"If we're together, It will always be alright. Today, and tomorrow. Always."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

*extremely long footnote again. Aren't footnotes supposed to be short? Hmm.

 

The lights are blinding.

 

Thousands. Camera flashes, eyes, all looking towards her.

 

The stage is terrifying.

 

It’s like her blood runs cold. There’s ice in her veins and she tries her best not to freeze up in front of so many people but her hands start to shake and her knees start to tremble. Her heart is beating at a pace that surely isn’t medically healthy and there were dark spots in her vision.

 

This was the stage she trained for years just to stand on. A legion of fans, singing along to her group’s song and singing it back to her louder than she could ever sing it herself. It was a rush that she couldn’t even begin to describe and as she looked out into the thousands of people in attendance a smile starts to spread across her face. They were all so happy to see her. She was so happy to be here.

 

“Hello everyone!” Nayoung’s voice is clear as she addresses the fans. The stands erupt in a wave of cheers as they respond in kind, and Nayoung waits for them to settle down before continuing her address.

 

“Thank you all so much for coming out here tonight to see us. We hope you had a wonderful time and please get home safely. Until next time....”

 

Nayoung pauses to turn to the rest of her group members. All 5 of them look back at her and she nods. It was well rehearsed, and Yaebin made sure to yell it out with as much gusto as she could, proud to have the name of her group on her tongue.

 

“We are Pristi—!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“—in! Yaebin! Yaebin wake up or you’ll be late for school!”

 

Yaebin’s eyes snap wide open as her mother’s voice carries itself into her room from the bottom of the stairs. She takes a few seconds to gain her bearings, staring up at her bedroom ceiling while blinking several times hoping that maybe one of those blinks will result in her opening her eyes to a sea of fans again.

 

No such luck.

 

She sighs deeply, grabbing a pillow and presses it into her face in an attempt to smother herself and all delusional thoughts out of her brain. There’s no reason for her to be dreaming of the stage. There’s no reason for her to be pining after the thing she left behind 6 months ago.

 

She was happy now. She has more time to herself. She can finally focus on her studies, she can finally get into a good university and maybe even get a stable job one day, working a 9 to 5 like a normal person.

 

A normal person.

 

Yaebin’s spent 2 years of her life trying to be more than human. Training to be an immortal, an idol, someone that is seen as too perfect to be real and she threw all of it away the moment she found that her sole reason for sticking around didn’t need her anymore.

 

They don’t talk anymore. Or more like, Yaebin was always too afraid to reach out. They’re probably too busy right? Yaebin only sees them in her dreams now. Only talks to her in her dreams, and for that reason she’s always a little too eager to fall asleep at night.

 

“Kang Yaebin?! Don’t make me come up there young lady!” Her mother’s voice rings louder this time, and with a frustrated groan Yaebin springs out of bed, throwing her pillow across the room in juvenile protest. She didn’t like school.

 

“Yaebin! I’m not hearing a response?!”

 

...but school was preferable to her mother’s nagging.

 

“I’m awake Mom!”

 

 

*************************************************************

 

 

She brushed a few strands of black hair out of her eyes as she leans forward over Nayeon’s table, trying to help the latter improve her ailing math’s scores. She really doesn’t know why she’s trying so hard though, because she’s halfway through an explanation and Nayeon won’t even do her the decency of trying to seem like she’s paying attention.

 

The owner of the table was just sitting there, transfixed with hanging open as she unabashedly stared at Yaebin’s face. It was flattering, but it also felt like a waste of breath because Yaebin isn’t sure if Nayeon really needed the help or if she just wanted the opportunity to have the former trainee stand so close to her.

 

It happens more often than one would think.

 

2 years ago, when Yaebin first entered this school as a meek transfer student from Austin, Texas, that was really all she had going for her. The fact that she was from the U.S of A. Sure people would try to befriend her out of curiosity, but that was all there was to it. Most would leave once they discovered that she was actually quite dull. If it weren’t for Siyeon, Kyungwon and Kyla she’d probably have no friends at all, a repeat of her schooling life back in Texas.

 

Then, Yaebin became a Pledis trainee. Suddenly she was interesting again. People wanted to know who she was just so that they could compare her to Mink—to the other trainee the school had. When that trainee eventually graduated, Yaebin naturally took over her role in the school without really meaning to. Stopping time whenever she walked through the cafeteria while causing the girls around her to drool in infatuation, just like she once did.

 

Her once bright blonde hair also stood out from the sea of black, not helping things. See, trainees were afforded certain allowances from school rules, so on a whim and to take advantage of that very biased rule Yaebin had decided to dye her hair the brightest shade of peroxide blonde commercially available. She did not expect however, to get stuck with the hairstyle for two whole years because Pledis took a liking to her new hair colour.

 

She was no longer a trainee now though. She wasn’t allowed to be different anymore. Now she was normal. At least, as normal as she could be. Yaebin was still number 1 on South Apgujeong All-Girl’s School’s list of prettiest people on campus. Yaebin still had killer abs that would cause accidents around her whenever she wore her loose PE t-shirt. She was still the wet dream of the entire student body.

 

Moreover, Yaebin still draws a crowd whenever she opens to talk, as evidenced by the crowd of 10 or so people who have gathered together around Nayeon’s table to hear her give a mini-tutorial lesson. Although just like Nayeon, Yaebin was sure absolutely NONE of them were paying attention to the words leaving -hole.

 

“—and if you apply the exact same formula that you used in the third question over here as well, you’ll be able to get the answer.” Yaebin finished, looking expectantly at Nayeon who seemed to have gotten the hint that it was her cue to speak now.

 

“Oh my god. Yaebin you just saved my life.” Nayeon breathed out, clutching the question sheet Yaebin had been explaining close to her chest.

 

There was a murmur of agreement around her, and Yaebin could only sheepishly scratch her cheek as they began showering her with compliments.

 

“Can we all petition for Yaebin to take over Mrs. Jung’s class? I just learned more in 15 minutes than I did the whole year!” Choi Yuna exclaimed from the side. Yaebin was pretty sure Yuna wasn’t doing too badly in class for her to be this eager.

 

“Of course it also helps that Yaebin is waaaay better looking than that old fart.”

 

“You can’t compare a former idol trainee to an old woman! That’s just an unfair fight!” Kim Sojung interjected, sparking an argument between the two that was instantly quelled when a disembodied voice harshly whispered “Hey, careful with using the T-word around Yaebs.”

 

Worried eyes turned to Yaebin, who smiled politely and waved them off. It was fine. She’s not one to be hurt when the past is brought up. It was her decision to leave anyways. She’s completely okay with not being a trainee anymore, though the people around her seem to always walk on eggshells whenever the topic is brought up. It kinda annoyed her. She was fine.

 

“You’re hardly around yet you still understand the topic better than us. You must be a bloody genius.” Nayeon exclaimed, diverting the topic and everyone else seemed to roll with it.

 

“Yeah. Kang Yaebin the math prodigy.”

 

“Is there anything you can’t do Binnie?”

 

“Gosh brains like that should not come with a perfect face too. Talk about unfair.”

 

Yaebin could only politely deny the bold compliments being thrown her way, before they came in such a steady stream that she could not deflect them fast enough so she just smiled softly in return at her classmates.

 

She’s always been smart. All that time spent being an antisocial loser in the library actually bore fruit in the sense that she learns new things very fast. By all intents and purposes Yaebin was still an antisocial loser now, albeit one that was prettier than the average 18 year-old.

 

They call her a “genius” now, when she was just a “nerd” before. Compliments like that ring hollow when they’re being presented by her classmates, people that she’s only just recently gotten the time to acquaint herself with. She never really had the time to socialize with her schoolmates when she was with Pledis. It was always in and out, sometimes she goes a whole week without even showing up to school. The school would look the other way because she still managed to maintain her grades despite being absent, a feat that’s always impressed Kyungwon and Siyeon.

 

Yaebin’s just always been smart, able to wire her brain to learn new things in a flash. Maybe that’s why she’s always been so good at remembering her rap lyrics. Some have even claimed that her ability to absorb information like a sponge was almost prodigious in nature.

 

 

***************************************************************

 

 

“Prodigy?”

 

“I didn’t stutter did I?”

 

Nayoung looks at Yaebin with a serious expression on her face (although that seems to be her default expression). The leader had her hands on her hips, creating an imposing figure as if challenging the room to dispute her claim, something Minkyung gladly did.

 

“Oh c’mon Nayoung unnie! I mean, she’s good but not THAT good.”

 

The raw disbelief on Minkyung’s face would have been insulting, if Yaebin herself didn’t agree with what the leader was saying. It hasn’t been long since she’s started having private practice sessions with Minkyung and two monthly evaluation tests have passed during that period, and sure Yaebin feels like she’s gotten slightly better but not to the extent of being called a prodigy.

 

If it was anyone else Yaebin would probably just chalk it up to some light teasing. Harmless banter between trainees. This wasn’t anyone else though, and that was where the confusion lies. This was coming out of Im Nayoung’s mouth. Nayoung does not speak empty words. Nayoung doesn’t have enough of a sense of humour to pull the statement off as a joke, or as anything else but the truth.

 

Nayoung smiled as she observed Minkyung throw a hissy-fit, as if she was already expecting that reaction.

 

“She’s hasn’t even been doing this for a year, and she’s already almost as good as you, Minkyung-ah. If that’s not her being prodigious, then that is you slacking in your training.”

 

Minkyung looked as if Nayoung had just waltzed into her house at 7am and slapped the morning coffee right out of her hands.

