❝ 𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘... 𓏴 ♢
ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁 . . . 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣 those who fall for you ❜ ⸝⸝
⊹ . ◌ ༚ ˳ 🕳️⠀﹒⠀ ꙳ .
⌗ ; 𝗜-𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 ▬ ★ ??
SHE HAD NOT REALISED HOW MUCH SHE HAD MISSED NI-KI.
At least not until she saw him on the stage again. Their eyes had met, and he had given her a smile.
Winning the competition between the I-LANDERs and Grounders was pretty much given for the twins. However, holding a crying Ni-ki in her arms was not something she had been prepared for.
Glancing to her left, her eyes met Naito's. With his head on top of Daniel's the two were seated on the floor, his hand rubbing Daniel's back in a comforting manner.
'You did well, Ni-ki,' Midori whispered. 'I'm proud of you.'
'I miss being around you,' Ni-ki admitted, head on her shoulder.
'You got Naito for a week,' Midori smiled.
'But he's not you.'
'He's the male version of me,' Midori said, chuckling at the end of her sentence.
'But it's still not you,' Ni-ki muttered.
A heartwarming laugh left Midori's lips. 'You'll get there, we'll debut together, you and I.'
'Really?'
'Of course,' Midori said. 'Someone as talented as you deserve to debut, don't they?'
Cheeks heating up, Ni-ki couldn't look Midori in the eye. 'Of course,' he said, voice low.
'Okay,' she smiled, giving his back a firm pat before standing up.
'You want to switch?' Naito asked, arm leaving Daniel's shoulder.
'Switch?' Midori asked, a breathless chuckle leaving her lips. 'Fine then.'
Giving Daniel a small smile, Naito left his side and moved over to Ni-ki.
Midori kneeled down in front of Daniel, hand on his shoulder.
'Heavy heart?' she asked.
'Heavy heart, heavy shoulders, heavy everything,' Daniel answered.
'I know what it feels like, to carry all that responsibility on your shoulders and end up failing them. It really tears you apart,' she said.
'It really does,' Daniel sighed.
Midori tilted her head to the side to get a better view of his face. 'But you did great, you really did.'
'I did?'
'You did your best, no?'
Daniel hastily nodded. 'But it still wasn't enough.'
'You're here to grow, aren't you? If you're perfect then there's no reason for you to be here.'
'But you and Naito-hyung are here, Heeseung-hyung too. You three are good at everything.'
'We have a lot of flaws, Daniel. You might not be able to see them, but we do.'
THEY TRULY DID.
Naito liked to fix things on his own, he liked to help others and see others happy ━ even to the point where it hurt him. But even then, he had a hard time speaking about his feelings. He'd rather avoid such situations than confront them ━ leading to even more problems.
Midori on the other hand had expectations on herself she couldn't live up to. When reality caught up and confronted her, she retreated instead of facing it through some form of escapism. This, in its own turn, set her up for future failures, thus creating a never-ending loop.
But that was just the tip of the iceberg.
After having decided parts, Midori and Naito went off on their own to practise. They would no longer be judged as a team, but as individuals which meant that Midori and Naito could hone their skills as individuals.
'What if Lizzie votes on us?' Naito asked, hands on his hips.
'Lizzie? Who's Lizzie?' Midori asked, giving Naito a perplexed look.
'Queen Elizabeth, our pride,' Naito said, giving Midori a look of disapproval.
'Oh wait━'
Unclasping the necklace around his neck, Naito handed it to Midori. 'They gave it back after our performance, I forgot to give it to you last week.'
Midori took hold of the necklace, glancing at the small 'N'.
'Nidori?' she asked. 'And Maito?'
'I like it,' Naito shrugged, not bothering to care about the fact that he accidentally gave her the wrong necklace.
'Okay. . .' Midori trailed off, clasping the necklace around her neck.
'Do you think people are going to vote for me if I get sent to the Ground?' Naito asked, leaning against the mirror.
'Of course, why wouldn't they?' Midori asked.
'Because I'm no interesting enough━?'
A gentle smile spread on Midori's lips. 'You are. Don't doubt yourself, everything will be fine.'
'DO I HAVE SOMETHING ON MY FACE?' Sunghoon asked, looking at Midori who stood beside him.
'No,' Midori answered.
'You're supposed to say "handsomeness"!' Sunghoon exclaimed, shaking his head in disappointment.
'But I'm not a liar,' Midori said, shoulders lifting into an innocent shrug.
'Midori!'
About to respond, Sunghoon got interrupted by the sound of a moaning and groaning Jay.
'I'm so tired,' Jay breathed out, leaning against the sink for a split second before trudging down towards the showers.
'Just today, I taught six people,' Jay continued, looking at the two.
'Teach me too,' Sunghoon said.
'Naito and I can help you if you want to,' Midori offered. 'We know the choreography.'
'It's okay,' Jay said, giving her a small nod.
'All right, your choice.'
'I THINK WE DID WELL,' K said as he and Midori stood in the corner, rewatching the choreography.
After having gone through the choreography with the rest of the I-LANDERs, Midori could safely say that she felt quite confident. Those who were struggling had taken their own time to practise and those who weren't had sharpened their skills.
'There are still some that lose the formation but they quickly regain it again,' Midori noted.
She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Jake, Jay, Naito and Sunghoon standing in a row, sleeves pulled up to show off their arm.
Her eyes met Sunghoon's.
He raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement, causing Midori to let out a small chuckle before breaking eye contact.
'What are those four doing?' K asked.
'Being teenage boys,' Midori answered. Her eyes left the iPad and wandered to K's arm.
She nudged his side, 'go show them.'
K looked at her with slight bewilderment. 'I have nothing to show.'
'Are you kidding me?' Midori laughed. 'Go on.'
'Fine,' K laughed, glancing at the four boys before walking over to them. Looking into the mirror, K pulled his shirt up, revealing most of his torso and right arm.
'Woah!' Midori cheered, clapping her hands together while the other I-LANDERs marvelled over his toned stomach.
K's eyes met Midori's and she was quick to give him an encouraging nod.
'Okay,' K said with a small smile and pulled his shirt down. 'Break's over, let's get back to practising!'