Xuan set up her camera onto her desk and pressed the record button. She smiled and waved.

 

“Hey guys! This is day 2 of my daily blog of being Itzy’s assistant manager. I just saw the stats of my last vlog and my god you guys really like me. Thank you guys for supporting me on this journey. Now I did see some questions from the comment section so with the company’s permission, I will answer them!”

 

Xuan grabbed her phone and looked at the comment section to answer some questions. “So I know this is the most popular question so I’ll answer it. ‘How is it working with Itzy as their manager?’ Great question! Anyway, working with Itzy is definitely a learning experience. I told you guys yesterday that I’m studying Marketing so I have no experience in the field of management besides some of my required management courses I had to take for my degree. I think I struggle the most with organization and trying not to overwork the girls and myself. Their schedules are always packed and I have been with them to make sure they’re right on schedule. I’m still struggling but it’s getting better and I’m definitely learning a lot. Still, marketing is more of my forte.”

 

Xuan scrolled down on her phone. “Okay next question: how is it living in Korea as a foreigner? Another great question! Living in Korea is definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I can’t express with words the feeling of living in a new country. I will be honest: I do miss my home. My friends and my family whom I’ve been with my whole life are living their own lives and me living here doing my job and it’s hard not gonna lie.” Xuan tried her best to fight tears, “I miss them dearly but they all update me whenever they can and they can see my vlog. Another reason to vlog is so they can see how I’m doing.” Xuan smiled as she scrolled onto the next question.

 

“The next question is: who posts your vlogs? So this one is a really good question. This channel is my personal channel but all videos or content have to be approved by the marketing team before I release it to the public to ensure everything is up to code and I’m not breaking any rules. So yeah that’s how it’s gonna work from now on.” Xuan gave a thumbs up.

 

“Okay last question before I wrap it up. I wanna make this vlog short so I don’t take up whoever’s time to watch my video before I post it. Last question is: how is it living with Itzy?” Xuan took a deep breath. “It’s… a lot.” Xuan laughed. “I have never lived with other people except with my parents. Before moving, I only lived with my parents throughout my college years to save money. So living with the girls has been an experience. The most important advice I can give you guys if you’re gonna live with new people is to talk about boundaries and rules. Before moving to the bigger dorm, all of us had a talk about boundaries and rules before we settled. It’s important to talk about it so there would be less misunderstandings and to talk about solutions if problems come up. Other than that its fine. The girls do their own thing and I do mine. Whenever we go out, it’s usually for their schedules. Most of the time they’re with their main manager but I’ll pop in from time to time to observe or if the girls need something.”

 

“I will say I do talk to the girls in English. I haven’t had time to learn Korean since I'm busy focusing on work and my studies but soon I will. For now, I just talk to them in English. It is a struggle but I think this gives the girls an opportunity to learn more English. Though it can be a challenge if it’s English slang.” Xuan sweated as she remembered an earlier incident from today.

 

Xuan was chilling in the dining room, doing some adjustment to the girls’ schedule and looking over her school notes. 

 

Suddenly, Yuna came happily skipping to Xuan’s side. “Unnie…”

 

“Yes, Yuna?” Xuan said as she took a sip of her water bottle.

 

“You’re a thot.” Yuna smiled.

 

Xuan spit out her water and almost choke, startling the maknae. “W-what did you call me?”

 

Yuna looked at her with a confused look. “A thot? Like a thoughtful person?”

 

“No… that’s not even close. Yuna, don’t use that word ever please. Where did you even learn this from?”

 

Yuna hummed. “From Ryujin unnie!”

 

Xuan slammed her stuff and walked away from the dining room. “SHIN RYUJIN!”

 

Xuan laughed nervously. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m growing gray hairs with the amount of chaos from the girls.” Xuan remembered the fire incident in the kitchen from yesterday. “Anyway! That’s all for today! Nothing really happened today besides some scheduled stuff for the girls. There will be a fan sign in a couple days that has been confirmed by the company that Itzy will be doing so I’m not spoiling anything hehe. I will be there helping the girls and monitoring the event so have a good time yall. Have a good day guys and remember to stay hydrated. Bye bye.” Xuan turned off the recording and sighed as she laid back into her chair. “Okay time to do some editing.”

 

It wasn’t difficult for Xuan to edit the video as it was just her sitting in front of the camera. After 30 minutes of editing, Xuan sent the file to the head of marketing for approval. Then, a knock was heard from the door. Xuan got up from her seat and opened the door, revealing Lia behind it. “Oh! Hey Lia. What’s up?”

 

“Hey Xuan! The manager came by and wanted to drop off your weekly allowance.” Lia pulled out an envelope from her back pocket and handed it to Xuan.

