IZ*ONE
More Than a Band
Where twelve girls become one…
IZ*ONE…
“Congratulations, we all wish for your success as idols debuting in both Korea and Japan.”
I can't pretend…
To know how you feel.
The twelve girls, some who barely knew each other, cried together in happiness, their dreams of becoming an idol had come true. A feeling not many knew, a dream that many reached for but could not grasp. Words could not be exchanged from the tears, but each girl knew what the other felt…
Happiness…
But know that I'm here…
Know that I'm real.
“Unnie?”
The eldest glanced up at the tall bunny next to her, “yeah Wonyoung-ah?”
The maknae twiddled her thumbs, nervously hopping from one foot to the other as she heard loud chanting from afar.
“I don’t think I’m ready…”
Eunbi raised an eyebrow, “what makes you think that?”
“I might mess up… And I don’t have a lot of experience either.”
“Hey…”
The older bunny gently squeezed Wonyoung’s arm, “you’ll do great Wonyoung, we all will.”
The fourteen year old pursed her lips in worry, nodding at the older girl’s words as she found comfort from her presence.
Say what you want…
Or don't talk at all.
“Wonnie!”
A puppy ran over to the duo, clinging onto Wonyoung’s arm, “are you ready? We can finally be on stage together for real!”
Wonyoung giggled at her older friend and labelmate, “yeah I’m ready Yujin-unnie.”
“Ah~”
The three turned to see a duck open in request for food. In turn, the girl holding a cup of tteokbokki scrunched her face, giving the duck a piece.
“Yah Hyewon are you eating right before our debut stage???”
“I need energy unnie.”
Yena gave Eunbi a thumbs-up, “Hyewon and I will be fine Eunbi-unnie.”
The other seven girls came over after they had finished getting ready, nervous excitement coursing through each of their veins as they talked in hushed whispers.
The eldest huddled them together a few minutes before they were supposed to perform.
“We got this, girls. You all will do amazing, I’m sure of it.”
“And you will too Eunni-unnie!”
I'm not gonna let you fall…
The girls got into place, and as they saw the crowd of fans awaiting their debut, they smiled, waving at the thousands of people cheering them on.
The music started up, the girls in position starting to dance in sync with the guitar instrumental.
Reach for my hand,
'Cause it's held out for you.
“Oh it’s my~ my,”
“La la la la Vie en Rose.”
The sound of cheers and applause roared around the stage, the twelve special girls’ hearts soaring as the fans shouted out “IZ*ONE” or individual names…
My shoulders are small,
But you can cry on them too.
“Gamsahabnida~!”
The twelve girls held hands in a row and bowed, their hearts filled with joy as the cheers continued on as the stage darkened once more. Their dream had finally started, with many fans around the world backing them up as they began their journey…
Everything changes
“Waaa you two are getting so much better at Korean!”
Hitomi and Nako shyly smiled, “thank you, Chaeyeon-unnie~”
The older girl grinned, rubbing their heads as she continued to help them with the foreign language during their break time.
Knock Knock…
The three paused, glancing behind them to see the second oldest poke her head through the door.
“Kkura-chan?”
Sakura gestured outside, “we’re going to practice again.”
The older Japanese girl held open the door, the four walking down the hall to their practice room as they made side conversations.
“Yah Kim Minju!”
The four paused, glancing at each other before peaking through the slightly open practice room door.
“W-what did I do unnie?”
Chaewon’s response was drowned out by a tall puppy and bunny’s laughter, the innocent frog staring bewildered at the three of them.
“What are you laughing at Yujin?”
Yujin stuck out her tongue in response, and it would have seemed that she had chosen death if it wasn’t for Eunbi stopping them.
“Girls be more quiet, there’s other people around us.”
“Sorry unnie…”
“Relax Eunbi-unnie, last time I checked there was no one else near us.”
Hyewon chuckled as she watched Chaewon on the verge of tackling Yujin, had it not been for Minju holding her back and Eunbi in the same room as them.
The five inside the practice room calmed down, the four waiting outside came in, pretending as if they had not heard anything as they waited.
“Where’s Yena and Yuri?”
“That duck’s probably out proposing to Yuri.”
“Nah, don’t you remember what she said? Yuri’s only for dating.”
“Yeah I’m only for dating.”
A certain husky-voiced hamster spoke out of the blue, the ten girls startled by her sudden appearance.
“Aweee Yuri, are you still salty about that?”
A pouty duck also came out of nowhere, the younger girl turning away as she drank her water.
“Yuriiiiii.”
“…”
Yena clung onto Yuri’s arm, “Yuri-yahhhhh I was jokingggg.”
