*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Jiyoung

Although the words were only directed to Jisung, the other five also turned curious gazes on to the two of us.

While four of them seemed confused, Mark's expression was more suspicious than anything, "Jiyoung. Is that Haechan's? Why do you have it?"

"I-" I spluttered, thinking of how best to explain myself, without him instantly jumping to conclusions, it wasn't even anything incriminating but the sudden pressure made the words trip over in my mouth, "It's really not what you're thinking of Mark."

"It's true Mark-hyung, she didn't have a top last time, so I let her borrow mine, I knew how much you and Jiyoung both wanted to join. That's really all." Haechan butted in, saving me.

I warmed at his caring reply, showing how thoughtful he was. I hadn't even thought about it fully when he had originally lent it to me, but in hindsight, I now realised how much of a deal it actually was, especially to the boys.

Mark frowned but accepted the excuse nonetheless and soon it was forgotten about, the boys returned back to playing while I sat on the edge again.

Clearly, I looked very lonely in doing so, as Chenle came to sit by me.

"Jiyoung! Hi" He bounced up beside me, easing himself out of the water. Sofia had told me to look out for Chenle as he was one of the underratedly jacked up members, he was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt which displayed his arms and broad chest beautifully "We haven't spoken properly. I'm really sorry for what I said earlier, I didn't mean to cause drama, I was just surprised since Haechan-hyung doesn't really share his clothes amongst the members. It must be because you're close to Mark."

"Oh really? I should thank him later." I was surprised by the drop of information.

"Also, Mark-hyung also told me that we're the same age. So, you can drop the formalities with me. When's your birthday? Mine is November 22nd."

"Mine is the 16th of December, so you're a little older than me."

"Wow," He smiled, " You and Jisung are the only ones younger than me. You should definitely hang out with us sometime. We're definitely the most fun. Mark-hyung can be a little boring sometimes."

Chenle, despite not speaking his native language, had a lot to say. He had a very endearing and colourful way of chattering about anything and everything, covering at least three topics is every sentence. He kept the conversation going at all times, and although he did have a habit of jumping between ideas, it was easy to follow.

I felt more at ease talking with him since he was the same age as me, and I wasn't burdened to act mature and almost business-like as I did with some of the older members.

Jisung left the game the others were playing to investigate me and Chenle's conversation, though unlike the other, he remained in the water claiming he would be cold otherwise.

"Hello Jiyoung, hello Chenle." He smiled, albeit a little awkwardly. At this, Chenle reached out with his foot using the water to splash the youngest.

"Have some respect Jisung, Jiyoung is your noona." He hissed.

"But isn't she the sam-"

"Just be quiet Jisung, you can't go disrespecting everyone older than you, I only let you off the hook since I've known you for so long!"

"I-" He was silenced by Chenle's discrete but intense stare. "I'm sorry Jiyoung-noona."

I laughed at their sweet(ish) interaction, "It's okay, you weren't to know."

"See Jisung, she didn't tell you to speak informally to her, because you are a little baby. Know your place foetus." He said with a victorious smile.

"Shut up Chenle."

I noticed the absence of formalities in their back-and-forth relay.

"Anyway, Jiyoung-noona, Mark-hyung told me to tell you to stop sulking on the side like a wet squid and actually come in the water."

"Why didn't he tell me himself? That lazy kid."

"He's still salty about you wearing hyung's top."

"What? Is he for real? Let me teach that wet squid a lesson."

With the victim in my line of sight, I pushed off the edge of the wall, enjoying the sensation of the water on me, before appearing in front of Mark and tackling him under water.

After a few seconds I felt him tap on my arm to release him.

"Well done noona!" Jisung cheers when I emerge victor of our little scuffle.

"Are you still annoyed at me for wearing a t-shirt to cover up, oppa?" I smile sweetly.

He shakes his head, rolling his eyes, but not mad anymore.

I smirked.

"Let's play a game." Jaemin suggests, having noticed all eight of us were gathered in the centre of the pool.

The boys were excellent at games, unsurprisingly, but still managed to make it enjoyable for me.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Jiyoung

Like all things that go up, must come down, we who went down, had to return back up to our rooms. The boys still had one final filming session during their dinner and later, as I had been informed by Mark, he and a few others would be holding a vlive session for their fans.

He had said it was down to the premise that he had been spending too much time with me, and needed to appear to the fans as well, according to their manager, who wanted to ensure that Mark appeared in some Off Filming as well.

I hadn't minded at all, reminding him that me and Nina would definitely be watching, maybe even commenting if he was lucky.

He grinned and said he would look out for it.

I accompanied them up their rooms on the eighth floor and waved them off when we arrived, before taking the lift back down to my floor.

Nina and James greeted me half-heartedly, too engrossed in their series to give me more than a brief glance. I giggled at their unwavering attention to the TV, informing them that I would be taking a shower. Whether they actually heard me or not was another question.

I switched the water on, grateful for the stream of hot water that came instantly, unlike the unpredictable water Sofia and I battled with daily. Upon exiting the shower and feeling much cleaner, I stumbled into the two having a debate on what should be ordered for dinner. Nina being very much on team chicken, while James was team pizza.

