+1 Being a leader is not hard because the members' appreciative actions are worth more any leader could ask for

 

As the We Like choreography came to a close, the girls sighed loudly. It was a day before the goodbye stage and Pristin had rigid practices that practically boiled down to stress.

 

After the incident of Nayoung having a fever, her members, especially the two subleaders Minkyung and Kyungwon, watched over Nayoung with hawkeyes. Nayoung is fine now. The leader was once again active and followed up everything Pristin related, but the members still couldn't shake off the fear of Nayoung getting sick again. The leader was one of the oblivious yet most observant members in the group yet she DID notice the little gestures her members showed. She wasn’t weirded out in the slightest. She was CONFUSED to say at the least. She didn’t really remember doing anything grand for them.

 

“Okay, take five. Let’s resume in half an hour.” Nayoung called out to the girls, wiping off her sweaty face with the collar of her shirt. The girls sighed in relief, others asking for her permission to get some air or make a quick trip to the convenience store near the company. Nayoung reminded them to be quick about the trip before dismissing them entirely. They cheered (Sungyeon surprisingly hollered!) before rushing out the building, leaving Nayoung, Jieqiong, Minkyung, Siyeon and Yewon back at the practice room. The leader looked at Siyeon increduously, genuinely wondering why Siyeon didn’t go with the others. She was usually the one to lead the trips to the convenience store, actually.

 

“Unnie, I don’t know if that’s a way to throw savage comments at me about the incident last time or because you’re genuinely worried, but to answer your question, I’m T-I-R-E-D.” Siyeon said in an exaggerated manner, leaning her whole weight on Yewon’s side. The older girl just smiled sympathetically before patting Siyeon’s back.

 

“Aish... all those exaggerated words for one simple answer.” Minkyung said in fake mockery. She smirked when she saw that she successfully angered the younger girl.

 

“What did you say, unnie?!!” Siyeon started to chase a running Minkyung around the practice room, with Yewon struggling to calm the two down before they actually break the piano, the mirrors, the speakers... well... basically everything in the practice room that they might accidentally hit.

 

Nayoung just shook her head, instead making her way next to her bag and sitting on the floor. She plucked her bag from its position and zipped it open, rummaging to get her water bottle. Instead of a full one, however, she was met with an empty one.

 

“Ahh... I forgot to fill it up earlier before leaving.” Nayoung bopped her own head slightly in annoyance. How the HECK is she going to drink?! She pulled out her phone to contact the others to buy a bottle of water for her, but before she could send a message, a shadow blocked the light that shone upon Nayoung. The leader looked up and saw Jieqiong smiling and reaching out a still sealed water bottle for her to take.

 

“Shouldn’t that be for you?” Nayoung raised an eyebrow in wonderment. This caused Jieqiong to smile even wider in response. She nudged the bottle against Nayoung’s hand.

 

“Don’t worry, unnie. I have another one in the bag. I made sure to bring three bottles to practice everyday starting today.” Jieqiong said with a wide smile. It was contagious, so Nayoung smiled as well.
“Thanks, Kyulkyungie.” Nayoung smiled back before uncapping the bottle, downing it in one go. She watched Siyeon chase Minkyung around the practice room. Poor Yewon... the girl was making sure the girls didn’t actually break anything. She heard Jieqiong laughing beside her, clutching her stomach because of too much laughter. She was almost losing her breath, too.

 

The sight of their game was so peaceful and childlike, reminding Nayoung that they are kids from time to time too. It was all cute and stuff before Yewon yelled.

 

“YAH SIYEON-AH!! THE PIANO!!”

 

Let’s just say that Minkyung got a slight hand pain for catching the piano before it completely crashed on the floor and Nayoung felt an impending headache coming. Poor leaders.

 

~-~-~-~

 

The girls got back at the dorm at 9 pm sharp. They were supposed to go home an hour earlier, but they insisted that they should perfect the new We Like choreography, which was brought on by, SURPRISINGLY, Eunwoo’s insistence.

 

Nayoung huffed slightly, repositioning her bag on her shoulder and rummaging in its small pocket to retrieve the keys. The dorm was actually unlockable by a passcode, but they were banned by the system for a time because Minkyung had repeatedly punched the wrong code 10 times one night, claiming that she forgot the password. Of course, that earned a lot of laughs from her members before Nayoung decided it would be best to use the dorm keys for the time being.

 

As soon as she swung the dorm open and the lights, she was met with socks strewn over the couch, open video game casettes laying haphazardly on the floor near the television set, practically begging to be cut in half when stepped on, a dozen crumpled papers that could be found on various corners of the living room, which was 100% Eunwoo’s doing and the shoe rack looked like it was . The girls were in a hurry that morning since the practice was an impromptu one, so Nayoung couldn’t really blame the girls.

