I collapsed on the dance floor in exhaustion. The girls and I had been practicing for over an hour and I felt like I was going to die. It's not fun being the only member to have trouble with dancing. I know that Minnie and Kira try to be understanding but I can still see the frustration in their eyes. I don't blame them. We're so close to our comeback and I was messing it all up. It wasn't always this bad but for some reason, recently, I've been feeling kind of down. My body temperature kept changing on me and I'm sleepy all the time. Being an idol of course didn't help. I was always up early and practicing late trying to make sure everything was right. I don't mind working hard but at the same time I felt that my body was telling me I can't. Kira has been noticing too. She'll ask me constantly how I'm feeling and if I'm ok. I always brush it off and say it's just fatigue but I don't really think that's all it is. I've been fighting the messages telling my body that it needs rest. I can't leave now, not when our comeback was so close. I'm just going to have to suck it up until I can take a break.
"Kagami, are you sure you're ok?" Kira asked me for the thousandth time.
"I'm fine. I promise," I lied taking a sip from my water bottle. "Why do you keeping asking me that?"
"It's just that your movements are slower and you're not reacting as fast as you used to," Minnie responded worriedly. I can't have MinJi suspect me too, it'll make things harder to hide.
"I'm fine, really! I just need a little break," I told them calmly as if nothing was wrong at all.
"Well just promise me you'll say something if you aren't feeling well, ok?" Keerati said in her authoritative voice.
"Yah, who's the youngest here?" I joked around with her. They both started to laugh and I knew they were off my back, at least for a little while. "Come on you two, the sooner we get this done the sooner we get to go home."
I picked myself off the floor and prepared myself to dance to our new song. Kira and I got into position while Minnie ran to start the song. I heard the music play and I tried to dance as best I could. I was starting to get dizzy but I wanted to nail this song so I could go home and sleep. We were halfway through the song when my vision started to get blurry. I knew the layout of the room already so I continued dancing and tried not to get distracted. By the time we finished we were all out of breath and tired from our hard work. I let myself stand still for a minute trying to get my senses to come back to normal but something wasn't right.
"I think we can leave it like that for now," I heard Kira's voice. I knew she was in front of me but I couldn't see her. It was like everything in the room was a machine that wouldn't stop spinning. I even felt my body move with it for a bit before everything went black and I couldn't see or hear a thing.
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"When did you start noticing something was wrong," I heard a familiar masculine voice ask.
"Last week. But she said she was fine and that it was just because she was going to bed late." This time the voice sounded like Keerati's.
"Either way this still happened and we need to let her rest before we can start working again." MinJi's voice. I'm sure of it. I tried to open my eyes but a bright light made me instantly close them again. I opened them again to see three heads surrounding each other and talking. My vision suddenly became clear and I realized I was in my bedroom and the three heads belonged to Keerati, MinJi, and the last man I wanted to see me in this state, JYP. I quickly sat up in alarm, but my actions were stopped as a sharp pain was sent throughout my body. I held my head as I sat upright on the bed.
"You should take it easy for a while." I felt warm hands ease me back down onto my bed and I opened my eyes to meet JYP's.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled to him. My throat was so sore and I coughed which only made the itching feeling worse.
"You have nothing to apologize for. It's human for a person to get sick. I just wished that you would have told us sooner that you weren't feeling well," he told me calmly. JYP was like a father to me, he cared about everybody's health and looks out for all his idols.
"What did the doctor say?" I asked not knowing if they called one or not.
"You have a very high fever. And with all the practicing you've been doing, you collapsed from exhaustion. I'm going to let you rest for the week and then we'll see how you feel after that." he told me with a small smile. I knew not to challenge JYP. He was the boss. What he said goes, and even if I wanted to go to practices, he would barge into the room and tie me to the bed if that is what it took. I nodded my head in response to him and he patted my head before walking out with Keerati right behind him. MinJi sat on my bed and stared down at me.
"You really should have told us what was happening," she softly scolded me.
"I know, but we were so close to our comeback and I didn't want to mess it up," I said pulling the blanket close to my face.
