[M] Ribs (1/1)

"One more time, please!" the director says while focusing the camera onto Momo.She's been busy with the shooting of her Performance-Project lately. Right now, it's ten p.m. and Momo has been practicing for five hours. She has a shooting every second day, and between those days, she goes to the JYP building to practice her dancing. This routine started a few weeks ago and Momo never dares to miss a day. She wants to give her fans the best performance, even if it means that she has to dance until she faints."Cut!"Momo holds her position for one more second before almost dropping onto the floor. She pants deeply, her legs barely holding her up as she tries to fix her breathing."Good work, Momo. We are done for today! Have a good rest of the night," the director says as the cameras get shut off one by one."You..." she takes a deep breath, "too."Momo bows to the whole crew, thanking them between her hard panting, almost chocking choking on her words. Then, she drags herself to the changing room, totally exhausted. Momo thinks she has been getting more tired than usual lately, but she ignores it. She has convinced herself that she has to just deal with it.In the room, she finally manages to catch her breath before changing out of her dancing clothes. However, as she's undressing in front of the mirror, she notices something she hasn't quite noticed before. My ribs are so visible.Actually, Momo has always had ribs that are more on the visible side. She loves going to the gym to keep her beautiful form, and even building a six-pack. But it has never looked this extreme. It's too much. Also, her abs slightly faded away, leaving a flat stomach with easy to feel bones. She doesn't go to the gym that much anymore, so she wonders when she lost that much weight. Even though she's slightly worried, she convinces herself that it's nothing to be worried about. No one will notice. I have to keep on dancing. I can't give up now, right? I can't disappoint anyone.After changing, she rushes to the studio's exit. Luckily, the apartment of their group isn't far away, so she walks and walks, her thoughts taking over her mind.The members are scattered around the apartment. Nayeon is in her room, sleeping. Chaeyoung and Dahyun are in the kitchen, preparing snacks for their movie night. Right next to the kitchen is the living room, where the other five members are huddled up on the couch."Does anyone know at what time Momo is done with her shooting?" Jeongyeon asks.The girls have been missing the dancer ever since her crazy schedule started. In the beginning, Momo always asked to leave a little earlier just so she could join the daily movie nights, but nowadays, Momo has not even been showing up for dinner, forget movie nights."She usually finishes at ten and arrives here by half past ten. She should be here soon," Dahyun says.Dahyun knows Momo's daily routines. It's not a lie that she's been in worry about her girlfriend for a long time now. She always suggests Momo to not go all out during practice, and every time, Momo's reply is telling Dahyun that she already doesn't practice hard.Who are you trying to fool? I know you're drenched in sweat and exhausted after those practices. You never know your limits. I hate that about you. Dahyun would never dare to say these thoughts out loud, not wanting to risk Momo getting sad. She avoids everything that would make the the older one upset, especially during these difficult times.At last, Chaeyoung and Dahyun bring the snacks to the table before getting comfortable on the couch. They used to wait for Momo before starting the movie in the past, but since she started getting home later and later, they stopped. Momo doesn't seem to mind that at all, since she falls asleep ten minutes into the movie whenever she arrives early anyway."Let's watch a horror movie this time!" Jeongyeon yells, probably causing her roommate Nayeon to wake up.With that, they choose a horror movie together.

"First one to yell has to pay for our next meal!"Ten minutes into the movie, the girls already feel a jumpscare coming up. Tzuyu being the maknae she is, puts her hands in front of her eyes, watching trough the small gaps between her fingers. Next to her is Mina hiding behind Chaeyoung. But then, right at the moment of the jumpscare, Momo opens the apartment door, getting the attention of the members. She is so wasted that she doesn't even bother to greet or even flash a smile to the girls."I'm not sure which one is more terrifying. Momo or the movie?" Jeongyeon says jokingly but worried at the same time.Normally, Momo would have attacked Jeongyeon and annoyed her until she apologizes, but this time, she completely ignores her. As her eyes struggle to stay open, she makes her way upstairs to her and Dahyun's room. There, she throws her bag in the corner of the