 

The members were visibly flinching behind Nayoung. They never meant for the leader to come home to a dirty dorm. Nayoung, however, just stepped over the mountain of trash that is their dorm. she headed for her room to change.

 

“I’m just going to change.” Nayoung said, disappearing in her room. As soon as she was out of sight, Minkyung turned to the girls.

 

“Well, you girls ready for a speed cleaning?” Minkyung smirked evilly, knowing that the members will hate the labor they were about to do. Just on cue, Yebin groaned loudly at the mention of cleaning.

 

~-~-~-~

Nayoung just finished freshening up and changing her clothes when she heard her members arguing lightly, or more accurately, Yebin throwing 1000 complaints per second. It was a full on rant about cleaning.

 

“Aish... I hate cleaning, seriously. It reminds me of the mountain of responsibilities we have everyday and it-“

 

“Yebin, SHUT UP!!!” Sungyeon yelled, causing the other members aside from Kyla, to snap their heads to her direction. Everyday is Yaja day for Sungyeon if you piss her off, apparently. Yebin immediately clamped shut and resumed to clean quietly. The other members could also be heard agreeing with Sungyeon’s outburst.

 

Nayoung made her presence known eventually as she made way to the dining room. She let out a loud sigh as she settled down on the chair. Nayoung turned to survey the dorm. Jieqiong, Siyeon and Eunwoo were picking up the socks strewn over various places in the sofa (Siyeon was dangling a grey sock in front of Jieqiong, who was cringing in disgust and slapping Siyeon’s hand away.) Kyla was helping an arguing Yebin and Sungyeon sweep the floor and Minkyung and Yewon cooking by the stove while Kyungwon washed the dishes beside them. She reclined against the back of her chair, resting comfortably.

 

"Unnieeee... that's an abuse of leader rights! You should do something too!" Kyungwon said as she momentarily diverted her attention from washing the dishes to stare at a relaxed Nayoung.

 

"Yah, Kyungwon! Don't talk to Unnie like that." Minkyung scolded the younger girl, hitting her lightly with the hilt of the spatula. She then proceeded to check on the younger members in the living room, leaving Nayoung, Kyungwon and Yewon back at the kitchen. Nayoung smirked at Kyungwon as soon as she heard Minkyung's statement and lifted her feet up the table to playfully mock Kyungwon. The short haired girl was about to open to speak again before she was interrupted by Yewon tugging her sleeve.

 

"Yes, Yewon?"

 

"Ummm... could you grab the salt from the cupboard? I can't reach it..." Yewon said with a soft tone. She felt upset that she couldn't do things that required height by herself.

 

"Okay."

 

Nayoung watched Kyungwon get the salt for Yewon before the former resumed cleaning the dishes. She placed her feet on the ground once again and rested her head on the dining table. The soft chatters of her members accompanied by the occasional pop of the cooking eventually lulled Nayoung to sleep.

 

~-~-~-~

 

After what seemed like an eternity, Nayoung felt herself being shaken up by someone. She blearily opened her eyes and directed her gaze to the person who shook her awake. It was Eunwoo. She had an apologetic smile playing on her lips, a sight unbecoming of the usually beagle-like girl.

 

“Hey... Sorry to wake you up, unnie... but it’s time for dinner.” She said softly, scratching the back of her neck in an embarrassed manner. It wasn’t everyday that Nayoung and Eunwoo interacted, but the latter obviously showed a big ounce of gratitude towards the leader ever since she helped her and Yebin make up during that one incident.

“It’s fine, Nunu. Thank you.” Nayoung shot the younger girl a warm smile before stretching her body like a feline cat would and let out a small sound. The members could hardly contain their “aww’s” at the cute sight.

 

Before another word could be spoken, Yewon suddenly appeared in front of Nayoung, causing the oldest member to stare up at her. Yewon held a plate in her hands and a big smile was visible on her face.

 

“Unnie!! I cooked this especially for you. I hope you like it!” Yewon placed the plate in front of Nayoung. The older girl’s eyes widened when she saw what was on the plate. Two sunny side up eggs placed side by side which looked like eyes and bacons adorning the sides. Yewon had also drawn lips using ketchup and teeth using mayonnaise. Nayoung drooled at the sight. At the same time, she could also feel her heart warm at the effort Yewon put into making the dish especially for her. Although she knew that this kind of dish was something you would have for breakfast instead of a late dinner.

 

“Thank you, Yewon-ah. It means a lot to me.” Nayoung reached up to ruffle Yewon’s hair, causing the girl to smile brightly. TOO brightly that the room was almost bathed in the light of the sun(metaphorically speaking). The members aww’ed at the sight of the sunshine being complimented by their member.

