99% || ENHYPEN

vii. space

Aeri could practically feel her heart pound out of her chest while sitting down with Heeseung outside of their manager's office. They both had been called into the office ten minutes earlier and had been sitting outside for five minutes.

Not to mention that when the other members asked if they should come too since it was so rare for only a part of the group to be called and not the entirety of it, they were told to stay in their dorms. Which meant that whatever was going to be said in this office was only for them two.

When their manager finally opened the door to his office, she was sure that the nervousness she felt had just been multiplied by ten. She stood up anyway, bowing to him before entering and sitting down, Heeseung doing the very same thing.

"First of all, thank you for coming here in such a short notice," he thanked them, sitting behind his desk, facing the two of them. "As you both know, fans have been loving seeing you two interact.

"But since you're still a rookie group, we must be very careful of whatever we give to the media," he continued.

The moment those words left his mouth, Aeri knew exactly the way this conversation was going to go.

"Creating a co-ed group was a big risk for the company and we knew it since the very beginning. That being said, even if we knew the risks, it doesn't mean that we want those scandals to happen.

"I know that you two are only friends but because the media is looking at you two with such a close eye, we think it may be better for the group if you interacted with each other less. Especially because of Aeri's latest scandal, it could be very damaging if..."

Her mind slowly drowned out his words, struggling to keep listening to his words. It felt as if the entire world had come crumbling down underneath her feet.

Heeseung was her rock. He was her best friend, she didn't want to drift away from him because of some stupid rumors. She didn't care if people thought that they were a couple if it meant that they could be near each other and act like they usually did, so why would anyone else?

But she couldn't disagree with their manager's decision either, and that was probably what hurt the most.

She could feel both his and Heeseung's gaze on her because of how quiet she had been for the past seconds.

"Are you sure it's the only--"

"We'll be more careful, sorry for the inconvenience," she bowed on her seat, interrupting Heeseung's sentence. 

Her dismissal of his sentence didn't mean in any way that she was content with the situation they were now in. But this was not about her. She couldn't let her feelings affect her members and potentially ruin their success.

She understood that issues would come up because of her being the only girl in a boy group, therefore, she understood that she had to act according to those.

She ignored Heeseung's gaze on her when she spoke up, not sure if she could face him in that moment. She knew that his opinion on the matter was very different, she also knew that she wouldn't be able to handle him trying to change her mind with his eyes.

"Thank you for being so understanding, you may go," their manager told them, allowing them to finally leave the heavy atmosphere.

Right after the two walked out of the room and closed the door behind them, Heeseung stopped Aeri from getting away from him by wrapping his fingers around her wrist. She closed her eyes for a split second, trying to keep her calm before turning around to finally face him.

But the moment, their eyes met, she regretted the decision of looking at him.

"You don't seem too bummed out about this," said Heeseung, hurt.