Nayoung gently knocked on the bedroom door while expertly balancing a plate of fruit with her other hand. She didn’t want to wake up the girl on the other side of the door incase she was resting. The leader opened the door just wide enough for her to peek through, and spotted her fellow member’s figure lying motionless on one of the beds. Thinking that she was asleep, Nayoung was about to abort her mission and leave when the girl on the bed suddenly called out.

 

“Is there someone there? Nayoung unnie?”

 

Hearing her name being called out so softly, Nayoung halted her retreat and after a moment of deliberation she pushed the door open all the way so that she could enter the room.

 

“Yeah Pinky. It’s me.” Nayoung responded as she walked towards her friend. The Chinese girl sat up to greet her leader, and Nayoung noticed how terrible she looked. Well, about as terrible an absolute goddess CAN look, with her puffy eyes and bright red nose.

 

“Thank goodness. I’ve been sooo bored unnie!” Jieqiong laughed in relief, and Nayoung noticed a pen in one of her hands and colourful scribbles on the wall next to her bed.

 

“Have you been drawing on the walls? We could get in trouble for that you know. This dorm is only rented out to us.” Nayoung stated flatly as she took a seat on a chair placed near her member’s bedside.

 

“What else was I supposed to do? I’ve been so freakin’ bored since Manager unnie quarantined me in this room! I haven’t seen you girls in years and…and….an—AHCHOO!” Jieqiong’s body lurched forward as a result of her violent sneeze and Nayoung couldn’t help but pity the girl.

 

Jieqiong had been quarantined in one of the smaller bedrooms since she fell sick so close to IOI’s debut stage and the management couldn’t risk any of the other members falling ill as well. All the girls missed the human embodiment of sunshine known as Jieqiong, but they were only allowed to see her a few minutes at a time as per their manager’s instructions. It was a bit excessive, but based on the amount of anticipation that the public had for their debut Nayoung couldn’t exactly say that the precautions weren’t warranted.

 

“Pretty sure it hasn’t been years Pinky. It’s been 3 days at most.”

 

“I like it when you call me Pinky, unnie. I haven’t heard that in awhile.”

 

“Well, wasn’t it because you decided you didn’t want to go by that name anymore?”

 

“No, no. I like it when you call me Pinky, unnie.”

 

There was a moment of silence as Nayoung stared blankly at Jieqiong, as the latter did nothing but smile ridiculously at her. Everything Jieqiong did was ridiculous. The girl was the embodiment of the word.

 

“…What kind of medication have they been feeding you?” Nayoung finally asked and Jieqiong broke out into raucous laughter, slapping her thigh and whining in pain soon after.

 

“Oh c’mon Unnie! Don’t tell me your heart didn’t flutter even a little bit when I said that?”

 

“I’m leaving.” Nayoung stated simply before getting up, mostly because she didn’t want to admit that her heart did flutter. The effect of her standing was still enough to send the Chinese girl into a panic. It took a string of apologies and a flurry of “Please don’t leave me unnie!” to get the leader to sit back down, but to be honest if she had actually left, Nayoung herself would have been equally as upset.

 

“Is that for me?” Jieqiong asked, motioning towards the plate of apples that Nayoung had on her lap, and the latter nodded.

 

“Our manager gave us a fruit basket so I decided to save the apples for you before Mina and Sohye could get their hands on them. I know how much you like apples.” Nayoung explained while looking down at the plate on her lap, thumb absentmindedly caressing the smooth red surface of the apples.

 

Noticing that the usually rambunctious Jieqiong was being surprisingly silent after her explanation, Nayoung looked up to see if the girl in front of her had fallen asleep. When she did however, she was met with beautiful hazel eyes boring holes into her accompanied by a small smile. Nayoung didn’t know why but she felt her cheeks flush slightly and she was unable to maintain eye contact with the goddess in front of her.

 

“W-why are you looking at me like that? It’s weird when you’re quiet.” Nayoung sputtered, eyes now trained onto Jieqiong’s pink sheets instead of her face.

 

“I was just surprised. I didn’t realize I made it obvious that I like to eat apples.” Jieqiong’s voice was soft, as if there was a degree of contemplation laced within them.

 

“Well it’s pretty obvious when you eat them all the time. Do you want these or not?” Nayoung asked as she held out the plate of red apples for Jieqiong to take, feigned annoyance in her voice to hide how flustered she was currently. No, she wasn’t paying special attention to Jieqiong. Why would she? Nayoung was just…very attentive. That’s what she was. A very attentive friend and leader.

 

Who was she kidding? Nayoung would always notice every little thing when it came down to Jieqiong, and vice versa.

 

“Can you peel them for me unnie?”

 

Nayoung raised an eyebrow at the request.

 

“Err, I guess I can. Does it make a difference?”

 

Jieqiong nodded vigorously and went on a whole animated tirade about how that’s how she used to eat it back in China, and it was much better to eat the fruit peeled since it was easier to digest. Nayoung wasn’t sure where the logic in that was but she suddenly remembered that Jieqiong came from a pretty wealthy family back in Shanghai, as evidenced by the fact that the Chinese beauty sleeps in a $300 Moschino tee. This must just be one of those rich people things.