 

“How about me, Yewon? When will you cook something especially for me?” Yebin interjected, causing the cute atmosphere to drop completely. Yewon smiled at Yebin in response, muttering a ‘Next time, Unnie’ to her while Sungyeon sighed in exasperation. It didn’t take much time for the other members to playfully yell at Yebin to stop angering Sungyeon.

 

After that, the girls proceeded to eat their dinner in peace, with each member initiating small talks amongst each other. Nayoung remained silent, watching her team have fun while they ate.

 

~-~-~-~

 

The next day, the girls got up at 1 am to get ready for the goodbye stage. Nayoung, of course, was the first one to get up in order to wake the others up, but she was always the one who would be the last to use the comfort room. She was always considerate of the other members, claiming that she could always adjust her speed and was adept at time management so she would be ready in no time. However, it didn’t mean that Nayoung didn’t consider cursing the company for providing only one bathroom for ten members.

 

Nayoung plucked the sticky note on the fridge which contained the schedule of using the bathroom determined by the traditional game of rock paper scissors the night before. The order goes: Eunwoo, Yewon, Minkyung, Jieqiong, Siyeon, Yebin, Kyungwon, Kyla, Sungyeon and as always, Nayoung. She then headed to Eunwoo’s room to wake up the girl.

 

“Wake up. You’re the first one to take a bath. Time is ticking.” Nayoung had an assertive yet soft way of waking her members up. She wasn’t a morning person herself, so she understood if any of her members were snarky when they were woken up by her. Eunwoo was an exception, though. She was a morning person and wouldn’t hesitate to cause a ruckus early in the morning.

 

Eunwoo threw the blankets off of her and stood up, stretching her body and glancing at the clock. They had roughly 2 hours to get ready and head off to MCountdown. She turned to Nayoung, who was waiting for her to make a move to take a bath.

 

“Unnie, please take the first shift on using the bathroom for today.” Eunwoo said with a wide smile with her eyes still half closed.

 

“What? Are you sure?” Nayoung looked at Eunwoo increndulously, still considering the fact that maybe Eunwoo was still half asleep.

 

“Yeah. I’m sure, unnie.” Eunwoo responded with a thumbs up. “I’ll wake the others up while you do your thing. It’s usually you who has to adjust your pace because you’re always the last one to use the bathroom, so... yeah.” The beagle-like girl explained to the leader.

 

“Okay... Thanks, Nunu.” Nayoung smiled in gratitude. She was grateful towards the girl.

 

“No problem, Nana.”

 

With that, Nayoung got her towel and headed to the bathroom to take a bath.

 

~-~-~-~

Nayoung found herself almost dozing off at the waiting room. She and the rest of Pristin were already drained from the stage rehearsal and they are already getting ready to have the Mcountdown Prerecording. Nayoung was the second to finish her makeup routine after Kyla. The maknae was sitting at the furthest corner of the room playing some games on her phone. The leader made her way to her bag and brought it with her. She sat beside the maknae and started to rummage through her bag to find Narongie, her stuffed turtle she always brought with her. Nayoung almost felt her world crashing down when she realized that she forgot to bring her favorite pillow with her. How is she going to sleep at this rate?

 

She can borrow from her members, yes, but she doesn’t want to impose on the others, knowing that they needed to rest as well. She sighed and leaned her head against the wall behind her, fiddling with her fingers in frustration. The maknae noticed the sad aura coming from her leader, so she craned her neck towards Nayoung.

 

“Are you okay, unnie?” Kyla placed her phone beside her and turned her full attention to a sad looking Nayoung.

 

“I forgot turtle Narongie at home.” Nayoung said with a sad voice. She subsequently yawned, making Kyla look at her at pity. She knew her Nayoung-unnie could only sleep well in the waiting room when turtle Narongie is there to accompany her. They still had 30 minutes left before they have their prerecording and Nayoung wanted to at least make it a time for her to sleep.

 

“You could use my shoulder, unnie. You seem very tired.” Kyla pulled her limited edition Pristin blanket and placed it atop her shoulder for Nayoung to lie on.

 

“Are you sure, Illa-ya? You might get a stiff shoulder.”

 

Kyla smiled lightly, touched that Nayoung still thought of her members first before her own comfort. She shook her head in response and patted her blanket clad shoulder.

 

“It won’t, unnie. Trust me.” She reassured Nayoung. This explanation seemed to convince Nayoung that it was okay, so the leader snuggled up to Kyla and rested her head on Kyla’s shoulder.

 

“Thanks, Illa-yah.” Nayoung whispered, her consciousness slipping away as sleepiness took over her senses and placed her under its spell. Within two seconds, Nayoung was knocked out and snoring softly on the maknae’s shoulder. Kyla picked her phone and started to play again.