"And then what would you have done if this happened while we were on our comeback?" She was upset I could tell. MK2 was more like a sisterhood then a kpop group. We cared about it each other and we get along so well. We have our fights every now and then, but at the end of the day we can always trust each other. From the first day we met we got along with each other and became friends instantly. I guess that is why we were chosen to be in a group together, because we have great chemistry with each other.
"I'm sorry. I just really wanted to get it all perfected." I admitted.
"We could have gotten it perfected AFTER you feel better," MinJi fussed raising her voice a bit. After that Keerati walked back into the room. She stared down at the two of us and waited a little while before giving us the news.
"JYP says, me and MinJi will go to practice for the week while Kagami rests," Keerati told us. Even though she was the youngest, she always knew when to step up and be a good leader for her members. "That's means we are going to have to find someone who can watch you while we're gone."
"I can stay here by myself. I don't need a sitter," I croaked out of my sore throat.
"We can't leave you here alone. You need to stay in bed and rest so you're going to have to put up with a sitter, Ok?" She made it sound more like a fact than a question. I shrunk back into my bed and nodded my head in reply.
"I'll start calling some people. You try to get some sleep," she told me one last time before leaving. MinJi wasn't long after her, taking my phone with her so I couldn't text anyone. I cuddled up in bed and let the warmth of my blankets put me to sleep.
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"Is Kagami Ok?" I was woken up by a frantic voice. I heard shushes afterwards and then the room went silent. I decided to get up and check who was here. I slowly lifted myself from the bed not realizing how hot I was at the time. I opened my door and headed straight for the living room seeing Kira, Minnie, and someone who I couldn't believe was here. Ken. My mouth dropped in shock.
"How could you call Ken to take care of me?" I said exasperated. Ken and I had been close friends since MK2 debuted. Both our groups loved to hang out with each other and a few of us had crushes on the other groups members.
"Kagami, you should be in bed," Minnie fussed me. Before I could say anything, I felt my feet leave the ground as Ken held me in his arms.
"You need to rest," Ken scolded me as he brought me back to my room. The two girls followed behind him and when we got to my room he put me down on my bed.
"You want to leave me with this big child," I questioned my two members.
"He was the only one available and he's not that bad," Minnie told me. I gave her a pair of eyes as she didn't know the VIXX group as well as Kira and I did. I turned my attention to Kira and silently asked for help with my eyes. She shrugged her shoulders and came to tuck me under the covers.
"I trust him. And besides all you need is someone to stay here to watch you incase you need anything," she reassured me. I kept quiet as my two members left the room to head out for practice. I didn't really have a problem with Ken taking care of me. It's just that I kinda liked him and it would be awkward to let him see me like this. I curled deeper into the covers and pulled my blankets over my head.
"I'll be in the room next door if you need anything," he told me before he left. There was something in his voice that surprised me. I didn't know exactly what it was but I think it was...disappointment. I pushed the feeling away and closed my eyes to fall back to sleep.
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The next time I woke up, my throat was really killing me. It was so dry and my coughing wasn't helping the situation. It was turning into a coughing fit and I was starting to get scared. My door was suddenly opened as a worried Ken came into my room. He saw me in my coughing state and left to go get something. When he came back he had a cup of some type of steaming liquid. He handed me the cup, which I kindly accepted, and sipped the contents to find that it was peppermint tea. I was surprised he knew the only flavor of tea that I liked but I pushed it aside and continued to take sips of the warm drink that was soothing my throat. I didn't even noticed that Ken had left the room until he re-entered and handed me some cough medicine. I graciously accepted the medicine and drown out the bitter taste with bigger sips from my tea. The entire time I was drinking, Ken was rubbing soothing circles along my back and calming down my panic attacks. I took a big breath after finally finishing my tea and handed the cup back to Ken. He continued to rub circles on my back and I let him as I just staring at the wall in front of me.
"Are you ok?" I could hear the worry in his voice. I know I can be over dramatic sometimes but when I'm sick I truly get scared. It gets so bad I forget to breath and I'm scared of myself. I nodded my head in reply and slowly lowered myself back on the bed. "Do you need anything else?"
"No. Thank you for helping me," I told him as my eyes closed again and brought me to sleep.
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I woke up on my own this time. My throat was hurting but not as bad as before. I was tired of just sleeping I needed something to do. I felt miserable enough from the sickness, sitting around doing nothing just made me feel worse. I got up from the bed and moved to the living room where I saw Ken sitting on the couch.
