"Hyejin you need to get off this couch!" Jaemin said, sitting down next to her. Hyejin was wrapped around here blanket like a burrito. She sat on the couch and had her eyes glued to the TV.

"What's the point Nana? I ran out of things to do. We don't have practice because we don't have anything to practice. Chenle and Jisung have their ChenJi series. Jeno has JSMR. Renjun draws. You.. well I'm not sure what you do." She said. He pulled her off the couch and onto her lap.

"Well, you have been working on lyrics. Why don't you show me them?" He said. She rolled her eyes.

"It's not just some simple lyrics. I wrote a bunch of songs. Enough for my own album. But you know that will never happen." She said. A light bulb went off in Jaemin's head.

"Wait. You could have your own album." He said. She looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Your funny Jaemin. I guess you forgot we work under SM entertainment." She said. He chuckled.

"No for real. For all you do for our group, you deserve to publish some of your own lyrics." He said. She sighed.

"Even if I had a chance, most of the song lyrics aren't even that good." She said. Jaemin put her down on the couch before running into her bedroom.

"NO NANA COME BACK!" She said, she untangled herself from the covers before jumping over the table. She ran to her room to find Jaemin sitting on her bed with her song book.

"Hey don't touch my book! You know the rules." She said. He furrowed her eyebrows.

"So? I'm your boyfriend," He said. She put her hands on her waist.

"Just because I let you sleep on my bed for longer than seven hours, doesn't mean that I let you go through my book." She said. He shrugged and continued to read the lyrics.

"Hyejin- These are good! There so good! You have got to show these to-"

"They're also personal Jaemin. They won't think I'm ready." She said. He closed the book and folded his arms.

"What about you? Do you think your ready?" He asked. She let out a small frustrating puff.

"Of course I do. I dream about this moment all the time. And I always just picture it in my head. And I know I am more than capable of handling it. But Nana, you know it's not up to me. And as much as I would love to give them a piece of my mind, I cant. Its not in my place to bring this up with the manager." She said. He sighed. She sat down on the bed with him.

"So until I find something better to do with my time, I will sit here and wallow in the luxury of my burrito blanket." She said. He pecked her forehead before leaving her room.

~~~

"Uh Areum, your manager texted tou." Renjun said. She furrowed her eyebrows.

"He said that the CEO wants to see you." She looked up from her songbook to see Renjun holding her phone. She furrowed her eyebrows. He handed her the phone to show her the text message.

"What's so important that he has to see me immediately?" She asked. He shrugged.

"Maybe he figured out you've been wallowing and have nothing better to do with your time." He said. She playfully shoved him out of her room before she ran off to take a shower.

She walked out of her room in jeans with a white tank top and black oversize flannel. She heard a sniff and slow clapping from the couch. She looked over.

"Chenle Hyung? What wrong?" She asked. He sighed.

"I haven't seen you where a decent outfit since New Year's eve." He said, wiping his fake tears. Jaemin chuckled.

"You guys are exaggerating." She said walking into the kitchen. Jaemin scoffed.

"Please, the only other good outfit you wore this week was my hoodie. The expensive one." He said. She sighed grabbing a snack and putting on her shoes.

"Whatever. You guys are annoying." She said. Jisung raised his hands in victory.

"Hey I wouldn't be celebrating if you just made me mad. Who's gonna cook for you tonight?" She said. Jisung when silent. Chenle stood up and smirked.

"Jaemin Hyung!" He said. The other members burst into laughter. She rolled her eyes so far back in her head.

"Boys" She muttered before walking out of the house. She was halfway down the hall, when she heard the door open and footsteps run after her. She turned around to see Jaemin with a goofy smile. She turned back to the front and continued walking. She heard an exaggerated gasp come from him.

"Wow. So your not gonna wait for me?" He said, swinging his arm around her shoulders.

"No. Your annoying. Sometimes more than Chenle." She said. He smiled.

"I'm sorry. I can't control myself. I know this is off topic but what do you think your getting called in for? Maybe the so-" He started to speak but was interrupted.

"Im not getting a solo album! I never will, Jaemin. I don't have enough experience practicing solo. And people won't accept me." She interrupted. He shook his head. He grabbed her shoulders, which stopped her from walking. Their eyes met.

"I don't want you bringing yourself down like that. Its unhealthy. You probably have more experience than all of us combined. Don't forget, a long time ago you were performed one of Chunga Sunbaenim's songs and the fans loved it." He said. She shrugged.

"Even if I could, he wouldn't listen to me. My needs aren't as big as his." She said. He brought her head up so that she wouldn't look down.

"You are the most talented human beings I have ever met. What I love most about you is that you are not afraid to stand up for yourself or others. So use that in your meeting okay?" He said. She smiled. He pecked her lips slowly, getting a happy reaction from her. They pulled away when the elevator had opened.

"You'll be fine, ok?" He said. She nodded and stepped into the elevator.

"Love you Jaemin." She said. He smiled.

"I love you too." He said, as the elevator door closed.

