Archive of Our Own

*buzz*

My eyes slowly opened at the sound of a low vibration coming from the middle of the hotel room. A blue glow cut through the darkness and it only took me a second to realize it was the light from a phone screen. Assuming it was mine, I knew it was a text message considering I had turned off all other miscellaneous notifications (otherwise I would've been swarmed with the millions of messages and likes from my social media accounts: one of the many things that came with being famous).

For a moment my heart rate picked up. With it being the middle of the night, my mind instinctively jumped to dangerous conclusions. The girls and I were on tour and anytime we were away from our home, I always worried about their safety. The threat of overly obsessive fans and psychotic haters never left the back of my mind: another sad reality that came with being famous.

After I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, I started to carefully remove Handong's arm from around my waist. Watching her beautiful face (that looked quite peaceful in her slumber), I tried to make sure my movements wouldn't wake her. Handong often got overwhelmed by homesickness, especially on faraway tours, and would sneak into my and Dami's shared room just to cuddle with me, insisting that she couldn't fall asleep all by herself. I knew her missing home was only part of the reason and she really just wanted more alone time with me, but I never minded anyways.

Being in a relationship with my members and trying to prioritize each of them wasn't exactly easy, but I quickly came to realize that it was just as hard for them having to share 1 girl with 6 others. They all agreed they wouldn't get jealous, but I knew, deep down, they wished they didn't have to limit their time with me simply to be fair to the others. There were always bound to be moments when one of them wanted to spend time with me but I would be preoccupied with another member. It's times like those when I wished there were 7 of me.

Right now, however, as much as I wanted to roll back over into Dongie's warm, comforting embrace and fall asleep for the rest of the night, I knew there was only 1 of me and I had a feeling someone else was in need of my attention. So I shifted in the bed and blindly reached for the cellphone that had turned off a couple seconds after the notification had been received. Once I managed to find it, my finger touched the screen, making it light up once again and causing me to squint at its brightness.

Against the full group picture of us hugging on the Show Champion stage during our first win that I had set as my lockscreen, I saw a messenger notification from the contact name "Yooh🐶💜". Yoohyeon. I unlocked my phone to read the message immediately, wondering why she would be texting me so late. After I read her message, I quickly sent a reply, my mind still imagining the worst.

Yooh🐶💜
u still awake?
2:46 a.m.

Yooh🐶💜
i don't like being alone
2:49 a.m.

Yooh🐶💜
she went to stay with singnie
2:50 a.m.

Yooh🐶💜
please 🥺
2:50 a.m.

I felt my heart clench in my chest as I read her last text. She probably wouldn't admit it because she was embarrassed by it, but she was afraid of being alone in the dark. I got to learn this pretty quickly whenever Bora wasn't there in the dorms and Yoohyeon would go sleep in another member's room. Just like with Handong, I didn't mind at all. In fact, I found it to be one of the many charming things about her. People might say being afraid of the dark was childish, but really it just showed how much she valued other people for comfort.

Looking back at the member laying in my bed and seeing her chest rise and fall in an even rhythm, I decided that she would be okay here if I left her. It wasn't like she was alone, she had Dami in the bed across the room, and I knew she would be able to sleep through the night. Once she was asleep, she didn't wake until morning. Although she'd wake up without me, I knew she would understand why I left.

On my way out, I slipped some shoes and a sleeveless hoodie on so that I wouldn't be barefoot and half naked walking through the hotel hallway. Once the door was quietly and securely closed behind me, I made my way across the hall. Remembering the room number, I stood in front of what I was sure was the correct door and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I didn't want to knock on the door just in case it scared her, so I sent her a text instead.

As if she had been waiting right on the other side, the door opened almost instantly to reveal the tall, puppy-like member. She looked a little pitiful with messy hair, a hint of dark circles around her eyes, and a cute pout on her lips. Yet her eyes seemed to glow with a tint of happiness when she finally saw me and that alone was enough to make me feel loved.

Dropping my phone into my shorts pocket, I stepped forward with my arms outstretched and she instantly melted into me, hers wrapping around my stomach. "Can't sleep, babygirl?" I asked lowly in English before giving her a kiss on the top of her head. Moving more into the room, I used my foot to make sure the door closed softly behind me.