"You should be in bed. Is there anything you need?" he asked as soon as he saw me.
"No, I just needed to get out of my room. I'm going stir crazy in there," I responded to him sitting down on the couch beside him. "What are you watching?"
"Anything that comes on," He told me turning his attention to the TV screen.
"Do you mind if I take the remote?" I asked him pointing to the remote in his hand.
"Not at all." He handed me the remote and I changed to station to Running Man. Even when I was sick I loved to watch this show. No matter how terrible my mood, this show always made me feel better. I could tell Ken was enjoying it too as we both laughed at the jokes and stupidity from the players. Suddenly I heard a phone ringing and I turned my head to see Ken getting up to take the call from his phone.
"Ah, Yes Hyung," he replied to the person. "Yes. I'm with Kiki...Yes I understand...I got it...ok bye." He hung up the phone and came to sit by me again.
"Was that N Oppa?" I asked curious.
"Yeah, he wants me to be at practice tomorrow."
"Don't let me get in the way of your group practices," I exclaimed worried.
"Calm down. It's just a small practice to go over the schedule and song concept. It's nothing big," he told me. "Besides I'd have much more fun hanging out with you anyways." He started to speak louder and make aegyo faces.
"Yah, how am I supposed to trust you to take care of me if you act like a child," I playfully pushed him.
"But you act like a child too," he pouted at me.
"No I don't," I crossed my arms and turned away from him. I soon felt his hands tickle my sides and I felt back on him laughing. He continued to tickle me and I turned around to fuss him.
"Yah, you're not supposed to tickle a sick person," I told him curling into a ball to protect my sides.
"Now who's acting like a child," he laughed at me. I sent him a mean pout and slowly moved away from him on the couch. We continued watching Running Man in our new positions away from each other. It was always nice to be around Ken. He always made me laugh and happy, just like Running Man. The program soon ended and I was starting to feel really cold. I crossed my arms, hoping to warm myself up. Ken saw my actions and gave me a questioning look.
"I'm cold," I respond to him, grabbing a small blanket that was covered over the couch.
He got up from his place and walked over to me, putting his hand on my head to feel my temperature.
"You're burning up," He responded in shock. I guess my fever was back. I was soon lifted off the couch as Ken carried me back to my room for the second time. He placed me on the bed and tucked me under the covers. I still felt cold and I even started to shiver. Ken frowned at my action and soon crawled on the other side of the bed and hugged me from behind.
"What are you doing," I asked confused at his actions.
"Body heat. It will warm you up faster," he responded as he leaned his head on top of mine.
"But you'll get sick too," I told him worried.
"Don't worry about me I'll be fine," He said as he pulled me closer to him. Even with the blankets separating us, I could still feel his comforting warmth and I feel asleep in his arms. Not knowing that he was smiling and falling asleep as well.
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"Kiki," I heard a familiar voice say. I felt someone shaking me awake and I slowly opened my eyes to find Kira and Minnie smiling down at me. I snuggled back into the warmth of my blankets and mumbled as a reply to them.
"What do you want," I asked them.
"Do you by chance happen to know who is behind you," Kira whispered to me. My eyes furrowed in confusion and I turned my head to see a protective arm around my waist. My eyes traveled up the arm and to the face of Ken. I gasped in shock and Minnie and Kira started to cover up their laughing facing. Of course both girls knew I liked him. It was one of the reasons I was mad that they even asked him to come here.
"Get me out of here," I asked them as I desperately tried to get out of bed without waking him. They both kept laughing at me and I was left alone to get out of Ken's death grip. Luckily, I was under covers and able to slide out of them. I carefully crawled out of bed and hurried the two unhelpful girls out of the room. I quietly closed the door behind me and pulled Kira and Minnie with me to the kitchen which was the farthest room away from mine.
"When did you two get home?" I asked them horrified. They were never going to let this go.
"Just now actually. We went in to check on you but we didn't think we would walk in on THAT," Minnie smirked at me.
"You walk in on nothing. I was really cold so he was trying to help warm me up and we both just kind of fell asleep," I corrected her.
"Yeah you fell asleep alright. Right in his arms," Minnie teased me. I hit her in the arm to get her to be quiet.
