She looked scary. She wore a school uniform but her charisma was through the roof. She had a fierce unnie aura with her black shoulder-length hair and tanned skin. She had an enviable high nose and petite lips with dark intimidating eyes. Yeah, her looks were no joke, but she looked even cooler when she danced. Her dance moves were sharp and on point, clearly stronger than everyone else. The way she moved seemed to come natural to her. She was a quiet wildcard and left promptly after the training, barely speaking to anyone. 

Her name was Yoon Bomi. She was scary, but oh so cool. 

She was pretty. Bright eyes, cute lips, a smooth nose. She had long straight brown hair that bounced as she moved, and she had quite the potential from her dancing alone. Her dance team was brave enough to be showing some midriff for their routine, and wow. She was close to having abs too. Her beauty and dance stood out amongst her dance team. Then she started speaking and... whoa. Her voice was unbelievably cute. 

Her name was Park Chorong. She was a really pretty unnie. 

——

Chorong always thought that Bomi girl would make it, but for some reason it never crossed her mind that they'd ever cross paths or get grouped together for anything. That was probably because Chorong was already in a group. 

There was recently a change of plans by the company. The project girl group that Chorong was in got cancelled. It's not like she had imagined her future with them, but she still found such an announcement to be jarring after having spent weeks and months training together.

At least Hayoung was still with her. The younger girl had been a part of their now-former group and although they weren't very close, the familiarity of knowing someone brought Chorong comfort. 

The pair were formally introduced to four other trainees whom they'd be forming a new group with. 

The first thing Chorong noticed was that they were all younger, placing her in the position of the leader. She was shocked to say the least, and at first it felt like she was going to have a mental breakdown. Chorong always felt she was more of a follower than a leader, not to mention she was soft-spoken. How would they listen to her?

Being the leader is a huge responsibility and she was a witness to it. Their job involves keeping the group together and bringing attention to things they need to work on. They mustn't be afraid to speak to their members, they mediate fights and discords, and they raise the group like their own.

She's always been one to respect the leader, but could she get others to respect her as the leader? 

"Could someone with a shy personality like me.. really do well as a leader?"

Noticing her distraughtness, the company staff pulled her aside to encourage her. It turned out it wasn't only to do with age. 

"We believe you have the qualities to be a good leader," was how they explained their decision. This only made the pressure on Chorong's shoulders feel greater, although it was nice to know the company was thinking highly of her. 

It would be a tough responsibility to handle, but if being the leader meant she could be a singer, then Chorong was willing to take on the role. 

——

Bomi had a good feeling about the announcement even before anything was said. Looking around the room were some pretty good female trainees and they were gathered together to form a group. She felt a light excitement in her heart to be getting a step closer to her dream. 

She was somewhat acquainted with three of them, having seen and heard about them in passing. She was always too busy to actually get to know the trainees in her company, but now that they're a group, perhaps she should. 

There were also two girls from that unnie project team. She never realised that the maknae of that group was actually younger than her, especially with her mature looks. That meant the other girl, Park Chorong, was the only unnie here. 

Bomi felt a belated sense of relief in realising she wouldn't be the leader. She was a carefree person by nature and wasn't one for ordering others and holding responsibility. Learning to taking care of herself was already hard as it was. Not to mention, as an excited fiery kind of person, she might be more likely to ignite an argument than resolve one. Park Chorong seemed the opposite of her in all that, which made her sure to be a great leader in Bomi's eyes. 

——

There's more to people than meets the eye. That statement had never felt more accurate to Chorong than with Yoon Bomi. The girl was a cool, quiet kid in their group of trainees. Who knew she was just shy? 

The newly formed group slowly began taking the time to get closer to one another outside of training. Namjoo would always make this situation easier and less awkward as she was a cheerful kid who loved inviting people to eat. 

When they had the chance to get to know her, the girls found that Bomi was the funniest, goofiest person ever. To imagine that this girl could've been the leader had Chorong not been there, was almost unthinkable. 

She had been practicing impressions and special talents, and her gorilla impression was so spot on. It was hilarious and whoever saw would crack up in laughter. If Bomi ever did it on national television, Chorong was certain it would hit daebak, even though it was super embarrassing and would ruin the girl's idol image. She strangely didn't seem to care about having an image though and that was so fresh to see. She was a unique one. 

Chorong was happy to take on the motherly role if it meant the members could feel as free and child-like as Bomi did, even though the girl was the second eldest member. 

——

The girls were taking a few minutes break after vigorously rehearsing a hip hop routine to a Beyoncé song. They dispersed across the dance room, sprawling on the floor, heading to the toilet, and drinking lots of water. Bomi, whose head was lowered in her hoodie, slid to the floor with her back against the mirror and breathed heavily. Chorong frowned slightly at the sight. 

Chorong noticed that Bomi always seemed tired and in a rush to leave training, moreso than the other girls, so she took it as her job as a leader as well as an unnie to ask her about it. 

"Bbom-ah," she called the girl by her nickname and sat next to her in the practice room. The girl didn't make a move to respond. The leader paused, wondering how to go about it. An "Are you okay?" might not get her anywhere.

"Bbom-ah, what do you do outside of training? You seem very... stressed. I'm worried."

Bomi was surprised by her straightforwardness, having been ready to deflect any simple questions about her wellbeing. She looked at Chorong who was indeed looking back at her worriedly, and the kind gesture made a smile fly over her. She reached for the older girl's hand and played with it softly. 

It felt nice to be close with someone a bit older than her. 

Meanwhile, the maniacal laughter of the maknaes could be heard from across the room, playing with the pedestal fan like it was a special effect and flipping their hair. The two unnies sat together in a comfortable silence, watching them.

"Unnie..." Bomi finally said.

"Hmm?"