 

“I-I....W-W-What do-do-do—“ Minkyung was sputtering like a lawnmower with a hiccup. Yaebin, sensing a confrontation/ argument brewing in the future, decided to immediately chime in to try and placate the situation.

 

“I’m only as good as I am because Minkyung-ssi is very patient with teaching me everything that I don’t know, Nayoung-unnie.”

 

“Nothing! She knew NOTHING, so I had to teach her EVERYTHING!” Minkyung exclaimed with wide eyes, looking almost manic at the insinuation that she’s been slacking. Kim Minkyung does not slack! She’d rather DIE than slack!

 

Nayoung takes a moment to give Minkyung a once-over with a perfect eyebrow raised, before shrugging and turning away.

 

“The fact is Yaebin, you had a pretty slow start but now you’re excelling at such an alarming rate. It’s a latent talent. Minkyung’s lessons must have been what brought it out. Give it a bit more time and you’ll be leaving us in the dust if we don’t work harder to keep up with you. Mark my words.”

 

The leader’s words seem to hang in the air for a moment, leaving all the girl’s present to interpret it as they will. It was a huge compliment, what Nayoung had just given her. A little bit too huge. There wasn’t even any doubt in Yaebin’s mind that she is undeserving of such praise but before she could voice out her thoughts a warm arm wrapped around her shoulder, the sudden weight putting Yaebin off-balance.

 

Eunwoo just smiled warmly at the shorter girl, seeing the distress on Yaebin’s face as clear as day. “If our leader says so then it must be true.” Eunwoo tightened her one-armed hug around Yaebin briefly before running off to join Nayoung in stretching, in preparation for round 3 of dancing no doubt.

 

“I just....I just like music.” Yaebin mumbled weakly as the rest of the girls walked past her to join Eunwoo and Nayoung, feeling them lightly pat her on the back and ruffling her hair as they passed by.

 

“There is absolutely no way this dweeb is going to overtake me.” Minkyung growled, embarrassed and angered at being put down in front of everyone else. Yaebin turned around to see Minkyung storming off towards the door, one foot ready to leave the room.

 

“Then you better work harder to not let that happen, Minkyung. Else you’d have nobody to blame but yourself.”

 

With another frustrated growl Minkyung stomped out of the dance studio, breathing fire out of her nostrils all the way.

 

Yaebin turns her attention from the door that Minkyung had just stormed out of to her leader and groupmates who were casually doing warmup stretches as if nothing had happened. “Was that really necessary?”

 

Nayoung shrugs, not looking apologetic one bit. “Minky can be stubborn. Let’s just call it my way of motivating her. It has to be this way.”

 

“....Has to?”

 

“You have talent Yaebin. As the leader I shouldn’t be saying something so demotivating to the others, but the honest truth is that no amount of hard work can ever overcome pure, raw talent. I’ve been a trainee in this company long enough to be able to see that. I can recognise the great ones.” Nayoung stares at Yaebin, but the older girl’s eyes seem to indicate that they’re seeing more than what’s currently physically in front of them. A small smile slowly forms on the leader’s stone features, as if sensing Yaebin’s distress. “But if there ever was someone who can overcome the odds, it’s Minkyung. She can’t get complacent now.”

 

“...Why are we competing? Aren’t we going to debut together?” It didn’t make sense to Yaebin. Minkyung was her mentor. Minkyung taught Yaebin everything the latter now knows, so why is Minkyung the one getting a hard time?

 

She also had a million denials and refutals at the tip of her tongue regarding the enlightenment of this “talent” that she apparently possesses, but she sees the steadfast look on her leader’s face and knew that any attempts to sway Nayoung would just fall on deaf ears.

 

Nayoung does sigh in response to her earlier question, which just makes Yaebin even more confused. There was something that the taller girl knew that she’s keeping a secret from all of them, but Yaebin thinks better than to ask. Nayoung’s next words come out heavy, almost confirming Yaebin’s suspicions.

 

“In this industry, nothing is certain Yaebin.”

 

Nothing is certain. What the heck does that mean? Anyways, Yaebin has better things to do than worry about her leader’s weird cryptic monologues. Sungyeon and Kyulkyung were having a dance battle in the middle of the room and Siwon was calling for Yaebin to join in, something she did with much gusto because she gets pretty excited about any opportunity to dance lately.

 

Dancing has been fun.

 

 

 

“—unnie? You okay there?”

 

Yaebin jerks sharply, suddenly aware that someone was poking her cheek.

 

“H-huh? Oh. Yeah. Sorry, I kinda dozed off.” Yaebin sputters out an apology before turning to see Kyla looking at her worriedly, Kyungwon and Siyeon standing by her looking unconvinced. The classroom was empty of other people, signalling that she must have spaced out for longer than she thought. School had already ended.

 

“Dozed off with your eyes wide open? Can you get any more weirder?”

 

“Mr. Kim says to always keep your eyes on the prize.” Yaebin tries to act nonchalant, answering Siyeon’s rhetorical question without even looking at the girl. If she did the taller girl might catch a glimpse of the pink colouring Yaebin’s cheeks.

 

“...So you choose to keep staring at a wall?”

 

“Don’t make fun of what I think is precious Kyungwon. That could be my favourite wall in the entire school, you’ll never know.”

 

“What’s up with you lately Binnie? Haven’t been getting enough sleep? Don’t you have plenty of time to do that nowadays?” Kyungwon asked patronisingly while casually leaning against the classroom door. Suppose she thinks she looks cool like that. What a git.

 

“Guess I can’t seem to kick the old habit. My sleeping schedule’s been messed for the past 2 years, I guess it takes more than a few months to reset it huh?” Yaebin laughs weakly, packing her things into her backpack as her friends look on in concern. They think they’re good at hiding it, but Yaebin sees them whispering behind her back. Hears them make grand plans to try and “cheer Yaebin up”. She knows they’re worried about her and yes the notion is appreciated but not at all welcomed.

 

It’s been half a year.

 

Yaebin is fine.

 

“We were saying that we’re planning on dropping by Cathy’s after school. Kyungwon’s having cravings for that Strawberry Cheesecake ice-cream again. Come with?”

 

Cathy’s...Cathy’s shop was far too close to Pledis Entertainment for Yaebin’s liking, but she reasons that the probability of bumping into those girls now is less than 0% with Siwon gone. The biggest ice-cream lover in the Pledis Girlz was now a trainee at Dream Tea Entertainment, which was an agency all the way across town. There was no reason for her to bump into her former teammates. It should be safe.

 

See, Yaebin is fine, but she also knows when to play it safe and not look for any reasons to not be fine.

 

Yaebin nods. “Yeah. Sure. Sounds fun.”

 

 

**********************************************

 

 

“—and it’s a problem because there’s absolutely no way I can parallel park a truck in the middle of Gangnam!”

 

“Why don’t you just take the train?”

 

“....How the am I supposed to parallel park a train?!”

 

“Wh—You know what? I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer, Kyungwon.”

 

Yaebin and Kyla brace themselves in the opposite corner of the table, waiting for the explosion that is Kyungwon’s retaliation and like clockwork it comes. Kyungwon yells something at Siyeon, who responds with something along the lines of calling Kyungwon an idiot. Yaebin didn’t really need to pay attention to their shouting match, it’s usually the same thing anyways.

 

“Those two should just date already. It’s getting tiring.” Yaebin grumbles, torn between using her hands to cover her ears or to eat her ice-cream. Next to her Kyla calmly continues eating, unperturbed with the commotion around her.

 

“Yaebin-unnie, do you really think this will stop once they start dating? If anything it’ll just give them even more things to argue about.”

 

“But still!” Yaebin groans, helplessly watching her ice-cream slowly melt in it’s cup in front of her. If only she had four hands. Four hands would allow her to eat, and cover her ears. “Maybe they’ll shut up once in awhile if they’re too busy kissing each other.”

 

“Smart money says that Siyeon will be the one to confess first.” Cathy chimes in from over the counter, wincing as the arguing pair starts to fling her expensive furniture around the shop.

 

“I’d take that bet, if I wasn’t 1000% sure that Siyeon has too much pride to confess first. Still...Kyungwon is probably too dumb to realise she even has feelings for the other girl...”

 

“I think you’re doubting Kyungwon-unnie too much. She’s not that dumb.”

 

“Kyla you precious soul, you should really find a way to market the rose-tinted glasses you use to see the world.”

 

“Kid might be right Yaebs. Kyungwon could be smarter than we think. At least she realises she’s gay, and not denying it like the other one.”

 

“I’m NOT GAY!” Siyeon shouts at them from across the battlefield that The Last Kiss Creamery has now turned into. A few frightened customers start to run towards the exit, while the other regulars just shrug and continue eating. Someone sitting in the far corner even yells back a sarcastic “yeah right!” in response.

 

“I’m NOT!” Siyeon insists while stomping her feet in defiance. “I just like looking at pretty girls occasionally okay?! It’s like—it’s like going to the aquarium to see fishes! Doesn’t mean I want to date a fish does it?!”

 

“Not the same thing at all, but go on then.” Yaebin cuts in, not missing her chance to mess with her friend.

 

The owner of the shop sighs, offering Siyeon a pitying gaze. “Sorry to say, kiddo. You’re gayer than Elton John after one too many Appletinis.”

 

“Who the is Elton John?!”

 

“Lord help me.” Cathy bends over backwards dramatically, clutching her heart.

 

Kyungwon eventually joins in on making fun of Siyeon’s lack of knowledge for western musicians, and the shouting match begins all over again. It was a cycle that only ended when Chaeyeon walked out of Cathy’s office, drying her hair as if she had just taken a shower.

