Chapter Seven- Bad Things Happen To Those Who Don’t Deserve It

~Namjoon POV~

I ran to the hospital, looking for her. My heart pounding a mile a second as worry mixed with my adrenaline pumped through my veins. I hope she is alright, oh God if she isn't I don't know what I'm going to do. When I had heard about everything, I just ran not even waiting for anyone to offer a car to drive me. I only knew I needed to be with her. I got to the front desk, spitting out my command as the nurse quickly told me what I asked for. I ran once again, nurses and other patients turning to blurs of color as I lost focus of them only looking ahead.

I got to the room and my gaze immediately fell on Erin. Her blue and brown hair looked messy, like she had been running her hands through it. Her green eyes were hazel at the moment, red and moist from tears that were still falling down her cheeks. Next to her on the right side of the bench sat Alex, her head in her hands most likely crying too. I didn't see the others but honestly my main focus was Erin. I crouched down in front of her, cupping her cheeks gently in my hands. She sniffled and her lip quivered as warning of another sob coming. I pulled her into my arms, her head resting on my chest and her arms wrapping around my neck weakly as she let out a quiet sob, her body shaking slightly with every breath.

I rubbed small circles on her back as I kissed the top of her head, thanking God that she wasn't the one hurt, but I immediately felt guilty for the thought being that it still meant someone was hurt. Alex picked up her head, her brown eyes red from crying and she took a big gulp of air before nodding to me and mouthing "Thank you for helping Erin" I nodded back. I was happy that Erin and Alex were so close and that I could always count on Alex to take care of Erin when I couldn't. I kissed the top of Erin's head again, her sobs slowing down slightly. I will always be here to hold you when you need it.

My alarm went off as I sat up in my bed, rubbing my eyes. I shut it off before getting up to brush my teeth and change. After doing my morning routine I sat at the table eating the breakfast Jin made for us. Taehyung was scrolling on his phone and then suddenly shoved it into the maknae's face. "Look LIT M is going to debut next month! Isn't that awesome!" Jungkook read the article and nodded. Wow I can't believe Erin is going to be an idol soon, it seems like just yesterday I met her at the fan meet.

We all grabbed our bags and loaded up into the car to get going with our schedule, our comeback is coming up and we have been working our asses off to make sure our fans are proud. Erin had mentioned that their hair was going to be dyed and fixed up today, I wonder how hers will look. We got there and I saw a familiar girl step out of another car a little bit behind us. After Erin came Alex and then the rest followed. Erin already being the leader, it makes me proud.

They waved to us, but went inside quickly following Erin as she looked like she was in a hurry. They probably have to get some dance practice in before they get their hair done. I hope they don't work themselves too much again.

~Third Person POV~

The girls headed into the dance studio and talked about their schedule, they had a little time to go over lyrics to their songs and work on vocal strengthening. They all sat in a circle and began to sing their lines acapella. They all had their lines down perfectly and were all pretty proud of their vocal strength so they left to get their hair done with confidence. Aeri and Euna were first being that they were oldest. While they were doing that, the other three were talking about how close their debut was. "I can't believe we are going to be kpop idols!" Erin said, her green eyes filled with excitement.

Mina laughed, she was so excited. The first thing she would do when she debuts is call her parents. Mina was ready to burst with excitement, she was finally going to live her dream. All of their hard work was finally going to pay off. Mina looked at the two girls with her, she was so proud to be working with such amazing people and getting to debut and make music with them. LIT M is her family away from home, they all support each other and are as close as sisters.

"Hey guys, can we all promise something?" She spoke up breaking the comfortable silence in the room. Erin and Alex smiled at her encouragingly for her to go on. "Let's make a promise that when we get famous that we don't let fame get in the way of our friendship, that we always stay this close like a family. That we never forget all we have been through together." Mina said, her eyes watering slightly. Erin and Alex exchanged small smiles before hugging the maknae tightly.

