|NaHee's POV|
"You girls ready?" ChanHyuck asks as he peeks into the restaurant.
I quickly hug TaeYong and BaekHyun one last time before pushing them toward the door.
"Yes!" JuHee chirps as she grins brightly.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" ChanYeol asks as he plops down in the chair beside mine.
"Yes. Of course. Why wouldn't I be ready to meet my fans? Idols meet their fans all the time. You had a fan meet just last week." I kick his ankle as I turn toward the first fan.
"You're the leader, right?" The small girl asks with bright eyes.
"Yes, I am." I answer confidently as she hands me a small teddy bear.
"Please take care of my Cherry." She mumbles softly as she lowers her head.
"Of course, I will. I'll make sure she's nice and strong so she can perform for you for as long as possible. How does that sound?" I take her free hand in mine and squeeze.
"Really?" She looks up at me with curious eyes.
"Of course, I'll also make sure that Jia posts tons of funny pictures of Cherry so you can see them." I reassure her as she nods happily.
"Thank you!" She chirps before hurrying toward Cherry.
"NaHee? Right?" A chubby girl with thick glasses asks softly as she holds out a sheet music notebook.
"Yeah." I smile brightly. I don't mind them using my real name. Most idols have stage names, so it'd be weird not having one.
"Thank you. The guidance counselor at our school showed me a video of you practicing with the music club. She said I need to join a club to try and get over my anxiety. She told me about you and showed me all of your videos. She even showed me some of the trophies you won for the school. I started playing the violin because of you. It's really helped me." She lowers her head anxiously as the chitchat around us picks up.
"What's your name?" I ask as I take her hands in mine. I turn them over to see calluses on her fingers. She's been practicing hard.
"Seola. Park Seola." She mumbles softly as I let her pull her hands back.
"I'm glad I could help you find your place. I know music was a very big thing for me. Art in general was my lifeline. If you ever need some tips, you know where to find me. Just message our Instagram or Twitter. I'll tell Jia to keep an eye out for you." I explain happily as she looks up at me with bright eyes.
"Really?" She asks in shock.
"Of course, but for right now, we'll have to say goodbye. We've got a lot of fans left to meet, but remember, just message if you want to talk." I take her cute face in my hands and smile brightly before pulling back.
She nods and hurries toward Cherry. I'll be happy if she's the only one who I've helped. It only takes helping one person to make my life worth living.
"Hey." I hold my hands out for the next fan in line.
"I'm not here for you." The boy grumbles as he attempts to ignore me.
ChanYeol tenses beside me. His protective side showing. I sit down and place my hand on his knee to calm him. I'm not going to be everyone's favorite. I'm okay with that. It's impossible to make everyone love you.
"Ungrateful little shit." ChanYeol hisses under his breath as he places his hand on top of mine.
The rest of the fans go by so quickly. None of them seem particularly interested in me. I don't mind the fact I'm not their favorite. Them liking one of the girls is more than enough for me.
I place my hands on my hips and turn to watch the other girls finish up with the last of the fans. The moment the last fan leaves SunMi's table I begin rushing toward her. Her table is stacked full of gifts, a few even rest on the ground next to her. I wrap my arms around her and squeeze.
"You have so many gifts! You were worried people weren't going to like you because of the rumors. They love you. Aren't you happy?" I chirp as I pull back to see her face.
"Yeah, I guess it's nice." SunMi shrugs as she searches the room for someone—more than likely JongHo. She's always anxious without him.
"What's wrong? Talk to me." I brush her hair from her face as I stare into her gorgeous chocolate eyes.
"A lot of things—it's alright. I'll be fine. Today is supposed to be a good day." SunMi takes a deep breath and forces a weak smile.
"You know I'm here to talk, right? Even boy problems." I take her face in my hands and delicately run my thumbs over her soft cheeks.
"It's not him. He's just jealous—I think. It's just a little much. I'm not used to so many people I guess." She tries to brush me and my concern off as she glances down at her feet.
"When we're done here, you owe me a chat. In private chat. Just between us two. Deal?" I take her hands in mine and smile.
SunMi nods and allows me to run back to ChanYeol. I wrap my arms around him as he gets to his feet. He chuckles as returns my embrace.
"You have way too much energy right now. What happened?" ChanYeol grabs ahold of my shoulders and forces me to take a step back so he can see my face.
"I'm just excited. This was so much fun. I never thought I'd meet that many people before in my life." I take his hand in mine and swing our arms back and forth.
"Well, I have to start moving your gifts up to the stage, so keep yourself occupied." ChanYeol chuckles as he slips out of my grasp to start picking up my presents. There aren't many of them, so it shouldn't take him long.
I glance around the room. My eyes fall on SunMi. JongHo is kneeling down in front of her with a look of concern on his face. I want to run over and check on her, but I know better. She doesn't like us seeing her when she's weak. She prefers to deal with it on her own or with JongHo.
It still concerns me though. She's so strong and beautiful, I'd hate to see her anxiety take this away from her. She worked so hard to be here, just like the rest of us. I frown as JongHo gets up and hurries away from her. I take a cautious step toward her, but stop as soon as ChanHyuck comes into view with JongHo.
JongHo has it under control. I don't need to step in, but I want to. I want to hold her and tell her everything is going to be okay. It's my job, isn't it? I'm the leader. I'm supposed to help them all grow.
I sigh and step down. SunMi still doesn't trust us completely yet and I don't blame her. She's a very protected person. I'm sure she'll come around in no time, but right now I have to let the professional handle it. JongHo would do anything and everything to keep her happy.
"Grab the last one and follow me toward the stage. I'm going to need help grabbing the others gifts." ChanYeol instructs as he makes his way back toward me.
I nod and grab the last present before hurrying toward Aera's table. I grab a few of hers and begin walking toward the stage. The large crowd of fans chat amongst themselves as we hurry to get everything moved to the stage.
I glance toward the kitchen in search of SunMi. I don't find her or JongHo, but I do see ChanHyuck heading toward us. She must be alright if he's coming back. JongHo must've got it all under control. Sun's gonna be okay, right? I sigh as and lower my head as I hurry to help ChanYeol grab more presents.