Watching the (supposedly) sick Jieqiong explain so animatedly about her love for peeled apples, how could Nayoung ever refuse her request?

 

“I think Yoojung has a knife under her bed unnie if you want to use it.”

 

“What? Why does she…I mean….I’m not sure I even want to ask.”

 

“That Choi Yoojung is a weird kid.” Jieqiong said with a hint of amusement and slight wonderment.

 

Nayoung silently agreed as she left to retrieve a clean knife from the kitchen. She wasn’t going to peel fruit using a knife that’s been under a bed. Especially if said knife belonged to Choi Yoojung. Who knows what that pipsqueak gets up to.

 

Nayoung then found herself peeling the red skin of the apples off as Jieqiong laid down and stared at the ceiling in silence. It was odd, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Jieqiong wasn’t always this quiet. In fact, she was known to be the loudest of the 11 girls but every so often Nayoung would find herself alone with Jieqiong and the pair would just bask in each other’s company without saying a word. It was as if they had their own little bubble, and the rest of the world wasn’t allowed to share the space with them.

 

“Unnie.” Jieqiong’s melodic voice softly breaks the silence.

 

“Mmm?”

 

“I notice that you’ve been smiling a lot more lately.”

 

Nayoung halted her actions to shoot Jieqiong a questioning glace.

 

“Really? I usually hear that I don’t smile enough though.”

 

Jieqiong giggled at that, and the corners of Nayoung’s lips tugged upwards slightly at how girlish the sound was.

 

“Well, that too. But compared to when we were training in Pledis, you’re like a completely different person! I have to say, I kinda like this Im Nayoung more. You’re not as much of a Stone Buddha as you were before.”

 

Nayoung took note of the teasing smile Jieqiong had, a smile of her own playing on her features.

 

“That’s only natural you know. We’re not training anymore. We’re getting ready to debut, and it’s a lot less nerve-wracking than having an uncertain future. This is it you know? That thing I trained 5 years for? And I get to do it with you. I have a lot to smile about Jieqiong-ssi.”

 

Nayoung barely dodged a haphazardly thrown cushion aimed at her face by a laughing Jieqiong. Nayoung secretly wondered if all this laughing was good for Jieqiong’s sick throat.

 

“Don’t you ‘Jieqiong-ssi’ me! I’ve known you for all 5 years of your training! You’re such a buttface.”

 

It was Nayoung’s turn to laugh at the ridiculous insult. She’s been called a ton of names before, some more pleasant than others but Buttface was a new one.

 

“You’re lucky that although you’re a buttface, you’re also a good leader. You’re doing a fine job unnie. There’s a lot of us and we can be a handful, but you’re doing great so far.” Jieqiong assured Nayoung with a bright smile, and it somehow eased concerns and doubts that Nayoung herself wasn’t aware she had.

 

“Thanks Pinky. And you’re also an amazing….uh….dancer. No wait Chungha is the dancer. Rapper? No that’s me….what do you do again?” Nayoung wasn’t fast enough to dodge the cushion the second time around and it hit her square in the face, nearly causing her to drop her knife.

 

“I’m the Visual, unnie. The Miracle of China.” Jieqiong huffed in annoyance.

 

“How can you even say that with a straight face? I would have so much trouble saying that with my own mouth.” Nayoung asked in wonderment, and Jieqiong smiled confidently in reply.

 

“Unnie, how do you expect me to sell the product if I don’t believe in it myself?”

 

Product. What a slightly demoralizing way to look at oneself. But now that she thought about it, Nayoung had to agree with the term. They were idols instead of trainees now. Their worth has changed.

 

“Here. All peeled.” Nayoung said as she handed the plate of fruit over to Jieqiong, not regretting one bit her decision to stay back and take care of her friend while the rest of the members went out to eat lunch.

 

“Unnie…w-what is this?”

 

“Huh?” Nayoung looked questioningly back at Jieqiong, noting the horrified expression on her face as she stared at the plate of freshly peeled apples.

 

“THIS. T-this…This fruit MASSACRE! I asked you peel the SKIN off….not gouge whole CHUNKS out! There’s barely any apple left!”

 

“W-wha—How dare you! I did a good job peeling them!”

 

“Unnie there’s more fruit on the skin you cut off than on this plate! Were you trying to cut the apple into shapes or something because this apple slice is HEXAGONAL!”

 

Nayoung could only watch in horror and disbelief as the girl infront of her suddenly burst into tears and bawled her eyes out at the massacre of her favourite fruit. Nayoung had no idea how she was going to explain this to her other members, but she somehow felt incredibly guilty and at fault for some weird reason. Somehow, Im Nayoung had managed to make IOI’s ray of sunshine cry because she messed up peeling an apple.

 

 

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

 

1 month later

 

 

Nayoung was never known to have the best stamina amongst her members. Her idea of a good workout was the epic journey she has every morning as she travelled from her bedroom in the IOI dorm to the kitchen, so it came as no surprise that she’s all but doubled over panting after performing “Dream Girls” on stage in front of thousands of people.

 

Oh god the people.

