“She quit. She actually did it.” Hwang Eunbi had broken the tense silence that had fallen upon the usually loud, lively practice room. Only minutes ago, their CEO had given them the news that had the potential to smash their hopes and dreams. Again. Possibly forever. “She left.”

Kim Sojung stared blankly ahead. The sudden unplanned exit of their sixth member shortly before their debut date should not have surprised her. There had been signs that it might happen. And yet it felt as if she had been hit by a truck.

“What now? This was supposed to be a group with seven members and now we’re only five! We already had to adapt once, we had to change the choreography, we were supposed to...” Eunbi trailed off. “We were so close...”

The slight waver in her voice made Sojung snap out of her paralysis. She was the leader. It was her responsibility to encourage her members, to be there for them especially in times like these. She needed to be their rock, their source of strength.

But what kind of leader was she? She couldn’t even hold the group together before debuting. She had failed. Phenomenally at that. It had been no secret that their now former member had been unhappy. She had tried so hard to reach the girl, but to no avail. There had always been a distance, they had never been close. Was this her fault? Hadn’t she tried enough to connect with her? But now she had done the unthinkable. And Sojung was left with the aftermath.

She looked at the girls, each of them wearing the same blank expression on their faces. She had been supposed to lead them and she had failed. But now was not the time to wallow in self-pity. Not even when all she wanted to do was cry. This situation happened way too many times in her past. She had stopped counting how often her own debut had been pushed back, how many members had left the groups she had been supposed be in.

The familiar numbness overcame her as the realization slowly sank in. But she still had a job to do. These girls were counting on her. She was the oldest, the leader, the one with the longest training – she had to stop thinking about herself and concentrate on her group.

Taking a deep breath, Sojung sat up a little straighter and pushed her own despair into the back of her mind. She would deal with it later when she was alone. “You heard CEO-nim. He said he will find another member for our group. We can still debut. This is not the end.”

“It’s April,” Jung Yerin mumbled, eyes glued to her trembling fingers. The usual happy smile was nowhere to be found. She knew Yerin had a very similar story to hers of being left behind. “Our debut was supposed to be in a few months. We still need to record the song, ace our choreography, shoot our music video…”

“How can he find a suitable trainee in such a short time?” whispered Choi Yuna. “This is a tiny company, we don’t have –”

“Maybe he’ll find another Kim Yewon on the way to the grocery store and adopt her like a stray dog,” Eunbi muttered darkly.

Sojung gave her a warning glare before glancing over to their youngest member who seemed unfazed by the comment. Yewon was only a few months younger than Eunbi, but the two of them had a rocky start. Eunbi had been training for years until she was offered a real chance to debut within a group. She had dedicated her entire childhood to be where she was now – while Yewon had literally just been asked on the street if she wanted to become an idol a few months ago.

Sojung knew that Eunbi’s pride had been hurt, it was understandable. Yewon had taken Eunbi’s coldness towards her with stride and never lost her sunny attitude. For Yewon everything since the beginning was fascinating and every new experience – no matter how insignificant – was met with child-like excitement. This innocence paired with an admirable work ethic and a fierce will to catch up to them was slowly banishing Eunbi’s grudge. Although there were still some snide remarks here and there.

“We can do it,” Sojung said resolutely. “If he says he will find us a new member, he will.”

“He couldn’t find a seventh member either. I don’t think he’ll let the formation change for a third time.”

Sojung sighed. There was some truth in that statement. Source Music was a small company with a low budget. Or rather with more debts than actual money. The fact that they had their practice room in the basement of another company said everything. They could not afford another call to the choreographer to change their routine again. And if they wanted to have a chance among the hundreds of girl groups debuting each year, they could settle for nothing less than perfection.

“He will find someone. In the meantime we will practice like we have done in the last couple of months. No slacking. And as soon as our new member arrives, we will do our best so that she can catch up to us, just like we did with Yewon-ah.” Sojung smiled softly at their maknae who glanced up after hearing her name. “She came to us with no training at all and look where she is now. Our new member will be glad for the opportunity to debut, she will work hard. We’re all going to make it work. We will be fine.”

Her members sent her disbelieving looks, but didn’t say anything. It was hard to stay optimistic after all the hardships they had already faced. But there was nothing they could do. Except continuing to work hard and give their best, hoping that their dream to become idols would one day in the not so far future become true.