Jin's POV:
It was about 3:30 in the morning when I finally came out of my room. Everyone should have been in bed, but Ryu-ah was sitting outside of my room. When she heard my door open, she looked up at me and smiled.
"Why don't you wash up, Appa?" she asked me. "You must be hungry. I'll fix you something to eat."
As she got up, I grabbed her hand.
"What are you still doing up, Ryu?"
"Waiting for you, Appa," she said. "Wash up. I'll make you something to eat. You haven't eaten all day."
I let go of her hand and she made her way to the kitchen. Not knowing what else to do, I did as she told me to. When I finished, I met her in the kitchen. I sat down and watched her cook for me. I was amazed that Ryu-ah, the little girl who had once been my baby sister and was now my daughter, but always my light, was now taking care of me when she was the one who was sick. My mind must've wandered with those thoughts, because suddenly, Ryu was putting two plates of food down in front of me, one for each of us.
"Gomawo," I said to her. "Just tell me you ate while I've been in my room."
"Not much, but I ate dinner when Hobi brought food to me, Kookie, and Yoongi. I wasn't really hungry, but I did eat what I could," she said as we both started to eat.
"This is good. Who taught you to cook like this?" I asked her.
"I notice more than you realize, Appa," she said, smiling at me. "I learned by watching you, Kookie, Hobi, and even Yoongi."
"Well, you learned well," I told her, smiling at her, even though my heart was hurting.
"Appa, we need to talk about what happened in the office. If you're not ready now, I'll be home from school all day. The doctor excused me. I don't know if you realized when I asked him to or when he agreed. You need me right now, to see that I'm fine, Appa. And I am," I told him. "So, if you don't want to talk about what happened there yesterday, that's okay, but I do have something I want to bring up and I don't want to argue. I just want to bring it up so you can think about it, okay?"
I nodded at her.
"Lee Honggi asked if me and my friends can either be his guests and have all-access to one of his concerts coming up or go hang out with FT Island at one of their practices. I already told him I needed to talk to you and you might not be okay with it. He said if you need me to, for me to call Heechul and both he and Heechul can talk to you about it," I told him. "I don't want an answer right now, Appa. He asked me because I did so well in his workshop last week, thanks to Yoongi's lessons over the last five years. Right now you have a lot to think about, but I wanted you to know that he asked."
"Alright, Ryu-ah. I'll give it some thought. I'm not up to arguing tonight," I told her.
"Thank you, Appa," she said, kissing my cheek as she got up to clean up her dish and the pots.
When I finished she cleaned my dish and then sat back down with me. She looked at me and I knew there was more she wanted to say to me. I was worried, but it couldn't be worse than what her cardiologist had told us earlier today.
"Appa, I want you to think about giving me more freedom," she started. "Not for me to run wild or anything like that. I don't want to do anything that would actually put me at risk of either needing a new heart sooner or even dying. But I don't want to argue with you every time I want to do something without you."
"Ryu-ah..." I started.
"Just think about it, Appa," she said. "We can talk about it more when we talk about what happened at the cardiologist's office, okay?"
I sighed. She wasn't being pushy, she was telling me how she felt and trying to ask me to think about things.
"Fine," I agreed.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" she asked me. "I'm guessing you slept most of the day after you cried yourself to sleep holding Hwan and you're not ready to go back to bed yet."
She knew me so well.
"Sure," I said to her and we made our way to the living room, where she put my favorite movie on.
We curled up together on the couch watching the movie, just the two of us. We didn't really spend much time together like this anymore. It was usually discussing which of us had to do what on any given day and who was going to be around to make sure she was taken care of. That was, if we weren't arguing. It was nice to just talk and watch a movie without either of us yelling at the other.
By the time the movie ended, Ryu-ah had fallen asleep. It made me realize she must've been up for close to 24 hours at this point. As I picked her up to bring her to bed, Kookie was coming out of his room. Seeing Ryu in my arms, he looked worried.
"Is Ryu-ah okay?" he asked.
"She's fine, Kookie," I reassured him. "She fell asleep while we watched a movie after she made me something to eat."
"Are the two of you okay? She was pretty insistent she stay up to be outside your room when you opened your door, Hyung. Yoongi and I tried to get her to go to sleep, but Joonie finally told us to let her go, that the two of you needed to figure this out on your own," he told me.