room, grabs her pajamas, and goes to the bathroom of their room, locking the door.She holds onto the sink and looks at herself in the mirror. A frustrated sigh leaves her lips when she sees how pale she looks. Not now Momo, not now. Then, she takes off her clothes, looking at her overly slim body in the mirror again. I can't stop practicing. I have a project to finish.She gets into the bath, relaxing at the feeling of the warm water. She manages to feel a little better as she massages her cramped up muscles. Although, she prefers Dahyun massaging her instead. But even so, she really doesn't feel like talking to anybody in the moment... or for some time.The sight of Momo completely ignoring them is heartbreaking for the members, especially for Dahyun. She can't get her mind to understand why the older girl is overworking herself. The girls give each other sad glares."Let's try to talk to her tomorrow," some of them say as if they've read each other's minds.They all know how they should be handling this, but at the same time, they don't."I don't feel like watching the movie anymore, I'm gonna go to my room. Goodnight, girls!" Dahyun says with a sad smile.The other members feel the same way, so they leave to their rooms one by one. Continuing the movie and actually enjoying it was gonna be difficult for them after seeing their friend in that state.When Dahyun enters their room, she notices the smell of Momo lingering around the room. A slight smile forms on her lips. And the sound of the shower lets Dahyun know that Momo is in the bathroom. Not wanting the girl to feel uncomfortable after getting out of the bathroom, Dahyun quickly changes into her pajamas, switches off the light and rushes into their bed. She is planning on pretending to be asleep.Momo manages to get out of the bath without falling asleep in there. She puts on her pajamas, grabs a towel from the cabinet and pats her hair dry. Lastly, she brushes her teeth before leaving the bathroom. She notices Dahyun in bed, which makes her silently tiptoe to her side of the bed. She slowly gets in, trying her best to not wake up the younger girl.Meanwhile, Dahyun is giving it her all to hold herself back from talking to Momo. But knowing that Momo will fall asleep quickly, she silently waits. As expected, a few minutes have passed when Dahyun hears the other girl's little snores. She slowly turns around, expecting Momo to be facing the other way. But she isn't. The street lamps outside, illuminating the room through the window, let Dahyun see Momo's sleeping figure, her pure face."You look so innocent when you're sleeping, but you're hurting yourself," Dahyun whispers as she gently puts her hand on top of the sleeping one's. "Please, just ask us for help, my love."The sight of the tired girl makes Dahyun even sadder, so she decides to close her eyes and try to sleep.The sound of birds chirping wakes Dahyun up from her sleep. She slowly opens her eyes and checks the time, its ten in the morning. While stretching her arms and legs, she looks over to the side. Momo is still sleeping. Dahyun hesitates if she should wake her up, but then decides to let the girl get more sleep, since she clearly needs it the most right now. So, Dahyun leaves the bed to prepare herself for the day.She grabs a oversized sweater and some black pants. Putting on makeup while they're at home isn't really necessary, but she feels like it today. She changes into the clothes and does her makeup in front of the mirror. Once in a while, she looks back at Momo to confirm that she hasn't woken up the sleepy one. At last, she leaves the room and slowly closes the door behind her.The smell of pancakes finds her nose. She rushes downstairs to the kitchen where everyone except Tzuyu is preparing breakfast. Tzuyu has a shooting for a big brand, since they find her really pretty, but who doesn't?"Goodmorning! Need help?" Dahyun asks with a warm smile as she peeks behind Jihyo's shoulder to see what she's preparing."We should be good, thank you. You can just go sit down."Dahyun does as she's told and happily watches them put delicious food on the table."Is Momo unnie still sleeping?" Chaeyoung asks, making Dahyun nod.Usually, Momo eats breakfast with the other girls before leaving for practice, but since she hasn't woken up yet, Dahyun hopes that she has decided to stay home and rest for once."Any plans for today? I don't feel like staying at home today," Chaeyoung whines.Mina replies almost instantly, requesting to go shopping. Everyone seems to agree with Mina's idea as they notice how excited she is about it. While the girls finally sit down at the table, Momo appears. She has changed into an overly oversized outfit with her soft bangs perfectly in place as always."Goodmorning, girls," she gives them a small smile."Goodmorning, unnie!"

"Morning, Momoring."

