One, two, three...yes, that’s four shoe boxes, each with two pairs of event appropriate footwear for whatever the occasion. Jaein opted not to bring the chunky, glittery silver heels she’d taken from her grandmother’s closet when given the chance to have them. They were well made, expensive, if a little dated, and were definitely showstoppers. Not that she’d have reason to wear them. She also assumed any even that would need something of that caliber, the company would make sure she was dressed to the nines. They took up a lot of space anyways and were heavy.

So far, only she, Gayoung, Youngae, Kyungwon, and Hyeonyi were actually fully moved into their new dorm. The other four were supposed to finish moving in today, though so far she’d only seen Nanhee appear once with a luggage and hadn’t seen her since. Micha was currently unpacking in their shared room as well. That was a whole thing really, wasn’t it? Their dorm had one full bathroom, a small living area that flowed into a small kitchenette with a small refrigerator, and threeish bedrooms. Threeish since the third bedroom was actually probably meant to be a storage space or tiny office maybe. The two other bedrooms each had 1 bunk bed and 1 bunk bed that had the bottom bunk as a desk. The smaller room had a futon that could sleep 2 people. None of the rooms had large closet space, so in the shared living space some clothing racks had been set up. It was a chaotic mess.

The fight over the rooms began almost immediately. The first thought was to have all the 00 liners together in one room, the unnies in another, and the maknae line to themselves. The current layout didn’t afford that, so then to keep it fair, Hosung offered them to draw lots. That ended in chaos as well. Lim refused to sleep on the futon in the small room or on a top bunk. Hyeonyi ONLY wanted a top bunk. Youngae really didn’t want to sleep in a room without a window. And so on. And Jaein? She’d be fine with mostly anything! Except she’d like an actual bed ideally. Plus, the closet come bedroom smelled musty compared to the other bedrooms really. She’d voiced this to Hosung whilst the others argued.

Finally, after some debate, Micha offered to take the futon. She wasn’t worried about small spaces and was used to sleeping on one back home. Easy! Jaein noted mentally to get Micha a nice pillow as a gift later! One down, and seven other girls to figure out, but then Nanhee just took her bag and moved into the room with Micha. No fuss, no fighting.

It was pretty easy after that to figure out room assignments. Gayoung, Youngae, and Kyungwon took one room, and the rest of them took the last. Hosung wouldn’t be living with them. Shouldn’t he though? Wouldn’t it be easier? Dohyun said Woojin had a space with them. Why wouldn’t Hosung?

Half of Jaein was sparkling with energy at the idea of this new thing. This is new! She wouldn’t need to pay rent while living here and she could be closer to her groupmates besides during practice or performances. They could also walk to the company building when they needed to, save money on the bus or taxis! Plus Hosung would start driving them everywhere! It was practically like having their own chauffeur! They were all going to get to know each other so much better-

-they were going to have to get to know each other better was a sombering thought. Jaein shouldn’t be worried! She knew these girls well enough! Gayoung liked DC movies and the one Hiddleston guy! Wait, wrong, that’s not DC, that’s Marvel right? Youngae has a little brother and – oh, no, wait, that was wrong too. SHE has a little brother. Wait, did Micha or Kyungwon have siblings?

That’s how Jaein found herself leaving her shoeboxes scattered on the floor and flying up to her bunk above where Lim would be sleeping. Next to her bed, against the wall, she’d already placed a well used cork board. She’d wanted a magnetic whiteboard, but this was more affordable at the secondhand store. She already had colourful sticky notes pinned to the board. Amidst notes on upcoming schedules with other notes with directions placed above those, she found where she’d been making little observations on her group. She needed keep her facts in order. Notes on notes on notes.

Limmie-unnie likes Apple. She just got new airpods. No crunchy snacks for her though.

Gayoung-unnie likes Marvel, NOT DC. She doesn’t have a Thor plushy yet though.

Youngae-unnie has two older siblings. Also likes chocolate.

Kyungwon-unnie definitely likes citrus (Dohyun Oppa said so), and has a very nice camera.

Nanhee-unnie. Need more intel.