"We're okay, I think," I told him. "She left me with a lot to think about, Kookie, but we didn't fight. We ate together, talked, and then watched the movie."
"I'm glad you didn't fight," Kookie said to me.
I started walking towards Ryu's room. When I put her down, Kookie covered her and then followed me out of the room. I went to the living room and straightened it up after Ryu and I watched the movie before moving on to start breakfast for Kookie.
"You don't have to make breakfast, Hyung," he said to me. "I can cook."
"I'm fine. Sit down," I told him.
We made small talk as I cooked and the others came out to start getting ready for the day.
"Joonie, I..." I started.
"You're covered for the day, Hyung," he interrupted me. "I cleared it with management last night. Given what the cardiologist told you and the fact that Ryu-ah is staying home for the day, so are you. It's already taken care of."
"I..." I tried to talk.
"It's alright, Hyung. Ryu-ah is our little sister. You're her appa, and we need you to look out for her. I don't mind making sure you can when I can. Don't mention it," he said to me and I just nodded at him.
After everyone left for the day, I sat down in the dining room on my laptop, researching life expectancy of heart transplant patients. It made me scared more than anything could, but I needed to know as much as I could, and I had checked out on the cardiologist.
When Ryung-gi woke up a few hours later, I made her breakfast as she washed up and got dressed. I ate with her. After, I decided to try to talk to her.
"Ryu, I was thinking about you asking me for more freedom last night. I'm scared to do that. Knowing that anywhere in the next 9 years the heart beating in your chest can fail on you, putting you in the hospital to wait for a new one, it makes me want to hold you closer. I'm terrified of having you in the hospital that weak ever again. I was so scared you'd never wake up last time."
"Appa, I know you're scared. But I don't want you to hold onto me so tightly that I don't get to live my life. I don't want to die. I want to live my life while I have it. Neither of us knows how long this heart will last, if I'll get a second transplant fast enough when it fails, or if I'll even survive long enough to get to the hospital to wait for a transplant. I just know that while I have this heart, I want to live, not be afraid of the possibility of which future is coming for me. If I wasn't meant to live, I don't think I would've survived the plane crash, let alone a heart transplant so soon afterwards. I think Eomma, Appa, and Oppa are looking out for me so that I haven't gotten worse over the years. Either way, I can't be a normal teenager in most ways, but I want to be able to live my life as much as I can while I can, Appa. Do you understand now why I want you to give me more freedom?" she asked me.
"I do, Ryu. I'm just terrified."
"It's okay to be scared, Appa. You've been with me since I was a baby and you nearly lost me. We've always been close. I'm scared to lose you, too," she told me. "But we can't just let fear decide everything in our lives because of this heart. It's not good for either one of us, Appa. It's too much stress."
"You've grown up too fast."
"I had to if I wanted to survive. I had to learn the truth about the heart transplant, Appa. Honestly, what the cardiologist told us yesterday gave me hope. I didn't know that it was a possibility for me to get a second heart transplant," she said to me. "It gives me hope that I'll live to see my twenties, be able to go to university, or do anything else I want to do with my life."
"Like what? Become a trainee?" I asked her, laughing.
"If I want to," she replied, laughing. "My point is, the news that terrified you actually gave me more hope than I've had since I'd woken up after I'd had the transplant, Appa. I was worried that whenever this heart gave out on me, I would die. Now, I know there's a chance that's not how my life will end, that there's a possibility I might be given another chance."
I finally understood why she was so insistent on being able to do things that I was scared to let her do. She was afraid she was facing death. I was just afraid of losing her. As scary as this was for me, I wasn't the one who physically dealt with the crash, the transplant, the rehabilitation she'd gone through, or any of the pain she's experienced when she's become overwhelmed. She was so young, still my little Ryung-gi, when all of this started. It must have terrified her so much more than me, yet she held herself together so much better than I did at times. I hugged Ryu.
"I'm sorry, Ryu-ah. I didn't understand what this was like for you. I've been scared, but this must've been a thousand times worse for you, especially with everything you've gone through since. Somewhere in all of this, I forgot to stop thinking about just your physical health, but what you were actually feeling."
