Chapter Text
Kim Minji and Kang Haerin didn’t have much in common… that they knew of.
Minji was loud, an absolute jokester, and loves to take initiative, whereas Haerin was quiet, has a hobby of people-watching, and prefers to follow rather than lead. Other than the fact that they were both Ador trainees and fiercely committed to becoming Kpop idols one day, the two believed that the difference between them was night and day.
Minji had been a trainee for about 2 ½ years when Haerin first joined. After brief introductions, it was set in stone by staff that they would be roommates—Minji’s parents finally agreed to let her dorm with the rest of the trainees instead of commuting long hours between work and home.
About a week later, they had their bags packed and were ready to live their lives away from their families with high hopes of debuting in their hearts. The day they moved in together was the day they found out the one big thing they had in common.
“You’re both intersex.” Their CEO and basically 2nd mother figure, Min Hee Jin, stated bluntly.
The older woman—thank god—was accepting and supportive of them. Regardless of the extra members between their legs, they were both girls nonetheless. Girls with the same dreams as any other trainees in their company and they deserve to be treated no differently.
Their anatomy was a well-kept secret between the three of them, and it made the most sense for Minji and Haerin to be assigned as roommates so as to curb any risk of the other trainees discovering their secret down below. It would jeopardize everything they’ve worked so hard for.
The two grew to rely on each other for support, often covering for each other when one of their little “friends” would sporadically “rise” to the occasion and left them with no choice but to take care of it . Their bodies were undergoing the hormonal stages of life and they couldn’t really control when they would pop a boner. They could be thinking of literal vegetables—food that Minji hates with a passion—or really anything non-sexual and the next thing they knew, a tent would be pitching in their pants.
Sure, being surrounded by attractive girl trainees everyday might have played a small part in their troubles, but Minji and Haerin weren’t exactly girl obsessed or had any intentions on “getting some” like some of the male trainees. Their sole priority was to work their asses off to perfect their vocal and dance skills. It was the only way to increase their chances in securing a spot in the final line up. They were there to debut and to debut only.
For that reason, Minji and Haerin weren’t particularly close-close to any of the other trainees. Acquaintances yeah, but knowing that debut wasn’t a guarantee, they rather spare themselves the heartbreak of losing another friend.
Though Minji and Haerin were closer than the other trainees, they didn’t exactly open up to each other at first. Their conversations remained strictly about their experiences together as trainees. The rest of the time they spent seeing who could annoy each other the most—which more often than not resulted with one of them in a chokehold or pinned to the ground in a way that a wrestler would be proud. All actions were playful of course.
Haerin also wasn’t much of a talker. How their conversations usually played out was Minji doing most of the talking and Haerin nodding along with an occasional hum while maintaining unblinking eye contact. Honestly, it was kinda creepy, Minji thought, if not for the younger bearing a striking resemblance to a kitten. Haerin also just so happened to be an annoyingly cute one so her weirdness cancels out.
Regardless, Minji doesn’t let the lack of reciprocation get to her. She knows Haerin cares for her and was always listening with intent. The younger’s vibe was calm, as opposed to her blunt way of speaking. This part of Haerin’s personality Minji recognized to be what true authenticity looks like in a person and she was grateful to have a friend like Haerin who sticks to her truth despite what others think of her.
For Haerin, Minji was like the older brother she never wanted, but eventually accepted into her life. Minji likes to pick on her for reasons ranging from her shorter height to her cat-like tendencies. Despite her protests, Haerin finds Minji’s childlike behavior to be pretty hilarious and weirdly healing in a way—an example being when they would argue over the stupidest things. It helped with taking her mind off of their vigorous training regimen and served as a reminder that it was okay to have fun—to enjoy her teenage years while they lasted.
Minji would also make genuine effort to check in on Haerin’s well-being compared to the other trainees who only held small talk with her, perceiving her introverted nature as a sign that she didn’t want to talk to them. Unlike others who voice their thoughts freely, Haerin only felt the need to do so when necessary. It’s just who she was and Haerin deeply appreciated that Minji never judges her for it.
The older was also extremely reliable, often protecting them from creepy male trainees or staff that would try to hit on them. Even going as far as to report these types of scumbags to their CEO—something most trainees are terrified to do in fear of retaliation—and get them fired to ensure they would never have to see their perverted asses again.
Haerin would say that Minji was her most trusted and safe person to be around. She’ll never admit it out loud though, not wanting to boost Minji’s already inflated ego (jokes).
~
A few months had passed and it wasn’t until the arrival of a new trainee, a small Vietnamese-Australian girl named Hanni Pham, that Haerin noticed for the first time Minji willingly concerning herself with a trainee other than her.
Minji and Hanni met in the hallways of Hybe when the the younger shyly asked her for directions to Ador’s dance practice room. Only Hanni didn’t know any Korean other than “hello” and “where’s the bathroom,” and stuttered her question in mainly English. Minji instantly recognized Hanni’s unique facial features to be foreign and opted to mess with the new girl a bit, far too amuse at the younger’s rather adorable attempt at broken Korean.
