Rose wasn't expecting to end up in JYP's office on their first day off. When Chan had told her that he had booked an appointment to discuss going public, she had immediately made her own appointment with the big boss.

"I understand Bang Chan still wants to announce that he has found his soulmate."

"Yes, sir. He's getting rather insistent."

"Yes, that's not unexpected. I have already had a team looking into possible outcomes if we went ahead."

Rose unconsciously leaned forward in her seat. A small part of her hoped that she was overreacting and that her existence wouldn't be the downfall of her soulmate and his group's career.

"And?"

Park Jinyoung smiled sadly at her and shook his head.

"Not good I'm afraid. While it might not destroy them completely, this, how they are now, will be the peak of their careers. Perhaps in a few more years, they'll be more stable and able to withstand the backlash..."

"I see."

"I never wanted to be the kind of person who restricts his artist's freedom when it came to soulmates, but it also wouldn't be fair to let the rest of those boys and the whole team who have helped them get this far, see their work go to waste."

"I agree with you, sir."

"Good. Chan won't take this news well, and while I'm reluctant, I will play the bad guy here."

"Sorry, sir, but I don't think it will be enough. Chan is sure that letting the world know he had found his soulmate won't affect their career and he's convinced the other members of it too."

"You have a suggestion?"

"You said in a few years it might be possible, yes?"

"That's right."

"When he comes in later, tell him you'll get the staff to look into the best way to handle this. I'll convince him to put it off until it won't be so damaging to his career."

"Okay, but if you can't convince him... It would be a last resort, but Stray Kids might have to lose another member."

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

There was no mistaking the determination on Rose's face and Park Jinyoung had an inkling of what she planned to do. It made him a little sad that it might come to something that drastic, but he was also impressed with how she was able to put her soulmate's dreams before her own happiness.

"Then I'll count on you, Rose."

When Chan arrived, he looked so happy as he greeted JYP and then gave his soulmate a quick peck on the cheek as he sat down. He believed that after this meeting he would be one step closer to being free to talk about his soulmate and stop covering up his soul-mark, so he was very excited.

"You're here already, Jagi."

Rose tried to smile back, but her mind was reeling with thoughts of how she was going to convince Chan to change his mind. She sat quietly during the meeting as JYP and Chan discussed what they had planned to tell him.

"I'll know you know when I hear back from my team. In the meantime, keep up the good work."

"Thank you, Sir."

Chan took Rose's hand and led her back to his studio. When they got there, she braced herself for what she was about to do.

"Chan..."

"Well, that went well, don't you think?"

Rose could barely look at her soulmate and his grinning face as she spoke.

"Chan, why can't you leave this alone?"

Her question confused him. He thought that she had come around to his way of thinking.

"What do you mean? I just want us to be free to be happy without restrictions."

"But I told you that I didn't want to go public."

Chan tried to keep his spirits up as his soulmate repeated the same line, she had told him weeks ago. She hadn't said anything against the plan in JYP's office, so why was she arguing against it now?

"We'll keep your name out of it."

"They'll find out anyway."

"And they could find out about us anyway too. I know I'm asking a lot, but please... I need to do this."

It was then that Rose realised that Chan was never going to give up. She saw it all flash before her eyes. The announcement, the hate, the backlash, the broken dreams, and all because of her. She shook her head in disbelief and ran her hand through her hair. If she had waited a few more years before trying to meet her soulmate, everything would be fine, and they both would be happy together.

"This is all my fault. I should've waited longer. I got spooked by the stupid sickness and now I've ruined everything."

Chan felt a prickling at the back of his neck. They had never talked about if Rose had known that they were soulmates before they met, but he had a feeling he was finally about to find out.

"Waited longer? What do you mean?"

"I knew you were my soulmate a long time ago and I stayed away... On purpose."

Rose met Chan's gaze as she said those last two words. As he spoke his next words it was with the hope that his soulmate's reasons wouldn't be as bad as the ones his spiralling thoughts were coming up with.

"What? Why?"

It suddenly occurred to her that what she said now could change everything. She could undo all the damage she had done before the consequences set in. Stray Kids would continue their path to world domination, and Chan would be safe. They would all be safe.

The mask the Rose hadn't worn for months slid into place. She needed to harden herself for what she was about to do next.

"I... I didn't want you as my soulmate. As an Idol nothing in your life is private and I didn't want to live in the public eye like that."

"But you did come to me, you sought me out?"

"I was scared of getting the sickness. I saw an opportunity to meet you and I took it. All I need was for us to complete the bond and then I would be safe."

Chan stared at her, eyes wide and mouth dropped open. He felt as though he was having a bad dream.

"I - what - never mind, you don't feel that way anymore right? We... I thought we were..."

"I won't say I didn't have fun. It's been a blast, but then you had to go and make things all serious. You have to go public, and it just reminded me that this wasn't what I wanted."

"What are you saying?"

"I want out. I'm leaving."

At first, Chan wanted to laugh, but he could tell that Rose was serious. He reached out and grabbed her upper arms.

"What? Rose, no, let's talk about this. I'm sorry I pushed about going public, we don't have to, ever, if you're not comfortable with it, just don't leave! I love you."

It took everything in her not to break down and run into his arms. Instead, she removed his hands and stepped back before putting the final nail in the coffin. She was going to end this.

"I'm sorry, but you're not worth it. You can't dance like Minho, rap like Changbin, or sing like Seungmin, and yet all you do is work. You're just... not enough."

Every statement had felt like a knife to the heart. Rose only waited a moment to make sure that the message had sunk in before leaving the room. She had to rapidly blink away the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Rosie-Noona?"

She looked up to see two members of Stray Kids walking down the hall, probably on their way to Chan's studio to work on a song. She put on the fake smile that she hadn't needed since she first started working with them.

"Hey Changbin, Jisung. Um, Chan needs you right now."

They looked confused but Jisung ran off down the hall when she waved him away. Changbin hesitated, reaching out to Rose. He could tell that something wasn't right.

"Noona? Are you -"

Rose cut him off. Her mask was slipping and if he asked her if she was alright with that kind face of his she might have broken down in front of him.

"Look after Chan for me, please."

Changbin nodded, but his eyes watched her as wondered what was wrong.

"Of course."

Rose's eyes softened as she memorised the presence of the Idol that she had become so close to. It was hard not to say goodbye to him, to all of the members, but she was doing this for them.

"Thank you."

As Changbin watched her walk away, he didn't know that later he would regret not running after her.