The moment BigHit teased the random dates under the ChuGrace hashtag, everyone was excited to see what was coming. Many had speculated this would be Grace's comeback or at least a solo debut while others suspected it might be something to do with modelling or maybe even acting. No one had given any clues out and all social media had remained silent, though a countdown video had appeared on BigHit's website and Twitter after a post was made with the date of Grace's birthday and a time.
Many news outlets and websites had taken to sharing the news, including various other idols such as IU and CL who were excited for their close friend to be finally debuting as a solo artist while representing the biggest band on earth. Twitter saw Grace's name trending for at least a week with many questioning what could be happening.
The one date everyone agreed on was May 14th, Grace's birthday. Without fail, there would be some kind of social media post or weverse live from Grace to celebrate her birthday - sometimes with the members, sometimes on her own, sometimes even during a concert. But ARMY was always included and they hoped this year would be no different. It would be Grace's first birthday since everyone's enlistment, a fact that didn't escape other news outlets when they mentioned the countdown.
DISPATCH were tasked to keep an eye on the Hybe building to see if Grace was spotted coming and going but there was nothing to report. The only thing that came out of it was bunches of flowers appearing from different florists across Seoul. A picture of someone carrying a bouquet made up of Lily-of-the-valley and white roses was posted to their website, zooming in on the card which had Grace's Korean name on it.
Another picture of massive pink balloons were seen as well, a rumour going around that it had 'it's a girl' printed on a couple of balloons had sent the social media world into a frenzy. However, BigHit had remained silent and no statement had been released to clear anything up or to even expand on what was happening.
The premiere of the Weverse Live was reaching over two million people who were simply waiting for Grace to appear. It had been live since 9pm that evening with a few thousand waiting and the closer it got to the time, the more were joining. The woman in question was sitting in a studio filled with people, from Hitman Bang, PDogg, Sejin, assistants and even her parents were there behind the camera that was pointed towards a table. Behind the table was a purple background with GRACE in big balloons, posters with handwritten notes from staff and a birthday cake at the side ready to be eaten.
She was nervous since this would be the day where she couldn't stay hidden. Grace had kept herself in a little bubble, only appearing when she needed to and then staying behind closed doors. Visiting the other members, popping in to say hello to Seventeen and TXT, going to their concerts, visiting IU and CL, attending other concerts in secret, recording, modelling, signing contracts...it was ongoing even if it wasn't in front of the cameras. She simply hadn't stopped, especially when the tour had been confirmed with all the stadiums, dancers, choreographers, production, Disney+ and more.
It was a huge undertaking on her own and while she had the boys' support via her phone, no one was physically there now to simply give her a pat on the back and say 'You've got this.' Though Sejin had simply stepped into that role and acted like her father, collecting her in the morning to take her breakfast, staying with her for her whole schedule, lunch then dinner and making sure she got home at a decent time.
He even took over the role of looking after the cat, Min-ji. Speaking of said pet, he was content to spread himself over Hitman Bang's lap in a small collar. It wasn't odd to find the long, white and hairy cat walking around the set or the studio like he owned the place. He had become a favourite amongst the staff.
Taking a deep breath, Grace glanced over to the screen as the countdown started to dwindle into single figures. Her eyes darted to her parents, to her father, who gave her a big thumbs up and a nod to say 'you've got this.'
5 4 3 2 1
ARMY saw the screen switch from black to Grace sitting in front of them, securing a small but funny birthday hat to her head. Of course, the chat was spammed with 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' messages to the point where Grace couldn't keep up and the staff moderating the chat couldn't control it either.
"Thank you ARMY for all the birthday wishes! It's currently 12 am here in Seoul, so it's currently 3pm in the UK which won't be celebrating my birthday just yet. I'm 34 years old," Grace paused and sighed. "That makes me sound so old. 34 years on this planet, I'm getting even closer to 40 and that's just a very odd thought. But thank you so much for all your messages, I can't see them all since they're going so fast and there's so many people. Five million? Wow, thank you everyone."
She pulled the birthday cake in front of her, specially made by her mother which she told the viewers. The candle was lit for her and ARMY could hear people in the background singing Happy Birthday to Grace who closed her eyes for a moment, stayed there for a second then blew out the candle.