“Hmph”
The others watched in amusement as Yena began to shake Yuri, “I’m sorryyyyyy.”
“…”
The duck made a different approach, facing Yuri towards her and pouting…
Making the hamster turn away once more.
“Ah Yuriiii.”
Yuri startled as Yena suddenly wrapped her arms around her from behind, shaking them to and fro.
“Fine, fine.”
The hamster struggled to pull an arm out from her grasp, patting the older girl’s head, “I forgive you.”
An iconic laughter could be heard echoing around the room as Yena became her smiley self again, a jump in each of her steps as they began to get ready to practice their new song again.
But one thing is true
Understand…
“Oh my heart, Violeta.”
The twelve girls finished their second Korean title track with a synchronized ending, the crowd around their comeback stage roaring with cheers as the girls bowed with wide smiles. The cheers were still audible as the girls left the stage, giddy with a successful performance as they all high-fived each other while the staff complimented them alongside fellow artists…
We'll always be more than a band…
…
…
PRODUCE 48 VOTING SCANDAL
PD48 MEMBERS WERE CHEATED FROM WINNING?
PRODUCERS SENT TO JAIL AFTER LARGE-SCALE VOTING SCANDAL
MEMBERS OF IZ*ONE AND X1 HARASSED WITH VOTING SCANDAL
DID ALL MEMBERS OF IZ*ONE DESERVE THEIR SPOTS?
…
…
“Hey…”
You used to brave the world
All on your own.
The cherry-blossom girl looked up to see Chaeyeon come over to her, sitting down next to her as the younger girl wrapped an arm around Sakura.
“We’ll be okay…”
Now we won't let you go,
Go it alone.
A girl gnawed at a lollipop stick as she scrolled through her phone, the eldest sitting down on the couch next to her. Hyewon glanced over, shifting her position to comfortably lean on Eunbi’s shoulder as she put her phone away.
“It’s okay…”
Eunbi looked up to see Hitomi and Nako off to the side, worry in their eyes as they stood hand-in-hand. She motioned them over, and the four sat down, leaning against Eunbi.
The leader bunny wrapped her arms around all three of them, “we’ll get through this, and we’ll come back stronger than ever. We’re IZ*ONE after all…”
Be who you wanna be,
Always stand tall.
PARENTS TO HAVE BOUGHT JANG WONYOUNG FIRST PLACE IN PD48
IZ*ONE WONYOUNG FIRST PLACE 14TH BIRTHDAY PRESENT?
PD48 RANKING ALL SCREWED UP
Knock Knock…
The bunny didn’t hear her friend come in, her widened eyes locked onto her phone screen as she scrolled through with trembling hands.
“Wonyoung?”
“I-it’s not true…”
“Wonyoung-ah…”
“My parents didn’t b-buy me my ranking…”
“Wonyoung, give me your phone.”
“I d-didn’t cheat…”
Wonyoung let her phone drop from her hands as she clutched her head, Yujin in turn sitting down on the bed in front of her while placing the bunny’s phone away.
“Wonyoung, we all know you didn’t cheat.”
“W-what if they’re right?”
The puppy tilted her head as she placed a hand on her shoulder, “right about what?”
The maknae’s distressed, hunched up figure saddened the older girl as she spoke again.
“I didn’t deserve it.”
“Wony-”
The grip she had on her hair tightened as she buried her head deeper into her brought-up knees.
“I didn’t deserve to be first.”
“Wonyo… Don’t listen to them.”
“B-but they're right!”
“Wonyoung.”
“I-I d-don’t deserve to be th-”
“Wonyoung.”
Tears threatened to fall as Yujin lifted Wonyoung’s face up gently, the puppy giving her a gentle smile as she cupped her face with her hands.
“Listen to me…”
The bunny’s lips quivered as Yujin brushed her tears away, “you were born to be the center.”
“And our real fans will always love you.”
“…”
“Your family will always love you.”
Yujin gestured with her head out to the rest of the dorm, “our unnies will always love you.”
The puppy gave a cheeky grin, “and I will always love you too.”
The older girl gave Wonyoung a soft kiss on the forehead, “so don’t cry, Wonnie, because you’ll always be loved, and you deserve that spot.”
Wonyoung shyly glanced up to see that Yujin had slightly red eyes from crying before she had walked into the bunny’s room.
She gave the puppy a wobbly smile, “you too unnie… We all love you too.”
The two huddled close together on the bed, comforted by each other’s presence as they let the time slip by…
Not gonna let you fall…
“It’s my fiesta.”