 

Nayoung had no idea how overwhelming it would be to perform in front of this many people. They’ve only debuted for about a month so she’s not used to this yet, but her sunbaes actually perform in front of this many people on a regular basis? It’s insane. Nayoung can barely look up because she knows she’s still on stage and those thousands of people are still staring at her and the bright lights combined with the cameras pointed right at her was starting to make her head spin.

 

“Hey. You did good.”

 

A small whisper was barely audible over the deafening audience but Nayoung caught it anyways. Nayoung turned her head to the source of the voice and she was met with Jieqiong’s soft smile. The latter started to gently rub the back of Nayoung’s shoulder and the leader instantly started to feel relaxed. Jieqiong always had a way of making her feel better. Maybe it’s the Chinese girl’s ridiculous optimism. Maybe it was her goofy grin that somehow managed to appear strikingly beautiful and derpy at the same time.

 

Nayoung wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew that Jieqiong was magical at times. Now might be one of those times because all of a sudden the stage, the crowd, the other members, the world around them seemed to evaporate into thin air and all that was left was her and Jieqiong. It only took a moment of eye contact.

 

“….fairly obvious. I choose Sejeong-unnie because she has so many different charms I don’t even know where to start!”

 

Sohye’s voice snapped Nayoung back to reality. The MC must have asked them a question but she wasn’t paying attention. She can’t make it obvious that she had no idea what was going on because she was the leader, and she watched as the MC moved on to Sejeong. Nayoung hoped that Sejeong answered in a way that would give some clue as to what the question was.

 

“Ahh! This might come as a surprise, but I would choose Chungha! Her dancing is so charismatic!” Sejeong answered cheerily and Nayoung nearly flipped internally at how unhelpful it was.

 

Okay. Nayoung knew they had to pick amongst their members for…something. Nayoung just couldn’t quite figure out what that something was. The MC now moved on to Jieqiong who was right next to her, sending Nayoung into panic mode. Thankfully her default facial expression was basically devoid of all emotion so nobody could tell she was freaking out inside.

 

Nayoung watched as Jieqiong cast a look in her direction as the gorgeous girl brought her microphone up to speak. The stone-faced leader tried to telepathically send distress signals to Jieqiong, hoping that the latter would pick it up.

 

“So…if I was a guy, which member of IOI would I date? Hmm…” Jieqiong drawled and Nayoung breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Okay, she knew what the question was now thanks to the newly discovered telepathic link she shared with her fellow Pledis labelmate. Maybe if they refined it they could use it as a talent on variety shows. The nature of the question slapped Nayoung across the face and her eyes snapped to Jieqiong. She watched as those thin lips curled into a sly grin and Nayoung was suddenly curious as to what Jieqiong’s answer was going to be.

 

“Who do all of you think it’s going to be?” Jieqiong expertly got the crowd involved as she cheekily pointed her microphone towards the audience. Nayoung was surprised to hear her own name being shouted back from the audience as a response.

 

Jieqiong laughed at the enthusiastic response before cutely scratching her head to show how much of a dilemma she’s currently in.

 

“Umm… I’d have to go with Chaeyeon. She’s so demure and ladylike I think I’d be charmed if I was a guy.” Jieqiong’s answer was short and diplomatic, but Nayoung would be lying if she said she didn’t have a sinking feeling in her stomach as she heard it.

 

“But Kyulkyung-ssi, the audience was very much chanting for Nayoung-ssi to be chosen. Is there any reason as to why you didn’t choose her?” The MC asked and Nayoung wanted to dig a hole and bury herself then and there out of embarrassment. She wondered if she jumped off the stage right now would it be high enough to off her completely.

 

Jieqiong’s melodic laughter filled the air again as she contemplated the question and Nayoung hoped it wasn’t because she noticed how red Nayoung’s face was currently.

 

“You see, here’s a secret I’ll share with all of you.” Jieqiong half-whispered into the microphone, drawing everyone’s attention to her. The venue immediately fell silent as they waited for her answer. The girl was a genius at commanding the crowd.

 

“Apples are my favourite fruit, but I never eat the skin. Nayoung-unnie doesn’t know how to peel apples. Can you believe that? She’s horrible at it! Chaeyeon peels apples like a machine! That’s why I’d like to date Chaeyeon over Nayoung-unnie.”

 

The small hall that they were in reverberated with laughter as a result of Jieqiong’s cheeky answer, while Nayoung remained stone faced. She was unsure of what emotion to latch onto for her to react because for starters she wasn’t sure if she was entirely comfortable with her inability to properly peel apples being broadcasted to the public.

 

She didn’t want her enemies to know her weaknesses after all.

 

Chaeyeon blushing as Sejeong and Yoojung teasingly pushed her around was creating a sinking feeling in the pit of Nayoung’s stomach that she tried her best to ignore as well.

 

“Nayoung-ssi? What about you? Which of these gorgeous girls would you date if you were a guy?”

 

Nayoung could distinctly hear the MC direct his question to her, but she wasn’t ready with an answer. She would have gladly answered “Jieqiong” in a heartbeat, but that would just seem awkward and pathetic right now so she just blurted out the only thing she could think of.