 

Yaebin had no idea that Cathy owned a fully functioning shower in her office. The room must be larger than it appears to be. Maybe Kyungwon’s “secret underground entrance for Chaeyeon” theory wasn’t as farfetched as it sounds.

 

“It’s always so eventful in here.” Chaeyeon chirps while waving to the other customers as they call out to her. Yaebin sometimes wonder if a megastar like Chaeyeon should be so casual with interacting with her fans, but she also knows that Cathy runs a tight ship. Nothing bad will ever befall the idol within these premises.

 

“Hey look! Sohye’s on tv!”

 

Chaeyeon points to the large flatscreen mounted on the wall and true enough Kim Sohye was on it, performing with her group on an Inkigayo stage.

 

The stage setup was elaborate, as per usual with SBS. Yaebin’s made it a point to avoid listening to K-pop the past few months so she had no idea what the title of the song currently playing on screen was, but it was good. It was catchy. Without really realising it Yaebin was tapping her feet to the beat, and a wave of fury washes over her when she catches herself.

 

She’s letting her defenses slip.

 

“I still find the image of you listening to pop music to be hilarious Cathy.” Yaebin catches Kyungwon laughing at the proprietor of the establishment and decides to tune into the conversation. Anything to redirect her mind away from the path it was going.

 

“I don’t listen to pop music.” Cathy replies with a scoff, as if the very idea itself was preposterous while flipping her hair just for good measure.

 

“Then why’ve you always got Music Shows playing on your shop’s TV sets?”

 

Cathy hesitates for a brief moment, and everyone in the room manages to catch the brief pause. “…I like the noise.”

 

“Wanna know the real reason?”

 

Chaeyeon propped her chin up with an elbow on the counter, a smile as wide as the Han River stretching across her face, and at the sight Cathy’s eyes widen into saucers in alarm.

 

“Chae don’t you dare—“ Cathy starts while brandishing the ice-cream scooper she had just spent the better part of 15 minutes cleaning as threateningly as she could, only for Chaeyeon to ignore her completely and continue talking anyways.

 

“It’s because Heehyun-unnie always forgets when my group has a comeback, so she leaves the TV on in case DIA pops up on it! She’s horrible! And she claims she loves me!”

 

“Hey it’s not like I have time to scroll through a twitter feed to keep track of all 50 times DIA’s made a comeback this year!”

 

“Twice. We’ve made TWO comebacks this year.”

 

“This way is just easier Chae. Of course it’s a lot easier if you would just TELL ME WHEN YOU’RE MAKING A COMEBACK!”

 

“Is this another lover’s quarrel?” Kyla asks meekly as the two women glare daggers at each other.

 

“She should be so lucky.” Chaeyeon responds, but with a measure more composure than earlier. Cathy just grumbles in a corner, obviously annoyed but not willing to start another fight.

 

“Also this little runt of a store manager I know just debuted in a girl group and I have to keep up with her live stages or else she’ll kill me. Why the hell is everybody around me becoming idols?!”

 

Yaebin stiffens immediately at the allusions to Eunwoo and the girl group that she herself was once a part of. The group that she resigned from, before managing to taste the fruits of her labor. Before debuting. The ‘wasted opportunities’ and the ‘what if’s’ that she tries not to think about during every waking moment for the past 6 months slowly creeps in and settles in the pit of Yaebin’s stomach.

 

“Unnie! Not in front of Yaebin!” Kyla whispers harshly to Cathy, who mumbled something in return. Yaebin wasn’t exactly paying attention anymore. She would like to tell Kyla that it’s fine. That she isn’t so fragile that she can be hurt at the slight mention of Pristin.

 

She couldn’t say anything though. Nothing to assure the others and appease the worried glances they were offering her. Yaebin hated it. She hated how it still affected her. Being an idol meant nothing to her, and yet just a mere mention and her eyes are burning and her lips are quivering and dammit god dammit she was worrying the others she should just say somethi—

 

“Is everything okay Binster?”

 

Yaebin hears the concern in Chaeyeon’s voice just as clearly as she feels the latter’s hand reassuringly ease gentle circles onto her back.

 

“It’s nothing unnie.” Yaebin tries for the blatant lie, but Chaeyeon was persistent. The idol had good intentions, but Yaebin just wanted to be left alone until this wave of misery and self-pity washes over her.

 

“You miss it?”

 

Yaebin shakes her head. “Not at all.”

 

“You miss her?”

 

She tries to make a sound but at the very thought of her, and suddenly Yaebin’s throat seems to close up. A million beautiful memories hit her all at once and despite all that she still manages to choke out a strained “Not at all.”

 

Chaeyeon takes the empty seat next to Yaebin, wrapping an arm around the shorter girl and pulling her in close against her. “It’s not easy, leaving it behind is it?”

 

“...I don’t want to talk about it unnie.” Yaebin’s voice comes out muffled, and Chaeyeon keeps up her facade of obliviousness if only just to get the shorter girl to open up a bit further.

 

“What exactly are we not talking about?”

 

It works like a charm.

 

“Being an idol. The music industry. All that bull. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think of it, I don’t even—I don’t even want to listen to music anymore.” Yaebin’s words end in a sob, and she cleverly tries to mask it as her clearing . “...I’m over it.”

 

“Been there, done that?”

 

“Pretty much. I tried it, it was fun, but it just wasn’t for me.”

 

“Did Minkyung ever thank you for giving her your spot on the team?” Cathy bluntly chimes in from behind the counter, earning her a few groans and a death-glare from Chaeyeon.

 

“....There’s no reason to.” Yaebin trudges on, pretending as if that name does not affect her anymore. It was difficult. “That’s what I was there for, and that was my promise to her. To help her debut. My job is done.”

 

“No regrets?” Chaeyeon asks softly, and Yaebin shakes her head in agreement.

 

“None. I’m glad that part of my life is over. Now can we please drop the topic?”

 

Chaeyeon laughs weakly. “Just making conversation here.”

 

Yaebin knows Chaeyeon’s worried. Chaeyeon has seen what the industry can do to someone as young as Yaebin, the way it forces your life into a specific direction and whether you like it or not you have to go with the flow, all the while pretending as if you’re not leaving pieces of yourself behind as well. Chaeyeon was sad for Yaebin. One shouldn’t have to leave the person they love behind like that. It wasn’t fair, but Chaeyeon was all too familiar with this scene.

 

Minkyung was an idol now, and Yaebin was just an ordinary student. They now lived on different planets.

 

“...They still drop by sometimes y’know. They ask about you all the time.”

 

Yaebin turns to Cathy, an unreadable yearning in the younger girl’s eyes. A longing. A thirst. A twinkle of light in dead eyes.

 

“....Tell them I’m living a happy life as a student.”

 

Cathy smiles softly, and nods in understanding.

 

“That’s a blatant lie.” Siyeon interjects matter-of-factly, causing Yaebin to just smile weakly back at her friend.

 

“No it isn’t.”

 

“Of course it is. We have our finals in a month. We are the complete opposite of ‘happy students’ you butthead.”

 

Yaebin sighs.

 

“Just...just let me have this one please Siyeon?”

 

Siyeon looks to argue, but thinks better of it. Instead she just shrugs and continues hitting Kyungwon upside the head with a plastic straw, sparking another round of arguments between the pair.

 

Lying was the least painful option. Living was easier with eyes closed.

 

 

********************************************************************

 

 

“I would like to withdraw from the group, sir.”

 

Han Sungsoo sets down the bundle of paperwork he had been holding next to an even bigger mountain of folders and files. The CEO of Pledis Entertainment looked as if he hadn’t slept in several weeks, and Yaebin could tell that her earlier statement was threatening to push buttons that probably should not be pushed.

 

Still, he was a patient man, with plenty of patience to spare. He very rarely let his anger get the better of him, and for that Yaebin holds a great deal of respect for him. She respects the CEO more than most people she knows in similar positions. He has been kind to her, which makes Yaebin feel like an even bigger piece of for what she was about to do.

 

President Han pushes up his glasses to stare at her better, probably to judge if this visit to his office was worthy of his attention or not. “The decision has been made. It’s finalized. We are not removing you from Pristin.”

 

“Then, please remove me from this company. I quit.”

 

That seems to get the message across, as his eyes widen a microscopic amount before he folds his fingers neatly on the wooden desk separating them. She had his full, undivided attention.

 

“...I beg your pardon?”

 

“I quit. Please nullify my contract.”

 

“Do you have any idea what you are saying, Kang Rena?”

 

“Yes sir. I’m sure of my decision.”

 

Yaebin has never been more sure of anything. Ever since the full lineup for Pristin’s debut was revealed 4 days ago and Minkyung’s name was not on it, this was the only justifiable course of action for Yaebin to take. The only thing that could put her heart at ease.

 

She hasn’t seen or heard from Minkyung since that day. Desperate and afraid, she had even tried to meet the girl at her house, only to be stopped at the door by Minkyung’s father.

 

‘She doesn’t want any visitors right now. You must understand. Please give her some time to recuperate.’

 

That was all Yaebin needed to know. That she was fine. That she was still alive and hadn’t done anything stupid. That was yesterday, and the first thing she did as soon as she entered the Pledis building today was set up an appointment with the highest authority in the company.

 

To do the right thing.

 

“You are aware of the consequences for prematurely terminating a trainee contract?” President Han asks, voice calm and cool. Not even a hint of a tremble.

 

“...I am aware, sir.” Yaebin answers after a moment of hesitation. The consequences were...severe, to say the least. It was a lot of money. Money that had gone into training Yaebin for the past two years needed to be recouped somehow, so her family has to fork out funds for something she joined on a whim when she was 16.

