Crow's Nest
The group chat exploded at exactly 6:01 PM.
Minnie: IT'S OUT.
Yuqi: STREAM IT RIGHT NOW OR WE'RE UNFRIENDING YOU.
Miyeon: Please enjoy it nicely ❤️
Shuhua: If you don't like it, lie.
Soyeon: Ignore them. Just listen.
You stared at your phone from your couch, already grinning.
After years of being best friends with the six women, comeback day never got old.
You knew the stress.
The sleepless nights.
The endless recording sessions.
The arguments over tiny details nobody else would notice.
The way Soyeon disappeared into her studio cave for days whenever she was creating something important.
The way the others trusted her completely.
So when the notification appeared announcing the release of their new song, you practically dove for your headphones.
"Alright," you muttered. "Let's see what you've been hiding from me."
You hit play.
The opening beat hit.
Then the first verse.
Then the lyrics.
By the time the chorus arrived, you were sitting upright.
"Oh."
The song wasn't just good.
It was powerful.
Raw.
Hungry.
The kind of song that grabbed your shoulders and demanded you listen.
"We are born in the nest of the crow."
A shiver ran down your spine.
You listened all the way through.
Then immediately replayed it.
And again.
And again.
By the fourth listen, your jaw was hanging open.
"These women are insane."
The confidence.
The determination.
The refusal to rely on luck.
The message of fighting your way upward no matter where you started.
It felt like a battle cry.
And somehow it felt even more personal because you knew the people behind it.
You remembered hearing stories about trainee days.
About uncertainty.
About proving themselves over and over again.
About being underestimated.
Yet here they were.
Still climbing.
Still hungry.
Still chasing something bigger.
"Keep chasing the glow until it cuts my tongue."
You paused the song.
Stared at the wall.
Then immediately opened the group chat.
You: EXCUSE ME????
Messages appeared instantly.
Yuqi: HAHAHAHA
Minnie: There it is.
Miyeon: You listened?
You: LISTENED? I'M ASCENDING.
Shuhua: Good answer.
You: WHAT DID YOU PEOPLE PUT IN THIS SONG?
Soyeon: Music.
You: SOYEON.
Soyeon: What?
You: This is ridiculous.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Soyeon: Good ridiculous?
You smiled.
For all her confidence, Soyeon still wanted reassurance from people she cared about.
You: Good ridiculous.
You: Actually amazing ridiculous.
You: Girl power ridiculous.
You: Main-character energy ridiculous.
The chat immediately filled with laughing emojis.
An hour later you found yourself at their dorm.
Because apparently listening to the song wasn't enough.
You needed to yell about it in person.
The moment the door opened, Yuqi pointed dramatically.
"I knew she'd come."
"I had to."
"You came to scream?"
"Yes."
"Reasonable."
You stepped inside.
The living room was full.
Minnie was curled up on the couch.
Miyeon was scrolling through fan reactions.
Shuhua was eating snacks.
Soyeon sat quietly in the corner pretending she wasn't waiting for feedback.
You immediately pointed at her.
"You."
Soyeon blinked.
"What?"
"You made me emotional."
"That's your problem."
"No, because I was expecting a banger."
"It is a banger."
"It is."
"Then?"
"Then suddenly I'm getting life lessons."
The room erupted into laughter.
A few minutes later everyone settled around the coffee table.
The song played quietly from a speaker.
You looked around the room.
"You know what I love most?"
"Hmm?" Miyeon asked.
"The message."
Soyeon raised an eyebrow.
"Which part?"
"The part where you're basically telling everyone to stop waiting for luck."
The room grew quieter.
You continued.
"Like... that line about not trusting luck anymore."
Soyeon nodded.
"Yeah."
"I love that."
Yuqi leaned back.
"We've never been lucky."
"Exactly."
You pointed dramatically.
"THAT."
Yuqi laughed.
"No seriously."
You looked at all of them.
"You girls worked for everything."
Minnie smiled softly.
"We tried."
"Tried?" you repeated.
"You practically clawed your way up."
Shuhua nearly choked on her drink.
"Clawed."
"It fits the crow theme."
"It doesn't."