Micha-unnie prefers to drink water or cold tea. Doesn’t mind sitting in the back.

Hyeonyi doesn’t like bitter things and likes sweets, like a kid. Perfect.

Considering she hasn’t really been able to spend a lot of one on one time with any of these ladies, Jaein is fairly proud of her little data map she’s cultivated. If she was going to live with them though, she needed to be prepared. Their little fridge needed to be stocked with things they liked. She could also work on a chore schedule to make everything easier for everyone. She should really get out there and help the unnie room organize itself. There’s three ladies there with so little room! A little careful care and it would be downright cozy!

“Hey, move your stuff,” Lim commanded as she strode into their now shared room, her luggage rolling behind her. The case was plastered with Chanel logos, shiny and new. Jaein knew her grandmother had an old Chanel luggage that was pretty expensive. With inflation, that luggage was, as Lim once put it, “ you money”.

“I’ll do it in a moment,” she replied, flipping a few pink notes and reading something she remembered about Lim.

“...I’m going to regret asking, but what is all that?”

“My board? It’s all my notes!”

“About…?”

“Well…” Jaein looked from Lim who was leaning against her bed expectantly to her organzied chaos of a board, “a little bit of everything. It helps me stay organized. Say, unnie, do you have any chores you hate? Does the thought of doing the dishes make you viscerally retch in disgust?” Oh, OH, Limmie-unnie actually smirked at her! Why is Woonseollim so pretty though? Seriously though.

“Trying to tell me something?”

“Not at all! I thought we could organize some household chores to make it easier for everyone. Since you’re my favourite unnie roommate, you get first choice!”

“Probably should check with the others,” Lim shook her head and finally sat on the chair at the desk, “but I hate folding anything.”

Excellent. Jaein was a pro at that.

“Since you’re so organized, what time do we have to be up tomorrow? I want to sleep in if we can,” she asked Jaein.

Jaein turned to her notes, skimmed around at first, then moved notes aside, then removed a few from the top...she looked back to Lim and smiled just a little sheepishly.

With an eyeroll, Lim responded by saying she’d ask Micha later. Oh no, can’t let it end like that...she’s going to think Jaein doesn’t know what she’s talking about from now on. But Jaein has a secret weapon! She rummaged in the bag on her bed she’d left there earlier and tossed a small plastic package to Lim. Lim caught it effortlessly, turned it over in her hand, and instantly actually smiled. Dried, spicy squid. Lim’s favorite snack when nothing else is happening.

“Jaejae-unnie!” Hyeonyi was scrambling up to her bunk suddenly, the entire bunk shaking with the ferocity of her efforts, “the unnies are fighting!”

“For s sake,” Lim grumbled and left the room, Jaein and Hyeonyi following after her.

Gayoung and Nanhee were in a glaring match in their living area. Kyungwon had a cold water bottle pressed to Youngae’s cheek off to the side. What in the world happened?

“Apologize.”

“She ran into my elbow.”

“You should still apologize. You elbowed our unnie in the face.”

“She. Ran. Into. My. Elbow.”

“What is your problem? Normal people apologize when these things happen.”

The silence was so loud. Lim stood, arms crossed, presumably waiting for something to happen. Jaei and Hyeonyi stayed a bit behind her, peering around her like she was some shield from the impending war about to happen. Nanhee didn’t say anything, but Jaein saw how her jaw clenched tighter. What was going on?

“Hey, it’s not a big deal,” Youngae winced as Kyungwon pushed the bottle a little too hard on her cheek, “I’ll be fine-”

“What if you get a bruise? We should be more careful around each other-”

“Nanhee, I need your help.”

Before Gayoung could finish, Micha suddenly appeared from the small room she was in. Quietly, she moved between the pair, surprising them both from the way Jaein saw their eyes widen just a little. She gently took Nanhee’s arm in hers and tugged her towards their room. To Jaein’s own surprise, Nanhee quietly turned away and left with Micha to their shared room. The silence lingered in the air a moment longer, and then…

“LADIES! SARA KIM IS HERE!” The booming voice of their current choreographer and sometime makeup artist shattered the tense quiet. Lim and Hyeonyi were the first to rush to greet Sara at their door, “Hey, hey! I went and got yall some fruit to celebrate our new home! Who wants apples or persimmons? I’ll cut it up! Y’all...do have knives in here? Actually, y’all having knives is a terrible idea. Too much estrogen in one household, ya know?” Her happy voice bantered on.

