Warnings (In this chapter): strong language, insensitive comments, trainee pressure, exhaustion, food mentions.
Genere: Slow Burn, Angst, Hug/Comfort
Word Count: 2.4k
June 1, 2016
โNo sooner said than done: Nariโs grandmother spoke with the staff and landed her an audition. Nari aced it effortlessly, and just a few days later, she got the call to start her training.
โMeanwhile, classes at SOPA had already begun, and Nari managed to make a few friends among her classmates. To balance her school schedule with her trainee routine, she attended classes in the morning and headed to the agency in the afternoon.
โHer grandmotherโs house was far from the JYP training center, and neither of them could drive. Nari was still too young, and her grandmother was no longer as agile as she used to be. They decided the most practical solution was for Nari to sleep at the agencyโs dorms during the week and spend her weekends at her grandmother's.
โIt was not only Nariโs first day as a trainee, but also her first day living in the dorms.
โWhen she arrived to drop off her bags, the place was deserted. That made sense, considering it was four in the afternoon and her future roommates were likely in the middle of dance practice. Scanning the room, she saw two bunk beds; three of the four mattresses were already claimed.
โLater, she caught the 4419 bus, the route connecting the JYP dorms directly to the agency headquarters.
โUpon stepping into the lobby, she was approached by a woman wearing reading glasses, built slim, and dressed in clothes that suggested she was definitely not there to dance.
โ"Hi, you're Nari, right?" she asked, speaking with a distinct Australian accent. Nari nodded. "Great. My name is Amy, but you can call me Miss Kim. I'm the Korean language teacher. I have your schedule right here. Your first class with me is right now, so follow me and I'll show you to the classroom."
โNari walked behind the teacher into a room packed with students, all of whom greeted her as she walked in.
โ"Good morning, everyone. We have a new student joining us today. Her name is Nari, please make her feel welcome." Nari gave a timid bow. "Lily, do you mind showing her around?"
โA girl who looked slightly younger than Nari stood up and walked over with a warm smile.
โ"Hi, I'm Lily, nice to meet you," she said, offering her hand. "Shall we?" she added, gesturing toward the door.
โLily gave her a tour of the agency, at least as far as trainees were allowed to go. They chatted easily along the way; Nari learned that Lily was from a rural town in Australia and, like her, had a Korean mother and a foreign father. She was also two years younger, though she had already been training at JYP for a year.
โWhen they returned to the classroom, Lily paused before opening the door.
โ"Listen, Nari, whenever you need company, I'm here for you, okay? Count on me for whatever you need."
โ"Thanks, Lily, I'll keep that in mind," Nari replied just before they stepped back inside.
โThe day flew by in a blur of classes. Everything was taught in Korean, which was overwhelming, but Nari felt confident she would pick it up over time.
โBy the end of the day, she was exhausted and hadn't even found time to eat dinner. On her way out, she swung by a convenience store to pick up a takeout bibimbap. She boarded the bus and listened to music on the ride home.
โUnlocking the dorm room door, she came face-to-face with a girl who appeared to be her age, with sharp eyes and the under-layers of her hair dyed red. The girl looked surprised at first, but her face quickly melted into a smile.
โ"H-hi, I'm Nari. I'm new here..." she stammered nervously.
โ"Girls, come here! Our new roomie is here!" the girl shouted over her shoulder.
โTwo other girls immediately poked their heads out. One had shoulder-length hair; the other... looked remarkably familiar. Nari had definitely seen her somewhere before.
โ"Hi, I'm Yeji. Nice to meet you!" the first girl said.
โ"Ryujin," the second introduced herself.
โ"I'm Chaeryeong, hi!" said the third.
โNari froze for a second before her eyes widened in realization.
โ"No way!" Nari gasped, caught off guard. "Chaeryeong from SIXTEEN? I knew you looked familiar! Wow, I was such a huge fan of the show. It's an honor to meet you..." Realizing she was coming on a little too strong, Nari quickly composed herself. "Sorry... Nice to meet all of you, it's really an honor. I hope we can be good friends.โ
June 2, 2016
โAt six in the morning, the alarm went off. Nari hated waking up early, hated mornings, and above all, detested the idea of leaving the warmth of her covers. It didn't matter if it was the hottest summer night, forty degrees outside with a half-broken fan barely blowing any air; she needed to sleep bundled up.
