queen || nct's 22nd member

Debut stage gone wrong

Or how Ana almost missed the most important stage of her career.

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While her bandmates got ready, Ana did the one thing she would advise everyone else against, she wandered around. In her mind she justified it with the fact that she had been on enough backstages and dressing room mazes to not get lost.

While she trotted through the hallways, bowing when somebody passed, she thought about how much she had changed since coming to Korea. She had become so independent. She worked if she needed extra money or money in general.

She had also started to workout again, started to dance some more. She had rebelled against her parents and coloured her hair atleast four times: pink, grey, neon green (she really rued that one though) and pastel violet.

She had made friends in college and at work, being part Chinese had definitely its pros. But she also had to master everything by herself. Ana didn't know how many times she had bottled up too many emotions before she had cracked.

One time too much it had seemed. She still remembered Luhans scared face and how the tears had been running down Irene's cheeks. It had taken time, trust and a lot of patience to mend back together what had been broken many times. But they had managed and it made the bond they already shared stronger.

Ana had used the last few years in Korea to live the way she wanted, testing different lifestyles and putting together what she liked the most. She had changed a lot, starting a minimalistic lifestyle. Maybe she had overdone herself back then.

She then suddenly took a stop, this hallway looked unfamiliar. Had she changed floors per accident? How did that happen? After turning around a few times she contuined walking, hoping that she would end up back where she started.

After some more turns and opening random doors in the hallways, Ana gave up on the method. Maybe she should just ask where the dressing rooms were. As she was about to knock on the next door, a person called her name.

"Sooyoung, what are you doing here?!" A very confused Banghyuck stood in the doorway to what seemed to look like the staircases.

"I got lost?" The girl asked more than answered.

"Great, the preacher of the don't wander around wandered around and got lost-"

"In my thoughts... And then I kinda got lost in space?"

"That doesn't make it better!" Banghyuck pinched his nose, Ana would be the death of him.

"Well, it's a good reason."

"Really, sometimes you're the death of me."

"That's the only motivation in my life."

"Come on, I'll bring you back to the boys"

"They'll call me queen from now on, it's weird."

"Yeah, it's weird. Now come on, we're already late." Banghyuck didn't have any patience and just took Ana's hand, pulling her to the staircases.

"I'm sorry Hyung", Ana mumbled, not specifying if she meant the fact that she was late or that she started bickering or that she would be doing something stupid soon.

While Ana trailed behind Banghyuck she picked up her train of thought again. Though at a different point than before.

Queen, it seemed like ages ago when she decided to take on the name. Yet no one called her so, not until the music video shoot. It had been strange at the beginning, still not used to the stage name Ana didn't react when called. Giving the director and producers as well as some of the newer staff members a hard time.

When Banghyuck took a halt, Ana walked into him. The older didn't turn around and just rolled his eyes. Typically Ana.

"Sorry"

"They are already backstage."

"Wait, how much time do we have left?!"

"Like two minutes and you don't have a mic on nor are you dressed..."

"Give me 10 seconds." Ana dashed into the dressing room grabbing the next best College Jacket and a blue crop top. Good thing she was wearing some dark grey sweatpants already. After changing the top part of her outfit, Ana took a brush and an eyeshadow palette.

"Guide me to them, I got some MakeUp to put on", she half demanded/asked, as she started to walk, while concentrating on the mirror in the palette.

Banghyuck's answer was a laugh and putting his hands on her shoulder to steer the girl into the right direction. Nodding friendly to all the artists that passed them in astonishment. Ana was in her own little bubble, cancelling out everything in order to not mess up her fast MakeUp.

"Finished", she mumbled just a few seconds before the two arrived at the backstage.

"Finally!", a female staff member shouted and before either of the two could react, Ana already wore her ear piece and had a mic in the hand. The staff member fussed around Ana's back, making sure that her mic box couldn't fall off.

"Thanks, where are the boys?"

"On the stage, waiting for you queen. Now hurry!" The staff was about to give Ana a slight push into the right direction, but the girl already moved. Sprinting to the staircase up to the stage, taking two steps in one go.

"I'm sorry guys", she mumbled before taking in her position. As soon as they had the go for starting, the lighting switched on, just the same as they had rehearsed.

Ana didn't remember everything of the performance, but she knew that there had been someone that had screamed 'queen'. Plus some girl had screamed her lungs out when it was Doyoung's time to shine. Not that there hadn't been girls who screamed throughout the whole performance.

She was glad, that she had trained to do this performance in her sleep. Otherwise she wasn't sure if she could have done it without any major errors. Queen knew that there had been some minor mistakes in her dance execution. And she knew that she was going to hear a big fat lecture from Taeil and Taeyong.

She knew what Taeyong was going to say the moment they stepped off the stage. "Where have you been, An- no, queen. Where to hell have you been?!"

"I got lost, okay? I made it and wore something close to a stage outfit. So please keep your parental leader instinct and lecture inside you until we're home." Queen gave Taeyong a pat on the shoulder and went off to the dressing room. She didn't know why, but she really wasn't up for human contact right now. Even though she would have hugged anyone just mere seconds earlier.

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Edit: Because I don't think I mentioned it.

Ana's debut is set during the Limitless era, which means she debuted together with Johnny and Doyoung.