The girls have spent the last few days practicing together and hanging out, for once they were selfish and didn’t care about their other responsibilities, because this time they just wanted to have fun with each other.

They were currently split up into three different units for their MAMA performance of La Vien Rose, Violeta, and Fiesta, aka the greatest trilogy that ever happened to the kpop world. Practice has been going on for the past eight hours and now, it’s currently 8:00 PM, the girls were due for a break.

In practice room A was the Violeta team chilling on the floor and staring at the ceiling. “The one thing I definitely did not miss about being an idol is practice.” said a panting Sakura, she could barely catch her breath after such an intense practice session.

“The hard work is all worth it though, once you get on that stage and perform in front of your fans,” commented Yena, she too was tired, but the feeling of being able to practice with her members again gave her energy.

“Yeah, too bad we never got to say goodbye to our wiz*ones in person, huh?” Sakura replied back. She was still so bitter about the farewell they were given; she already accepted the fact that they had a time limit, but the least they could have done was say goodbye properly. The actress still felt sorry to the fans that they couldn’t do anything to change their fate. 

Not like the fans would let her feel guilty about something that was out of their control. They always remind her that no matter where each of them are now, they would still support them with everything they have.

“We could surprise them.” Yujin thought out loud, she was lying on the floor with her head resting on Yena’s stomach. “Our fifth anniversary is coming soon anyways,” she commented wistfully, it would be nice if they could give their fans something special. 

“That would be amazing if we could pull it off.” Nako gave her own thoughts, she was daydreaming about reuniting with their fans as twelve on stage performing their old songs, and maybe, just maybe have a new one as a surprise. 

Sakura’s lips formed a bittersweet smile, “We never really got over our disbandment huh?” she gave a pained laugh, the hurt was still there inside their hearts, ringing about what-ifs and what could have been. 

“How could we?” a humorless laugh forced its way out of Yujin’s mouth. “We never got the closure we longed for.” Nako placed her hand on the taller girl’s and intertwined their fingers together. “Yah, Yujinnie,” she whispered, caressing the back of the younger girl’s hand with her own. “There was nothing we could do.” 

“I know that.” Yujin frowned, “Doesn’t mean it hurts any less though.” she mumbled, tightening her hold on the older girl’s hand. 

Yena gazed at her dongsaengs and felt guilty that there really was nothing they could have done back then. Though, she bit back a smile when she thought of how mad the younger girls would be if she said she felt sorry.

Wonyoung losing her memories was both a blessing and a curse. They may have managed to gather together again, but at what cost? Their wonderful maknae couldn’t remember the last two years of her life. It wasn’t fair, nothing in this world was ever fair.

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Three girls were in various states of exhaustion on the floor, one was fanning herself trying to get rid of the sticky feeling of sweat on her skin. The other was watching their iPad, eyes scanning each step of the choreography looking for any mistakes and the last one was taking her time to catch her breath and drink some water after their intense dance practice. 

Aside from the three girls resting on the floor, there was another occupant in the room, but unlike her friends, she was still practicing their choreography for fiesta.

“Yah, Minju-ah,” Chaewon called her, “You know, we’re not actually going to perform this right?” she asked the girl focused on practicing.

Hearing the question, Minju paused and panted out a response. “I know that unnie, it’s just that I can’t believe my dancing has gotten this sloppy.” she had a frown on her face, disappointed that she let herself slack off with dancing.

“It’s not your fault.” Chaeyeon looked up from her phone to talk to her, “You barely have time to sleep while filming for your dramas and movies, no one expects you to keep practicing dance.” she consoled her.

Minju sighed and went to settle down next to the trio, “I know that.” she whispered, “But I miss performing so much.” she admitted, her voice shaky with emotions. “I miss performing with you.” the actress had tears in her eyes, staring at her members with so much longing. “I feel so lonely.” silence followed her last statement. 

The girls knew exactly what Minju meant, they knew they were never alone, not anymore, but they still felt lonely, especially when there was no one to lean on when things would get too overwhelming.

Hitomi felt bad, she at least had her fellow team 8 members to keep her company, but her Korean friends all had to walk their paths alone. She couldn’t imagine performing on stage and glancing back only to see there was no one there beside her. 

“I think it’s time for a collaboration, don’t you think?” Hitomi tried her best to cheer up her same-aged friend. “It’s almost our fifth year anniversary, I’m sure your companies would allow us to release a song or two.” she thought out loud. 

Minju stared at Hitomi with a fond smile, the dancer would always try to find a way to make her feel better. “That’s a nice thought Hiichan.” The actress leaned towards her and wrapped an arm around the Japanese’s shoulders. “Maybe someday it’ll happen,” she said wistfully.

