Kazuha POV
Debut. A word that every trainee of the K-pop world wants to hear. I am one of those trainees who are lucky to hear that word.
Along with the others called, Chaewon and Sakura, former Iz*one members, and Yunjin and Eunchae. To be part of a new rookie group is massive, but being a part of people who have the same dream as you? Is more massive.
We are now in the office of the CEO, looking at each other. Awkwardness fills the room. Glancing at whatever your eyes land on.
"Hello girls, I just want to say that you are here in this room for a reason, and that reason is you work hard. This is the result of all the sacrifices you've made. Congratulations to all," Chaewon cut the silence.
Chaewon, I've seen her perform before. A girl with good vocals and seriously good dancing abilities.
"Hi too! I'm Sakura! Nice to meet all of you! You did great everyone! Let's work hard!" Sakura followed.
Sakura, a Japanese girl like me. She is a nice and cheerful girl. The eldest among girls here. The way she speaks is so energizing, even her words have positivity around them.
"H-hello to everyone! I'm Yunjin. The road has been rough yeah? The important thing is we made it. Congratulations everyone!" Yunjin said and clapped which made me and the other girls laugh too.
Yunjin. A former Produce 48 contestant, the show that created the former group we know as IZ*ONE. Though she was eliminated in the past show, that didn't stop her from becoming an idol.
"H-hi, I'm Eunchae. I-I'm pleased to meet you, please take care of me, and let's work hard!"
Eunchae, the youngest among all of us. She was a shy one, but from her eyes, I can see her determination to improve and work.
Now that they finished, it's my time to speak up.
"Hi everyone, I'm Kazuha. It's nice to meet you all and I hope we can succeed together happily!" I said in a cheery tone and I saw them smile widely at me.
"That we will try to do, but I'm confident that we will," Chaewon answered which garnered a nod from all of us.
"And that's what we want. Not that you will be the pride of the company but you will also be together for a long time," the CEO entered also known as Bang Si Hyuk.
We all stood up and bowed to the CEO and he gestured for us to sit again.
"Now that you are all here, we've watched your evaluations, your will, your improvements. Congratulations to all of you, you will debut under the HYBE," Mr. Bang Si Hyuk said. Making me and the other girls cheer.
"*giggle* Okay, I'm glad that you all are on the same page. Now, I want to ask you all, what do you want to call your group?" The CEO asked which made us think.
"Well, any suggestions?" Chaewon raised.
"Well, seeing that we all here are fearless, maybe something that signifies braveness?" Yunjin suggested.
"Courageous?" Eunchae also answered.
"I like fearless," Sakura said.
"I like Fearless too," I agreed with Sakura's choice.
"Fearless hmm? Like I'm Fearless? The more you say it the more I like it," Yunjin said which made us nod in agreement.
"But it's quite simple right?" Eunchae pointed out.
"Then let's make an anagram of it," The CEO chimed in which made us gasp at the good idea.
"Yes!" "That's good!" "That's interesting!"
Then we scrambled the letters of fearless and we added Im to the pool of letters, making some fun notes here and there until we stopped at a certain set of letters.
"Le Sserafim," I muttered. I smiled and looked at the other members.
"Eeeek! I like it!" Yunjin squealed.
"It's cool!" Sakura gasped.
"It's unique and awesome at the same time," Eunchae giggled.
"Le Sserafim? I agree," Chaewon nodded.
"Then, I should call you Le Sserafim then?" CEO asked and we nodded. The CEO smiled and wrote our group name on a piece of paper.
"Now that we established your name, let's talk about your debut-"
We talked for hours putting words together to make our debut song. While everyone was helping and giving suggestions, we managed to make a draft of the song titled "Fearless".
After we finish that meeting, we are then introduced to our manager who will handle our schedules.
We then are ordered to go to our old dorms to pack up since me and my new members will go to a new dorm that will make us live together.
Yes, we are new in this world we are stepping into, but shyness has no place in this world. It is either you take the first step or let the opportunity pass up on you. Every moment is an opportunity to meet and greet someone.
I'm not a well social butterfly, but I know that these members are picked not only because of their talents, it is also because of their attitudes.
I went inside my soon-to-be old dorm and I reminisced about the moments that I would go here to sleep, play, dance, and my 'me' time.
