Yuna wasn't as naive as they think. 

The sun may shine and the river might continuously flow but she has eyes and ears in the dorm; literally. She might be the youngest but subtle hints really aren't that hard to detect especially when there's only five of you in the group. 

But like any other normal girl at her age, she wouldn't of course notice those quickly; like she said, it was subtle, hidden in plain-sight like a predator moving in the night to catch its prey. 

To be fair, she wouldn't notice if it wasn't because of this one particular night where Jisu and Chaeryoung decided to go out together. Their schedule was vacant and there really wasn't anything to do so the two of them decided it would be best to hang out this time outside the dorms or "they would lose their sanity". It was also to buy the gifts she demanded for her 18th birthday.

They initially proposed that all of them go together but Yuna wasn't allowed to be out during the later time of the night considering she's still a minor that time meanwhile Yeji and Ryujin decided to stay at home for the reason that they really weren't feeling the vibe of going out just yet and so the two went out rather too happily, bouncing off their feet with a promise of getting back at 3 am or later than that and the best thing is that JYP miraculously agreed to this. 

It was a bummer for Yuna's part obviously but she really couldn't do anything about South Korea's restriction with their ages. She has no problem waiting but to be able to spend the night outside with her older members seems nice, and fun than to be stuck here with 2 people rooming with each other leaving her alone in her shared room with Jisu. 

Yuna, of course, wasn't as naive as they thought. 

Before that unforgettable night that changed her entire trajectory in life and perspective, Yuna with her young and healthy mind would go back to the instances where she swore, she should have noticed; the instances where there were a few too many exceptions to let those two go off the hook. 

She recalls quite a few lingering touches, stares so passionate it might literally burn you from her perspective (it was intense but at the time, she thought it was just Yeji's natural eye shape or Ryujin's expressive ones detailed with fierceness and boldness; your run-of-the-mill ITZY individual quirks) but she was clearly wrong in that, a lack of further diving in deep to the matter in her part (not that she needed to at the time). 

There were also sounds coming from their room before that she couldn't quite comprehend as they didn't make sense but she passed it off as those two bantering like the usual (a catfight might have been going on) but she was wrong with that too. 

Yuna wasn't as naive as they thought she would be. 

Every morning without a schedule, she thought at first that maybe it was odd that it was always those two who happen to wake up so early in the morning, chatting about whatever the hell they want to talk about (at 6 am honestly, who does that?). Ryujin was always cooking and Yeji was always either by her side talking to her about none of her Yuna's business or helping her cook or on one or few too many occasions of her waking up in the early morning, back-hugging Ryujin as if that would help with the cooking. 

(Odd as it was, she thought it was normal because all of them treat each other like family, real sisters and being affectionate to each other doesn't really alert something that's off the radar, something out of the ordinary) 

But it would make sense if she would have compared by then how those two were always at odds with each other, bantering like children but stopped halfway (god knows why but they seemed too clingy with each other at some point) and Yuna thought it was right in front of her eyes but she still failed to notice everything. A lense would really put you up to such measures, a standard before you believe anything else that goes beyond that. 

Yuna really wasn't as naive as they thought she was. 

Soon there were kisses and a lot of them made no sense (and weren't necessary at all) and that's when she started suspecting that something might really be going on than just the casual friendship all of them portray in public. 

Ryujin particularly is the overly confident type, the first one to do the first move in flirting with all of them but it' s just so rare seeing Yeji instigate the whole thing; she may have seen one time during Not Shy promotions the two of them with Yeji being the first one to hug the shorter girl, the hug that lasted so long it seemed like forever has passed. But she turned away, and ignored though the speck of accusation budding inside of her towards the two still remains. 

And yes, came that one particular, dreadful night. 

Since Jisu and Chaeryoung were out and Yeji and Ryujin seem to be too comfortable in the four corners of their room, Yuna decides to conduct a movie marathon all by herself in the living room. With popcorn and soda in both her hands, she sat down with her knees touching the couch, putting down the soda on the table before covering herself with the blanket. With her right hand still holding the bucket of popcorn, she navigated through the list of shows she might watch on Netflix tonight. 

Whatever movie she chose, it was such a bore because she fell asleep in the middle and woke up to the movie now playing the credits. 

She realized it was around midnight that time and so she was out of drinks and food to eat and so she embarked on her way to the kitchen to get herself some water but what shocked her was a surprising, horrendous sight. She wasn't even halfway the kitchen yet and there on the counter top she saw two figures moving in odd ways she thought she can only see in the movies, yet.

