Hello :) Did you guys hear about B.I and Bobby in Show Me The Money 3?! I'm so excited :D

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            Her mind was whirling with thoughts as Rhine put her dirty clothes in the laundry basket, trying to not wake Hei up. After witnessing Hanbin standing outside their door with that expression, she couldn’t get it off her mind. Rhine was confused why he wanted to help her all of a sudden and she was honestly clueless as to how long he had been watching her. She froze in her spot when the thought of how long Hanbin had been watching her came to mind. Had he been watching her for nights? Weeks? Just that night? Rhine had no idea. She hoped he only saw her rapping that night. If he saw her rapped for longer than that, she wouldn’t know what to do.

            The sudden cries of Hei made Rhine stiffened. She turned around to see if Hei was okay, but the girl was tossing and turning in her bed with her fists clenched around the bed sheet. Tears were streaming down the girl’s face. Alarmed, Rhine hurried over to the bed. Hei’s cries were soft, but aggressive and in pain. Rhine shook the girl in an attempt to wake her up. Sweat was trickling down Hei’s head and her face furrowed in pain.

            “Hei, Hei, wake up,” Rhine half whispered, half exclaimed in concern.

            The girl seemed to be having a nightmare. Without a response from Hei, Rhine shook her harder. After a few shakes, Hei’s eyes slowly opened as they adjusted to the dim light. She was whimpering lowly and softly, vulnerable. Before Rhine could process what was happening, she had already wrapped Hei in an embrace. The girl needed protection and reassurance.

            Hei wrapped her tiny arms back around Rhine as she sobbed into Rhine’s shoulder. Hei was soaking Rhine’s shirt, but Rhine could care less. The girl shook violently in Rhine’s embrace, showing Rhine that Hei was a fragile person hiding behind a mask. It reminded Rhine of herself. Absentmindedly, Rhine started caressing Hei’s hair. It brought back a memory of what her mother used to do to her when she was a child. She would often cry and her mother would comfort her, but that was all memories now. Rhine’s mother had stopped doing that ever since that night.

            “Shhh,” Rhine whispered reassuringly.

            Rhine listened to the harsh breathing and hiccupping of Hei’s. The sound of the wind crashing through the darkness made its way into their room. The faint howling of the owls and the chirping of the crickets were heard. Rhine studied the blank wall as Hei’s sobbing was beginning to slow down. The moment felt as if they had known each other all their lives. It was as if Hei and Rhine were best friends, but sadly, they knew nothing about each other.

            “T-thank you,” Hei murmured as she started to pull away from Rhine’s embrace.

            Rhine nodded as she looked at the girl. Hei wiped her face and she let out a slightly embarrassed laugh.

            “I’m sorry; you must be in a hurry.” Hei noted Rhine’s outfit, causing Rhine to shake her head.

            “No, it’s okay. How are you feeling?”

            Hei tried to shield her face as her lips trembled, but Rhine could see the pain clear in her eyes. Hei wasn’t okay. “I’m fine.”

            Rhine knew for a fact that Hei was lying. She could sense the tension and pain vibrating off of Hei, but Rhine didn’t want to pester the girl. If the time was right, Hei would tell Rhine. With a little nod, Rhine studied the girl. She couldn’t decide if she should leave Hei or stay with the girl for a while.

            “Will you be okay?” Rhine questioned.

            Hei nodded. “Yeah, go on. It’s nothing, really.”

            “If you want to talk, just tell me, okay?” Rhine was beginning to stand up and Hei smiled in appreciation at Rhine.

            “Thank you.”

            Hei started tucking herself back into bed as Rhine nodded and headed for the door. She turned off the lights and got out of the room. With the door ajar, she made sure Hei was asleep before she closed it behind her. The moment made Rhine get a clearer view of Hei. Rhine was never aware that the people who smile the brightest are the loneliest until she saw the pain in Hei’s eyes.

            Quietly, she scrolled through the news on her phone as she drank a cup of warm milk to start off the day. Even if she hadn’t slept all night, Rhine felt fine. She was starting to get used to the routine even if it wasn’t comforting. She knew it was only temporary. The warm liquid settled in her stomach and it calmed her down a little bit. As the news articles flashed before her eyes, she wasn’t paying attention. Her mind was back at home with her family.

            Sighing, Rhine closed her phone and slipped it into her pants pocket. She chugged the last bit of the milk and silently washed the glass. Carefully, Rhine walked out the door and locked it behind her. She walked down the quiet and slightly dark hallway. The first thing that greeted her when she walked out into the night was the fresh cool air. It hit her face and immediately cleared her head. The tree branches swayed and the leaves rustled in the breeze. Rhine felt herself relaxed even though the atmosphere was eerie. The streetlights were a shade of orange and it casted a shadow on every building.