Gayoung left to go meet her as well while Kyungwon and Youngae went to the restroom. As Jaein moved to also see what delicious fruits Sara brought them, her foot hit something on the floor. Lim had dropped the squid she’d given her. Probably distracted by Sara’s fresh, probably luxurious gift since fruit could be fairly expensive.

Jaein allowed herself only a moment of disappointment before rushing over to get some fruit for herself.

This felt clandestine. This was surely a bad idea. If Yongsun caught her, she’d be so angry. Micha needed to talk to someone though, and Sara and Minji both recommended she speak with Gun. Wednesday afternoons and evenings, he was usually at the studio working on music. He tended to be alone though, so the other Omni members wouldn’t be around to hear her distress.

So very, very distressed. Micha just didn’t know what she was supposed to be doing. Gun would surely know what she’s missing, right?

She’d not come without bribes though. Dohyun let on that the only sweet Gun really liked was dark chocolate. She might have snuck him a beer had she been gutsy enough. Micha did strongly consider it while holding the cold can in the corner market on her way to the studio; but then an elderly grandmother asked her the time and that can went back to the shelf, and she left so quick, she could still feel the condensation on her palm.

She’d told Gayoung she was going to step out on some personal errands during their free evening. No one else asked after her when she left. They were too busy finishing their unpacking. Part of Micha felt guilty a leaving them, but then again, they didn’t have a schedule the next day. She’d made sure they all knew that before she left. Even Nanhee who was reading her phone when Micha left. She’d had her headphones on though, so she left her a short note on the door just in case she didn’t hear her.

Being away from everyone actually let Micha breathe. She didn’t dislike them, but it had been a long couple days. Gayoung and Nanhee were being civil mostly...and by civil, they ignored each other. That was better than a fight she supposed. Jaein kept asking her what their chore, sleep, and shower schedules should be. And Hosung kept texting her to check on things. Not to mention the general volume had increased significantly in the small space they now had to all share.

It...was a lot.

Micha didn’t want to admit her excursion was partly an escape for her as much as needing to ask Gun his advice. A part of her heart told her this was most certainly the case. She needed to breathe. She was well aware that her title of leader was mostly figurehead. She wasn’t dumb. She knew a political move when she saw one. If this wasn’t a way to somehow avoid fallout from having someone else be leader, then what on earth was her aunt and their CEO thinking? She cannot recall a single moment since their debut plans were made that she had to do anything remotely leaderly in the group.

Gayoung should be leader. She is legitimately the single best person to be their leader.

Youngae should be leader. She is a survivor and so calm and kind.

Why, oh why, was this upon her? She was lucky she could even somehow convince Nanhee to leave the situation in their first official spat in their new dorm. It had to be luck. Nanhee didn’t really listen to any of them as it was. The only thing Micha was good for was keeping track of their schedules. No one actually listened to her.

Not that there was anything new about that, but she digressed.

For now, she supposed the best she could do was be supportive. However, based on her conversations with Minji...Miyeon was the person they legitimately followed. How does one get to that? Micha had the charisma of a piece of wet paper.

That’s how Micha found herself outside the sound studio door. The light was off, so nothing was being recorded. She just had to knock, see if Gun was there, and if not, back to the dorm she’d go. If he was there...well, actually Micha didn’t know what to do. Was she supposed to just ask him, “Hey how do I be a leader?”

Had Micha been paying attention, she’d have realized she’d already knocked, the door opened, and those words left exactly. Thankfully, the person who answered was indeed Gun.

“Hello to you too. Um,” he paused to look both outside in the hall, down both ways, “you alone?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Come in,” he held the door open for her.