"It's okay, Appa," she said, returning the hug. "Just know that while a second transplant sounds scary, it's actually not a bad thing for me. If I'm able to get one, it gives me a chance at a longer life. It's a good thing. Don't focus on anything else. If you do, you'll panic and then freak out."
I laughed and kissed the top of her head.
"I'll try to give you more freedom, Ryu-ah. But it's gonna be hard, so you need to be patient with me. You're not even 16 years old yet," I told her. "And there will be rules."
"Okay, Appa!" she said, getting excited.
Ryu's POV:
When I went back to school, I.N, Jisung, Chenle, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai were all waiting for me at the front gate. I couldn't stop smiling when I saw them and they looked confused. I ran over to them. They all surrounded me and hugged me before we went to our usual morning hangout spot to talk.
"Why are you so happy, Ryu-ah?" Jeongin asked me.
"V-hyung and Jimin-hyung told us what happened when you and Jin went to see your cardiologist," Taehyun said.
"How can you smile so brightly when you know you will need another heart transplant someday?" Jisung asked sadly.
"I'm smiling because knowing that I will need another heart transplant someday means that I have a chance at living more than a few years longer, guys," I told them, before explaining what I had told Appa about what I had thought for the last five years. "And I've talked to Appa. We spent yesterday just talking and getting to understand how we both feel about everything and why we both want what we want right now. Even though it's hard for Appa, he's gonna try to start giving me more freedom to do things on my own."
"How did you convince Jin-hyung to do that? You can get killed if you're off on your own, Ryu-ah," Beomgyu asked, worried.
"I promised him that I don't actually want to die, because I don't. What happened last week... I owe you three an apology," I said to Jisung, Taehyun, and Beomgyu, bowing to them. "Honestly, you three realized that I had gone too far before I even felt it. I'm sorry I scared you, but I'm grateful that you didn't listen to me when I said I was fine and took care of me anyway. It's the first time since all of this happened that my symptoms hit me visibly before I felt them physically."
"I heard Super Junior say you were just as stubborn when everything happened with Jonghyun-hyung," Chenle said, gently. "That you wouldn't let them take care of you."
"It wasn't that I didn't know I wasn't okay that time, Chenle," I said quietly. "When we lost Jonghyun-oppa, I didn't care in that moment. The only thing that made sense to me was knowing that Onew, Key, Minho, and Taemin were okay; seeing for myself that what Leeteuk-oppa and Yesung-oppa had told me was true. I couldn't believe he was gone. I was in shock. But he called my cardiologist to the hospital they were at and ultimately, I was taken care of. SHINee helped Super Junior calm me down enough that I was discharged by the time Appa and my oppas got back to Seoul the following afternoon."
"Why did you have such a hard time accepting what happened?" Kai asked. "I know you knew them, but you're always so strong when it comes to handling your emotions."
"I met them when Appa and BTS made their first comeback after he adopted me, Kai. Got7 was babysitting me and that was when I met Taemin, Key, and Jonghyun backstage. From there, I met lots of other idol groups and I was attached to them all. But just a short while later, Luhan left, going back to China. A few months later, I had my first Christmas without my family and I wound up in the hospital because of a fight I got into at my support group. While I was in the hospital Luhan came back to Seoul to look after me because Appa had to go with BTS. Ultimately, that was when I met Kris. When they left, it was hard for me. Then months after that, Tao left the country like Kris and Luhan. At that point I just couldn't understand why everyone I cared about would leave me. That's why Xiumin, Lay, and Chen-oppa held that event for me, Chenle-oppa." I said, looking at Chenle, before looking at Kai again. "So, after finally being made to believe that the people I loved and cared about wouldn't keep leaving me, that I was safe with the people at my side, I couldn't process that Jonghyun was gone. Jonghyun was always my cheerleader, he always made me smile, held me when I was upset, so much like Tao did. Only, unlike Tao, I'd never see him again. It was too much for me to handle. And we all know that me getting emotional is dangerous to my health. It's why it was one of the few times I broke."
The guys all hugged me as a tear slipped from my eye.
"I don't think any of us realized just how hard things were for you, adjusting to living with Jin-hyung, having people get close to you and then sometimes not stay," Beomgyu said.
"It's okay," I told him, wiping my eye. "I wouldn't change anything in my life. All of that made me who I am now."
