━ { Navillera era pt. 2

"So the CLINQUE Korea photoshoot went well, then?" Seulki looked to Soojin to confirm as she took a bite of her plain rice. He nodded, tapping at his tablet furiously as he looked over their schedule. It had taken up most of their day and the girls were exhausted, but if it had gone well then perhaps they could expect more modelling deals out of them in the future. The girls were making money and it was going quite well. The public had generally responded well to their new song and new member. Seulki glanced at Yufei, who only looked at her food. She was easier to get along with than Maeri but reserved. Nervous.

Yoonmi had apparently going through as well, and made her feel like a terrible friend and leader. A stalker, and she hadn't noticed. Who doesn't notice that? She swallowed thickly, instead choosing to head to the kitchen to wash out her bowl. Soo Jung watched her go nervously, and cleared to speak.

"Soojin Oppa, I'm heading out for a bit. I have to meet up with someone, I promise to be back soon enough! I know, it's hard to live without me, but you'll have to survive it," She winked at him playfully. The manager rolled his eyes with a fond smile.

"Fine, but if Daeun gets angry, it's on you kiddo. I'm not covering for you, whatever you're doing. You better be back before midnight, alright?" He waved her off and she smiled in victory, excusing herself from the table. Miyoung's eyes lingered on her back, but she ignored it, instead choosing to grab her brown coat, slip on her heels, and walk out of the door. Soo Jung made her way out of the building quickly, pulling out her cellphone and dialing a number she had become quite familiar with.

"Hello?" Jinki answered.

"Jinki sunbae, I'm on my way to you~ My manager totally let me out. Soo Jung one, Manager Oppa twenty-nine!" She laughed, heart warming when he did the same. The very sound had her skin tingling in some emotion or another, and she bit her lip to hold her shameless grin back, "I can't head all the way to the Han River again, I have to be back too soon, but you don't mind if we meet up at that shop again, right?"

"Of course not! I'd be happy to see you wherever," Well, didn't that just make her heart skip a beat or two? "I'll bring the snacks~"

"Good, because snacks are obviously required when we meet up. Duh. We're pigs for food, one hundred percent."

"Food is important!" He countered loudly, "I think you'll probably be at the shop before I am. I hope I don't keep you waiting too long."

"I'll wait however long I need to if I get to see you," Soo Jung cringed at her own words. Too sappy, love-sick sounding? She panicked. Okay, sure, she had a crush on Jinki, but he was Seulki's friend and a big sunbae at that. Dummy, you're supposed to be casual! The brunette scolded herself, taking in a large breath.

"I'm happy to know we feel the same way about that," Jinki replied without pause. Soo Jung's previously sure steps shuttered, but she hoped her breathing didn't tip him off. Oh my God, no way, no way, the vocalist shook her head in disbelief. There was no way he just said that. None, "I'm hanging up now. See you in a bit!"

"That crazy bastard..." Soo Jung whispered, staring at her phone in shock. Her heart raced, and she blinked owlishly, "I...The best course of action is definitely to pretend neither of us said anything. Absolutely. Ohmygod. What if he likes me t- Nope. Get your head out of the clouds, Soo Jung. You're an idol, you don't have time to date. But his smile is just so..."

---

Yoonmi stared at the wall, surveying the texture without truly observing anything. She was silent and still, save for her deep and measured breaths. Anxiety gripped at her shoulders tightly but with the breathing it began to lessen. Her hand began to reach for her phone- A drama would certainly make her feel better- But the door opened to reveal Sumia looking at her in concern. Judging by the way the younger's lower lip trembled, Yoonmi knew she wasn't going to be getting out of whatever conversation was about to begin. Wordlessly, she slid over on her bed and patted the empty space. Sumia's light footsteps filled the air until the two were sitting side-by-side.

"Unnie," Sumia grasped onto her shirt sleeve, "You didn't tell anyone."

"I did," Yoonmi countered carefully, expression lacking emotion, "I told CEO-nim not too long ago. It wasn't that bad, I could handle it. There was nothing to worry about until..."

"We could have helped."

"You were hu-"

"One of the others could have, then!" The youngest interrupted, and didn't even bother to look apologetic. Yoonmi couldn't blame her, but the atmosphere had taken a turn for the worst and she shuttered in discomfort, "It's not your fault, you know. Everyone had crazy fans. But it's made you so jumpy, and when they find who it is, court it going to be...Those were serious threats, Cinderella."

The rapper grinned at the timeless nickname, the countless memories of her shoes flying off during a performance filling her mind. It quickly disappeared, however, and she laid her head atop her knees. Sumia began to reach over, but hesitated for a moment. When their eyes met, the younger's resolve steeled and she began to run her fingers through Yoonmi's hair softly. She worked through the knots and tangles with practiced ease, humming lightly to a song that the rapper didn't recognize in the slightest. The charged energy dwindled, and Yoonmie blinked rapidly to try and keep herself awake. She kept her eyes on Sumia's, challening almost, but the Taiwanese girl's gentle affection never wavered. Oh, was Yoonmi jealous of how Sumia had taken her spot at the maknae, but did she love the girl. It was hard not to.