The studio felt cramped. It was more of a small room with instruments and some other equipment Micha wasn’t sure what they were or did. But everything was placed well enough that moving through it wasn’t difficult. On a desk and across one keyboard was a note pad with scribblings and an iPad with what looked like notes. It shouldn’t surprise her to see three empty paper coffee cups. Still, that was a lot of caffeine. She hadn’t really had that much caffeine since not having to stay up late memorizing lines and her parents not handing her cold americanos to keep her going.

“What’s up? Weren’t you moving into your dorm this week?” He pulled a chair out for her, “Yongsun-noona won’t be happy if she knew you were here.”

“Um,” Micha sat, looking down at the old dingy carpeted floor. She then stared at her thumbs, fiddling with them a moment. How does she go about even starting this conversation?

“So...how do you be a leader?” He restated her question from before.

Oh, right. She already did.

“Yeah…”

“Everything okay? Are they giving you a hard time over there?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“...they’re not being mean to you are they?”

“What? No!” Micha looked up upon hearing the quiet tone he used when the question was asked, “They’re all fine! This is really a ‘me’ problem, I swear.”

“That’s good to hear. Not that it’s a you problem, but that they’re not treating you like crap,” Gun crossed his arms, tilting his head as if waiting for her to talk.

As far back as Micha could remember, she and Gun never really had a ton of conversations. He was never cold to her, but always polite. He was terribly new when she joined, and soon thereafter was swooped into Omni as their main vocal and leader. Plus producer. Gun was impressive like that. Well trained, good looking, perfect idol. He reminded her a lot of Gayoung...if Gayoung was an over 180cm man of course. That was a funny thought. Would that make Youngae Kaiden or…?

Drat, Micha was mentally stalling and she knew it.

“Um...so…” Where did she even begin? Hi Mr. Perfection itself! I don’t know how to be responsible for my own life let alone seven others. Tell me your ways! Yeah, no, that won’t work. Words, Micha. Use your words! Why was this so hard…?

“...did Gayoung or Youngae ever tell you I was just with Circle for a month before they debuted me?” Gun finally spoke after she was quiet for probably too long. Micha nodded, “and did they tell you most of the folks around here weren’t happy about that?” She shook her head ‘no’, “well, it’s true. Those folks also included a lot of the guys. They weren’t really happy I took a spot that might have gone to a friend who’d been with them for years. Even Dohyun wasn’t exactly warm to me.” Now that was a surprise. From what she sees of Omni on stage, in interviews, and variety, they all seemed very close. The last interview she read talked about how they lived together.

“The only one who gave me a chance was Ilwoo honestly,” Micha was about to ask about Kaiden, but Gun beat her to it, “Kaiden had Produce to worry about and the end results of that. He was mostly absent. I was basically trying to get three people who didn’t like me to listen and respect me, beyond being the hyung.” He laughed a little bitterly, “and I failed so many times. I had to room with our manager the first few months because none of them liked me. At all...” His voice trailed off, his eyes looking off and away from her. She could see his shoulders tense a bit.

“Oh...that’s awful.” Suddenly, her issue felt so insignificant. The girls weren’t mean to her afterall.

“Micha,” he shook his head, shrugging off the tension, “I don’t really have good advice. Somehow...things worked out. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Micha felt herself deflate a little. She was really silly for thinking somehow Gun would have the answers. When was dealing with people ever easy? Micha nodded solemnly, but quickly perked up and put on her best smile. No sense in worrying Gun about her nonsense. She’d have to sort it out. From the look on his face, she needed to brush up on her acting.

“Hey, sorry. I’m not trying to bring you down,” he walked to her and knelt down so they were eye level, “listen, it’s going to be okay, yeah? I’m here most Wednesdays. Pop in any time if you need a break or something. I know it’s hard. Do you have your phone? Here’s my number. Text or call me for anything.” She nodded, feeling just a little bit better at his offer, “No one has to know you come by if you-”

“HYUUUNG!” Oh, the was Sihoo’s voice.

“Gun-honey! We’ve come to make you come hooooome!” Micha couldn’t stop the smile at that voice. Kaiden’s.

