Chapter Text
Deep inside everyone, lies something.
Something old.
Something wild.
A feral being that would fight tooth and nail to survive. To hold on to what it loves and what loves it. To keep hold of what is sacred and defend it at all costs.
Not everyone is awakened,
but like recognizes like.
And they would do anything for their family.
. . .
Their first chosen member is Seoyeon.
At first, everyone believes she is harmless. She is a normal girl after all, and she had not tasted the rigors of the idol system. A regular high school senior preparing for the College Scholastic Ability Test. University. She expressed no interest in being an idol, nor did she ever attempt to do so.
Typical idol trainees undergo intense trainings, sometimes hazings, brutal tests of skill, prowess, tenacity, and the will to not only succeed, but thrive. They test the strength of the human will to hope and improve. Some break. Most do not succeed. Those that do, well, they are changed.
Often, a requirement to debut with a team is to awaken, not fully, but to let the beast's first sight be the group it will call family, a team. Perhaps it is unfair, to ensure that their most base instinct will be to the team, strangers to most. A permanent binding that causes irreparable pain upon separation, even the thought of it causing revulsion. The imprinting only grows stronger with time and contact, with the absence of contact severing something inside that forever bleeds.
It is most desired for the debut group to barely awaken, only a look at who surrounds them. What is theirs.
Any further could jeapordize their staff.
They are young, and only know what is familiar, all else is a threat.
Threats must be eliminated.
They will fight tooth and nail, to protect and preserve.
Some trainees are more dangerous than others. There are those with combat training, who are fully capable of eliminating a threat. With such a large amount of female trainees, more than a few often are at this level.
In the past, there was a group, with a self defense master, taekwondo athlete, and mixed martial artist, all part of the older line. The group was never acclaimed, nor neglected, and never encountered a scandal or danger. The agency was quite lucky the leader had been awakened for a long time, otherwise it would have been impossible for them to be a group. They are one of the only 2nd generation groups still running, and continue to produce music.
Not everyone is this lucky.
I-dle became 5. Rookie monsters became full fledged monsters, taking their hatred and pain out on their company. They dominated the charts, over and over, growing far too popular to undermine. Loss nearly broke them, so they chose to break those who hurt them. Fiercely protective of their pack, harming one meant fighting the whole, and, quietly, their haters disappeared, dropping off, naturally and unnaturally.
But Seoyeon is not one of them.
She is a normal girl, scooped out of her plans to attend college. She had no plans to be an idol, yet here she was.
She is the first, sweet and harmless.
All alone in the Haus, wondering when she will be joined.
She acts like a normal girl, speaks like a normal girl, and displays no signs of being awakened.
Then the next one arrives.
Jeong Hyerin.
She's a small thing, but she's different.
She's an idol trainee, a young one.
While it isn't likely she's been awakened, the staff are wary of her. How will she mix with Seoyeon? Seoyeon is almost a different world from her, and she from a different environment. One of distrust and betrayal, sadness and depression, training and torture, for a chance to debut.
But nothing happens. Seoyeon is glad to no longer ramble out loud on camera alone, wake up alone, eat alone, go to sleep alone, practice alone, be alone.
And perhaps the staff, they forgot what a human is like. When pushed to their extremes, they either break, or break through.
It wasn't Hyerin they should've been afraid of. It was Seoyeon.
One of the cameras was accidentally left on in the Purple Room one night. It captured a figure, looking at Hyerin's sleeping body. The figure then swiveled its head, staring directly at the camera, red eyes reflecting in the recording. The camera stopped working after that night.
The footage is deleted by an unknown user.
Seoyeon and Hyerin got along well, with Seoyeon taking care of Hyerin like she was her daughter. Hyerin taught Seoyeon how to dance, running through the basics of what idol trainees should know. Seoyeon took to her like a fish to water, and Hyerin preened under her care. She was given praise and acknowledgement, treated like a human, not just another trainee.
Nothing seemed awry.
Next comes another idol trainee. She's another risk. She's older, and a survival show trainee. She's had experience at other agencies, including three of the Big 4, notorious for teams that often were fully awakened. She was once an aspiring pro hockey player, a dream that was not unbelievable.
Lee Jiwoo
When she arrives there is calm. A quiet tension undercurrents their conversation, but of polite indecision, of meeting someone you've never met in person, only through a screen.
Of course they're awkward at first.
Seoyeon sits between Hyerin and Jiwoo, noticeably closer to Hyerin than Jiwoo. She stands between the two as they tour the house. And secretly, she glad Jiwoo chooses the Mint Room. She isn't ready to share yet.
Jiwoo's awkwardness endears her however, washing away their initial suspicion.
She's tall and gangly, clearly nervous around the two, who have been two far longer than they have been three. There is no blind submission nor challenge in her actions as well. She simply presents herself as a human.
Ice cream solves all their problems. It also helps that the camera crew is gone for the night. Jiwoo, a former survival show contestant, is naturally more aware of the cameras, as they are a representation of the threat that your public image is shaped by the people watching. Once they disappear, she is noticeably more loose, just a girl, not former survival show trainee, Lee Jiwoo, just Jiwoo.
She bridges the gap between Seoyeon and Hyerin, landing between them in age, and similar to both in shared experiences. She still attends high school, and balances it with her idol trainee lessons. They bond easily, accepting her into their shared spaces, making room for her to exist.
And so, they are three.
Not everything is always sunshine and roses however, and S4 is no stranger to hardship.
Kim Chaeyeon, who had previously debuted in a girl group as a child, acted in famous shows and movies, worked as a children's show MC, and wrestled her own gods and monsters. It was a shock to many that she decided to sign the contract.
As a third generation rookie, at such a young age in the show business, she was most definitely, at the very least, awake.
And being awake is dangerous. For one family has already been lost, another, that would kill the beast inside.
To be safe, they move the trio to New York City, under the guise of a learning experience, before they show Chaeyeon as the fourth girl. Having previously warned them of their intrusion on their living space, they allow Chaeyeon to conduct her own preliminary inspections of the quarters. She appears young, surprisingly young, for one so versed in the show business. Almost young enough to hide the sharp gaze she sweeps the camera crew with anytime they approach her.
Her enthusiasm at exploring the space wins over the staff however, and soon after, her teaser is released.
Back in New York, the trio is gathered to react to S4's teaser, when they spot a familiar background. Is that. . . our . . space ? If not for the quick memory of their leader, well, the staff pretended to ignore that chilling feeling tingling down their spine.
It serves to remind them there are more to come, but right now, they finish the broadcast. Kim Chaeyeon. Once the cameras are all off, they search her history.
What they find is surprising. Her extensive history and experience speaks of a veteran in the industry. Her picture screams innocence that her wiki page does nothing to support, showing an impressive resume.
For now, she is not a threat.
She is quickly brushed out of their minds though, as they explore The Big Apple, doing their best to enjoy their last times as three.
. . .
Soon enough, they land back in Korea, and sleep off their jet lag. Thankfully they have a day between their arrival, and her arrival. It is spent sleeping, cleaning, and resting.
And with the rising of the sun, comes Kim Chaeyeon.
She's tall, and gives warm hugs.
She seems harmless.
Her bubbly energy is infectious, curling edges of lips up, and coaxing laughter from unwitting sources. A welcome change to the shyer three, she quickly becomes their friend, both a pillar of strength and one to protect. She is precious, fragile, yet strong, and her claws lay hidden barbs sowed through honeyed words. But no one notices, not yet.
They are four, one and twenty-four.
. . .
For the beast has two hands, tools of wonder, be they violent or gentle delights.