~~~

Hyejin and her manager were sitting down, waiting for the CEO to come and speak to her. She fiddled with her fingers as she bounced her leg quickly. Her manager scoffed.

"Hyejin stop." She said. Her gaze was focused on the ground.

"Stop what?" She asked. She put her hand on her leg.

"Your going to be fine! You shouldn't be worried." She said. Hyejin sighed. The CEO walked in and sat down behind his desk. Areum bowed and whispered hello.

"It is good to see you Hyejin. First of all, Happy New Year." He said. She smiled, but continued to play with her fingers.

"Second order of business is to talk about your success so far in your career." He said. She pursed her lips.

"The fans have been very pleased with you and your performance. You have been training with NCT for a long time, and I think that sometimes they would be better of without you, no offense of course." He said. She clenched her fist.

"And you do know that some of your members have produced their own songs, and have been successful with it. Which makes me wonder about your place in this group." He said. Her heart was beating so hard that it threatened to rip out her chest.

"And I have watched some of the performances and have seen that you are a little out of place, for a main dancer, your dancing doesn't always stand out first to some people. So I suggest that you work on that." He said. Jaemins voice telling her to say something echoed in her head.

"However-" He started to say but was interrupted by Hyejin standing up.

"Before you say anything sir, I would like to say something. Number 1: Not everyone will like me as a person. You can't force everyone to be in love with NCT because they might not. So the people who are not my fans or who leave hate comments are not my problem. Number 2: Yes, I have been training with NCT for a long time and you and I both know that I deserve more than anyone else to be in this group." She said. Her manager tried pulling on her to sit her down but she fought back.

"I'm not finished yet. I don't know what performances you were watching, but I work my but off in each and every single performance. And yes there is always room for correction, but for me their is little room for error." She said. He raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.

"Are you finished." He said. She huffed.

"Not yet! I don't know what you meant sir, but I am a very valuable asset to this team! Without me NCT will not be the same. And I am more than capable of releasing a solo album too!" She said. He smiled.

"Hyejin that's what I brought you here for. I want you to produce your own solo album." He said.

"No your not listening to me! I just said-" She paused before she continued arguing.

"Wait... say that again." She said. Her manager scoffed.

"Hyejin, you have good potential. I have seen you grow up since you were a trainee and since then I had known that you were born to be a star. And plus, the fans would love it." He said. She covered her mouth with her hands.

"Oh my goodness! Thank you! Thank you so much!" She said. She bowed and shook his hand. He cleared her throat, causing her to sit down.

"However I'm not sure if you can handle the stress of working in NCT and your solo album at the same time." He said. Her smile slowly started to fade.

"W-well what does that mean?" She asked. He slowly took off his glasses.

"If you want this, you will need to go on hiatus from NCT." He said. She widened her eyes.

"And if it works out for you, you will need to be removed from the group. Permanently," He said. This time, it was her manager's turn to stand up.

"Sir, with all do respect. She can manage being in both groups!" She said. Areum sat, staring at the ground.

"She gets to make the choice. After all, it's her career." He said, folding his arms together.

"C-can we get back to that later?" She asked. He nodded.

"Of course. Take your time. I know this must be a hard decision for you. But I must advise you that your group members are better off without you, and you are better off without them," He said. Her heart sank and shattered into a tiny million pieces. She stood up.

"Thank you for the opportunity. I will let you know as soon as I make a decision,''she said, her voice slowly growing quiet. She walked out of the room with the same spirits she entered with.

~~~

"So how was it?!" Jeno asked, turning around on the couch when he saw her girlfriend walk in. Hyejin avoided contact with anyone, to refrain herself from crying. She looked at the ground and slowly took her shoes off.

"Did you get a promotion?" Haechan asked. She took off her jacket and hung it up.

"Or are you getting fired?" Renjun said in a joking manner. Everyone laughed except for Hyejin. She walked to her room and locked it shut. They all sat their, clueless.

"It was a joke." Renjun said. Jaemin walked towards her room.

"Hyejin? You want to talk?" He said. No sound.

"Babe, it's just you and me. You trust me right?" He said.

"GO AWAY!" A loud voice bellowed from her room. Everyone went silent. Jaemin walked back to the couch. After about 30 minutes, Hyejin walked out of her room with tears in her eyes. Jaemin stood up and walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed in his chest. He ran his hands through her hair.

"What can I do to help? Just tell me and everything else will be okay" He said. She raised her eyes to look at him. He wiped her face dry.

"Tell the hyungs to meet us in the big practice gym. I need to say something important." She said. He nodded.

