Chapter 3 — "Echoes in the Glass"
The sound of the waves was impossibly loud that morning, crashing against the cliffs below the villa. I pressed my palms against the balcony railing, wishing the ocean could wash away everything—the exhaustion, the screaming fans, the relentless echo of the rumor.
Three days off. Management had insisted. Rosa and Jisu had left hours ago, chatting and laughing as they explored the little town. I hadn't joined them. The idea of smiling at strangers felt impossible. Jenna had stayed behind too, saying she had "business" in the villa office. But she hadn't been in the living room when I finally dragged myself out of bed.
I hated that the break meant nothing to me. My chest felt tight, every inhale weighted by doubt. For weeks, I had kept moving, kept dancing, kept pretending. But in these quiet hours, the doubt grew roots. Maybe I wasn't good enough. Maybe they'd all be better without me.
I heard the soft creak of the hallway floor and froze. Jenna appeared at the doorway, hair pulled back, eyes narrowed—not in anger, but assessment. That's how she always looked at me: measuring, calculating, seeing the parts of me I tried to hide.
"Morning," she said softly, but there was no warmth in it.
"Morning," I muttered. My voice sounded small to me, swallowed by the wind and the ocean below.
She walked past me onto the balcony, leaning on the railing. I watched her in silence, unable to speak. The waves roared louder with each passing second.
Finally, she broke it. "You're avoiding them."
I laughed, humorless. "I'm not avoiding them. I'm… just thinking."
"You think too much," she said bluntly, eyes not leaving the horizon. "You're drowning in thoughts you don't even understand yet."
I turned to her, anger rising faster than I expected. "And what would you know about it?" I snapped. "You're always… perfect. Always in control. You don't understand what it's like to feel like you don't belong—like you're the mistake everyone's pretending not to notice."
Jenna's jaw tightened. Her hands gripped the railing until her knuckles whitened. Then she said, quietly but sharply, "Lina… do you really think I haven't felt that way too?"
I froze. Her words pierced me in a way I hadn't anticipated. For a long moment, the ocean, the wind, the villa itself felt suspended, waiting.
"I…" I faltered. "I just… I can't stop thinking people will see me as… weak."
"Then stop thinking about what they see," she said. Her gaze finally met mine. "Stop hiding from me. From yourself. I see you, Lina. Do you understand?"
I shook my head, and she let out a bitter laugh. "Of course you don't. You've spent so long pretending I'm untouchable, like I don't get scared or lonely or…" Her voice faltered, uncharacteristic for her. "…like I don't want someone to understand me the way you might understand me if you ever stopped overthinking."
The silence after that was deafening. I wanted to reach out, to touch her arm, to tell her everything I'd never dared say—but my voice was gone, trapped in my chest.
"You're not ready to hear the rest," she said finally, stepping back. "Not yet. But you will be. And when that happens, I hope you'll stop running."
I wanted to ask her what she meant. I wanted to tell her I wasn't running, not from her. But instead, I swallowed it down, the words lodged in my throat like stones.
She turned back toward the door, pulling it open. "Get ready. Rosa and Jisu will be back soon. The world doesn't wait, Lina. And neither do they."
I nodded silently, staring out at the ocean. The waves seemed endless, relentless, like the doubt inside me. But somehow, Jenna's words had carved a hollow in that storm, a small space where maybe… maybe I could breathe.
Hours later, we found ourselves in the villa's small kitchen. The sunlight slanted through the curtains, catching dust in golden streaks. I was alone, stirring tea, when she appeared again. No words, just presence. Her hand brushed mine as she reached for a cup, and I felt the pulse of her warmth without daring to look.
"Lina," she said finally, voice low. "You can't carry all of it alone. Not anymore."
"I… I don't want to be a burden," I admitted. My voice trembled. "I feel like… if I stop pretending, you'll see I'm nothing. That I don't deserve…"
"You deserve more than silence," she interrupted, firm but quiet. "You deserve to be seen, even if it scares you. Even if it terrifies both of us."
Her eyes softened, though the tension between us remained taut, like a string pulled too tight. My chest heaved, and I wanted to lean into her, to let the walls I had built crumble. But fear held me in place.
"I… I don't know if I can," I whispered.
"Then don't try," she said. "Just let me see you. That's enough for now."
We didn't speak for the rest of the day. Rosa and Jisu returned with laughter and chatter that filled the villa, but Jenna and I remained in quiet proximity, two people sitting in the same room but not quite touching.
That night, I lay in bed, the sound of the ocean outside mingling with my racing thoughts. Jenna's words echoed in my mind, reverberating louder than the waves. She had confronted me, yes—but she hadn't comforted me fully. She had left me with the tension of possibility, of unspoken truths hovering between us.
I realized then that nothing would be simple. Nothing would be easy.
And yet, I couldn't deny the small spark her presence had ignited. A spark I would chase through the Stars Tour, through every rehearsal, every stage, every rumor, and every sleepless night.
Because for the first time, I understood that someone had seen me.
And it terrified me.
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End of Chapter 3 — "Echoes in the Glass"
Please note that none was a real life event this is just fanfic please read with the mind set this is pure fan made