 

Unbeknownst to the oldest member and the maknae, Jieqiong had whipped up her phone and secretly took pictures of the cute scene. The other members also did the same.

 

~-~-~-~

 

After the prerecording was over, Pristin was back again at the waiting room. Nayoung did a headcount on the members and found out that 2 of her members were missing. She frowned slightly at the realization.

 

“Where are Siyeon and Yebin?” Nayoung asked her members. She felt worry creeping up her system as soon as the words left . It was unusual for her to lose focus when it comes to following up her members, so she felt really careless for not noticing the two run off.

 

“Chill, Nayoung-unnie. They told me they’re just gonna buy something from the cafeteria. They’ll be back soon.” Minkyung held her shoulder to calm her down. The subleader knew how protective Nayoung is, especially towards the maknae line.

 

“Okay, then...” Nayoung reluctantly nodded her head and ran her hand through her hair. She sat down on one of the chairs and proceeded to play games on her phone. Jieqiong joined her and together, they played some co-op MMORPG game while they waited for their turn to perform.

 

Some time later, Siyeon and Yebin came back to the waiting room, plastic bags dangling from their hands. The members looked at them. The two were out of breath for running all the way upstairs from the cafeteria. Siyeon jogged towards Nayoung’s direction. Nayoung was about to scold her and Yebin for making her worry, but Siyeon pulled out something from the bag and handed it to Nayoung. It was a pumpkin shake she and Yebin got from the cafeteria.

 

“That’s for you, unnie. I hope you enjoy it!” Siyeon smiled at Nayoung before skipping off to join the maknae line in playing games.

 

"Thanks, Siyeon..." Nayoung felt all her anger go down the drain. She didn't feel like scolding Siyeon nor Yebin anymore. Not two seconds later, it was Yebin's turn to appear in front of her, and just like Siyeon, she pulled out something from the plastic bag.

 

"Here, unnie." Yebin handed Nayoung a bag of sweet potato chips and gave her a small smile before joining the others to hang out. Nayoung once again stared blankly, wondering what she had done the previous day for her members to give her things and food. Her monologue was cut when Jieqiong nudged her and asked her to open the sweet potato chips to share with her.

 

Nayoung complied, and resumed her game with Jieqiong while they snacked on the sweet potatoes.

 

~-~-~-~

 

Pristin bowed politely to the staffs as they got ready to leave. The performance went well, so as to say. They were all overwhelmed by the amount of fanchants they got(Nayoung made sure to double check on Yewon). All their almost-sleepless nights and tired days were worth it.

 

“Okay, girls. To celebrate your goodbye stage, the CEO agreed to give you the rest of the week off.” Pristin’s manager said, a small grin playing on his lips. He may not say it, but he cared for the girls as if they were his own daughters, and it made him very happy that they would finally have a rest from the storm of promotions they did within just a short period of time.

 

“AH FINALLY!!!” They exclaimed and whooped and jumped as soon as the manager finished his sentence. Nayoung, however, remained calm, just watching her team jump around and commemorate their much awaited vacation.

 

It didn’t take long for the staff to scold them for their noise. Well, at least the staff meant the “scolding” part halfheartedly though.

 

~-~-~-~

 

The girls have finally arrived at the dorm. They were dropped off by their company car right in front of their dorm. Eunwoo was the first to hop out of the car, laughing along the way. Yebin hopped off next, grumbling unintelligible things under her breath along the lines of ‘I’m last to take a bath today because of that stupid rock paper scissors game’. Minkyung was the last to hop out and did a headcount, and that is when she realized that Nayoung still hasn’t come out of the car yet. The tall girl went inside the car again and saw Nayoung leaning her head against the window beside her, fast asleep and mouth agape. She smiled sadly at the sight. The leader must have been very tired.

 

Reluctantly, she woke up the leader by gently shaking her shoulder. Nayoung opened her eyes blearily and yawned before focusing on Minkyung.

 

“Oh, we’re here already”

 

“Sorry for waking you up, Nayoung-unnie.”

 

“No... it’s alright. Thanks, Minky.” She squeezed the taller girl’s shoulder before getting out of the car. She has the key to the dorm, after all.

 

When the girls got inside, the debate for using the bathroom first ensued. The usual bicker happened between Eunwoo and Yebin while Siyeon watched at the side, tempted to join in but still held her ground and watched everything unfold in front of her.

 

“You won by cheating!! That’s not fair!”

 

“Oh come on, Yebin! Don’t be a spoilsport. I didn’t cheat.” Eunwoo stuck her tongue out playfully.