 

It wasn’t fair to her family members, and although she didn’t know the actual sum that needed to be paid Yaebin was pretty sure that she could kiss her college education goodbye.

 

This was the right thing to do however. Yaebin’s already braced herself for the screaming and shouting that was inevitable in her future.

 

“Very well then.”

 

Huh.

 

That had significantly less screaming and shouting than Yaebin anticipated.

 

“...Just like that?”

 

President Han’s steely grey eyes flicker upwards so that they catch Yaebin’s, and the girl stiffens significantly at the gesture. It was like getting hit with a whip. “Pledis Entertainment has zero interest in holding onto people that do not wish to be here. We make the dreams of trainees come true, not hold them hostage.”

 

Yaebin nods. Of course.

 

Nobody wants you if you don’t want it yourself. That’s what Nayoung told her during her first few months here.

 

President Han takes off his glasses and massages the bridge of his nose, breaking the steely composure he had set for himself. When he returns his gaze to Yaebin, she notices that his eyes were softer. More fatherly. He wasn’t in CEO mode anymore. “What I would like to know is, what is this really about Rena? This is unlike you.”

 

“I don’t know about that sir. Giving the Talent Relations and Management teams a splitting migraine seems exactly like something I’d do.”

 

“And you take ridiculous pride in it, don’t you?”

 

Yaebin shrugs. “Some would say that causing trouble is the thing I do best.”

 

“I am inclined to agree.”

 

Yaebin laughs weakly and she sees the momentary twinkle of amusement in President Han’s eyes. This was it, wasn’t it?

 

He had been kind to her. His door would always be open to her and his ears were always ready to listen to her worries. Maybe he knew that this was going to happen. Maybe he expected it all along.

 

Despite that, he still gave Yaebin the opportunity to accept her position on the team. For that, she was eternally grateful.

 

“Please have Minkyung take my place.”

 

President Han simply shook his head. “Roa is not a replacement for you. There is a reason we chose you over her. Several reasons, in fact.”

 

“With all due respect sir, I would like to humbly disagree with whatever those reasons may be.”

 

“That is your right to do so, although you may be disappointed to find that a single trainee’s opinion fails to carry the amount of weight necessary to influence a decision.”

 

Yaebin nods again, although she knew that deep in his heart he did not have a choice. Siwon had one foot out the door, and even if she were to stay the undeniable truth was that Minkyung was more suited to the team than Siwon. It was an unfair and completely biased assessment, but Yaebin had enough faith in Minkyung that the girl would be chosen over Siwon.

 

“You would have been great, you know. You’ve come a long way from when you first started.”

 

A smile finds it’s way onto Yaebin’s face at the compliment. An air of finality accompanied that statement, making this all too real for the teenager. She was really ending it.

 

“It was a journey, sir. One that I don’t regret starting, but all journeys have to come to an end.”

 

“...When the board of directors wanted me to choose a candidate that was different from the rest, I had my doubts.” President Han began, wiping his glasses on a piece of cloth while his gentle eyes stayed fixed on the girl before him.

 

“I am...glad I listened to them. I am glad that you were the girl we chose, Rena. Your skills...You’ve proven to this jaded old man that sometimes the best trainees can come from the most unlikely of places. That sometimes the tried and true methods for scouting idols has it’s flaws. I chose you as an experiment, but my goodness I could have never predicted what perfect material you would end up being.”

 

Yaebin actually chuckled. Perfect material, he calls her. Material for what?

 

“Can’t be that perfect. I’m still leaving in the end. I’m still contributing to this company’s high trainee turnover rate.”

 

He stays mum at that, but his eyes offer her a curious twinkle in reply. Finding that there was nothing left to say, Yaebin nods and turns to leave, each step towards the exit heavier than the last.

 

“I’m sorry we were unable to debut all of you together, Rena.”

 

Yaebin stops in her tracks, tears immediately welling up in her eyes the moment her feet halted. He sounded sincere, and again Yaebin was grateful for that. He cares for the girls. At least the agency she had joined on a whim 2 years ago was a good one.

 

“It’s back to Yaebin from now on sir. Just...just Yaebin.”

 

 

**************************************************

 

 

It was actually funny just how unfamiliar it feels to be standing here now, when she used to come here every single day like it was a second home. In many ways, it actually functioned like one.

 

Standing with her feet planted firm on the asphalt across from Pledis Entertainment’s black and white facade, Yaebin’s memories of freely entering and leaving the building seemed so distant they might as well have belonged to someone else. She has no business here. She’s lucky the CEO of this company decided to completely drop all the trainee fees she was supposed to pay, for some inexplicable reason that Yaebin wasn’t curious enough to try and find out.

 

The least she could do, was never show up on this doorstep again.

 

Yet here she was, an absentminded walk through the neighbourhood coupled with muscle memory lead her right here for no good reason. She should turn and leave. Continue walking, and ignore this phase in her life.

 

But she wants to enter the building.

 

She’s drawn to it for some reason. The longer she stares at the dark wood of the front door, the more she feels like she wants to go in.

 

Despite having no reason to visit the building and about half a million reasons NOT TO, Yaebin finds her feet walking towards the black and white building, almost as if she was in a trance. Maybe this has been 6 months of repressed longing culminating into a single moment. She feels her feet climb up the steps leading to the building’s entrance and worries internally what she would do if somebody sees her.

 

“Been awhile since I saw you kid.”

 

Yaebin jolts in surprise, entire body jumping back in shock. She sharply turns her head only to see the building’s security guard smiling softly at her, a twinkle in his beady eyes and regarding her as if she was more than just a pedestrian trying to break into a high-security building.

 

“I uhh…” She hesitates in trying to come up with an answer. Yaebin completely forgets that she doesn’t have the security clearance to enter the building. She’s spent 2 years just casually waltzing in like she owned the place.

 

“I thought you don’t go here anymore.”

 

“....I don’t.” Yaebin had no reason to even lie to him. She could have easily come up with a half-baked excuse or a fib but really this was for the best, and making up a story would make it seem as if she had something to hide.

 

She didn’t. She was just a pedestrian, passing by the infamous Pledis building and decided to chance a peek inside.

 

The middle-aged man continued staring at Yaebin which honestly made her feel more uncomfortable than she would care to admit. Before she could take the man’s over attentiveness as a sign to buzz off, the security guard let out a soft chuckle that effectively ended whatever staring contest Yaebin had unintentionally entered into.

 

“Huh. Well how bout that eh?” The man shrugged, and stepped aside to give Yaebin a clear passage to the building’s entrance.

 

Yaebin blinked once, twice, three times before offering the man a nod and pushing the wooden door open. She had no idea what was going on or why she was even entering the building in the first place but after that weird exchange with what appears to be Seoul’s tiest security guard, it would have been incredibly awkward to turn away and continue walking.

 

She was back inside the familiar reception area. Everything still looked exactly the same. As it should, really. It’s only been 6 months since she’s left, and really 6 months isn’t that long a time with all things considered. Still, it felt odd. She felt out of place.

 

It was like returning to a house that she didn’t live in anymore. Although her surroundings looked familiar, it felt strange somehow to be here. As if the air itself was not welcoming her. As if the shiny marble beneath her feet is reminding her that she doesn’t belong here anymore.

 

There was one place in this building that Yaebin was certain would make her feel right at home. Her feet moved, expertly navigating through hallways and stairwells until she reached a narrow path with walls painted black, a faint humming of machinery being the only sound echoing through the hallway’s soundproofed walls. Following that hum leads Yaebin to an out-of-place vending machine, located right beside a beat-up wooden door.

 

Dance Studio 5.

 

Yaebin hesitated for a brief moment outside the room, although her hand already had a lax grip on the doorknob. She trained her ears for any sign of music or movement coming from the other side of the door and when she was beyond certain that she could hear nothing (the other girls were always too noisy. There was no way they could remain this quiet for this long) Yaebin turned the knob and walked into the room.

 

Just like the reception area, this place hasn’t changed one bit. She wondered if the girls even used this room anymore. Wouldn’t a debuted group use a larger room with better facilities, instead of this relatively tiny space hidden deep within Pledis’ dungeon?

 

This tiny space which doubled as a furnace in summer, and an icebox in winter. The plumbing was horrible, with water often leaking down on the dancing girls from the ceiling. There was that one time Sungyeon had slipped on a puddle and nearly broke her on the wooden floor, but the girls couldn’t stop laughing long enough to even begin to be concerned. Even Nayoung, despite being pokerfaced as cracked a few smiles as she helped a writhing and groaning Sungyeon back to her feet.

 

Yeah, this dance studio was horrible. A hole. A torture chamber disguised as a dream-making factory.

 

“….It’s really been awhile, hasn’t it?” Yaebin asks the empty room out loud.

 

Yaebin sees her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors surrounding her and smiles weakly at herself. Here she was, in her drabby school clothes, coming back from a rough few hours of cram school that followed right after a grueling 7 hours in her actual high school. 16 year old Yaebin would have loved all the studying that 18 year old Yaebin was currently able to do. Loved the books and the reading.

 

16 year old Yaebin didn’t know any better.

 

16 year old Yaebin was never given any other options before.

 

“What’s this?”

 

A voice came from the doorway and Yaebin jumped out of her skin at the sudden intrusion to her reverie. How could she have not noticed the door opening? The mirror was reflecting practically everything in the room, including the bloody door, the ONLY way in and out of this dance studio.

 

Even worse, once the figure by the door decides to step into the room and Yaebin could finally make out her features, the former trainee suddenly wished she had never stepped foot into this building earlier.

 

Yaebin was terrified of this woman.