The girls watched from their final positions, seeing a wave of people young and old cheering as they finished their third Korean title track performance. Many had waited for their return, shouting with joy as they watched the twelve girls perform elegantly once more on stage…
It took all they had for the girls to not cry in happiness as they walked off the stage, all of them hugging and congratulating each other like they had when they first debuted.
A certain puppy wrapped her arm around a tall bunny, “you did so well Wonnie.”
Chaeyeon had done the same thing with Sakura, “see, toldja we’d be okay~”
The leader gathered the girls around in a large group hug, the eldest girl’s heart filled with pride for her younger group members, her younger sisters, as she saw how well they all did during their performance…
It was just like she had said…
They had come back stronger than ever, together…
Reach for my hand,
'Cause it's held out for you.
“Ready girls?”
“I-I-IZ*ONE!!!”
The girls laughed as they did their quirky chant, the staff fixing up their hair as they waited for their next stage.
My shoulders are strong,
But you can cry on them too.
“Like swan swan swan, neowa hamkke~”
One of the members did an ending fairy towards the camera, only the staff being there to cheer them on as they recorded their performance.
Everything changes,
But one thing is true
Understand…
The stage area was no longer filled with crowds of fans, but if the girls had looked through the news, they could see that fans were still sending them much love through the screens.
“Gamsahabnida~”
The girls bowed in thanks towards the staff and the crew, both sides grateful of each others’ hard work.
It felt weird not seeing their fans face-to-face, but considering the circumstances, compromises had to be made…
As long as their fans were happy…
That was enough for them.
We'll always be more than a band.
“Don't let me down, down, down.”
Another stage with no fans to cheer them on in person…
And the girls had an impending feeling drawn upon them as they finished up each stage of their title track.
I never knew you could take me so far.
“WIZ*ONE…”
The choke of tears cut the girl off, the girl in turn swirling her chair around so she wouldn’t face the camera or the other girls.
The girl next to her leaned over to squeeze her arm, helping the girl continue on what she was going to say to the camera.
“Thank you…”
I've always wanted to hope that you are~
“Thank you… So so much…”
“We wouldn’t have been IZ*ONE without our WIZ*ONES.”
“If only we could have seen you guys again in person…”
The ones… I~ need…
All twelve girls stood up and held hands one last time… Bowing to the camera while trying to hold in their cries…
-Timeskip-
“Hello~ We are HKT48!” (I have no idea how they do their group greeting, sorry)
“Hello! We are AKB48!”
Two girls from different parts of Japan waved at the camera alongside their fellow Japanese group members, the show they were in individually running as they went along with their different groups.
Reach for my hand,
'Cause it's held out for you.
“Show show show~ Annyeonghaseo, it’s Minju.”
“And Jungwoo.”
“And~ Lee Know.”
The three MCs of one of the biggest KPop music shows greeted the watchers before going on to announce the day’s performers and rankings, the girl unaware of her previous group mates watching her through the screen with soft smiles…
My shoulders are strong,
But you can cry on them too.
“Chaeri, Chaeso, come here~”
Two small, white dogs barked as they skittered towards Chaeyeon, jumping up onto the chair she sat in as she pointed towards the computer screen.
“Look, it’s Chaeryeong!”
The twenty-two year old smiled proudly at her younger sister as she watched her and her group perform on stage, singing along to the catchy song while making the two dogs dance…
Everything changes,
But one thing is true
Understand…
“Annyeong Rubi-deul~ I hope you have all been well.”
The twenty-five year old singer waved at her camera, smiling as comments and hearts began to flood in from her live.
“Glassy! You’ve all been healthy right?”
A certain twenty-one year old hamster pouted at the camera, only to grin while waving at her new, and old, fans.
“Thank you for waiting for me…”
We'll always be more than a band.
“DIVE into IVE! Annyeonghaseyo, we are IVE~!”
The six members of the new girl group did their little introduction before bowing to the camera, two of the six happy from re-debuting with a new family, hoping that their previous unnies would find a new home as well…
Reach for my hand,
'Cause it's held out for you.
“Wiz- Jigumi-deul! Annyeong~~ How have you all been? Thank you for all the support you’ve given me through my debut. :)”
The duck smiled while giving a peace sign to the camera, her little dog in the background giving her the weirdest stare before scampering away.
“Annyeong everyone~ Missed me?”
Hyewon smiled as she began her YouTube video, “surprise~ Didn’t think I’d push out an album didja?”
My shoulders are strong,
But you can cry on them too.
“Annyeonghaseyo, we are LESSERAFIM! Please take care of us~”
Everything changes,
But one thing is true
Understand…
“Jigeumkkaji IZ*ONE imnida!” (“Until now, it has been IZ*ONE!”)
We'll always be more than… a band…
More Than a Band - Lemonade Mouth
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