This is the story of Ryujin & Yeji from childhood, through Itzy, and into retirement. During that time, an intense and sometimes painful love blossoms, made difficult by the demands of fame and the search for meaning and purpose during Itzy and afte...
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Before Itzy retired three years ago, the members - led by Chae - had renegotiated their contract with JYP Entertainment, the company that discovered and managed them.
Considering how these contract disputes go, it had actually been a relatively friendly negotiation, if somewhat confusing at times. Itzy was the biggest band in the world. Being such a powerhouse certainly gave the women some negotiating clout. During their final tour, they had sold out arenas and stadiums around the world, playing for as many as 100,000 people in a single show. They also did countless public appearances and endorsements, and it seemed like the list of silly talk shows they had to appear on went on forever.
For years, they were friends with the members of BTS and Blackpink, and while Itzy rooted for all kpop groups, behind the scenes they were a little proud at having surpassed all of their favorites. Like those two great groups, they had headlined both Coachella and Lollapalooza in the US as well as dozens of gigantic shows around the world.
Since they were Itzy, the staggering thing was that people in the media referred to those two famous USA shows as "warm up acts" for their world tour.
Warmup act? Was Coachella like playing in a coffee shop or in the subway? Was Madison Square Garden tinkering with your guitar in your bedroom? But Itzy was that big.
They had worked so hard, and toured so much, that at times the members became worried about each other's mental and physical health. But the grueling experiences had made them incredibly close.
They grew to love one another. Like family. If anyone messed with one member of Itzy, they would quickly discover that they were messing with all of Itzy. A number of paparazzi who had pushed or bumped a member soon discovered that Yeji was not going to let it pass. Some even discovered that this fiery unnie would push back. As things got crazier and crazier the last couple of years, it sometimes seemed like Yeji had turned pushing paparazzi into an Olympic sport. She was sympathetic to the photographers - after all, they were just trying to make a living - and they all knew that photographers were part of the deal one made as a kpop idol, but pushing and shoving and banging them with big camera lenses was most definitely not part of the deal.
As the members went into the negotiation, they were very different people from the teenagers they were when they debuted. Their eyes were open to the business side of music. Early in their careers, they made little money, since they were unknown back then. In fact, like many groups, they were stunned to discover that they actually owed the label money.
But things were very, very different now. They were the biggest band on the planet.
The members got attorneys because they would need help during the negotiation, since JYP would have a roomful of lawyers of their own. They didn't expect a knockdown fight, but both sides just wanted to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks, and that they were all on the same page.