Despite being nearly fluent in English, Minji pretended she didn’t understand a word Hanni was saying. It was stupid really because anyone with common sense could deduce that Hanni was asking for directions when she pointed to a freaking map of the building and instructions from the front desk detailing the room number of her desired destination. To be fair on Hanni, Hybe was huge so it’s no surprise that newcomers would often get lost with the many practice rooms the building offered.
Minji’s prank was short-lived when Haerin came out of the bathroom and immediately recognized the older’s ignorance to be complete and utter bullshit. The cat-like girl had to hold back scoff as she politely introduced herself to Hanni. Unlike Minji, Haerin wasted no time in leading the poor lost girl to their practice room. Once Hanni was through the door, Haerin turned back to shake her head disapprovingly at Minji’s childish behavior.
“Tsk.”
After Hanni’s introduction to their team, the Vietnamese-Australian soon found out from their dance instructor that Minji indeed knew English. In fact, Minji was the best amongst the trainees.
The older flashed an awkward smile at Hanni, at which the Aussie only stared back at her with an unreadable expression on her face. Before the tension could thicken, Hanni’s attention was turned back to the dance instructor when he suddenly spoke.
“Okay girls. 오늘 팝핑 작업을 해보겠습니다. 모두 흩어져. 민지, 한니 옆에 서.”
“Ne!” The class responded with earnesty, reminiscent of soldiers in the military.
“He said we’re going to work on popping today and to spread out.” Minji said with a perfect English accent as she approached Hanni.
The Aussie looked at her with raised eyebrows when she noticed Minji’s presence closing in.
“Uh, he also said to stand next to you.”
Hanni stared at Minji for a good second before letting out a small nod and turning her focus back to their dance instructor.
“좋아. 이제 따라해 보세요. 민지아–“
(Okay. Now follow along. Minji-ah–)
“Ne seonsaengnim?”
(Yes teacher)?
“한니를 도와줘요, 알았죠?”
(Help Hanni, okay?)
Minji turned to Hanni.
“I guess I’m going to be your helper today.”
Hanni’s eyes narrowed at Minji, not even attempting to hide the skepticism that riddled her face.
“Right.” Hanni responded curtly.
Oof.
Well, Minji was at fault for pranking the poor girl on her first day—like—who even does that? Hanni had every right to mistrust her.
Across the room, their local neighborhood cat, Kang Haerin, stood silently observing them. She doesn’t miss Minji’s lingering gaze and sulky face when Hanni paid her little attention.
Haerin smirked at the sight.
Things had just gotten a lot more interesting.
~
Hanni has yet to adapt to the hierarchy system of speech in Korea, often speaking informally to their dance and vocal instructors, staff members, and older trainees. Luckily, most everyone in Ador was kind and understanding of Hanni’s novice mistakes and simply laughed it off. Minji, however, felt fearfully responsible as the younger’s main translator and would often panic with eyes as wide as saucers when Hanni would speak informally to the wrong person.
The older put great effort in helping Hanni, remaining by the Aussie’s side and correcting her mistakes without complaint. Sometimes, it was as simple as adding a -yo to the end of Hanni’s words. Other times, it would be switching the order of words in a sentence as Hanni often forgot to put them in the correct order of subject, object, and verb.
At least Hanni’s mistakes were always adorable, Minji thought, unbothered by the additional responsibility of guiding Hanni through her endeavors of learning Korean. If she wasn't in the Kpop industry, Minji would for sure pursue a career as a language teacher or a translator of sorts. She’s always been fascinated by how people could convey the same meanings with their words in languages that sounded so different from each other. Hence, her strong efforts in learning English and Japanese.
As the months progressed, so did Hanni’s Korean and her friendship with Minji. The two had grown close. Like. Really close, much to Haerin’s surprise.
Unfortunately or fortunately for Minji, Hanni was as every bit of a jokester as she was, and they soon developed a push-and-pull type of relationship with each other. Bickering became their norm, with Hanni making a habit of smacking Minji’s arm at times whenever the older was being extra obnoxious. What’s most interesting was that Minji would never hit back, allowing the smaller girl to beat her to her heart's content.
Why?
Minji convinces herself it’s because her father had taught her to never lay hands on a woman (guys were okay though, especially the creepy ones), despite having no issue pushing and shoving a certain Kang kitty around…
Eh, but Haerin deserves it.
So Minji’s morals were still intact.
Being physical with Hanni? Minji could never.
To Minji, Hanni was different from other girls. One minute, the younger would be nagging and scolding her as if they were a married couple—something that the other trainees wouldn’t dare do out of respect for her being the oldest. The next, Hanni would tease her mercilessly to the point where she—the great Kim Minji–known for her genius quips and retorts—would fumble over her words trying to defend herself. And the glint in Hanni’s eyes whenever she’d make fun of her… It was all Minji could do not to make herself seem more like a loser than Hanni already made her out to be.