"Why did y'all even ask him to watch me," I asked them curiously.
"Who do you think was your first contact on your phone," Kira responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. My mouth dropped in shock. I didn't think Ken and I texted that much but apparently we did. He had also said that he was missing practices a little too. What is that boy thinking? Not long after I heard a noise from the hall and heavy feet running towards the front. A worried Ken came into view and he calmed down after seeing me and the other girls.
"We're home now Ken Oppa. You can leave," Minnie told him with a huge smile. Ken returned to smile and walk towards us.
"I can see that. I guess I'll be leaving then," He said giving the girls each and hug and coming to me. "See you tomorrow," he asked me.
"No, I think I'll be fine now. Plus you have practice tomorrow," I told him as I walked him to the door.
"Are you sure? Because I can take off it you need me," I could hear the concern in his voice.
"I'm sure. I think my fevers gone down now and the rest of the recovery is just building up my body to start working again. I can handle myself from here," I told him as we had reached the door.
"Ok, well then I hope you get better soon," he said giving me and hug and leaving the apartment. I turned around and sat myself on the couch ready for the girls to tell me how their day went.
"So how was your day," Minnie smiled at me. I sent her a glare.
"I'm not talking about it. Nothing happened. But you are going to tell me what I missed out on." I corrected her. The two girls told me about their day and I listened carefully, preparing myself to play catch-up when I got back into the studio.
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The end of the week was near. I was already feeling a 100% better. I was able to rest and recover fast thanks to everyone taking care of me and letting me rest. I couldn't wait to get back into the studio. Being trapped in this small apartment was killing me. I was itching to get out and start moving. JYP had let me come to practice with Kira and Minnie but I wasn't to do anything strenuous. I was mostly there to catch-up on stuff I missed, and to remake my schedule, so I wasn't falling behind. Everything seemed to be getting back to normal. Ken and I were still frequently texting each other. He keeps asking if I'm ok and I give him the same response every time, 'I'm fine,' this boy worries too much sometimes. He loves to make people smile and laugh and he never fails at doing just that. I was walking into the studio when my phone alerted me to a text message. I saw it was Ken and instantly smiled but my smiled soon dropped when I saw his message. 'Check this out,' he had sent me a link which I clicked on and my mouth dropped at the head lines.
HOTTEST IDOL GROUPS IN A SECRET RELATIONSHIP
I scrolled down to read the article. It was all about how Ken came to the apartment and didn't leave till late in the night. People were assuming that we were in a secret relationship and that we were sleeping together. I scrolled down further and saw a very blurry picture of Ken and I asleep on my bed. He had his arm around my waist protectively holding me close to him. This was bad. As an idol we are suppose to always appear available without being available. I had even signed a contract with my company saying that I wouldn't date for 10 years. What am I going to do now? I had to tell JYP. I hurried to his office and opened his door to see him staring at his computer. He looked up at me and turned the screen for me to see that he had already seen the article. I walked into his office and sat in the chair.
"What are we going to do, sir?" I asked him politely. I didn't want to make him even more mad.
"Relax Kagami. I know this wasn't your fault. It's no one's fault really. But the paparazzi have a cruel way of putting things together." He comforted me.
"But we still need to do something. We can't just let people think that Ken and I are having a relationship when we are actually just really good friends." I told him panicked.
"I know. But we also need to think about how we are going to handle the press. They are going to do everything they can to get you to say that this is true. And we are going to have to contact his company as well and get them on board with the same story." JYP explained calmly.
"Why can't we just tell the truth. I was sick and Ken was taking care of me. Nothing happened and Ken and I are just friends." I asked him. It's not like it was anything bad to cover up. Ken was being a gentleman and I was sick as a dog. Nothing happened between us except for the fact that I was cold and he was trying to warm me up.
"Maybe to you it doesn't seem bad. But the press will try to twist your words and make it sound worse than what it actually is," he explained calmly. "Let me make a few calls and I'll see what I can do. I'll talk to you again before the end of the day. For now just continue with your schedule and try not to stress."
"Yes sir," I told him as I walked out the door and headed towards the practice room.