โUnfortunately, punctuality in Korea was non-negotiable. She got up trying not to make noise so as not to wake her roommates, made a quick coffee, threw on her uniform, and set off on the usual twenty-minute walk to school.
โArriving at the school gates, she bumped into her friend Yerin, who, like her, was mixed-race and fought the same daily battles with the Korean language.
โ"Nariiii, good morning!" Yerin greeted her with overwhelming energy.
โ"There's no way you're this awake right now... Do you drink ten coffees before leaving the house?" Nari muttered, dragging her feet like a zombie.
โ"Nope, caffeine messes with my stomach. I'm just like this naturally" Yerin replied, taking little skips as she walked.
โ"Shut up, you've got to be kidding me..." Nari grumbled under her breath, incredulous.
โOnce inside the classroom, they sat in their assigned seats. Luckily, they sat right next to each other. Yerin settled into her chair and started swinging her legs with the excitement of a little kid.
โ"Hey, Nari, we've been in school for a few weeks now... Is there anyone in class you think is cute?"
โ"Absolutely no one" Nari replied without hesitation. "I'm not interested in guys, and I don't want a boyfriend. I came to Korea to become an idol, not to date. Life isn't a K-drama, you know?"
โ"You're so boring. I think... Hwang Hyunjin over there is super handsome" Yerin said, pointing at him completely unabashedly. Not that it mattered, the guy was fast asleep on his desk and wouldn't notice a thing anyway. "He's also a JYP trainee, right? You could become his friend and introduce me."
โ"No way in hell. That guy flirts with everyone and has a massive ego. Didn't you see him hitting on the girls from the other class yesterday? He thinks way too highly of himself" Nari said, her voice laced with disdain.
โ"Oh, Nari, please, let a girl dream. Being delulu is the solulu, haven't you ever heard that?"
โNari gave her a completely blank look, but before she could reply, the teacher walked through the classroom door, kicking off the first lesson of the day.
Two hours had passed, with only one more to go before break time and finally being able to eat.
โNariโs stomach was begging for food; she stared fixated at the clock, wishing it would magically speed up time.
โWhen the next class began, the English teacher announced they would be doing a paired assignment: a video tutorial on how to cook a recipe of each group's choosing. The video had to be presented entirely in English, so Nari didn't have any problem with that part.
โ"Now, I will announce the groups" the teacher said.
โNariโs blood ran cold for a moment. What did he mean she couldn't pair up with Yerin?! And just when she thought the situation couldn't get any worse, the teacher started calling out the pairs.
โ"Moon Nari, you'll be working with Hwang Hyunjin. I paired you two up specifically because you're both trainees at the same agency, so you'll be able to coordinate your schedules better" he announced, looking quite proud of his choice.
โHyunjin looked up from his desk and stared at Nari as if he had just realized she existed and that they shared a class. Nari, on the other hand, wanted to jump out the window and never come back.
โ"Say good things about me" Yerin whispered, winking before getting up to sit with her assigned partner.
โ"You're out of your mind" Nari replied under her breath, but loud enough for her to hear.
โHyunjin walked over and took Yerin's seat. For a few seconds, neither of them said anything. Nari kept her eyes glued to the chalkboard, pretending to be completely focused on the instructions the teacher was writing down.
โ"So..." Hyunjin started. "We need to pick a recipe."
โ"What do you know how to cook?" Nari asked.
โHe paused for a few seconds, thinking it over.
โ"Shin Ramyun?" he asked, completely serious.
โ"You call that cooking?" she said, incredulous.
โ"Of course. You have to boil water, it's tricky, you could burn yourself and get really hurt. Even a third-degree burn if you do it really wrong."
โNari let out a sigh... a long, very long sigh.
โ"Hyunjin, we're not cooking Shin Ramyun."
โHe looked at her, confused. He thought his idea had been great.
โ"Why not? Do you like Buldak better?"
โ"No. Cooking instant ramen is stupid, we're not doing that for a video" Nari said, exhausted.
โ"It's because you're foreign, right? Do you not know how to cook ramyun? Did your parents never teach you?" he asked mockingly.
โIf earlier we said Nari wanted to jump out a window, take that back: now she wanted to throw Hyunjin out the window.
