━ { SHUBIRUBIRUB era pt. 1

The comeback stage had been quite successful, and Yoonmi was satisfied with the results. Immediately after the stage, however, the three Flower members were being hauled off to an interview, which she was much less excited for. The rapper and interviews didn't mix, especially not individual interviews. She was one without many words, and it often made her come off much colder or rude than she was. Sure, Yoonmi had received training specifically based around having a successful interview, but more of than not her interviews were the shortest and had the least views.

Almost as though she could feel the increasingly depressing line Yoonmi's thoughts were going down, Miyoung grasped the younger's hand with an encouraging smile and cuddled close to her shoulder. The familiar feeling of her friend's weight grounded her, and at the sight Sumia's eyes widened. On Yoonmi's other side, she snuggled into her chest, pouting.

"You guys didn't invite me to the cuddle party even though it's happening right next to me," She complained loudly, and Miyoung's eyes sparkled with mischief when they caught Soojin's in the rearview mirror. He shook his head in affectionate disbelief.

"Girls, be nice to your sister back there!" The manager teased, and a warm feeling flooded Yoonmi's chest.

"We aaaaare!" Miyoung's whining voice was almost a little grating, but it was normal. Expected. Yoonmi had come to appreciate normalities since becoming an idol. They were few and far between, with unexpected happenings going on left and right. Things rarely went according to plan in this business, and any sort of routine was precious. It created a sense of security, and every member could use that. Especially Miyoung, Yoonmi thought, glancing down at the girl on her left side, There's something up with her for certain...She wasn't the only one who had noticed how different Miyoung was acting recently. Her whole attitude had seemed faked in the past months, and that wasn't....Nothing was good, actually, in Yoonmi thought about it. Pretty much every positive was coming with way too many negatives.

Miyoung was practicing and improving steadily. Positive. In accordance, however, she was not taking care of herself. She seemed exhausted- Unhappy. Miyoung's weight was dropping and she was being advised to eat more, but she defended herself by claiming she didn't have the time to eat more. Negative. She, Sumia, and herself were debuting in a subunit. Positive. The physical and mental strain of seemingly nonstop promotions was heavy on her. She could see the effects on the newly reinstated Sumia, too. Miyoung's problems seemed to run even deeper than that. Negative.

"Cinderella~ Oh, Cindereeelllaaa~" The maknae's sweet voice called in her ear. Yoonmi looked at her questioningly, "Stop frowning like that, you're gonna get wrinkles early. Anyways, let's get these interviews over and done with so Soojin Oppa will take us out to eat! You're gonna take us out to eat, right?"

"Of course. Don't I always, for a comeback? Or, I guess, a unit debut this time," He relented, "C'mon, we've got to get through security and get this show on the road."

---

"Our maknae line looks so pretty~" Soo Jung gushed, staring at the screen with rapt attention. The eldest three were lined up on the couch, out of practice for the day. When the creative director, Son Nayoung, advised them the debut stage was going to be on, they had silently decided to watch it.

"And they sound really good, too," Seulki added, translating into Mandarin right after. Yufei nodded, her lips.

"They are very nice sounding," She spoke slowly, but the other two didn't even mention it. Instead, they watched the screen with the proud grins only true friends could wear. It wasn't something Yufei could relate to, but she could respect the hard work the youngest three had put into their unit debut and as such, she was a little proud too. After all, she was a member of the team now and she had to have pride in it. The Chinese girl took a quick look at her nails before eyeing the members, who were lazing back now that the stage had finished.

"What should we do? We have the rest of the day off..." Seulki pouted, but before anyone could reply, she perked back up, "Ooh, let's have a Girl's Night Out! We totally deserve it. C'mon, let's go to a club guys, let's go!"

Soo Jung made a face, unsure. Personally, she'd intended on maybe calling Jinki, but immediately she felt guilty. She was dating her best friend's friend behind her back and wanted to hang out with him instead of her? That was all the makings of a terrible person. Besides, it had been a while since they had the opportunity to head out. And maybe we'll get to know Yufei a little more. With this thoughts in mind, she finally nodded after a long silence.

"Yufei, shall we go to a club together?" The vocalist asked, imploring smile on her face. Yufei seemed nervous at the thought, however, and she laid a careful hand on her shoulder, "Why do you seem so worried?"

"Aren't clubs where a lot of scandals happen?" Yufei chewed on her nails but Seulki frowned, pulling the elder's hand away from .

