63 Lucy Light

"We're not going to be like GLAM, but we can acknowledge the inevitable comparison by building on our differences through our connection." Iris bent over while talking, and the other girls crouched down a little to form a small huddle.

"Maybe our music doesn't have to right away talk about how we had to overcome this hurdle, but it can be an underlying part of our story if anyone asks or delves into our world."

Jiyeon nodded seriously. "For sure, we can use this past history of Big Hit as an advantage rather than a disadvantage."

"Yes, and this is just a tentative suggestion, but our group name could have multiple meanings, one of which connects to the fact that we'll be the first girl group of Big Hit after an initial failure. We will overcome our precedent and not be a failure ourselves."

"Oof, I'm getting shivers already from the idea," softly squealed Ahreum with barely-restrained eagerness as she paced lightly from foot to foot, almost as if she were subtly hopping in place.

"Did you have a specific name already in mind?" probed Cindy. She knew her cousin too well. Iris surely had some specifics in her analytical and imaginative mind. Otherwise, she wouldn't bring up the subject confidently without having planned it thoroughly.

Iris winked knowingly. "You know it cuz!" She looped her arms over Jiyeon and Ahreum at her sides and stared directly into Cindy's eyes and then into each of the other two girls.

"What you do you all think of LUCIE?"

"Lucy?" repeated Cindy curiously.

"Hm!" Iris nodded. "Taking the L, U, C from 'luck,' and then IE could be spelled as 1,3 as in thirteen which is typically thought of as unlucky, and also as 1+3 for the four of us. It could've also been LUCIA where IA is 1+4 too if we had five members.

"L, U, C also comes from Luce which means 'light' in several languages such as Italian and French. Cindy's heritage is french, her last name is Angier, after all. But more importantly, we are 'the light' coming from the shadows. This can even be connected to BTS's last album! We arose out of the murkiness of the situation to shine on the stage. We fought the odds against us and made our unluckiness into luck!"

The more that Iris explained, the more that the other girl's eyes lit up with her "bright" idea of a group name. Cindy clapped her hands gently yet firmly with abounding enthusiasm.

"And luce also shares some roots with other languages words that mean light! Like in spanish, 'luz'! And lux which is "light" in Latin which also sounds like luck!!"

"Hahaha! Cindy, you still remember Spanish and Latin class, huh?"

"For once that old knowledge is actually coming in handy!" laughed Cindy merrily.

"Yeah, so LUCIE has a lot of meanings. Even the name Lucie is the french form of Lucia, which is the feminine form of Lucius, a common name in Roman history and is a generally popular name today in Spanish and Italian." Iris figured that a historical meaning that translated to modern day would be pretty cool.

"Wow, the internationally significance and appeal is strong." Jiyeon remarked.

"Not only that," Iris excitedly continued, "But Park Jiyeon, a former member of GLAM, now is a soloist under KQ Entertainment with the stage name, Lucy. Isn't that funny? I didn't even realize this coincidence when I was thinking up of names at first!"

Kim Jiyeon burst out in a fit of loud giggles. "No way! That's hilarious!"

"It's like this was meant to be!" joked Ahreum.

"So if we're going with numbers at the end of the name, and they're significant…" Cindy murmured. "Then 13 and luck almost sounds like betting…" Her hazel eyes glowed in realization.

"YES!" Iris nearly jumped at her cousin's recognition. "We can be like cards! But without infringing on the cards theme that the group K.A.R.D had. I was thinking that Jiyeon could be the king, Cindy the queen, and Ahreum the Jack, or knight!"

"And you'll be…the Ace?" Cindy snapped her fingers upon putting the puzzle pieces together.

Ahreum gasped and clasped her hands together. "That totally works! So the significance of 1+3 and then— WAIT!!" Her gaped wide open in another shocking discovery. "OMO! You once sat on seat 13 in Produce 48, eeeeppp!!!!"

"Okay okay, calm down little one!" Jiyeon laughed and muffled Ahreum in a motherly bear hug.

"Wow, exactly Ahrie!" Iris snapped her fingers and pointed at the girl in approval. "You remembered right! I once sat on seat 13, so it's like this was fated to be!"

"That's~ amazing~!" Little hearts and stars seemed to gush from Ahreum as she dramatically swooned.

"But then what about 14 if we're five members? Or is Rinah never really going to come back?" Cindy pointed out.

"I guess you got over Rinah quickly, huh?" teased Jiyeon with a light elbow jab.

Cindy coughed with a fleeting shade of pink. "Ahem~ I was wrong about her and prejudged too quickly. Actually, she's a way better vocalist than I am and actually knows how to play an instrument unlike my untalented self."

"Girl! You don't have to disparage yourself in your apology!" Jiyeon chuckled heartily and slapped Cindy's back.

"Well I was being partly sarcastic, haha."

Iris posed thoughtfully at the mention of the former Big Hit trainee. "I'm not sure about Rinah. But it looks like she probably can't come back. I just had the slightly modified idea of LUCIA just in case."

"How did you think of all this so quickly, though? It wasn't long that you knew we'll be four members."

"Oh." Iris scratched her head sheepishly at Cindy's observant question. "I've been building up this idea since being in seat 13. Although I'm not superstitious, I couldn't help feeling nervous being in that numbered seat. It would've been funny had I been in the 14th place where previous Produce trainees have controversially not made the lineup."

"Wow, 13 and 14 sure are funny numbers…" murmured her cousin.

"But doesn't this sorta of set in stone the number four? Since you sat in seat 13? If we want to go with all these connections to our group name that is." Jiyeon pointed out.

"True…and honestly I had another reason for 13 too."

"Another meaning?!" The three girls all cried out together in harmony, making Iris crack up.

"Yes, yes, sorry I just have too much fun making symbolic meanings from letters, numbers, and names! Perhaps it's from being a k-pop fan for so long, haha! Anyway, 13 can also be stylized in script to look like the cursive letter 'k' which makes LUCIE actually look like 'Luck.'"

If the 1 and 3 were put close together with the 3 being a little smaller with more flourish to the font, then 13 resembled a cursive k. She had figured this out while doodling in her journal the previous day.

"Iris. You're a ****ing genius." Cindy gasped in awe and then closed her mouth with her hand upon realizing that she had slipped and cursed. "Oops~ haha~ Excuse my, ahem, 'french~'"

The girls guffawed at Cindy's slip-up and their now shared "inside" joke about french words and meanings. They all never knew how much fun it was to create their own little universe for their future fanbase.