It was everywhere. On TV, on the internet, on print. 

Rigged. The idol survival show that IZ*ONE competed in was rigged. The PD rigged some of them - maybe all of them, who knows?  - into the group. They were not formed by national producers - they were formed by the PDs who looked after the show.

Confessed by the PD himself just before their comeback too.

It was the most unbelievable thing the girls have ever heard.

The members of IZ*ONE had just remained in their dorm at the advice of their agency. It wouldn't be good to have any of them spotted in public at this point. It was still fresh, and the general public have already formed opinions and perspectives on the news that weren't favourable to them.

The company was concerned that they might end up getting hurt by crazy and intense fans of the other trainees that didn't make in. It was just too dangerous.

On top of that, everyone will be hassling them about the news if they'd decided to continue their activities for their comeback. For this reason, they postponed the comeback and stopped all SNS activity completely.

The girls understood. It will be hard for them, but it was for the better while they waited for everything to die down. 

Others were scared that WIZ*ONEs would leave them behind, but Eunbi reassured them that they wouldn't do that. The bond between IZ*ONE and WIZ*ONE was strong, after all.

For now, all they could do was wait and hope for the best.

-

It was quiet in Dorm 2.

Some members were stronger, but some were weak.

This was why they collectively agreed that they would stay in one dorm in the light of the news, so that they can have each other for emotional support. 

After the news broke out, the girls have been trying to keep themselves distracted. The heaviness of the situation, the uncertainty of it all - it was lingering at the back of their minds every hour of everyday.

Were they going to lose members? Will they get new ones? Will they have to disband?

Nobody knew, and the more that the news developed, the bleaker their future together looked.

Yuri, among others, had been noticeably quieter than usual, and would prefer to keep to herself than be with the rest of the girls.

The members were getting worried. They knew  Yuri was the soft and sensitive type - if she'd made mistakes during one of their stages, she'd often beat herself up over it. 

With news like this out, who knew what was going through the young girl's mind?

-

Hyewon couldn't sleep.

Not when she knew that Yuri wasn't at the best emotional state.

She got up and sighed, running her hands through her hair in frustration.

Why did it have to be that way? Why at that particular time when they've already been active for a year?

She stood up, and made her way out of the bedroom, careful not to awaken the others.

The members of Dorm 1 slept in the living room, and Hyewon made sure to check on Yuri them every now and again to see how they were doing.

That night, the Dorm 1 girls were fast asleep in their own spots in the living room.

Except for Yuri.

Hyewon got worried and quickly (but quietly), tried to see if the younger girl was in the apartment at all. 

She wasn't there. 

The older girl gulped nervously and slipped out of the apartment, into the hallway. She took her phone out and tried to call Yuri but she wouldn't answer.

She went to Dorm 1, but she wasn't there.

She went down to all the facilities in the building that the younger girl could have gone, but alas, Yuri was nowhere to be found.

Hyewon was getting even more worried. If Yuri had gone out of the apartment complex, it would be way too dangerous as it was already so late.

She wouldn't right?

Hyewon's last resort was the building's rooftop. It's usually out of bounds for residents, but they usually sneak out up there if the unnies wanted to have late night drinks.

She went up to the rooftop, and finally found Yuri, to her relief, sitting on the ground on top of what seemed like a mat. She wore a cardigan over her pajamas and a blanket across her shoulders.