"Don't worry, we will always be family. Promise." Erin said soothingly into the younger's ear, Alex nodding in agreement. "Yeah Erin's right, with all we have been through together there is no way we could ever not be close." Mina lifted her head, a big smile on her pink lips. "I'm so glad to know all of you girls!" They all hugged once more before Euna and Aeri walked out. Euna's hair looked good, the bangs fit her face perfectly. Aeri's hair also fit her personality, red and black being her favorite colors. Erin, Alex and Mina walked into the room to get their hair done, all three excited for their new looks.

While the maknae liners walked into the room, Aeri and Euna lounged in the abandoned seats, still warm from the girls previously sitting in them. Aeri was excited but also a little nervous about debuting soon, she was excited to finally achieve her dreams but also nervous as she didn't know if the fans would like them and she didn't want her dongsaengs getting hate. Euna looked up at the ceiling, everything was finally happening, all their hard work paying off. Euna hoped her family would be proud of her being that they wanted a different life for her not the one she herself picked.

Both girls silently prayed for the best, for everything to go well. Not long after Mina came out of the room, smiling to her unnies. Her hair looked really cute and fit her quirky personality well. Soon Erin and Alex also joined the rest of the girls. Erin's hair didn't change too much, but they all liked it regardless, Alex's hair was colored well, and all the girls approved, especially Alex herself. They all exchanged compliments and laughed about how silly they were being over hair.

They all took a selca together and sent them to their family members and even a few to Bangtan members. They headed to a photo shoot to get their teaser pictures done, and then to a studio to film their first mv and teaser clips. Their debut song Live is a pretty hype song and they are hoping it does well when they debut. Mina was writing a song that was more of a ballad, she was getting some help from Erin and Aeri unnies and wanted to get it done so they could maybe sing it on their first stage. She was happy to get all the support from her group and was praying they would be able to perform it. She still needed to name it and finish it though.

It was around 10:45pm when they got home from all their filming and dance practice. Exhausted, the girls all sluggishly walked to their rooms and went to bed. Their debut was in a month and they were working harder than ever, but they all kept going knowing all their work was going to pay off and they would debut as a great group and make many people happy with their music and spirit.

The next morning was all a blur as all the girls got separated do different things. Aeri was going with Alex to take more pictures because their time got cut short the day before. Euna was heading out to meet with a stylist so she could pick out some colors and styles for the clothes she wanted in her wardrobe for their debut stages being that she didn't get to yesterday. Erin went to get more dance practice in with the help of a few Bangtan members, while Mina was headed to a doctor's appointment so they could be sure she was in perfect health before their debut.

They each had a fun day, even though they all love and appreciate each other, they really needed some time away from one another. As they all started finishing up their activities they all ended up meeting with Erin and practicing more. Now all of the girls were there except for the maknae as they all talked about their day while working on their choreography. "I just want this to go well." Alex sighed as they finished their forth run through. The rest nodded in agreement taking sips of water.

"Me too, I hope I don't mess up the choreo on stage from nervousness." Euna said as she ran a hand through her hair. Hoseok laughed. "I doubt that will happen, once you get into the song, you almost forget you are performing in front of a crowd." Namjoon shook his head a chuckle leaving his lips with Jungkook speaking up too. "Not everyone can be like you hyung." They all laughed and Aeri went to check her phone. She saw they had all been here for an hour and a half now and Mina still wasn't back. How long does a check-up take? She thought to herself.

Erin saw Aeri frowning at her phone. "Is something wrong Unnie?" Aeri shook her head, she had a bad feeling in her gut. "Why isn't Mina here yet?" As the question left her lips, it seemed that it caught all ears as they all fell silent watching her. Hoseok shook his head, forcing a smile as he shattered the silence. "It's probably nothing, she probably felt tired and went back to the dorm to sleep and forgot to tell you." The words fell without a response as everyone began to get worried and look to one another. The ringing of Erin's phone caused a ripple of people to jump.

She let out a small laugh at all of their reactions before grabbing her phone, it was their manager. Erin got a flood of anxiety for some reason as Aeri's worries were really getting to her too. She raised the phone to her ear. "Hello, is something wrong?" She decided to take the call outside, hoping it was just some last minute schedule change. She called for them to keep practicing without her as she left the room. The line was silent for a second before a small sigh was heard.