            In the distance, Bobby called out her name. She didn’t turn around as she slowed her pace and waited for the cheerful boy to walk beside her. By the tone of his voice, she could tell he was excited. Bobby was still calling out her name and telling her to wait for him. With a smile on her face, she continued on walking. With an exasperated sigh from behind her, Bobby picked up his pace.

            “Yah! Why didn’t you wait for me?” he exclaimed as he finally caught up with her.

            With a poker face, she responded, “I didn’t have the energy to.”

            Whenever she was with Bobby, she felt carefree. It was a feeling that Rhine thought was long dead, but Bobby seemed to bring that feeling to life again. It was something that Rhine didn’t understand. The feeling terrified her as well as made her feel alive at the same time.

            Bobby let out a laugh as he threw his head up towards the sky. “You can’t say things like that!”

            Rhine cocked her eyebrow questioningly. “Why not?”

            “Only I can say things like that.”

            “Who said that only you can say that?”

            Bobby’s hands started gesturing as he started to rap from the top of his mind playfully, “Bobby did, ‘cause I’m the king, I’m the god, I can do whatever I want and you can say nothing ‘cause I created you…”

            He suddenly trailed off uncertainly while Rhine burst out laughing. Bobby looked so foolish while he rapped that, but brightened up her mood. He could feel his body becoming warm from embarrassment. He didn’t know what he was thinking when those words left his lips, but it made him smile because he was able to make her laugh. As always, her laugh sounded good to his ears.

            “Did you honestly just say that?” Rhine said in between laughs.

            Bobby scanned the perimeter of her features as she tilted her head to look at the sky. She was still laughing as if his failed rap was the funniest thing she had ever heard. In a joking manner, he responded, “It’s not like you can do any better.”

            Rhine turned her head to look at him, a grin replacing her laugh. “Yeah, you’re right,” just when Bobby thought he was going to win, Rhine continued, “but at least my raps don’t make people laugh!”

            “Hey! Are you saying that my rap is nonsense?” Bobby pretended to be offended as he scrunched up his face. Rhine laughed while nodding her head.

            From afar, Hanbin watched the two bicker jokingly. Hanbin had never seen Bobby that happy before. Suddenly insecure with her laugh, Rhine brought her hand up to cover . Hanbin watched silently as Bobby turned Rhine to face him and he gently took a hold of her hand. A blank expression surfaced on Hanbin’s face as he watched Bobby pull Rhine’s hand from . The two stare at each other seriously. Even from afar, Hanbin could make out what Bobby was saying to Rhine.

            “Don’t cover up your laugh,” Bobby started. His heartbeat picked up pace and Bobby wanted to scold it. “I think it’s lovely.”

            Just then, Hanbin shut his eyes closed.

*

            With her hand on the practice room door handle, Rhine stopped in her spot. From inside the room, she could hear Jae yelling over Iseul’s voice. The other members were quiet as their dance routine song was playing in the background.

            “You know what? Just forget it!” Jae screamed in anger.

            Sensing that Jae was going to leave the room, Rhine stepped to the side of the door. Jae stormed out of the room not noticing Rhine as she walked away in the opposite direction. A wave of confusion and concern washed over Rhine as she slowly entered the dance practice room. She had never seen the members fight before.

            Standing up, Iseul ran her hand through her hair in frustration and agony. In the corner, Eiseu was biting her nails nervously while Hei was by Iseul’s side. At Rhine’s entrance, the members looked at her. The atmosphere was tense, but all too familiar at the same time.

            “Is everything okay?” Rhine’s voice cut through the tension.

            Iseul shook her head and rubbed her face. “Let’s take a break, okay? I’ll meet you guys in a bit.”

            With that, Iseul walked out of the room and the door shut behind her. Rhine turned to look at Hei, whose eyes were still swollen and red from the crying earlier. She shook her head at Rhine and Eiseu uncertainly walked towards them. The fight seemed to have shaken her up.

            “Mr. Yang just told us that we’re to send in our pre-evaluation clip the following day,” Hei explained. “Jae isn’t ready and they started arguing.”

            “It’s nothing serious, right?”

            “I doubt it; Jae gets upset at almost everything.”

            Rhine looked over at Eiseu. “Are you alright?”

            Eiseu nodded and managed a smile. “It’s okay, I’ve never seen Jae argue with Iseul before, that’s all.”

            “So the evaluation clip is supposed to be sent in the following day?”

            The panic had started to settle into Rhine’s mind. If Mr. Yang wanted the pre-evaluation video that soon, Rhine definitely wasn’t ready. She didn’t even have the lyrics down yet! She was doomed for sure.