The two Chaes shared a glance and gesture towards their younger friends and moved over to rest beside them. 

“It will,” Chaewon stated simply, her voice filled with certainty. “I.O.I sunbaenim and Wanna One sunbaenim all had their reunions, and so will we.” Chaeyeon added, looking at her members with a sparkle in her eye. 

“Have you guys ever thought about…” Minju started but hesitated halfway, only continuing upon seeing the encouraging nod Chaewon gave her. “What if we weren’t temporary?” she asked, the pain and longing felt in her voice. “What if we were all in the same company from the beginning?” she looked at them with bated breath waiting for their answers.

The others were silent at the question, of course they thought about it, in fact, they still do. 

“Of course I do.” They turned to Chaeyeon as she spoke, “I think about it every single day.” she admitted, hanging her head low in a vain attempt to hide the tears pooling in her eyes. She felt pathetic, it’s been so long since they disbanded but she still thought of what could have been if they didn’t. 

“So do I,” Chaewon admitted, sniffling her tears away too. “We could have ruled the world if we had the chance to.” she turned away from her members because she couldn’t hold her tears in anymore. 

“I do too.” Hitomi voiced out in a whisper, she was happy to lead Team 8 but it wasn’t the same. She missed being able to have a breakdance or two, perform on award shows and have unit songs. While she was glad to be performing with her first family, she also wanted the freedom to write another song or two as well. 

Minju looked up to the ceiling and said in a soft voice, “I guess we all do.” she thanked the stars every single day that she was able to be part of the legacy that IZ*One left behind. “Destiny was kind enough to bring us together but cruel enough to separate us too.” she gave a humorless laugh that led to a somber mood surrounding them.

“IZ*One had everything you know.” Chaeyeon sat up causing their attention to focus on her. “We had the songs, the choreography, the chemistry and bond, the love, the fandom.” she looked at them with the tears she so desperately tried to keep pouring down her cheeks.

 “We had everything but the one thing we longed for the most,” she whispered.

“Time.” all four of them echoed out, the silence returning to surround them once again. 

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In practice room B, the La Vien Rose team was doing a final run-through of their choreography. While dancing, each girl couldn’t help but remember their debut stage. Back then they were just rookies who still lacked the experience and were full of nerves. The only reason they got through their entire debut showcase was because they were together. 

The music fades away along with the thought of the past running through their minds. Reality has always been their biggest enemy, especially when it hits like a slap to the face. 

“That was great!” Wonyoung beamed at them through the mirror, her hair was in a messy ponytail and her face was bare, showing her youthful beauty.

“It’s been so long since the last time I danced to La Vien Rose,” commented Eunbi, the true meaning behind her words sailing over the maknae’s head. “I forgot how tiring the choreography is.” she panted, wiping the sweat from her brow with a towel. 

“I forgot how tiring it was to dance,” whispered Hyewon underneath her breath, being careful not to be overheard by Wonyoung. Yuri, however, heard what she said, and agreed. “I know right, ballad songs and RNB means I barely have to dance.” The vocalist added, voice just as soft. “Though I’m not going to lie, I do miss it.” a small smile lifted from her lips.

Hyewon bumped her shoulder with the younger girl’s, “Yah, you should dance more.” she told Yuri, “You were always one of the best dancers in IZ*One.” her voice was laced with fondness as she the soloist’s hair. 

“That doesn’t mean anything.” Yuri looked up at her and frowned, “All of us are main dancer material after all.” she suddenly gained a cheeky grin on her face. Hyewon pushed her, making the two of them laugh when she fell down. 

Wonyoung heard them laughing, and turned her focus to the two girls having a tickle fight in the middle of the dance floor. Her eyes sparkled and a smile instinctively spread across her face. She missed moments like this the most; when they would just take a break from their hectic schedules and just goof around.

“Yah.” Eunbi nudged their maknae, “If you stare at them too much, they might melt.” she teased their maknae, wrapping her arms around the younger one’s waist. 

Wonyoung averted her eyes from the duo and focused her attention on their leader. “I just missed them.” Eunbi’s eyebrows rose at the maknae’s words and Wonyoung widened her eyes in realization as well. 

“I-it’s just that, we’ve, uh, been so busy lately that we don’t have much time to have some fun.” She stuttered out an explanation.

“Uh-huh…” the leader slowly agreed, but now she had some suspicions. “Okay, then.” she decided to ignore it for now, and ponder on it later. “Let’s go drag the two idiots and grab the other girls so we can eat dinner together.”

Wonyoung seized the opportunity to change the subject and walk towards Hyewon and Yuri. “Unnies! Let’s go eat dinner!” She beamed down at them and offered a hand to help them get up.

