‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙  

riki nisihimura. that is the name of ENHYPEN'S youngest member (preferably called niki). being the only full foreigner on the team, there were a lot of things he had to sacrifice in order to be where he was today. he had to sacrifice his childhood in exchange for his trainee years. he had to move away from his dear and beloved family. 

the boy was at the ripe age of fifteen, holding the title of maknae in his group. there existed instances where he felt alone. he had trouble from time to time understanding the korean language. well... he wasn't to blame. he wasn't native to the country so he couldn't be 100% fluent in the language. he was extremely grateful to his members for helping him learn the language, teaching him to understand it better. he was even more grateful to his fellow member's jay and yuki for speaking to him in japanese, making him a bit more comfortable. 

there were times when niki thought about the life he had back in japan. he often thought about how his life would've been if he had never come to korea and debuted in ENHYPEN. he would be with his family, continuing school, and probably retained healthy hair. but he was happy with his choice. he finally got to pursue his dreams. 

or was he happy?

niki was often conflicted with his own emotions. sometimes his homesickness would get the best of him. the poor fifteen-year-old boy was stranded away from his family and so he would put up a facade, pretending that moving to korea was the best decision he ever made. niki missed his family so bad. he didn't know when the next time he would see them be. well, if he was ever able to again.

a single tear rolled down his cheek. the more he wiped them away, the more they kept coming down. he sniffled as he curled himself under the blanket, thankful that he was the only one in the room at the moment. he hated for the members to see him in his vulnerable state. 

niki thought about his family and how much he wanted to be with them so bad.

in the midst of his cry, he heard a faint voice, "niki? niki?"

niki remained under his blanket, biting his lip to refrain any sobs from escaping. he quietly waited under his blanket, hoping that they wouldn't approach him.

"niki, i know you're under the blanket," 

niki slowly peeled the blanket away from his face, quickly wiping away his tears in a harsh manner before he got up, his head facing downwards.

"hey, what's wrong?" he felt a hand gently placed on his shoulder, urging him to look up. the female in front of him stared at him with a worried and gentle gaze.

niki felt the walls of his throat constrict. almost as if he was struggling to swallow down all the painful emotions he was feeling. niki sighed heavily, letting his head drop once more. yuki wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him into her embrace.

niki found himself crying on her shoulder. his sobs weren't loud but fairly quiet. but his sobs carried heavy emotions in them. he had been keeping his emotions in for so long. 

"i'm right here. it's okay," she whispered in their native language. her graceful fingers caressed his head slowly. niki found comfort in her hug, reminding him of the time he was comforted by his own mother.

once his sobs had quietened down, yuki pulled away from him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "would you like to tell me what's on your mind?"

niki hesitated for a moment but he nodded his head. before he could speak, he was cut off,

"but first, lay here," yuki comfortably laid down on his single bed and patted the space next to her.

"w-where?" he questioned, tilting his head in slight confusion.

"next to me you idiot," stuttered yuki in embarrassment, looking away to hide her tinted cheeks.

warmth spread on niki's cheeks as he finally understood yuki's words . he was reluctant at first but gave in. he squeezed himself on the single bed, squirming beside yuki. there was barely space in between their heads as their hairs mangled together. with just the slightest movement, niki could feel yuki's hand.

"okay, you can tell me what's on your mind now," yuki cleared her throat. 

"i....i feel homesick," sniffled niki. yuki remained quiet, allowing niki to continue

"sometimes i wonder what it would've been like if i stayed in japan instead of moving here. but if i did, i wouldn't have been able to debut in ENHYPEN and meet you all. i haven't seen my family in a year and i miss them a lot. i wish i could see them right now," niki took a pause in his words, allowing himself to calm down for a bit before continuing, "i don't know when will be the next time i could see them...sometimes i ask myself if i am doing the right thing?"

"i understand you niki. i miss my family too. especially my cat. it's alright to feel homesick. we all feel homesick a little sometimes. i know that you will be able to see your family soon. they miss you as much as you miss them," her head turned to face niki who was staring above,  "i think that you're doing the right thing. you always wanted to become a kpop idol right? well now, you're pursuing your dreams. there's so much in store for you in the future. you're so talented and so young. i know your parents are happy with the decision you made. you have to continue making them proud,"

yuki's words had made him calm down. all his negative thoughts seemed to have flown out the window by just the little words she had said. they meant a lot to him. niki couldn't remember when was the last time he was properly comforted.

niki's hands rested on top of yuki's palm, giving it a small squeeze(which was quite a bold move for a fifteen-year-old if i do say so myself).

he turned his head, "thank you yuki,"

their noses were barely inches away. at the close proximity, the two immediately turned their heads to the other side, suddenly feeling shy. this had made niki's heart race (how unfortunate for the boy since he had just calmed down).

"oh um, it's no problem," yuki cleared her throat for the second time of the day, her eyes wandering around the room. she didn't want to recall how beautiful his brown eyes were up close. the glossiness from when he was crying made them even prettier. there was a sort of depth in his eyes that made her intrigued. she shook her thoughts away.

the two remained silent, too busy in their own thoughts.

there was such warmth that radiated from yuki. it was exactly what niki needed at this moment. being with her made him feel calm. he felt like he truly could be himself around her. though at times she was hard to read, that was what made her interesting. those were the last thoughts he had in his head before he drifted off into sleep was how grateful he was for her.

at the stillness of the room, yuki whispered "niki?"

she turned her head, a small smile making its way onto her lips as she saw the younger male. his lids were closed and he was breathing slow but evenly. his lips were slightly parted, quiet snores coming out from his mouth. 

yuki was about to get up from the bunk bed before she felt his hand grip hers. she was startled at the sudden contact.

"stay," she looked back at the japanese boy who was still resting on the bed peacefully, eyelids still closed. yuki groaned before she fell back onto the bed. 

"maybe a five-minute nap won't be so bad," she yawned, eyelids slowly dropping.

niki woke up about an hour later, letting out a yawn. there was an uncomfortably heavy feeling on his shoulder and arm. not wanting to move his head, niki glanced at yuki's sleeping figure beside him. her head was snuggled beside his neck. he could feel her breathing against his neck. he stared at her sleeping face, taking every detail of her facial feature. his breath hitched at the sight of her exposed collarbone due to the very oversized cardigan she was wearing. he let out a small shout, accidentally pushing yuki off his single bed.

yuki yelped at the sudden contact between her and the wooden floor which instantly woken her up. she groggily got up on her two feet, furrowing her brows at the younger male. 

"i can't believe you just pushed me off the bed!" she exclaimed, adjusting her oversized top.

"s-sorry i didn't mean to do that," niki frantically apologized, hoping that yuki didn't take note of how red his ears were.

the sound of their dorm room opening along with chatters of loud males made them divert their attention.

"niki you idiot. if you ever need to talk to someone im here," she murmured (it sounded more like a threat to him). and with that the young female stormed out of their room, rubbing her sore arm.

"what's up with yuki?" queried jay who had just entered the room, removing his jacket while doing so.

"im not sure," 

jay raised his brows, watching the boy bite back a smile as he hid his face in the pillow. 

"kids these days..."

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ 

yes i am aware that niki is turning 17 this year (intl age) but according to this timeline when given-taken was just released, he was 14-15 so let just say he's 15 here!!! okay? okay! ^ 0 ^

as yuki's turning 19 this year and niki is turning 17, i won't progress their relationship too much because um....niki is not 18 yet and i do not want my audience to be uncomfortable with their age gap especially since yuki is 19 >:(

anyways.

i bet his family is so proud of him :(

please vote and comment, it is greatly appreciate