The laughter coming from your best friends as you sat around each other made the already huge amount of happiness you felt grow even more.
You're doing a vlive together.
You've done quite a few lately but after taking yet another win for your most recent comeback, you all decided to sit down and do a little thank you to fans.
You were all eating some food. You couldn't wait any longer for that since you've been so busy today that you haven't eaten too much, that way you could still feel good and energized as you perform at your showcase.
You were joking around and laughing happily with your members as Shuhua rested her head on your shoulder, her eyes on the tablet where she could see all the comments coming in.
One caught her off guard, causing her to quickly lift her head from your shoulder and scoot closer to the screen to see if she could catch another glimpse of it.
Sure enough, she saw it again.
For some reason, there were a few fans coming on to the vlive to leave some nasty comments towards you, and Shuhua was disgusted by that, to say the very least.
"That's not very nice. You all need to stop."
Her words made you all stop laughing and talking and look at her instead.
But the commenters weren't listening. The comments about your body and your outfits seemed to be a hot topic for people tonight and Shuhua couldn't believe how unkind some people were being.
"What's going on?" Miyeon asked and Shuhua looked at you, all of the girls doing the same after.
"What?" You asked.
"Some people are saying things about you."
Your heart dropped a little.
"They're talking about your revealing outfits."
The girls all furrowed their eyebrows, looking at Shuhua the same way she'd just looked at the camera as she read the comments just a moment ago; shocked and in disbelief.
Soyeon leaned in and started to read through some of the comments.
Shaking her head, she was so disappointed to see people practically shaming you for wearing the things you've worn during this comeback.
Her outfits are too revealing.
She's going to give (G)I-DLE a bad reputation.
She just wants to show off.
She looks bad.
She should cover up.
She should know better.
Those were only a few of the comments Shuhua and Soyeon read.
"Alright, that's enough," Shuhua said. "We'll end this vlive right this moment if you all don't stop."
Her warning wasn't taken lightly. Fans were defending you, making it clear that they were supporting you and your choices to wear whatever you decided to.
After all, it's your body, and despite being an idol they wanted you to feel comfortable and free in your body. They wanted you to express yourself.
It's not like you were going on stage in your birthday suit or anything close to that.
It was just something you've chosen to do lately, to wear something different and more daring.
This comeback is so different than the others you and the other girls have ever done and you just wanted to explore new fashion choices and express yourself.
You had every right to.
You weren't being inappropriate.
You were just showing a little more skin than usual.
But to some, that was not okay.
"Is this your body?" Shuhua asked as she nodded to you. "Are you y/n? No? Then stop. She has every right to wear whatever she chooses. We are not going to stop her from that. Don't shame her for what she wears, it only makes you look like terrible people. I don't know if this stems from jealousy or anger that times are changing and idols are beginning to express themselves more, but the negativity has to stop."
It was so kind of her to defend you.
But the damage to your self-esteem had already been done and that was clear to see.
The vlive ended a few minutes later. It wasn't spent in happiness. There were no more jokes or laughter from you. You felt bad about yourself and the girls all felt so heartbroken to see that.
The next day, you had yet another showcase to do.
You did your best to fake a smile and look as excited and enthused as you could be out on the stage. But only a minute through the performance, the remarks crept back into your brain, and you suddenly felt insecure and uncomfortable.
Shuhua was quick to notice. She saw the frown on your face and the look in your eyes. Being your best friend and knowing you for so long, she knows you like the back of her hand and no words need to be said between you for you both to see how you're feeling.
So, she decided to step in front of you. Not enough to block you from shining on the stage as you performed, just enough to make sure that you felt a little more comfortable as you performed.
And when you finished and stood around with the MCs, Shuhua was quick to hug you from behind and wrap her arms around you. She brushed her fingers across your skin in comfort and sent you the brightest smile as you looked at her.
"Are you okay?" She spoke in your ear.
You shrugged your shoulders.
"Whatever anyone says after this, don't pay them any attention. You're perfect just the way you are and you know you've got all of us in your corner through everything. We've always got your back."
You smiled to yourself and put your head back on her shoulder, finding comfort in her being there for you.
You felt more comfortable with her there to cover you up when you felt like hiding away and cheering you on for expressing yourself and supporting you when you decide you want to show off and wear whatever your heart desires.
Through it all, you have six best friends that will always have your back no matter what.