            Hei nodded her head. “I think we’ll be okay.”

            “Uh yeah,” Rhine said with doubt as she started to walk to the door. “I’ll meet back here in a while.”

*

            Rhine stood outside of the building as she waited for her father to pick up. It had been a few days since she last heard her father’s voice. As she waited for him to pick up, she filled with anxiety. She didn’t know what her father was doing and how he was. Rhine was also nervous about finally getting to talk to him again.

            “Hello?”

            At the sound of her mother’s voice, Rhine froze. She hadn’t expected her mother to pick up. Rhine dreaded conversing with her mother; it always led to something bad. Rhine contemplated if she should hang up.

            Impatient, her mother said, “Rhine, I know you’re there. Talk to me.”

            With a gulp, Rhine hesitantly answered, “M-mother.”
            “You sound so surprised, were you expecting someone else?”

            “N-no, Mother…”

            “Good,” Mrs. Leventis stated. “How is it going?”

            “It’s okay…”

            “I told you it was a bad choice. You should’ve never auditioned, Rhine. You could’ve graduated high school and gone off to university.”

            Rhine sighed and leaned against the building. There it goes again. Rhine was sick and tired of arguing with her mother. She wished her mother would be as understanding as her father, but knew better of it.

            “Mother, you know I don’t want any of that. I want-“

            Her mother cut her off, “It’s all about what you want, huh? I raised you and you’re not even considering what I want? Rhine, I only want the best for you.”

            “’The best for me’, Mother? Forcing me around is what’s best for me?” Rhine could feel the tears threatening to fall, but she held back. She couldn’t cry. Not there, not ever.

            “At least it’ll get you far in life instead of a career that will probably never last. Or to make it better, a career that will never happen. You know how tough it is for people to debut. What makes you think that you’ll be the few who debuts?”

            Her heart ached and the tears suddenly fell in rivers. Rhine swiped at them in frustration and in pain. She hated it whenever her mother said those words to her. It was obvious her mother didn’t support her. All she ever wanted was to make her mother proud.

            Rhine’s throat tightened as she spoke coldly, “Thank you Mother for not believing in me.”

            With that, Rhine hung up the phone. With the phone clutched in her hand, she slid down into a sitting position with her knees drawn up against her chest. She buried her face in her arms as she cried, unable to hold back any longer.

*

            In a hurry, Rhine grasped the practice room doorknob. She had been crying for around ten minutes and was worried that the girls were waiting for her. She could hear the music blaring in the room. With an attempt to hide the fact that she had been crying, she went to the restroom to add a layer of cover up. The makeup wasn’t able to hide the redness, but it made her eyes less swollen.

            With a push, she entered the practice room only to find that it was unfamiliar. In the center of the room was a shirtless Bobby krumping. Eyes wide, Rhine froze in her spot as her heartbeat quickened. Bobby glanced away from the mirror. When his eyes landed on her, he froze immediately. A faint blush crept up both of their faces.

            “I am so sorry,” Rhine stammered.

            Hurriedly, she turned around and tried to run only to trip over her own foot. With a yelp, Rhine could feel herself fall. It happened too quickly for Rhine to balance herself. Before she knew it, her face hit a rough surface. Her hands were spread around her, but couldn’t protect her face. The impact of her face against the surface sent a jolt of pain through her head. Suddenly, something didn’t seem right. Her nose crinkled as it dawned on her that the surface smelled. With sudden realization, her eyes opened wide. In front of her was a red Nike shoe. She couldn’t believe her face was planted on the shoe!

            “Are you okay, Rhine?”

            Rhine was pulled up with a pair of strong arms around her as the guy steadied her. Dreading every second with her face flushed, Rhine made herself meet the gaze of the owner of the red shoe. Hanbin scratched the side of his neck, eyes lowering down at the floor. He was embarrassed as well. Rhine’s heart thumped wildly in her chest and she could feel the pain in her face.

            “I’m sorry, I didn’t want your face to hit the floor…,” Hanbin explained with sympathy and humiliation. It was the only way to keep her from hitting the floor and probably break her nose.

            Before Rhine was able to let out a reply, Bobby rushed to the scene, clothed this time. “What happene-, whoa.” He froze in his place as he studied Rhine’s face. “You have marks and dirt on your face.”

            Rhine self-consciously touched the side of her face. She winced at the touch and couldn’t meet Hanbin’s eyes. Hanbin on the other hand was shifting in his spot. She didn’t know how to explain to Bobby that she fell on Hanbin’s shoe.

            “Does it hurt?” Hanbin chimed in, eager to avoid Bobby’s next question. Hanbin also didn’t want to explain the incident to Bobby. To be honest, putting his shoe in front of her face was the only thing that came to his mind at the time. Hanbin felt sorry and foolish afterwards seeing how it left an unattractive mark on her face.