I placed all of the items inside my suitcase and one by one, the excitement inside of me grew, the determination to do well, for me, for the fans, and most importantly, for my family.
Clothes, products, and letters of encouragement. I gathered it all inside my suitcase. I pulled the zipper until it reached the other end.
I breathed and calmed down my fast-beating heart. I then broke down in tears, not because I was sad, but because I was happy. All the hard work, time, criticisms, and loneliness, are all worth it.
To make it to this stage, I'm sure that I will make this opportunity one that will change my life.
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A few months have passed, debut date has been set. We are currently practicing our choreography. Honestly, I'm scared that I will not do enough, but with the member's help, I know I will overcome this small hurdle in my future career as an idol.
"Good job everyone! That's it for today," our choreographer said. I and the other girls cheered and we thanked her for teaching us.
Our choreographer then exited the dance room and as soon as the door closed, my legs immediately wobbled which made me strike the floor quite hard.
"Kazuha! Are you okay?" Chaewon rushed to me first.
"Y-yeah, I'm just tired," I said.
"Tell me about it, our dance is something else alright," Sakura sat beside me and massaged my legs.
"I agree with unnie here, but it's fun so yeah," Eunchae smiled.
"Wait, did you eat breakfast Zuha?" Yunjin asked. I shyly shook my head making Chaewon groan.
"Aish, you know how hard our dance is. Always eat breakfast, everyone," Chaewon said.
Like a girl who was scolded by her parents, I sat there quietly, not wanting to be a burden anymore.
Then an arm went over my shoulders and I saw Chaewon crouching down on my level.
"I'm not angry Kazuha, I'm just worried. I don't want us to work hard while our bodies are suffering okay? I worry for all of you, us," Chaewon said and I nodded at her.
"Can you stand up now Kazuha?" Chaewon asked, I moved my legs and I nodded at Chaewon.
Chaewon then smiled and showed me her hands so that she could pull me up. I accepted her help and then we went to the cafeteria for brunch.
"Pst, Kazuha," Sakura called me.
I went beside the older girl and walked at her pace.
"What do you want to eat?" Sakura asked. I giggled at her question.
"What do they offer here unnie?" I asked.
"Well, many foods are displayed but! Don't eat without kimchi!" Sakura squealed which made me giggle again.
"Unnie! Don't make Kazuha addicted to kimchi!" Chaewon then grabbed me playfully.
"YAH!!! Kimchi is delicious okay?" Sakura defended.
"Yes that's true, but not always," Yunjin joined in the conversation.
"Hey~ are you ganging up on me?" Sakura pouted.
Eunchae then hugged the oldest girl among us and she supported her.
"Don't worry unnie. I love kimchi," Eunchae said.
"YES!!!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Well, at least the majority wins bleh!" Chaewon teased Sakura and showed her a tongue. Chaewon then ran towards the cafeteria.
"Come back here Kim Chaewon!!!" Sakura then followed the radish girl. Yunjin, Eunchae, and I just looked at each other and laughed.
"Wow, they love to tease alright," I said.
"I know unnie! I just feel bad for Sakura unnie for her love of kimchi," Eunchae said which made me gasp and laugh along with Yunjin.
"Eunchae! You are so cruel!" Yunjin remarked which made Yunjin's laugh louder. My stomach is just hurting at this point. Eunchae just grinned. Gosh, this maknae of ours is scary.
We laughed while we were walking to the cafeteria. We arrived to see the cafeteria to be almost empty.
Can't blame the people since we are here a little earlier for lunchtime.
We then see Chaewon and Sakura on the counter, piling the food on their plates. We then soon followed the two and stacked our plates with food as well.
After that, we are gathered again at the table but for some reason, Sakura squealed.
"Eeeeeeek! They have kimchi jjigae!" Sakura ran to the counter once again to grab a bowl of her favorite.
"Wah, Chaewon unnie. Sakura unnie is obsessed with kimchi. Not love," Eunchae said and Chaewon just nodded.
"Tell me about Eunchae, she ate that for months, straight," Chaewon giggled which made Eunchae's mouth hang open.
We laughed at the reaction of the maknae and Sakura went back, holding a tray with 5 bowls of kimchi jjigae.
"Grab some!!" Sakura said and each of the members grabbed a bowl.