 

“N-Nana-sunbaeni—“

 

“I wasn’t aware normal civilians are allowed access to the prestigious Pledis rehearsal rooms.” Nana cut her off while gracefully maneuvering the distance between them so that it appeared as if she was gliding towards Yaebin. Like a predator does it’s prey. “Did you get lost little civilian? Shall I ask security to help you find the exit?”

 

“No no please you don’t have t—“

 

“Oh don’t I?” Nana momentarily paused while looking a stammering Yaebin dead in her eyes. “This is a breach of security isn’t it? Did you get the proper clearance to even be on these premises?”

 

“I-I-I sunbaenim please I’m sorry—“ Yaebin was on the verge of tears as Nana loomed over her, being every bit the imposing figure that made her rise to the top of the company.

 

A small smile cracks through Nana’s stone-cold mask, and Yaebin stared in puzzlement as it grew wider until the model/actress/idol/fashion designer was practically beaming at her. What a bizarre turn of events.

 

“Oh chill out! You look like I’m about to eat you alive or something! Jeez. I was just playing with you Binnie. Where did the sense of humour go?”

 

Yaebin blinks once. Twice. Three times, before she takes in the teasing look on her senior’s face and her body language that seemed to have lost all hostility. No wonder Nana was such a successful actress. The shorter girl let out a breath that she only just realised she had been holding and smiled weakly at Nana, almost embarrassed about her earlier freak-out.

 

“I guess the sense of humour is out of practice too sunbaenim.”

 

“Well that ain’t good. Did you really think I was going to call security on you?! C’mon! I thought we were closer than that! You should’ve been able to sense the joke!”

 

“We uh...we’ve never actually hung out before sunbaenim. I don’t think you’ve ever told me a joke before either.”

 

Nana tilted her head in confusion. “Huh. Really? Wow. Could’ve sworn we’ve done lunch once or twice. Aren’t you the one with the cat?”

 

“That would be Kyulkyung-unnie, sunbaenim.”

 

“Ah! Right of course! The Chinese girl! The one that spends a suspicious amount of time with my sister....” Nana trailed off momentarily, eyes narrowing as she looked off into the distance before returning to Yaebin as if she had not just spaced out. “How on earth did I ever make that mistake? You wouldn’t happen to be Chinese would you?”

 

“Not to my knowledge, sunbaenim.”

 

“Please. You’re not a trainee anymore. Call me unnie.”

 

Yaebin would rather not, but she was still absolutely terrified of Im Jin-Ah so she would much rather do everything the older girl says instead of the opposite.

 

“Unnie. What are you doing here?”

 

“Probably the same thing you’re doing here.” Nana began pacing around the room, fingers randomly caressing the practice room mirrors, absentmindedly leaving her fingerprints on the glass. “I’m just reminiscing on better times….I’ve got to say Im Jin-Ah the Actress doesn’t really carry the same weight as being called Nana from Afterschool does it?”

 

Yaebin didn’t really know how to answer that question. In fact for a moment there she was internally cringing at the marks Nana’s fingers were leaving on the mirrors until she remembered it wasn’t her responsibility to clean them anymore. That was the job of some sad trainee somewhere. Does Pledis even have any trainees left after debuting Pristin? Yaebin doesn’t remember seeing any.

 

“My sister tells me you’ve left them a rapper short for their debut?”

 

The question startles Yaebin as it effectively shakes her out of her own thoughts. Nana was regarding her with a look so casual that she almost appeared to not care one bit what Yaebin’s reply was going to be but the younger girl sees the steel in Nana’s eyes. This was an interrogation. Everything she says here will probably be deliberated and taken into account by the goddess herself.

 

Yaebin gulped, trying to not let her intimidation apparent. “I did. But I made up for it by making way for the perfect package.”

 

Nana begins pacing the room, taking slow steps around Yaebin, like a shark would a helpless seal. “...Is that what you did, Kang Yaebin?”

 

“Yeah. Minkyung is better than me in every aspect. She could probably rap better too if she tried.”

 

“Yet Roa didn’t make it initially. You did.”

 

“I was the wrong choice!” Yaebin snapped without even thinking, her defense of Minkyung coming out as reflex. “She’ll prove all of you wrong! I just gave her the chance to!”

 

“How about Siwon then? Was she just an afterthought? Did you even consider the possibility that she could have gotten chosen over Roa?”

 

Yaebin winced at the blow dealt by Nana’s words. She loved Siwon. They’ve spent so much time together that Yaebin honestly viewed her as a sister and she would have been more than ecstatic if Siwon had made it into the final lineup as well but deep down Yaebin knew that if it came down to it, if it came down to choosing sides between Siwon and Minkyung....

 

Yaebin couldn’t help but be a little biased.

 

Nana took Yaebin’s silence as her cue to further reiterate her point. “Look Yaebin. You don’t get to decide who deserves it and who doesn’t. Everyone fought their hardest to debut. Everyone wanted your spot, but you earned it fair and square. You were just the better choice, but when you managed to get to that peak that everybody wanted to reach what did you do? You turned it down. Slap to the face to all the other girls don’t you think?”

 

“Did Nayoung-unnie tell you that's how she feels...?"

 

"Nope. That's how she should be feeling though. It was a perfect lineup. 4 vocals and 2 rappers. Now they have 5 vocals and 1 rapper to carry the whole group which completely s up the dynamic. I would know, I was part of the team in charge of putting Pristin together. I CHOSE you!”

 

Nana seethed, obviously having held onto this frustration for awhile now. The sight of an uncomposed Im Jinah was an unfamiliar picture to Yaebin so she really had no idea how to react to this situation. The younger girl could do nothing but watch as Nana went through an assortment of comical breathing exercises to calm herself down.

 

Eventually the furrow between Nana’s perfect eyebrows softened and the model had stopped glaring at Yaebin. Nana’s shoulders relaxed somewhat as she let out a long sigh, eyes not leaving Yaebin for even a second.

 

"That girl....you know what my sister told me when you left?"

 

Startled by Nana suddenly addressing a question to her, it took several moments for Yaebin to register the question and several more to shake her head in a confused “No”.

 

"Unnie, I lost a sister today."

 

Sister.

 

Nayoung called her a sist—

 

"I got the shock of my life I mean what the hell last I checked I was still alive but she meant you. She treated you like a sister. She misses you."

 

It was like a tidal wave. A monsoon, the way the huge wall of emotions struck her so suddenly out of the blue. Yaebin could try her best to repress every happy memory the 2 years she’s spent training has given her, but she could not forget the relationships she’s built during that period.

 

The friendships. The sisterhood. That feeling of camaraderie that a group of people can only achieve after going through literal hell and back every single day. Nayoung was the one responsible for taking care of all them. Their leader. Except she’s become more than a leader. She became a friend, and before Yaebin knew it, Nayoung had become the elder sister she’s never had.

 

She let Nayoung down that day, when she last walked out of Pledis’ front doors. She left them behind. And after all that, Nayoung still considered her a sister...?

 

Yaebin couldn’t even begin to hide her shame.

 

"...I miss her too." Came the choked out reply from her now-quivering lips. It hurt to admit that. She was supposed to be emotionless about this whole thing. She wasn’t supposed to feel anything but here she is standing in front of an industry senior looking like she wasn’t done with this life yet, complete with tears streaming down her face.

 

Nana at least gave her the dignity of not remarking on the stready stream of tears cascading down Yaebin’s cheeks. The taller girl just observed her, gaze not nearly as fierce as it was earlier. Yaebin didn’t even notice her stop her pacing. Nana’s next words came out soft. Gentle, even. As if she cared for what the answer would be.

 

"How about Kang Rena? Do you miss her?"

 

Yaebin snorted. It was a ridiculous question, with an obvious answer.

 

"You mean, do I miss being a trainee?” Yaebin meant to return the question back with as much snide as she could, but what was this lump slowly forming in ? Her chest was being constricted and it just kept getting worse with every word uttered. “Do I miss dancing? And singing? And writing rap lyrics to songs that shouldn't even have rap in them in the first place?"

 

The model before her merely nodded slightly. Why was Nana smiling at her? What was with that knowing smirk? Why? It infuriated Yaebin. It was as if the older woman knew something about Yaebin that she herself didn’t know.

 

"Do I miss puking my guts out 3 times a day from overexertion? Do I miss having my bones fall out of their sockets and feeling my legs buckle under me on my way to the kitchen for breakfast every morning? Do I miss eating crappy, tasteless pieces of cardboard as a means to get some semblance of nutrition without gaining weight? Do I miss spending a fortune buying new shoes every 3 months because all the dancing wears out the soles?"

 

Yaebin was trembling now as she spat out her words, but Nana still stayed calm and unmoving. That smile still on her face. The frustration built up inside Yaebin until the former trainee was practically bawling out. What does Nana know about her life?! She hated being a trainee. She only did it for Minkyung. She hated every second she spent in this building.

 

“Do I miss being constantly reminded that I’m not good enough? Being reprimanded for not preparing enough when I prepared until I puked blood all over this wooden floor?! Do I—Do I miss training with a group of girls who are forced to remain blindly optimistic as they chase a dream that may or may not come?"

 

Yaebin sank to her knees, feeling so emotional her legs just couldn’t support her anymore. She was sniffling in frustration while Nana looked down at her with those perfect lips curved at the edges. This was a waste of time. Such a waste of time.

 

“Do you miss it?” Nana repeats her question again.

 

Lying to herself was such a waste of time.

 

"MORE THAN ANYTHING!” Yaebin finally screamed, falling to pieces on the familiar wooden floor as she finally lets her walls down for the first time in half a year. “I MISS IT MORE THAN ANYTHING! I...."