"You don't sound like a normal teenage girl," I.N said.
"You have to grow up really fast in my situation," I replied.
"Are you really okay, Ryu-ah?" Jisung asked me.
"Yeah, I am," I said, giving him a smile. "Nothing has been easy since Appa and I lost our family, since I had the heart transplant... but I'm okay. I manage at the end of every day. I have a lot of people who care about me. Like all of you."
I.N, Chenle, Jisung, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai all gave me hugs. At that point, it was time to go to class. By the end of the day, I was more than excited to just go and spend time at SM with Jisung to study. Beomgyu and Taehyun couldn't skip practice to study so they had to study together, but Appa was letting me go spend the time with Jisung so we could study together.
"How was school today?" Tae Yong asked when we got into the car with him. "Are you and Ryu-ah still being picked on, Jisung?"
"They're not getting picked on, but they still avoid being around everyone," Chenle answered for us and Jisung elbowed him in the backseat.
"Why don't you guys want to spend time with the other kids in the school?" Tae Yong asked us.
"I don't like fake people," I told him.
"The large groups of people who act like our friends are people who really like to pick on Ryu-ah and I so they are not people I feel are worth the time of day, Hyung," Jisung replied.
Tae Yong sighed. He realized the two of us wouldn't change our opinions. Instead, he asked how I was feeling after what happened with Super Junior and I explained what I'd told the others before school. He had mixed feelings, it was clear on his face, but he seemed to ultimately be happy because I was relieved by the news.
When we reached SM, Jisung, Chenle, and I went off to the practice room that NCT Dream was in. Jaemin, Jeno, Haechan, and Renjun were waiting in there. I explained everything to them and they were nervous but happy for me.
Jisung and I spent some of the time studying during their practice. When they took their dinner break, which they were going to do a VLive after, I was surprised to see Ryeowook escorting Leo from VIXX into the room.
"Leo-oppa? What are you doing here?" I asked him confused.
"I figured we could go for dinner since you shouldn't be on an idol's diet and NCT's VLives have been known to take well over an hour," he replied. "Unless that's a problem?"
I looked to Jisung. He gave me a nod to go, but I could tell he was sad. I gave him a look questioning if he was sure, to which he nodded yes.
"Okay, Oppa," I told Leo. "But, if there's time, I want to stop back here, not just go straight home. I did miss school yesterday and Jisung is helping me not only catch up, but study, so any time I can spend with him is appreciated."
"Aren't Beomgyu and Taehyun also your classmates?" Leo asked.
"Yes, but Jisung is typically my dance class partner. It's easier to practice with him than either of them," I replied.
Leo sighed, but agreed, as Ryeowook led us out of the room and building. After he helped me into his car he looked over to me before he started it.
"Is there another reason you want to try to get back to see Jisung?" he asked me. "I'm not Jin, Ryu-ah. I'm honestly not being mean, but I'm not clueless to what's in front of me when it comes to you. I also have older sisters. So, what was that really about?"
"Honestly?" I asked him, to which he nodded. "He's my best friend and he seemed bummed that I was leaving with you. That's all. Yeah, I'm friends with Chenle, I.N, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai, but the two of us spend more time together then we do with the others. We get each other. We're the school outcasts, and we don't care."
"Are you sure you don't feel anything for him, Ryu-ah?" he asked again.
"I've never thought about dating, honestly," I replied. "Until two days ago I was always worried about Appa and the fact that any day could literally be my last."
"And now that those circumstances have changed? What do you think now?"
I looked at him and thought.
"I don't think it would work," I said. "I'm not like kids my age. It's why I don't really hang out with most kids my age. They wouldn't understand me. I'm too mature because of my circumstances."
"But Park Jisung isn't your age, Ryu. He's older than you are. You skipped ahead in school due to the private tutors Jin has had you working with for all these years. Academically you're very advanced for your age, possibly moreso than you've been placed in school," he replied.
"He's not even a year older than I am..."
"But idols grow up faster than most kids and Jisung has been involved at SM for quite a few years. He's no typical kid," Leo told me, starting the car.
We drove to his dorm in silence. Apparently he had been cooking dinner for all of VIXX when he came and got me. As soon as we walked in, Ravi jumped on me, making Leo punch him for not being careful. I just laughed. Leo went back to cooking and Ravi took me to where he, Ken, and Hyuk had been playing video games.