The pair did not speak, and Yoonmi finally allowed her eyes to slip closed. Sumia sighed happily, holding back a giggle at the slight snore she heard from the elder. She slid her gaze over to the door, where she knew Miyoung had been lying in wait. Her fellow singer silently entered, and the two worked in tandem to lay the sleeping girl down and cover her with a blanket. They quickly made their leave, Miyoung shutting the door with a small click.

"I thought you'd never get her to sleep," Miyoung confessed, running a hand through her hair. The same hand that had been injured in a car accident five years ago, when her parents had been more concerned about her career as a pianist than her health...She shook her head a bit, trying to get rid of the less-than-pleasant thoughts. Her dark eyes darted to where Seulki and Yufei were discussing Yufei's progress on the other side of the room. The triple-threat pulled Sumia as far from them as possible. She didn't question it.

"I wasn't sure I could, either. She's been so tense, and we even have subunit promotions after this..." It had been the best-worst news in Miyoung's life for quite some time. She, Yoonmi, and Sumia were going to have an official subunit debut in July, and as the eldest of the trio she was the leader. She also was the main vocalist, dancer, rapper, and visual. The very thought of it had Miyoung drowning in a pit of self-hate. She didn't deserve all those titles, not at all. The unit was weak vocally, and the extra training was hard. It would, however, prove to her parents that she was indeed able to really be an idol and she intended on making her pathetic self shine. Miyoung quickly tuned back into her conversation, "We're going public with the lawsuit just after those promotions though, so she'll have some time to rest after."

"But still...I noticed something was off, but I never imagined- But there's no use in wishing on changing the past, right?" Her self-depreciating smile didn't pass Sumia's notice, and it broke her heart. She didn't know how such a talented, beautiful individual could hate herself as much as Miyoung did. The maknae placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"Exactly, Unnie. We're doing our best now, and that's what matters. You worked hard today," She added tactfully, eyeing the elder, "How about we update our SNS' and go lay down for a bit on the couch? We can head to bed in a bit, after we're sure Miss Jack in the Box is gonna stay asleep."

"Ah, yeah...Let's do that. It sounds good," Miyoung smiled truthfully. The two made their way to the couch, each posting an individual selca before deciding to post one together on Sumia's account. Miyoung added a group selca from dinner the previous night.

@cherry_a_lot Instagram Update

Heading to bed soon~ See you in the morning Players! Unnie is as pretty even when sleepy~ ♥

@Miyuuu.K Instagram Update

Sleep well tonight, #mimis (P.S. Please support WARdEN's Navillera comeback!!)

Seulki smiled at the two girls who were pretty much asleep on top of each other. Warm affection filled her heart, and she snapped a quick picture, sending it to Jonghyun without regret. Her cute bandmates just had to be shared. Her happiness soared when she recieved heart emojis in return. The leader placed her phone face down on the table, looking back up at Yufei. While she was fluent in Mandarin, it was never easy to help Yufei learn new words. She had taken to putting up sticky notes like they had done with Miyoung in their trainee years. It was even harder to remember to translate everyone's Korean to Mandarin (Only Sumia was fluent besides her, the rest were just starting to learn, or in Miyoung's case, knew none), and she still felt uncomfortable using her non-native language so often.

Still, she had to try.

"So, are the other members treating you well?" She asked conversationally, hoping to elicit a worthwhile response. If there was one thing the vocalist had noticed about her new bandmate, it was that she she could talk a lot but say nothing at all. It was a concerning skill.

"They are, thank you for asking," The elder girl nodded and sipped at her tea, "Is the new song doing well?"

"Of course it is. We're charting in the top ten in a lot of places, we won Inkigayo on the day oyu had to leave for another schedule, and sales are high. So while the band as a whole is doing well, you kinda came in at a messy time for the members. I'm really sorry about that, we aren't doing nearly enough to make you comfortable and feel like a real member of the team," And it was true. Seulki really felt bad at the circumstances Yufei had joined under. Maeri left suddenly, Sumia had just returned, there was the stalker-threats issue with Yoonmi (God help them all, there), and their schedules were jam-packed. There was little time for team building.

They just had to get up and go.

"Don't worry about it," The dancer reassured with a charming smile, "I really appreciate how hard you and Sumia work to teach me Korean when the managers are around, and all things considered we could be much worse off. Since there's a subunit debut coming up, I'm sure we can get to know each other better through training together rather than promotions."

"It can't be easy to fake camaraderie on WARdEN Notebook, though."

The Chinese girl shrugged, "I'm used to it."

"Really now?" Seulki raised a brow. Immediately, the elder girl tensed up, and almost visibly put her defenses up again. Damn it, the vocalist barely held back a groan. Her new teammate was painfully defensive, secretive, just, didn't want anyone to know her. It was hard, and she regretted bringing attention to the statement immediately.

