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Promotions for XLOV's newest comeback has finally concluded, and it was the group's most successful comeback yet. Not only did they sell more copies of their albums than they ever have before, but they achieved their dream of winning their first music show award! It felt so surreal to see themselves receive the most points and hear them be announced the winner. Each member gave a short speech in gratitude as they tried not to break down into tears on live television. They saved it for when they got back into their dressing room, where Wumuti certainly let the waterworks flow as she hugged all her coworkers tightly. Hyun, Rui, and Haru all followed suit in crying as they had their group hug. It was a moment for all of them to feel accomplished and emotional, as the members would never have thought they would see the day where they got on stage and win a trophy.
By the end of promotions, everyone just felt drained. The group did a multi-country tour, a comeback, and fan events for weeks to months straight. It was about damn time that they should take some time to themselves before one of them ends up straining themselves. On Bubble, Wumuti took to her personalized channel to address fans:
"Hello, dear evols! Thank you SO MUCH for your everlasting support. With every one of your guys' help, XLOV has officially gotten our first win! It's honestly a crazy feeling, how just two years ago I was finding Hyun, Rui, and Haru to make a group together and now we're here. It means the world to us that you have stayed around with us for so long, especially those who came to the tour. That being said, we have decided now would be a good time to take some time off and recharge. We'll still do livestreams every now and then, but rest is very important! Again, thank you for everything! Love you, EVOLs!
- 🐰❤️"
Once back in their dorm, the full weight of everything finally dropped on all four members. Haru and Rui were the first two to fall onto the couch with a collective "oof" as Hyun sat back in a separate armchair.
"Hhhhhugh… I feel so worn ooouuut…" Rui whined, her body slightly sore from all the back-bending and tricks she had to do repeatedly over the days.
"You're telling me," Hyun joined in, "I need some more water, and more food. I feel like I haven't eaten all day."
Haru also said something, but it was muffled because he had his face in the couch's cushion so Lavenderz couldn't hear him.
"What…?-"
"What was that?"
He lifted his head up and repeated himself, "You two can stay here if you want to, but I'm ready to get out of these clothes and shower."
Ah, yes, all of them are still in their attire from their last fan meeting. It was casual enough, but considering it was nearing nighttime, they might as well freshen up.
. . .
After everyone's had their showers and changed into pajamas, everyone except Wumuti returned back to the living room to watch television together. Rui cuddled up to Hyun on the couch, softly placing her head under the tanned member's chin. Hyun didn't mind it, wrapping his arm around Rui's waist and pulled her in to keep her close. The two were secretly dating but played it off as fan-service so the company wouldn't catch on. Obviously Wumuti and Haru knew and were supportive, but Hyun was conscious about Haru not exactly liking when they express PDA around him. He couldn't tell if Haru was genuinely uncomfortable or express disgust jokingly. Meanwhile, Haru heated themselves up some ramen in a bowl and ate while his eyes were glued to the television screen. It was some k-drama playing, which the trio were in and out of paying attention to as they would make conversations with each other.
Wumuti soon emerged from her room, joining the others as she sat in an armchair with a notebook in her hold. Without a word, she opened the book and started writing in it. The other three members took notice, and Haru, being the closest to the leader, spoke up first,
"Hey, Muti. What's that?"
"Hm?" She looked up at her friends who all looked back at her before responding, "Ah, I'm thinking of ideas for our next comeback."
Hyun did a double take, "Wh- Now??? We just finished promoting our newest songs and you're already planning the next one??"
"What happened to taking a break?", Haru chimed in.
"I know, I know what I said- But I just thought of something and need to write it down before I lose it. I'm thinking our next song should definitely be more emotionally-driven, like a story… maybe a love story and heartbreak…"
Yeah, the creativity was definitely hitting Wumuti at the moment, and she nodded to herself as she wrote it down. It was nice to see her creative side, but now was not the time for brainstorming. It was the time for brain-resetting.
"C'mooon, Muti!", Haru pleaded. "Put the notebook down and watch some TV with us. That one show you like is about to come on."
But Wumuti refused, "Hold on, I just got another."
Surely this was not about to fly with the other members. It just didn't feel far and they didn't want to risk the leader straining herself. Thinking quickly, Rui placed her finger against her own lips towards Hyun in a 'hush' signal before she began silently getting off the couch and making her way towards Wumuti. Butterflies move quietly, when Rui had no issue going up in front of Wumuti as she asked inquisitively.
Hey, what's that over there?"
The dancer pointed somewhere behind Wumuti, making her instinctively turn her head and look back.
"Huh?"
Seizing the moment, Rui quickly grabbed the notebook from Wumuti with a verbal and playful 'yoink' before running off with it, catching the other off guard.
"Hey…!"
The Taiwanese princess giggled, "Sorry, Muti~! But this is a time for relaxation. You can get back to writing later, so just relaaaaax~"
"But-"
""But" nothing." Hyun joined back in, his voice sounding more stern, "C'mon, you worked really hard to make all of our music and make sure everything is perfect and we're happy. Give yourself a break, you deserve it."
Haru nodded, their mouth currently having food in it as they spoke, "Yeah, we wouldn't be here without you. So, if we're resting, you should to."
At that point Wumuti was silent, taking in what each member said. She knows they care about her, but did they really cared this much about her well-being? To make sure she doesn't push herself harder than she needs to and accidentally face burnout? It was honestly sweet of them.
So she accepted it and sat in her chair, watching the television while giving glimpses of Rui and Hyun cuddling and Haru eating and going through their phone. The atmosphere between the four was quiet and still, but it was the right setting where they could all live and co-exist in comfortable silence. Wumuti nearly dozed off when she felt her phone buzzed, stirring her back awake as she pulls it out and checked her messages.
"Oh- Guys, the Mr. Park sent me a message. He says he congratulates us on getting on first win and he offered to take us out to dinner to celebrate!"
Rui lit up, taking her head off of Hyun's shoulder at the sound of a free dinner. "Mr. Park taking us out to dinner? Ahhh, he's so nice… Can we go to Kimbap Cheonguk? I could go for some kimbap…"
"Mm, I can get ramen." Haru nodded.
"But that place doesn't have the skate soup I like…" Hyun pouted, to which Rui wittingly replied, "Don't worry, honey, you can have me instead~"
She then proceeded to make a kissing gesture at Hyun, making the tall vocalist's tanned face go red as he quickly used his hand to push Rui away playfully.
"Oh, knock it off!"
The four of them laugh at the poor Hyun as they took the night slow, knowing they won't have to worry about dance practices and recording sessions for a bit. They continued talking amongst each other with topics that were dumb and meaningless to talk about, but they didn't care. It was meaningful to them and that's all that mattered.
Maybe Wumuti made the right choice in the members for this group. Because they weren't just coworkers or friends, they were family.