•° The Story of Us °• ✔

Chapter Twenty-One

February 2016

Mika was never one for valentine's day. As much as she was an old romantic at heart she didn't really like the idea of Valentines Day. A day that should have been about people you love was too commercialised for her. She was rarely in a relationship when it came around anyway and if she was she was always apart from them. This year was different. Both Mika and Evan were together for the day. They had spent all of December together in her New York apartment, they brought in the new year together, spent most of January with one another.

Now it was 14th February and they were together. Evan had wanted to do something big, take Mika out for a meal, shower her with flowers and chocolates and plushies. Give her everything and anything she wanted but he knew her feelings towards the day so decided to keep the day as low key as possible. He cooked her favourite meal, bought her favourite flowers and, after consulting with Millie, bought her a rose pendant necklace.

Mika was overwhelmed by the effort he had went to and enjoyed their meal as they sat on her lounge floor in front of the coffee table in their pjs. It was the perfect way to spend the night with him. As they cuddled on the sofa watching a movie, Mika hadn't felt so content in a long time. She felt safe and happy. Evan wrapped his arms around her a bit tighter, leaning his head down.

"I love you." He said

Mika turned in his arms, looked deep into his eyes and smiled back him. One of her hands gently caressed his face.

"I love you too." She said

They both smiled at one another before their lips connected. Mika had been scared to let herself love someone again, with Evan though she wasn't afraid. Not anymore.

==*==

May 2016

May was a busy time for Mika. She was starting her world stadium tour in Seoul, she was also going to be doing a lot of interviews and press appearances while there. Evan had just wrapped up filming so was spending the next couple of weeks with Mika on tour. Millie had finished her years work experience too and was in the process of applying for jobs with Mikas recommendation. Mika had been impressed with her twins work ethic and knew she would miss her.

Being twins they had a connection people couldn't understand. They knew what the other needed without having to vocalise it and Mika knew she would miss this. It had also been nice having a family member with her. Millie would be in America during the Asian leg of the tour as she had lots of job interviews lined up. This would be the first time in a year Millie hadn't been with her and she was nervous but having Evan there would help.

Her first appearance was on a Korean variety show. After her successful appearance the year before she had been invited onto more shows but she had always turned them down due to her work schedule. She was excited to go to this one as SHINee were going to be there again as well as other bands. Millie had checked BTS wouldn't be attending so Mika could relax. She was still feeling awful about what she had done to Namjoon and Taehyung. She had considered reaching out to them but deep down she was too scared to.

Mika was getting ready with her team in her dressing room, Evan was sat on the seat beside her as they chatted away. Mika was teaching him some Korean which he was not picking it up at all, much to her amusement as he was mispronouncing words.

"Babe, I think it's best if you just stick to English." She laughed
"I think so too." He laughed back, "But you speak it so well."
"Mika, it's time to head to the stage." Her manager, Kaylee said

Mika stood up from her chair as Evan stood from his. Holding hands, they made their way down the corridor. They were lost in their little bubble, unaware of what was going on around them. When they reached the studio, Evan put his arms around her and leaned down to kiss her. She giggled as she kissed him back. Unbeknown to them there was another band at the same studio that were filming something different that day and one of their members was watching them.

Mika ruffled Evans long hair as she pulled away from him. They messed around for a few minutes before Mikas eyes landed on him - Namjoon. Instantly she felt her chest tighten. Her lips parted slightly as she let out a deep breath. His coffee-brown eyes burning into hers, her heart began to ache. Evan noticed and asked if she was ok. She nodded to him and said he should go back to the dressing room now. He leaned down to give her one last kiss.

"Enjoy the show, I'll be watching backstage. I love you babe." He said
"I love you too." She smiled at him

Namjoon was close enough to hear the exchange and although felt sad to hear her say that to another man he wasn't surprised either. Mika and Evan had been together for at least 6 months, of course they loved one another he reasoned. He just didn't want or need to hear it.

He had only gone to the stage to say hi to some of his fellow musicians, he had no idea Mika was part of the show and he certainly wasn't expecting to see her with Evan either. His lips on hers, his loving eyes looking into hers, the sweet way he touched her cheek the same way Namjoon did. If he had known he would have stayed with his bandmates and kept his distance from her.

Namjoon decided it was best to go back to his bandmates. His mind hadn't been on Mika much recently, but she popped up in his thoughts from time to time. It didn't hurt anymore to think of her but instead he felt sadness. He knew Taehyung was missing her a lot. He seemed to still hold out hope that one day she will message him.

As Namjoon made his way back to their room he deliberated telling the guys she was there. He knew Taehyung would immediately go find her and he didn't want his younger brother upset. Mika had made her choice and he was going to keep his distance, but Taehyung wouldn't be able to. Deep down he knew Mika wasn't a cold person and she had her reasons for cutting him out but Taehyung was innocent in all this, yet he was hurt by her and Namjoon couldn't deny his anger about her treatment of the younger man. He decided to keep quiet about seeing Mika.

==*==

October, 2016

Mikas world tour was over and she was taking time off. Evan was on location filming and Millie had now started a new job. Mika was spending most of her time by herself now in her New York apartment. She had developed an unhealthy obsession with her weight after an article was written claiming she was pregnant. Their evidence? An unflattering photo that made Mika look like she had a rounder figure.

This kick started a chain reaction. She would go over every photo taken of her, concentrating on negatives. She would find faults with every one of them. This turned into limiting her food in order to lose weight but no matter how much she lost, she could still see herself in that unflattering photo. Mika had managed to keep it to herself until Evan noticed how little she was eating. It had caused arguments between them.

Whenever he told her how beautiful she was and how she didn't need to lose weight, she didn't believe him. Saying that he was obligated to say that to her because he loved her. So things weren't going great with them. Mika decided going to New York for a while would help clear her mind but instead it only gave her the isolation to continue these habits.

==*==

December 2016

Mika sat on her sofa. She was alone in her New York apartment. She wrapped the blanket that was draped over her tighter around her body as she pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. A shaky sigh left her lips as she leaned her head back. The events of the last 24 hours replaying in her head over and over again. No matter how much she tried to make them disappear with copious amounts of vodka.

After yet another argument with Evan over her weight she was now alone. They had decided to call it quits. He had been wanting her around more, as much as she tried to tell him she was busy with work he was never happy with that answer. Deep down she knew he wanted to keep an eye on her, she knew he was worried about her. Her entire family had voiced that too but it was falling on deaf ears.

She really thought Evan was the love of her life, she loved him with her entire being. Mika knew he loved her just as much but the arguing was never going to stop. As much as it pained them both to break up they knew it was the only option. Mika wasn't a stranger to heartbreak, she just thought she would have been used to it by now. She didn't want to go through what she went through a year and half ago. As thoughts of Namjoon began to creep into her mind and more pain entered her heart she reached for the bottle of vodka, tears falling from her eyes. She needed to numb this pain immediately. Who was she crying for – Evan or Namjoon? Mika knew as much as she loved Evan, these tears were for the latter and that hurt even more.