The Last Call | An Iz*One Journey

Chapter 27: Give all my secrets away

Nako's POV

"That's all of them!" I exclaimed, breaking into a tired groan as I stretched my aching arms over my head. Beside me, Yujin put down the final piece of tableware after wiping it dry, leaving the cloth to dry on the side of the counter.

"I'm beat. I'm gonna use the bathroom first, alright unnie?" Yujin asked, stifling a yawn mid-sentence as she headed towards the showers, a set of clothes to change out to in her arms. They weren't exactly the cleanest change of clothes I would say, but at least we had the comfort of a warm shower and running water to do some simple laundry (but still, no soap). Typically, back in the dorms, that was a job left to Chaeyeon, Hitomi and myself - but ever since Hitomi had become Chaewon's aide to medical emergencies, Chaeyeon and I had taken the brunt of the responsibility. In some ways, I just enjoyed being able to focus on the simple chores in life, and not have to worry about panicking for upcoming schedules or practising for future performances. Just like the good old days, with Okaa-san...

For the last time, I scanned the lower floor for any other chores that needed to be done or things that seemed out of place. With everything done, I crashed on the sofa seat next to the wooden heater, letting the fiery flames of the controlled heat engulf me with warmth and assurance. The feeling was subliminal - like a blanket of the solar winds wrapping snugly around your body, smothering you with nature's love. I rubbed my sore eyes with a hand, opening them to see Chaeyeon standing right before me.

"Unnie? What are you doing here?" Perturbed and concerned, her eyebrows strung together like they were knitted too near to the center of her face. There was a bothersome look gnawing at her neck that I could sense from her, wondering what was it that had gotten to the girl this time. Sliding to one side of the sofa, I guided Chaeyeon to take a seat beside me. My hands collided with her back and shoulders - stiffer and more rigid than a dead rabbit, frozen atop a mountain's peak due to the freezing cold.

"What exactly happened to Hitomi?"

I turned to her.

"What do you mean? What happened to her?"

"Promise me you'll keep this to yourself."

Chaeyeon explained to me about the bruises Hitomi had revealed beneath her shorts, allowing me to immediately catch her drift. Indirectly, this was no new news to me - there were rumors circulating back in the day that some girls had been mistreated, some even physically abused.

Every month, there was an internal evaluation among the board of directors for the different teams under AKB48. Team 8 was notorious for being helmed by a ruthless director, who only cared for results and nothing of the girls' welfare. Sakura and myself had been fortunate enough to end up in HKT48, with mentors and a director who had been nothing but kind. Despite this knowledge, I certainly had not known that Hitomi would be one of the abused ones. She was always doing her best - giving her 100% in recitals and recordings. Why would she be concerned about her image-

Oh. So that's the reason why.

"It's about her weight back then - Shinomiya-sensei was probably upset with the fact that she was too chubby for her standard." That was my suspected thought, seeing that her director demanded nothing but perfection from Team 8. "I heard she wanted the girls to dance in tight corsets for one screening, back then."

"But Hii-chan has been working out so much ever since. I mean, have you seen her abs?" Chaeyeon almost drooled at the mention of the topic.

"Ah," I giggled quietly to myself, "arasso. Still, Hii-chan might still be affected after that traumatising experience." I speculated to Chaeyeon, brushing my hand soothingly across her shoulder to ease the tension over her shoulders. "We have to be sensitive towards her - tell her that she can count on Sakura-unnie and myself to speak up for her if needed."