"Hey, stop that. Too many of us do that, it's a bad habit..." She received an odd look but pressed forward, ignoring it, "And only if we do something bad. I just go to dance, Soo Jung drinks but never enough to get really drunk, and honestly if we post it on Insta then we'll only get minor backlash. I want to get to know you better, and we liked to do Girl's Nights Out when we were all training together."

"It would be fun!" Soo Jung promised, despite having only understood every few words. Yufei contemplated for a few moments more before nodding with a resigned sigh. Soo Jung clapped excitedly, hopping off the couch and running to the bathroom, shutting herself in. Seulki shook her head, smiling with strained affection, "I'll be showering first~"

"Of course you will, brat."

---

"What are we going to eat, Manager Oppa?" Sumia asked, looking down at her interlaced fingers. They had parked the car in a parking lot with multiple places to eat, and she couldn't figure out which he intended to bring them to.

"I was thinking good old-fashioned kimbap. What do you think, kiddos?" He asked kindly, turning around to smile at them. Miyoung gave a short, spastic nod in reply but Sumia seemed much more enthusiastic, grinning sweetly. Yoonmi gave a half-shrug. She was exhausted by the interview. Despite the list of topics that they had been told specifically to not mention, the interviewers had attempted to dig deeply into the fansigning incident, and the rumors of an upcoming court case. Yoonmi normally had trouble with interviews, and the prodding questions had made her draw into herself completely. Luckily, she had been the last to be interviewed, because Soojin had angrily stopped the whole thing and chewed out the entire staff.

If the situation had been any different, it would have been a scene the rapper would have enjoyed, but truthfully she wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers and watch dramas until she passed out. Preferably, she wouldn't move after that.

Soojin raked his eyes over the team of three, feeling his heart break a little at the beaten down expressions. He could tell that Sumia was simply trying to be the strong one by the way the corners of twitched and she blinked rapidly. Miyoung's fearful expression at having to leave the car again made him ache, and the way Yoonmi had put herself behind a wall put a heavy weight on his shoulders. He wasn't having an easy time either- He wanted more than anything to return home to his wife and daughter, who was now nine months old. Yikyung was a loud, sensitive baby and really most of his time at home he couldn't sleep due to her wanting his attention every moment. Ahseong tried to bear the burden, but he was the father- He needed to help out when he was home. But besides his blood daughter, the members of WARdEN were also his girls.

When they hurt, he hurt. When they cried, he stood strong and cried when he was in the loving embrace of his wife. When they were proud, he was proud. When they struggled, he was right there with them. It was Soojin's job to know everything about these girls, to help them along, to make decisions and get them where they needed to be, and to support them. It was getting harder as more and more problems appeared. Malicious hate comments, the stalker and threats situation, sasaeng fans carefully kept outside of the girls' knowledge, so many things were happening and affecting his team. It made him sick.

He put the smile that had fallen away back on his face at Sumia's stricken expression when she realized he was seeing right through her, "We'll get a private room so you don't have to worry about being seen here. Just put on your disguises, okay? And you don't have to eat more than you want to."

How he wished he didn't have to say that. The relief on Miyoung's face had him turning around, sliding on his jacket. The four left the car, Soojin going ahead to get their table ready before the three girls could enter through the back. They sat in the private room, a calm silence filling the empty space. Each person ordered only a water to drink ("Water is best, since soda and coffee will dehydrate you. As well as, no calories.") and Miyoung tapped away on her phone. Yoonmi's quick glance at it told her it was a friend, and she pulled out her own phone.

To: Hyunae <3, Dramatic Minjoon
From: Yoonmi, The Idol Chingu
Did you guys see the stage??

From: Dramatic Minjoon
To: Yoonmi, The Idol Chingu
Uh, duh? Our Idol Chingu is so pretty! You were totally flawless looking my girl, how cute~~ Keke, I couldn't take my eyes off of you!

From: Hyunae <3
To: Yoonmi, The Idol Chingu, Kang Minjoon
I have been listening to your EP nonstop, haha. I keep bragging to everyone. See?
attached

From: Dramatic Minjoon
To: Yoonmi, The Idol Chingu, Super-Serious Hyunae
Ooh, ooh, my selca is prettier!
attached

To: Hyunae <3, Dramatic Minjoon
From: Yoonmi, The Idol Chingu
Minjoon, did you dye your hair to compete with me again? Haha, that's not even a question, of course you did.

To: Hyunae <3, Dramatic Minjoon
From: Yoonmi, The Idol Chingu
Hyunae, you look really pretty today. My best friends are so visual!

From: Dramatic Minjoon
To: Yoonmi, The Idol Chingu, Super-Serious Hyunae
I take offense to that.

