If I Were You (Stray Kids Lee Know X Female OC)

Ch. 17: Hazy Deja Vu

"Set to debut... Wait, what?"

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"Wait, what?! Already?!" Kyungjoo asks with a rather alarmed tone after Nayeon had shared the news with her.

It had only been minutes since she received a call from Minho, telling her of his debut already set to happen in a few months. Tentatively, it would be set to happen by September this same year, but so far, he's already begun preparing, getting his papers ready and working on songs that would hopefully appear on his debut album.

It was the greatest news Nayeon had heard that week! But after she had told her older member, she only got confused when Kyungjoo didn't seem so happy about the news.

In fact, if anything, it seemed to be making her antsy.

"Unnie... is something wrong?" Nayeon asks as she places her hand on the older girl's shoulder.

Kyungjoo remains silent. It's a wonder to anyone what she might be thinking. But no doubt, it definitely has something to do with Minho.

Just what exactly happened in their past... that his debut would shake her up so much?

On the other hand, while an unsettling atmosphere floated over Melodine's practice room, a light atmosphere filled the room in Park Doyoung's studio.

Doyoung couldn't believe it when Mr. Go called her to let her know about the news. Minho is already preparing for his debut. Finally, all the things she had done to help him regain a semblance of his previous life are coming to fruition, and Doyoung couldn't help but squeal as she ran to Miyeon to share the news.

"He's debuting, Miyeon! I knew he could do it! He's debuting!" Doyoung jumps as she holds onto her manager's shoulders, shaking her as Miyeon tries to maintain her balance.

"That's... great... but Doyoung... you're shaking... me... too much!"

"Oops, sorry," Doyoung says as she immediately stops, before she laughs happily again and places her hands over her mouth.

And Miyeon looks back at her with a proud smile of her own. "You guys did well. You guys did really well and I'm proud of the both of you."

In the next second, Doyoung suddenly places her arms around Miyeon, hugging her tightly and surprising her as the manager widens her eyes and then turns towards the idol.

"Thank you," Doyoung eventually breathes out as she hugs Miyeon tightly.

The latter chuckles in response before she slowly lifts her arms and eventually hugs Doyoung back. "Oh, come on. I barely did anything! It was you who did all the work."

And well, that sets it off, as Minho suddenly finds himself preparing for his long-awaited debut...

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Minho sighs as he stands in front of the mirror in the trainee practice room. The place is quiet, and the lights turned off all except for one near the mirror. That's the only thing giving some sort of illumination for the young man, as he looks at himself in front of the glass that he hopes he will never see again.

Starting tomorrow, he'll be moved to a different practice room, and if given the chance, he might even be able to give a hand in the production of his album. For now, he's just waiting for any further announcements from the company, to tell him what he has to do next.