"You okay, Ryu?" Ken, the oldest of the three asked.
"Yeah, just got some things on my mind," I told him.
"Do you want to talk about it, Kiddo?" Ravi asked me.
"Nope. I want to forget about it for a while," I replied to Ravi, throwing a pillow at him, which started World War Pillow Fight at the dorm.
Eventually, N got hit with one of those pillows, and we all ran in different directions to avoid him. Whoever threw that pillow didn't realize that Leo was right behind him with a glass of water that was then spilled all over him. We were all in deep trouble. I hid in Ravi's room, being the smallest of the five of us involved. Not long after I heard Ken begging Leo for mercy, Hongbin promising to clean the kitchen for a week if N didn't tell Leo he had anything to do with any of it, and Leo arguing with Ravi to let him go and he should know better, Leo and Ravi came bursting into his room to find me.
"GOTCHA!" Ravi yelled grabbing me from my hiding spot, tickling me as I squealed and Leo looked like he might beat me like he did the rest of VIXX.
"KIM RYUNG-GI! HOW COULD YOU?" Leo yelled at me.
Neither of them saw that I had been able to get my fingers around one of Ravi's pillows.
"Like this!" I exclaimed as I threw the pillow, laughing.
The two stood there in shock. I took the opportunity to get out of Ravi's arms and try to run off. As Ravi started to laugh hysterically, Leo grabbed me around my torso. I was still laughing and trying to wiggle away as Leo pulled me to him.
"You're not getting away from me as easily as Ravi," he whispered into my ear, taking me into his room and closing the door behind us, finally letting me go. "What came over you?"
"We were just having fun, Oppa," I said, trying to stop laughing, but I couldn't stop smiling.
"Throwing pillows at your elders is fun?" he asked.
"Yup," I replied with a big smile on my face.
He sighed. I could tell he wanted to yell at me, beat me up like the guys for being disrespectful, anything... but I was smiling and laughing. It was the one thing all the idols I knew tried so hard to get me to do, especially after Jonghyun, which wasn't as easy as it sounded. Instead, he pulled me into a hug.
"You know you're a little sister to all of us, right?" he asked me instead.
"I know, Oppa," I said.
"I'll let this go because of how much you're smiling," he told me. "Now, let's go, I finished dinner."
We had dinner, Ken and the maknae line had to clean everything after, and that's when I said goodbye to N. Leo brought me back to SM, taking me right to Tae Yong. After Johnny promised he'd take me home, Leo said goodbye and left for the night.
"The Dreamies are still in their practice room, Ryu-ah," Tae Yong told me. "Do you need someone to walk you over there?"
"No thanks, Oppa," I said, kissing his cheek. "I know the way."
I was walking down the hall, heading towards their practice room when I thought I heard arguing, but I couldn't make out exactly what it was about. Suddenly, Jaemin came out of the room and put on a bright smile when he saw me. When he reached me, he grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes, making me feel awkward.
"Ryu-ah... just the person I was looking for," he said.
"I came back to finish some school work with Jisung-oppa," I told him.
"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to hang out with me on Saturday? Go to the movies? Dinner? Some other things earlier in the day?" he asked me.
"I'm not sure, NaNa," I told him. "First, Jisung and I have plans for Saturday. And second, even if I did feel comfortable asking him to reschedule, which I'm not, I'd need to get Appa's permission first."
"So how about Sunday?" he asked.
"I wouldn't be able to hang out as late, but I could ask Appa," I replied.
"Let me know," he said, smirking, as he leaned over and kissed my cheek.
NaNa walked away and I felt weird. Suddenly, I didn't want to talk to Appa about Sunday. I trusted Jaemin, so I knew he wouldn't hurt me, but I felt like there was something more to what was going on that I didn't get yet. When I heard the door to the Dreamies' practice room slam, I knew I was right about my feelings.
"Jisung? What's wrong?" I asked my best friend.
"When were you going to tell me about you and my roommate, Ryung-gi?" he asked, venom in his words.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.
"I saw him kiss your cheek. He told me he was going to ask you out for Saturday. You told him yes, didn't you?" he asked, angrily.
Now, I understood. Jisung thought I was turning away from him for NaNa.