 

“Err…Mina. Because she loves to eat.”

 

The hall erupted into applause and laughter again at the curt answer, and Mina could be heard whining from the opposite end of the stage “Unnie! That isn’t a valid reason!” while Sejeong calmed her labelmate down by insisting that love comes in many forms.

 

Nayoung dared herself to look at Jieqiong and was surprised to see the Chinese member already looking at her with a contemplative look on her face. Somehow unable to hold Jieqiong’s gaze after being casually brushed off in front of a live audience, Nayoung immediately shifted her gaze onto something else instead. Anything at all aside from the gorgeous hazel eyes fixed on her.

 

 

 

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

 

Sohye woke up on a Sunday morning fresh from having one of the best nights of sleep she’s had in a very long time. Her body still ached from the concert last night, but it was a good kind of ache. The kind of ache that meant that she actually had a job to do, which is fortunate and a blessing in the industry she’s in.

 

Raising her hands up Sohye stretched her stiff body as she walked towards the kitchen, the sound of her footsteps sounding awfully louder than they were supposed to because of how quiet the dorm was. Sohye wondered if everybody else was still asleep, and took a moment to congratulate herself for waking up earlier than everyone else. Sohye was very much about the tiny victories in life, even one as trivial as being an early riser.

 

Entering the kitchen, Sohye noticed a bowl of red apples on the dining table. She mustn’t have been the earliest to wake up after all because somebody had to have gone out to get these apples. Remembering Jieqiong’s comments and accusations the night before about Nayoung’s lack of finesse with a knife, Sohye wondered how good she herself was at peeling the red fruit.

 

Deciding to satiate her curiosity, the Penguin grabbed a particularly sharp knife near the kitchen sink and sat down to start peeling her breakfast. Maybe she would be better than Nayoung. Sohye was very much about the tiny victories in life.

 

 

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

 

A few days later, Sohye had entered the kitchen to find a large basket of red apples greeting her beside the fridge. She had no idea what was going on. Reaching into the basket, she grabbed an apple and brought it closer to her face for inspection.

 

It was an ordinary apple. It wasn’t a prop or anything of the like. Sohye confirmed this by taking a bite into it and the juicy flavor filled . In hindsight, maybe she shouldn’t be eating from random baskets of apples, even if she found them here in the dorm. She didn’t know what they were supposed to be used for or to whom do the apples belong to.

 

She suddenly remembered that Somi went on one of those weird diets where she only consumed 1 banana for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Maybe the maknae got sick of bananas and decided to change things up with apples. Sohye was questioning if the two fruits have the same nutritional values however.

 

Not wanting to be the one to question Somi on her new fruit diet, Sohye decided to let it be, but not before taking another 2 apples with her into her bedroom.

 

 

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

 

A bowl of apples is normal. Every healthy household has fruit in their kitchen don’t they? A basket of apples was a bit more…strange but it was still acceptable. Maybe one of their members had a drastic craving or something. Sohye would have been willing to accept any decent explanation as to why there was a large basket of apples in their kitchen.

 

One basket of apples was an odd sight. Three baskets of apples however, was the last straw for Sohye. The three baskets of fruit seemed to mock her sanity on this fine Tuesday morning, and she couldn’t help but feel slightly agitated at how nobody else seems to be fazed by the obstructions. That’s how Sohye felt. A bowl of apples can be a meal. Three large baskets full of apples just felt like an issue.

 

“Morning Penguin unnie!” Mina happily greeted Sohye as the latter stood at the entryway of the kitchen, looking confused as all hell.

 

“M-morning…” Sohye answered as if in a daze. Her fellow members in the kitchen were happily chatting amongst themselves while holding an apple each, and Sohye felt slightly left out.

 

“Erm… Pardon me for addressing the elephant in the room, but why do we have three baskets full of apples in our kitchen?” Sohye meekly asked aloud.

 

“Y’know what? That’s actually a pretty good question. Why do we have so many apples?” Yeunjung echoed the question, as if it just occurred to her that having that many apples in uncommon.

 

“Nobody else seemed fazed by it so I didn’t want to seem like the dumb one by asking. I just went along with it. Thanks for biting that bullet Sohye!” Doyeon laughed while putting her hand out for Sohye to high-5, which the penguin did albeit with a confused expression still plastered on her face.

 

“I’m just happy we have food.” Mina answered while taking a big bite out of her own apple.

 

“Wait, so the kitchen has been filled with apples for over a week now and none of us even bothered to question it?” Sohye asked aloud in disbelief.

 

“Yah this household is unbelievable! We just walked into the kitchen and grabbed an apple as if it was the most normal thing in the world. What on earth is wrong with us?” Yeunjung laughed as everyone in the kitchen suddenly started to question the tremendous influx of apples that has very rapidly started to take over the IOI kitchen.

 

“Where is our esteemed leader-nim? I’m sure she has answers doesn’t she?” Somi asked. Nothing happens in the dorm without Nayoung finding out about it. The leader was surprisingly perceptive despite always looking like she’s spacing out.

 

“She’s probably still asleep. I think she stayed up late last night.” Mina answered with a mouthful of fruit.

