Their Golden Heart

22 - Bang Chan

I'm sitting in my room, composing some music while waiting for the kids to come home. They had planned to practise some of the choreography. Since I trained with Felix, Lee Know and Hyunjin the day prier, I could skip and focus on some songs. A glance at the clock shows me that it's 16.07, which means some of the kids will be returning home soon, at least Han will. He had told me that Yeona would come over again. The girl had a busy test-week this week and the week after, even though these weeks aren't over yet, she still managed to find some time for Han.

The sound of the doorbell drags my attention away from the music I'm working on. That must be Yeona, the guys have keys, they won't ring the doorbell. I stand up, making sure everything is saved on my laptop, before leaving my room. Opening the front door, my eyes lock with Yeona, as expected. "Han isn't here yet, he and the others are still out." I tell her while stepping to the side, letting her in. 

"Oh, that's okay." The girl says, her voice much softer than usual. "I'll wait."

Closing the door behind her I watch her as she's taking of her shoes. Standing on one foot to untie her shoelaces results in a stumble and catching herself on the wall. "Careful." I chuckle at her as I walk past her into the living room. Sitting down on the couch my eyes snap back to the hall when I hear a thud. "Yeona?" I ask confused of what happened.

"I just-," The girl starts, appearing from the hallway, "bumped against the wall."

I notice how she's steading herself against the doorframe, a rush of worry surges through my mind. I quickly stand up, walking up to Yeona, who doesn't seem to realise I'm next to her now. "Yeona? Are you okay? You look-"

"I'm fine." The girl dismisses quickly. 

"You look exhausted." Worry is eminent in my voice. My eyes scan her once more, her skin pale as snow and her hands trembling slightly. Yeah, she's definitely not okay. "You should go home, get some rest. You look like a ghost." The girl just shakes her head slowly, before leaning it against the wall as if it's too heavy to hold up. Not taking no for an answer my hands land on her shoulders, forcing her to look at me instead of the room behind me. "Listen to me. You're definitely not okay. Go home and get some rest." 

She finally looks at me, her eyes meeting mine, yet it seems like she isn't seeing me at all. Her blank stare worries me even more. "I can't-," She mutters softly. Looking away from me once more she continues: "I don't think-, I won't-," The words coming out of her mouth are nothing more than soft incoherent mumbles. "I don't think I'll make it home." She finally manages to say, shocking me and making me realise that she must be feeling as bad as she looks. 

The front door unlocking pulls my attention away from Yeona for a split second, some of the guys must be getting home. Ignore the noise from the hallway I focus on Yeona again. "Let's sit you down, okay?" I carefully manoeuvre my hand around her to steady her as she steps away from the wall. 

"Hey Yeona-" Felix happily starts only to stop once he sees her state. The boy hurries towards me, his eyes widen in shock. "What's wrong?" Worry is laced in his voice. 

Yeona doesn't even seem to realise that Felix is here, her eyes are closed as she's slowly taking small steps. Almost all of her bodyweight is leaning on me. "I don't know Felix, she hasn't said much." The girl stumbles, tripping over her own feet. Felix and I quickly steady her and only now do I realise that Felix came back alone. "The others? When will they arrive?" I ask the boy.

"In an hour or so. Han said he'd be here in ten minutes." Felix answers, his eyes not leaving Yeona for a second and neither do mine. "Yeona?" He asks, his voice a soft whisper, but the girl doesn't respond at all. Her head hanging low, almost limp.