 

Yaebin struggled to continue because it was just too...much. The moment she resigned from Pristin, the moment she tore up her contract, the moment she walked out the door, the moment she became a normal human, Yaebin swore to herself that she would never look back. That this was the best course of action. She doesn’t belong in the world of idols. She was but a visitor, and it was her time to leave. Yaebin had told herself so many lies that she had managed to even convince herself.

 

She managed to forget. She forgot how badly she wanted to be here.

 

"The last 6 months have been HELL!” Yaebin screamed, more to herself than to Nana. “I…I don't know what to do with myself! Is it really considered living if I'm wandering around aimlessly? I keep thinking of this studio. I keep hearing music everywhere I go and I feel restless! I've got notebooks full of lyrics that I won't ever use!"

 

It hurt. It hurt so bad. To admit that she had given up the thing that’s given her so much purpose. This was why she didn’t want to come to terms with it. This was why Yaebin pretended that leaving didn’t phase her at all, because the truth just ing hurts.

 

"I loved it, unnie! I loved dancing! I loved rapping! I loved writing and composing and the pure joy of just—of just being surrounded by such wonderful people and—I didn’t realise it until I’m not doing it anymore. There’s so much...normalcy in my life now. What’s up with that? Why am I normal?! Why am I just a normal person now?! I’m more than this! I’m more than just Kang Yaebin!”

 

Yaebin’s tear-filled eyes looked up to meet Nana’s apathetic ones. The former trainee was a crying mess on the floor, while the metaphorical-but-oftentimes-literal Goddess of Pledis looked down on her with that unreadable smile still on her face. Yaebin has never felt so small and pathetic in her life.

 

“Are you sure? I don’t see anything wrong with being plain ol’ Kang Yaebin.” Nana shrugged.

 

There was a small possibility the older girl was enjoying seeing Yaebin like this. Nana was testing her. Testing her pride. Yaebin knew, but her pride was all that she had left now. It wasn’t something that she could easily let go of.

 

“U-Unnie I.....” Yaebin began, stumbling on her words.

 

“Yes?”

 

“I-I want—“

 

“I want to hear you say it. What do you want?”

 

What does she want. She’s been asked that for 2 years and she’s never had an answer. She’s never been brave enough but right now feeling as vulnerable as she’s ever been there was nothing that she was more sure of in her 18 years of living.

 

“What do you want Kang Rena?”

 

"I WANT TO BE AN IDOL!"

 

Finally.

 

Like a weight being taken off her shoulders. Yaebin sobbed harder at the realisation of how beautiful the admittance sounded leaving her lips. She allowed herself to be selfish. She allowed herself to want. The little girl from Texas finally found something that she was good at. Something to aspire towards. How could she have been so unsure before? She started down this road full of reluctance but somewhere down the line, she had fallen in love. Yaebin always thought that the love in her heart was reserved exclusively for Minkyung, but unbeknownst to her she had fallen for the industry itself as well.

 

It wasn’t a revelation now. It was something she’s always known. Something she was always too afraid to voice out. A desire she was undeserving to own.

 

“I-I want to be...an idol, unnie. I want...I want it so bad.” Yaebin muttered to herself, before another realisation sank in. The realisation that she actually managed to get what she wanted 6 months ago, but she turned it down.

 

There were no more tears to shed. She couldn’t cry even if she wanted to. Instead Yaebin could only allow hollow laughter to escape her, finding amusement in the reality she was in.

 

"…Do you regret giving up your spot now?"

 

"No!" Yaebin’s denial came almost immediately. "Given the chance I'd probably do it even faster than I did before! What's the point of debuting if we don't do it together?!"

 

Nana nodded. There was a weird satisfied look on her face, as if something Yaebin had said had pleased her. Yaebin for the life of her probably couldn’t figure out what that was though. She had said a lot of weird things in the past 10 minutes itself.

 

“So now that you have your head straight and you finally realize that you want to be an idol—something you should have probably done a whole year ago, you dimwit—what are you going to do now?”

 

That was a question wasn’t it? Now that she’s come to terms with herself there’s no way she could go back to school like normal, even if final exams were in a week. Would Pledis even take her back?

 

"I just....I don't know....” Yaebin trailed off, her brain trying to process too many things at once. “I don't want to start over in another agency, but it's impossible now for us to be together. Siwon's in another agency now too. I don't know what to do."

 

"Is it impossible...?"

 

Yaebin blinked at Nana’s insinuation. "I-Isn't it?"

 

"It probably is, isn't it? Oh look at the time! I think I've left them outside for too long!"

 

"Them...?" Yaebin was nothing but confused as she watched Nana turn on her heels and walk towards the door. The older girl even had a slight skip in her step while she was at it.

 

Nana opened the door and disappeared through it, but not before chirping out a “She’s all yours” to somebody Yaebin couldn’t see from this angle. Before she could even begin to wonder any further the door violently swung open the rest of the way, nearly tearing it off it’s hinges.

 

There, standing in the entryway of Dance Studio 5, with her foot still up from having violently kicked the door open and a scowl on her face as deep as the nearest ocean stood the one girl whom Yaebin had been dying to see yet has been consciously avoiding for the past half a year.

 

Like a storm the girl stomps her way from the door towards Yaebin. A beautiful storm, that creates the most beautiful disasters. That was the best way to describe her. Less than 5 seconds later and she was now standing in front of Yaebin, cold glare boring holes into the former-trainee’s soul.

 

Yaebin found herself forgetting how to speak. was dry and just—good god she could feel herself falling in love all over again.

 

"M-Minkyun—"

 

SMACK!

 

A sudden, sharp stinging pain in her cheek catches Yaebin off guard and before she knows it she’s on the floor staring up at a seething, absolutely livid, Kim Minkyung.

 

"YOU'RE SUCH A PIECE OF !" Minkyung screams, lunging downwards to pin Yaebin down as her open palm connects with the smaller girl’s cheek yet again.

 

Yaebin winces as Minkyung’s onslaught continues, almost 100% sure that she was going to be covered in bruises by tomorrow morning but really she couldn’t bring herself to retaliate. She knew she probably deserves this.

 

"Y-YOU—LEAVING ME TO JUST—!" Minkyung has resorted to grabbing handfuls of Yaebin’s school uniform and just furiously shaking her back and forth.

 

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE FOR ME?! FEELING LIKE I'M THE REASON YOU LEFT? DO YOU?! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE I LAST SLEPT?! YOU DIDN'T EVEN SAY GOODBYE YOU !"

 

Yaebin’s eyes meet Minkyung’s and the world just….stops. All the pain in Yaebin’s body transfers into a stinging ache in her heart. Kim Minkyung has the entire universe in the form of stars in her watery eyes, and Yaebin wasn’t sure if it’s the former’s beauty or the fact that she had a full-grown 20-year old on her chest but she found it difficult to breathe. Even as she’s crying, Minkyung was gorgeous.

 

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU WITH ALL MY GUTS!" Minkyung sobbed, her grip on Yaebin’s clothes getting weaker. Yaebin reaches up to gently cup the taller girl’s face and is surprised to find Minkyung allowing her to do so, despite the continued declarations weakly leaving the older girl’s mouth.

 

"H-HATE YOU! I JUST….I hate…."

 

Yaebin has comforting words waiting at the tip of her tongue but before she even manages to say anything, Minkyung’s strong hands yank her upwards by her collar and smashes their lips together. It was a sensory overload, from the sudden roughness and slight pain from Minkyung essentially punching her on the lips with her own soft ones, to the utter bliss and joy Yaebin felt overwhelming her as those familiar lips start to move against hers.

 

There was a chorus of “ooh’s” from the door, alerting Yaebin of an audience watching them. She would probably put more effort into caring about it but Minkyung’s tongue has started to trace familiar patterns into hers and really it would be nothing short of rude to occupy her mind with thoughts that did not revolve around kissing Minkyung harder and deeper.

 

God, Minkyung still tastes the same. She still kisses the same. How could anyone even be this perfect? How did Yaebin even live the past few months without Minkyung breathing life into her like this? How did she ever fall asleep every single night for half a year without Minkyung’s goodnight kisses?

 

Minkyung was the first to pull away, gasping for air. "I d-didn't even want to—"

 

Yaebin pulls Minkyung down again, cutting the girl off mid-sentence. More kissing, less talking. At some point Yaebin’s lost track of who’s tears were decorating her cheeks. Was it Minkyung’s? Was it her own? When did she even start crying? She was starting to get lightheaded. She should probably breathe at some point right? She should reall—oh. Oh. Oh but if Minkyung were to start doing that with her tongue—were they wearing too many clothes right now? Some layers had to go right? Yaebin was sure they’d be a lot more comfortable if they were nake—PEOPLE. There are PEOPLE by the door!

 

Yaebin reluctantly pushes Minkyung away just as the older girl’s thought process began to match her own. This wasn’t the time. And Minkyung must have realised that as well because suddenly the situation around her just clicked into place in her head and she began stuttering and sputtering again like she was doing before Yaebin had cut her off.

 

“I-I-I....I didn’t want to take your s-spot. It’s not right! It’s not—“ Minkyung paused to gather her thoughts, because it was starting to sound like she was trying to make several points simultaneously. Yaebin takes pity on the older girl.

 

“It’s okay unnie. I know. It’s been...hard. You’ve done well.”

 

Minkyung’s lower lip quivered as she tries to hold back another round of tears. It was adorable. “I've missed you s-so much Yaebin-ah..."

 

"...I’ve missed you more, unnie."