โAfter a long debate in which Nari tried to explain why heating up a cheap package of ramyun didn't count as cooking a recipe, they finally agreed on baking a lasagna.
โThe day dragged on. Nari finally got to rest and eat, only to endure three more hours of class. When the bell rang, she ran straight to her locker and grabbed the gym bag she had prepared so she could head straight to the agency without stopping by the dorms to change.
โShe rushed out and boarded the bus that would take her directly there. She placed her backpack on the seat next to her so no one would sit there and put in her earphones.
โJust as she hit play on her Spotify playlist, she felt someone dump her backpack onto her lap and make themselves comfortable beside her.
โ"Nari, question" Hyunjin said after invading her personal space and brazenly pulling the earphones out of her ears.
โ"What do you want?" she said, visibly annoyed.
โ"You're going to write the entire script for the video, right? My English isn't great" he said, doing a version of aegyo that was more second-hand embarrassment than cute.
โ"I noticed. That your English is terrible, I mean" the girl replied bluntly.
โ"Will you do it or not?" Hyunjin said, turning serious.
โ"Only if you buy all the ingredients and provide the place."
โHyunjin made a face.
โ"Hey, that's not fair! I have to do everything?!"
โ"I could say the exact same thing" Nari replied sternly.
โHyunjin thought about it for a moment and sighed in defeat.
โ"Deal" he said, extending his hand, which Nari shook.
โImmediately after, she snatched her earphones back from his hand, and Hyunjin left to go find another empty seat.
The afternoon flew by: voice lessons, where she shredded her vocal cords; more Korean classes, which left her brain completely fried; and finally, dance practice, where every single muscle in her body was currently being pushed to the limit. She had been at it for two hours with only one left to go when the instructor paused the rehearsal to make an announcement.
โ"Girls, now that your choreography is set and positions are assigned, three of our senior trainees are coming in to give you advice and help polish the details. This doesn't happen every day, so take this as a unique opportunity to push yourselves forward."
โAt that moment, three girls walked in whom Nari recognized instantly. They were none other than her roommates: Yeji, Chaeryeong, and Ryujin.
โSeeing her, the three immediately waved in her direction. Nari waved back, still trying to process that her roomies were such high-profile trainees within the agency.
โTheir masterclass began. They corrected and guided every single student with flawless precision, somehow elevating a standard session into a mid-high-level masterclass in under an hour. Nari realized right then and there that she had to make the most of living with them, she needed to learn everything they knew so she could reach their level one day.
โWhen class ended, Yeji walked over to her.
โ"Hey, Nari! You were great today, I see a lot of potential in you. Want to grab dinner with us now that we're wrapped?"
โNari nodded without a second thought.
โThe four of them caught the bus back to the dorms together. They showered, changed, and headed back out for a walk, quickly ducking into the first open spot they found: a small fried chicken joint that was clearly used to feeding trainees at midnight and kept its doors open late for that exact reason.
โThey sat and chatted over their meal for a long time. Nari got to know them a little better and learned just how brutally demanding the instructors were with the top-tier trainees; far from sounding like a nightmare, it sounded to her like an absolute dream. The other three were stunned by her sheer enthusiasm and positive mindset.
โNari also took the opportunity to vent about her terrible day at school and how insufferable her classmate Hyunjin was. As it turned out, Chaeryeong had mutual friends with him and mentioned that Nari wasn't the only one who found him annoying, which lifted a huge weight off her shoulders.
โBefore long, it was getting late, so they decided to head back to the dorms and call it a night.
โThe second Nari hit the mattress, she fell into a deep, heavy sleep.
TAGLIST: @galaxy4489 @uhcalli (feel free to ask me to add you in the taglist!!)
A/N: I feel so bad for making Hyunjin like this, but I needed some drama for the plot! I lowkey feel like I didn't capture their mutual hatred well enough, though.
But anyway! I'll be back super soon with Part 3!! And as a quick spoiler: yes, we will, in fact, be seeing that disastrous video of Nari and Hyunjin baking lasagna. Katt out!!
DONT ๐ TAG ๐ XREADER ๐ IF ๐ ITS ๐ AN ๐ OC ๐
Clogging up the fucking tags
โTags are meant to help people find posts. I know that in my fanfic, LEVANTER, the main character is an OC, not a reader insert. In my defense, plenty of readers enjoy OC stories and like to imagine themselves onto the character. But if you come across my story and itโs not your cup of tea, simply scroll past and don't read it.
