Fine
Nayoung/Jieqiong

Nayoung watches Yoojung rub her face on Jieqiong and decides that Choi Yoojung is at once the best and worst thing that has happened to her in a very long time.

Don’t get her wrong.

Yoojung is incredibly adorable. There’s just something about her that needs to be protected even if she is fully capable of protecting herself. Yoojung is clingy, loving, caring, selfless, ridiculously hardworking and kind, so, so kind.

Nayoung finds herself smiling just at the thought of Yoojung.

It’s not Yoojung though.

Her mother sends her the photo - you look happy, I'm glad that you have one of your seniors with you.

Jieqiong has never seen this photo before. They don't usually have time to look themselves up on the Internet and she is really bad at not getting mad at mean comments about the other girls so she tries not to look these things up.

It is a good photo. The lighting is great, the image is sharp, she is in focus and she has the happiest grin on her face, so wide her eyes are scrunched up.

She can still remember the moment.

Of course she remembers the moment. That moment is the exact reason why she has a problem and she knows it.

Something has changed, Nayoung knows, but she does not know what changed.

Alright that's a lie.

She knows what changed.

Jieqiong does not cuddle up to her nearly as often as she used to.

What Nayoung does not know is why that happened. She's tried thinking about it but cannot think of something that she had done specifically that would cause this. They have not had any arguments since joining IOI, nothing beyond her limited frustrations of being leader and having to round all the kids up all the time.

To be honest, it has probably been going on for a while but it was only recently that Chungha pointed out that Jieqiong has been sticking to the beagle room a lot more than she used to.

But she sees it now.

Jieqiong cuddles Yoojung and Mina the same way she used to, sidles up to Sejeong and Doyeon as she pleases, even took a selca with Chaeyeon recently, but it has been awhile since she has approached Nayoung. Even with them travelling together back to Pledis for the V App filming, Nayoung does not remember the last time Jieqiong wrapped her arms around her elbow.

It is kind of strange, she decides, but not too strange.

After all, Jieqiong had always been closer to the other Pledis girls her age (Eunwoo and Yebin and well, Siyeon who is not the same age but was a trainee also for forever). Nayoung knows that they only got closer because they are from the same company - she is familiar and it is easier to build common ground with someone who is familiar.

In fact, Jieqiong and her are nothing alike.

Even amongst friends Nayoung is quiet, Jieqiong is loud and outspoken, probably the first to greet Tiffany-unnie on stage despite being the largest closet Sone Nayoung has ever met. (OK maybe Eunwoo is a bigger fan but she does not hide it.)

Nayoung’s family is about as average as it gets, they run a small diner that conjures up memories of wet floors and mops after closing. Jieqiong’s family is well off and it shows in her clothes and bags even if she doesn't mention it.

Nayoung is the nodding listener on the side, Jieqiong is the storyteller, moodmaker, center of attention.

She could go on, the list would only get longer.

So she knows that this makes sense. Jieqiong has probably found her people amongst IOI, the girls who have fun and joke like she does and so she is more comfortable with them and it makes sense that she gravitates to them instead of not-very-interesting Nayoung.

The thought makes Nayoung a little empty on the inside but she snuggles Yoojung and feels alright.

Jieqiong feels like she has been replaced.

Logically she knows that is not the case because you cannot be replaced if you were never the one of choice before but she does not feel like being logical right now.

Gone are the days when she could claim Nayoung-unnie as her unnie. Now Nayoung-unnie’s favorite oscillates between Yoojung, Mina and Yeonjung and she has literally been ignored at least twice in the favor of Sohye, who Nayoung could barely even hold conversation with after Produce 101.

It's not like you were ever her favorite, her traitorous brain whispers, you know she's always found Yoojung adorable. You know she let you cling to her only because you are familiar and you don't make faces when she smiles. (Although you make surprised faces when she does aegyo to everyone - everyone else but you - because that is not a thing she did with the Pledis girls and you are really not used to it.)

Now that she is comfortable with the other girls it makes sense that she would go to them first instead of having to fall back to you. She knows Yoojung will not reject her. She knows Mina will always let her cling on.

To be honest with herself, the problem here though, is really not that Jieqiong is being replaced. That much she can deal with. People drift. That’s normal. The problem here is that she does not like that she is being replaced.