 

"You better have! Because there's nobody else like me in the world! You won't find another me even if you lived through a bazillion lifetimes!" Minkyung snapped, not sounding as threatening as she intended to because she was still crying, but that was a step in the right direction. Fiesty Minkyung was what Yaebin was used to dealing with.

 

"Even if I found another you, I wouldn't be as madly in love with them as I am with you, Minkyung-ssi." Yaebin replied with a wide grin, which was immediately wiped off her face when Minkyung punched her square in the jaw again.

 

“ off! Take your stupid pickup lines and—and just shove them where the sun don’t shine!” Minkyung spat, watery eyes forming a steely glare. “You left me.”

 

Yaebin gulped. “...I had to.”

 

“Had to?! Had—who died and made you the judge of that?! off Yaebin I didn’t need your handouts! I didn’t need—“ Minkyung raised a hand and Yaebin winced as she anticipated getting hit again.

 

“This.” Instead of swinging her hand down, Minkyung gestured to the practice room around them, and the rest of Pristin still poking their heads in at the door. “—means nothing. NOTHING. If I’m doing it without you.”

 

Yaebin takes in the intense sincerity in Minkyung’s eyes. There was a hint of anger—frustration boiling forth in the older girl’s tone of voice which left Yaebin confused because how could all this mean nothing? How could Minkyung say this thing that she’s been working towards means nothing without Yaebin, when the older girl has been doing this even before Yaebin was even in the country?

 

“I thought you had your ambitions. Your mother’s dream—“

 

“I’m not my mother Yaebin. I won’t forsake the people I love just so that I can stand on that stage.”

 

A swell of emotion rises up inside Yaebin accompanying Minkyung’s statement. No more crying though. There’s been enough crying today. Yaebin’s been a fool. She’s misunderstood Minkyung all this while. Either that or she had been right initially but somewhere down the line Minkyung herself changed.

 

“Are we talking about love now...?” Yaebin diverts the conversation with a grin that invites Minkyung to roll her eyes in reply.

 

“I hate your ing guts Kang Rena. I hate you so much I should’ve slapped you harder.”

 

“I think you slapped me plenty hard enough, unnie. Please don’t hit me anymore. I bruise easily.”

 

“Like a fruit.”

 

“I heard purple’s your favourite colour. Give it a few hours and I’ll be black and blue all over.”

 

“...Yeah. Sorry about that.” Minkyung didn’t look the least bit sorry. Yaebin wouldn’t expect anything less.

 

“Here I was thinking all that slapping was only reserved for our ‘behind-closed-doors’ shenanigans. You’ve gotten bolder since I last saw you Roa-ssi.”

 

Minkyung’s mouth opened and closed several times, as if testing to see how each expletive tasted on her tongue before using it on Yaebin. The only thing that left the older girl’s mouth however was a deep sigh, as Minkyung feigned exhaustion.

 

“Still the cheeky git, eh Kang?”

 

“You know it.” Yaebin wore a smile that was a perfect match to the one on Minkyung’s face. This could be their couple look, possibly. Identical smiles. Yaebin certainly wouldn’t be opposed to it.

 

“How is it you’re still an idiot after all this time?”

 

“It’s only been 6 months unnie.”

 

“Has it? Feels like a century.”

 

“Maybe you’re just getting old.”

 

“...Shut up.”

 

“You love it.”

 

Minkyung laughed out loud, and really it was music to Yaebin’s ears. Maybe Pristin should just release an album with Minkyung’s laughter making up the entire tracklist. It’ll be a hit. A certified all-kill on the charts.

 

“I do.” Minkyung agreed with Yaebin’s statement as she leaned down again, a hand gently pushing the smaller girl down by her shoulder so that Yaebin had her back flush against the floor, with Minkyung’s face hovering only a few inches away from hers. The idol’s black hair draped down to form a curtain around their faces, creating their own little space. Their own little world.

 

“I love you.” Minkyung whispers. Loud enough for only Yaebin to hear.

 

The confession causes Yaebin’s eyes to widen in surprise and her brain to cease all functionality. Oh god. Oh god she’s going to cry isn’t she? Oh no this is embarrassing good GOD Kang Yaebin pull yourself together!

 

“I regret not telling you. I always wanted to but after debut there was just no time and you stopped picking up your phone and—“

 

Minkyung was starting to ramble. It’s cute when she does that. Usually happens when she’s nervous. Yaebin didn’t mean to cut her off but she just really, really needed Minkyung’s mouth to be doing more productive things instead of spout nonsense. Productive things such as kissing the very life out of Yaebin. Minkyung seems to agree, if the fervor in which she’s kissing back is to be used as any indication.

 

It didn’t take long for them to become a mess of tangled limbs on the floor. Minkyung was always overzealous when it came to physical affection. If Yaebin wasn’t careful she’d end the evening a school uniform short. Thankfully (or not. Really, Yaebin didn’t say she hated having Minkyung rip her clothes off) an army of arms and intruding limbs manage to yank them apart, rather forcefully.

 

Ah. Yeap. She totally forgot about the rest of the girls.

 

“Aite, that’s enough! No having in the dance studio!” Nayoung proclaimed with her arms folded, watching her soldiers aka the Pristin girls pull the two lovebirds apart like a bad Shakespearian romance tragedy.

 

“You’re about a year too late to enforce that rule, unnie.” Minkyung slyly remarked while wiping off her smudged lip gloss with the back of one hand while the other was slapping Kyulkyung off of her.

 

“You—“ Nayoung started, before she stopped abruptly. You could smell the gears in the leader’s head turning as she tried to make sense of Minkyung’s insinuation. Any minute now. Shouldn’t be long. Ahh. Ding! There we go.

 

“THERE ARE CAMERAS IN HERE YOU IDIOTS!” Nayoung uncharacteristically shrieked in mortification.

 

Oh.

 

Well, the last time they did anything in the studio, it was Minkyung who initiated it and she seemed pretty confident and self-assured at the time so she probably took care of things....right?

 

“Haha...we knew that...right Yaebs? Totally knew there were cameras here all along. Of course there would be cameras in here. Only an idiot would think otherwise.” Minkyung rattled on, looking at Yaebin for reassurance.

 

Upon seeing the similarly flabbergasted expression on the younger girl’s face, Minkyung dropped down to her knees like a sack of potatoes and looked up at Nayoung expectantly.

 

“No.” Nayoung was quick with the refusal this time. Getting the hint Yaebin joined Minkyung in groveling at Nayoung’s feet. “No! I’m NOT having that conversation with my sister. It’s too late to remove any footage anyways!”

 

“But unnieee~ Binnie just came backkk~ we don’t want her to get kicked out again!” Minkyung was actually resulting to aegyo. It was so precious, how could Nayoung still refuse the aegyo attack?! It wasn’t even directed at Yaebin and she could feel her heart melting into goo.

 

“You two are idiots. I’ll say it again. Idiots. I’m pretty sure if there was any footage, it would have already been seen ages ago.” Nayoung stated flatly. Minkyung looked like she wanted to cry. Yaebin suddenly realised with a furious blush why the security guard at the entrance had let her into the building.

 

“Why the DANCE STUDIO of all places?! There HAS to be more private, more comfortable places!” Sungyeon asked incredulously from the leather couch by the corner. Yaebin had only just noticed her there. Huh. She looked good. Actually all of them look good. Their...aura’s have changed. They actually feel like idols now.

 

“Well...you know how comfortable that couch can be....” Minkyung mumbles while Yaebin spaces out, but she was brought back to the present when Sungyeon shoots off said couch like a shrieking rocket to the moon as a result of Minkyung’s implication.

 

“MY COUCH!” Eunwoo cries out in despair, actually sounding angry for the first time in her life while Sungyeon rolls away with a disgusted look on her face, trying to put as much distance between her and the offending piece of furniture as possible.

 

“WE EAT ON THAT COUCH!”

 

“I mean hey, we did some eatin’ too if you know what I—“ Minkyung starts but she stops when she sees the mortified look on Kyulkyung’s face.

 

“Ohmygod—“

 

“Jung Eunwoo here with the evening news. We have just received word that a MASSIVE BONFIRE is scheduled to take place in Gangnam-gu as the members of newly-debuted idol group Pristin set fire to their former dance studio, as well as the entire building.”

 

“My pants...I have just parked my onto unholy territory...Sungyeon will you ever recover from this? You may walk away but your soul....will your soul be the same...?”

 

“Hana don’t touch that speaker! You don’t know what manner of nastiness these two get up to—“

 

“The speaker? What can they actually do on the speaker?”

 

“It’s a flat surface isn’t it? No flat surface is safe.”

 

Yewon takes a moment to let Eunwoo’s implication sink in, before her face flushes bright red and her hands shoot off the speaker as if the appliance was made of molten lava.

 

The girls around them were a mess. Kyulkyung had a lighter in her hand and was screaming out rapid-fire Mandarin while Eunwoo struggles to keep the girl as far away from the couch as possible. Trying, and actually almost failing to prevent the Chinese girl from burning the couch and all previous sins committed on it out of existence. Yewon was trying to act normal while discreetly emptying an entire bottle of hand sanitizer onto her palms. Sungyeon was actually crying in the corner. Literal tears.

 

“I missed you guys.”

 

The circus happening around her actually halted in it’s tracks the moment Yaebin said those words out loud. It was an admittance to something she kept tucked away, right beside her idol aspirations. It was her final secret, and with everything out in the open Yaebin actually felt free. She was free to dream again. Free to love out loud again, and she was free to admit that she missed every single one of these girls that she’s spent years with.