โThe solution is easy. Thereโs no reason to go to someoneโs profile just to leave hateful comments under an anonymous profile. If you want to criticize my work, at least have the courage to show your face.
โIโm honestly tired of people spreading unnecessary hate instead of doing something productive with their lives.
Warnings (in this chapter): Parental issues, slight bullying.
Genere: Slow Burn, Angst, Hug/Comfort
Word Count: 1.2K
Sometimes I think... maybe my parents were right all along. Becoming an idol was never a realistic dream; I just never had what it takes.
โ03/05/2007
โ"Dad, who are they?" seven-year-old Nari asked, watching the music video for Wonder Girls' Tell Me on the living room TV.
โ"They're idols, sweetheart. Do you like their music?"
โ"I LOVE IT!! I want to be just like them when I grow up!" she exclaimed excitedly, mimicking Sohee's pose in her Wonder Woman outfit.
โ"Sweetheart, don't dream of being like them. People who try that end up broke, living under a bridge with no future." her mother cut in, raising her voice.
โ12/09/2011
โNari's family traveled to South Korea to celebrate Chuseok with her grandmother, just like they did every year. For the occasion, Nari had put together a little show for after dinner.
โ"You prepared a performance for us to celebrate Chuseok?" her grandmother asked with a warm smile.
โ"Yes, halmeoni! The song is called 'I Am the Best', โ๋ด๊ฐ ์ ์ผ ์ ๋๊ฐโ by 2NE1!" Nari said excitedly, remembering the Korean title. "It's my favorite!"
โNari turned on the music and sang and danced her heart out from start to finish. When she finished, her grandmother, visibly amazed, broke into loud applause.
(โI can't believe how talented my granddaughter is! And I can't believe her Korean is so fluent, she can barely put three sentences together normally! You really ought to sign her up for singing and dancing lessons; she has so much potential.โ)
โ
โ01/01/2016
โ"So, have you thought about what you want to do with your future? You're starting high school soon, and I want you to give it some serious thought before picking a school," her mother said during New Year's dinner.
โ"Omma, I want to be an idol," Nari replied without missing a beat.
โHer mother snapped, standing up abruptly and slapping her across the face.
โ"DON'T YOU DARE!" she screamed, completely losing her composure.
โ"Look, sweetheart, we get that you like dancing, singing, and K-pop groups, but you need to start understanding the difference between a hobby and a real job," her father chimed in. "Nari, we're your parents, and we only want what's best for you. Please, be reasonable and do the right thing."
โ"NO!" she yelled, slamming her fist onto the table before storming off and locking herself in her room.
01/07/2016
โNari barely spoke to her parents. She spent all day out of the house just to avoid them, and whenever they ended up in the same room, she wouldnโt even look their way.
โIt was the middle of the night when Nariโs phone buzzed. She looked at the screen and saw a text from her grandmother:
(Don't worry too much. I'll talk to your mother and tell her you're coming to Seoul to study something else. That way, you'll be able to stay with me.)
(Nari-ya, if this is what you truly want, there's no harm in giving it a shot.)
โ"์ด๋ป๊ฒ ์๊ฐํ๋?"
(What do you think?)
โ02/02/2016
โThe moment she set foot in Incheon Airport, Nari felt a massive weight lift off her shoulders. She wouldn't have to deal with the constant pressure from her parents anymore; from now on, her only priorities were learning Korean and getting into a good high school.
โWalking out into the terminal, she spotted her grandmother waiting for her with a sign that read: ยซํ์ํฉ๋๋ค ๋๋ฆฌ์ผ!! โกยป (Welcome, Nari-ya!).
โTogether, they grabbed a taxi and set off toward her new home.
โ05/01/2016
(From this point on, italicized text represents dialogue spoken in Korean.)
โNari had just been accepted into SOPA (School of Performing Arts Seoul). She and her grandmother were out buying the uniform for the upcoming school year when, as they walked down the street, a tall, well-dressed man approached them.
โ"Excuse me, could I talk to you both for a moment?" the man asked in a serious tone.
โ"Yes? Is something wrong?" her grandmother replied.
