61 Final Decision

Mulling over the situation by herself wasn't going to lead Iris anywhere, so she laid bare her suspicions to the three girls before heading off toward Bang PD's office. Iris decided that she would share her ideas on their potential musical story later when the situation was clearer.

After all, the more complicated the events leading up to the final formation of this group was, the more Iris had to work with to make a compelling story for themselves. But at the same time, Iris didn't want the story to be artificial just for the sake of successful marketing and differentiation.

It would have to be a story that they created and agreed upon together. Iris knew that her group members would have equally ingenious ideas. They had to be sincere and real about the process and storytelling.

On the way to the director-producer's office, she encountered Beomgyu and Soobin of TXT. Not in a rush, and not wanting to be rude to her juniors that she hadn't spoke to in a long time, Iris paused and struck up conversation with them.

"Noona-sunbaenim!" Soobin piped cheerfully. "How've you been? We didn't get to talk at all yesterday when we saw you. You're doing well?"

"Hm! It's good to see you back!" echoed Beomgyu with a refreshing smile.

Iris smiled in turn, admiring the hardworking youths of TXT. They all surely were worthy hoobaes of BTS-sunbaenim. Every box from vocals to visuals, dance, and charm were checked off. Their group also had a fitting story to their music that was relevant to the times while also being original to them.

Certainly, Iris couldn't remember the last time any kpop boy group took Harry Potter as inspiration for their comeback. TXT's magical storyline was curiously quirky and engaging, a little fairytale of lost boys trying to find their home.

She commended TXT, PD, and Big Hit for crafting an original, musical tale, but it also made her competitive to have one just as good for herself and her team. Even GFRIEND, now under Big Hit, had their story being tied to the BTS world like TXT by the company fans.

'Hmm~ I'll have to formally greet GRIEND later now that we're in the same family! I'm kinda excited actually hehee…' Iris eyes twinkled in anticipation. Ever since moving to South Korea, her life never ceased to be interesting. It made her think of that "living the [Y/N] life" joke.

She giggled suddenly at that thought, making the two boys in front of her confused.

"Is something funny, Iris-noona?" queried Beomgyu politely.

"No haha, sorry~ Just feeling grateful to be here at Big Hit and being able to take hold of my dream."

The TXT boys were taken off guard momentarily by Iris's honest answer. Then, with bright grins, Soobin and Beomgyu glanced at one another with knowing looks before turning toward Iris. They completely understood the girl's feelings. It was this mutual passion shared by all signed artists under Big Hit that made them so close-knit.

"Iris-noona, when you release your solo, you have to invite us to your first concert, okay?" Beomgyu winked, causing Iris to laugh.

"You're jumping too far into the future, little Beom (little tiger)~ But thank you!" Iris wanted to pinch his adorable dimples, but she withheld herself as a responsible noona and sunbaenim. "Where's Taehyun by the way? You two usually are early birds. Although, I'm very glad to see you Soobin. Are the other members still asleep?"

"Yes, we're going to get some food for them since we ran out of some stuff."

"Such a responsible leader! Well, I won't hold you two any longer. Keep up the amazing work Soobin, Beomgyu~ Give my best to the others, and I'll ask you for some signatures later, okay?" Iris grinned with a playful wink. "I bought your most recent albums. I'm a huge fan of Run Away and Angel or Devil. I can't wait to see what you all come up with next!"

"Thanks noona!" The two boys laughed and cheered. "We'll be waiting! First row seats, okay!" Beomgyu added decisively.

"All right, all right," chuckled Iris, wanting to ruffle the top of the boys' heads like a proud momma; even though, they were both taller than her. Youngun's these days all grew up so quickly!

After waving goodbye, Iris proceeded slowly on her way, still looping through what she was going to say to Bang PD. Once she reached his office, she took a deep breath, gripped the handle, and opened the door.

"Iris," greeted Bang PD as he looked up from his desk. "I didn't expect to see you so soon; although, I'm not really surprised either. So did you make a decision?"

Iris nodded. "Yes. However, I also want to discuss a little with you too."

The man smiled welcomingly. "Of course, what did you want to talk about?"

"It's about Jang Rinah. I spoke to the other girls about their survival competition experience, and I met Rinah just a short time ago. We wondered if she was in consideration to become a potential trainee and member of our group and if the number of members was settled upon to be four?"

Bang PD hummed musingly. "You surely are a smart one. Not surprised though that you would try figuring out the situation. After all, you like to understand and plan everything before starting something."

Iris waited on the edge of her seat for PD to continue after a long moment's pause.

"Yes… I guess I can't lie to you. Haha, Iris! Nothing can get past you, huh?" Bang PD laughed heartily in adoration, making Iris feel awkward yet appreciative.

"I didn't want to have a large group, so yes, we're only thinking of four for the group—a group that combines both the prowess of four-member groups: BLACKPINK and MAMAMOO. Rinah was a runner-up in the chance that you only wanted to be solo.

However, today she just informed me that her parents told her to come back home and finish school. So unfortunately, she's no longer on our shortlist for backups. Minhyun would then likely be our next candidate; although, I would have preferred a vocalist over another rapper since Jiyeon and even you have that area covered."

"Ahh… I see." Iris slowly nodded in understanding. But somehow, she felt like Bang PD wasn't telling everything to her. It was just a faint gut intuition, but despite that, she trusted him to make the best decisions. He was an absolute music genius after all! She didn't respect any entertainment company CEO more than him.

"Well thank you for explaining the situation. I'll be sure to pass this along to the others. As for my decision, I decided to go solo during the last year of my non-exclusive contract with IZ*ONE. I'll use my break to prepare for the debut and mini-album. And afterwards, when my time in IZ*ONE is finished, I'd like to train alongside Jiyeon, Ahreum, and Cindy to debut as a group."

Bang PD peered intently at the quietly resolute girl, inwardly giving her his silent approval. "Yes, this is a good plan. I was hoping for this kind of decision, actually. I think it best capitalizes on your popularity from IZ*ONE while boosting the interest in the debut group. It also gives them ample time to prepare for debut. However, a lot of the success rests on your shoulders. Are you up for this challenge?"

Iris stared straight into Bang PD's eyes and clenched her fists. "Yes! 2020 will be the year of Big Hit!"