"There has been an accident..." he said slowly, his voice trailing off. Erin sucked in a gulp of air, trying to remain calm even as all the possibilities ran through her head filling her with negativity. "What do you mean, what happened?" She was surprised that her voice was staying strong even though anxiety wracked her body, flooding her veins. He hesitated slightly before he continued, still speaking slowly. "Mina... was involved in a car accident." Fear immediately gripped her, her breath hitching in her throat.

"Is...is she ok?" She breathed into the phone, laboring to keep her voice from cracking. He sighed "she is in the hospital, floor three, room 264." He was avoiding the question, which meant it was bad. She bit out a quick "ok thanks" before hanging up, her legs felt like jello but she forced herself to walk back into the dance room. As soon as she opened the door, it was as if someone shone a spotlight on her and all eyes rested on her awaiting her news. Alex immediately knew something was up, Erin doesn't like to look upset in front of people.

The girls crowded around their leader as she grabbed Alex and Aeri calling Euna to follow. They were all curious as to what was going on as Erin tugged them into the car waiting for them. As they all got in and buckled the car began to drive. Erin prayed that Mina was ok, just a few scratches and bumps, but deep down she knew it wasn't going to be that way. The car pulled up to the hospital and the rest of the girls deflated, knowing Aeri might have been on to something when she was worried earlier.

Erin practically ran to the elevator, the girls right behind her. Once the doors dinged open, they all ran to room 264 to find their maknae. When they got there, they burst into the room. Mina lay on the hospital bed, eyes closed and bandages covering the skin that peaked out from her hospital gown. Her breaths were shallow and labored as if she was barely holding on to life. Erin didn't want to cry, she never liked to cry in front of people but the tears slipped out on their own.

Her vision blurring from the tears that filled her eyes to the brim before silently spilling over onto her cheeks. She bit her lip trying to stop, trying to think positively like Mina always does but all that proved to do was make her cry harder. Alex hugged her best friend and they cried on each other's shoulders, the only sound to be heard in the room was the sniffles and gasps of air. Until the horrible beep began. The girls all snapped their attention to the youngest and saw the heart monitor was a straight line, a long beep the only sound in the room.

The door flung open and nurses and a doctor ran in starting to try to revive the girl on the bed, while a few nurses pushed the girls out of the room. All the girls were paralyzed, frozen with fear and realization of what just happened. The awful beep rung in all their ears as they stood staring at the door to the room they were just shoved out of. Euna shattered the silence with a tear-filled question, answered by silence. "Why? Why does bad things happen to the people who least deserve it?" The doctor came out and informed them with a sympathetic look, that Mina was gone. Euna felt like her world was crashing down around her, she had just lost not only a group member, but a sister.

The doctor left and all the girls took seats as they tried not to break down once more. Aeri wasn't one to get all mushy and cry about things easily, but she broke down crying, being pulled into an embrace by Euna who was also crying. Erin sat next to Alex who held her head in her hands, most likely crying as well, but Erin was still in shock. Is this all real? She asked herself, is this some nightmare? Namjoon, Jungkook and Hoseok ran down the hall, walking into the waiting area outside Mina's room. Namjoon was worried when he saw how Erin looked before she dragged the girls off, so he had contacted PD Nim and was informed of Mina's condition.

As soon as he heard he told the two with him in the dance room and they all ran and got a car to get them to the hospital. As soon as they walked in Namjoon's gaze found Erin, she looked lost and in shock. His first instinct was to hold her in his arms, so that's what he did, even if someone saw them he didn't care. He just wanted to comfort her, out of the corner of his eye he saw Jungkook hugging Alex and Hoseok talking gently to the other two girls. He felt a sense of pride that the two boys had come with him to help comfort these girls in this time of need.

Namjoon held Erin in his arms, sobs wracking her body as she curled into his chest. He rested his chin on her head, rubbing gentle circles in her back as she cried. He couldn't imagine the pain of losing a member especially since over time members become family. He kissed the top of her head, wishing he could take all her pain. Jungkook held Alex following Namjoon's example and whispered gently into her ear to try and ease the pain. They all sat there, crying, hugging, and just being in each other's company. Mina never got to live her dream, not once. What now? Erin thought to herself.