july, 2020

quarantine had been hard on Mia, considering the time she'd been forced to spend with the boys the past year and a half was only extended thanks to the harsh laws placed in the country.

isolation meant her brain started working overtime, inevitably bringing her back to the worst night of her life.

her body began to shake in the fetal position she'd put herself in during her nap, breathing heavy.

the lights from the car flashed before her eyes, regrets of not doing something to stop the girls from getting hurt following not too long after.

the door to her shared room was wide open, the group's leader the only one home with her. SooBin was in the kitchen when he heard a small whimper coming from the room, ears perking up in alert when he remembered Mia'd mentioned something about being exhausted earlier.

the boy carefully stood from his chair, silently making his way to the middle children's shared room as to not accidentally wake her out of her sleep. SooBin peeked inside, eyes widened as he came across Mia's trembling body.

tears poured from the girl's eyes with no foreseeable end, forehead wrinkled as the deafening sounds rang through her ears as well.

SooBin knew he couldn't let this go on for any longer – he'd hate himself for life if he forced himself to hear the girl he cared so much about cry for even a second longer.

surprisingly he did. they'd shared a minimal amount of words in the time they'd shared as members, outside of the public's eye. SooBin had undoubtedly been the most understanding with Mia's reluctant attitude towards opening up to them. he wanted to be comfortable with her, but he knew he wouldn't ever be able to force her to do something she was uncomfortable with — so he was patient.

until now. he never knew how comfortable she was with skinship — yet he remembered the one time Ara'd briefly mentioned how she often woke the girl with head massages when she had nightmares. might as well

the boy once again took silent steps towards the girl's bed, slowly crouching beside her laying figure before hesitantly raising his arm to allow his hand to rest in her long hair.

his fingers soon began to move along her scalp, the boy unknowingly holding his breath as he watched for her reaction.

as if the action held some sort of magic for the girl, Mia's breathing slowly began to normalize as the tears noticably began to diminish. he softly smiled as he felt her subconsciously lean towards his touch, feeling his cheeks burn with a faint tint of pink.

it took a few moments more for the girl to zone back into reality, the smell of the insence BeomGyu'd been so persistent on burning for a better sleep in the room luring her into the comforting presence of her current home.

little did she know the youngest Choi had spent hours researching what scents were clinically proven to help with resolving night terrors and which ones were linked with comfort, all for her.

she let out a nearly silent mumble, "언니?"

SooBin softly chuckled, finally letting the breath he'd been holding out. "Mia.. it's me,"

the male's voice made her want to freeze in her spot, terrified at which of the members were the witnesses of her worst terror by far. she reluctantly opened her eyes, meeting gazes with the bunny-like leader.

SooBin noticed how she hadn't showed any dislikeness towards his actions, opting to continue with the comforting motions. "you okay?"

Mia refused to tear her eyes from his own, deciding her contemplation of whether or not opening to at least one of the boys would be the right thing to do finally needed to come to an end — knowing she needed to conquer her fears sooner or later.

she shook her head no, despite still being deep in her pillow.

"wanna.. talk?" SooBin asked, hoping his broken English would be enough to bring her even a sliver of comfort.

SooBin's heart pounded with happiness once he saw the small smile which flashed on the girl's lips, realizing he was finally gonna get to say something more than the typical how are you and are you ready he'd been accustomed to the past however long.

she sighed, obviously hesitant on speaking.
"what's wrong?" he asked, still looking into her eyes.

"can you.." she trailed off, voice hoarse as the nightmare proved itself harmful to everywhere else in addition to her heart. the girl lifted the side of her comforter, tearing her gaze away for the first time as she felt somewhat regretful of the request immediately after asking.

her heart mended itself back upon hearing the boy's soft giggle, her cheeks slightly puffing up as she smiled, looking up to see him laying beside her.

he propped himself further up, giving her room to adjust accordingly. Misaki silently asked if she could wrap her arms around his torso, the leader happily accepting the offer as he gently did the same to her — causing her to feel at peace.

SooBin's hand moved up to massage through her scalp once again, the action only encouraging the girl to follow through with her initial plan.

"what do you want to know, SooBin-씨?"

the formalities she refused to let go of somewhat stung the boy in the chest, though he knew it'd take some time to adjust. "first, please.. call me 오빠. we've lived with eachother long enough, haven't we?"

she softly chuckled as the words slowly registered in her mind, nodding her head. "i'm sorry, 옵바," she said, her slightly off pronunciation causing the boy to giggle. "it's okay, Mia. no need to apologize,"

"you can tell me whatever you're comfortable with.. you have all the time in the world to tell me whatever you want to share, i'll always be here to listen."

the tone with which he spoke was one she'd only heard from Ara — caring, but stern. loving, yet harsh. demanding, yet oh-so soft. it made her want to cry.

she let out a small breath, closing her eyes. "you know.. CØSMIC?"

"yes,"

she let out yet another breath, SooBin able to her the small hitch in it before she quietly spoke. "i miss them,"

he stayed silent, unknowing of what to say. the comforting movement of his fingers let her know he was listening, though.

"the girls.. were everything to me, and losing them.. i lost myself, too,"

her choppy yet heartfelt sentences made SooBin's heart break more with each passing moment, completely unable to understand how the girl was feeling.

he didn't know what he'd do with himself if he were ever in her place, yet he knew it was a feeling no one should ever have to go through.

it felt right when SooBin leaned his face downward to connect his lips with the crown of the girl's head — just like it felt right for Misaki to tighten her hold around the boy as she felt him doing so.

"i won't ever know what you're feeling.. but i promise, Misaki.. i'll do everything in my power to help you feel better.

i'm sorry i haven't made the effort to talk with you, and treat you like i do the boys.. i didn't want to push you away with how clingy i can get. i'll be as close to you as you let me, however you're comfortable. just tell me and i'll do it,"

Misaki nodded, the boy feeling her cheeks puff up as she brightly smiled.

"i'm sorry i'm not.. easy.. to work with," she began, slowly speaking as to use all possible brain power to make an appropriate sentence. "i'll work harder to be a better member. thank you, 옵바,"

her still off-pronunciation caused yet another giggle to sound from the boy's lips, putting a smile on Misaki's face once more.

"i'll be here for you, Mia. i promise,"

♡♡♡♡♡♡,  完成!
+ waa and they're finally friends :o