"I told NaNa that I was busy on Saturday, Jisung... with you. I told him even if I was comfortable rescheduling with you, which I made clear I wasn't, I would need to clear hanging out with him alone with Appa," I replied. "I didn't blow off our plans, Jisung-ie. I promise."
"Than why did he seem so pleased when he walked away?"
"He asked if we could meet on Sunday. I told him I could ask Appa, but I wouldn't be able to hang out as long as I would on a Saturday. But I..." I started, but Jisung cut me off.
"Don't trust him, Ryu-ah. He's playing with you."
"What?" I asked him in shock.
"NaNa likes to play with girls. The company lets him because they like the bad boy image he's built up. He's the one member of Dream who doesn't still have that squeaky clean image and he's changed it by himself. Please, Ryu-ah, don't become another one of his conquests," he said to me.
"I've known you and Jaemin the same amount of time, Jisung," I said, feeling weird in the position I was in.
"You know me better," he replied, coming closer to me, gently grabbing my arms. "We've spent more time together than you have with almost anyone else outside of BTS, Ryu-ah. Please, trust me now."
"I do trust you, Jisung," I admitted. "But I'm confused. I don't understand why you're so angry or why Jaemin would want to hurt me."
"I don't know if he actually wants to hurt you, Ryu. It just happens after a while with the girls he's dated," Jisung told me. "But I can't let him hurt you. You're my best friend. I won't let anyone hurt you."
He pulled me into a hug and I felt safe in his arms, like always.
"Jisung!" Renjun came out of the practice room and yelled at him.
"Hyung?" Jisung asked innocently while still holding me.
Renjun smirked at the two of us.
"We're heading back to the dorm. If you don't leave with us, you're going to have to find another way back," Renjun told him.
"I can ask Johnny," I spoke up. "He volunteered to bring me home."
"Yup, I did," Johnny said, coming from the direction I did not long before. "What's with all the yelling down here?"
"Oppa, would you mind dropping Jisung at the dorm after we finish? The rest of Dream are heading back to the dorm now," I explained.
"If you tell me what the yelling was about, Ryung-gi," Johnny countered.
Jisung and I looked at each other. He shook his head. I hated this.
"I'm coming, Hyung," Jisung said to Renjun, giving me another hug, whispering to me. "We'll talk more on Saturday. Don't ask Jin about Jaemin."
I nodded at him, trying to hide the tears of frustration. After he walked into the practice room, I looked to Johnny.
"I'll just work on some of my reading until NCT127 is done for the night," I told him. "This way, you don't miss practice."
"Ryu-ah," Johnny said. "I just wanted to..."
"It's okay, Oppa," I said, looking at the Dream practice room as I walked past it. "You didn't do anything wrong."
I kept walking until we walked into Chanyeol, who was getting ready to head out with Baekhyun. He looked from me to Johnny and back. Then he took my backpack, tossed it to Baekhyun, before picking me up and walking away.
"Where are you taking her?!" Johnny demanded.
"Outta here, Hoobae!" Chanyeol said laughing.
"We've got her, Johnny," Baekhyun told him, still laughing. "If Jin calls, tell him we'll have her home in the next few hours."
I heard Johnny groan and stomp away. We got into Chanyeol's car and I found Sehun already there. He looked at me in surprise.
"We picked up a stowaway?" he asked, smirking at me.
"More like Chanyeol picked up a hostage. He literally just picked me up and carried me away from Johnny," I told him.
"She's upset, looked like she was going to cry. I'm not sending her home like that," Chanyeol defended himself. "Besides, Lay, Chen, and Xiumin would be pissed at all of us if they found out that we did. Think about how much she helped EXO-M and then what she went through as Luhan and Tao left."
I looked at my hands and Baekhyun head slapped Chanyeol for bringing it up. Sehun, who was in the backseat, brought me closer to him so he could hug me. I took a few deep breaths, remembering I could contact Kris, Luhan, Tao, and even Lay anytime I wanted, that I knew they all cared about me, so I wouldn't let my depression over the implosion of EXO-M bring me back to a bad place. Besides, something good had come of it. Lay, Chen, and Xiumin had that huge concert event for me and I met so many other idols when they tried to cheer me up. I hugged Sehun back and moved back to where I was sitting, buckling up.
