79 Mission Accomplished

"We've ordered the largest set and some appetizers. We got seafood pancake, your favorite! And no calamari just how you like it! But you better come quick! Ahrie is eating all the side dishes this glutton! Ack! Those are my potatoes, nooo~~!!"

Iris giggled as she listened to Cindy's phone call on speaker. She could hear the other girls in the background laughing and talking. They were all currently at Haemong, the barbecue restaurant that Iris and Rinah had met up to eat at one night in late spring, early summer.

That memory felt so distant yet not so long ago for Iris who was being driven there by her personal manager from the Big Hit Entertainment building nearby. She had just finished up her photoshoots and filming for her music videos, one produced mainly by IZ*ONE's management company, Off the Record, and the other by Big Hit.

So to celebrate her debut prep completion, Iris was meeting up with her Big Hit girls as the previous day was spent with IZ*ONE.

Ever since her first photoshoot, the IZ*ONE members were frequent guests. All of the girls were curious about Iris's chosen concept that was being made into reality.

For her solo album, it went off the theme of Peter Pan and classic fairytales with a modern twist. The idea all tied back to her composition of Pied Piper for BTS and her hit original song on Soundcloud which was recommended by RM—"Neverland."

So it was only appropriate to continue the Big Hit 'tradition' of an unbroken, connected story from start to finish. Iris hoped to tie this solo debut concept back to her eventual girl group debut that would continue with this youthful feeling of never wanting to grow up, just have fun, and chase dreams all while being lost in life and inevitably growing up.

She believed this was a feeling relatable to all youths who year by year slowly realized but want to stay ignorant toward the fact of becoming an adult with more responsibilities and the pressure of their future and place in society.

Instead of BTS's rejection and criticism of societal expectations and burdens, such as during their debut about the rigid school system of South Korea, Iris wanted her and her group to acknowledge and accept the harshness of reality in their musical story. She wanted to reflect the relatable way in which many young adults and new adults tackled the process of growing up.

In a manner unique to youth, they were confused and unsure, but also still retained hope and excitement for their futures. They felt a pressure to chase their dreams now while they could before they had to accept the reality of survival with finding a decent job and working for the rest of their lives.

It was this story and these emotions and struggles that Iris hoped to express through her music and connect to her audience. She believed now more than ever, that today's youth was feeling this weight and sense of loss in that sparkling dream that was being bogged down by impending reality.

That was part of the reason why her debut day was the midnight of the New Year. That uncertain but hopeful time was the perfect, symbolic date.

Thus, Peter Pan was the last of their struggles to retain that carefree dream and imagination of their wild, blissful youth. But of course, this was still Iris and her group's story to tell. So it would roughly narrate how each of them held onto that dream and didn't give up. Not everyone's path had to be the same, and this was the message that Iris Huang dearly wanted to express in order to encourage her fans to believe in themselves.

After all, not everyone had a cousin Cindy or BTS RM to push them onto the starry road that Iris didn't dare to tread on by her lone decision. If she could give strength to her fans, for them to push themselves and achieve great things as long as they dared to try wholeheartedly, then her mission would be accomplished.

"You finally got here, thank goodness! You're the only one that can rein this little beast!" Cindy breathed a dramatic sigh of relief, only for Ahreum to give her a good bop on the head.

"Hey! The waiters already restocked the side dishes, so stop complaining hmph! Anyway I was doing Iris a service, so that she wouldn't have to see me eating and feel hungry because she can't overeat for her debut in a couple weeks!"

"Honey." Cindy snorted, crossing her arms. "Don't make excuses. You know Iris's metabolism is insane. The only one we need to be worried about is you! Despite all our practice, you've gained five pounds!"

"Oof!" Ahreum hid her head in shame. "I'll just be like those cool unnies who stand up for positive body image then, huff!"

"What? Hwasa of MAMAMOO? You first need a good curvy body to be able to pull that kind of speech off." Jiyeon winked, joining in on Cindy's teases.

"Uwah, they're so mean to me, Iris-unnie! Save me!" Ahreum face-dived into Iris's arms like a baby duck to its momma.

Jiyeon sighed in amusement. "How did we end up being the bad guys?"

"Our baby was stolen from us," said Cindy was a regretful shake of the head.

"So melodramatic, haha!" Iris slapped her cousin's shoulder before comfortably sitting in the empty chair and table space next to Jiyeon.

"Oh, she's back. Awesome, we can all dig into the seafood pancake then. Nice, it's still warm. I protected this from Ahrie, so please note my hard efforts with a mighty foe."

"Pfft!" Iris chuckled at Cindy's dramatics while waving over the brunette who had just returned from the bathroom.

"Rinah!" cheered Iris when the girl came within arms length. She sat up to greet her in a hug that the other heartily returned.

While each of the three other girls had their own stories of struggle to share for how they all got to this place now together, Rinah's and Iris's story shared the most similarities. Both found a support from someone unexpected after not believing in themselves nor having the courage to take the dive into full-time music.

Thus, that and their most alike demeanor in comparison to the other girls, naturally drew them towards one another. This would be the first time that Iris could welcome Rinah as one of their own now—the final piece to her musical puzzle. Her time helping Rinah on YouTube paid off as the girl had been practicing with the others for a few months as a "new" official trainee of Big Hit.

Iris inwardly smirked to herself. Another mission accomplished.