First Meeting

"Iris."

Cindy called out first, a trace of urgency in her voice that also held strained emotion. She stepped forward as Iris gently closed the door behind her and walked forward.

"Hi Cindy." Iris gave a slight nod in Cindy's direction then politely bowed at Jiyeon and Ahreum. "I'm guessing you're the trainees Bang PD spoke of. Nice to meet you, I'm Iris Huang."

The two girls greeted and bowed at Iris in return, making Cindy awkwardly bow as a delayed reaction in order to not be the only one standing straight. Although they were family and grew up in a country with less formalities, it was only proper in South Korea to give the gesture of respect toward a senior in one's area of work.

With eyes sparkling, Ahreum eagerly stepped forward and took Iris's hands, clasping them near her and almost making Iris stumble forward in surprise.

"I'm your biggest fan! I've admired you since even your SoundCloud days! I love your song 'Neverland' so much; it really inspired me to become an idol!"

After blinking for a few seconds, Iris suddenly broke out in a grin and chuckled. "Thank you! So you started training to become an idol because of me? And chose Big Hit to audition?"

Ahreum bobbed her head seriously, replying in a confident, assuring tone, "Don't worry! I started right away, so I've had four years of training! Although two of them were mostly self-taught… But don't worry, I'm really serious about this, so you can count on me!"

She shook Iris's hands for extra impact and peered at her with large, determined eyes. The sight made Jiyeon snicker softly and thump a secure palm onto Ahreum's head. Rocking it back and forth gently, the blonde playfully scolded her.

"Don't scare her off the first time you meet! But I've never seen you this bold before little Ahrie."

"Wah, I'm not little! I'm only two years younger than you!" protested Ahreum as she adorably shook off Jiyeon's hand.

"Hm? Little Ahrie? That's a cute nickname," commented Iris with a smile.

The compliment made Ahreum halt her protests. "Thanks… Iris!" She giggled in delight, making Jiyeon roll her eyes at not caring if her 'idol' called her little.

"Anyway, I'm 1999, so just a year after you two." Jiyeon tipped her head toward Cindy briefly before turning to Iris. "Feel free to speak informally with us."

Iris nodded. Both she and Cindy were born in 1998. Those who were older typically spoke informally toward those who were younger. But that didn't mean that the younger couldn't or wouldn't sometimes speak informally toward those older if they were close.

"Okay, and you can speak informally with me too since we'll be a team from now on." Iris already knew several times over how a group's dynamic worked. Being comfortable with one another was critical to harmony and thus overall success.

Although Jiyeon had seen plenty of Iris on television and heard a lot from Cindy, meeting someone in person was the best way to truly ascertain a person's character. So she was very pleased seeing how friendly and sincere Iris was, just like how she was on screen and through words from those who knew her.

"Yes, thank you for having us." Jiyeon bowed her head a little at her words. But Iris waved her hands, indicating that there was no need for such words.

"So can you show me what you've been working on?"

"Yes, we've been writing songs and brainstorming ideas along with dance and vocal lessons and practice," replied Jiyeon at Iris's question. "Actually, your instrumental for Dionysus was one of the songs we had to create a performance for in our evaluations. Although back then, we didn't know it was going to be BTS's song."

"Oh?" Iris's interest was peaked. She didn't realize how much she affected the group even before meeting or knowing of them.

"Yeah," began Cindy, finding the chance to speak up. "Before the three of us were chosen as part of the final lineup, we had to compete in an internal competition to become official Big Hit trainees."

"Whoa! That's crazy!" exclaimed Iris with a small gasp. "So while I was competing on Produce 48, you all were…?"

Jiyeon nodded in confirmation. "Yes, or well, for some of it. Auditions were held in August, so the competition began as the show was ending."

"Huh, so you made the final cut, cuz." Iris smirked and nudged Cindy with an elbow. The gesture caught Cindy pleasantly off-guard. Thankfully, her cousin didn't seem too upset about being left in the dark about what had been happening behind the scenes at Big Hit.

Cindy beamed and touted back, "Of course! You know that once I set my mind on something, I go all in! There's no room for failure!"

Iris laughed heartily. Even after a long time apart without many words exchanged, her cousin was still the same as ever. Bold, confident, affectionate, and lively. Despite the grueling process of idol training, Cindy had retained herself through it all. Perhaps even, to Iris's observant eyes, even stronger because of it.

They could have a heart to heart talk later about it by themselves, but for now, it was important to establish rapport with the other members. For the next few hours, the trio told Iris everything in a loose, chronological order from auditions to now. They also shared self-made songs and taught some choreography highlights to Iris.

Overall, the first experience together as a full group was successful by any measure. The four girl's personalities meshed well due to all being socially easygoing and kind as well as being passionate about music.

Afterwards, they accompanied Iris on a tour of their company's floors as well as showing and helping Iris unpack her belongings at their shared dorm. During the tour, they passed by BTS, TXT, and other boy trainees along with staff. They only exchanged words of formality and small talk with everyone before continuing on their way.

Like that, the day quickly passed. Before sleeping, she and Cindy had a short talk together. They didn't go into too deeply about everything that had happened since they were last together face to face because the other members were in the living room of the dormitory. But it was enough for the two of them after a long day.

When Iris woke up early the next morning, she crept out of bed and got up to wander around in the new building. A lot of thoughts and concerns were piling up in her head, so she thought a walk would help her sort and clear her mind.

'What would be the best way to go about debuting? It's not like we can debut as a group while I'm still in IZ*ONE, even if we're in the non-exclusivity period right now. But that's a whole year, and I still want to do my own music.

'However, my solo debut could negatively affect the rest of the group. Although that's detracting from the other members, presuming that they won't become popular, and I'll overshadow them due to being on Produce48 and a former IZ*ONE member.

'Maybe I'm worrying too much. I just want it to be a success… For Big Hit and everyone who trusted in me. I need to decide quickly instead of delaying the process; otherwise, I won't have time to even consider any activities during this year.'

Sighing, Iris seated herself on a bench on the floor lobby. Lost in her contemplations, she hardly noticed someone approaching her.