Sweet Time

"Minmin~~"

At her nickname, the girl in question turned her lovely eyes toward Iris who was beckoning her over to a table. Iris pointed at a platter of various sweets, specifically toward some gummy bears and chocolates. When Minjoo saw the candies, she pouted and rotated side to side in discontentment.

"Unnie!! You know I like gummy bears too much! Don't tempt me!"

Iris laughed and then popped a gummy in her mouth and chewed deliciously, provoking the younger girl. Iris actually wasn't a big fan of gummies, but she loved chocolates. So she popped in a chocolate to cleanse her palate after the gummy bear was gone, taking care not to combine the two.

"Uwah, so mean!" Minjoo flailed her arms slightly. The cute restrained expression brought a grin on Iris's face. Minjoo was quite mature, or at least appeared so due to her docile and lovely mien, but she acted her age too in rather adorable ways.

"Come on, just one bear! We're celebrating! Besides, you have plenty of time to spoil yourself a bit before we got back on any promotions! Take it, take it!"

Iris shoved a gummy bear toward Minjoo's mouth. Smelling the faint scent of sugar delectableness on the red bear, the younger girl's nose twitched. After a second's hesitation, she chomped down on the bear, nearly biting Iris's finger off. The older girl squealed in shock at the violent action before settling into a short fit of giggles.

Minjoo turned her nose up at Iris while chewing and eyeing the rest of the bears on the plate. Debating on the logic of her unnie, she decided it didn't hurt to splurge a little today.

Just as Minjoo and Iris almost cleaned the plate full of gummy bears and chocolates, Chaeyeon walked over and smirked when she saw their guilty faces.

"Hahaha, please continue." She put out her hands in a "you're welcome" gesture. "The staff probably put out those candies for you two anyway."

Not wanting to be bested, Iris searched around for a treat that Chaeyeon liked so that she could join them. Spotting some yogurt, she shoved the container toward the other girl.

Chaeyeon merely chuckled and replied, "Yogurt's good for you. So I don't mind eating it." She stuck her tongue playfully while picking up a spoon to eat the yogurt. IZ*ONE had finished their celebratory dinner, so now they were free to eat dessert or do whatever.

Currently, most of the girls were chatting with each other or the staff along with doing karaoke in the far corner of the room. The desserts had been rolled out on the table about thirty minutes after the dinner plates were cleared. That's why Iris grabbed Minjoo to pig out with her now.

"Hmm, what's this?" Eunbi curiously walked over with a few other members.

"Oh! The dessert's are out!" exclaimed Nako on the other side of the table, searching for her favorite Choco Pies. Hitomi nearby picked up strawberries to nibble on.

"Ehh? Don't eat everything before I come!" yelled Yena as she bounded over to the table from the karaoke corner.

Before long, all of the members were gathered around the table once more to munch on the snacks and sweets. The staff had provided all of their favorites, allowing them to satisfy their sweet tooth for once.

After the party was over, the girls returned to their dorm for the last time. Tomorrow, they would all leave in separate directions for two months of break. Then by that point, they'd regather to practice for their next album.

However, they wouldn't be forced to live in the dorms anymore. They would be free to ferry themselves back and forth between their previous companies to continue their work over there as well. This would be how the non exclusivity would work. Their schedules wouldn't be so packed and frenetic anymore. And the practices would be at a slower pace.

"Iris," whispered Yuri, "You're going back to your company tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, you are too, right?" Iris turned her head to the left of her bed where Yuri was prone on her stomach with her legs bent at the knees in the air. Her head was propped up with her hands and elbows on the top covers.

The IZ*ONE members were sleeping here for the last time in a short while. Although it wasn't for forever, they all still felt a little melancholy. Thus, some of the members in other rooms were reluctant to leave to go to their own rooms.

"I'll see Sian, Eunyoung, and Gyuri unnies again." Yuri nodded her head. "It'll be nice to see them…"

"But it's a bit different from before, huh?" Iris finished Yuri's train of thought as she trailed off.

Yuri widened her eyes and then lowered them as she replied, "Yeah, so much has happened in the last year and a half."

"It's a bit late to feel guilty about winning again. Besides, they're your special company unnies. I bet they'll be so glad to see you. Although, I guess Gyuri will probably be busy promoting with Fromis9." Iris comforted Yuri and patted her lightly on the head.

"Mmh." Yuri bobbed her head once. "I'll miss you unnie~~" She leaned over and snuggled up against Iris who was beneath the covers.

"Yes yes," cooed Iris with a laugh.

"Eh!? I want a hug too!" Hitomi suddenly shouted from her bed.

"Huh? Wait, I want one too then!" objected Yena as she bounced out of her covers.

The two girls flopped down on Iris's bed, making her almost suffocate.

"All right, all right, come here then." She sat up, and they all bear-hugged. "Now don't go crying on me," she teased, seeing Hitomi's eyes shine a little in the dim of the night.

"Who's crying?!" The Japanese girl demurred.

Iris smiled. All of IZ*ONE had truly become close the last two years. As one of the older members along with Eunbi, Iris had become one of the younger girl's cornerstones. They all relied on both of their "leaders." And it didn't help that they were spoiled by the two older girls too. It took their "dad" Chaeyeon to regulate the "moms."

In actuality, Iris was the same year as Sakura, 1998, which was one year above Yena and two of Chaeyeon and Chaewon of 2000. The rest were 2001 and later. But that didn't anyone from seeking out Iris's dependability and warm-heartedness.

In particular, Yuri had an especial fondness for Iris, like a baby chick looking at its momma with sparkly eyes. The initial shyness and admiration for Iris's abilities and overall character soon faded away into a close friendship where she would often confide to Iris.

The first time she did was when she got backlash for suddenly making the top 12 after having been out of the debut lineup except for twice at rank 10 for just two episodes. Yuri had been thoroughly downcast to say the least for getting suspicious criticism of her jumping up to rank 3 at the end.

The same could be said for Yena too who ranked fourth. But it came less as surprise due to her high placement in the first half of the season along with being the center of one of the final stages. Those who made the final stage always seemed to make the debut lineup. That also included Chaeyeon.

Although Chaewon only made top 12 once at twelfth rank, she had less censure than Yuri and Yena because she ranked tenth at the end. But her more quiet nature in contrast to the others made her less dependent on the other girls. If anything, she was a steady presence in the group.

"Pretty soon we'll be seeing each other once again. And now we won't have such a crazy schedule, so we can rest more. There are lots of things you all probably wanted to do but couldn't, right? So let's enjoy this time slowly."

Hitomi and Yena sighed at Iris's words. "Yes, we have just one year left though. A year and a half passed this quick. I feel like the next year will flash by and then we'll have to disband. I guess today is just making me think of all this now." Yena stared at her toes as she sat with her knees to her chest.

"Time moves on. But we can still see each other even after that. I'll be angry at anyone who ignores me when we disband!" Iris wagged her finger in a mock, threatening way. "And maybe we can see each other music shows too!"

Iris was referring to when they all eventually would debut under their company label. Although for Hitomi, she likely wouldn't ever see them again unless everyone made plans beforehand. She lived and worked in Japan after all.

"And you better come to at least one of my concerts," added Hitomi softly.

"Of course I will," Iris took one of Hitomi's hands and shook it assuringly. The rest replied in a similar fashion.

"Now let's go to sleep and be bright-eyed and refreshed for tomorrow!" directed Iris. The other girls nodded glumly with smiles.

"Cheer up! We're just going on vacation for a bit. And we all deserve one finally! Fighting!" encouraged Yena as she climbed off the bed back to her own.

"Fighting!" They all called back.