Yebin once said, extraordinarily wisely for the circumstance (Jieqiong had been lost in the middle of Seoul all alone with a dying phone battery, no cash and an extremely limited mastery of Korean but that is a story for another day), that humans, especially friends, generally do not like being replaced.

Which is probably true but does not make her feel any better about this.

Cuddling Yoojung though - that makes her feel better.

She should probably also retrieve her red stuffed animal from the adult room but doing that would require going in.

“Huh,” Chungha says.

“You don't think so?” Nayoung stretches a little before she gets into her bed.

“Well, we've all gotten closer in the last few months,” she hears Chungha shrug, “and the beagles have always hung out with each other so I'm not sure I'd say she's avoiding you.”

“I see,” Nayoung says.

“It's true that she doesn't come over here as often but we're also outside more often nowadays?”

Nayoung nods.

They have all been acutely aware of what little time they have left and, in her case, have given up on sleep to hang out more with this bunch of wonderful crazies.

“I mean,” Chungha says, “you guys will be debuting together anyway right? I'm sure it's fine.”

Nayoung hears Somi shriek outside, closely followed by a Doyeon cackle and then ‘Yahh~!’ which can really only come from one person.

She smiles, “I guess it's fine.”

This is not fine.

Jieqiong is now very aware that she is very not okay with being replaced.

Sure, Nayoung-unnie does not remember that time she backhugged her while they were trainees because she thought Jieqiong was Siyeon (which totally still counts by the way), but somehow her very-not-okay-ness slips out while she is sitting there and watch Nayoung-unnie thank Yeonjung for being a happy virus (which is true, it is impossible to bring Yeonjung down).

She knows they think she said it in jest, knows Nayoung-unnie probably thinks she said it in jest too and therefore proceeded to carry on as if no one had said anything.

Part of her wants to believe she meant it entirely in jest but the fact that the lack of a response actually hurt means that there is really no way she was joking.

She hides it away in a smile, tries to figure out why - tries to figure out a way to not see what she knows by now is blindingly obvious.

This is definitely not fine.

Nayoung subconsciously scoots over to where Jieqiong is filming her selca MV. Dodaeng are in a corner horsing around, Sejeong is hovering over Mina and Yeonjung has taken Sohye captive for now.

It feels so natural, joining the frame, making faces at the camera, lifting the phone from Jieqiong’s hand and helping her film.

Chungha even joins in and the three of them dance a silly dance to the last few bars of Very Very Very.

“Narong-unnie!” comes the call from the other side of the room as the music fades away.

She turns, looks at Yoojung, “Yoodaeng-ah!”

Yoojung pouts, “you should be here with me!”

Chungha laughs, Doyeon rolls her eyes.

Nayoung giggles, starts to head over.

A tap on her shoulder and she turns. Jieqiong smiles, gestures at the phone in Nayoung’s hand.

Nayoung passes it over for her to return to the producers. She thinks Jieqiong’s smile does not reach her eyes but she is not sure.

Nowadays it is hard to be sure.

Jieqiong is planning something.

Nayoung has seen this face before.

It is the one that Jieqiong thinks is her being sneaky but really she is utterly incapable of looking innocent while plotting - her always expressive eyes and mouth give her away and Nayoung has seen this enough times while they were both trainees to know that something is afoot.

She could let it slide.

Jieqiong’s plans usually tend to be either harmless or very quickly reversible and definitely not mean-spirited so whatever this is will likely be more amusing than anything. Besides, Nayoung has been loosening up a little. Yoojung, Doyeon and Somi have taught her that life is meant to be taken a little less seriously and also that for some reason the audience really likes to see them be happy. Fancy that.

So it could be fine.

It probably is fine.

She should probably let this slide. Even though she is very curious to find out what this is all about, somehow it does not feel like her place to just march up and ask about it. That is not the Nayoung way.

They are not that close anymore.

“Unnie, unnie,” Somi waves a hand.

Nayoung looks around, does not see Chungha or Jieqiong behind her.

“Yes you, Nayoung-unnie,” Somi rolls her eyes.

Nayoung shuffles closer.

“Hey, uh,” Somi looks over at the sleeping Yoojung, Doyeon and Jieqiong, “do you think they’ve been a little strange lately?”

“Strange?”

Somi sighs, “well, stranger than usual.”

