.
I then received a text and took out my phone sighing thinking it was one of the girls but I was shocked to see it was Jisung.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The fact that the first message I had received in days was him telling me he loved me and that he had taken time to write that to me amidst everything that was going on truly let me know that he wasn't okay at all and knowing he was hurt, hurt me even more than I would have ever thought, so I fell to the floor and started sobbing right there, in the middle of an empty bathroom of a concert venue.