 

“Nayoung unnie staying up late? That’s new. She’s usually the first to pass out after a schedule.” Sejeong commented as she walked into the kitchen, Jieqiong following closely behind her.

 

“Oh yay! More apples!” Jieqiong excitedly chimed while clapping her hands as soon as she saw the overabundance of her favourite fruit filling the kitchen.

 

“Jieqiong unnie… you wouldn’t have something to do with this would you?” Sohye asked while gesturing to the apples as Jieqiong was skipping over to where Chaeyeon sat. The Chinese girl then proceeded to wave an apple in front of the pale-skinned beauty’s face, who merely sighed and took the fruit from Jieqiong.

 

“Of course she does. Indirectly, but this is all her fault.” Chungha mumbled, barely audible.

 

“Hmmm? What are you talking about unnie?” Jieqiong innocently asked Chungha without looking at her because her eyes were glued to Chaeyeon’s expert hands peeling the skin off the apple Jieqiong had given her. It was like watching a machine in action.

 

“All this wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t mention how horrible Nayoung unnie is at apple peeling in front of all those people! I can’t even have a good night’s sleep because our bedroom smells like a dang orchard all the time!” Chungha loved her roommate. She’s even completely supportive of her leader’s need to prove herself to Jieqiong, but Nayoung’s late night practice sessions was starting to get to the dancer.

 

“Is that what that is? I was wondering why I get hungry every time I walk into the room!” Mina laughed, which turned into a scoff when Yoojung pointed out that Mina was always hungry.

 

“Wait…so all of this belongs to Nayoung unnie? Why would she go this overboard?? She’s supposed to be the sane one among us!” Sohye asked in disbelief as she gestured to the sea of red around them.

 

Chungha just sighed and sank back into her chair in defeat. “Well, you do weird things when you’re in love.”

 

The whole kitchen went quiet as they processed Chungha’s words before 7 pairs of eyes snapped to Jieqiong, who was still waiting for Chaeyeon to finish peeling her apple. Noticing the sudden attention on her Jieqiong could only smile sheepishly.

 

“Love? Nayoung unnie is doing this because of—Yah Chaeyeon unnie why are you getting in the way of their love?! Who told you to be so good at peeling apples?”

 

“Yeah! Is Heehyun not enough for you unnie?? You’re so greedy! You’re also dumb! You’re pretty but dumb! Dumbface unnie!”

 

“W-wha—I mean this is—Jieqiong! Don’t get me involved in your romantic problems! I already have enough on my plate! Why are you just letting her buy all these apples anyways?! Are you just leading her on?” A flustered Chaeyeon could only sputter out and meekly berate the taller Chinese member as Doyeon and Yoojung continue to give her hell. Sohye couldn’t help but laugh at the flabbergasted expression on Chaeyeon’s face as Yoojung and Doyeon started a chorus of “Dumbface Unnie” chants.

 

“Why are you just letting her torture herself like this? I mean, it’s pretty obvious you like her too. It’s not like we don’t notice you flirting with each other.” Sejeong asked, but as she looked around the kitchen at the other members, the expression on most of their faces clearly stated that they hadn’t noticed any flirting going on. This was enforced by Mina whispering a disbelieving “Nayoung unnie can flirt…?”

 

Sejeong could only look at Chungha for help, who just patted her shoulder in sympathy. Their group was full of idiots.

 

“Pfft, Jieqiong is probably allowing it to happen cause she likes Nayoung unnie giving her this much attention.” Yeunjung scoffed.

 

“Bingo!” Jieqiong confirmed with a wink and a giggle which created another wave of silence to wash over the kitchen. For a group of people who just wouldn’t shut up, there was an awful lot of silence this morning.

 

“Unnie…you’re evil….” Sohye broke the silence as she looked at Jieqiong with mortified eyes.

 

“You she-devil! Playing around with our leader’s heart! No apple for you!” Chaeyeon shouted and she took a bite of the apple she had been peeling for Jieqiong, who shouted in shock before dramatically dropping to her knees in despair.

 

“Are you sure it was a good idea to spill Nayoung unnies feelings here?” Sejeong whispered to Chungha while the kitchen erupted into chaos as Jieqiong tried to wrestle the apple away from Chaeyeon and the other members started cheering them on.

 

“You want to switch bedrooms with me instead Sejeong? I woke up with a chunk of apple in my ear yesterday.”

 

“Ah. Noted. Good call.”

 

 

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

 

 

Nayoung was seated on the large couch in the living room, attempting to peel her 20^th apple of the day. She had to admit she was sick of eating apples and it nearly got to the point where even looking at one was enough to trigger her gag-reflex, but she was making progress so she definitely couldn’t stop now. At some point it stopped being about Jieqiong but more of trying to prove to herself that she was capable of peeling the fruit. It seemed so simple in theory, but her fingers just seemed to be extra clumsy when paired with a knife.

 

“Unnie.”

 

Nayoung didn’t bother looking at the girl next to her. She was halfway through her 17^th apple when Somi decided to join her in the living room to watch some TV. It seems like the maknae ran out of things to watch however, because she had been trying to get Nayoung’s attention for the past 10 minutes or so.