She rubbed her eyes as if to wake herself up and make sure she wasn't hallucinating or anything but it was as real as it gets; Yeji, their one and only leader really was sitting on the counter top with her legs wrapped around Ryujin's waist. She was arching her back (and thank god she wasn't or anything) only that the first three buttons of her PJ top were ed and that Ryujin or whatever the hell she was doing there seems to be kissing the older girl's chest. 

She began to notice the other things as well, as to how Yeji got a handful of Ryujin's short hair, pushing the younger girl even closer and was uttering nonsense as the younger girl worked her magic. 

Yuna couldn't believe what she was seeing right then and there. Whatever she saw those two were doing was so ridiculous because today is her 18th birthday, had they forgotten? Was this planned? Because this really shocked the hell out of her. 

She still couldn't figure it all out but she decided to turn away and walk back to the living room to contemplate what the hell she just saw back there before snoozing off once again because of thinking too much, apparently. 

The morning after that was hazy in her point of view, a scattered mess and her mind was all over the place; her back was literally throbbing because couches really weren't made for anyone to sleep on and with her height, it just made it even worse. The events of last night were still intact but she's still contemplating whether all that she saw was just another wild dream of hers. 

She was proven wrong as Yeji, the oldest of them showed up with a cake on her hand smiling ear to ear as she sang her the words of happy birthday ; keyword, the bruise on her neck was obvious. She really didn't put an effort at covering it all up. That's when she realized this has happened in so many occasions in the past too and all of those bruises she's asked of them, they just passed off as mosquito bites (and she was too stupid to believe what they were saying back then). 

That was rather the oddity of celebrating her 18th birthday, her coming of legal age as fate would have it, seeing those two in action (it made it hard for her for the rest of the week to interact with them honestly, but they were too head-over-heels with each other to even notice anyway). 

Yuna wasn't as naive as they think she is. 

And now the time has come; a start of a new era; Mafia in the Morning comeback. But the night before their showcase, the two finally had the courage to come out to their hiding places, to the dark, bleak, suffocating corners of the closet; they gathered the girls in a circle while they're resting in the practice room. 

"So, what's all this drama supposed to be about Yeji unnie?" Jisu, sipping from the water bottle by a straw, plopped down to the floor, crossing her legs with her knees touching the ground. 

The latter on the other hand responded with a blinding smile, and there Yuna knew, that was the time. 

Yuna wasn't as naive as they think she is and she really isn't, she's quick with her wit–to get back at the two older girls she started an issue between the two of them before any of them could even speak; a despicable move but very Yuna. 

"I bet you're dating Ryujin unnie." she casually blurted out like it's nothing with her body leaning back towards the direction of her arms she's extended behind her. With a cruel smile, alternating her glances between the two of them, she adds, "No, I'm pretty sure you guys are dating," she pauses, tilting her head to the side as she fixes her gaze towards Ryujin whose stare she thought could eat her alive. She's so scary, yikes. 

"And why do you say that, Yuna-ya?" Judging from the tone of her voice, Ryujin was intrigued and Yeji beside her on the other hand was clearly gripping their intertwined in a tight lock. 

"Remember the time when Jisu and Chaeryoung unnie weren't around and–," 

"I told you she woke up!" Yeji whispers harshly towards the shorter girl beside her.

"So, was it my fault then? You came to me, remember?" Ryujin fought back with an aggressive tone. 

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jisu approaches, putting down the water bottle she's drinking earlier. "What's going on here?" 

"Yeah, is there something we should know?" Chaeryoung adds, her right eyebrow raised up as she squints her eyes while looking at the three of them. 

"I–," Yeji began to speak in her defense but was immediately stopped by Ryujin herself. 

"We're dating," Ryujin gulped hard after that one phrase, before continuing, "Me and Yeji unnie. We're dating." 

"H–," Before Chaeryoung could even speak, Yuna interrupted with several clapping noises backed with whistles. "Finally!" She cheers, with a beaming smile on her face and like a domino, everyone in the circle just does. That’s how great her power was, being the maknae of this group.

There came the QNA bit, the hows and whys of the conversations but Yuna was just too happy to even participate in the strict questioning Jisu and Chaeryoung were doing to the other two, she's just really celebrating the fact that two of her loving members can now freely do and say what they want without hiding. 

Yuna wasn't as naive as they think but hey it comes with a few pros; knowledge is the key and it really was the first time she got Ryujin and Yeji making priceless faces like that. 

It was a whole new different experience but being the maknae really has its perks don't you think?