 

“Guys...” Yewon tried to stop them from arguing. The others, however, just watched the two, knowing that it’ll take more than that for a  full blown fight between the two 98-liners to occur. Unbeknownst to the two contenders, Nayoung had already sneaked past them and used the bathroom herself. They only noticed what happened when they heard the door click.

 

“Yaaa! Nayoung-unnie is cheating! You lost at the game...” Yebin yelled to Nayoung playfully, earning a lot of laughs from the other members including Eunwoo.

 

“You had the chance, but you chose to bicker, so I took it instead~~”Nayoung sing-songed from inside the bathroom with a playful tone, making the other members laugh at their leader’s playful antics. Nayoung could be really cute sometimes.

 

~-~-~-~

 

It was past 12 and the dorm was deathly quiet, save for the humming of the aircon. However, truth be told, everyone but Nayoung was awake. The other girls were told off by Minkyung to gather in the living room via group chat. The subleader said that she had an important announcement to make. Yewon was actually about to wake Nayoung up, but Minkyung told her it was something that she needed to discuss without the leader.

 

“Unnie, I hope that isn’t some kind of conspiracy you’re planning.” Yewon narrowed her eyes at the subleader. This made the other members chuckle. Yewon was really cute even when she was threatening someone. Well, who would find it scary for a fluffball to throw threats, after all?

 

“What? Of course not, Yewon-ah.” Minkyung chuckled lightly, ruffling the younger girl’s hair. Kyungwon also did the same, still finding the situation really cute and funny.

 

“Anyway” Minkyung cleared as soon as the soft laughter died down.

 

“Kyungwon and I planned that we should do something for Nayoung-unnie tomorrow.” Minkyung started. When she saw the girls nodded and sensed that they won’t be interrupting her sentence anytime soon, Kyungwon continued Minkyung’s explanation.

 

“As we all can see, Nayoung-unnie is the most hardworking leader we ever met.”

 

“Well, technically, she is our only leader, so yeah.” Siyeon joked.

 

“Shut up, Siyeon.” The girls shushed the second maknae, who only laughed before gesturing for Kyungwon and Minkyung to continue what they were saying.

 

“Anyway... Since Nayoung-unnie is very hardworking and sacrifices a lot for us, I want to throw a small party to show our appreciation for her. It doesn’t have to be grand, though. Just a few takeouts and a cake, also some small messages will do.” Minkyung finished, pushing up her imaginary glasses as if she were the student council president in an anime.

 

“How are we going to do this, unnie?” Eunwoo asked in an uncharacteristically serious manner.

 

“Well... Here’s how we’re gonna do it.” Kyungwon said with a glint of her eye.

 

 ~-~-~-~

 

The next morning, Nayoung woke up feeling completely energized. She is excited by the mere thought of having the whole week off. Thank God Pledis had the heart to give the girls a breather for a while.

 

‘My members deserve it’ She mused to herself. Just as she was about to rise from her bed completely, a flash of brown hair passed by and stopped right in front of her. Truth be told, it gave her a mini heartattack. When she realized it was just the resident main vocalist Sungyeon, she calmed down, placing a hand over her racing heart.

 

“My goodness, Sungyeon, you scared me.” She breathed out, but Sungyeon seemed to have ignored her altogether, interlacing her arms with that of the just-woke-up leader.

 

“Unnie, can you come with me to go to the arcade, please?????” Sungyeon pleaded, showing off her puppy eyes to her leader. As for Nayoung, who would ever say no Sungyeon? But first things first...

 

“Can’t the other unnie’s or Kyla come with you?” Nayoung asked, hoping she hadn’t offended the younger girl with the question. Sungyeon pouted further.

 

“We haven’t spent so much time just the two of us, unnie. Please???” Sungyeon pleaded some more, and Nayoung, being the soft-hearted leader she is, smiled reluctantly at the girl.

 

“Okay, then. I’ll not ask anymore. Just let me freshen up.” Nayoung smiled widely before patting Sungyeon on the head. The younger girl squealed before thanking Nayoung profusely. She got up from the bed and dashed out of the door. Nayoung just shook her head slightly at Sungyeon’s antics.

 

‘Now... what should I wear today?’

 

On the other side of the door, Sungyeon, signalled the girls with a glint of her eye.

 

“Mission commence, girls.” She winked. The other girls nodded and thanked the main vocalist.

 

~-~-~-~

 

“Oh, unnie! Let’s try that one!” Sungyeon said, pulling Nayoung towards the claw machine. Nayoung would never know how much energy Sungyeon had up her sleeve. Heck, if Yewon was with her, it may prove to be very bright for her to handle. Not that it was a bad thing, though.

