##; | april 17th,, 2018.
after their time in japan, stray kids' were finally back in south korea. their trip was incredible, but the feeling of comfort they felt when they entered the dorm and climbed into their beds trumped everything.
the youngest members of the group were informed, two days after their return, that they would be attending school nearly every day this week due to their absence from the trip.
they would usually only go one or two days a week because their career made it difficult for them to attend school. this was different and each member of the maknae line was now stressed about school.
rosey sat at the desk in the room she shared with jeongin, hyunjin, and jisung. because no one else was in the room with her, she decided to use the time to study for an upcoming test.
she borrowed school books from the boys in her class. since she had finished one book, she pushed it to the top corner of the desk, and the other was overlapping the first.
something didn't seem right with the girl lately, at least according to her members. rosey was just starting to open up and form close bonds with everyone, but she abruptly stopped forcing herself to do so. she drew her energy back.
she wished to be alone more frequently, as she had been when they all first met. she preferred to be in the most tranquil and serene settings. because of her personality, noise often overwhelmed her, and she need an escape from it.
she was preoccupied with the papers in front of her. the lights in the bedroom were dimmed, creating a dark and cozy atmosphere. the moonlight was barely visible through the curtains she had drawn earlier, but the small amount of light that passed through added to the coziness that surrounded her.
as she dropped the pen she had been using on the desk, she pulled the sleeves of her oversized tan hoodie over her hands. her covered hands reached up to her hair, pushing stray curls away from her eyes.
only minutes after she fixed her hair did rosey's studying session come to a halt. the creek of the floor near the shared bedroom enterance had startled her. her head quickly turned to see the door open and a familiar face peeking through the crack.
"nabi?" the tall, black-haired, boy whispered into the room. he walked in and softly shut the door behind him.
their gazes locked and she responded to him with a hum. as she turned her chair to face him, her hands fell flat on her lap.
"it seems comfortable in here," he said softly.
"very!" she exclaimed, her smile flashing for a second.
hyunjin decided that he would be the one to check in on the girl and see if she was okay with studying alone. her and the other members her age took some of the same classes. she was, however, the only one who was studying.
the boy approached her, coming to a halt at the corner of the desk she was working on. his hands pushed the papers side to side to see what she was working on, which was something he was putting off.
his gaze was drawn to her face and he noticed that she was looking down at her hands as she fiddled with them. he caught a glimpse of the side of her face, where it appeared dried up tears remained.
"have you been crying?" hyunjin inquired, his hand leaving the papers and falling hesitantly on her shoulder.
rosey kept playing with her fingers nervously. her thoughts strayed frequently. she was at peace alone in such a quiet room, but her mind was constantly trying to break this peace she had acquired.
she was stressed and tense. school, work, and family were all putting strain on her life. was she supposed to concentrate on school or her job as an idol now? the group was absent from school to practice or perform, but they were expected to return to school grounds in a week to make up work they hadn't learned.
was she supposed to put off calling her mother for a much-needed conversation in order to practice this move before their performance in a week. she was completely lost and had no one to guide her. her teammates were in the same boat as she was; they were all just doing what they were told.
she didn't want to go back to school on top of everything else. she was shy, quiet, and kept to herself. however, by the end of the day, she could only recall people whispering about her.
"she's in a boy group, do you think she'll-"
she never completed such sentences in her head. her legs whisked her away from this people so quickly that she never heard what they had to say. she was relieved that she didn't know what their words meant, but her curiosity was like a cat. she was curious as to why the would say such things.
"can you tell me why you were crying?" the boy enquired as he knelt beside her.
his left hand was now on her chair's armrest. he spoke softly, but with concern. she lifted her head and her sleeve-covered hands wiped away any tears that had fallen. she did her best to keep them at bay; she was sensitive, but she despised the feeling of being vulnerable.
his right hand took her small hand in his and rocked it back and forth slowly.
"i'm stressed," she said quietly, her voice broke, "and lost."
as he stood up in front of her, hyunjin's hand remained in rosey's. he gently drew her up and hugged her. he was curious as to why she decided it was better to deal with her problems alone. she didn't deserve any of it.
"people talk about me at school," rosey said as she settled into his embrace, "and it makes me so nervous."
"who?"
rosey drew away from him, her hands falling at her sides. she sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "i'm not familiar with them. i just overheard some of their conversations."
rosey fixed her gaze on the curtains, which had failed to keep the moonlight out. the boy observed her as she moved her hands to intertwine in front of her torso. he noticed her attempting to get her irregular breathing back into a safe pattern.
hyunjin took a step back and sat slowly on the bed behind him. he was in agony. he was putting off all of this work simply because he didn't want to do it, but she was completely distraught over it.
"don't listen to the words of strangers," hyunjun said, breaking the silence, "they're talking about someone they don't even want to know anything about. they are acting jealous because you are the nicest person. you don't know them, why not keep it that way?"
it wasn't so much that she didn't want to leave them alone, she just didn't understand why this was happening to her. why were they focusing on her when she had never done anything to them?
she just wanted to understand.
rosey's exhaustion from staying up until the late hours of the night was beginning to set in. her gaze shifted from the curtains to her bed, which was directly across from hyunjin. she dragged herself to her bed and climbed into it.
her back was against the comforter and she didn't bother getting comfortable. she looked over at hyunjin, who has moved to the end of her bed to keep her company.
he was aware that she had finished speaking. she was exhausted from studying and her mind was completely overworked from the mental strain she was subjecting herself to.
when he was about to speak to her again, he almost didn't realize she had fallen asleep. he smiled softly at her dorm and reached for the blanket folded at the foot of her bed.
he draped it around he legs and torso. the lights made her appear serene and calm. her cheeks remained a dark pink from the fluster of her crying. hyunjin despised seeing her cry because she deserved nothing but the best.
"i wish you could see yourself in the same way that i see you." hyunjin whispered.
he stood from her bed and looked at her once again. his legs moved him towards the door, joining the other members in the living room and leaving the girl to sleep.