2 months passed by and Itzae and Mingi had their birthday party, meaning she's 17 now and Mingi is 19. For her birthday, San gave her a pink Shiba Inu plush. So they both have one! She loved it and named it Sherbet. She also got an electric guitar as a present from a family member on her dad's side. For Itzae and Mingi's birthday gifts to each other, they went out and got personalized couple-like necklaces together. Her pendent is a lioness and Mingi's is a wolf. And the way they're both designed makes a heart when they're put together.
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It's super cute. The group happily celebrated Mingi and Itzae day with fun activities.
When the two Leos' birthday came and went, their debut was coming closer. It's already September and they debut next month. It's super exciting and the members are meeting with Eden to hear the demo of their official debut song. "Alright, guys. I put together a song that I know will fit your style perfectly." Eden says to the group. "I bet it's fire." Itzae was invested. "Let's hear it!" Hongjoong was ready. Eden played the demo he made for Ateez and a cool instrumental played through the speakers in his studio. Within the first few seconds, the members were already vibing. "Ayy, this is nice!" Wooyoung commented with the beat dropped. "Hold on, keep listening. It gets even better." Eden tells them.
They continued listening to the instrumental and before the chorus dropped, the build-up ended with the punchline
Will you be my friend?
If you saw Ateez's reaction, they would tell you this song is it. "Oooh!" They reacted. "That's awesome!" Wooyoung liked what he was hearing. The instrumental continued to play out and the group loved the song. "Like I said, a banger. That went hard." Itzae commented first. "That's definitely our title track." Hongjoong nodded. Eden nods with a grin. "I'm glad you guys like it. I gave the song a title that'll suit the group's vibe perfectly. And it's Pirate King." He tells them. The group was on board with the song and it's title. They spent some more time talking about their debut album and Eden showed them some more demos that he made and Hongjoong had made. There's another one they really liked called Treasure and it also had potential to be a title track.
After discussing the songs, Hongjoong, Mingi, and Itzae got to writing. From hearing the title demos, they already had ideas for lyrics. So they went into their respective studios and started writing. For the rest of the day, the group was hard at work. For the rest of the month, really. They really want to make sure their first mini album was perfect.
On the day of recording, they met up with Eden again. Each member recorded their part. Mingi was first to record and Eden thought his catchphrase, Fix On, was very cool.
Fix on, yeah!
biteureo i paneul get it
I feel like somebody you get it
Ujue daheul ttaekaji dareul ditgo sail
I see future face, zoom
Dachi ollatji gotta pass, yeah
Kkeuteopshi hanghae I'm ready, come to me til the end
"That phrase is gonna catch on so quickly." Itzae reacted with a grin. "It really is. I love it! That was perfect already. But let's record that a few more times to be sure." Eden says. Mingi recorded his verse a few more times before he felt like he got the right recording. After Mingi was done, Seonghwa went in to record his harmony vocals. But because this is a debut song, his nerves got the better of him and he was having trouble getting his harmonies right. "Ugh...I'm sorry..." Seonghwa groaned after messing up again. "It's okay, Seonghwa. You can do it." Hongjoong encouraged him. Seonghwa sighed out of frustration. "You gotta get this right, Hwa. Wanna do it again?" Eden says to him. "Hold on. I need a minute..." He answered, hanging his headphones on the mic. Itzae got up from the couch and went out of the studio. She went to the door on the other side and it led to the booth Seonghwa was in.
"Seonghwa, you okay?" She asked him when she entered the booth with him. Seonghwa turned to her. "Not really..." He says. "What's the matter? You were doing so well when you were practicing on your own. What happened? Are you nervous?" She asked him, holding his hands. "I guess so... We're so close to debuting and I guess I'm a little scared. I'm sorry I'm messing up this much." He apologized. Itzae shook her head, "Hey, it's normal to be nervous. I'm sure every group felt this way when they debuted." She rubbed his arms to ease his nerves. "But this is our debut song and I'm screwing up." Seonghwa fretted. "You're not screwing up, oppa. You're just nervous, that's all. Don't worry, you can do this. You're Park Seonghwa and you have a beautiful voice. Next month, the world is gonna find out the handsome guy with the smooth vocals is Park Seonghwa." Itzae says to him, earning a smile from Seonghwa.
"Really?" He grinned, flustered. Itzae nodded and hugged him, "Of course. You got this. Just like how you practiced. You can do it." She says to him. Seonghwa's grin stayed plastered on his face as he nodded, taking in Itzae's kind words of encouragement. He is a bit nervous about debuting but he can do this. This is what he and the group have been training for and the day is quickly approaching. Seonghwa took a deep breath and nodded at Eden. "Okay. I'm ready." He put his headphones back on his head. Eden nodded back and gave him a thumbs up. Seonghwa turned back to the female maknae and gave her a warm smile. "Thanks, Izzy. The pep talk helped a lot." He thanked her. Itzae smiled back at him. "No problem, Toothless. Fighting!" She cheered him on as she turned to leave. "Oh, and Jay," Seonghwa stopped her momentarily. Itzae looked back at him in response. "You called me oppa." He grinned, earning a playful eyeroll from the young umber skinned girl. "Don't get used to it." She says, making Seonghwa chuckle as she left the booth.
She went back to the main room of the studio and reclaimed her spot on the couch. She received smiles from her members as she does so. Seonghwa recorded his harmonies and was successful. The rest of the members recorded their parts of the song and they worked on their album for a few more days.