"It does."
"It really doesn't."
The conversation shifted naturally into memories.
Trainee stories.
Old dorm stories.
The terrible food they'd survived on.
The tiny practice rooms.
The uncertainty.
You listened quietly.
Most fans only saw success.
The trophies.
The performances.
The headlines.
You knew the reality.
You knew how many tears existed behind every achievement.
How many sacrifices.
How many moments of doubt.
And somehow this song captured all of it.
The determination.
The hunger.
The refusal to quit.
The belief that where you started didn't determine where you finished.
You looked around the room.
"I think that's why it hits so hard."
The members looked toward you.
You shrugged.
"Because it's true."
"What is?" Minnie asked.
"The song."
You gestured vaguely.
"The whole crow thing."
Yuqi immediately started cawing.
"CAW CAW."
Everyone ignored her.
You continued.
"Most people would look at your beginning and say you shouldn't have made it this far."
The room fell silent.
"But you did."
Miyeon smiled.
A little emotional.
Soyeon looked away.
The others exchanged glances.
You pointed toward the speaker.
"So hearing you sing about being hungry for more?"
You shook your head.
"It's believable."
Because it was.
Nothing about the song felt fake.
"What's your favorite line?"
Minnie asked suddenly.
You immediately answered.
"Keep chasing the glow until it cuts my tongue."
The room collectively nodded.
"Good choice," Soyeon admitted.
"It hurts."
"It's supposed to."
"I know."
You leaned forward.
"It's basically saying you'll keep chasing your goal even when it becomes painful."
Soyeon's eyes widened slightly.
"You got it."
"Of course I got it."
"You'd be surprised."
You grinned.
"I know you too well."
A few hours later the song was still playing.
For maybe the twentieth time.
Nobody was counting anymore.
You found yourself dancing around the living room with Yuqi.
Badly.
Very badly.
Shuhua was recording.
"Evidence."
"Delete that."
"Never."
Miyeon was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
Minnie had somehow fallen sideways onto the couch.
And Soyeon—
Soyeon was smiling.
Really smiling.
The kind that only happened when she was genuinely happy.
You walked over and nudged her shoulder.
"Proud of yourself?"
She pretended to think.
"A little."
"Only a little?"
"A medium amount."
You snorted.
"Liar."
She laughed.
Maybe she was proud.
And she deserved to be.
All of them did.
Near midnight everyone ended up sitting on the floor surrounded by empty snack wrappers.
The room was quieter now.
Comfortable.
Content.
You looked around at your best friends.
Six women who had spent years proving themselves.
Six women who refused to stop growing.
Six women who kept reaching higher even after achieving things most people only dreamed about.
You thought about the song again.
About crows.
About underdogs.
About chasing something brighter.
About never being satisfied with standing still.
Then you smiled.
"Hey."
Everyone looked up.
"Yeah?" Yuqi asked.
You pointed at them.
"You girls are slaying."
Immediate groans.
"Oh no."
"Not the slang."
"She's entered auntie mode."
"I'm literally the same age as you."
"Not spiritually."
The room exploded into laughter.
You rolled your eyes.
"Fine."
You stood dramatically.
Cleared your throat.
Then announced:
"Your new song is incredible."
The teasing stopped.
The members listened.
You smiled.
"And I'm really proud of all of you."
For a moment nobody spoke.
Then Miyeon got emotional.
Minnie got emotional because Miyeon got emotional.
Yuqi pretended not to be emotional.
Shuhua absolutely noticed.
Soyeon looked away again.
Which told you everything.
Because despite all the success.
Despite all the awards.
Despite all the confidence.
At the end of the day, they were still your best friends.
And sometimes hearing "I'm proud of you" from someone who had been there since the beginning meant more than any chart ranking ever could.
The speaker played the chorus again.
"We are born in the nest of the crow."
And as the six women around you sang along at the top of their lungs, laughing and off-key and completely themselves—
You couldn't help thinking the song had gotten one thing exactly right.
No matter how high they flew.
No matter how much they achieved.
They were still hungry.
Still determined.
Still chasing the glow.
And honestly?
That was what made them unstoppable. 💜