 

So Nayoung just responded with a disinterested hum, because apple peeling required 120% more focus and attention than dancing.

 

“Do you really like Jieqiong this much unnie?”

 

Okay, Somi managed to get Nayoung’s attention. Somi also managed to make Nayoung drop her knife in surprise, nearly causing the girl to gain an unwanted piercing in her foot.

 

“What? Where on earth did that come from?”

 

Somi shrugged in response, but Nayoung could tell based on the glint in her eye that the maknae was satisfied she finally managed to get her leader’s attention.

 

“Why else would you be this interested in peeling apples?”

 

“I’m trying to get a new talent to use on variety shows, isn’t it obvious?”

 

Nayoung felt the younger girl leaning in to her and she could practically feel the judgmental and incredulous look Somi was currently burning into the side of her face. Nayoung refused to make eye contact with the maknae because she didn’t trust herself to not betray anything. Her current expression was the stoniest Stone Nayoung has ever stoned.

 

“So you’re telling me that this has nothing to do with Jieqiong unnie saying she wouldn’t date you because you didn’t know how to peel apples?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Not even a little bit?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“What can I do to make you admit that you’re just doing this to get Jieqiong unnie’s undying love and affection?”

 

“Disappear.”

 

Her answer earned her a slap on the shoulder, and she would have laughed if she wasn’t so committed to being expressionless. It was too late to have emotions now.

 

“Ouch unnie! But you know, you’re cute when you’re flustered.”

 

“I’m not flustered.”

 

“Does that make you happy? Me calling you cute?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

“How about if I say it in a Chinese accent? Ni hao! You’re cute when you’re flustered!”

 

Nayoung was impressed by her self-restraint. She felt like punching the girl next to her about 4 sentences ago, but she managed to hold it in. Somi’s borderline racist impression nearly earned the maknae a punch though. That was a close one.

 

Nayoung just sighed and responded in a low voice.

 

“Somi-ya, do you think people will notice if we’re one member short for our future activities?”

 

“Unnie! You can’t do that! I was number 1!”

 

“Unfortunately.”

 

Somi gasped dramatically and backed away from the seething leader.

 

“You’re scary when you’re in denial. No wonder Jieqiong unnie prefers Chaeyeon unnie. Chaeyeon is nice and not scary. She’s as dumb as a bag of bricks tho but nobody’s perfect.”

 

“Somi I’m holding a knife.”

 

“Yikes! Love you unnie don’t kill me bye!” Somi jumped off her seat and ran towards her bedroom, but not before planting a quick kiss to the side of Nayoung’s head.

 

Nayoung hated how the adorable gesture managed to make her smile. Her maknae can be absolutely adorable at times, almost horribly annoying other times.

 

“Jieqiong unnie I kissed Nayoung unnie and now she has a dumb smile on her face are you jealous yet you should be!!!”

 

Okay. IOI is officially a 10-member group starting today.

 

 

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

 

Nayoung rested her chin on the dining table as she burned holes into the apple placed in front of her, beautifully peeled by Jung Chaeyeon. She had given up trying to compete with the younger girl and instead had asked for her help, which Chaeyeon happily provided. It didn’t help though. It was as if Nayoung was trying to learn how to play piano by watching an expert’s hand movements when she was just a beginner.

 

It shouldn’t be this hard to properly remove the red skin off of an apple without taking chunks of it off. The people in the movies make it look easy. Hell, even Sohye makes it look easy. Maybe Nayoung just isn’t cut out for being this domestic. She was unaware that her abilities only covered up to this extent. She was feeling completely defeated and her self-confidence was starting to be affected. Life is hard. She had been training 5 years to be an idol, but then life threw a red fruit at her and now she’s stumbling again.

 

“What are you up to?”

 

Nayoung’s head snapped up a little too fast when she heard the sudden voice, making her world spin. She locked eyes with Jieqiong who was standing at the entrance of the kitchen with an amused look on her face, the Chinese goddess’ beauty making her head spin even more.

 

“Nothing. Just…hating myself.”

 

“Now that’s not right. How can you hate something so adorable?” Jieqiong asked as she slid into the chair across from Nayoung, the amusement having never left her face.

 

“I don’t know. People ask me that about Somi all the time.”

 

“Pfft. We both know you love Somi to bits. You dote on her like a mother would her kid when you think nobody is watching.” Jieqiong scoffed at Nayoung’s words and the latter pouted a little, not happy with her secret affection for the maknae being known.

 

“Did you peel this?” Jieqiong asked after a brief moment of silence, pointing to the lone peeled apple on the table.

 

“Nope. Chaeyeon did this one. You can tell I didn’t do it because it’s still in one piece.” Nayoung said with a small hint of dismay which didn’t go unnoticed by Jieqiong.

 

“I’m sorry I can’t peel apples for you Pinky.”

 

Jieqiong pretended to be taken aback by Nayoung’s apology, placing a hand on her heart in disbelief.

 

“For me? You mean you’ve been learning how to peel apples for me?”

