Jihyun woke up early the next morning to the sound of chaos in the kitchen and two empty beds above and next to her. She figured someone had brought her back here after she fell asleep watching movies but she was perfectly fine with that, it was definitely more comfortable than the couch. "Poor Jimin.." She mumbled, realizing whose bed she was in. Just then, the sounds from the kitchen registered in her mind and she jumped out of bed to see what was going on. When she got to the kitchen, everything was a mess.

The three youngest were covered in what looked like flour. The cabinets, counters, and floor were also all covered in various ingredients. Just as she walked in, Tae attempted to flip a pancake in the pan without using a spatula, resulting in a half-cooked pancake landing on Jungkook's head before sliding off and landing splat on the floor. 

The three boys froze and looked at Jihyun with wide eyes. "Surprise!" Jimin cheered with a cheesy smile. Jihyun fell into fits of laughter as the older members ran out of their rooms after also being woken by the noise.

"MY KITCHEN!" Jin shouted in horror.

"Don't be mad! We just wanted to make Jihyun a good breakfast to lift her spirits before her meeting!" Taehyung said while pouting down at their one deformed pancake that they had managed to not horribly destroy. 

Everyone just stood there for a moment after hearing what he said to them.

"That...." Jihyun started, a smile quickly growing on her face, "is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me!" She grinned and ran over to hug the three.

After that, Jin helped the boys make some actual pancakes before the eight of them ate breakfast together.

Afterward, Jihyun left to go back to her dorm room to get cleaned up and dressed. When she entered the room she took a look around and realized just how much she had let herself go. She sighed and opened the curtains over her window to shed some light into the room and then began picking up the trash on the floor. She made her "bed" and straightened up her work area before feeling about as content as she could be before getting some real cleaning supplies in there. Once she was satisfied, she went into her small bathroom to shower and brush her teeth.

She then got dressed, grabbed her bag, and returned to the boys' dorm to hang out with them before she had to leave.

As soon as she walked into the dorm, Taehyung came up next to her and looped his arm with hers. "Let's go now!" He grinned to the others who were headed towards the door to get their shoes on.

"Go?" Jihyun questioned as she watched them slip on their shoes.

"We're taking you to the arcade before you go to your meeting!" Namjoon grinned at her as he stood back up.

Jihyun grinned back. "You guys are the best. How would I have survived without you all!?" She gushed as she pulled her arm from Taehyung and used both of her hands to pinch his cheeks.

"Hey! Have you forgotten that I'm older than you!?" Taehyung whined, trying to act serious but failing miserably as Jihyun continued to pinch his cheeks.

"Alright, let's go!" Jin said as everyone finished getting their shoes on and stood up. Everyone cheered and pushed each other out the door to head into town.

They didn't have to walk far from the dorms and the boys had their faces covered and had either a hat on or their hood up so no one noticed them on their journey to the arcade.

Once inside, the arcade was pretty dark aside from the flashing lights coming from the various games so the boys took off their masks and put their hoods down but left their hats on. Everyone ran off to play their own games so Jihyun and Hoseok ran to play Dance Dance Revolution together. 

"Stop being a good dancer!" Jihyun hollered as she was losing miserably to him. She reached over and tried to push him as he laughed at her.

"Hey, no cheating!" He yelled as he wobbled a bit.

"Why not, I'm gonna lose anyway!" Jihyun continued to bat at him.

"Let me help!" Jimin ran up and took over half of Jihyun's controls as she did the other half.

"Not fair, you cheaters!" Hoseok let out a screech as he moved his feet faster to keep up.

Finally, the song ended and Hoseok won, as expected.

"See? Cheaters never win." He stuck his tongue out at them and sauntered away with a flick of his invisible hair.

Jihyun and Jimin laughed at him and ran off like little kids to play more games.

Just as Jihyun finished destroying Jimin in a shooting game, she got a text from her friend Mary, which said, "Hey! I heard from a friend that you're meeting with someone from the company to find out if you're going to debut or not. Good luck, I'm sure it'll be good news! Call me when you're done and we can celebrate tonight with the boys! Love you XOXO"

Jihyun smiled at the sweet message from her friend. "Thanks Mary! I'll call you as soon as I'm out of my meeting! Love you too!"

After a few more games, it was time to go learn Jihyun's fate. The boys walked her to the cafe she was meeting with the representative at but weren't able to go in with her for moral support so she went in alone. She walked in and saw Youngsuk sitting across from a man in a formal suit. Youngsuk waved her over and she sat in the seat next to him. He gave her a warm smile and a pat on the shoulder in comfort and Jihyun knew that he would be on her side no matter what happened in the next few minutes.

"Great, now we can get started." The man in the suit smiled but there was something off about his smile. It wasn't friendly. It was completely fake. Jihyun in a breath. "I'm sure you know that, as a company, BigHit needs to be very careful about who they debut, who they decide still needs some work, and who just will never be ready." The man stirred his drink, glancing between the two people across from him. "After careful observation of your actions and activities, we have decided we will not be debuting you. We've also decided that it would be best for everyone if you were to find a new agency to work under as a trainee."

Jihyun's heart dropped. Her whole world slowed down. Her breathing felt heavy and labored. She wasn't paying enough attention to pick out specifics of what was going on around her but she knew she heard Youngsuk arguing with the man about how she was completely prepared and that they had no real reason to not debut her. Jihyun finally got a hold of her wits and pulled herself back together. She put a gentle hand on Youngsuk's arm, signaling him to stop arguing. She didn't want to risk him getting in trouble on her behalf. She slowly stood up, both men watching her every move carefully. Jihyun calmly bowed to the man in the suit. "Thank you for your time." She said and then walked out. 

Jihyun's mind was a mess. Her eyes were carefully trained on the ground. She didn't even notice the boys waiting outside the cafe for her as she walked past. They tried to stop her and ask what happened but it was no use. She was too lost in her own mind. Youngsuk ran out behind her but it was too late, she was gone. He told the boys what had happened and they were devastated.

"How can they do this!?" "This isn't fair!" "What is she supposed to do now?" Choruses of complaints came from them as they tried to process how it was possible that their company had let go of someone with as much talent as Jihyun. 

They decided to give Jihyun her space for the time being and, in the meantime, they would try to figure out the exact reason for that unfair decision. 

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Hah...... hi...... :D...... well, I'm going to be honest with you all, I was actually pretty close to discontinuing this story. I wasn't fully happy with it and wanted to try something better but then I saw how many people subscribed to this story. Since people seem to be liking it enough to read it, I'm going to try to do this well and make it a story I'm proud of. I may end it earlier than I was originally planning but it will have an ending because I know I hate it when I subscribe to a story that ends up unfinished. Thanks to those who have subscribed and have stayed subscribed! I will be having Jihyun end up with one of the boys but I don't know who yet so I will probably be making a poll pretty soon to see who you want her to end up with and then I'll start heading in that direction. Again, thank you guys so much for subscribing even though I'm the literal worst when it comes to updates! Love you! <3