“Minju~ angel~”

Minju froze as hands covered her eyes and that singing voice was heard. She wouldn’t worry about that because the gesture and voice were always familiar to her. She smiled and held the hands tenderly. “Ssamu-ya~”

She turned around and hugged the girl closer. She was an inch taller than the latter but she always wanted to be the small spoon. 

“Good morning.” Chaewon spoke as they broke. “Shall we go for practice?”

Minju nodded and they walked side by side. She even sneaked to hold Chaewon’s hand and the latter intertwined their fingers. Everyone had their eyes on them; each having various emotions and reactions.
Then again, the big picture was that their Enozi U’s powerful couple; the vocalist and guitarist of IZ*1. Nonetheless, they got to their practice room, only to be greeted by a crossed Eunbi. Chaewon and Minju gulped that they had to let go and be serious.

“Where are the rest?” Eunbi asked.

They didn’t know. Eunbi sighed as Chaewon voiced out. “We don’t have a event to perform to, Leadernim. What’s with the rush?”

“The administration suddenly had to give us one. It was a stupid last-minute call.” Eunbi huffed and gave them an invitation. “We’ll be part of an intermission number for a conference. 12*ONE were given one as well and Sakura was very frustrated.”

Just then, the rest of the members arrived. Yujin and Yuri huffed, even Kwangbae – despite being a fast runner. Eunbi lets them rest before formally announcing the intermission number.

“. So I rushed here to know that we’ll be performing five songs compared to the fifteen songs we have at our usual concerts?” Hyewon asked. “We can pull this off like the usual.”

Eunbi gave the invitation for them to read, arms crossed and face saying that she was having none of it. Hyewon quickly ate her words, leaving the rest to worry.

They may be performing less number of songs but they had to try a different set of songs from one artist – as per request by the administration. And to add, they only had a week to prepare.

“We’re doing a Beatles intermission.” Yujin scratched her head. “All of us know them and their songs but they’re hard to pull off.”

“True. Even if we practice harder, a week isn’t enough,” said Chaewon.

“This is why we need to plan ASAP. We need to start practices today too. We won’t leave a day behind.” Eunbi instructed and gathered with them.

They decided to listen to all songs and choose their best five. Most of their faces showed worry because the chosen artist was beyond their caliber. In the aspect of performing as a band, they were British gods while they were Korean peasants.

After half a day deciding, they managed to discuss and choose their songs.

Across the Universe, Helter Skelter, Let It Be, Hey Jude, and All You Need Is Love.

“Come on. Let’s set up and start practicing.” Eunbi clapped before getting the electric guitars. 

Everyone disseminated to get their instruments. Chaewon and Minju went to get the mics, stands, and speakers. During the setup, Minju had a worried look towards Chaewon. The songs chosen were very different from her vocal register – even Helter Skelter required to use heavy metal screams. She was worried about her vocal heath – her total health in general.

“Min?” Chaewon noticed her. “What’s the face?”

“What face?”

“That face.” Chaewon booped her nose.

Minju pouted and Chaewon’s conscience was very whipped. It was then that Minju told her about her worries.

“You don’t have to, Min.” Chaewon chuckled. “I’ve sang since forever.”

“But Ssamu…your voice doesn’t fit the songs. A change of vocal register and technique might up your vocal chords.” Minju huffed. “And can’t I worry about you? I’m your girlfriend for ’s sake.”

Chaewon pulled Minju for a hug to calm her down. Minju knew she was just worried and that she almost blew her face up in front of Chaewon. And like magic, Chaewon’s hug calmed her down.

“Thank you for worrying about me.” Chaewon spoke as she cupped Minju’s face. “I’ll make sure to practice well. I won’t up my vocal chords, okay?”

“Promise?” Minju raised.

Chaewon nodded while crossing her heart. Minju was soft at that, reaching to kiss Chaewon’s cheek. “Tell me right away if it might bite you in the . I’ll order you a carton of ginger juice.”

Chaewon chuckled and kissed Minju’s forehead as thanks. They would’ve kissed each other on the lips when Eunbi did a loud riff; a sign that they should start practicing.

The couple broke and had to go to their formations with the rest of the members.

+++

The day of their performance came and IZ*1 were in their waiting room, checking out their suits and ties. Eunbi was resting on a recliner, Yuri was taking selfies with Hyewon and Yujin, and Chaewon was sitting on the couch with Minju.

12*ONE were in the other vacant room and one of the members got inside to greet them.

“Hey, Hitomi~” Yuri waved. “What brought you here?”

Hitomi was a all-out dancer, mostly an expert in cheerleading. She was a fan of IZ*1 and her reason of getting inside was to get their autographs. Mostly, she wanted Chaewon’s – with an addition of a picture with her.

Chaewon and Hitomi posed as Hyewon volunteered to take a picture. Minju had a sharp eye as Hitomi was holding Chaewon’s waist. She might be a dorky frog but she was a savage vixen for Chaewon. If she was jealous towards obnoxious fans that wanted to interact with Chaewon, it was much more when it involved another famous school performer. What’s worse on the matter was that the picture-taking took so long.

Minju coughed out and it ended. Hitomi thanked the group and bit her farewell. She bided a special one for Chaewon and Minju thought she was losing it.

“Uh-oh.” Hyewon mumbled before returning to Yujin and Yuri.

Eunbi noticed it too and turned away. Chaewon returned to her spot and hugged her but she was shocked that Minju didn’t hug back. Minju excused herself to the washroom, leaving the rest of the members to click a tongue at Chaewon.

“What?”

“It would’ve been an exception for being a famous figure but knowing you have a girlfriend, there’ll be none of that,” said Yujin.

Chaewon gulped, realizing that Hitomi held her waist. She felt guilty for letting it happen yet this was one of the ideals of being famous. She couldn’t bat. Hitomi was a fan after all. “This is our reality. The least thing Minju should do is accept it and take it as a grain of salt.”

“There’s some truth to that.” Yuri added. “She has a fanbase of her own that is just as obnoxious.”

“All of us do.” Eunbi joined in. “But to the least, you need to talk about it to her, Ssamu.”

“After the performance.” Chaewon spoke.

Minju returned from the washroom, sitting on the same spot and giving the same treatment to Chaewon. They were called by the MC to prepare and they – together with 12*ONE – went to the backstage.

Chaewon felt sad that Minju was crossed but as promised, they’ll talk about it.

Intriguing, as the divine witnesses say. Who knew drama was going to add to the equation?