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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"How did we lose all our phones at the same time!?!" Chae shouted in exasperation. The girls were so frustrated that they began knocking on doors throughout the dorm. When someone answered the door, they'd barge past the occupant as Yuna yelled "Ask no questions! Telecommunications emergency!" Then they'd open all the drawers as well as look beneath and behind the furniture as the stunned victim watched.
They didn't find the phones, so they walked back to Lia's room in silence.
"Guys, this is really getting old," Chae sighed. "How are we going to explain this?"
Lia was especially nervous. She had some pictures on her phone that Yuna had modeled for. They were pretending that they were famous idols doing fashion shoots. The pictures weren't inappropriate, but it was fairly obvious that she had feelings for the girl in the pictures. Though Yuna could sometimes come off as goofy, she was in fact extremely sharp. Lia wondered if she was actually smart enough for Yuna... even though Yuna had no clue that Lia had a crush on her.
Lia kept telling herself over and over that she should confess her feelings. But she was scared, and even though she'd rehearsed it in her mind a thousand times, she couldn't find the right words. So she kept it bottled up, and settled for listening to a playlist of love songs that helped her imagine a life with Yuna. Lia tried to subtly prod for any hint that Yuna was gay, but she still couldn't tell. She felt so much fear that she'd take the step to tell Yuna how she felt, and Yuna would reject her.
She knew how kind Yuna was. She'd never hurt her feelings on purpose, but if Yuna said she wasn't interested, things would be weird between them forever. And that kind of awkwardness could affect all five of them. Maybe they'd never be a group together, and it would be Lia's fault.
"Let's retrace our steps," Yeji said, taking charge. "We had breakfast in the cafeteria, then we went to school and practiced."
Ryujin spoke up. "Then we went to the 24-hour store after lunch to get some Twinkies. We could have left our phones there, but what would have made us all get our phones out at the same time?"
"Remember who we got to take selfies with?" Yeji asked, excited by the memory.
Chae answered. "Yes! That was fun."
"Maybe our phones are still at the store," Ryujin added.
"We set them all on the counter while we talked to her. Then that's where we're going!" Yeji commanded.
The five of them walked the four blocks to the little convenience store. When they entered, they saw a portly, middle-aged man standing at the counter.
"Ah! It's you troublemakers. You guys blocked the doorway taking all those silly pictures with that lady. Do you know how much business you cost me!?! I was so upset, I couldn't sleep at night. You ought to pay me for my time and aggravation!"
"We're really sorry," Yeji said in a soothing voice. "We didn't mean it. But she was Park Bom from 2NE1. We had to get pictures with her! She's a legend."
