Prepared To Hate You

The Reason

The Tour continued as they moved to a different city, and she still hadn't heard from Yibo. It had been over a week now since she had last heard from him, and she was really worried. Was he that mad about the incident with Namjoon or had something happened to him? She had messaged Tao and Lay to ask if they had heard from him, and Tao promised to investigate and get back to her.

By now the cut on her cheek had healed, leaving a scar in a thin line across her cheek. The first time Namjoon saw her without the bandages he held his hand up to her face and brushed his thumb across her cheek.

"I'm sorry."

"What? This wasn't your fault."

"People calling themselves our fans did this."

"That doesn't make you responsible for their actions."

"It's my job to protect you."

Namjoon's tone had a hard edge to it, so she tried to lighten the mood.

"I don't think physical protection is part of a leader's job description."

"I want to protect you. From everything."

"You can't protect someone from everything. It's not possible. Joon, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just tired."

"You work too hard."

"Don't we all? Have you heard from Yibo yet?"

"No."

"Perhaps this is his way of saying it's over. You said the long-distance thing was hard."

"No. No way. He wouldn't cut me off like this. He'd talk to me."

"He's a kid. Four years younger than you. They can be immature, especially when it comes to things like relationships. You need someone closer to your age."

"Maturity hardly has anything to do with age. You don't know Yibo the way I do. He's an old soul."

"Then why hasn't he contacted you these past two weeks."

"I'm sure he has a good reason."

"And if you never hear from him? You can't wait for him forever."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to push. I just don't like seeing you hurting."

They were interrupted by her phone ringing. It was Tao, so she quickly excused herself and found somewhere private to answer the call.

"Tao? Did you find him?"

"No. All I found out is that he's on location somewhere filming."

"So, he hasn't answered your calls either?"

"No, but I'm sure he's fine. There's probably just no phone signal wherever he is."

"I hope you're right."

"Of course, I'm right. I'll let you know if I find out anything more."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Anything for you. How are you? I see your cheek's healed up."

"Yeah, it felt a small scar, but most of the time it's not that visible."

"Are you enjoying the tour? Everyone treating you well?"

"Yes. I know I got to perform on stage during the show, but doing a concert is a whole other level. It's amazing and so much fun."

"Good. Are you sure you're okay though? You look a little out of it."

"I'm fine. It's nothing."

"It's not nothing. Come on, tell Tao."

"I just had this weird conversation with Namjoon. that's all."

"Your leader? What was weird about it?"

"He thinks I should give up on Yibo. That his silence is his way of breaking things off and I should move on."

"Rubbish. The guy just wants you for himself."

"What? No, he doesn't."

"Are you sure about that?"