It wasn't easy, being apart of the original group, honestly. Any of the five would admit to the few who actually took the time to ask. One in particular, though, was exhausted more often than not when not in front of a camera or on a set. Curled up in her oversized sweater, she snoozed on the couch, fidgeting and whimpering every so often. The other girls milled around, some eating after coming back late from a pictorial shoot and others with toothbrushes and face masks on, getting ready for bed. 

Soojin walked over to the sleeping girl, shaking her gently. "Venus? Venus? Wake up, we're going to go over a few things about the showcase." The girl moaned, rubbing her eyes as she groggily pushed herself up. 

"Mhmm? Oh yeah, sure." Venus nodded, trying to ignore the surrounding noise and tried to focus on Su-chin, who was sitting on the floor in front of them, flipping through a folder and patiently waiting for all eight of the girls to gather in front of her. Venus absently thought of how lucky they were to have a thoughtful and sincere manager that actually wanted the best for them and didn't treat them like animals. 'Unlike everyone else in the agency.' She gritted her teeth before swallowing the bitterness and pain to focus on her present. 

"Alright girls, so," Su-chin began, spreading out the files she had with her on the floor in what looked like an order (Su-chin believed in 'organized chaos' which, while it drove a lot of people crazy, including some of the members, the woman hadn't lost a thing yet, so so far, so good.) "The concert order is pretty simple, it's the variety aspects we're going to have to really talk about tonight."

Venus could feel their manager's eyes on her, and she shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Now I know that some people aren't experienced or quite comfortable with variety, and that's okay, because none of you have much of it under your belt." Su-chin tried to reassure the group, "But I promise, they'll ask you pretty basic questions. There's a few that do tread on dangerous territory, so I'm going to need you all to designate someone ot answer these here." She handed JJ a piece of paper. 

"Su-chin, there's still the fact that we haven't chosen a leader either. How are we supposed to explain that?" Sophie pointed out, looking over JJ's shoulder at the questions. Su-chin's jaw tightened a bit, and the room was overcome with a very awkward silence. 

"I suppose you all have to come ot a conclusion about that. Mr. Lee has made it very clear that he won't be making any... sudden decisions. It's all up to you. And I'm not here to force the answer out of you tonight. That's something for you all to discuss as a group and come to a consensus on. But enough about that, let's move on to this one variety segment about personal talents..." 

Venus shifted again. They'd been sitting and talking for well over an hour, and as everyone knew, she wasn't one to stay still for long. Su-chin looked up, "Oh, Xingyi, if you need to move for a bit, you're welcome to, it's better to get it out instead of penting it up." The woman smiled and went back to talking to the four eldest members about their special segment. 

Something else Venus absolutely adored about Su-chin: She never used their stage names, she took the effort to learn their real names and learned how to pronounce them. Venus stood up, stretching contentedly, hearing one joint crack rather loudly. Naeun crinkled her nose and tossed a pillow at her, "Gross, Venus!"

Venus simply stuck her tongue out at her bandmate, waddling down the hall to stretch her legs out, keeping within earshot of the conversation in case she was called. She leaned against the wall in the dimly lit hallway, sighing. She couldn't place this feeling, whether it was irritation, stress or the sheer impatience of their impending debut, but she just didn't feel as happy as she should be. This was a chance not many others were given, a chance to start anew. So she should be bouncing everywhere, she supposed. Even more so with that dumb Jaehee being put in her place by Sophie. She almost smiled at the memory of Jaehee's face when it was revealed that Sophie was chosen as the new main vocalist. 

"'Sup, Little Bean?" Venus looked up to see Tina smiling over at her. 

"Ah, hey chi ca." She used the term in Viet, it was sort of a thing in the dorms, with five of their eight members having lived outside of South Korea, the native languages of people were all used in some form or another. "I'm just wanting to move my legs, you know?"

"Always on the move," Tina teased, patting the younger's head. "You okay, though? You've seemed... out of it. Not that it's not good that you're sleeping a lot, since we're all going to need it, but... You've been really sleeping a lot." 

She shrugged, "I dunno, guess I'm just tired." It held some truth. Instead of wanting to discuss things that had happened that day at practice or in meetings, Venus had found some comfort in sleeping and well, just not dealing with it. She was about to be thrown back into public spotlight once more, she had reasoned with herself, and it'd be harder to sleep once they were hit with the rush of new fame. 

Tina didn't look convinced. Then again, she was better at reading people than anyone else in this group, the girl was much smarter than the rest of them. "If you say so." Another thing that made Venus more sure that she didn't believe it. Honestly, she wasn't sure of herself either, so they were both in the same boat. "But if you need anything, let me know, or any of us. You know we're here for you." The visual patted her shoulder. 

"Of course you are! Just... let this whole debut thing and the rush settle down. I might have a better idea of everything after that." Venus promised, and Tina nodded in agreement.

"Alright, as long as you promise." She wagged her finger in a playful manner, before smiling. "Let's go, we're discussing the interview questions."

Venus groaned. "Do I have to? I'm so awkward on camera... Can't I just do the aegyo battle against Clara and then perform and never speak? I'm voting for that."

Tina laughed, "Nope. Gotta do more than that. Su-chin's orders."

"Su-chin will fall for my pleas when I break out the puppy eyes. Watch me." 

"She's already left, oh nooo~" Tina revealed, "I guess you really are stuck with talking. What a shame, what a shame." 