Feeling only slightly apologetic to Nina, I announced my decision to side with James, getting pelted with a pillow by Nina, almost immediately.

"You traitor," She said, punctuating her words with hits from her pillow, "How could you do this to me?"

"Mark forced me to eat chicken yesterday, I simply cannot eat any more today." I replied, in an attempt to make her see reason, swatting the pillow out of her hands. "You can get chicken on your pizza anyway."

"It's not the same." she pouted but relented easily.

James put the order through and it arrived within an episode. Nina was the first to help herself to the food, though every so often, we would hear mutters of, "I can't believe you sided with James." or "Damned pizza."

Sharing a knowing glance, me and James decided not to comment on her obvious enjoyment of the meal, despite her angry words.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Jiyoung

After dinner, we congregated back on to my bed, (Nina had kicked us off the beds to avoid getting them dirty while we ate) and decided to kill some time. They were mid-way through an episode, so they alternatively took turns to whisper every single inch of detail about each character that appeared, pausing every so often as well to add even more details, only succeeding in confusing me even more than I was before.

I was rescued by a message from Mark to say he was going to go live in five minutes. I quickly notified the others, who were just as excited to watch it. Although, most of their joint excitement did come from Nina, who was still a big fan of theirs. James less so, but was outvoted, rendering his opinion weightless against two fangirls.

Five minutes after Nina's suggestion to watch it on the TV, James picked up the instruction guide for the TV, and called out instructions faster than we could act.

"Slow down, J. Do I look like a technician to you?" Nina sulked, tossing the remote to me while she searched through the settings on her phone.

James sighed, before repeating the instructions slower and more clearly, while I located the buttons on the remote.

Eventually, we were greeted with the vlive home page on the large TV screen, after Nina had managed to connect her phone to the screen.

The notification rang on both of our phones, as well as James' to our great surprise.

He looked away, before muttering embarrassedly, "It's just in case."

"I can't believe you have the vlive app, Jay." Nina giggled.

I quickly shushed her though, as the five boys appeared on the screen.

From left to right, seated on the screen were Renjun, Yuta, Mark, Winwin and Taeil. They all had their idol faces on, as they smiled and waved at the camera.

Despite their efforts to hide it, I could see their very subtle glances at manager Kim, whom I knew was right behind the camera, monitoring them strictly.

Lots of fans were joining and commenting lots of things, especially about the boys' whereabouts and what was going on.

I scrolled through the comments on my phone, feeling proud of the information I had which they didn't. They had already guessed the boys were in a Spain and were asking why.

We watched as Renjun pretended to randomly read aloud a comment asking what the boys were doing. I had to give credit to their acting, as they pretended to look unsure about whether they should answer or not and how much detail to give. We already knew that Mrs Lee had asked me to put the live in their schedule two days ago, and they had been briefed as to how much they could reveal.

I snorted at the fans' reactions to their announcement that they were filming a show. The boys themselves looked like they had spilled the greatest tea of all time, but it was going to be confirmed tomorrow morning at 9am KST anyway.

The video lagged for a few seconds as the excited replies spammed the live.

Mark and Yuta took over the conversation to talk about a funny anecdote that happened when we went to the pool on the first night. They both started to crack up at the memory, while Renjun and Taeil rolled their eyes and told them to sober up.

Mark continued the story, I absentmindedly listened, having been there for the incident, however I was suddenly brought back to the present, hearing Mark's words.

"-Johnny and I were laughing so hard when Ji said-"

I widened my eyes at the mention of his nickname for me.

"Shit." Nina breathed, "That clueless idiot."

Mark carried on, none of the others having noticed his slip up after all, he could be referring to Jisung, until Yuta chimed in, "Your cousin is so-."

That's when the other three's heads whipped to look at Yuta. I nearly choked on the air I was breathing. That wasn't a mistake the fans could overlook, whatsoever.

Mentally, I could imagine the manager's hands gesticulating wildly at them to change the topic.

Taeil got the hint first, grabbing the attention by complaining about how he wasn't invited to the pool, with Winwin echoing the sentiment.

But by now, the comments were flooded with questions about the slip up. It was too late.

Nina was rubbing my back soothingly, calming my racing heart and mind. James reached up to turn the TV off, but Nina stopped him, claiming it was best to see their reaction and explanation of the situation. I only nodded; heart racing faster than I imagined possible.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Mark

As soon as the words left Yuta's mouth, the four boys had collectively known they were screwed. Yuta, had instantly stopped himself, and tried to continue the sentence to his credit. Though it wasn't worth much in light of his words. Mark understood that it was his fault in the first place for messing up and saying Ji, but at least that was something that could have been potentially overlooked.

He looked down at the phone on which he was monitoring the video, hoping there was an off-chance they hadn't noticed. It was a thought in vain as, after a couple of seconds, the comments were pouring, asking about this cousin of his.

Their manager stared them down in a furious manner, making them gulp anxiously, not looking forward to the moment the live ended.

