There's always room for another

Chapter 10: 2.3 The tiny deaths (part two)

IMPORTANT: trigger warning for mentions of suicide and suicidal thoughts. nothing too graphic, once again, but just be wary around the second chunk because Yongsun is working through her grief.

I included a summary of what it is in the author's notes at the end if anyone wants to skip that part.

(see the end of chapter for more notes.)

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2.3

It was inevitable, really. Yongsun should have seen it coming. Mamamoo had debuted with four people, and every member played an important part. It made sense for this to happen, and yet -

"No."

"Yongsun -"

"You can't expect us to be okay with this." Yongsun shot out of her seat, pacing the small studio room floor. "It's been barely six months, you can't -"

"It's been six months." Do Hoon rubbed his hand over his neck wearily. It was clear that he was expecting this. His eyes kept darting between the infuriated Yongsun and the still stunned Wheein and Hyejin. "And we all know that's a lifetime in the entertainment industry."

"Well, it doesn't feel like a lifetime for us," Wheein spoke up, her surprise bleeding into anger, just like Yongsun. "How could you even think about that?"

"We've all had to, Wheein-ah." Do Hoon seemed to curl even deeper into himself. "Look, I miss her too. Every day. But we can't just keep waiting around like this. We can't."

"Who are we really making music for, Do Hoon-nim? Because I'm sure the fans will agree it's still too early to think about these things." Hyejin's piercing gaze would have been deadly to anyone else; as it was, Do Hoon merely matched it with one of his own.

"Actually, they're wondering if this means Mamamoo will disband. We're losing fans, girls. And that means we're losing money." He sighed, long and low. "Not to make it about that, but we are in an industry. And we need to make sure we keep producing in order to stay relevant."

"But adding a new member? How does that solve anything?" Yongsun couldn't imagine it. Replacing Byulyi with someone else? That would mean they would all have to learn how to sing with her, dance with her, choreograph with her - no. Yongsun simply couldn't imagine it.

(She was just starting to understand how to function without a certain someone right next to her.)

"Will you at least consider it? I'm not saying you have a choice in the matter -" He truly looked pained as he said this, resolutely not looking at any of them. "But it would be nice if you could at least be civil to this new member. She's an innocent to all of this."

In the end, it was Hyejin who dared to ask the question. "Who is it?" Do Hoon gave her a long look. "Come on, it's obvious you've already picked her out. Who is it? Do we know her?"

Yongsun gritted her teeth, but said nothing. "Her name is Jiyoon. Lee Jiyoon." The members exchanged glances with each other - the name was unfamiliar to them. "She's been training with us for a year now. We picked her up on the last audition cycle."

"And you think she's already ready to debut?"

"She's been on the reality show route. Done a few singing competitions, but never got picked up by any of the Big Three. She'll need a bit more polishing, but - she has a lot of potential and her own fanbase." Do Hoon shrugged as if that settled it. "Honestly, it won't take much."

"I don't like this." Wheein echoed Yongsun's thoughts exactly, crossing her arms. "You know being in a group takes more than just skills -"

"I don't need you to lecture me on how to create a good girl group, Jung Wheein." Everyone flinched. Do Hoon had been much sterner with them since Byulyi's disappearance, but that was to be expected. Byulyi had meant as much to him as she had to everyone else.