Nayoung shrugs, remembers Jieqiong’s plotting face, shrugs again.

“Huh,” Somi says, “Coulda sworn Jieqiong-unnie was plotting something.”

“Do you have a moment?”

Jieqiong looks down, looks back up, “I guess?”

Nayoung nods, “my room should be empty. Chungha is out.”

Jieqiong shrugs but follows her.

Nayoung shuts the door behind them, picks up the red plushie that Jieqiong had left there weeks ago and tosses it to her. She watches Jieqiong’s eyes light up in a way she has not seen in days, quashes the strange bubble of happiness that threatens to float up.

“So,” Nayoung sits down on her bed as Jieqiong sits on Chungha’s, “what are you planning?”

Jieqiong’s eyes dart to the ground as she squeezes the plushie’s arms.

Nayoung says nothing, waits for her to respond. Truth be told, seeing Jieqiong tongue-tied for reasons other than language is rather foreign to her - and Jieqiong has been able to rather fluently express herself in Korean for years now.

“I was trying to figure out how to talk to you about something,” comes the response, “but I hadn’t thought of a good way to phrase it that’s not weird.”

Nayoung shrugs, “It’s fine if it’s weird.”

She wonders if Jieqiong knows that she knows that Jieqiong is not the straightest arrow in the quiver. Not that she had been poking around in other people’s business specifically but Eunwoo had dropped a mention to an ex-girlfriend very casually once over one of their all-nighter practices and no one had reacted then.

Not that that would be weird anyway. Slightly awkward to explain to management if they ever found out, sure, but easy to hide in this industry of touchy-feely idols. Nayoung herself does not care very much about the orientation of her teammates, only that they feel comfortable being themselves and do not spend too much time angsting (which definitely does not require being gay to do).

“Well,” Jieqiong says, “I’ve been feeling like you’ve replaced me and I don’t like it.”

Trust her to drop a frickin bombshell without softening the blow, Nayoung thinks.

“Replace you?”

Jieqiong nods.

“With Yoojung, Yeonjung and Mina. And maybe Somi and Doyeon and Chungha-unnie. Or sometimes Sohye, Sejeong-unnie and Chaeyeon-unnie.”

“So like the whole group?”

Jieqiong flushes, “Well, I guess?”

She sighs, hugs the plushie closer, “I know it sounds weird which is why I’ve been thinking about how to phrase it but I didn’t find a good way and I’m still not really sure what I mean by this.”

“You mean I’ve gotten closer to them?” Nayoung frowns.

A flicker of something goes across Jieqiong’s face. Nayoung is not sure if it is doubt or guilt or hurt. She feels like she should know.

“I mean,” Jieqiong says, “it’s not that I don’t want you to get close to them. I mean, argh, what am I saying? It’s not my place to say whether you should get close to them or not, of course, but that’s not at all what I mean. I think it’s good that you-”

Jieqiong takes in a deep breath, sighs, “I don’t know what I’m saying. Never mind. But yeah, I’m not plotting anything so don’t worry about me.”

“Ah,” Nayoung says, “ok.”

Jieqiong looks up from her plushie, nods, more to herself than to Nayoung, “Yeah. Ok.”

As Jieqiong stands and leaves the room, Nayoung realizes that ‘ok’ is not really what she wanted to say, and probably not what Jieqiong wanted to hear.

Fix it, comes the text the next morning.

You broke her somehow, Eunwoo’s text continues, she called Siyeon and they chatted for two hours and she made Siyeon promise to not tell us what that was about and Siyeon didn’t tell us but we’re sure it has to do with IOI so you should fix it, Stone Leader.

Nayoung is naturally grumpy in the mornings even though she tries not to be - mornings just are not her thing and she usually has to deal with the other kids on top of wrestling herself out of bed - so the text immediately sets her on the defensive.

Sometimes being leader is not fun at all.

Well, scratch that. Most of the time, being leader is not fun at all. This is just one more thing she is going to have to get used to, members being all strange and dramatic on their own for no reason.

Sure enough, Jieqiong is moody and quiet as they gather by the door to leave and Nayoung, for some reason, has had enough of this.

She has had enough of being given a slightly colder shoulder than usual, has had enough of being told by people who are not here that there are yet more things she has to fix - because a team’s shortcomings are a leader’s shortcomings, has has enough of not knowing what Jieqiong is thinking.