I then slurped the broth which made me sigh in satisfaction.
"Wahhh, you can make everything with kimchi," I said and I dug into the food I took earlier.
"Fry it, make it a soup, or just eat it by itself, just pick," Yunjin agreed while munching on her food.
"The broth's nice!!!" Chaewon squealed.
"It's delicious!" Eunchae continued to devour her bowl.
"Gosh, this kimchi jjigae made my appetite alright," I said while I patted my tummy.
"WOAH! Where's the food on your plate Zuha?" Sakura exclaimed.
"In~ my~ belly~" I smiled at them.
"That's fast," Eunchae said with wide eyes.
"Ani, teach me how to eat fast Zuha," Yunjin said
"Hey~ wait for us before you go for desserts okay!?" Sakura playfully said and I giggled and nodded.
"Ooh oh OH!!!!," Chaewon shouted which alarmed us all.
"Wae wae?" "What unnie?" "What happened?"
"Let us say goodbye to your abs Kazuha," Chaewon said calmly.
"Aish," "Unnie! Why did you have to scare us like that!?" "*huff*"
I pouted at Chaewon and she just laughed.
"Unnie! You scared me with the ooh oh oof," I mimicked her actions earlier which made us laugh more.
"Yah- HAHAHAHA. What's with the tone?" Yunjin said while laughing and slapping the poor table.
"Hey~ I did not do that!" Chaewon defended in her laughs.
"Zuha unnie, I approve!" Eunchae showed me her thumbs which made Chaewon pout.
"Hey~," Chaewon looked down and the giggling Eunchae went to hug her unnie.
"Gosh! Look at our maknae being cute!" Sakura said.
"Ohoho, if you think she's cute. You're wrong," Yunjin snickered.
"Eyyy~ Eunchae is so innocent," Sakura said.
"Yeah, be careful unnie," I winked at the older Japanese girl and she just shrugged.
I look at Eunchae showing an. I giggled and shook my head.
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We are now in our dorm, tired as after our lunch, we decided to practice.
Now I'm in my room, lying in my bed, looking at the plain ceiling. I sat up and washed myself up to be more comfortable.
I left my room and I saw a person. It's Sakura unnie. We stared at each other for a solid few seconds until we broke the awkwardness with laughter.
"Unnie! It's been days since we moved together!" I laughed.
"I know! Hey Kazuha, we need to hang out more alright?" Sakura said which made me nod.
"Okay then unnie, let's go!" I linked my arms to Sakura and we went to the living room where Chaewon and Eunchae were playing some games and Yunjin was cutting up some fruits in the kitchen.
Sakura the gamer girl she is immediately went to Chaewon and Eunchae, waiting for one of them to lose.
"Take this unnie!" Eunchae said as she smashed the buttons.
"You might be the maknae, but I will show you no mercy!" Chaewon said while pushing the buttons as if there was no tomorrow.
"Yes yes yes!!!" Sakura who is cheering for whoever knows is just in awe in the midst of the fierce battle.
"Geez, scary how a game makes them like that," Yunjin went to my side while putting a blueberry in her mouth.
I giggled at Yunjin and she offered me some fruits which I accepted. I popped a raspberry in my mouth and its juices exploded immediately.
"Yesssss! I won unnie!" Eunchae celebrated while Chaewon was devastated.
"Wah, I was so close to winning that," Chaewon muttered.
Eunchae hugged Chaewon and she cooed to make the radish girl feel better.
Chaewon then stood up and gave the console to Sakura. Eunchae shrugged and she was ready to take on a new challenge.
"Gimmeeee!!!" Chaewon ran to us and grabbed a fruit from Yunjin's bowl.
Yunjin, Chaewon, and I sat on the sofa, watching the oldest and the youngest girl play.
Eunchae put up a fight against the gamer girl, but as expected. The best always wins. Sakura then patted Eunchae and they grabbed a fruit from Yunjin's bowl.
After that little game they played, we talked about our life to get to know each other more, and for our debut tomorrow.
"Girls, tomorrow is the day alright? The day where we will show ourselves, the day that we waited, the day where our journey begins," Chaewon said.
"Le Sserafim fighting?" Sakura smiled and showed her fist. All of us looked at each other with a smile and also showed our fists.
"Le Sserafim FIGHTING!!!"
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