"Yes." She hummed in Korean, tightening her hold around me and laying her head on my shoulder. My heart pounded in my chest like it did any time any of them were close to me. Even after 6 years with them, they still drove me just as crazy as the first day I met them.

My fingers instinctively ran through her hair, something I knew comforted her, while I allowed my eyes to examine the room in front of me. One of the beds was in perfect shape and the other was messy. I guess Sua hadn't even touched the bed after it was made this morning. I didn't find it unusual though, the three oldest members often spent time together. Surely Sua didn't want to come back and risk waking Yoohyeon up, so she just stayed in Minji and Siyeon's room. Directly to my left the door to the bathroom was slightly ajar with the only source of light in the room beaming through the gap. I had a feeling Yoohyeon had left it on since sundown so that the room wasn't completely dark.

"Were you scared?" I asked gently.

She pulled back from me and looked into my eyes, the pout still on her face making her cheeks look squishy. She nodded her head.

I grabbed her hands and interlocked her fingers with mine so that I could pull her closer. Giving her a soft kiss on the cheek, I mumbled, "You should've told me sooner. I didn't know you were alone."

Her lips creased into a line before she started talking. "I kept thinking Bora unnie was gonna come back and by the time I realized she wasn't, it was so late, I didn't wanna text you in case you were asleep." She sighed, looking down at our hands while swinging them back and forth. "I tried to sleep for a while but I couldn't. And then I started overthinking and freaking myself out over every little noise I heard. So that's why I texted you." She looked up at me in a way that resembled a puppy dog begging for a human's affection.

I smiled sadly and released her hands to place mine on her cheeks, "I'm sorry baby." I knew how bad it got sometimes and I hated thinking she felt so alone during all of it. "Next time tell me sooner, okay?" My thumbs rubbed across the soft skin of her cheeks making her lean into my touch.

"Okay." She whispered.

I took one hand off her face and raised my pinky in front of her. "Promise?"

Her face lit up with a small smile and she reciprocated my action, linking her pinky with mine. "Promise." I smiled at her and then we both kissed our own fists, sealing the promise.

When I took mine away, she leaned forward, grabbing my neck and pulling me into a kiss. I immediately kissed back, capturing her bottom lip between mine. After a few moments, she pulled back and leaned her forehead against mine so that our noses were touching. I held onto her arms and I could feel her heart hammering in the pulse in her wrist. When I opened my eyes, hers were staring right back into mine, making the butterflies stir in my stomach.

I couldn't resist, so I tilted my head one more time and gave her another long kiss that she was eager to accept. My lips were a few centimeters away from hers when I whispered, "let's get you to sleep, huh?" She smiled and gave me one final peck before agreeing.

As she started to lead me over with her hand tugging mine, I stopped for a moment and she looked back. "Is it okay if I turn this off?" My finger pointed towards the cracked bathroom door where the light was pouring out of. She was hesitant, so I reassured her, "I'll be here with you all night. I won't leave. Promise." I finished with a squeeze of her hand.

My words caused her to smile, "Ok," and she let go of my hand, allowing me to turn back to flip the light switch off. The room instantly grew dark and I felt her reach for my hand again. I grabbed hers and interlocked our fingers, walking towards her. She held onto my arm and slowly guided me to her bed, careful not to run into anything.

I laid down first after taking my shoes off and Yoohyeon immediately got in behind me. Once I got settled on my back, she scooted in closer, wrapping her arms and legs around me, her hands clutching my hoodie, and nuzzling her nose into the crook of my neck. I pulled her impossibly closer, hugging her around her shoulders and pulling the covers over both of us.

She let out a content sigh, "I love you." Her voice was small, but I could tell she truly meant it.

"I love you, too." I replied and soon enough she was drifting off into the much-needed sleep she couldn't get without someone she loved by her side. As much as I would've loved to stay awake all night just to experience the feeling of her sleeping peacefully on top of me, I eventually let the exhaustion take over my body. After closing my eyes, my breathing fell into rhythm with hers, the only thought on my mind being how much I looked forward to waking up with the girl I loved in my arms.