From: Hyunae <3
To: Yoonmi, The Idol Chingu, Kang Minjoon
The three musketeers since middle school, huh? We grew so much. You did really well today, I'll send you a gift soon.

From: Hyunae <3
To: Yoonmi, The Idol Chingu, Kang Minjoon
You would take offense, Minjoon. You're too dramatic for your own good, haha.

Yoonmi smiled at her friends' antics, heart warming. Those two always had a way of making even the darkest days seem brighter, and she took a calming breath. Today was nearly over, they just had to eat and go home. After that, she could sleep until about five in the morning. Soojin Oppa had specifically made their schedules start as late as possible so they could get at least six hours of sleep (Assuming they could fall asleep easily) and she appreciated it.

The warmth in her heart did nothing to erase the crawling feeling that someone was always watching her, however. Nothing could do that ever again.

---

"Girl, you looking rocking," Soo Jung hugged Seulki tightly. Yufei observed the two who had more daring styles, but she was confident in the clothing she had chosen. It was sweet and chic, fairly normal and neutral until her bang of a color-popping top. It was her favorite thing to do, have a fairly one-color outfit and then a bold color statement. She smiled, determined to have a good time. She would only have a single drink, but that would be more than enough. She could not afford a scandal, and instead Yufei would take the time to try to get to know the elder members. Perhaps she could get better insight on how to make the team seem more put-together when on shows, because their discordance was fairly obvious- Or so she felt.

"Should we take a picture now?" Yufei asked, and Seulki nodded.

"Let's post it on my account!" Soo Jung insisted. The girls lined up with Sera in the middle and snapped a few pictures.

@sooseraxx Instagram Update

Going out with the Unnie line~ Congrats to the maknae line! Haha, you can hardly see Rose Unnie in the back there.

"I already called a cab, so let's head down, alright? Bring your coat and sunglasses- That means you too, Soo Jung," Seulki immediately added, "Sure, people don't seem to notice you when you aren't disguised but it's best to be. As leader, follow me dammit. Let's go, let's go!"

The three hurried down, Soo Jung bickering good naturedly with her best friend the whole time. It reminded Yufei of her and Qianjin, way back when- She stopped herself, feeling her old friend anxiety clawing at her insides. No. That it not where your mind is going right now, she clenched her fist, breathing deeply. He isn't important anymore. But living in South Korea sure was lonely...That was why she agreed to go with them. Yufei was used to being alone, but humans were social creatures, she needed that interaction, that friendship...

She lost all of her friends in those scandals.

"Stop..." She whispered to herself, "You're going to stop thinking about this stuff, and you're going to go and have fun. That's enough."

But Yufei would always, always be haunted by the past. It was inescapable, always there. The best the dancer could do was push it aside, try to live past it. That wasn't her strong suit, but Soo Jung's hand grasping hers and Seulki's true, genuine smile as she ushered her into the back of the cab sure did help.

"Where to, ma'ams?" The cab driver asked.

"Hm~ I think we're dressed suitably enough for Arena, aren't we?" Seulki pulled out her wallet, "I have enough money to get us in, as always."

"Sometimes I forget you're rich," Soo Jung sighed.

"Who do you think funded UouO Media for so long?" She spoke in Japanese this time, a jarring change for Yufei. She looked at them in utter confusion, and Soo Jung indicated for Yufei to look at her phone as she typed her a message. The Chinese girl's phone pinged, and it automatically showed a Mandarin translation below the Korean message (Thank God for Daeun who installed that app, wherever it came from).

To: Yufei the Newbie
From: Lee Soo Jung
Seulki Unnie's dad is rich. He helped fund the company and he still does. We don't tell people because we don't want rumors to start.

"I see..." She nodded, placing her phone back in the purse.

Soo Jung frowned at the girl's reaction. The cab had slipped back into silence, and she almost felt that Yufei was judging Seulki. Didn't I just say that we didn't want rumors to start? Doesn't that imply that it isn't why Seulki Unnie debuted?

The quiet was deafening. By the time they arrived at Arena, none seemed to eager to play anymore.

(author's note) Yoonmi's friends are: Kang Minjoon, FC Lee Chihoon, and Lee Hyunae, FC Kim Dohee. Once again, her brother Jihoon's FC is Nam Joo Hyuk and her sister Hwayoung's FC is Hyunyoung. This chapter was kinda strangely split up but hey~ And sometimes I forget Soojin's wife had a baby. XD

Part two should be a little more light-hearted~