Lost and Found

Nine

Her room was dark. The curtains were shut tight, and the plates of food that her mother would bring were untouched. She wasn't hungry, she wasn't anything anymore. She would see her phone light up every now and then, eventually turning it off for some hours in order to really disconnect from the world and be left with her thoughts.

"Minji-ah...?" her mother's voice called out softly.

She didn't turn in the bed, choosing to stay on her side, facing away from the door as the light started to filter into her small room. She heard her mother shuffle in, checking to see that the breakfast she had left had still remained untouched on the nightstand.

"Minji... It's been four days, you need to eat." Her mother frowned at her.

"I'm not hungry." Her voice was barely above a whisper, her gaze fixed on the floor.

Everyone knew Minji and knew that she was never one to pass up a meal. Never one to ignore food and pass everything off as not being hungry.

Her mother reached down, placing a hand on her forehead to check for any kind of fever, but she had no indications that the girl was sick. She let out a sigh before taking the plate of food and leaving her be.

Minji eventually sat up on her bed, deciding that maybe four days was a bit excessive. That she would at least try to eat the next meal that came into her room. But then the mere thought of eating caused her stomach to turn. Her head started to hurt, causing her to feel dizzy. She frowned as she rested her head in her hands, trying to calm her head before the door opened again.

Her mother walked in with a fresh plate of dinner, setting it in the exact same spot before she noticed her daughter was sitting up.

"Whatever you're going through... It'll figure itself out." She whispered.

Minji lifted her head slowly, blinking a few times to adjust to the new light in her room and stare at her mother.

"Whatever I'm going through?" Minji whispered.

"Yes, I don't know what you're going through. I've never been an idol." She shrugged her shoulders as she began to leave.

"Mom... My child was forced away from me for the second time and this is all we're going to talk about?" She was entirely confused now.

"Minji." Her mother stated sternly.

"No. You pretended as if nothing happened before and look at me. Look at me now!" She screamed before switching on her bedside lamp and standing a little too quickly for her liking. She fought the woozy feeling, glaring at her mother from across her room.

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me!" Her mother scolded.

"I don't care!" Minji shouted. "I should've been helped! Not ignored! Not pretending as if your perfect daughter was tainted and broken! I fucked up! I royally fucked up and now I'm suffering. Suffering every single fucking day in this stupid idiotic world! And it's your fault!" She screamed.

She stumbled slightly, catching herself on the bed before standing upright again. She watched as her mother moved closer to her, pointing at her with an angry look on her face.

"We did what was best for you." Her mother growled.

"Best for you. Not me. Look at me! I'm not okay! It's your fault! I should've gone to proper therapy instead of pretending none of it happened!" She glared.

Minji was about to continue when she felt a sharp sting on her cheek, causing her to nearly stumble over. Her hand flew up to cover the now red skin, tears brimming her eyes at the sharp pain. Her mother stared at her for a few moments before turning on her heel and leaving the room with a slam of the door.

Tears silently spilled down Minji's face, anger and frustration taking over before true sadness had taken over. She was really alone in the world now. She was sure Youngeun was being fed lies by her father. She was absolutely certain that her mother was telling her father how crazy she was and she knew for a fact her brother had heard everything.

She sat back on the bed, overcome with all sorts of horrible feelings in her chest. She glanced up at her phone, frowning when she saw it light up. When she grabbed it, she saw a thread of messages from Yoohyeon.

All of them were pictures of their schedules from their promotions, some videos of pie, and other photos of their fans in different areas waiting for them. More tears spilled as she scrolled through everything, her mind running a million thoughts a minute the more she looked at everything.

Those girls were her found family and they were the only ones who were going to truly understand her.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she walked across the room, picking up the framed photos of the girls from the earlier days. She sat on the floor, clutching a group photo of all of them from their third comeback. She couldn't help but shed more tears, different feelings bubbling up and mixing in with the already broken feelings she was experiencing.

She heard her phone vibrating, frowning when she saw Bora's name on the screen. She looked back down at the picture, letting out a small sigh before answering the call.

"Hello?" She managed to mutter.

"I didn't expect you to answer..." Bora whispered. "I just wanted to try and check-in." She sighed. "Give you updates on the kids."

Her heart tugged at the word.

"Oh..." Minji whispered.

"Yeah, Yoohyeon has been sending you photos and everything. Dami-ah has been keeping your bed neat. Siyeon has been keeping it warm." Bora chuckled.

She continued to talk, Minji only half listening as she stared at the photo in her hands. The kids were in good hands with Bora taking over and being a surrogate leader. She was able to rope them in just long enough to get things done. The more she listened, the more she knew that Bora was being the best at being their leader.

"Have you been resting?" Bora's question pulled her back, letting out a small sigh.

"Yeah... I got out of bed today... I'm sitting on my floor right now." Minji answered. "I'm feeling... a lot better right now." She whispered.

"Really? Is it because you're hearing my voice?" Bora teased with a small laugh.

Minji smiled slightly, just hearing that Bora was taking care of the kids was more than what she needed to hear.

"Yeah... And just hearing about everyone." She whispered.