"I think I'll head to bed, I have a bit of a headache. Thank you for the tea, make sure you sleep soon," Yufei said all this in one quick breath, darting out of the situation and into the bedroom. She let go of the tension in her body once she saw the only occupant was Yoonmi, who was deeply asleep. She made her way to her bed, and slipped under the covers.

How could I even say such a stupid thing, Yufei scolded herself. That was just asking to be caught, to be looked into, for Seulki to find out and everything to be ruined. Everyone would know once one person did, and she felt ill at the thought. No one could know who she really was- No one could know her real name, who she used to be and everything she had done in the past. If they did, her career was over. Again. The thought had her shivering under the covers.

Perhaps it would be easier, to live with her story out in the open. No more hiding. No more lies. But the very notion was terrifying, and Yufei knew she couldn't do it.

"Just live as Yoo of WARdEN," She whispered to herself. Steeling her will. Convincing, "She is all you ever need to be."

Yoonmi blinked sleepily, heart sinking at the words.

Yet another bandmate with problems layered upon problems.

---

In the Navillera Era, WARdEN won a total of six music show awards. New member Yoo was absent for their first win with the song due to conflicting schedules, but the members were all very active on their SNS accounts following each win. Their fanbase widened broadly, but there was a large divide in the fandom. Those who preferred their Rum Pum Pum Pum and Red Light concepts, and those who were more partial to Ice Cream Cake and Navillera concepts. Many who were fans of the former claimed the latter were too cute. The fans who were into the latter often claimed the former fans were "fake fans," and quicky the still-unnamed WARdEN fandom suffered a bad rep for their in-fighting. The girls appeared on a number of variety shows in mixes and as a whole. Hello Counselor was their most popular appearance, followed by Sera's solo appearance on Please Take Care of My Fridge. There were rumors of a subunit when the younger three members were seen going in and out of the UouO Media building together more often than the elder three.

Inside the company, the stalker issue with Yoonmi was hotly debated but CEO Ahn Minha was firm in the opinion that they had to take legal action and eventually bring the issue to light. The police were notified and had a lead suspect. Yoonmi began to recieve in-company counseling to deal with any psychological issues caused by the events.

WARdEN's newest subunit, composed of the three youngest members, practiced hard. They would be releasing an EP in mid-July. Miyoung, Yoonmi, and Sumia were given many extra hours of vocal practice as the unit was very vocally weak. Despite previous predictions, due to the international fanbase's dislike of cute concepts, this subunit was not projected to do well in international markets. This was an issue, as the unit was originally geared towards WARdEN's main fanbase. However, UouO Media's former soloist Amanda Lee, or Minji, was confident this would help create a stronger hold for WARdEN in the Korean market and urged the company to continue with the plans. As Amanda Lee was an influential voice in the company even after leaving it, the subunit was officially announced with a teaser July 1st.

Lee Soo Jung, or Sera, was often absent outside of her individual schedules (She appeared often on radio shows in the month of June, and had a solo modeling deal in early July). She spent much of her time with Lee Jinki. She kept her best friend, Seulki, in the dark about her growing romance.

On the other hand, Seulki was very open with her bandmates about her new relationship with her longtime friend, Jonghyun. The two were an open couple among friends, but hid the romance from the public, especially as there was already much speculation about the reality of their relationship. During this time, Seulki attempted to become closer to their newest member, Wu Yufei.

Yufei kept herself closed off from the group in general, but felt herself gravitating towards Soo Jung and Yoonmi. She has been very wary of Seulki's continued attempts to see past her walls, and is paranoid that she will find out about her past. Her Korean has improved greatly since she debuted in South Korea.

Yoonmi resists much of the suggested treatment from the company therapist, and instead chose to throw herself into training for the new subunit. She has made no effort to open up to her bandmates or any other of her friends about the incidents, but her brother Jihoon has become a very familiar face since that fateful fansign. That being said, he still does not know the exact circumstances surrounding it. Byeol is the main rapper, vocalist, and visual of the new unit.

Miyoung has become too involved with work and as such, Sumia and Seulki are concerned for her. While she seems to be keeping it together fairly well, she seems to have developed slightly disordered eating habits. However, her main focus has been to become someone worthy of all the positions she has been given. Miyoung is the main vocalist, dancer, rapper, and visual of the new unit.

Sumia has finally gotten used to being back with the group, but she is well aware each individual member is struggling somewhere across the line. Interviews are a tough thing for her, as she is often questioned about her rock climbing accident that nearly ended her career. She still has to be careful with her body after the incident, and cannot participate in dance practice as often as the others. Thanks to her talent, however, this is not seen in their performances. he is the main dancer, vocalist, and maknae of the new unit.

(author's note) CLINIQUE Korea photoshoot here. Girls match up with those whose lines they follow. My health keeps flip-flopping so updates are everywhere, I know. But hopefully I have the rest of this lined out and we can get a move on. I found a much more effective way to line out my stories recently so hopefully that will help!

Sorry for any spellign and grammar errors, I just wrote this whole thing right before I posted it, so...