“Alright” your manager began, "This is it, the official lineup. Now, if you all want to debut, you have to make it work. This is what Shin Seon-jeong wanted." You turned to look at her, looking at her like she was crazy. "Nobody told me I was debuting with a bunch of dudes!" you scream whispered at her, the rest of the room silent as the other guys just observed. She waved a dismissive hand at you, shaking her head, "It is what it is Y/N, you know I don't have control over what the company wants to do with it's groups" You sighed, very frustrated, " know, but we're never going to get anywhere because I'm the only girl. They could've at least put two other girls in here too, why just me!?" She shook her head again, dismissive, "I don't know, now stop wasting time and get over there! You've got work to do if you want to debut, and pay off all that trainee debt" Your stomach dropped with the realization that it was this, or nothing. You slowly turned toward those guys, they were all still watching you, looking as equally confused and uncomfortable. You felt instantly awkward and anxious, looking back at your manager, then them, finally walking over there. You didn't want to, but you didn't have a choice. There's no way this would end well. You walked over, not standing next to them, just, close enough for comfort. You tried not looking at them, but one of them spoke up, catching your attention. "You're debuting...with us..?" the guy asked You looked over, feeling stiff as you nodded unsurely. "I guess...I don't know why though. I was supposed to debut in Illit, but they took me out of the line up and put me here." you responded, your heart beating because you could feel their judgement. "Oh.." he said, nodding slowly as if he felt bad for you but also not happy with the fact you were with them. "So then, what's your name?" he asked "*User*” you said, chewing your lip He nodded, "My name is Zhao Yufan, but people call me James" he told you You nodded, "nice.." you said quietly He then looked at the other guys, pointing them each out, telling you their names. Martin (15 at the time), Keonho (14 at the time), Seonghyeon (also 14), and Juhoon (15). You took mental note of their names, and ages once you found out. (Your date of birth for this is August 21st, 2008. So currently you're 15) Then, after that short introduction, staff put you all to work. You guys were so awkward around each other, and that lasted forever, well, felt like it. You trained day in, and day out with each other. Eventually bonding through the late nights and traumatic experiences. ** You personally grew close with Martin, as you had seen him around before, way before this ever happened, so you kinda knew him already. Also, you grew close with Seonghyeon too, he was always super nice to you in this soft shy way, you appreciated it. ** Your personal relationship with each one of them was an awkward balance between not wanting to over step boundaries, and funny jokes. Keonho, once you got to know him, got on your nerves A LOT, and he enjoyed it too. You mostly spent your time bickering with him. You trained day in, and day out with each other. Eventually bonding through the late nights and traumatic experiences. ** You personally grew close with Martin, as you had seen him around before, way before this ever happened, so you kinda knew him already. Also, you grew close with Seonghyeon too, he was always super nice to you in this soft shy way, you appreciated it. ** Your personal relationship with each one of them was an awkward balance between not wanting to over step boundaries, and funny jokes. Keonho, once you got to know him, got on your nerves A LOT, and he enjoyed it too. You mostly spent your time with him bickering, or beating each other up. James got on your nerves too, but you could tolerate him, he just liked to poke fun at you. Juhoon was quiet, and you guys didn't really talk much, you didn't know how to talk to him. All of your hard work eventually paid off once you officially debut in August of 2025, 3 days before your birthday. You all celebrated over sneaked ice cream after work hours behind the HYBE building. ** "This is so exciting" James said while staring up at the stars, ice cream in hand. Martin smiled at him and said, "Yeah, can't believe we finally got here." "Yeah, three years of training" Keonho said "Hey, try 6!" Martin said Keonho rolled his eyes, a tiny smile on his face. "Hopefully it goes well, I think our songs are good." Seonghyeon said “Of course our songs are good we made them!!” Martin would say You all celebrated over sneaked ice cream after work hours behind the HYBE building. "This is so exciting" James said while staring up at the stars, ice cream in hand. Martin smiled at him and said, "Yeah, can't believe we finally got here." "Yeah, three years of training" Keonho said "Hey, try 6!" Martin said Keonho rolled his eyes, a tiny smile on his face. "Hopefully it goes well, I think our songs are good." Seonghyeon said Martin furrowed his brows and shook his head hard, "Of course our songs are good! We worked our butts off, they better like it" he said with a tiny smirk at the end as he took another bite of his ice cream. They all smiled, but, you weren't. You stared down at your ice cream; barely touched it. James noticed your not so happy look. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked you, watching you with furrowed brows. You looked up at him, ready to mask your feelings with a smile as you usually do, but, you couldn't. ** You sighed deeply, looking back at your ice cream, "What if we fail? And what if it's because of me?" you They all went silent, not knowing what to say. They never had seen you get serious like this, you were always laughing or smiling, it was your personality to be optimistic. So, seeing you feeling down, and because of yourself, made them feel bad. "No, that wont happen" Martin said, "They'll say something yeah, but everyone will move on" You kept your head down, eyes adverted. You felt embarrassed being the only girl, it felt like a marketing scheme. "No, that wont happen" Martin said, "They'll say something yeah, but everyone will move on" You kept your head down, eyes adverted. You felt embarrassed being the only girl, it felt like a marketing scheme. James walked over to you, standing in front of you, putting his hands on your shoulders. "Don't be sad Y/N" he said, "We wont let them say bad things, I promise" Your brows furrowed in concentration of trying not to cry, "You don't have control of what they say" "And you don't have control over the fact the company put you in this situation, so stop feeling bad" he said, trying to cheer you up. He was right, and it made you feel better actually. After some more chit chat, you tossed your ice cream and headed back to your dorms. You had your own dorm, with you and just your manager. You, for obvious reasons, were not allowed to dorm with the rest of your group. They dropped you off at your dorm first, giving you a surprise group hug before saying goodbye and goodnight. You laid in bed that night, not able to sleep and forcing yourself to not check your phone to see what people were saying. ** You eventually fell asleep that night, tossing and turning because this was no fairytale, this was your real life

“Alright” your manager began, "This is it, the official lineup. Now, if you all want to debut, you have to make it work. This is what Shin Seon-jeong wanted." You turned to look at her, looking at her like she was crazy. "Nobody told me I was debuting with a bunch of dudes!" you scream whispered at her, the rest of the room silent as the other guys just observed. She waved a dismissive hand at you, shaking her head, "It is what it is Y/N, you know I don't have control over what the company wants to do with it's groups" You sighed, very frustrated, " know, but we're never going to get anywhere because I'm the only girl. They could've at least put two other girls in here too, why just me!?" She shook her head again, dismissive, "I don't know, now stop wasting time and get over there! You've got work to do if you want to debut, and pay off all that trainee debt" Your stomach dropped with the realization that it was this, or nothing. You slowly turned toward those guys, they were all still watching you, looking as equally confused and uncomfortable. You felt instantly awkward and anxious, looking back at your manager, then them, finally walking over there. You didn't want to, but you didn't have a choice. There's no way this would end well. You walked over, not standing next to them, just, close enough for comfort. You tried not looking at them, but one of them spoke up, catching your attention. "You're debuting...with us..?" the guy asked You looked over, feeling stiff as you nodded unsurely. "I guess...I don't know why though. I was supposed to debut in Illit, but they took me out of the line up and put me here." you responded, your heart beating because you could feel their judgement. "Oh.." he said, nodding slowly as if he felt bad for you but also not happy with the fact you were with them. "So then, what's your name?" he asked "Y/N' you said, chewing your lip He nodded, "My name is Zhao Yufan, but people call me James" he told you You nodded, "nice.." you said quietly He then looked at the other guys, pointing them each out, telling you their names. Martin (15 at the time), Keonho (14 at the time), Seonghyeon (also 14), and Juhoon (15). You took mental note of their names, and ages once you found out. (Your date of birth for this is August 21st, 2008. So currently you're 15) Then, after that short introduction, staff put you all to work. You guys were so awkward around each other, and that lasted forever, well, felt like it. You trained day in, and day out with each other. Eventually bonding through the late nights and traumatic experiences. ** You personally grew close with Martin, as you had seen him around before, way before this ever happened, so you kinda knew him already. Also, you grew close with Seonghyeon too, he was always super nice to you in this soft shy way, you appreciated it. ** Your personal relationship with each one of them was an awkward balance between not wanting to over step boundaries, and funny jokes. Keonho, once you got to know him, got on your nerves A LOT, and he enjoyed it too. You mostly spent your time bickering with him. You trained day in, and day out with each other. Eventually bonding through the late nights and traumatic experiences. ** You personally grew close with Martin, as you had seen him around before, way before this ever happened, so you kinda knew him already. Also, you grew close with Seonghyeon too, he was always super nice to you in this soft shy way, you appreciated it. ** Your personal relationship with each one of them was an awkward balance between not wanting to over step boundaries, and funny jokes. Keonho, once you got to know him, got on your nerves A LOT, and he enjoyed it too. You mostly spent your time with him bickering, or beating each other up. James got on your nerves too, but you could tolerate him, he just liked to poke fun at you. Juhoon was quiet, and you guys didn't really talk much, you didn't know how to talk to him. All of your hard work eventually paid off once you officially debut in August of 2025, 3 days before your birthday. You all celebrated over sneaked ice cream after work hours behind the HYBE building. ** "This is so exciting" James said while staring up at the stars, ice cream in hand. Martin smiled at him and said, "Yeah, can't believe we finally got here." "Yeah, three years of training" Keonho said "Hey, try 6!" Martin said Keonho rolled his eyes, a tiny smile on his face. "Hopefully it goes well, I think our songs are good." Seonghyeon said “Of course our songs are good we made them!!” Martin would say You all celebrated over sneaked ice cream after work hours behind the HYBE building. "This is so exciting" James said while staring up at the stars, ice cream in hand. Martin smiled at him and said, "Yeah, can't believe we finally got here." "Yeah, three years of training" Keonho said "Hey, try 6!" Martin said Keonho rolled his eyes, a tiny smile on his face. "Hopefully it goes well, I think our songs are good." Seonghyeon said Martin furrowed his brows and shook his head hard, "Of course our songs are good! We worked our butts off, they better like it" he said with a tiny smirk at the end as he took another bite of his ice cream. They all smiled you smiled back * They dropped you off at your dorm first, giving you a surprise group hug before saying goodbye and goodnight. You laid in bed that night, not able to sleep and forcing yourself to not check your phone to see what people were saying even though you really wanted to see how people thought you were excited ** You eventually fell asleep that night, tossing and turning because this was no fairytale, this was your real life