Even though he told me not to worry. I couldn't help but think about the article and how wrong it was. This kind of thing could not only ruin my career but Ken's, and both our groups will be under attack as well. How was I going to live with myself if we couldn't dig our way out of this? How was I going to face my best friends again? I know I have a crush on Ken but I would never date him for the same fact that we are both idols. I respect him and my group members enough to not put my feelings ahead of my job. The picture that was posted isn't even clear enough to tell what is happening but I know exactly what this picture is.
By the end of the day JYP called me into his office and I obediently followed him. He went behind his desk and I sat in a chair across from him. I waited for him to say something while he cleared his desk of the paperwork.
"I've reach a conclusion. You were really sick and you couldn't be left alone. Ken came to take care of you and that is all that happened. You rested and he stayed in the other room in case you called for him. In the picture, Ken was tucking you in since you were cold and adding more blankets on the top of you. We tried to make the story as true as possible. Does that fit your satisfaction?" JYP asked after his finished his speech.
"Yes but do you really think people will believe that he was just tucking me in," I asked him.
"Well it's an unclear shot. So that helps us tell any story we want at this point. I set up a press meeting for tomorrow at 12. Don't be late. I already told Kira and Minnie about our situation and they will also be going with you along with VIXX as well. You will explain to the reporters what I told you and that will be that," he said as he dusted his hands off of the situation. "And Kagami. It's ok to have friends from the other male idols but you need to be careful with how much time you spend with them."
"I know sir. I promise I'll be a lot more careful this time." I left his office and headed home. I was ready to face everybody tomorrow and tell them the truth even if it had a little lie in it. I wasn't going to bring MK2 down with my mess.
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The day of the press confress, I went over the story in my head and prepared myself for all the questions I would be asked. I was hoping I could clear up the situation in just one quick answer but that was probably wishful thinking. Kira and Minnie were with me, giving me encouragement. Since the rumors were about Ken and I; it was up to us to answer the questions. We walked into a room with two big tables covered with a white cloth. VIXX took the right table while MK2 took the left. We sat at our tables and waited to receive our first question.
"Kiki. What is your relationship with Ken?" one of the reports asked.
"We have no relationship other than the fact that we are friends." I answered him simply.
"But evidence have shown that he was at your apartment for a long time while your two other members were gone. Can you explain why he was there in the first place?"
"I was really sick and I need someone to watch out for me while I rested so my members asked if Ken would come to take care of me. He came and stayed in another room mostly while I slept in my room."
"There is photographic evidence of the both of you in the same room. Obviously close together can you please explain more about the photo itself?"
"I was cold and Ken was trying to keep me warm by finding other blankets and tucking them around me. The picture was taken from my window that was left open so the screen didn't look clear enough to see the real intent behind the closeness."
"And you would agree to all of this, Ken?" this time a different reporter took control.
"Yes, I was just helping Kiki since she wasn't feeling well." Ken replied sticking to the story.
"So you are both saying that there is no feelings towards either person in the situation other than the connection of friendship. The public has seen it a lot where you to have talked to each other. Are you sure that there were no sparks that were created while this situation occurred?"
"Ken and I are really good friends. We talk to each other frequently, yes, but not anymore than a normal person will contact their own friends. We have a mutual relationship that will stay at a friendship level." I stated to the press. I was really nervous but I had to keep myself calm around the cameras.
"And you feel the same way, Ken?" I heard a feminine voice this time. I was expecting Ken to agree with my statement but he froze. Everyone's eyes were on him now as we all waited for his answer. What is he doing? The longer he takes the more of a lie it'll seem like. I was starting to get scared now. What is that boy thinking? Then out of nowhere, he started to laugh. Everyone was confused, I was starting to think that he's gone insane.
"Kiki and I would never go out," he said catching his breath. "I would never date someone who could be louder than me." He started to laugh again along with everyone else as I stared with my mouth opened.
"Yah!" I screamed at him.
"See. She's too similar to me. Haven't you ever heard opposites attack?" he laughed while speaking his question.
"Ok well then I better get an invitation to you and Leo's wedding," I joked at him. This time it was my turn to laugh. I got a minny glare from Leo but I wasn't too worried. He knows I would spill the beans about his little crush on Keerati if he tried anything.
"Now I know you're definitely feeling better," Kira said to me.