~~~

Everyone sat down, looking at her with a concerned face.

"I don't know how to say it without crying," She said, letting out a nervous chuckle. Mark smiled.

"Hyejin, its ok. Go ahead. We're here for you." He said. She slowly sighed.

"I had a meeting with the CEO today. He said he wanted me to have a solo album." She said. Some people stood up clapping and cheering, while Taeyong came and spun her around.

"This is amazing news!" She laughed as Lucas came over and put her on her shoulders . They all started yelling and Shouting. Once she put her down they all settled down.

"So why aren't you dancing and screaming? You look like your crying." Taeil said. She wiped her face and sniffed.

"Um. He also gave me an ultimatum." She said. Johnny furrowed his eyebrows.

"What kind of ultimatum?" Doyoung asked. She bit her lip.

"He said that I have to go on hiatus for the solo album. And If I end up being successful I have to choose between being in NCT or being a solo artist." She said. The room was silent.

"He said that?" Taeyong asked, with anger in his voice. She nodded, her lip quivered.

"Well you said no right? You told him that your gonna stay with us?" He said. She looked down, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"I said I needed to think about it." She said. Jaemin soffed.

"There's nothing to think about," He said, bitterly. She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Jaemin-" Doyoung said. Hyejin moved closer to him.

"What do you mean there's nothing to think about?" She asked.

"Why would you want to leave this group and risk not blowing up? You can't leave this group!" He said. She wiped her tears.

"I-i'm sorry. Your the one who pushed me to fight for this solo album so why are you telling me no now?" She said.

"Yeah a solo album. Not a whole freaking career." He said.

"Jaemin you know better than anyone that I have dreamt for going solo my entire life!" She said. He stood up.

"So your just gonna pick up and leave?" He asked.

"Jaemin don't start this! We always fight," She said, looking around the room.

"No Im not starting anything! We need to talk about this! How could you even imagine leaving us? Your actually considering it?" He said. She ran her hands through her hands.

"Jaemin if this was you, you would probably have told him the same thing!" She said.

"No Im not because I actually care about this group!" He said. Taeyong stood up.

"Guys I think that's enough." He said sternly. He put his arm on Hyejin, trying to push her back but she shrugged him off.

"What did you say? I care about this group more than a lot of things in my life. You guys are all I have here. Your my family!" She said. He shrugged.

"I stood up for you guys like you told me. He said that you guys would do better off without me-" He laughed.

"That's not defending us that's defending you! Like your doing right now! It's about you!" He said.

"Jaemin you probably didn't hear me the first time. he thinks that you guys will be more successful without me." She said.

"Well, if you want to leave so bad maybe he's right. Maybe you don't care that much about this group. Maybe we are better off without you." Everyone went silent.

"Jaemin I can't take the hate comments people throw at me, or when the call my ugly in public or anything else. But when I hear it come from you. My number one supporter, it kinda hurts." She said. He sighed.

"Im sor-"

"No! Your not! Because all the time we fight. Almost every freaking day Jaemin! And I don't say anything because I don't want to hurt our relationship but were already doing it! Every day! And I just can't do it anymore! Your supp-" Her voice started to crack.

"Your supposed to be there for me." She said, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"I am. I'm sorry I just didn't think before-"

"Before you spoke? Yeah you've been doing that a lot lately." She said.

"I know it's partially my fault. But your to blame as well I didn't-" She groaned.

"No! Im done! I- I can't deal with you anymore today." She said, before walking out of the room. Taeyong turned to Jaemin.

"You promised you would never hurt her. And now im hearing that you guys have been fighting?" He said. He put his head down before walking out to follow her.

~~~

Hyejin put a couple of her clothes in her bag. She took her laptop and all her other necessities and shoved them in her bag.

"Hyejin, its Taeyong." He said, knocking on her door. She went to open it.

"I- I can't-stay here." She said, crying. He kissed her forehead.

"Come on, let's go." He said. He gave her his bag and they walked out of her room. Jaemin came up to her.

"Please, babe. I didn't mean it. If I could take it all back I wou-"

"Jaemin I'm leaving and there is nothing you can do about it." She said, walking out before he could say anything else.