“Not shy, not me.”

Yeji's voice boomed amplified over the speakers and then all was silent. Ryujin took her final position and looked at the camera, trying to breathe as normally as possible. As soon as he heard the "Cut!" she undid her position and gasped heavily for air. Her muscles were burning, especially the legs ones. However, she felt relieved. That was the last performance to promote Not Shy. Four hard weeks had come to an end.

“Thank you, this was ITZY!” Ryujin said along with her companions.

Applause and cheers rang out from the staff. There were many bows and thanks as Ryujin and the rest left the stage.

“Girls, we did it,” Jisu said as they walked down a hallway. “We're done with promotions!”

Ryujin and the others let out a hooray and laughed, thinking of the long-awaited time they would have to rest before the year-end awards. That thought was overtaken by another as Ryujin fixed her attention on the tallest of the five walking together. Yuna was walking ahead of Ryujin, talking to Chaeryeong. “I have to talk to her,” Ryujin thought, and not for the first time. That night when Yuna and she had crossed paths in the halls of JYP had happened several days ago. September 2nd, Ryujin remembered. A date she wouldn't soon forget.

As the days passed, Ryujin wondered more than once if what happened was a hyper-realistic dream, a prank of her mind brought on by repressing her feelings so much.

Ryujin was still lost in thought when Yuna turned her head to look at her. Their eyes met and a second later Yuna smiled at her. Seen by a third party, it would be just a friendly smile, but to Ryujin that smile meant something more. It was the same smile Yuna gave her when they said goodbye that night. That night when they kissed for the first time. Ryujin found herself smiling back at Yuna and as quickly as the maknae turned to look at her, she fixed her gaze straight ahead again, resuming her talk with Chaeryeong.

That confirmed to Ryujin once again that she hadn't dreamed what had happened.

---

Ryujin felt a tingle of relief as she lay down on her bed. After leaving Inkigayo and doing a few other things, her work day was over. Ryujin and the rest of ITZY arrived at JYP as the Sun was beginning to wane on the horizon. The sound of falling water indicating Yeji washing up was the background noise that accompanied Ryujin as he looked at her phone. Jisu and Yuna were in their room, as was Chaeryeong in her.

“I have to talk to Yuna,” Ryujin thought once again. Ryujin and Yuna hadn't talked about what happened yet. It wasn't because they didn't want to, but because they didn't have how. They got up early in the morning, spent the day busy and arrived tired in the evening at their dormitories. The day after the confession, Yuna asked her by message what was next.

Ryujin: "We can't talk over messages about that."

Yuna: “Why?”

Ryujin: “It's dangerous. We can talk when the promotions are over”

Yuna: “If you say so it's okay, I guess.”

Their next conversations were trivial, which didn't stop them from talking every day.

“So tired,” Yeji said as she came out of the bathroom.

Ryujin let out a grunt of agreement and continued to stare at her phone.

Yeji laid back on her bed and started checking her laptop. Ryujin visited several apps to relax, though after a while she looked at her phone screen with no idea what to do.

“Yeji-unnie?”

“What?”

“Are there any activities left or anything? I don't remember.”

Yeji emitted an "mmm" as she thought.

-No, we're free until November or so," she replied. “Although it's not like we have much freedom because of the virus, either.”

“Damn right,” Ryujin thought. She propped herself up on one elbow and looked at her roommate.

“Yeah, but at least we can rest,” Ryujin paused. “I guess you'll be staying here.”

“Yes, you know that travel is not recommendable,” Yeji replied.

Ryujin thought she noticed some melancholy in her voice. The girl's parents lived outside of Seoul, and Yeji couldn't travel with the current situation.

“I'll stay here too,” Ryujin said. She didn't want to leave her friend alone. “I know it would be horrible for you if I left,” Ryujin cooed.

Yeji rolled her eyes.

“What a fool you are."

Ryujin chuckled and dove back into her phone, this time with a target in mind. She was slightly surprised to see that a message had come in from who she planned to write to.

Yuna: “Ryujinie?”

Ryujin smiled at the nickname. Yuna had called her that many times before, but now the connotation was different.

Ryujin: “I was about to write to youㅋㅋ”

Yuna: "ㅋㅋ telepathy."

Ryujin: "You see."

Ryujin: "Hey, do you want to go to the practice room tomorrow? We can rehearse the choreography you told me about today."

Ryujin hoped Yuna understood the implication. The practice room was the only safe place she could think of to talk. Going out for a walk was forbidden if it wasn't for work. The JYP cafeteria was a very public area, and talking in the hallways exposed them to prying eyes and ears. The practice room was soundproofed and could be locked from the inside.

Ryujin looked at the Yuna is writing. She didn't like to broach the subject over messenger as who knew if their conversations would be recorded somewhere where they could be infiltrated into the networks. It was perhaps a paranoid thought, but Ryujin didn't want to risk it.

Yuna: “Ah, I'd like that. We have some free time now.”

Ryujin: “Exactly, see you at 1 pm?"

Yuna: “Sounds perfect”

Ryujin: "Ok"

Ryujin: “Good night, Yuna-yah.”

Yuna: “ㅋㅋ good night, Ryujinie.”

The conversation ended there and Ryujin felt much calmer. She allowed herself to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing and chatting with Yeji.

---

The morning passed with torturous slowness for Ryujin. She woke up early and soon became impatient. She saw the time on her phone and felt like someone was teasing her, slowing down the normal course of time. She chatted a bit with Yeji. Yeji would stay the day in the room, watching series and movies.

“There's not much else to do,” she said.

“Certainly,” Ryujin agreed.

The conversation ended and Ryujin found herself looking at the time again.

“I'll go to the practice room with Yuna today,” Ryujin said after a while.

Yeji looked up