“Is Eunbi-unnie paying?” Hyewon asked, taking the offered hand and pulling herself up. Eunbi heard the question and complained, “Yah! I’ve been paying for dinner the past few days!” she crossed her arms and frowned at them. 

“Unnie has a point,” Yuri commented, dusting her pants and fixing her messy hair. “Let’s make Minju pay this time.” she gained an evil grin, wanting to take advantage of the shiny, new, black card in her best friend’s wallet.

Hyewon hit Yuri on the back of the head, “Yah, I’ll pay this time.” she concluded the debate of who will pay. “As long as I get to decide what we’ll eat.” She provided an ultimatum, though she knew that once their maknae line does some puppy dog eyes at her, she’ll give in right away.

“We’ll see about that.” Yuri grinned up at her and raised her hand to ask Wonyoung for a high five. 

“I’m in the mood for some Korean barbeque.” The maknae mimed a thinking expression. “I’m sure Minju-unnie would agree with me.” she smiled down at Yuri and accepted the high five.

Hyewon just gave a fond scoff and rolled her eyes as she watched the two younger girls skip out of the practice room, presumably to convince the other members of the maknae line to join their meat agenda. 

Eunbi laughed and dragged the younger girl to follow the duo before they could start a revolt against them. Heaven knows what power the maknae line has whenever they come together to achieve a common goal. 

-------------------------------------------------

After gathering the members together, all twelve of them exited the studio to head back towards their dorms so that they could eat together. They agreed to keep ordering in instead of going out to restaurants to minimize the risk of people finding out they were together. 

Thankfully, Minju’s manager --their former manager-- agreed to pretend that she was still IZ*One’s manager and was currently the one in charge of driving them from the studio to the dorm and vice versa.

They spent the past week living inside a bubble with no one else but each other, it felt nice to just be themselves for a change. No fans to worry about, no cameras to watch their every move. Within the walls of the studio and dorm they could just be twelve girls hanging out with their friends. 

“I want some chicken!” Yena exclaimed as she was going into the van. “We had chicken last night too!” Yuri complained, following the older girl in and sitting down beside her. “Aren’t you tired of it?” she asked.

“Who gets tired of chicken?!” The soloist asked, chicken was the best and no one could tell her otherwise. “Besides we could always order from more than one restaurant!” Yena insisted, she really wanted chicken, and maybe some jokbal too. “Hyewon’s paying anyway,”

Yuri nodded in agreement, “Right” she said, “As long as it’s not my wallet I’m good.” the duo laughed and looked towards the direction of the said girl who was in the middle of entering the van as well.

Hyewon looked at them with a frown on her face, “Yah, I’m tempted to make you pay for dinner tonight.” she told them, setting herself down next to Yuri. “You keep making us pay for everything!” 

“Hyewon-ah, that’s because the actress line is rich.” Yena stated in a matter-of-fact tone, “You guys could probably buy a building now.” she added, dodging the hand Hyewon stretched around Yuri in an attempt to hit her.

“You’re acting like you’re broke,” Chaeyeon commented dryly, sitting down in the seat in front of them. “Didn’t your last album exceed 200k copies?” she asked Yena with a raised eyebrow.

The duck tried to stutter out a response, “B-but Minju makes $200,000 dollars per episode! And so does Kkura-unnie and Hyewon.” she tried to defend herself in vain. “Ok fine!” Yena relented with a pout after seeing the stares directed at her. “I’ll pay for dinner tonight.” she sighed in defeat.

“Yena-unnie is paying?” asked Hitomi as she and Nako enter the van to sit beside Chaeyeon. “Did she lose a bet?” asked Nako, with a questioning look on her face. 

“Yah!” Yena protested at the shocked tone her dongsaengs had upon finding out she’s paying tonight. “Why are you all so shocked?” she asked with another pout.

Minju entered the van and replied, “Because you never pay for any meal involving all twelve of us.” she deadpanned. “You’re more of an unnie who spends time with us rather than spending money,” she added to make sure Yena didn’t feel bad.

“That’s your love language unnie,” Wonyoung commented, following behind Minju. 

“Love language?” asked Yena in confusion, “What’s that?” 

“It’s how you show and feel love.” This time it was Yujin who answered as she too, entered the van. “Your love language is probably quality time,” she told the older girl. 

Sakura, Chaewon, and Eunbi were the last ones to enter the van. “Who cares? I just want to eat already!” The leader groaned out, flopping onto the last remaining seat. 

“Don’t mind her. It’s one of those days.” Chaewon whispered to the other members, making them nod in realization. “What are we eating anyway?” she asked them. 

“A little bit of everything as usual.” commented Sakura, “I want some Yukhoe!” her eyes lit up as imagined tasting her favorite meals.