 

Sungyeon stopped in front of the claw machine which had mini turtle stuffed toys as prizes. It was cute, and Nayoung remembered turtle Narongie back at the dorm. The main vocalist whipped out a token from her pocket and pushed it inside the machine. The timer started to appear, its red digital numbers slowly counting down. Nayoung watched as Sungyeon pushed the joystick so that the claw would align to one of the turtle plushies. The green one. The exact one that reminded Nayoung of turtle Narongie.

 

Nayoung smiled, crossing her arms and focusing on what Sungyeon was doing. Once  Sungyeon successfuly trapped the turtle plushie in the claw, she whipped out something from her bag. Nayoung peered closer to look at what it was and wished she hadn’t.

 

Sungyeon brought a big magnet to prevent the claw from accidentally dropping the turtle plush.

 

 

~-~-~-~

 

 

“I finally got it!!” Sungyeon squealed, hugging the little turtle stuffed toy to her chest. Nayoung smiled at the girl’s enthusiasm. She wanted to try the claw machine too, but she was never that much of an arcade fan, so she saved up her excitement for next time. Maybe she could go to Lotte World with some of the members if time permits. Nayoung’s train of thought was broken when Sungyeon stopped walking and pushed something to her hands. She looked down to see the small turtle plush Sungyeon just won.

 

“That’s for you, unnie.” Sungyeon’s smile reached her eyes and Nayoung saw a lot of sincerity in them that she felt her heart swell in gratitude. Sungyeon and Nayoung may not interact much, but it didn’t mean Nayoung cared for Sungyeon any less than she did for the other members, ESPECIALLY since she’s a member of the maknae line.

 

“But... Sungyeon-ah... you won this. It should be yours.”

 

“No, unnie. It’s yours. I have a lot of stuffed toys back at the dorm anyway. You can treat it like turtle Narongie’s baby.”

 

Nayoung smiled at the response.

 

“Thank you, Sungyeon.”

 

~-~-~-~

 

“Yebin! You need to adjust it a little to the right!! No! Not there!! A little left-“

 

“Eunwoo, shut up and let me do this! I can handle this pretty well, you see?” Yebin pasted the banner on the wall, but unfortunately, it was too heavy to be held by a tape alone. As if on cue, the banner fell forward, resisting to be stuck on the wall.

 

“You can handle a disaster pretty well, unnie, don’t worry.” Siyeon said coolly as she helped Minkyung design the cake. The taller girl facepalmed as she sensed an impending bicker to transpire between the two rappers.

 

“Aish... shut up, you two. Both of you are walking disasters, so just let me do that instead, Yebin.” Minkyung grabbed the edge of the banner from Yebin and proceeded to stick it on the wall by herself. Siyeon clamped shut and proceeded to do the cake message instead.

 

“Ouch, burnnnn” Kyungwon said as she passed the younger Kang, trying to balance the plates in one hand and the plastic bottles of soft drinks she and Kyla bought just thirty minutes ago on the other hand. Yebin was about to retort but halted when she saw Minkyung’s piercing glare at her. She sighed internally before helping the tallest member assemble the fallen banner again.

 

“Hey! The takeouts are here!” Jieqiong exclaimed from the door carrying the pizzas accompanied by Yewon who was carrying the box of Chicken. Kyla was still at the door doing the transactions with the delivery person.

 

“Neat! Now would you please set up the table, Eunwoo.” Minkyung called.

 

“On it!” Eunwoo exclaimed and took the boxes from Yewon and Jieqiong so that she could organize it on the dining table.

 

“Ummm... Minkyung-unnie...” Kyla said as soon as she finished paying using the credit card.

 

“What is it, Illa?” Minkyung hopped down from the chair she was standing on to give Kyla her full attention. The maknae looked really nervous, so she placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

 

“Ummm... it took me a little while to realize that we used your credit card to pay the takeouts. I’m sorry, unnie. I didn’t notice...” Kyla said and guiltily handed the credit card to Minkyung.

 

Minkyung was shookt to say at the least. This happened to her before, and she thinks that  she’s stupid enough for her to let this happen again. She had no one to blame but herself and little Kyla seemed scared enough even though she didn’t do anything wrong. After all, she was the one who manages the finances in the dorm.

 

“I-It’s fine, Illa-yah...” Minkyung tried to reassure the girl. She pulled the girl in a side hug and ruffled her hair, making the maknae smile.

 

“Anyway, could you help Siyeonie there to design the cake? Poor girl doesn’t know how it totally works...” Minkyung said as she pulled Kyla towards the kitchen.

 

‘My credit card....’ she whined internally as she stepped back up to help Yebin with the banner.

 

~-~-~-~

 

“I had so much fun, unnie! Thanks for accompanying me!” Sungyeon exclaimed as she and Nayoung started to walk home from their arcade trip.

