passing out,
mentions of suicidal thoughts (not really)

november, 2022.

the survival program was tough enough for the asakura boy, yet training to finally make his debut with his new group proved itself a hundred times tougher.

he knew it'd be a challenge debuting under one of the biggest, most successful entertainment companies in asia — the years of training in his homeland seemingly weren't enough in teaching him to handle the pressure and stress that'd come with living in a new, unfamiliar country with teammates he hardly knew. it was all so new to him.

sure, he'd quickly gotten used to being around the loud group of eight.. but he couldn't find that one person to run to when he needed a shoulder to cry on.

the boy was locked in a practice room, hours had passed of his isolation. he knew he was good enough to not make their team behind, he just needed some alone time. he couldn't let the others see him like this.

jo was homesick. he so desperately needed to be back in japan — so desperately needed to cry the tears being restricted, needed to relieve the stinging ache bubbling in his throat.

he froze as the doorknob began to shake, lowering the volume of the speakers as the door to the room right beside his was opened and closed again. a girl's voice echoed through the room, a girl speaking in both english and japanese. his eyes widened, he knew exactly who it was — he hadn't at all planned to officially meet misaki like this.

jo had been observing the girl for a while, amazed with her situation and how professionally she'd dealt with it all. he didn't know how she'd done it, he knew he himself would've given up on his dream after having an accident as traumatic as she'd had.

he knew he, himself, wouldn't have been living if he'd had an accident as traumatic as she'd had.

yet here she was — part of the group leading the fourth generation of k-pop. here she was, always putting on spectacular performances, seeming non-human as she never, ever let her tiredness show to the public.

he looked up to the girl, to say the very least. he'd always wished to grow a close relationship with her, yet with her busy schedule and his slowly picking up it's pace, he hadn't gotten the chance to.

he sighed as she ended her phone call and connected to the speakers, txt's presumable next title track now blasting through her practice space. he looked down at his clammy hands, shaking his head as he shied away from his idol, like always.

he increased the volume just a few clicks up, zoning back into his individual practice time.

nearly an entire hour had passed, and jo hadn't taken a break once. mia heard the repeated, countless steps next door - increasingly becoming more and more worried as she'd even taken multiple breaks because of her currently weakened stamina. she found a sliver of the shared mirror that'd been divided with walls covered in soundproof boards - finally catching sight of the hardworking company mate next door. she saw the boy's fair skin, recognizing jo's shiny black hair. she softly smiled, happy to see the company slowly growing with talented idols.

she sat on the floor, heavily breathing as the choreography paired with the high-energy song was proving itself more difficult than normal. the remained close to the small sliver she'd found, discreetly keeping an eye on jo as he continued his practice. mia wondered if the boy ever got tired - she'd been supporting the new group since their survival show had been announced to the company, never missing a broadcast or a voting period. jo had been one of her picks, if she was being honest.

misaki'd never had the chance to have a younger brother - and, besides her own members, she saw &team as her chance to experience it. she didn't know what it was, however, if she could take a guess, she'd say it was the familiarity with moving to a foreign country and not knowing how it would go for her.

she watched as the boy's movements slowly became more and more sloppy, feelings of worry bubbling through her insides. she knew the scene all too well, she'd lived through it more times than she'd like to admit. she slowly made her way over to jo's room, the boy so exhausted he hadn't realized the added presence in the space. she walked up behind the boy, arms extended at the exact moment he fell unconscious. mia caught the boy in her grasp, sitting as she held his limp body. he was drenched in sweat, yet was freezing cold to the touch. she brushed the dampened hair away from his forehead, combing the strands back with her manicured fingers.

she sat there for a second before tapping on the 'touch' bracelet she and the members shared, quickly hearing hurried footsteps from outside the practice room she'd reserved. a body slammed itself through the doorway, "MISAKI?" sounding over the paneled wall. soobin.

"in here, oppa," she shouted back, the boy jogging towards the next room over, eyes widening upon seeing her and the younger japanese boy on the floor. "what happened, mi?"

she shrugged her shoulders, fingers still continuing their movements as she looked down at the boy yet again. "overworked himself. he never stopped dancing. it was a really long time,"

soobin frowned, he, too, having seen this one too many times. "i'll call the medic,"

the nurses at hybe were quick to take the boy to the clinic, checking him out with their standard procedures for this situation. mia sat close by the entire time, having remembered seeing all nine &team member's names taking up the practice room reservation times — she could take care of this for them.

time passed before the boy began to shuffle around on the bed, misaki's attention having peaked at this. her eyes moved to his curled up body, watching as his eyes slowly opened, somewhat struggling to adjust to the bright lighting.

jo lifted his head once he'd registered where he was - confused as to how he'd arrived there. his eyes widened as he saw the all too familiar figure looking right back at him, dropping his head back down on the bed. misaki softly chuckled, jo's cheeks now glowing a bright pink color. he heard shuffling, then footsteps. he held his breath as the footsteps grew closer, wondering if a nurse had silently entered the space without him noticing.

sooner than he'd liked, his eyes once again locked with ono's. now he really couldn't avoid her.

"the nurse asked me to give you your medicine.. can i?" she asked in their native language, the boy's beating heart calming down with her comforting tone. he softly nodded, sitting up in a slow pace as the girl's hand ghosted behind his back, being there in case he fell. she handed him the medicine, uncapping the mini bottle of water to accompany the bitter liquid. she watched as he flushed it down, softly smiling as he sighed. "the taste is just as bad as the first time," he lowly spoke, throat sore for whatever reason. she chuckled again, taking the water back when he returned it. "it never gets better, trust me,"

she placed the bottle on the bedside table, stepping back from the bed. she bowed, the boy waving his hands as a refusal, "it's nice to finally meet you, jo, i'm misaki,"

as deep as he could manage, the boy returned her greeting. "i've been a big fan for years, it's very nice to meet you, misaki senior,"

she softly smiled. "i voted for you a lot, i'm also a big fan of yours. you're very talented,"

he looked down as pink spread around his ears, the girl giggling at the sight. "i'm sorry for catching you so off guard and for this being the way we finally meet.. i was next door and saw you losing consciousness.. me and soobin 오빠 brought you here," she explained, the boy bowing his head again.

"thank you, senior," 

"jo," she called out, the boy shyly looking back up, hesitant to lock eyes with the girl. "yes?"

"you can call me noona," she said, softly smiling, "i can be here for you, if you ever miss japan or are just sad, you can come to me, okay?"

he returned the expression to the girl, whispering "misaki noona," under his breath, the girl nodding.

he nodded again, looking down as he twiddled his fingers together. he was very clearly nervous, she could feel the emotion radiating from him. she gently reached for his hands, halting their anxious movements. "anything, okay? even now,"

he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes, a pool of tears growing under each of his eyes. he sniffled a bit, shakily taking a deep breath in. "thank you, noona. really," he paused, finally meeting her comforting gaze. "i needed someone like that, thank you."

♡♡♡♡♡♡,  完成!
+ rushed ending omg i didn't know how
to end it </3
++ finally for all my fellow lunè <3
who's your &team bias???