 

“Don’t act like you didn’t already know that you idiot.” Nayoung whined while blushing and it took a lot of effort on Jieqiong’s part to not continue teasing her leader, especially if this was the kind of reaction she could incite from her.

 

“I’m not sure if I’m attracted to this side of you unnie. The Im Nayoung that I fell for wasn’t a quitter.”

 

Nayoung blushed an even deeper shade of crimson at Jieqiong’s sudden confession. They always skirted around the topic. Always implying to each other that they had feelings for the other but never really expressing it directly. Jieqiong would flirt with her and pour on the charm when they are in private, and Nayoung would try her best to muster some form of affection because expressing herself was really not her strong suite.

 

“I’m a quitter. Sorry to say. I’m also broke. I spent too much money buying fruits that I don’t even like eating. The ahjumma that runs the fruit store around the corner even knows my name and phone number. She calls me when they have discounts. I think she just likes having me around.” Nayoung said with a slight chuckle at the strange situation she found herself in.

 

Nayoung looked up when she heard the scraping of the chair in front of her. Jieqiong had gotten up and Nayoung watched as her Pledis label mate took a seat on the chair next to her instead. Weirdly enough, Jieqiong had an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face and she didn’t even turn to look at Nayoung when she asked the next question.

 

“Do you like her back?”

 

“Do I like who back?” Nayoung asked, confused.

 

“The fruit ahjumma. You said she likes you. Do you like her back?”

 

“Pinky she’s an old woman!” Nayoung replied in shock.

 

“Yeah well that should make it easier for me to whoop some sense into her right? POW! Right to the chin! That should teach her to make moves on my Nayoung.” Jieqiong swung her fist as if she was in a pretend fight with the kind, old fruit vendor and Nayoung was mortified at the implication.

 

“Pinky, please don’t. You’ll end up in jail. That’ll be very inconvenient for me as a leader.”

 

“Oh? Are you trying to protect your precious fruit ahjumma now? You really like her that much huh?”

 

“Stop it… You know that I have feelings for another ahjumma…” Nayoung mumbled but Jieqiong heard it loud and clear. The taller girl was looking down at her lap and Jieqiong could just assume that her leader’s face was the exact same colour of the fruits in the bowl in front of them. How adorable. Her Nayoung was precious.

 

“How am I supposed to know for sure, when you never want to say it to me directly?”

 

Nayoung could hear a drop of pain in Jieqiong’s voice and guilt was all that the taller girl could feel. It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t fun for either of them but Nayoung has trouble articulating her feelings. There were so many occasions when a confession was at the tip of her tongue but Nayoung had pulled it back for fear that the words will stumble and not appear as beautiful as they should be.

 

“You wanna know a secret unnie?”

 

Nayoung looked to the side to see that the brief sadness on Jieqiong’s face had been replaced with the cheekiest of grins. Nayoung could only nod as the Chinese girl leaned in closer to her, breath tickling attentive ears.

 

“I don’t know how to peel apples either.”

 

And with that Jieqiong pulled away laughing her pretty little off while Nayoung just stared back with an eyebrow raised.

 

“….Well, I feel slightly cheated now. Maybe you should’ve been learning with me then.”

 

“You must be joking! I don’t think I want to come anywhere near a frustrated Nayoung while she’s holding a knife.”

 

Point taken. Nayoung can agree with that.

 

“Well this won’t do, will it? I don’t really like you going to Chaeyeon to peel your apples all the time. It makes me jealous.” Nayoung honestly stated with a pout, leaning her head so that it rested on Jieqiong’s right shoulder. As if on cue the latter’s hand had found its way into Nayoung’s hair and was now slowly running her hands through the silky tresses. The taller girl closed her eyes and sighed in contentment.

 

“There is a solution for this you know unnie.”

 

“Hmm? What are you proposing?” Nayoung asked almost dreamily as Jieqiong absentmindedly gave her a head massage.

 

An arm reached over across Nayoung and her eyes tracked it as it grabbed a fresh, unpeeled apple from the bowl in front of her. Curious eyes followed the apple’s path as it made a beeline for Jieqiong’s mouth.

 

“We could just eat it unpeeled.” Jieqiong said as she took a large bite out of the shiny red apple while Nayoung stared wide-eyed.

 

There was a moment when the only thing that can be heard is the sound of Jieqiong’s chewing as she tried to contemplate the flavor of the apple with it’s skin on. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her hand supported her chin in thought.

 

“It doesn’t taste any different, does it?” Nayoung finally asked.

 

“Surprisingly no! I’m amazed! There’s no need to peel them after all! Why do my parents always peel them for me then?” Jieqiong concluded. The Chinese beauty’s eyes were wide open in surprise and she stared at the fruit in her hand as if it was going to suddenly start spewing out the answers. Nayoung could only watch amused at Jieqiong’s antics.

 

“Probably because you’re a spoiled little princess.”

 

“Oh that I am. Definitely.” Jieqiong easily agreed. There was another round of silence as Nayoung’s eyes grew heavier from Jieqiong petting her head while the latter continued to marvel in her latest discovery.

 

“Hey Pinky?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I really like you a lot. I hope you know that.”

