Jay Park heaves a deep breath and glances at Simon Dominic, who gives an almost-imperceptible nod.

“We’ve decided, in the light of current events, to pull you out of the group,” he says. “The decision is final, and you will not debut in JoA.”

“WHAT?” Ahn Haneul leaps to her feet, shrieking. “You can’t do this to me! I’ve trained for six years! I shot CFs with you! You told me how good I was! You can’t just cut me out like this!”

Simon puts down his drink. “We can,” he says quietly. “In fact, we just did. Haneul, you have been an excellent trainee, but we will not tolerate bullying. Don’t try to convince us otherwise,” he warns, seeing her about to speak. “We have fact-checked with all the staff we know, and our security cameras have recorded some footage that we would rather not show your parents.”

Haneul sinks back into her chair, seeming to deflate. “I’m…” She opens and closes , but no sound comes out.

“You are allowed to stay under AOSU Entertainment,” Jay offers, “as long as you don’t bully anyone else.”

Haneul shakes her head, and Jay looks to Jiae, who stands silently by the door. “Come on, Haneul,” she says now, softly. “He’s given you another opportunity to prove yourself.”

Haneul only buries her face in her hands, and after exchanging a glance, Jay and Simon rise to leave. “I hope she learns,” Simon murmurs, and Jay can only nod in agreement.

***

“I can’t believe this,” Taemi gasps. “She didn’t deserve to be taken out!”

“Good riddance,” Sooyoung mutters at the same time. “What an .”

“Language,” Seah warns absentmindedly, a frown creasing her forehead. “Does that mean… we will debut on time?”

Jiae nods, smiling as Minhee squeezes Anhee and Aerin in a huge hug. “We’ll have to work hard to change the choreography, though, but hopefully, this will make the dance a little easier.”

“WE’RE DEBUTING!” Seah suddenly screams, startling all six other girls. “WE’RE REALLY DOING IT!” She bursts into tears, and suddenly, everyone is crying, even Jiae.

They don’t practice any more that day. Instead, Jiae treats her girls to steaming, spicy tteokbokki, watching stress dissolve into the frosty winter air amidst carefree laughter and incessant chatter. This group is going to be fun to handle.

author's note

Maggie: Yo guysss this is where we begin to actually write! It might take a bit of time because winter break is ending and chapters are much longer than teasers anyway. But yeahhh pls wait for us :")))

Annie: The fun has only begun :)