 

Xuan smiled and bowed to Lia as she received the envelope. “Thank you Lia.”

 

“I did want to ask: any plans scheduled for tomorrow?”

 

“Uhhh let me grab my phone and check.” Xuan went into her, left the envelope on her desk and grabbed her phone. She went outside to Lia. “Let’s see…”

 

Lia couldn’t help but giggled. “I see you still have it.”

 

Xuan looked at her with confusion. “What?” Lia pointed at the back of the phone. Xuan turned her phone around and blushed at what she’s pointing at. “O-Of course I still have it. It’s a special memory when I first came here…”

 

Xuan gulped as she stood in front of the JYPE building. “Alright it’s your first day as Itzy's assistant manager. You can do this!” Xuan mentally slapped herself to motivate herself. She took a deep breath and entered the building. 

 

She entered the room that she’s supposed to meet with the main manager. As she entered, her nerves went through the roof as she saw the room had the main manager as well as the Itzy members. Okay maybe I’m not prepared for this. Xuan thought. 

 

“Oh! You’re here Xuan! And early too. That’s a great sign. Come have a seat.” The manager said.

 

Xuan bowed. “Thank you for having me.” Xuan then took a seat opposite of the manager and Itzy. Xuan felt she could die at that moment from nervousness.

 

“Now don’t be shy. Introduce yourself to the girls.” The manager smiled.

 

Xuan nodded. “H-Hello, my name is Xuan Tran. I’m 22 years old.” Xuan bowed again. “I’m honored to be on the management team.”

 

The girls gave their greetings and Xuan smiled in relief to see them being nice to her. Still, it feels like she could die from nervousness. God damn my anxiety is through the roof. The manager went on about Xuan’s duties and her roles for being Itzy’s assistant manager. 

 

After the meeting, the manager and the girls said their goodbyes to Xuan. The last one to leave was Lia and before she left the room, Xuan tapped her shoulders. Lia turned around and faced her. “Yes? Do you need something?”

 

Xuan fiddled with her fingers, trying to find the right words. “Uhhhh… I was wondering.” Xuan took out her photocard of Lia from the LOCO album. “It’s a little embarrassing but can you… sign this?” Xuan bowed as she presented the card with her two hands.

 

Lia laughed. “You’re our manager and yet you still act like a fan. Sure. Do you have a pen?” Xuan quickly grabbed a pen from her pocket and gave the card and pen to Lia. She signed it quickly and gave the items back to Xuan. “You better treasure that.”

 

Xuan nodded. “I will! Thank you…”

 

Lia smiled again. “I look forward to working with you. Bye Xuan.” And with that, Lia left.

 

Xuan couldn’t hold her excitement anymore and she danced around the room with happiness. Then, she quickly grabbed her phone from her pocket. She pulled away the case and put the photocard in there. After securing her phone again, she looked at it and smiled.

 

Lia giggled. “You know you’re really brave to ask me that. Especially since you know, you’re our manager.”

 

Xuan blushed and groaned in embarrassment. “I wanted to take the opportunity! Leave me alone.” Xuan pouted and crossed your arms.

 

Lia smiled and patted Xuan’s head. “Just saying how it is. Anyway, what’s up for tomorrow?”

 

“Oh yeah that’s right.” Xuan looked at her phone again. “Tomorrow, you girls have a photoshoot and then dance practice. I won’t be there for the photoshoot so I’ll be doing some grocery shopping for the dorm. But I’ll be there to monitor your dance practice. If you need anything, you know you girls have my number.” Xuan smiled at Lia. “Sounds good?”

 

Lia nodded. “Sounds good. I was thinking of doing a vlive tomorrow. Do you perhaps want to join?”

 

Xuan felt hesitant. “I-I’ll think about it.” 

 

“Okay let me know. Oh also.” Lia pointed at the corner which had Ryujin kneeling and staring at the wall. “Why’s Ryujin there?”

 

Xuan sighed. “It’s because she taught Yuna bad slang in a bad context.”

 

“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? I THOUGHT IT MEANT THOUGHTFUL PERSON!” Ryujin yelled from the corner.

 

“It doesn’t matter! It’s still bad slang for you guys to learn about, especially to the youngest.” Xuan lectured while Lia giggled. “Anyway, dinner time is coming so I should start in a bit. Anything you girls want?”

 

Lia shook her head. “Can you make us boba drinks for dessert though?” Lia asked with her puppy eyes.

 

Xuan laughed. “You girls really like when I put my boba barista skills to work huh? Okay, I’ll put something together.” Lia happily clapped her hands and walked toward her room. 