“Alright” your manager began, "This is it, the official lineup. Now, if you all want to debut, you have to make it work. This is what Shin Seon-jeong wanted." You turned to look at her, looking at her like she was crazy. "Nobody told me I was debuting with a bunch of dudes!" you scream whispered at her, the rest of the room silent as the other guys just observed. She waved a dismissive hand at you, shaking her head, "It is what it is Y/N, you know I don't have control over what the company wants to do with it's groups" You sighed, very frustrated, " know, but we're never going to get anywhere because I'm the only girl. They could've at least put two other girls in here too, why just me!?" She shook her head again, dismissive, "I don't know, now stop wasting time and get over there! You've got work to do if you want to debut, and pay off all that trainee debt" Your stomach dropped with the realization that it was this, or nothing. You slowly turned toward those guys, they were all still watching you, looking as equally confused and uncomfortable. You felt instantly awkward and anxious, looking back at your manager, then them, finally walking over there. You didn't want to, but you didn't have a choice. There's no way this would end well. You walked over, not standing next to them, just, close enough for comfort. You tried not looking at them, but one of them spoke up, catching your attention. "You're debuting...with us..?" the guy asked You looked over, feeling stiff as you nodded unsurely. "I guess...I don't know why though. I was supposed to debut in Illit, but they took me out of the line up and put me here." you responded, your heart beating because you could feel their judgement. "Oh.." he said, nodding slowly as if he felt bad for you but also not happy with the fact you were with them. "So then, what's your name?" he asked "Y/N' you said, chewing your lip He nodded, "My name is Zhao Yufan, but people call me James" he told you You nodded, "nice.." you said quietly He then looked at the other guys, pointing them each out, telling you their names. Martin (15 at the time), Keonho (14 at the time), Seonghyeon (also 14), and Juhoon (15). You took mental note of their names, and ages once you found out. (Your date of birth for this is August 21st, 2008. So currently you're 15) Then, after that short introduction, staff put you all to work. You guys were so awkward around each other, and that lasted forever, well, felt like it. You trained day in, and day out with each other. Eventually bonding through the late nights and traumatic experiences. ** You personally grew close with Martin, as you had seen him around before, way before this ever happened, so you kinda knew him already. Also, you grew close with Seonghyeon too, he was always super nice to you in this soft shy way, you appreciated it. ** Your personal relationship with each one of them was an awkward balance between not wanting to over step boundaries, and funny jokes. Keonho, once you got to know him, got on your nerves A LOT, and he enjoyed it too. You mostly spent your time bickering with him. You trained day in, and day out with each other. Eventually bonding through the late nights and traumatic experiences. ** You personally grew close with Martin, as you had seen him around before, way before this ever happened, so you kinda knew him already. Also, you grew close with Seonghyeon too, he was always super nice to you in this soft shy way, you appreciated it. ** Your personal relationship with each one of them was an awkward balance between not wanting to over step boundaries, and funny jokes. Keonho, once you got to know him, got on your nerves A LOT, and he enjoyed it too. You mostly spent your time with him bickering, or beating each other up. James got on your nerves too, but you could tolerate him, he just liked to poke fun at you. Juhoon was quiet, and you guys didn't really talk much, you didn't know how to talk to him. All of your hard work eventually paid off once you officially debut in August of 2025, 3 days before your birthday. You all celebrated over sneaked ice cream after work hours behind the HYBE building. ** "This is so exciting" James said while staring up at the stars, ice cream in hand. Martin smiled at him and said, "Yeah, can't believe we finally got here." "Yeah, three years of training" Keonho said "Hey, try 6!" Martin said Keonho rolled his eyes, a tiny smile on his face. "Hopefully it goes well, I think our songs are good." Seonghyeon said “Of course our songs are good we made them!!” Martin would say You all celebrated over sneaked ice cream after work hours behind the HYBE building. "This is so exciting" James said while staring up at the stars, ice cream in hand. Martin smiled at him and said, "Yeah, can't believe we finally got here." "Yeah, three years of training" Keonho said "Hey, try 6!" Martin said Keonho rolled his eyes, a tiny smile on his face. "Hopefully it goes well, I think our songs are good." Seonghyeon said Martin furrowed his brows and shook his head hard, "Of course our songs are good! We worked our butts off, they better like it" he said with a tiny smirk at the end as he took another bite of his ice cream. , They all smiled you smiled back * They dropped you off at your dorm first, giving you a surprise group hug before saying goodbye and goodnight. You laid in bed that night, not able to sleep and forcing yourself to not check your phone to see what people were saying even though you really wanted to see how people thought you were excited ** You eventually fell asleep that night, tossing and turning because this was no fairytale, this was your real life