"Nooooooooo~" 
 

If there was one thing that could set the jealousy monster aflame in Sang Mi, it was the mention of the leader position. There was a very good, clear reason that the group hadn't yet picked a leader. Sang Mi wasn't one to be greedy, she rather enjoyed seeing those around her happy and content. But something about the leader position struck a sour chord within her. Maybe she was still a bit sore about her uncle switching the positions last minute, stripping a title that she had earned and giving it to that brat. Sang Mi shook her head, running her hands through her hair as she tried to focus on bringing the group together for these questions. Someone had to give an answer, and they had to be prepared. Nothing could go wrong this 

"Okay, so it looks like there's a few questions pertaining to the original group, so one of the five of us will take that." Sang Mi noted, and with hearing murmurs of agreements from the rest of the group, she moved on, "JJ, you and the other two can take the questions about the new group and what we were going for with this concept." 

JJ agreed, "Okay. Let's see..." And soon the questions were all divided up individually, with the teamwork of Sang Mi and JJ. The new member was always cautious about her involvement when it came to leadership related activities. She didn't want to step on any toes, and she certainly didn't want to be that person who took something that had already been taken from Sang Mi once before. But with the showcase so close, something had to be done. 

JJ and Sang Mi were roommates. Unsurprising, really, since both of them had trained for so long and had actually been relatively good friends before and after Faerietale, and then during the lineup and makings of 4xU showcased how well the two worked together. So, JJ reasoned, that should be a good thing, they should be able to work this out. Su-chin already said that the girls were in charge of the decision. They had to just ease Sang Mi into it, without poking any painful memories.

"Uh, Sang Mi? Are you... Can we talk?" She said, once the meeting had been dismissed and they had all retreated to their dorm rooms for the evening. 

The brunette looked up, eyebrow raised, "Yeah, sure? What's up?" She asked as JJ sat on the edge of the bed. JJ took a deep breath, while this wasn't something she absolutely wanted to do, this was for the good of the group. 

"It's about something Su-chin said earlier," She saw Sang Mi looking at her expectantly, "About the leader position..." Immediately the aura turned cold, and JJ had to stop herself from shivering. 

"Look, I know you don't want to talk about it, " JJ continued, "But you and I should at least discuss it, don't you think? As the oldest?" 

Sang Mi's mouth twisted, "Why? Do you want to be the leader?"

"Well, I --" JJ trailed off. Did she? Honestly, she was just more than happy to be able to debut, sure she took control sometimes, but the reality of the situation... "I just want what's best for the group, and not having a leader... that's not going to put us off on the right foot, I think."

"I get it, it's just..." Sang Mi sighed, "hard, I guess?" JJ nodded, listening. Sang Mi hesitated, not sure whether she wanted to continue. She really didn't want to spill all of her worries and insecurities to the girl on the foot of their bed, but honestly... it was seeming that JJ wasn't going to leave her alone until they talked this out. And the more she pondered it, the more she knew that she had to get this out. JJ was right, if she'd keep it in, it wouldn't be good in the long run and honestly turn into disaster.

"I worked so hard, I honestly did." Sang Mi started, "And I didn't even want to be in this company in the first place, you all know that." JJ nodded, "But I loved training, I loved being in music. I loved Faerietale when I got here, and that's why they wanted me to be the leader. I cared," She cleared , "I still care, so much about this group and want us to succeed. But... After all these years... I don't know. Am I going to be a good leader, or do I simply want to be the leader out of spite to what Gigi did?" And there it was. The main question that scared Sang Mi and made her want to do nothing more than scream and lock herself in the dorm for the rest of time. 

JJ was quiet for a minute. "...I get it." She finally said, and Sang Mi wanted to scoff before the girl continued, "I do, just hear me out. You've all worked so hard, and what Gigi did... That was definitely not fair. She was selfish and rude, and thought of nothing but herself and left you all in bad shape. Then over the years, while she's been getting all of this fame despite of what happened, all of you have been here, working, sweating, and hurting for this moment. Sang Mi, I know it's hard to tell what's best for the group and what you want, because you can think it's both, because I've been there too. I'm glad you shared this with me, and I want you to get it all out before the showcase. That way, we can really, truly, start anew as this group." 

"...You're right." 

The next morning, bright and early, the girls were off in their morning routines, grabbing what food they could actually eat on their strict idol diets, getting dressed or as some of the girls all hovered around their coffee pot, desperate for their morning caffeine to start their day. JJ and Sang Mi both waited until most of the group was either bright eyed and aware, or as aware as they were going to get before noon, to say anything.

"So, last night, JJ and I had a discussion." Sang Mi began, and all attention went to her.

"We've decided it's time for all of us to discuss a leader. So, let's get this over and done with. Who, besides me and JJ, actually want to be considered?"

No one raised their hands, mostly just wide eyes and staring in disbelief that Sang Mi would be the one bringing this up. "Okay... so let's see, who wants who to be the leader?"

The next hour, as Su-chin was about to leave to get the girls for their final fittings for the showcase, she got a message from Sang Mi, which was unusual, because the girl never really asked for anything when she sent out a group message asking the girls if they wanted anything before she headed over.

SM: Hey, Su-chin. So, last night and over breakfast, we came to a decision about the leader position.

SC: Oh? Really? Care to share with your manager?

SM: Well, we've decided that it'd be best if --
 

Author's Note
AND That's it folks! We've got the FULL lineup for 4xU revealed!! Congrats to Erin aka WhenWeLove and Vivian aka spontaneity for being the last chosen applicants! As I said, the Cinderella apps were so difficult to chose from TT^TT BUT, I have ideas for all of the applicants that weren't chosen, so do keep an eye out for the darling characters in the background or how they're featured~ Are you excited for the impending debut? Who do you think is the best leader for 4xU? We have their countdown, their debut showcase (yes, that will be written ;D) and their first stages, then into their first experiences on variety shows!