            Lying, Rhine shook her head. She didn’t want the guys to worry about her and she didn’t want to draw any more attention to her. She had to get back to practice. “It’s nothing, I have to go.”

            Without letting the guys say something, Rhine quickly made her way to the end of the hallway and without looking back, disappeared into the other practice room.

*

            That night as she waited for Hanbin in the recording studio, Rhine was agitated. She sunk back in the chair and tried to make herself comfortable, but it felt odd and awkward. She didn’t understand what was wrong with her. She forced herself replay the beat and recited the lyrics. Earlier that day, the members confirmed the lyrics for their evaluation and Rhine needed help going over them.

            Hanbin hurried to the room; he was running late that night. Something came up with Donghyuk’s lyrics and he stayed behind to help Donghyuk, not realizing that it was getting late. He came to a halt in front of the door and tried to calm his breathing. His chest was beating quickly from all the running. After trying to catch his breath, Hanbin pushed open the door.

            Rhine turned around while in the middle of her verse. She was still rapping as she looked at him. Hanbin smiled apologetically and carefully shut the door closed. Rhine turned her attention back to the lyrics, but was aware of his presence. As he set his backpack down in the corner, he turned around and studied the back of Rhine. He listened to every word she was saying, trying to find any mistakes. As she was finishing up, Hanbin pulled up a chair beside her.

            The verse ended and Rhine turned the stereo off. She turned to face Hanbin and he nodded in approval. “Are those the final lyrics?”

            “Yeah.” Rhine pushed the paper towards him and he studied it. “Mr. Yang told us that the pre-evaluation video has to be sent in the following day.”

            Sensing the stress in her voice, he turned to look at her. “What’s wrong?”

            Rhine sighed and turned her head. “I’m not prepared.”

            “Hey, I’ll make sure you’re ready,” he said in encouragement. Rhine didn’t respond as she bit her bottom lip. “Want to know what I do when I’m stressed out?”

            “What?”

            Hanbin stood up and Rhine followed him with her gaze. “I fool around,” Hanbin stated.

            She looked at him quizzically and Hanbin let out an embarrassed laugh as he began to dance awkwardly. Rhine’s face was beginning to brighten a little which gave him more courage to proceed. Hanbin twirled around as he flung his arms into the air and was about to stumble, causing Rhine to let out a laugh. Feeling humiliated, Hanbin stopped, his face red.

            “Okay, that’s it,” Hanbin confirmed.

            Rhine was still laughing as she motioned with her hand for him to carry on. It was too late; Hanbin was discouraged as he sat back down on the chair. He pulled his snapback down to cover his eyes. He was embarrassed and felt like a fool. He regretted it, but it was the urge to make her smile that made him do it. Hanbin couldn’t understand.

            “I liked it!” Rhine exclaimed while clapping excitedly.

            “Then you do it,” he muttered under his breath.

            Rhine frowned. “Are you upset?” When he didn’t reply, an idea came to her mind. “Fine, to make you feel better, I’ll do it.”

            As Rhine began to stand up, Hanbin looked at her from the corner of his eye. Knowing that she wouldn’t lie, he turned his body to face her. Rhine let out an uneasy chuckle to get started. She took a deep breath and knew that she was going to embarrass herself big time, but realized that she had embarrassed herself enough in front of Hanbin so it hardly matter anymore. As long as it was going to make him smile, then be it.

            Rhine started dancing awkwardly and it made her look like a dork. She screamed in fake joy as she flung her arms in the air and spun around and jumped. Rhine felt like a fool, but Hanbin suddenly started laughing and it made her feel better. She was making a fool out of herself, but at least he was having a good time laughing at her.  

            That gave him courage to stand up and he started to dance too. Hanbin felt like a complete fool, but it made him feel carefree. Rhine didn’t realize he had stood up because she was busy spinning around. The room started spinning and Rhine tried to stop, but stumbled from dizziness. Seeing her start to lose balance, Hanbin reached out and caught her in his arms.

            Rhine looked at him as she pulled herself away after regaining her posture. She smiled at him, but he stared at her and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. After realizing he had been staring at her for too long, Hanbin looked at the mark on her face.

            “Does it still hurt?” He nodded to the mark and Rhine smiled.

            “It’s okay.”

            “Uh, let’s get back to work.”

            Quickly, Hanbin rushed to the chair and sat down as he stared at the paper as if it was the most fascinating thing. Rhine let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding in as she shook her head. Her heartbeat was running a marathon and she prayed Hanbin wasn’t aware of it. She made her way back to the chair and sat down, regretting that she agreed to dance.