 

Yewon was the first—as she often is in these situations—to tackle Yebin around the waist and initiate an embrace so tight it turns her face blue. Eunwoo gently places a hand onto Yewon’s arm, alerting the younger girl that she was literally squeezing the life out of the former trainee before Eunwoo herself wrapped her arms around Yebin. The rest of the girls followed suit, creating a group hug that makes Yebin’s cheeks feel warm.

 

A cocoon of warmth. Hands encircled around Yaebin and they felt like home to her. It takes her a moment to realise that someone was missing from the hug, and looking over several shoulders surrounding her, Yaebin sees the missing piece of the puzzle standing by the studio’s entrance, talking to someone Yaebin can’t see by the door.

 

“Nayoung unnie?” Yaebin calls out, and Nayoung looks away from whoever it was she was talking to outside to offer Yaebin a confused look.

 

“What?”

 

“This is the part where you break character and join in on the group hug. You know. Cause we have no idea when we’ll see each other again?” Yaebin jokes, but she still had a tinge of hope lacing her voice. Nayoung must have detected it because a small smile appears on her face as the leader nods to however it was she was talking to. A hand pokes in through the slightly ajar door and hands Nayoung a thin stack of papers before disappearing again.

 

Nayoung quickly flips through the contents of the documents (Yaebin assumes they were documents. Even from here she could see that the papers were filled with words) before looking up to meet Yaebin’s confused gaze with a rather uncharacteristic cheeky grin on her face.

 

“What’s with the creepy smile, leader-nim?” Eunwoo asked aloud exactly what Yaebin had been thinking. Nayoung merely hums in response.

 

“I have a general idea on when we’ll probably be seeing you again.” Nayoung ambiguously drawls while walking (strutting?) towards Yaebin, casually smacking the thin bundle of papers against her thigh as she took languid steps towards a bewildered Yaebin.

 

The leader comes to a stop right in front of the group hug and with a pointed stare the girls disperse, leaving Yaebin to grumble slightly at the sudden loss of warmth. She wasn’t ready for the hug to be over with yet.

 

“Here.”

 

Yaebin looks up and sees Nayoung handing the earlier pieces of paper to her, hand outstretched and waiting almost impatiently for the shorter girl to take them.

 

“What is this?”

 

“Take them. You’ll see.”

 

Nayoung’s hand begins to impatiently wave the papers in front of Yaebin’s face so she decides to take them away before the leader slaps her across the face with it. She’s already been slapped enough times today.

 

Yaebin holds the stack of papers up to the light to examine them, and she realises with a start how familiar the content on the first page was. Her eyes quickly finished scanning the front cover and she hastily flips through the rest of the pages, eyes widening as she realises exactly what it was she was holding. Her gaze snaps up to offer Nayoung a disbelieving look, and to which the leader simply replies with another one of her trademark nods. It was true. Yaebin couldn’t believe it.

 

She held, in her hands, a brand new contract with Pledis Entertainment. Similar to the one she signed two years ago, except this one wasn’t to become a trainee.

 

It was an exclusive contract to sign on as a fulltime employee.

 

“Welcome back, Kang Rena. Pristin’s main rapper, and lead dancer.”

 

Yaebin was at a loss for words. Her lower lip quivered as she stared at Nayoung, seeing the leader—HER leader—look down at her with tears in her eyes and so much affection in her gaze that Yaebin couldn’t help but leap forwards into Nayoung’s arms, hugging the taller girl so tightly she wasn’t sure if the strangled sound that left the lanky brunette was a choked laugh or a painful cry.

 

“...I don’t know how to repay you, unnie.” Yaebin mumbles into Nayoung’s shoulder and she is positive that she’s crying right now but she really couldn’t care because everyone else in the room was crying too.

 

“Repay my sister, not me. And you can do that by not leaving out of the blue this time.”

 

Yaebin laughs, nodding in agreement. She was back. She was home. Her heart was whole again—well, mostly whole.

 

“....Siwon?” Yaebin asked, and Nayoung’s lips pursed into a single line.

 

“....We’ll see what we can do about her. Her contract with her new agency is still relatively new, and new contracts can be hard to break.”

 

Of course. That made sense. Pledis probably couldn’t even afford to debut Siwon with them even if she came back. They had to cut two trainees out of the final lineup for a reason. Them re-signing Yaebin must have taken an extra toll on their budgeting.

 

“Hey.” A hand gently squeezes her shoulder, and Yaebin looks to see Sungyeon smiling reassuringly at her. “Let’s worry about that later? One step at a time. We’ll be complete again, I promise.”

 

Worrying was what Yaebin did best, but she nodded anyways. “....Yeah. Alright.” One step at a time.

 

“Anyone wanna go for dinner? I have a hankering for ice-cream.” Kyulkyung pipes up out of nowhere, completely ruining whatever sombre mood they had going on.

 

“Ice-cream isn’t dinner food.” Nayoung replies curtly, only for Kyulkyung to voice out her protest in the form of an adorable whine, which Yaebin knows for a fact is one of the leader’s many kryptonites.

 

Sure enough it doesn’t take long for Nayoung to relent with a small sigh, while Sungyeon mutters out a quiet “Whipped”, which unfortunately is overheard by the now blushing leader.

 

They argue as they walk towards the door as they usually do, and Yaebin can’t help but laugh at the completely familiar scene before her. Debuted idols or hopeful trainees, some things just don’t change.

 

An arm sneaks up behind her and hooks around Yaebin’s free one, the other still tightly clutching her new contract. A whiff of familiar perfume, and Yaebin finds herself swooning as Kim Minkyung snuggles as tightly as she can into her side, nearly toppling the shorter girl off balance in the process.

 

“I’m NEVER letting you out of my sight ever again.” Minkyung informs her with a serious look on her face, which only gets further aggravated when Yaebin smiles back like the bloody idiot she’s capable of being only around Minkyung. “Why are you laughing babe?! I’m serious! I’ll go back to our dorm and Naver Search ways to permanently attach two people together. There has to be a special kind of glue or something. In the meantime...”

 

Minkyung places a kiss right under Yaebin’s left ear and the younger girl wonders for the life of her how her legs were still holding her up because her head was now high above the clouds, swooning at the Goddess that is her lover.

 

“...You’re staying right here. By me. Understand?” Minkyung whispers the command to Yaebin, and really she didn’t need to be told twice because why on earth would she want to be anywhere else?

 

Still, it was fun messing around with Minkyung.

 

“Urgh do I even have a choice?” Yaebin mock-whines, which earns her a playful jab in the ribs.

 

They walk to Cathy’s as a group, and everyone rejoices when they see Minkyung and Yaebin together again. Coincidentally Kyungwon, Siyeon and Kyla were also there, and for the first time ever Yaebin’s worlds collide under one roof. It felt weird, playing the roles of both math genius Kang Yaebin and idol-prospect/dance prodigy Kang Rena all at the same time but really that was what Yaebin did best.

 

Some might even say that she was perfect material to play both roles flawlessly.

 

 

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

Hello!

This chapter was harder to finish than I expected. I had like 4-5 different drafts for the ending conversation, and they all went differently. It was like a videogame with multiple endings, in the end I had to choose ONE, and this is the ending I stuck with. I hope it's satisfactory.

I can't say I'm proud of this chapter. There were a few loose ends that I wish I could have tied up better. One of the main problems I had was finding a logical explanation for Yaebin to enter the Pledis building. I couldn't find one in the end. Well, not without adding an additional 3000 words into this fic that already has close to 15k words. In the end I just sorta...made her appear in front of the building. Not satisfied with that, but I think I could have done worse.

I know I keep writing that Yaebin was the "better choice" over Minkyung, but I never really clarified what I meant by that. What I meant by better choice, is that in terms of skill Minkyung and Yaebin are quite eventually matched, but Yaebin was more relatable than Minkyung is. Minkyung is a goddess, where as Yaebin is a girl-next-door kinda type. I kinda did Siwon dirty in this fic too, by not mentioning her that much in the last chapter. To be honest, I just sorta forgot to do so.

In the end, this fic was all about growth. It was Yaebin discovering things about herself. If you can see a growth in Yaebin's character throughout the duration of this fic, then I've done my job well :)

People have asked me! Why did I break up Pristin? Why didn't I have Siyeon, Kyla and Kyungwon become trainees as well? The reason is, I at writing scenes with a lot of people. I can't imagine how messy it will be if I had to write a scene that had ALL TEN OF THEM. Breaking them up was easier for me. 

Also, I love this little universe I've built. It started back in my Catchae fic Just Another Girl, and I managed to expand upon it further in Perfect Material. Where do I go from here? Well, I purposely left an opening to be expanded on. My next fic within this universe could possibly revolve around Siyeon, Kyla and Kyungwon. Possibly a Kyungwon/Siyeon fic? 

I have a few fics in the works right now. Based on my hectic schedule they probably won't be published anytime soon, but is there any y'all want to see me work on more? Fics in the works include:

Heehyun/Jueun (DIA) fic.
Kyungwon/Eunwoo (PRISTIN) fic.
Kyungwon/Siyeon (PRISTIN) (Possibly. Don't think I'll write about her till she turns 18 tho.)
Continuation of my M! Rated Doyeon/Yeonjung fic from ages back.

I got a lot of drafts lol. I might get started on the Heehyun one first tho. I love Heehyun.

Thank you for reading! Thank you for reading this incredible long footnote as well! Thank you for supporting this fic and tweeting at me constantly to finish my lol!

In case y'all wanna tweet me stuff: here's my twitter.
I also have an instagram that is mainly shoes and stuff. Pretty boring. Twitter is where it's at.

Thanks for reading again! Till next time!