 

Xuan closed her room door and headed to the kitchen. She looked into the fridge to see what she can work with. I’m so glad I have to do some grocery shopping tomorrow. We’re seriously low on ingredients. Xuan grabbed kimchi, gochujang, spam, and onions. She set the ingredients on the counter and grabbed other items for the dish. “Alright Ryujin. You can stop kneeling. Go wash up and rest before I call you for dinner.”

 

“Finally!” Ryujin got up from the corner and went into her room. 

 

Xuan giggled and continued working on dinner. After a while, she set up the table and plated the food. “Girls! Dinner is ready!” The girls went out of their rooms and sat at the diner table. Xuan washed her hands and took a seat between Lia and Yuna. 

 

“Wowwww this looks so good.” Yuna said happily.

 

“Yeah, this smells delicious.” Chaeryeong said. “Thank you for making this, Xuan unnie.”

 

“It’s no problem, girls. I like cooking. Especially since someone here almost burned the dorm down.” Xuan looked at Yeji which made her turn away from Xuan’s gaze.

 

All the girls thanked and prayed for their meal and dug in. Xuan was the first to finish so she got up and washed her plate. “Lia requested some boba drinks for me to make for dessert. You girls have the choice of matcha or peach tea. What do you girls want?”

 

“Matcha please!” Yuna said.

 

“I want matcha as well.” Yeji said.

 

“Matcha for me, too please.” Ryujin said.

 

“Can I have peach tea please?” Lia said.

 

“I want peach tea, too unnie.” Chaeryeong said.

 

“You got it girls.” With that, Xuan started on making their drinks.

 

After the girls were finished with their dinner, Xuan presented them with their drinks. The girls exclaimed in excitement. Xuan smiled, “I have here matcha dalgona and peach jasmine tea and of course in all of them, honey boba. Enjoy girls!” Itzy thanked Xuan for the drinks and sipped away while Xuan washed their dishes.

 

“Wow, Xuan! This is so delicious.” Chaeryeong said.

 

“Well, I didn’t work in a boba shop for two years for nothing. Glad that I still got the skills.”

 

“Are these part of the menu?” Ryujin asked.

 

Xuan shook her head. “Most of the drinks are made in batches so technically it’s still home cooked but not like other places where it’s fresh on the spot. So sometimes I get bored and if there’s no customers, I would experiment with the ingredients on hand. Well me and my coworkers.”

 

“What kind of stuff did you make?” Yeji asked.

 

Xuan thought for a moment. “Geez, what did we make?” Xuan laughed. “Uhhh I think there was a time where I made matcha ice cream. That was pretty fun.”

 

“Ohhh, can you make that for us some time?” Chaeryeong asked.

 

Xuan giggled. “Maybe if we’re not too busy and I have the ingredients.” Xuan looked over and saw that Lia was almost done with her drink. “Wow, you just really like the drink I made, Lia.”

 

Lia smiled at Xuan. “Of course! You really have a way for brewing tea.”

 

Xuan’s expression changed as she heard Lia. A memory came into her mind.

 

“And done! Here you go!” Xuan finished brewing a tea and gave the cup to the girl.

 

The girl took a sip and her eyes lit with excitement. “Wow this is so good! You really have a way for brewing tea, Xuan!”

 

Xuan blushes as she rubs her nape. “R-Really?” The girl nodded as she continued to happily sip. “Well, in that case, I’m happy to make your favorite tea anytime.”

 

“I look forward to it…”

 

Xuan snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Lia calling for her. “W-What?”

 

“I’ve been calling your name a few times but you seemed to space out. Are you okay?” She asked.

 

Xuan nodded. “Y-Yeah, I’m just tired. I’m going to turn in for the night. Make sure you girls get some rest for your schedule tomorrow.” Xuan went out of the kitchen and walked toward her room. “Good night girls.” 

 

She closed the door behind her and immediately flopped onto bed. Tears started streaming down her face. Xuan quietly cried into her pillow, hoping the girls wouldn't hear her sobs. She turned over and stared at the ceiling for a while, tears still rolling down her face. Xuan took out her phone and unlocked it, staring at her wallpaper on her Home Screen. “Hien…” 

 

Xuan scrolled through her text messages until she reached the name “Hein ❤️”. She opened the messages and stared at the last texts she sent to her.

 

[Hey, I’m sorry for leaving you. I’ll be back soon. I promise]

 

[Hey babe, I landed safely in Korea. Please call or text me when you can]

 

[I miss you Hien… I think about you everyday…]

 

[I still love you…]

 

Xuan saw that Hien hadn't seen her text yet. She locked her phone and tossed it to the side. Xuan grabbed the extra pillow and hugged it tightly toward her body.

 

Hien… please talk to me soon…

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Another update because I was in a writing mood. I hope you guys like the background story so far for Xuan. More will be revealed as the story goes on but for now, enjoy her antics with Itzy lol. Enjoy and thanks for reading!