Taeil responded to the situation the quickest, joking about not being invited to the pool, in a futile attempt to resolve the mishap, and Winwin emphasised his agreement, replying with more words than he had used on live yet.

But it didn't work, since the fans unable to let go of that moment, as Renjun had gestured, leaning over to look at Mark's screen.

They pretended to be reading comments while waiting for the manager to make a decision about whether to address the rumours or not.

The disappointment is still sprayed across his face, and doesn't fade despite the incline of his head, allowing them to divulge a few details.

Mark went first, reading aloud a comment to introduce the topic.

"Who is the cousin Yuta referred to? Has he met her?"

He took a subtle breath in and out, picturing a calm image in his mind, like he had taught Jiyoung when she was nervous.

"Some of you may know that my uncle is the CEO of a hotel, and he was the one who gave us the location to film our show. My cousin works here and since we are very close, I have spent some time with her recently. She is like a little sister to me, so I won't tolerate any sorts of comments about her, and our company have said they will take action against those who interfere with her privacy."

Mark hadn't tried to sound so threatening and serious, but the sentiment came to him naturally, just thinking about what obsessive fans could do to her now that her existence had been acknowledged by him and Yuta.

Renjun picked up the baton from Mark, "And to answer the other question, me and Yuta and a few other have met her." He hadn't noticed the small smile gracing his lips as he spoke those words, but a few fans noticed, and were already concluding 100 different scenarios in their minds.

They picked up conversations based on the minor number of comments asking for song and film recommendations, rambling on about the newest marvel film and Mark's go to Justin Bieber song. Soon, the manager decided to signal them to wrap up the live, having sent and received twenty messages from the producers and probably Lee Sooman himself.

The comments were still full of questions asking about Jiyoung, but they had done their best to ignore it. They could tell the fans were disappointed when they began to say their goodbyes after only half an hour on live, but it couldn't be helped. This live wouldn't be doing them any more favours, and Mark really wanted to check on Jiyoung straight away.

Mark started to play with his fingers. He knew Jiyoung was watching and would have seen the live. The only consolation was that she would be with Nina and James. They were very caring people from his experience, and seemed to get on with her really well from the minimal interactions he had seen of them.

The moment the live was ended, they all counted to ten before they stood up and broke loose from the restraints they had on film.

There was an awkward silence in the room.

Manager Kim broke the silence.

"Mark, Yuta, we will have a conversation tomorrow about this. It's too late to discuss it now. Go back to your rooms, Mark, you go and check on Jiyoung-ssi, and I expect an apology from you Yuta tomorrow." He spoke.

"Mark, you know I really didn't mean that." Yuta mumbled, ashamed by his novice mistake, as they headed towards the door, "Apologise to her now on my behalf, please."

Mark rushed to his phone, nodding, fingers typing a million miles an hour.

Yuta hadn't done it maliciously, it was a mistake and he understood that, he just hoped she wasn't taking it too badly. "I'll pass it on now, but you'd better apologise to her as well." He sighed, frustrated at the whole situation and taking it out on Yuta.

Me:

Jiji
Jiyoung
I am so sorry
So is Yuta
Very much so
Are you okay?

Jiji🤭:

It was bound to happen sooner or later
And I'm okay
Like actually okay, since Nina is very calming
Maybe it will hit tomorrow
Anyways you probably have more braincells than Sofia
She just messaged me saying that Mark revealed he has a cousin and then asked me if I was related to his cousin as well

Mark felt relieved upon her quick reply. He prided himself on being able to read her messages beyond surface level, and she seemed to be holding up fine at this news. Despite knowing her well, he wasn't entirely sure of the things that triggered her, as opposed to those she was unaffected by.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

Jiyoung

The surprise wasn't as impactful as Mark had feared it was, and I wasn't relatively bothered any more. Maybe it was due to the fact that it was only my existence that was revealed. They didn't really know my name, or age, or any of my social accounts. Though I supposed it was a matter of time before someone found something.

Sofia had promised to keep an eye out on stan Twitter, in case anything popped up, to warn me of any potential discoveries.

She had already sent me lots of posts on Instagram mentioning the live, some posted only a few minutes after the live had ended. I ignored any other notifications that weren't from her.

Unexpectedly, my phone displayed an incoming call from Sofia. Nina and James hopped onto the bed beside me to listen in on the call; there would be a reason she was calling me now, after having updated me only a few minutes ago.

"Sof, hi, what's going on? By the way, I'm here with Nina and James."

I briefly pointed the camera at them, and they waved.

"Hi guys!" Sofia responded before, raising her tone, "Have any of you been on twitter?"

I shook my head, "No, why?"

"Well, word has spread about you. I'm pretty sure there's some sort of hashtag trending as well."

"They-" I began, fear sinking deep inside me, "What? I'm trending?"

"Yeah babe, have you seen your twitter followings?"

I went off the call to open twitter up, instantly my phone was hit with delayed notifications, mentions, likes and follows all greeted me, the numbers in the thousands.

Vaguely I saw someone move out of the corner of my eye.

My breathing quickened, and my vision blurred; the last thing I remember is a figure rushing over to catch me as I toppled sideways off the bed. Then everything went black.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*