SVT 14th Member || All For That Moment

Chapter 48

Current Date of story, 23rd of December 2014, a Thursday

Eun is seated next to door to Seungcheol, Vernon on her other side and Joshua standing uncomfortably behind her. The group had been given a rough script to look through earlier, it mainly highlighted questions that'd they'd be ask and what they'd have to bring up themselves. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. It's not like it's a live or anything, but she's still picking away at her nails and shuffling her feet on the ground. Joshua, standing behind her, notices her discomfort and reaches out his hand to rest on her shoulder but stops. He retracts his hand, returning it to his side, and sighs. Instead, Vernon links arm with hers and offers her a comforting smile. She returns a shy nod and squeezes on his arm. Joshua watches her every move, his fists clenching together. The director shouts, "Alright everyone, we're rolling in 3, 2, 1, action!" Eun takes a quick breath in, smiles and does Seventeen's introduction that she was taught yesterday. "Hello, say the name, Seventeen!" Seungcheol wraps an arm around Eun's shoulder and smiles from ear to ear, "Today we'd like to introduce our new member, Min-Ji!" Eun waves at the camera and beaming an aura of playfulness. The other members clap loudly. "Hello, my names Min-Ji! I hope you'll all welcome me," she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Min-Ji is currently injured, she had surgery on her ankle a little while ago so please wish her a quick recovery!" S.coups says. Mingyu begins talking, right on cue, "today we're going to celebrate Christmas!" The members all join in in several games and challenges such as Kai, Bai, Bo! and Hacky Sack. The the boys' disapproval, Eun won every round of Kai Bai Bo, claiming that she can read minds and predict future actions. Hacky Sack didn't turn out so well, every member managed to humiliate themselves in one way or another. Eun sat out while they each tried and failed to kick the sack more than once before it fell to the floor and they too, went tumbling. They now all sat in a semi circle on the ground, Eun with her leg spread out in front of her. She squirms a little, finding it utterly annoying to keep herself up right. Joshua flashes his eyes over to her, watching her shuffling her limbs about to find a comfortable position. He stands hesitantly and takes a few steps before he finds himself standing behind her. He squats down and reaches a hand to her shoulder, speaking softly in her ear, "need someone to lean on?" She looks up to him and smiles kindly, "yes please," she coos. His thoughts are swirling, what she had done, he doesn't like it, but he can't bring himself to turn a blind eye. Not now, not yet. He needed answers first, and needs her to heal. He sits down, allowing her to sit between his legs and lean against his subtle frame. He reaches one hand out behind himself, leaving his and her weight against it. He brushes the hair from her face, sweeping it to settle behind her small ears. A cold breeze runs through the clearing, earring a shiver from everyone, crew included. The director glances at Joshua and Eun, grunting a little bit leaving them alone. He raises his hand, "right everyone let's get started once more," he counts down once more and signals the group to begin. Eun straightens up a bit. A little ways down the line Hoshi speaks toward the camera. "Since Min-Ji's new we should introduce her properly. Each of the members will ask her a question, it can be anything at all." Jun, who is seated on one end of the line, raises a hand, "I'll go first. What is your dream?" he asks. Eun scratches her arm to distract her. She speaks softly and slowly, "I want to make music that makes others smile. I want to help people realise who they are and what they want to do. And I want to tell those who dread waking up in the morning that they should keep fighting, and give them my shoulder to lean on." The members clap quietly and Joshua squeezes her shoulder lightly. Mingyu puts his hands together and says, "Where are you from?" Eun leans forward to see past the others and meets his gaze, "I'm from America," she says with a wry smile.

"So you speak English?" Dino questions. In her time at the dorm she hasn't spent all that much time with Dino. He was such a young boy and yet seemed so passionate about his position in the group. Even as the youngest, he seemed to have a sense of superiority. "Ye, I speak English."

"Do you speak any others?" Woozi waves at her.

"I do, yes, I speak four others."

"Jinjia?" half of them shout.

She nods and chuckles, "yes."

Lunchtime came and went, the staff and members feasting on various dishes. Eun now sits in Pledis' foyer, her fist shoved against her chin and arm resting uncomfortably on the arm of the chair she sits in. The taping had gone well in her opinion. It's warm inside the building, unlike outside where the crisp air cooled your skin despite the layers upon layers of clothes that many wore. Pledis is quite a small office, nothing overly grand. It's predominantly white and black colour scheme stands out in the neighbourhood. But it's nice, to Eun it's modernistic and calm. It helps her to think. The chorus of heavy footsteps thunders behind her. Her head spins and her eyes meet her fathers. His eyes are glazed with pride. He waves off the two other men beside him and turns back to Eun, smiling devilishly. He approaches her, one foot in front of the other, like he 'means it'. Eun stands and bows slightly to greet him. He grins an even wider smile, "Nice to see you once more Ms Hong. Please," he extends his hand towards the door," follow me.

Eun sits in the passenger seat and the CEO behind the steering wheel. She eyes him and asks politely, "where are we off to?"

He grips the wheel tighter, "it's a surprise," he says flatly. The car speeds down the highway, other cars passing by a blur of earthy toned colours.

Eun climbs out of the car, using both arms and only one leg. She scans the scene in front of her. They're at a cemetary. She breaths into her hands, savouring the small warmth it provides her face. The stones spotted the greeny brown grass. Some are extravagant, what appears like gold linings and marble creatures adorn several sites. Others a bland and grey, crumbling at their edges and cracked in the middle. A shiver travels down her spine, warning her that danger lies ahead. Her father says nothing as he strolls up to the low bearing gate and pushes it open, the hinges creak and squeak from wear. Eun falls into step behind him, turning her head to check behind her. They walk for a minute or two before the CEO stops dead in his tracks, halting at a worn tombstone. Eun reads the splintered engravement. 'Beloved family member, provider. Min-seo, Rhee. Born 1967, Died December 30th, 1995. Eun stares blankly at the engravement. She knows the last name, its her own, but the first...she doesn't recognise it. Her eyes dart back over the inscription, 'Died December 30th, 1995'. This woman passed on her birthday. Ceo Han squats down. "You're wondering who she is to you, correct?" Yes, she is wondering exactly that. She brushes a hand over the stone, "she is your mother, and I, your father." Eun remains still, completely unmoving, like one of the statues scattered on the grounds of the cemetery. She blinks a few times before dropping to her knees, kneeling alongside her father. Small icy shards begin to fall from the sky, resting on the top of the stone and the grass surrounding it. Han Seong-su drops and envelope at her knees and stalks off back towards the car. Eun touches a finger to the tombstone and drags it downwards, the roughness of it irritating her delicate skin. Her hand drops back down to her side. A tear falls from the corner of her left eye. The water turns icy cold as it travels down her face. More white specks of snow fall, covering the grass in a light layer of white ice. She stares at the envelope, dreading what's being kept inside. She moves into her jacket pocket. Her knees remain bent at the foot of her mother's grave. The tears don't stop, they continue to flow like a raging river. Snow piles up around her, her knees now surrounded by it, water seeping through her clothes. She doesn't move for hours. The cold being her only anchor to the world. Drowned in both snow and her tears, Eun punches the stone with her bare fist, over and over again.

Cold as ice, salty as tears. Raging as my beating heart.