the idol suicides | txtzy

ii

"Annyeonghaseyo JYP-nim." ITZY chorused as they took their seats at the round table. 

The room was eye-wateringly fragrant. 

JYP had taken up a hobby of gardening, producing NMIXX's unreleased b-side "WAVE 2 ME" with a beat drop that consisted only of the sounds of his plants. 

Kind of iconic. 

Especially because all 48 of said plants were named Park Jin-young.

Ryujin protested they should've been named Park Jin-old.

"Annyeong, congrats on the comeback, super great reception from the— the uh— Midz, right? That's your fanbase?" JYP said, literally patting himself on the back.

Ryujin scoffed under her breath. "It's Midzy's."

Lia laughed, but quickly tried covering it. "What she means is, we lost a portion of our fanbase when UNTOUCHABLE flopped, so it's not due to old age you forgot what they're called." 

She said it so sweetly the joke flew right over JYP's shiny head.

His lack of reaction made the band members grin at each other, holding in the giggles threatening to burst from the seams of their lips.

JYP beamed at Lia. 

"Speaking about that, I didn't think you ladies could actually write a hit song after UNTOUCHABLE's earning fell short of expectations, so I made a little deal we need to discuss." JYP said.

Instantly the grins were wiped.

"HYBE is too... pussy to make a girl group because their supposedly "cursed" or whatever when it comes to girl groups (In this world Lesserafim/etc.? Don't know 'em) and JYP is basically the royal kingdom for girl groups, so... you're going to collab with their 4th gen group, TXT. You'll be sharing a dorm with them until the collab ends." JYP smiled.

"WHAT?!" Yeji, Yuna, Lia, Chaeryeong, and Ryujin yelled.

JYP shrugged. "Couldn't afford separate dorms." 

"We're part of the Big 3 and HYBE is basically the number 1 company, why can't we afford it?" Ryujin interrogated.

JYP fixed her with a level look. "Uh to be honest? You're our lowest-earning group right now, so I can't be spending the big bucks on you, y'know?"

"But LUCKY ME's success more than makes up for it." Chaeryeong pointed out.

JYP's nose scrunched. "True that."

"Then why are we still sharing a dorm?" Lia asked.

"Because drugs are expensive." JYP deadpanned. He gave the girls a side-eye when they gasped. "You guys are in the industry, why are you surprised?"

━━━━━━ʕ•㉨•ʔ━━━━━━━

"Home sweet home." Yuna said nervously. 

The dorm was small, but it thankfully had two rooms. It was clear there would be one for boys and one for girls, which was so far, the dorm's only redeeming quality.

Because they would soon discover...

That when Lia tried making mac and cheese, the stove didn't work.

When Yeji found a dance practice room, they realized how... close everyone would have to get.

When Yuna laid on a bed, she yelped from the bedsprings being pressed right against her back.

When Chaeryeong went on balcony, she almost choked on the dense pollution.

When they all tried unpacking their bags, they realized there was only one drawer and one closet.

"Well..." Lia said as they regrouped in the small living room. "It won't be as horrible once we start to shoot the music video and get to go places that... aren't... here." 

They all just nodded.

They went in different directions, trying to unpack to the best of their ability (Yuna bargained to have her clothes in half the drawer, Ryujin the other half, Lia and Yeji shared the closet and Chaeryeong used the bathroom cabinet) when the doorbell rang.

Ryujin jumped up from the couch and ran to the door, opening it up to face—

An assortment of korean fried chicken, kimchi, carp bread, bibimbap and of course, salads. 

The five nervous faces of TXT were the next thing she saw.

Beomgyu was the one who held out the food like it was a barrier between himself and a wild animal. "Annyeong, we brought lunch!"

Ryujin felt her face split into an uncontrollable grin. "Set it down on the table, I'll get drinks for everyone."

Beomgyu nodded, some tension leaving his shoulders as he and the rest of TXT barged through the door, surveying the space. 

HueningKai raised an eyebrow. "Wow, they really gave us luxury, didn't they?" he said dryly. 

Yuna burst out laughing. The others stared.

She straightened up, fixing her hair. "What? It was funny."

Chaeryeong, Lia, Ryujin and Yeji smiled at their maknae.

You haven't laughed in a while.