Without a doubt, Hanni Pham was a mischievous little devil whose sole purpose on earth was to embarrass Minji as much as she could. So tell her why every interaction with the Aussie dosed her with a rush of adrenaline that would leave her system buzzing for hours? Or why she’d still looked forward to seeing Hanni every day despite being humiliated by the younger every day prior? And in front of all the other trainees too… Haerin of course being the most amused of them all.
The short answer, Minji was addicted. Addicted to the drug that is Hanni Pham.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
~
Mo Jihye, aka Marsh Danielle arrived about a month later and was introduced to the team as their second trainee from Australia. As expected, Hanni and Danielle immediately hit it off, practically squealing everyone’s ears off reveling in the fact that they were fellow mates and Hanni no longer had to attend her Korean language classes alone. Though Danielle was mixed, her dad being white and her mom korean, she knew enough of the language to hold basic conversations. However, she still had much to learn and remember after living in Australia for so long.
Happy with her current friendship with Hanni and Haerin, Minji definitely didn’t plan on opening up to Danielle at first. After seeing Hanni take a great liking to her fellow Aussie, however, it was inevitable that she would grow closer to Danielle as well. Minji just first had to get over the hump of doubting her own English skills because damn was Danielle’s accent thiccccc. Even Hanni agrees so that must have meant something. All was good though because Minji gained another practice buddy to converse in English with.
Hanni and Danielle were also extremely kind and oh-so-genuine that even the introverted Haerin came around to them. Especially Danielle, Minji observed one day when she caught the two in private conversation across the cafeteria. Haerin was talking animatedly, her eyes sparkling and she was full of giggles.
Huh.
And Minji swore the younger didn't pause once.
Danielle didn’t seem to mind though, matching Haerin’s enthusiasm with her own animated gestures whilst happily nodding along.
Weird.
Haerin never talks with her to that extent. It was an odd sight. Minji’s brain churned as suspicious thoughts began filing in. Before she could conjure up any theories, however, she felt an arm loop through hers and was whisked away by none other than her best friend, Hanni Pham. All former thoughts were pushed to the back of her head at the mention of bread and how they were going to miss their daily fix if they didn’t make it in time to their favorite bakery before it closed.
“It was nice talking to you, Haerin-ie~”
Haerin gaze lingered on her new Australian friend as the older walked away from their conversation with a pep in her step. For some reason, it made Haerin feel good that she was the reason for Danielle’s chirpy mood.
They have been talking a lot, Haerin and Danielle—all thanks to the Aussie being the social butterfly she was and the effort she’d put into including Haerin in every conversation possible, be it alone together or in a group setting—something that the other trainees would never do.
Okay, maybe Minji had tried many many times, but with Danielle, it was different (idk man).
It seems Haerin’s logic may have been a bit biased, but the cat-like girl doesn’t dwell too much on the fact—more focused on how she’s even capable of speaking as many words as she does whenever she was in Danielle’s presence—or how long their conversations would stretch out as if neither wanted it to end.
Why Haerin offers her unfiltered self to a stranger only existing a month in her life, she doesn’t know. But—Haerin tries to reason with herself—How could she not be drawn to the Aussie’s lovely presence and unique beauty. Danielle was quite literally the embodiment of sunflowers and rainbows, always sprinkling kindness wherever she goes. How could anyone not want to open up and be friends with this ball of sunshine?
Here lies another similarity between Haerin and Minji. They were both total losers, oblivious to their growing feelings for the Aussie duo—with now Haerin being clueless as to how enamored she was with Danielle Marsh.
Wait until they find out how much trouble Hanni and Danielle were really going to cause them.
Hopefully they won’t make Minji and Haerin’s lives harder than it already was.
~
Hyein Lee was the last to join their little group amongst the trainees, promoting Haerin from Maknae to Unnie. They welcomed the youngest with open arms and treated her no differently despite her young age. Maybe they were a tad bit more protective over her, but Hyein was beyond mature for her age, always leaving them in awe at her resilience and ability to manage her mental state given the tough environment they’re in.
The four wholly adored her.
The 5 girls’ bond strengthened when Hanni, Danielle, and Hyein would often hang in Minji and Haerin’s dorm after their long days of training together. They would go on long walks with each other to destress, watch movies whenever they had free time, eat out at restaurants in secret—one time consuming an amount of food so impressive, they surpassed the men’s soccer team next to them—and fool around as all normal teenagers would. Long story short, they made many memories together as the year passed—ones that they would cherish for the rest of their lives.
Throughout her years of being a trainee, Minji’s never felt more happy until the arrival of four friends. And although Haerin doesn’t show it much, she too was glad that the four of them came into her life at such a difficult time. For once, it was nice to let their guards down and be vulnerable with a group of trusted friends—they dare thought.
Inevitably, their prospective team of trainees whittled down from 8, to 7, to 6, with only the 5 of them remaining. They all broke out in tears of joy when it was finally announced that they were going to debut.
Together.
The 5 of them!
After being unfairly forced to endure an extra year of uncertainty and yearning for a career that may never come… they finally made it.
It was fucking unbelievable.
Newjeans was what they were going to be called and the rest was history.