Giving Stray Kids the letters Rose had written for them was definitely a good decision by their manager. A light had returned to the Idols' eyes: hope. The last few rehearsals before they flew to LA were a lot better than they had been before. The boys seemed to have a renewed determination.

They hadn't discussed exactly what had been written in each of their letters. Each member felt as though it was too personal to share, at least while their emotions were still fresh. However, each member found the words on that piece of paper either comforting, heart-warming, or inspiring.

Jeongin kept his letter in his bag so that he could read it whenever he needed to. Seungmin kept his in the back of his diary, so it was safe and always with him. Felix had his tucked away in his bedside drawer and would read it every night before he went to sleep. Jisung's was in his pocket It was the most worn as he held it a lot whenever he needed strength. Hyunjin had taped his letter to his wall next to his drawing of Rose. Changbin had his hidden underneath his pillow and like Felix, he often found himself reading it while he lay awake at night unable to sleep. Chan's was in his studio and every time he looked at it he worked harder. Minho had been the only member not to read his letter.

KCON was a little hectic. Minho barely made it before the concert started as he had a schedule in Korea so had flown out a day later than the rest of the group. Not having their performance leader had been a little jarring, but Chan had done his best to get the rest of the group ready.

It had been nice to see the other groups who were performing. Obviously, they were all close to the members of ATEEZ since participating in KINGDOM together. However, there was one Idol that Chan was very happy to have finally met. The fellow Australian, Jake from ENHYPEN.

Other than ISAC, this was the first big event that the group was doing with Rose. They all felt her absence and it made them realise how comforting her presence had been to them. It also made them notice all the little things she would do for them to make their lives easier. A weight she had helped carry returned to Chan's shoulders as it became clear how much he had started to rely on her.

They did their best to put on a high-level performance for STAY. No matter how they were feeling, they wouldn't let it stop them from putting on a good show for their fans.

After KCON, Chan did his usual V Live in the hotel room. Minho was hanging out in the room at the time but didn't want to be seen and so stayed off camera. Afterwards, the two continued to hang out. The dancer stared at his leader, who despite his best efforts, looked tired and obviously had a lot on his mind.

"You should do it."

"Do what?"

"Tell everyone that you've found your soulmate."

Chan looked at Minho in shock. This was the last thing he had expected the dancer to say.

"What? Are you serious? What about the fallout? The whole reason she left was to stop me from going public and save our career!"

Minho shrugged.

"You told us yourself that JYP himself told her that she was going to ruin our career. We already told you that we were willing to take that risk. This is your soulmate, Chan-Hyung. Is the possibility of losing a little popularity more important than her?"

"No... but she thought it was."

"I never said she was clever. She's so stupidly in love with you that she sacrificed her own happiness to make sure you achieved your dream. In a way, it's sickeningly sweet although very much misguided."

"Our dream. She didn't do it just for me. She did it for all of us."

The dancer looked down and picked at the hem of his top.

"I know. I - I feel guilty that I'm part of the reason she left you."

"Don't - Don't think like that. I don't blame you, or the others. I don't even blame her."

"You shouldn't blame yourself either."

Minho made sure to look at Chan as he said this, but when the leader met his gaze, he saw the haunted look in the leader's eyes.

"She told me so many times that she didn't want to go public, that it was a bad idea, a selfish one, but I wouldn't listen. I pushed and pushed her until she saw no other option but to remove herself from the situation."

"She didn't have to hurt you in the process. The things she said..."

"Gave her time to escape. Otherwise, I would've chased after her and never let her go. She knows me too well."

"You're going to fight for her, right? We've got some time off now. You could go and find her and bring her home. I'll even help you."

Chan tilted his head as he stared at Minho.

"What made you change your mind about her?"

"I... I read her letter on the plane."

The leader smiled understandingly.

"I have no idea where she is. Where would I start looking?"

"I know who we can ask and there nearby."

Chan shook his head.

"ATEEZ don't know where she is. Changbin already asked."

"I didn't mean them. I think you should give your new Aussie friend a call."

"Why...? Anna! How could I forget that they're best friends!"

As Chan looked through his phone, Minho suddenly had a thought.

"Hyung?"

"Hm?"

"Did Anna seem particularly helpful at the concert?"

"What do you mean?"

"Backstage. Since I came straight from the airport, I was a bit in a rush to get ready and she asked if there was anything she could do to help. Also, I think I heard her ask everyone if their outfits were comfortable."

"That's sound just like -"

"Rose. Do you think she asked Anna to look after us?"

"Even from a distance, she's still making sure that someone's taking care of us."

Minho put his hand on Chan's shoulder.

"We're all behind you, Hyung. Make the announcement and bring Rose home to us."

The leader smiled at the dancer gratefully. He looked down at the screensaver on his phone and his gaze turned soft. It was a picture of Rose from the day she had fallen asleep on the sofa in his studio.

"I will."

After KCON, Rose went back home to England. She was rather impressed that she had managed to avoid running into both Stray Kids and ATEEZ because if Wooyoung had seen her then everyone would have found out she was there. Yet, she was also a little disappointed. A small part of her wanted them to find her, hold her, and never let her go again.

About a week later, Rose's phone went off. It was a message from Anna.

I don't know if you've seen this, but I think you should watch it.

It was a clip of Chan's Room. Although Rose had been keeping up with Stray Kids content, she hadn't been able to watch any episodes of her soulmate's weekly V Lives. At the moment it was just too hard to watch, but she had seen clips. This one was from earlier that day.

Chan looked tired and distracted in the video. Then he read a comment out loud, and Rose's heart stopped.

"Have I found my soulmate?"

The Idol had lost count of the number of times he had seen this question pop up on a V Live. He always ignored it, until today.

"Yes. I did find my soulmate, or she found me, but then she left. She didn't want to ruin my career. She didn't want Stray Kids to lose fans. But STAY wouldn't do that, right? You want me to be happy, don't you? Why can't I be happy?"

As he read more comments, he shook his head violently.

"No, no! Don't hate on my Rose. She's the sweetest. She brought me food and made sure I ate properly. She stayed at work late when I did and made sure I got enough rest. She looked after the kids, and I didn't worry about them as much because I trusted her with them. She was beautiful inside and out and I miss her. I miss her so much!"

When the clip ended, Rose blinked rapidly as tears pooled in her eyes.

A few days later her mother came into her room and started packing her suitcase.

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Her mum came over to her and held Rose's head between her hands.

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Rose nodded with watery eyes and a smile on her lips.

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