“Meat!” 

“Chicken!”

“Jokbal!”

“Pizza!”

“Cake!”

Various shouts of food were heard as they decided which ones to order, and the sound of bickering and laughter filled the air while they drove back to the dorm to grab some well-deserved rest after the gruesome practice. The fact that they weren’t actually going to perform didn’t really bother them as they just like that they’re spending time together.

Unknown to them was the fact that someone from Dispatch was in the neighborhood waiting for Eunbi to make an appearance because she has been silent the past few days. The photographer had no clue that he would be capturing an image that would break the internet and give him a promotion. 

-------------------------------------------------

Back at the dorm, the girls washed up while waiting for their food to get delivered. And because the dorm only had a couple of bathrooms that meant that they had to play a game to decide who goes first. 

Unfortunately, Minju, Wonyoung, and Yujin ended up being one of the last which is why they were all hanging out in the older girl’s room while they wait for their turn to shower. The trio, or F3 as they called themselves were sprawled out on the actress’s bed in a tangle of limbs. It was silent, but comfortable, just the way they liked it.

“You can drop the act now Wonyoung.” Yujin decided to disturb the silence. 

“Huh?” Wonyoung asked in confusion, but if you looked closely then you would see the panic in her eyes. “What do you mean?” 

Yujin sat up and faced the younger girl, “I already know you’ve been faking.” she confronted Wonyoung. “You may have fooled your mom, but you’re forgetting the fact that I know all your tells.”

“It’s not like you were doing a good job of hiding it either,” Minju commented, also sitting up. “And you’ve been on your phone during our “free time” if you actually didn’t have your memories then you would have been shocked once you saw our disbandment articles. 

Wonyoung covered her face with her hands and sighed deeply. She wanted to scream, but she didn’t want to attract the attention of the other girls. “Was I really that obvious?” she sat up too and asked them.

“You’re not exactly the best person to keep a secret.” Yujin said in an amused tone, “Remember our secret friends and your reactions when Nako-unnie was being told by a tarot reader about who hers was?” 

“But that was years ago!” The maknae protested, “I thought I’ve gotten better at acting by now.” She deflated and pouted.

Minju laughed and place an around the sulking girl, “Oh, you have.” she stated, “You could have fooled anyone, but you just can’t fool people who know you too much.” she consoled her by running her fingers through the younger girl’s hair.

“I’m sorry…” Wonyoung whispered and leaned into Minju’s touch. “I just wanted everything to go back to the way it was.” a tear fell down her cheek as she closed her eyes.

“Oh, Wonnie.” Yujin wrapped her arms around the younger one’s waist and whispered, “You have to let go.” she knew just how Wonyoung felt because she feels the exact same way. She wanted to go back, but she knew it was impossible.

“But what if I don’t want to?” Wonyoung looked at her with so much pain in her eyes that Yujin’s heart broke. “Then you will never be able to move on.” 

The silence returned with only the silent sobs of Wonyoung interrupting it. It was cruel, yes. But the sooner the younger girl lets go of the past then the sooner she can look toward a brighter future.

“Yujin! I’m finished, it’s your turn!” Yuri shouted from out the door, knocking thrice.

“Yah, Nabuki! Give me back my clothes!” she screamed out before they heard rushed footsteps that they assumed were chasing Nako.

“Just, just think about it, yeah?” Yujin asked Wonyoung before placing a soft kiss on her forehead and heading out to wash up. 

With Yujin leaving, it left the two girls alone in the room. “What am I going to do unnie?” Wonyoung asked Minju, she was desperate to find an answer. 

“The only person who can answer that is you.” The actress replied, tightening her hold on the distraught maknae. “Why don’t you take a nap? It’ll help you clear your mind,” she suggested.

Wonyoung nodded in agreement and lied down on the bed under the covers, “Stay?” she asked, looking up into Minju’s eyes, seemingly searching for something. 

“Always.”

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Chaeyeon went to organize their dinner as soon as she finished washing up. She headed towards the kitchen where the older girls were already freshened up as well and are seemingly talking to each other about a serious topic. 

“...It’s weird.” Eunbi concluded after explaining the way Wonyoung has been acting this past week. “It’s like she never really lost her memory in the first place!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air and chugging down her sprite. 

“You just realized that now?” Hyewon asked their leader with a raised eyebrow. “I knew you were slow unnie, but not that slow.” she added, crossing her arms and leaning back.

Eunbi was shocked and looked at the other girls who were all nodding along in agreement. “Did everyone notice except me?!” she asked them and upon seeing them nod, slammed her head down onto the table. “Some leader I am,” she muttered in shame.

“Don’t bea