 

“You’re always welcome, Sungyeon-ah. Besides, it’s rare for us to hang out like this.” Nayoung replied, her hands mini turtle Narongie.

 

“True that.” Sungyeon whipped out her phone to text Minkyung that she and Nayoung were on their way back to the dorm.

 

~-~-~-~

“Girls, hide! Nayoung and Sungyeon are near!” Kyungwon squealed excitedly and the girls scattered to the different parts of the living room to hide. Minkyung, Siyeon and Yewon hid under the dining table, while Eunwoo and Yebin were behind the shoe rack. Jieqiong , Kyungwon and Kyla hid behind the door so that they’ll be the ones who’ll open the door for the two of them.

 

“Okay, okay, they’re near!” Kyungwon placed her hands on the door handle ang got ready to swing the door open.

 

“In three two, one...”

 

~-~-~-~

 

Nayoung noticed something was amiss. The dorm had no open lights and it was dark inside despite it being close to six p.m. Uneasiness crept up her spine as she and Sungyeon neared the door. What could have happened that the dorm didn’t have lights? Were they hiding from something?She frowned slightly and turned to Sungyeon, who faked shock. Still, Nayoung’s brain was too busy wracking up reasons that she didn’t see through Sungyeon’s facade. She swallowed a lump from and whispered to Sungyeon.

 

“Just stay there, okay? I think there’s something amiss.” Nayoung warned before going up the stairs. Behind her, Sungyeon smirked.

 

The plan worked!

 

As soon as Nayoung heard a click of the door unlocking, she stealthily pushed the door open, only for darkness to engulf her. She stepped beyond the threshold of the door and was greeted with...

 

 

~-~-~-~

 

“SURPRISE NAYOUNG-UNNIE!!!” Nayoung’s heart jumped to in shock when the dorm lights suddenly and someone set off a party popper! However, instead of reacting quickly, Nayoung just stood there, shocked at the whole ordeal. The members pulled her into a group hug, jumping and whooping loudly that Nayoung thought she would lose her ears.

 

The leader was still in a daze as the girls led her to sit on the dining area.

 

The sides of the table were adorned with the pizza and chicken takeout boxes the members had ordered earlier and on the center was a cake which Siyeon and Minkyung baked. Nayoung trained her eyes upwards and caught sight of the banner that was on the wall.

 

THANK YOU NAYOUNG-UNNIE!!! YOU ARE THE BEST LEADER EVER!

 

Nayoung’s eyes widened in realization. Her hands flew up to cover her gaping mouth. Tears started to prick the corners of her eyes and she struggled to keep it in. Nayoung was an emotional person, and she would usually cry even at the smallest things, just like that one time when she read a tragic webtoon...

 

“Are... these for me?” Nayoung managed to croak out, and she prayed her members didn’t the crack in her voice.

 

“Yes, Nayoung-unnie. These are all for you.” Minkyung said with a smile as she gestured to the whole setup. As soon as Nayoung’s hand left and recovered from her shock, a sob escaped her lips, making all the girls gasp.

 

“Omo... Unnie!!” Jieqiong and Yewon stepped forward to wrap the leader in a hug. The eldest girl returned the hug.

 

“I’m just... I don’t know what I did to deserve this...” Nayoung sobbed louder and proceeded to wipe her tears. The members once again awww’ed at the cute sight. She had a puffy nose already even though it hasn’t been five minutes since she started crying.

 

“You deserve every good thing in the world, Unnie, never forget that. You have proven yourself to be the best leader the world has to offer, and we’re really greatful that we have a Nayoung-unnie to keep our group well grounded. We don’t know what we would be without you.” Kyla spoke. It wasn’t everyday that she spoke her mind out since she was usually silent and did her own thing. Nayoung turned to look at her with a grateful smile. She was really proud of the maknae, and this was the side of her that Nayoung had gotten to see as of the moment.

 

“Without you, Pristin wouldn’t be Pristin, so thank you for leading us... I know that we just started our career as Pristin half a year ago, but even before that, you were our leader already. Thank you for putting up with us even if we may be a pain in the sometimes.” Yebin followed, giving Nayoung one of the smiles that didn’t hold mischeivousness. Surprisingly, no one asked her to shut up for now. The leader smiled at Yebin, muttering a thank you before doing a fist bump with the younger girl.

 

“And Unnie... thanks for taking care of us.” Siyeon pulled Kyla and Sungyeon in a loose chokehold, grinning at Nayoung. “Thanks for putting up with me even if I’m a walking disaster.” Siyeon laughed lightly, and the sight made Nayoung to let out a teary laugh as well. Siyeon was too precious and funny for this world.

