Maknae Princess || Stray Kids

2. OFFICIALLY IN THE GROUP

Officially In The Group

(I know that the members aren't in the right order, but it makes more sense for them to appear like this in the book)

Nabi went back to the dorm after Chan managed to fully convince her to join his team. She wondered what her brother and BTS would think of it. She also wondered what the girls of ITZY were going to think of it. But like everything in life, this opportunity comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Nabi hoped for the first one more than the latter.

Before 9 AM the next morning, Nabi was back in the practice room from just hours ago. She agreed to wait for Chan there so he could take her to meet the start of his team. She was naturally nervous but also very excited.

If this actually happened, if they actually debuted...

Chan interrupted her thoughts with a wave of his hand and another warm smile. Nabi guessed he was a very warm and reassuring person, much like Namjoon.

The trainees practicing in the room gave the two strange looks, but they were easily ignored. Nabi stood up and walked as Chan showed her to the practice room he and his group were in.

"Who's in this group already?" she found herself asking, to fill in the silence or out of genuine curiosity, she wasn't too sure.

"Let's see," Chan said thoughtfully and gave a small pause. "There's the 3Racha which I'm a part of. There are three of us. Seo Changbin, Han Jisung, and me. We're the hip-hop subunit. Then a few days ago I found Lee Minho. But you can just see for yourself," Chan finished as the two stopped just before the door. "You ready?"

Nabi made sure to take in a breath and then release it. "Yeah, I'm ready," she smiled at him.

Chan pushed down on the handle and pulled open the door, simultaneously all three boys in the practice room stopped talking and turned to look at the two.

The one boy almost reminded Nabi of Jungkook but the other two she couldn't relate to. The one sitting and leaning against the wall was dressed in all black, he had a triangular face and curious eyes. He swept his gaze from the top of Nabi to the bottom of her, probably wondering what a girl was doing here. The boy next to him almost looked like a beaver or a squirrel, but his face held no expression and his eyes were kind of cold when he stared at her. Then the last boy, the one that Nabi found kind of familiar for some reason, seemed a little bit friendlier. He wasn't smiling at her but she was indeed the center of his attention for now, and at least his eyes held a certain glint to them (they weren't cold like the other boy's).

"Guys, this is Jeon Nabi," Chan introduced them. "She's going to be joining the group for next year's showcase."

Nabi first bowed and then greeted them. "Hello, it's nice to meet you all."

There was an awkward silence between them before the one in black got to his feet and helped break it. "You too, I'm Seo Changbin."

"And I'm Lee Minho," the familiar boy said and even offered Nabi a smile. She wasn't sure why but because of that she started to relax a bit.

Then the squirrel with cold eyes nodded and simply said, "Han Jisung." Nabi immediately knew he didn't like her. Was it because she was a girl?

Right before another awkward silence could blanket the room, Changbin again was the first to speak up. "How long have you trained for?" he blurted out.

"One year," Nabi replied. "What about you guys?"

"Same as you," Changbin gave her a smile. "It's been around a year now."

"I've only just joined recently," Minho said and drew the attention to him. "I originally auditioned for Cube, but I'm here now."

"Three years," Han started but there was no warmth to his voice or really any emotion. "Before this, I was in D.E.F Academy practicing rap."

"Which means I've been here the longest," Chan spoke up. He let out a small chuckle but Nabi could hear the pain in his voice. He really wanted to debut already and at this point, he really needed to debut. If they won the showcase next year his dream would come true and all of his hard work up until now wouldn't have been wasted years.

He exhaled before glancing between the three boys and Nabi. "I just wanted to let you all know that throughout the remainder of this year, I'll still be looking for more members to join our group. But in the meantime, we'll meet up for practices and team discussions. Okay?"

There were a few hums and head nods in approval before Chan focused his attention back on Nabi. "You said you had something to sort out this morning, you can join our next group practice tomorrow afternoon, yeah? And welcome to the team!"

A bright smile took over Nabi's face as she nodded. "I'm happy to be a part of it," she reassured Chan. She then turned her head to the three boys and waved goodbye to them, two of which waved back. So she left the room.

Just as the door closed, Chan got tackled with different expressions as well as the reality of what he was doing.

"Really, hyung, a girl?" Han raised a judgemental eyebrow. "Does PD-nim know about this?"

"PD-nim simply said to pick the people with the most potential. He never specified that a girl couldn't join our group and besides you haven't heard her sing or seen her dance yet. I'm not kidding, she's brilliant!"

"Maybe, hyung," Changbin said, not doubting what Chan said wasn't true. "I'm not against the idea, but let's say we do debut. How do you think the public's going to react to a girl in an all-boy group?"

"He has a point," Minho agreed. "Forget singing, dancing, and rapping for a minute. Public approval is what makes a group last. You know just how criticizing fans can be."

"I've already decided," Chan said firmly leaving no room for discussion. "We'll stand a much higher chance at debuting if she's a part of our group. Forget her gender, she's one of the best trainees I've seen in a couple of years. PD-nim entrusted me with the task of forming this group and trust me she fits this group."

Minho and Changbin glanced at one another but said nothing, unlike Han whose face was getting a scowl to it. But other than unsurety none of them disagreed or fought against Chan's decision.