The door opened and the expected two members of Omni appeared. Both of them halted their approach when they saw Micha in the room with Gun. Sihoo’s eyes narrowed, looking from between Gun and Micha almost accusingly. Kaiden, however, still smiled at Micha...though it did seem a little less jovial. It actually seemed forced. She remembered what Gun said about the others not liking him at first, and oh no, was her being here disrupting some balance?

“I should go. Thanks for the help, oppa,” Micha suddenly remembered the chocolate, “here! I brought you these. Please enjoy them.”

“Oh,” Gun’s eyes lit up with happiness at the sight of the dark chocolate, “you didn’t have to. Thank you.”

“Hyung, you better share that. Not fair that noona gives you chocolates and not to the rest of us,” Sihoo reached out to snatch the bag, but Gun was faster and he jumped back to hold it out of Sihoo’s reach. Omni’s maknae was not deterred though, and leapt forward to grab at it again. Soon it was a mini keep away game, with Sihoo telling Gun to hand it over and Gun resisting at all costs.

“I like chocolate too. Where’s mine?” Kaiden suddenly asked, the sulk apparent in his voice. He’d turned his attention to her, looking like a sad cat to Micha, “I know who your favorite is now.”

“What? No! It’s not like-”

“I’m joking. Don’t freak out,” he laughed, the pout melting away with it, “but what brings you here? Need something from Gun?”

“Well...kinda.”

“She was asking me about music production,” Gun added helpfully. He’d managed to get Sihoo into a headlock, smirking as their maknae struggled to escape. He eventually let him go and handed him a piece of the chocolate as a truce. Sihoo ate the entire piece immediately in triumph.

“Oh, noona, I found Lim-noona’s earring in the practice room. Here.” Sihoo had already handed it to her before she could ask anything about it.

“Maybe ask her before just handing her a task, ,” Kaiden lightly smacked him on the arm.

“Hey, they live together. I’s easier than me going over there or trying to find her around here. You don’t mind, right noona?”

“Not at all…”

“Hah. See?”

“Anyway, it’s getting late,” Kaiden said, “we should get back to the dorm. We didn’t see that guy around today.”

“Guy?”

“Ah, it’s nothing really,” Sihoo added, “we’ve just been seeing this kinda strange guy hanging around the CM building sometimes. Doesn’t look anyone in the eye. Wear’s one of those masks for allergies, so we can’t see his face. Dark clothing. All kinds of weird. Kinda spooky-”

“Shht. Sihoo!” Gun shushed him and the three of them looked to Micha.

She had her hands clasped in front of her. The thought of some stranger just waiting around...Micha wasn’t scared of ghosts or goblins. Why be scared of the supernatural when real people were far scarier? How often did this stranger come around? Should she tell the others to be careful from now on? What if she tells them and it scares Hyeonyi or Jaein?

Warm hands went around her clasped ones.

“Hey,” Kaiden stood in front of her, having taken her hands in his, “You okay? I can walk you home?”

Any stress she had about potential true crimes statistics was replaced by the stress of physical contact with Kaiden Woo. Instead of her brain being frantic, now her heart decided to overrule any thought process and pound louder than any terrified thought of-

“No, I can drive her,” Gun counteroffered, “it’ll be faster and safer. You two head on back,” he put an arm around her shoulders and ushered her to the door. Kaiden looked positively insulted at Gun’s interference.

“Seriously hyung? You’re making us walk?” The slight whine in Sihoo’s voice made Micha giggle a little.

“Get your driver’s license and I’ll stop feeling bad for you.”

“I really don’t like you right now.” Gun just waved goodbye to the pair as he led Micha to his car.

On the way back, Gun reiterated being available if she needed it. It was a comfort. It was even worth the teasing she got from Gayoung when she returned and she noticed who drove her home.

Minji was ready to just end her day. With her next acting engagement more than months away, her time has been filled with training and coaching Circle’s trainees and idols. Minji remembered coming into Circle a fresh faced musical theater girl with a voice that carried and technique that lasted. These new kids though? If she sees another would be main vocal try to sing that high note, Minji would scream. She appreciated working with Gun and Sihoo since they tended to not try to stress their voices too much. This included Gayoung to a lesser extent. However, Gayoung still tried from time to time to hit those notes that Miyeon once did.