 

“And most of all, Nayoung-unnie, thank you for the sacrifices you have done for the group... the risks you made for us and everything else... and as Yebin said, Pristin won’t be Pristin without you. I mean, who would have the best memory to remember the passcode to our dorm AND following up every responsibility we have.” Kyungwon smirked at Nayoung, and Minkyung slapped her arm for making fun of the “passcode” incident.

 

“You are a good leader, unnie.But what made us love you the most is your dedication to our group and the subtle things you do for us. Every scold, every reminder, every advice, every listening ear... everything... Just...  Thank you for existing for us, Nayoung-unnie.” Minkyung said, clasping the older girl’s shoulder in gratitude.

 

“I... I never knew I made such an impact to all of you... I admit, there are times that I feel like I just want to give up on being the leader because of the tons of responsibilities the company drops on my shoulders but... hearing all of you say this...” Nayoung  hicupped, tears streaming more from her eyes because of the flurry of emotions overwhelming her at the moment. Minkyung her back to calm her down “...makes me feel very lucky to be a leader... and most of all... having you girls as my team.” Nayoung smiled at the 10 girls she has come to love. She has come to consider as her sister...

 

Her family...

 

“I love you all so much...”

 

As soon as the words left Nayoung’s mouth, the girls tackled her into a hug, and then it started. Surprisingly, Kyla cried first, followed by Siyeon, then Sungyeon, then Jieqiong, then Yewon, Yebin, Eunwoo, Kyungwon and finally, Minkyung.

 

Pristin stayed in the embrace, if it weren’t for Nayoung almost losing her breath from the tightness of the hug, the embrace might have lasted for hours.

 

After wiping their tears and calming down, the girls proceeded to slice up the pizzas and cake for the start of the real party. They engaged in small talk about idol life and other gossip. Jieqiong had set up the bluetooth speakers and plugged in her phone to play some songs.

 

While the unnie line were talking, the 98-liners got into a dance battle and the maknae line into a rap battle. Nayoung doesn’t remember when she had this much fun because of a simple ocassion.

Suddenly, Pristin’s WE came on shuffle, and in an instant, Siyeon and Jieqiong had ushered the members to sing the very first song they released when they were still called ‘Pledis Girlz’.

 

“Come on! Let’s sing!!”

 

As the lyrics started, Nayoung observed each and everyone of her members. Watching her members enjoying themselves made her want to protect their smiles... everything that makes her family happy makes her happy as well. She smiled as she watched the girls play around.

 

Whenever, We’ll be alright
Together, we never cry
Always all together, we have strength
Whenever, We’ll be alright
Together, we never cry
Always all together, we have strength

 

As the song came to a close, the girls cheered and once again pulled Nayoung in a group hug.

 

Nayoung admits that it’s not very easy to be a leader. There are times you will feel alone, burdened or sometimes even on the verge of giving up, however, seeing how much all of her members appreciated her efforts made her realize that there is more to it than leading the group.

 

Nayoung learned that a leader isn’t  someone who corrects her members mistakes for the sake of perfection nor is a leader someone who forcibly makes the group do the right thing. A true leader is someone who lets her members learn at their own pace, cry when they need to cry, laugh when they need to laugh, have fun whenever they need to have fun and most of all, if all these things are combined together, a leader is someone who leads her group to success.

 

Being a leader isn't easy. Nayoung knows that with all her heart, but  with the help of Pristin whom she considered her family, she concluded that it is also her winning card.

 

A/N:

Aaaaandddd.... there you have it! The epilogue of 5 Reasons why being a Leader is Hard and 1 Reason why it's not. I feel a little overwhelmed that I finally finished my first chaptered fanfic. Also, I wasn’t expecting a lot of support for this. THANK YOU TO ALL THE 80 SUBSCRIBERS AND 5 UPVOTES!! ♥♥♥ It means a lot to me, really ^_^

 

Anyway, I’m really sorry for the 1 month delay of the epilogue. As always, there was a ton of school works (and by a ton, I mean A TON) I had to finish and I didn’t have much time to write anymore, but luckily, we had a 1 week break, so I was able to finish writing this chapter.

 

Fun fact about the story:

Well, aside from the fact that this is a leader apprecation fanfic for Nayoung(and to all kpop group leaders out there, too!), I was inspired to write this story because of my group works in school. Lmao.

 

Fun fact about me:

Nayoung is one of my role models in life. I learned a lot from her, especially when it comes to leadership. I really liked how she led her group/s: in Produce 101, IOI, and now, Pristin. I may not know her personally, but I can say that she is a good leader.

 

Anyway, thanks a lot for those who have supported this fic till the very end. I really appreciate it.

 

Till I write another fanfic again!! ^_^  Bye bye!! :)