Chapter Text
“EL/X! EL/X! EL/X!”
Rin can hear the thunderous chanting of the Exies from behind the stage, and it only makes her bounce about even more excitedly.
“You excited?” Minseo asks from behind her. Rin has to admit, she looks stunning, with her hair tied up in space buns and her makeup all done up. “I have to say, it’s been a long year.”
“I know!” Hyein exclaims, spawning from out of nowhere. “I mean, we only debuted like 10 months ago! But still!” Her lips shine ruby red in the light - just how she likes it.
“It’s crazy, you’ve all grown on me,” Sooyoung adds, her deadpan gaze falling upon the curtain. “To be honest, I’m not quite sure why.”
Jihee walks up, her hair bouncing up and down, and a grin that barely contains her enthusiasm painted upon her face. She’s flanked by the other members of EL/X, Yuna and Sumin.
“Ready girls?”
“Ready!” they all chant back.
…Twelve months ago…
“Rin! Are you ready to go?”
“Uh yeah!” Rin looked up from her ipad and grinned at the manager who had come to introduce her to her new K-pop group. His name was… Baehan? Or something.
Baehan crouched down in front of her. “Hey,” he said. “Just reminding you that they are all older than you. So if you feel scared, come find me. Ok?”
“Sure, Baehan,” Rin nodded. “So… Can I meet them yet??”
Baehan gestured her to follow him, and she picked up her ipad and did so, her heart beating so loud she wasn’t sure if he could hear it or not. Would they like her? Would she fit in?
“We’re here!” Baehan exclaimed, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see six other girls sprawled across the room, nametags on.
The girl whose nametag read ‘Sooyoung’ was sitting on the edge of the sofa, drumming her hands against the coffee table top. Her face was pulled in a look of pure discomfort, and her lavender-greyish eyes were focused on the carpeted floor. A baggy yellow cardigan had been hastily pulled around her, and she was listening to a song through her headphones.
Next to her was a girl whose name was apparently Minseo. She leaned back against the cushions, reading from a Kindle that had clearly come from the UK. Her socked feet were perched on the sofa and she was fiddling with a golden pendant which matched her eyes.
Stretched out on the floor, on her back, watching YouTube shorts was Hyein. She was watching the shorts with amazing focus, only moving the brush her bangs out of her moss green eyes or to scroll. Spread on her face was a smile that only got wider each time she scrolled.
On the beanbag was a girl named Yuna. She was reading a book written in… Spanish? Her icy blue eyes snapped up to meet Rin’s as she walked in, before melting ever so slightly. She nodded a greeting before continuing to read.
A girl called Sumin was pacing up and down energetically, fidgeting and almost tripping up on Hyein. Her eyes were a startling crimson, like spider lilies, and Rin gazed at them for a few seconds.
Lastly was Jihee. She reclined on a loveseat, a romance book in her hand, but sat up immediately when Baehan and Rin entered. Black eyes met Rin’s light pink, and Jihee said, “Oh hello! Are you Rin?”
Rin nodded vigorously. “Yeah! That’s me!”
“Well… You guys probably want a tour of your living quarters,” Baehan said. “Up you get! And follow me. No straying!”
The group collectively sighed and got up, following Baehan through the door and to an elevator. He swiped a card and pressed a button before clearing his throat.
“This first floor consists of offices, likewise for the ground floor.
The second floor has rooms for us staff.
The third, fourth and fifth floor have practice rooms and recording studios.
The sixth floor is the kitchens for the idols who can’t cook, we cook for you until you can.
The seventh floor is Luni!Jump’s. You have the eighth floor. Don’t bother Luni!Jump, the leader is grumpy. Don’t bother those on the higher floors either.”
Rin nodded, blinking from the information overload. The elevator dinged, announcing that they had reached the eighth floor. The group poured out, with a happy gasp. The living room was giant!
A long white sofa ran on two sides of the wall, and a huge tv covered half of the third wall. The door to the elevator was next to it. Hyein immediately flopped onto the sofa.
“This is your floor. You’ll find your luggage is already here, in your respective rooms,” Baehan said. “We decorated the rooms based on what you requested, but you’re free to change it around.” He pulled out a map from nowhere and called them all over, showing them where their rooms were.
“You’ll need these cards to access your room,” he added, pulling out more access cards from nowhere, and handing them out. Rin could barely hold in a squeak. “I’ll come over at 8 with your dinner, now feel free to socialise and sort out your luggage. We will shop tomorrow and introduce the staff to you.”
With that, Baehan disappeared.
“Well…” Jihee said awkwardly. “Uh, nice to meet you. How about we introduce ourselves? Like our name, our birth date, and an interesting fact about ourselves. I’ll go first. My name is Jihee, I’m born on February 7th 2009, and… I like to read K.M Shea.”
“Ok. Uh. I’m Sumin, I was born on August 28th 2009, and I’ve competed in many athletic competitions in the past.” Rin can just see Sumin as an athlete.
“I’m Hyein! I was born on October 14th 2009, and… hm… I play chess.”
“I’m called Yuna, I was born on December 23rd 2009, and I’m half Spanish half Korean.”
“My name is Sooyoung… I was born on March 11th 2010… and I like to draw my dog Macaroon.”
“I’m Minseo! I was born on July 30th 2010 and… Um. Yeah. I have an aunt who lives in the UK.”
“My name is Rin! I was born on November 29th 2010 and I am only 4’11…”
Sooyoung cracked a smile. “Wow you’re short. I’m like 5’6!”
So tall! Rin stared wide eyed at her before Jihee clapped her hands.
“We should probably go unpack,” she said. “And then we could pick out a movie to watch?”
“Sounds like a plan!” Sumin grinned before dashing off. She came back in two seconds. “Where’s my room again…?”
Rin giggled and sauntered off to her own room. It was way bigger than the one at home, and it was sage green! The bed was a double bed, and the carpet was a pleasant navy blue. Her suitcases were piled on it, and she crouched down, struggling to open it, before giving up with a sigh. Who could she get to open it?
Sticking her head out of her room, she noted that Sooyoung and Minseo’s rooms were nearby. Nervously, she knocked on Minseo’s open door.
“Rin, is it? Hi! What do you want?” Minseo asked with a glance up from where she was exploring her cupboards.
“Uh. I can’t open my suitcase,” Rin mumbled, face flushed slightly. That sounded so childish!
“You want my help, right?” Minseo jumped up. “Right! I don’t think I’ll be able to open it either but I’ll try!”
…The suitcase remained firmly jammed shut.
“Oop. Yeah, I can’t help. Maybe ask Jihee?”
Rin nodded, sucking in a deep breath. “Thanks anyway Minseo!” She walked to where Jihee’s room was, and saw her arranging K.M Shea books on her bookshelf. “Uh… Jihee?”
Jihee looked over. “Oh Rin! Hello. Uh… Is something wrong?”
“My suitcase is jammed shut-”
“Say no more!” Sumin burst in with a crowbar. Jihee and Rin stared blankly at her. Where had she got that from?
The crowbar actually worked, thank God.
“Thanks Sumin, Jihee!”
“No problem,” Jihee replied with a sparkling smile. “Look at the time! It’s 7 already! You’d better hurry, you don’t want to miss dinner.”
“...Yeah. I will!”
The door closed behind Sumin and Jihee, and Rin crouched down at the suitcases. Time to unpack.