“We are going to delay JoA’s debut.”

The first thought reeling through Jiae’s head is ‘what the actual ’.

“No! You can’t!” she shouts, standing up. She doesn’t even care how crazed she must sound or look; the company is not delaying her group’s debut. “Jay, Simon, I have watched these girls grow. I’ve watched them train until they couldn’t walk. I’ve watched them cry over a small, thoughtless comment one of you made. You cannot do this to them because of one single problematic member!”

Jay Park shakes his head, eyes closed. “You are dismissed,” he deadpans. “Even if you don’t tell them, I will. I know you understand why we’re doing this, Jiae. Please don’t make us out as the bad guys.”

Outside the CEOs’ shared office, Jiae finds the entire group waiting with expectant eyes.

“What did they say, unnie?” Minhee begs anxiously. “Did they tell you anything?”

“Unnie, please tell us the truth,” Aerin begs. “We deserve to know… don’t we?”

“Guys, stop bothering her,” Seah cuts in, shooing her members away from Jiae. “I’m sure she will tell us, but not if you’re all crowding her.”

Jiae shoots her a grateful look and takes a deep breath. “Girls,” she says with a wobbly smile, trying to keep her voice cheery. “Jay and Simon have decided to take a bit of time to decide what to do about the situation. Unfortunately, this means that your debut may possibly be delayed, but!” Seeing the faces around her crumpling, Jiae attempts to lighten the mood a bit. “But! That means you’ll be able to perfect your debut stage! Come on, girls, every storm cloud has a silver lining!”

Silence falls over the group, tense with the effort of holding back tears. Finally, Sooyoung speaks up.

“Unnie’s not wrong,” she sighs dejectedly. “We really haven’t mastered the dance yet… especially some of the footwork.”

“Yeah.” Taemi reaches for Anhee’s hand. “Let’s go practice, unnies. Maybe Jay and Simon will be really impressed with us, and then they’ll let us debut on time!”

“I sure hope so.” Jiae takes one last look at the closed office door. “I’ll keep talking to them,” she resolves. “No one bullies my girls and gets away with it.”

author's note

Maggie: Yoooo this is our manager ;)) there's one more teaser coming soon OH MERRY CHRISTMAS

Annie: YOOOO I did't write much (again) but congrats!!