For as long as she can remember, Ryujin has always had a huge crush on her sunbaenim, Seulgi from Red Velvet. Before she had become Shin Ryujin, member of Itzy and K-POP superstar, she was first and foremost, Shin Ryujin, a Reveluv and arguably the biggest Seulgi stan.

This does not come as a surprise to her bandmates, or to anyone really, as she had always been vocal about being a fan of her seniors during interviews and such. 

What was her favorite K-POP group? Red Velvet.

Who inspired her to audition to become an idol? Seulgi-sunbaenim. 

Who, amongst her seniors, did she wish to become closer to? Seulgi-sunbaenim.

Who does she want to have a collab with the most? Seulgi-sunbaenim.

This is why when she learned that Itzy’s promotions for Icy overlapped with Red Velvet’s Umpah Umpah, she could barely contain her excitement. Along with the giving of their album to the senior group, as was custom for many new groups during promotions, she was also planning to work up her courage to hopefully get the older girl’s number.

Yes, it may be a bit… forward, but hey, you only live once right? This was her chance to get closer to the girl she has idolized for so long, and she sure as hell wasn’t about to waste it. 

Armed with their latest album, signed by all of the members, she walked the halls of the SBS building and headed towards Red Velvet’s lounge. She had brought Yuna and Lia along with you for moral support, lest she fangirl too hard and end up fainting or something.

Upon knocking on the door, they had immediately been welcomed and immediately ushered in by a manager. As they stepped inside the spacious room, it was obvious that everyone was in a hurry to get home after a long day of work.

 A couple of makeup artists were standing near the tables and cleaning their makeup tools whilst chatting amongst themselves. The stylists on the other hand were busy folding the various stage outfits and other clothes that had been used throughout the day. Finally, there were also a number of managers rushing around the room and packing various pieces of equipment. To say that the room was bustling with activity would be an understatement.

From her spot by the door, Ryujin spotted Joy and Yeri seated on one of the long black couches situated at the far side of the room. They were both busy on their phones, probably looking for pictures to post on their SNS accounts. Wendy on the other hand was seated on a stack of chairs facing one of the large mirrors, humming softly as she wiped away her makeup. 

Finally, Ryujin spotted Seulgi, still in her stage outfit from earlier, seated on another stack of chairs and also mindlessly scrolling through something on her phone. 

Overcome by a sudden feeling of being starstruck, Ryujin froze in her spot. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Seulgi-sunbaenim is so much prettier in person, the pictures do her no justice. 

It was only after a soft nudge from Lia that she broke out of her reverie and cleared . It ultimately ended up being much much louder than she had intended. The effect was very much like a pin dropping in a dead silent room as several heads whipped to her direction. 

Suddenly feeling very hot under the numerous gazes turned her way, Ryujin looked to her left, to Yuna, who merely raised an eyebrow at her as if saying, “You’re the unnie here.”

Unable to find support from the younger girl, she looked to her right, towards Lia who smiled cheekily and shrugged. “You’re on your own here Ryujinnie.”

Not knowing what else to do, Ryujin did the first thing that she thought off the top of her head.

“1, 2, 3! All in us! Hi, we are Itzy!” she exclaimed, before bowing.

Thankfully, Lia and Yuna were kind enough to say the greeting with her, or else she really would have wished that the ground would swallow her up. 

…Not that she doesn’t already.

By this time, the staff had gone back to what they were previously doing and only the four members were still looking at her.

All four stood up and walked towards them, smiling. 

Stopping once they were only a few steps in front of the three, they exclaimed, “Happiness! Hello! We are Red Velvet!” 

“S-seulgi-sunbaenim!” she couldn’t help but stutter, “Wendy-sunbaenim, Joy-sunbaenim, Yeri-sunbaenim, I would just like to congratulate you for your win a while ago!”

“Oh no no no, absolutely not, I will not be grouped with these oldies over here” she whispered conspiratorially—which was heard by everyone anyway—while pointing at the other three members. “Yeri-unnie is just fine.”

Ryujin watched as Wendy rolled her eyes while Joy slapped the maknae’s shoulder. “Yah! You do know I used t