 

Jieqiong’s body suddenly stiffened and Nayoung wondered if she said the wrong thing. She lifted her head up to look at Jieqiong’s face to assess exactly how badly did she screw things up. She knew she shouldn’t have confessed. Jieqiong just silently placed her half eaten fruit on the table and slowly turned to face the older girl, hand raised to slowly caress Nayoung’s cheek.

 

Before Nayoung knew what was happening Jieqiong had leaned in and pressed their lips together in a kiss. Their first kiss. Nayoung wished that she could say there was fireworks or butterflies in her stomach but all she could think of right now was how soft Jieqiong’s lips were and how sudden the situation changed. Jieqiong had her eyes closed and the kiss must have only lasted about 10 seconds in real time but in the little bubble that they lived in the kiss was long enough that Nayoung felt like several lifetimes had passed, and every new life she’d lived continued to be better than the last.

 

Eventually they parted, and Jieqiong could only offer Nayoung a sheepish grin. The younger girl’s cheeks were flushed, and Nayoung knew that her face must have been equally as red, if not redder. Nayoung subconsciously brought her fingers up to touch her own lips. The lips Jieqiong had kissed just moments ago.

 

“You just…we…kissed.” Nayoung could only say dumbly, as the corners of her lips twitched up involuntarily as her own words affirmed what had just taken place. “Pinky we just kissed. You kissed me.”

 

“Well no ! It took you years just to tell me that you like me! I’m not going to wait another few more years just to kiss you!” Jieqiong whined, flailing her arms about animatedly as she tried to justify her actions.

 

“Your lips tasted like apples…” Nayoung absentmindedly muttered, causing Jieqiong to blush furiously.

 

“Sorry bout that. You must be tired of tasting that right about now.” Jieqiong laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck in awkward embarrassment.

 

“Can we….can we do it again?” Nayoung asked timidly, and Jieqiong nearly died at how adorable her leader was. She could already imagine all the ways Im Nayoung’s unintentional aegyo will result in her death.

 

“Be careful unnie. You might get addicted.” Jieqiong cheekily said before leaning forward again to capture Nayoung’s lips in another kiss.

 

 

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

 

 

“Oh My GAWD They’re KISSING!” Somi yelled/whispered at the rest of the gang as they secretly peeped on the two in the kitchen from the living room.

 

“This is so gross but cute at the same time. I can’t stop watching.” Doyeon said, leaning on Somi to get a better view.

 

“C-Can we do i-it again?” Yoojung impersonated their leader and they nearly gave away what they were doing because they had to stifle their laughter.

 

“Ohh man I can’t believe this. I can’t wait to make fun of Nayoung unnie for this! If we use it for blackmail maybe she wont bug us if we make too much noise anymore!” Yeunjung suggested, and the four of them sniggered as they thought of all the ways they could use their newly acquired information to their advantage.

 

“Or you can leave them alone.”

 

The four of them turned around to see Chungha standing behind them, arms crossed and expression reprimanding.

 

“Oh crap. Chungha unnie is on Mom mode.” Somi stated before she ran away, leaving the other three slower girls behind to face a protective Chungha’s wrath. Before they could run away Chungha had pulled them aside so that they were out of earshot of the lovebirds in the kitchen and proceeded to give the three girls a lecture on respecting privacy.

 

Sohye had woken up in the middle of the night needing to use the bathroom, but right as she was about to leave her bedroom the door in front of her had violently swung forward and nearly hit her in the face. Sohye yelped in surprise as Somi came running past her into the room but the maknae was stopped by an annoyed Sejeong, who proceeded to berate the younger girl about how dangerous running around in the dorm was and how Somi nearly killed Sohye with the door.

 

Choosing to excuse herself from the awkward situation, Sohye had one foot out of the bedroom when she saw another peculiar sight. To the left of her gathered in the living room was Chungha, who like Sejeong was telling off three very guilty looking girls. The sight in the kitchen to Sohye’s right was even more peculiar, as it involved their stone faced leader looking not so stone faced. In fact Sohye couldn’t even be sure because the said stone face was partially covered by Jieqiong’s because the pair was kissing each other what on earth??

 

The penguin just sighed and continued towards the bathroom, choosing to ignore the odd events happening around her and instead filed them into her mental file under the “Things She’ll Miss When IOI Disbands” category.

 

This group was full of weirdos.

 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

Welp. The idea for this fic kinda came out of nowhere. Kind of like one of those hazy dreams you have when you’re down with a fever. If I could get a dollar for every time the word “apple” was mentioned in this fic I’d probably be pretty rich.

 

I honestly realized halfway through the fic that I’ve been spelling Jieqiong as Zieqiong so I had to change it. Do forgive me if I missed any of those!

 

NaPink is fun to write. I just like Im Nayoung in general actually. That was my first attempt at an IOI fic, and I realized how stupidly hard it is to write a fic and include all 11 members of the group. It becomes quite cluttered, but I feel like I tried my best.

 

Please leave a comment telling me if you liked it, how I can improve, suggestions on what to write next will all be greatly appreciated. Upvotes will be gladly appreciated too!

 

Thank you so much for reading this ridiculous jumbled mess!