The guys took me out to a movie after calling Appa and telling him they found me with Johnny looking upset. Appa didn't want to agree at first, but when Chanyeol told him I looked like I had wanted to cry when I was talking to Johnny, Appa said he'd extend my curfew. When the movie was over, I was in a better mood, but still confused about what was going on with Jisung and NaNa.
"Thanks for everything tonight, Oppas," I told them as we got into the car after we picked up snacks on the way home. "It helped calm me down."
"Do you want to talk, Ryu-ah?" Sehun asked me from the other side of the backseat.
I shook my head.
"I still don't really understand what's going on, Oppa. I need a few days to try to wrap my head around it before I can fully understand what I'm in the middle of," I explained.
"In the middle of?" Chanyeol asked.
"Just an argument I wound up in the middle of with some of my friends," I explained. "I'm being asked to pick sides and I don't really know what the issue is."
I saw the guys giving each other a knowing look before looking at me. They didn't say anything though. I'm glad they didn't. We reached home and Appa was waiting outside for me.
"Sehun, walk her to the door?" Baekhyun asked. "And carry her backpack."
"No problem," Sehun said, grabbing my backpack. "Come on Ryu-ah."
When we got to Appa, he handed Appa my backpack and bowed to him.
"Thanks for letting her come with us, Jin-hyung," Sehun said. "I didn't know until Chanyeol and Baekhyun just put her in the car, but it was clear she was upset before and she's feeling better now."
Appa bowed to Sehun.
"I'm grateful EXO has always been there for Ryu-ah, but I wish it wasn't so late on a school night," Appa replied to him.
"Mianhae, Hyung," Sehun apologized. "We'll hopefully never find her this upset this late again so this won't be an issue."
Sehun gave me a hug goodnight and I went into the house with Appa.
Jin's POV:
"Are you hungry?" I asked Ryung-gi.
"No, I had dinner with VIXX and snacks at the cinema. After that we stopped for snacks on the way home. But thanks, Appa," she replied with a smile.
"Ryu-ah, why were you upset?"
"Can we talk about this in a few days?" she asked, looking at her feet.
"Give me a reason to wait."
"I don't have the whole story of what's going on, Appa," she said. "Jisung told me he'd tell me when we hung out on Saturday. So, can we wait until after that to have this conversation? And if any members of Dream other than Chenle or Jisung ask to hang out with me before we talk, tell them I'm only allowed to spend time with classmates and people you know pretty well right now?"
"Why don't you want to see any of the other members of Dream?"
"Something happened with them tonight. I don't know what exactly, but I'm being pulled into it and I don't know everything. I'm not comfortable with it, Appa," she explained. "But that's why I'll talk to Jisung and Chenle, I know them better at this point. They'll tell me everything. I'm going to talk to Chenle before I talk to Jisung to find out anything Jisung doesn't say, to get the whole story. Then I'll tell you everything, Appa. I promise. It's just after hearing arguing, but not what the arguing was about coming from their practice room and what happened after, being basically told to choose sides, I'm uncomfortable right now."
"What about studying?"
"If Jisung can't study here, I'll study with Beomgyu and Taehyun. Anything I need Jisung for will have to be taken out of the time I usually see everyone in the mornings until this is straightened out."
I could see she was uncomfortable even telling me this much. Ryu-ah hadn't stopped fidgeting since I asked her what was going on. On top of it, she was having trouble looking me in the eye. She never had a problem with that, even when she was upset, so this situation must've been very awkward and uncomfortable for her. She was acting like Kookie when he was a trainee and first debuted, very shy... and Kim Ryung-gi was anything but shy.
"Okay, Ryu-ah," I told her. "I'll wait to talk to you about this. Honestly, if you want to talk to anyone before that here, Kookie was uncomfortable with a lot of things when all of this first started. And you know that Yoongi has serious anxiety issues that he works hard to keep in check. They may be able to help you sort through what is on your mind before you come back to me. I'll wait a little longer if you need their help before you feel like you can speak to me."
"Thanks, Appa," she said, finally looking me in the eyes. "Do you mind if I wash up and go to bed now? I'm kinda tired."
"If all of your assignments are done? Go ahead."
She bowed to me.
"Rest well, Ryu-ah."