Gayoung was no Miyeon.

And Hyeonyi. Dear god, that kiddo was going to hurt her vocal chords if she didn’t practice a little more control. Belting out a good notes was a beautiful thing: screeching was not it. Minji hadn’t used that exact wording when chiding and trying to correct Hyeonyi, but she probably should have in hindsight. The kid wasn’t going to self correct since this is what idols do best: screech out notes far too high for them and sing in the poppy style so popular these days. Where are the great vocalists of this generation of idols? Where are their Taeyeons? Wendys? Seunghees? Everyone in Riot could carry a note, with Miyeon and her being the best. Nowadays, a gorgeous face, autotune, and careful image management was all someone needed. Who needs actual talent anymore?

...Minji had to stop herself. She was being far too harsh to these girls. She wasn’t all that much older than them after all. She too was once a young trainee with stars in her eyes, coming in from the rain after musical theater practice with dreams of being the next BoA. She really wanted to be the next BoA...her room back home still probably had the poster on the closet door…

I’m a Bird,

Birdie Birdie Ya I’m a Bird
Gonna burn up I’m gonna burn up
Flame the blue fire…

Minji audibly groaned. The familiar beat of her solo song blasted as the door was pushed open to the sound studio. In sauntered Sara, mouthing the lyrics as she shimmied and danced her way towards Minji. Why on Earth was Sara still here even?

“Unnie, let’s go to a club tonight! You’ve got the day off tomorrow!”

“I’m too tired.”

“Unnie, let’s go to the karaoke place near my apartment!”

“I don’t like singing after singing all day.”

“Unnie, let’s go to the pop-up bar down the street! Woojin said they have tasty snacks there!”

“I don’t-will you stop dancing and turn that off? I can’t focus!” Minji couldn’t stop herself from laughing as Sara turned exaggeratedly twerk in her direction.

“My distraction is working!”

“I don’t want to go out Sara,” Minji smacked Sara’s playfully when she got a little too close. Sara jumped up straight, mocking a scandalized expression.

“Well it’s a good thing I came prepared to rescue my unnie-drama-queen!” Before Minji could protest, Sara placed two soju bottles on the side table and sat herself down on a chair opposite of the idol-turned actress.

“Yongsun would have a fit if she knew we were drinking anything but water near this equipment,” she stated while opening one of the soju bottles.

“My queen!”

“Stop that…! We don’t even know if I got that part yet.” Minji had auditioned for a small role in a historical drama as a former queen in flashbacks. It was a small part, but with Circle Media requiring her dedicating time to the new group and tracks, she really didn’t have time to commit to any other serious roles.

Rather, before Sungmin’s scandal, he’d declined some choice parts on her behalf.

“You’re my queen even if you didn’t,” Sara winked at her before taking the other bottle and also opening it, “long day?”

“No worse than normal. For ’s sake, turn that off already!” Sara laughed and did as Minji requested. Honestly, as much as Minji was proud of her single, hearing it played was a bit of a bitter reminder of what could have been.

“Tell me something,” Sara took a swig of the soju, making a face, “what do you think of Coterie? Honestly? I just visited them in their new dorm. It’s so small compared to Omni’s.”

“Well,” Minji took a long gulp, enjoying the bitter flavour and slight burn, “for one, Omni is bringing in money to Circle. And two, they’re nice girls I guess. I’m happy to see some of them debut. Micha is sweet and has some good promise with vocals if she tries. She’s diligent enough. I think she’ll come around.”

“Oh god, that girl,” Sara made a face, “I love her but she is no natural when it comes to moving her body. The pretty ones, Kyungwon and Jaein? Also bad. Hyeonyi has the idol training behind her thankfully to make her mostly passible when she focuses. Thank god we have Gayoung and Lim who can dance proper. Lim I’m especially happy about. Hits the moves with proper power when needed.”

“What about Nanhee and Youngae? They dance perfectly good, don’t they? I remember Youngae being quite talented.”