"If you're wondering who you keep hearing, there's a lot of special people behind the camera right now," Grace grinned as she handed the cake to the staff member to cut up for everyone then pulled off the birthday hat. "No it's not the boys but their very important people. My parents are here as well."
She paused to read some of the messages, a couple catching her eye which made her chuckle. "I've been teasing you? Have I really? Well there's a good reason for that, which I will be revealing shortly for you all. I know the world has been waiting to see what the news will be and I even saw a DISPATCH report that said I was pregnant because they saw 'it's a girl' balloons arriving at the building. I will quickly clear that up before it goes anything further - that's for one of the staff members who recently found out she's having a baby girl. Nothing to do with me."
She kept the talk light, referencing various questions from the chat and ARMY was delighted when Min-Ji made his way over, jumping into Grace's lap and resting his upper body across the table. "Min-Ji is here to help me tell you the news," she laughed as she reached over to give his ears a good scratch.
"Okay, I've left this for as long as I can. So ARMY, even though it's my birthday today, I wanted to give you a present. You've been waiting patiently for a very long time and even though I've always said something was coming, I've never been able to tell you everything until now," she paused and glanced towards Hitman Bang behind the camera who stood and nodded, ready to jump in if he needed to.
"Dangerous Woman was my first mixtape that I did with Hitman Bang, PDogg, Yoongi and Namjoon and I always wanted to create a sequel to Dangerous Woman but unfortunately never fully had the chance because obviously BTS became busier than normal and other things took precedence which I didn't mind. Now, I'm on my own and the boys are in the military, I think it's time I kept my promise to myself," Grace started and went silent, causing ARMY's to explode the chat with questions.
"Coming soon, there will be a new album."
The Weverse stopped working for a full few minutes as the team quickly worked to get it back up and Grace was laughing when she came back in view, realising the news had caused ARMY to overwork the servers. Even social media was struggling to keep up with the news as Sejin saw the headlines already being spread across the various news outlets in Korea.
"Not only that, the new album will have Dangerous Woman as its first CD but you're getting a new CD with full new tracks. I've had them ready for a little while but I wanted to make sure I was happy with it all and that it was something I was ready to show ARMY and the world so I can't wait for you all to enjoy the album," she finished but she knew the next piece of news was going to send ARMY into a right tizzy.
"But I'm not only giving you a new album," she paused and looked straight at the camera, a grin on her face. "I'm also going on tour. So wherever you are in the world, keep an eye out as dates will be announced soon and I can't wait to see you all again. I knew if Yoongi could do it, I could as well though I think I can go a bit harder than he can so I need you all to hype me up as much as you can."
The comments were going too fast for her to see and even Sejin couldn't keep up with what was happening on his phone, messages coming in from various people over whether the news was true or not. Celebrities had even taken to their own social media to wish Grace a happy birthday but to include congratulatory messages over the new album and tour announcement.
TXT had taken to their own social media accounts to post the news, wishing their noona a happy birthday and that they couldn't wait to see her in concert. Seventeen soon followed as well as Twice and (G)I-DLE, then IU, Jessi, Epik High, Taehyung's Wooza friends and then a message on WeVerse popped up from Jin towards the end of Grace's live.
"To my Grace - happy birthday! I'm sorry I can't be there with you but I'll be back for the next one. I can't wait for ARMY to hear your new album which I know they'll love and I can't wait to see their reactions to your tour. You've worked so hard and it's all going to pay off when you stand on that stage. ARMY, get ready to be amazed and please support your queen in my place. I'll be home soon. I love you."
Grace didn't see the message till after the live but ARMY had seen it straight away, instantly commenting on it over Jin's words. If there was going to be anyone who would follow Jin's words to the T, it would be their fanbase.
"You'll be seeing me a lot more now and I can't wait to see all your reactions when everything is posted. I hope you'll love the album, the tour, everything and I can't wait to see you all. So many things are going to be happening in the next few weeks so prepare yourselves, because it's going to be a lot. Thank you so much for the birthday wishes and messages, thank you for all your support. ARMY, I love you!" With a heart over her head with her arms, Grace gave her final message and let out a sigh of relief when the camera was switched off.
The news was out, the team was in place to get started and now she could fully relax and enjoy what was to come. Grace Chu was finally coming to take over the KPop world with a bang and so much more