(i know in the prologue i stated that the company that bright stars was going to be under was up to you, but let's just say they're under yg)
my birthday week was over, meaning schedules resume, reality following along.
i woke up and of course checked my phone to see nothing but hate comments and dms.
i had no clue where the sudden outbreak of hate was coming from, but once i saw death threats after death threats, i set my phone down and headed to the bathroom.
locking the door, i leaned against it and slowly fell down crying. at eighteen, i should not be getting these type of things. i should not have to be scared for my life. no one should.
*knock*
"who's in there? are you okay?" a voice asked.
no response.
"open up the door"
no response.
"i said open up the door or i'm breaking it down"
i unlocked the door and opened it to see heeyoung. seeing that i was crying, she pouted and engulfed me in a hug.
"shh it's okay. let it all out and then you can tell me what's wrong. shh," heeyoung said calmly, rubbing my back.
sooner than later, all the girls came out of their rooms, hearing the crying. they brought me to the living room and tried to calm me down without being aware of the situation.
once my crying stopped, they all took turns asking if i was okay or what was wrong.
"haeun- it can't be because of the hate right? no. you always ignore those type of things, so yo-"
"it is because of that," i said, cutting naeun off.
"what? what hate comments? you didn't even do anything. why would you be gettin-"
"dispatch," i replied.
"aish. those sons of a b-"
"hEY- language aeri," heeyoung yelled.
she turned to me and held my hands, "haeun-ah. our precious baby. you are a beautiful, intelligent, talented, and precious human being. we don't deserve you, mashiho doesn't deserve you, no one deserves you. you are to perfect for this world. we don't want to see you like this. nothing will happen because we won't let it happen. we're here to love you, support you, cheer you on, and protect you, okay?"
i smiled at her words that cheered me up.
"right. ignore the people who hate on you. even if it feels like the world is against you, you will always have us. we love you and will always love you," chanhee added.
i let the words sink in and in a matter of seconds, i began laughing.
"what? why are you laughing now?"hana asked, confused.
"guys, mashiho oppa and i aren't even dating so what do you mean he doesn't deserve me?" i questioned, directing it to heeyoung.
"aish. is that all you can think about after the words of love we just gave you? you have that little boy in your mind all the time huh," heeyoung teased.
"n-no. i j-just .." i stuttered.
"okay okay. sorry to ruin the moment, but we have less than fifteen minutes to get ready for practice..." aeri interrupted.
with a few scoldings from the other girls, we all got ready and waited for the manager to come.
*time skip*
we finished practicing and were currently waiting for our manager and some of the members to get back with food and drinks.
some of the members were leaving the room to change, while the others were dancing for fun.
i went on my phone to check up on my parents and then decided to go clear up the notifications from the dms and comments.
bracing myself, i went and opened instagram and began looking at some comments.
i was confused when all i could see at first were birthday wishes and messages from fans. my confusion then turned into sadness when i scrolled down further and saw the hate comments.
taking the members' words into my mind, i felt better than i did in the morning when i first read the comments. that was until i saw the death threats and way more hurtful comments.
then i got a text message and clicked on it.
unknown
hey beautiful:3
you look hot in
that crop top
and sweatpants
unknown
why don't you
come out of the
practice room
so i can see you
better up
close?
my hands began to start shaking as memories of my past began to play in my mind.
*ding*
unknown
i know you're reading
this love. don't be shy
and come out. i won't
bite, but i might kill
unknown
i'm just kidding. i
wouldn't do that
to someone so so
precious would i?
what the heck?
i looked up to see if it was one of the members playing a prank, but they didn't seem to be noticing my frightened face.
unknown
c'mon haeun. baby
come out. you won't
like seeing me mad.
stop. this isn't okay.
"haeun are you okay? you're really pale," hana asked, running over to me.
"and you're shaking like crazy," chanhee added.
i gave the phone to them so they could see the cause of my reactions and their eyes both widened.
"WHAT? how do they know what you're wearing when-"
"i don't know but this isn't funny. do you think it could be the other members?" i cut off, clearly scared.
"no. definitely not. they know you can't handle things like this and they wouldn't joke like this," hana replied.
"chanhee, go get hyunsuk. they're in the practice room across from us."
chanhee left, while hana looked like she was typing something.
unknown
bad idea hana. i'd
suggest giving the
phone back to
haeun now. don't
try to be a hero.
"what the fu- freak? how do they-"
"haeun?! oh haeun," hyunsuk came in and hugged me tightly.
"stay calm. we'll get to the bottom of this okay baby sis? you're going to be safe. don't worry," he assured.
"where are your managers?" he asked, clearly angry.
"th-they went out to buy food," i replied.
"fine. i'll go get my manager. i'll be right back," he said, running across the hallway.
within a few seconds later, treasure's manager, hyunsuk, and mashiho came in.
when mashiho stepped in, i wanted to break down for some reason. i stood up and ran to him, hugging him tightly.
he didn't hesitate to hug me back, placing one arm around my waist, the other holding my head.
"i'm here. your brother is here. everything is going to be okay, angel. it's okay," he whispered.
i nodded into his chest, not letting go. no one has made me feel so safe the way mashiho does.
"haeun, can you come over here for a second?" the manager asked calmly.
seeing that i didn't budge, they all walked over to mashiho and i instead.
"i know it's scary haeun, but you're going to have to work with me okay?"
i lifted my head and nodded, still not letting go of mashiho. my arms were still wrapped around him while i was answering questions.
"i'll be taking your phone to the police station okay? i'm not sure if they're going to need you, but for now, you're staying at the building okay?" the manager asked.
i nodded.
"why don't you three girls go over to the practice room with the boys where there are staff for now? go over there until i come back or call," he stated.
without waiting for a response, treasure's manager left the room. hyunsuk, hana, chanhee, mashiho, and i headed over to the boy's practice room.
guessing that they saw the frightened state i was in, they didn't ask questions. instead, they all came to rub my back or gave me a sympathetic smile.
mashiho led me to a corner of the room where he let go of me and sat down, patting his legs.
taking the hint, i sat down between his legs and leaned against his body when he wrapped his arms around my waist, intertwining his hands with mine.
ever so often, i would feel mashiho place kisses on the top of my head and caress my hand.
he began humming a soft melody, which made me close my sleepy eyes.
"haeun-ah, i love you," he whispered.
unsure if he could see my reaction, i smiled softly at his words.