“Youngae might have been,” the younger woman spun in the chair languidly, already beginning to tap a new song on her phone to listen to, “but now I’d say she’s a lazy dancer. Except we know perfectly well she isn’t. Her head just doesn’t seem to be in the game yet. Nanhee though,” she whistled, “she can dance really well. Needs to tone it down a bit though I think. Little too powerful y for their image right now. I imagine she’d kill a Sistar song,” Sara seemed to finally decide on a song, “...she’s only a little younger than me and I really don’t know what to make of how well she does y and alluring. Bothers me a little even.”

Minji took another long drink of her soju. Shed been lucky that Riot never started with a super y concept. They were more about their stage presence and vocals, if anything. Or so Minji would like to believe. She missed Riot sometimes. Having three older sisters around to bully and spoil her at the same time. The first two years were rough, and then they had that one hit that sent them soaring. They’re MV was funny even. They became known for how candid and unladylike they’d be on camera.

It felt so perfect. Minji had hoped those days would never end.

Minji wished she could call her past self and just laugh at her.

She looked at Sara who was swearing at her phone in English. When they brought Sara Kim to the company as a young choreographer, no one really thought much of her. She was so young, but one look at how she danced and choreographed, and Minji was a believer. If Minji entertained the thought long enough, she’d compare Sara to Haeun in how she worked with so little, but managed to produce some great things. She’d helped develop Omni’s Inception and Answer’s choreography. Would anyone ever guess the hip s of Answer were the idea of this crazy young woman?

It’s shame that Yongsun assigned her to Coterie now though. She’d seen Sara running around while getting ready for their first performance doing all sorts of odds and ends. How they enticed the American when she must have had a lot of prospects was a wonder to Minji.

It was probably why they got along so well. They both knew, even if they didn’t speak it out loud, that Circle Media was using them beyond their pay grade and job descriptions.

Plus, Sara was fun. She gave very little s about proper behavior. She was probably the only female with enough audacity to actually just visit the Omni dorm without a care. Yongsun would have her hide if she knew about that. And Sara would probably just shout at Yongsun back. Minji would love to see it.

“Of course,” Minji rolled her eyes when Omni’s song Valkyrie started playing.

“They’re already starting to record for their next single. Still deciding the title track, but Gun and Ilwoo have been working a storm,” Sara was back on her feet, practicing the footwork of the song while she continued to chat, “Buuuut I hear from handsome-man manager that they’re probably going to have Coterie release their next song first.”

“Woojin told you that?”

“Nah, he’s pretty-boy manager. Handsome-man manager is Hosung. How come Riot didn’t have a hot manager?”

The question was meant to be harmless. Minji knew this. The thought of Sunho-oppa though, and his fate because of-

-nope, not going down that memory.

“We had a few different managers to be fair. One was a lady.”

“She was the short, portly one right?”

“Hyemi-unnie was amazing and lovely, inside and out.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Sara held her hands up to apologize, “that was mean,” Sara swayed a bit more, “I think it’d be fun to record them covering this dance. What do you think? A few of the girls tackling this? Could be fun to show online.”

Minji smiled and nodded, but internally scoffed. As if Yongsun would allow it. Ever since Miyeon decided to screw over the company, Yongsun had been hyper vigilant when it concerned image and the boys. She’d aught Sihoo once bringing over a girl in the company and managed to get them out before they were caught, but not before she pulled Sihoo aside to make sure he understood what was at stake. He mostly shrugged it off, but she hasn’t seen another girl since. He didn’t want to be the reason Omni failed so early in the career. They had a promising future.

A future that, with one selfish moment, could be taken away.

All it would have taken would have been for them to just tell Minji what they were thinking. Were they ever as happy as an idol group as Minji was? Was Miyeon really just so tired of it all that she decided to scorch the earth as she left? Why didn’t anyone tell her that-

“Heyooo? Unnie?” Sara shook her shoulder, “Come back to me. What’s on your mind?”

Minji just shook her head, put on a smile, and asked Sara to continue telling her the idea she had for Coterie to possibly do cover dances. As Sara continued listing off options, some from SM or JYP including both male and female groups, Minji glanced around the studio. Closed off, mechanical, so much technology, the future all around her.

God, she hated it.