|JuHee's POV|
"Are you girls ready?" ChanHyuck asks as he peeks in the restaurant.
"Yes!" I chirp joyously as I move the gifts from my friends further down the table to make room for any new ones.
I wonder what ChaeRyeong got me. It's probably an album. We're always talking about our favorite albums. It could be snacks, too.
SoMi's gift could be clothes. SoMi always looks so pretty. She's really big into fashion. I really hope she gave me something special.
"MinHee!" The first girl comes rushing to me. She hands me a vitamin drink and smiles brightly.
"Thank you so much!" I gladly accept the drink and set it down before holding my hands out for hers.
"I heard about how sick you used to get and thought you'd need a vitamin drink after this." She mumbles as she struggles to make eye contact.
"Aw, it really means a lot. I've gotten a lot better over the years. I'm sure I'll be perfectly fine after the fan meet. I'm just glad I get to see you guys." I offer her a small wave as she heads toward the center of the room.
"MinHee." A tiny girl with blonde pigtails and bright blue eyes chirps as he mother holds her up to see me.
"You're so adorable! What's your name?" I ask as I take the tiny stuffed Olaf from her outstretched arms.
"Lily." She flashes me a toothy grin.
"It's so nice to meet you, Lily. You're so good at Korean. How old are you?" I ask, clueless as to how she managed to pick up the language so fast.
"I'm four today." Lily squirms in her mom's arms.
"Can I hold her?" I ask as circle around the table to get closer.
"Of course." Her mom willingly hands her off to me.
"I love you." Lily wraps her arms around me tightly and squeezes.
"I love you, too." I return her embrace before handing her back to her mom.
"It was so nice meeting you." Her mother picks up on the moving line behind them quickly.
"It was nice meeting you guys, too. Thank you so much for bringing her to see us!" I smile joyously at her mom as Lily buries her face in her mom's neck out of embarrassment.
I watch the two slip away as more and more fans begin to pile in. I smile and chat with each one of them, collecting more vitamins than I ever thought possible. Does everyone know about my past?
"Hey, JuHee." JongHo taps on my shoulder.
"Yea—it's you." I slap my hand over my mouth in shock. I didn't even notice he came and now he's standing next to me.
"This is for you—so is this." JongHo hands me a small white gift bag and a cute face mask.
"Thanks, you didn't have to." I quickly take the gifts from him and set them down on the table.
"The bag is from all of us, but the face mask is from me. Sun is always going on about how worried she is about you getting sick. I figured if you had a nice mask to wear she'd settle down a bit about it." JongHo scratches at the back of his neck.
"It means a lot, really. Can I—can I hug you again? I know I said I only needed one hug, but—" I mumble as I stare down at my feet.
"Of course. Why aren't you already hugging me?" JongHo teases as he pulls me in for a hug.
"Do you know who I want to hug the most?" I chirp as I take in his warm embrace.
"Who's that?" JongHo asks playfully as he pulls away.
"HongJoong. He's so tiny next to you guys." I chuckle as I remember each picture I've seen of his next to the members.
"I'll make sure to bring him next time. You can get as many hugs as you want." JongHo pats me on the shoulder before motioning toward the next fan coming my way.
"Hi, I'm so glad you came today." I immediately turn toward the fan, allowing JongHo to slip away.
"I was thrilled to come. When I found out you guys were doing this, I made arrangements to miss work. I had to come see you guys myself. The videos don't do you justice." The tall girl smiles preciously as she hands me a tiny stuffed bear.
"Thanks for coming. If you stay for the whole thing I think we're performing, too." I explain as she nods reassuringly as I hold my hands out for hers.
"Of course, I'm staying for the whole thing. I wouldn't miss it for anything." She takes my hands and lowers her head awkwardly.
"Be sure to watch closely when I'm up there, I'm planning something." I grin as I wave at her. She nods and slips away just like the others.
The rest of the fans go by in a blur. It feels so weird being here with them all. It's almost like it's all a dream. I never imagined I'd ever be able to do something like this. When I was little the doctors always went on and on about keeping me away from large groups of people. I didn't even get to attend school like normal kids until high school. Now I'm standing in front of a couple hundred people. They came to see me—to see us. They came to see Candi.
"While we start wrapping up, I'd appreciate it if you could all sit around the stage. We'll start moving the girls gifts up on stage and they'll open them there so everyone can see. Then we have a few special speakers. After that, the girls will have about an hour to do whatever they want with you guys." ChanHyuck explains from the stage as he slowly begins to set it up for us.