"Goodmorning, Momo chan!"She joins them at the table, sitting next to Dahyun. Dahyun eyes haven't left her girlfriend ever since she showed up. She wants to talk to her, to hear her, even if it's a little bit, even if it's just a boring little question."Slept well?" Dahyun asks her."I did. How about you?" Momo seems to be avoiding looking at Dahyun as they're talking, digging into the pancakes instead."Me too."Everyone notices how much skinnier Momo's face has gotten, but they don't want to ruin the mood by asking her about it. Instead, they tell Momo about shopping. They get excited when she says she'll be joining them, since that means that Momo won't be going to practice.Earlier, when Momo woke up, she checked her phone and saw that she had received a message from her manager, informing her about the company building, including the practice rooms, being occupied for the day. At first, she though about practicing somewhere else, but she felt selfish. She's aware that the other members are worried for her. Yet, she never takes a break and hangs out with them. So, for once, she has decided to do that.As they're enjoying breakfast, the girls try to fill up Momo with the things that have happened during the last few weeks she wasn't home."While Nayeon unnie was," Sana tells between her laughs, "trying to flip pancakes, the handle of the pan stayed in her hand, but the other part flew up!"Sana receives a slap on the arm from Nayeon as everyone at the table is laughing. Everyone is happy. Dahyun can't help but stare at the beautiful girl giggling next to her. She slowly takes Momo's hand under the table, intertwining it with her own. That makes Momo give her a quick glance. With her thumb, she caresses Dahyun's hand while gazing at her lovingly with a sweet smile. It's true that the older one misses Dahyun trying to touch her with every opportunity. She loves it, but never shows it.After completely clearing the food on the table, everyone helps with cleaning the dishes. They finish in just a few minutes and go to the living room. Tzuyu also arrives back from her shooting, receiving a hug from Sana as soon as she enters the dorm. Tzuyu's already big smile widens even more when she spots Momo tickling Mina behind Sana."We're going shopping and you, miss, are coming too! No excuses!" Sana teases her."Fine, but only because Momo unnie is coming too. Don't believe that you finally managed to convince me," Tzuyu replies with a smirk.The fact that even Tzuyu, the person who hardly shows affection, is happy because of Momo shows how much they all care about her and miss seeing her at the apartment.As Momo tickles Mina on the couch, she is suddenly pushed away by Chaeyoung, who takes on the task of tickling Mina, probably out of jealousy. But Momo collides against Dahyun, who was just trying to pass by. As they fall to the ground, Dahyun tries to stop Momo from falling onto her by holding her waist, but she still falls ontop.Her waist... it's so thin. I can nearly feel all of her bones, Dahyun thinks. She looks right into Momo's eyes, scrunching her eyebrows in worry. Momo looks back into hers. She realizes what Dahyun just found out, so she removes Dahyun's hands from her waist as quickly as possible before rushing to get back up to her feet.The other girls are all busy with annoying each other to the point where they don't notice Momo running upstairs with Dahyun rushing after her. Momo runs into their room, about to close the door, but Dahyun reaches the handle in time. She forces the door open, making Momo flinch. Then, she closes the door, locking it, before turning over to Momo."What do you think you're doing? Do you want to kill yourself or what?" Dahyun's voice is tough and powerful.Momo's eyes instantly start getting teary as she fiddles with her hands. Dahyun looks her up and down. She feels stupid for not noticing Momo's weight sooner, considering the fact that they share the same room and bed. But it all suddenly makes sense to her. Momo has been ignoring the girls and wearing those oversized clothes to not get caught."You never think about yourself! You don't want me to worry about you, yet you continue to do things that will make you sick. Stop being stupid!" Dahyun is mad, really mad.They both just stand there, looking at each other, while tears escape their eyes. Momo can see the frustration and disappointment in Dahyun's eyes while Dahyun can see the sadness and tiredness in Momo's."I'm..." Momo breathes out with a shaky yet genuine voice, "so, so sorry, baby."Dahyun closes her eyes, trying her best to not explode right there and then. She knows that she has to control herself right now, for Momo.Momo struggles to continue due to the sobbing, "I just—"Before Momo can finish talking, Dahyun pulls the girl into her arms. She hugs Momo tightly, trying to tell her through the hug that it's okay to ask for help, it's okay to be in need of help. Momo also hugs Dahyun by the waist, digging her head into Dahyun's neck. They stay like that for a while. Momo's tears soak into Dahyun's sweater while Dahyun feels the vibration of Momo's body every time the girl whimpers.Then, Dahyun slowly breaks the hug. She guides Momo onto the bed, making her lay down. Momo covers her face with her arms, wiping away her tears. But, suddenly, Momo feels a weight on her. She lets her arms down to see Dahyun hovering over her with the younger one's arms holding herself up on either side of Momo.They look into each other's eyes, when suddenly Dahyun leans in. She gets closer and closer to Momo's face, alternating between looking at the lips and the eyes of the girl under her. Then, Momo feels a soft, comfortable touch on her lips, making her close her eyes in enjoyment. She feels another one and another one after that one. They get needy and faster. But she doesn't return any of it yet.That's when Dahyun moves away from Momo's lips, making her way to the sharp jawline. She plants kisses starting from the top of it, until down to the neck. Momo is unable to hold back her voice as she hums in pleasure. She feels Dahyun smiling against her neck with every single sigh that escapes her lips. Momo's heavy breathing starts making Dahyun go even lower. She hovers her lips over Momo's collarbone, breathing against it, leaving kisses here and there. At last, she goes back up to the older girl's lips.She captures the plumb lips with hers again and this time, Momo grabs Dahyun by the nape, pulling her in, deepening their kiss as much as possible. They moan into each other's mouths in a low tone, not wanting to be heard by the other girls as their lips move of their own accord. Not only their lips, but their hands also get out of control, touching each other anywhere and everywhere. However, they're quick to pull away when there's a knock on the door."Dahyun, Momoring! Get ready, it's time to go shopping!" Mina yells from the other side of the door....