โ"Sorry to bother you. I'm a talent scout with JYP Entertainment, and we're looking for new artists," he explained. "I just saw your granddaughter trying on the SOPA uniform, and she really caught my eye. By any chance, is she interested in the entertainment industry, or becoming an idol?"
โ"Of course she is! My little Nari has been dancing for as long as she can remember. She's done so many performances at her dance academy. I have them all on video, would you like to see?" her grandmother said excitedly. Nari, meanwhile, didn't understand a single word they were saying and just stared at the man in total confusion.
โ"I appreciate that, but right now we're looking for new trainees. I was wondering if your granddaughter would be interested in auditioning."
โ"Absolutely! Though there is one small problem, Nari isn't fluent in the language yet. You see, her father is foreign and she was raised outside of Korea, so she only knows a few basic phrases."
โ"I understand, but there's no need to worry. We offer Korean classes at our facilities, and we have quite a few foreign trainees, so she won't have any trouble making friends. If you'd prefer to talk it over comfortably at home, you don't have to decide anything right now. Just leave me a contact number, and someone from our team will give you a call to walk you through the selection process."
โHer grandmother nodded and took the business card he offered her.
โ"Sounds good, I'll be waiting for your call. Have a nice day."
With that, the scout walked away. Nari looked at her grandmother, utterly clueless.
โ"Halmeoni, what did he say?"
โ"Get ready for an audition. You're going to be a JYP trainee.โ
TAGLIST: @galaxy4489 @uhcalli (feel free to ask me to add you in the taglist)
A/N: HAIIIII! Part 1 is finally up, I hope you guys enjoyed it!!
I'm currently working on Part 2, but I'm not totally sure when I'll be able to finish it because I'm staying in the middle of nowhere in the mountains this week and there is BARELY ANY INTERNET CONNECTION RAGHHH (I'm addicted to my phone, please send help).
Anyway, it'll probably be done and ready to upload by the end of this week or early next week!! Katt out!
Warnings: Mental health issues, mentions of suicidal thoughts, alcohol consumption, parental issues, slight bullying/cyberbullying, emotional distress, career burnout, idol industry pressure, abandonment/rejection, identity struggles. (I think that's it)
Genere: Slow Burn, Angst, Hug/Comfort
Introducing:
๋ฆฌ๋ // RINA
Face claim: Song Yuqi
Stage name: Rina // ๋ฆฌ๋
Birth name: Moon Na-Ri // ๋ฌธ ๋๋ฆฌ
Birthday: November, 3, 2000
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
Chinese Zodiac: Dragon
Height: 165cm (5'5'')
MBTI Type: ISFP
"๋ ๋๋๋ค๋ ๊ฒ ๋๋ ค์ ์์ง๋ง"
(I was afraid of letting you go,)
"๋์ ์๋ฐ์ ์์ด ๋"
(But in the end I had no choice)
"It's all good now"
LEVANTER (๋ฐ๋) - Stray Kids
Summary:
โFor years, Nari believed her only shot at happiness was making her debut.
Sheโs spent years training, sacrificing her life, learning to survive in an industry that demands perfectionโwhere a single misstep turns a adoring crowd into a mob that makes you wish you'd never been born.
That had been Nari's dream for as long as she could remember.
She was set to debut with ITZY, and everything was going perfectly, until it all fell apart.
Her debut was stolen from her. As everyone around her kept moving forward, Nari was left behind, wondering when she had stopped living and started simply waiting.
Then one night, completely lost, she ran into an old friend. He made her realize that to find where she truly belonged, she first had to let go of the path sheโd spent her whole life chasing.
Sometimes, letting go isn't giving up.
It's finally finding the right way forward.
It's all good now.
Author's note:
Look, I KNOW, I KNOW! Iโm so used to writing on Wattpad that I completely forgot how things work on this app, okay?? GIVE ME SOME TIME, I PROMISE IโLL GET THE HANG OF IT.
โAlso, I got so bored of reading the same old Stray Kids x Reader fanfics that I decided to create my own OC. I really hope you guys love my girl Nari and enjoy the story Iโve put together!
โI still havenโt decided who her main love interest should be, so for now itโs a Stray Kids x 9th Member OC setup. Iโll figure out who she ends up with as the plot unfolds.
โDrop your suggestions in the comments, Iโd love to read them! Hope you guys like it!! Katt out!