“Hurry up,” she snaps a little more sharply than usual, watches the flicker of hurt cross her face.

It does not make her feel better.

A full day of watching Jieqiong snuggle with Yoojung then Yeonjung then Mina then Sejeong and then Chungha does nothing to help Nayoung’s mood. Hell, Jieqiong even manages a full conversation with Chaeyeon and instead of feeling happy that the two of them are finally being less awkward, it only serves to make Nayoung more agitated.

“Hey,” Sejeong nudges her just as the car pulls up to the unit dorm.

Nayoung turns, half out of the car.

“It’s showing,” Sejeong says, flicks eyes at Nayoung’s, “your green eyes.”

“Green eyes?”

Sejeong just wiggles her head, grins and hugs Yoojung one last time before the Fantagio girl leaves the car.

Nayoung hits her head on the top of the car door frame and bites back a loud angry swear word.

“Careful,” Jieqiong says from inside the car.

Nayoung rounds on her with the irrational fury of someone that is looking for something to blame, drawls, “Thanks.”

Chungha frowns at her tone, Jieqiong looks like she’s been slapped, Nayoung feels even more terrible than she has been all day, steps fully out of the car, steps out of the way of Jieqiong who rushes past her, rubbing her eyes more forcefully than strictly necessary.

Sejeong sighs, “You two really need to talk.”

Nayoung emerges from the shower, towel in her hair.

Somi tsks at her and the Fantagio girls quickly scatter out of the way, scuttling into their room, presumable to cause whatever ruckus in privacy now.

“She’s in her room,” Chungha says, pokes her head out of their room, tugs Somi and Sohye into the adult room then shuts it in Nayoung’s face.

Nayoung supposes she deserves this, also knows that this is not what Doyeon meant a long time ago when she had said that Nayoung should get angry at them from time to time.

She knocks on the closed door, waits, hears no response then opens it.

Jieqiong glares at her from behind red-rimmed eyes.

Well, off to a fantastic start, Nayoung. Good job.

Nayoung sits on Sohye’s bed.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

Jieqiong continues glaring at her.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” she sighs, “I really shouldn’t have.”

The glare softens but Jieqiong sniffles instead.

Nayoung sighs. Why does this need to be so difficult? Why does Jieqiong need to be so difficult?

“Look,” she says, “I’m sorry I took my bad day out on you, alright?”

She can see Jieqiong’s glance grow wary and concerned, the eternal softie.

“It’s nothing,” she says, pre-empting the question, “I’m fine.”

Jieqiong’s eyes start b over with tears again and now Nayoung is literally at her wit’s end. What in the world is this?

“You don’t tell me anything any-,” Jieqiong sniffles, “anything.”

Nayoung frowns, “you’ve been busy with the others recently.”

“What?” Jieqiong’s voice raises, “I’ve been busy with the others?”

Nayoung’s frown deepens, “Yes.”

“You’re the one who’s busy.”

Now it is Nayoung’s turn to be taken aback, “Me?”

Jieqiong dabs angrily at a tear, “Yes?”

“No,” Nayoung says, “that’s not true.”

Jieqiong snorts.

“You don’t come over to me anymore,” it tumbles out of Nayoung’s mouth before she can stop herself, “you just hang out with all the others.”

Jieqiong shoots her an incredulous look.

“It’s true,” Nayoung says, “all day today. Even though we stood next to each other for one of the events and you know how rare that is.”

“I-” Jieqiong’s mouth opens then closes.

“It’s true.”

Jieqiong puts her face in her hands and Nayoung is worried that she went too far although she really does not see how whatever she said now would be going too far but to be fair Nayoung is tired and the day has been long and she does not like apologizing and definitely does not like it when Jieqiong cries so she really is at the very end of her patience today, so even if Jieqiong is really crying she is not going to do anything about it, she tells herself.

This lasts a grand total of two seconds as Jieqiong's shoulders start shaking and Nayoung melts, scoots over and puts an arm around her shoulders, which for some reason, makes her instantly feel better.

“-idiots,” comes the muffled voice.

“I’m sorry?”

“We’re idiots,” Jieqiong says, grins, "you and I."

A/N: Just thought I would mention that all of these pieces, while they have roots in the same real world, are really my interpretation and projection of events. Each of these stands alone (unless otherwise mentioned).