Chapter 1

Jang Chung Arena

Outside the bustling Jang Chung Arena, an aura of excitement surge among the crowds of Valorant fans eagerly awaiting entry. Crowds of fans clad in their favorite Valorant team jerseys mingling with amazing cosplayers, bringing their favorite agents to life with meticulous detail. Conversations hummed with anticipation as castors were stationed outside dissecting strategies and recounting memorable plays from past tournaments. Laughter and cheers occasionally erupted, punctuating the atmosphere as supporters bonded over their shared passion for the game. Lines snaked around the block, and with the doors to the arena looming ahead, the buzz of anticipation only intensified, promising an unforgettable day of competition and camaraderie inside.

On the road to the stadium, A black minivan is seen driving by the arena towards a VIP entrance at the other side of the stadium, inside of said van is the group Le Sserafim.

“Wow so many people” said Chaewon in awe seeing the long-crowded lines waiting to enter the stadium and purchase food from food trucks.

Nodding in agreement, they continue to stare out the window watching the crowd of fans outside of the arena, which seem significantly larger than the crowd at the Overwatch Event. Eunchae leans against the door gazing out the tinted window, trying to count all the enthusiastic fans gathered. Looking up at the large arena, she notices two large pink and red banners adorned with symbols in the center hanging off the arena.

Confused, she asks, "Why are there two banners displayed on the arena?"

"The banners represent the teams competing today for the trophy. I think the blue and pink one is Paper Rex, a team from Singapore, and the red one is Sentinels, a team from America." explains Sakura as she knits another hat for the 1000th time.

“There’s a lot more red jerseys than pink.” Comments Kazuha seeing that roughly 60% of the crowd is wearing a Sentinels Jersey.

“They are very popular worldwide and apparently they are about to complete the Golden Road.” Said Sakura

“Golden Road?” questions Eunchae

“It's when a team wins all the major tournaments throughout the year.” Explains Sakura

Eunchae nods her head in understanding, as she continues to stare out the window in awe till they arrive at the private entrance. Exiting the van, the girls, dressed comfortably in sweatshirts and shorts, are swiftly escorted by security into the venue. Waving at the fans who are there waiting for them they are then greeted by a female Riot employee, wearing a riot t-shirt and a pair of jeans, waiting for them. She smiles and bows to the girls, which the girls reciprocate.

“Hello, Les Serafim. I hope you're all doing well. My name is Amanda, and I'll be your guide throughout the day.” Introduces Amanda in Korean.

“Hello Amanda, it’s nice to meet you.” Chaewon replies with a small smile.

“Let's first take you all to your designated room where you can store your belongings in the provided lockers and then I’ll give you a tour and rundown of today's itinerary." said Amanda with a smile.

The girls nod in agreement and follow Amanda down the halls. As they walk through the busy halls, they engage in small talk with Amanda about the event and other topics.

“Excuse me Amanda, do you by any chance know who invited us to this event.” Asks Kazuha, this thought has been sitting at the back of her mind for the past months since the call from the manager.

“I indeed do know who requested you guys to be here.” Expose Amanda with a large smile.

“Who is it?” questions Yunjin as the girl starts to surround the poor employee trying to pry the information off her.

Amanda leans back anxiously seeing the girls surround her with curiosity and excitement expressions on their faces. “Sorry girls, as much as I want to say who. They request to stay anonymous.” Explains Amanda, causing their excitement to falter.

With a closed smile “But I can say that it’ll be a great surprise especially for one of you. Now here we are!” Says Amanda

Arriving at a door labeled "Le Sserafim," Amanda enters the pin code and enters through the door, with the girls following behind. Inside, they were pleasantly surprised to find a room much larger than any changing room they had seen before. There were three makeup stations, a large L-shaped couch with pillows and blankets facing a 75" flat-screen TV, a corner equipped with five PCs, a row of lockers, and most importantly, a large table in the middle filled with snacks and drinks. The girls were amazed by the amount of food there for them, causing Eunchae to immediately rush towards the snack table, grabbing a can of Pringles and jump onto the couch to munch on them.

"YAA, Eunchae!" Chaewon yells, rushing towards the youngest member, clearly intending to lecture her. Turning to the others, Amanda asks with a chuckle, "Does this always happen? I thought it only occurred on screen."

"Sigh, this happens all the time," sighs Yunjin, staring at the commotion in front of them.

As they chat and settle in, a sudden knock on the door catches their attention. Everyone turns towards it as another Riot employee peeks in.

"Hey Amanda, the other group is here. Should I let them in?" ask the employee.

Standing up, "They're here already? Sure, bring them in," replies Amanda.

Opening the door fully, it reveals a group of six familiar faces.

"Eh? IVE?" exclaims Le Sserafim in surprise.

"Chaewon-unnie!! Kura-unnie!!" screams two individuals as they rush towards said girls jumping and latching themselves onto the two girls knocking them to the ground. Giggling, they smoothed the two members tightly as the rest of the IVE girls, all in comfortable clothing, enter the room shaking their heads in embarrassment seeing their leader and member embarrassing them.

“Hello” greets the rest of the IVE girls towards Le Sserafim.

“Are you guys the group that will perform and play against us?” asks Kazuha remembering that another group is supposed to perform.

“Yup, we are just performing a couple songs and to play the game even though we don’t really know much about the game.” Gaeul replies as she sits down on the couch laying backwards with a comfy sigh.

“Same! We were invited by someone, but they are keeping it a secret.” Yunjin nudged towards Amanda who sheepishly smiled.

“Have you guys played the games much? We’ve only watched videos about it and tried playing a few games.” responds Kazuha as she takes a munch of the pringles from Eunchae.

“Yea and we suck, well except for me of course.” Said Eunchae with a smug smile filled with pringles and arrogance.

Le Sserafim sighs and nods in agreement, not even trying to argue. Every time they played the game, they ended up losing with negative KDA except for Eunchae.

“ Not much but don’t expect us to go down without a fight. Right girls!” rallies Yujin, sitting up properly and raising her fist in the air, looking at her band mates.

“YEA” responds the girls.

They all laugh and continue talking to each other about plans, pets, music and other things. These were one of the few moments where they could truly be themselves and express any pent-up frustration and thoughts without anyone judging them. Sometimes they get so wrapped up in their life as idols that they tend to forget about taking care of themselves. From training to performance to brand deals, they forget the feeling of being free and being themselves.

“Yujin-ah, how was your tour in America? Were you able to do anything fun?” asks Yunjin as she leans against Chaewon’s shoulders, staring at the girl sitting in front of her.

“Hmm, it was fun, although we weren’t able to go outside that much, but when we did get free time to ourselves without the cameras, we made sure to rewind and relax.” Replies Yujin

“That’s good! Were you able to visit time square?” Questions Yunjin

“Yes we were, tons of people were there when we visited.” Answers Yujin

“That’s time square for you. Crowded and filled with scammers but that’s New York.” Says Yunjin

“I watched your visit to the aquarium, and it really made me want to see all the sea turtles and penguins again.” joins Sakura

“ hehe, unnie also met someone there too.” Giggles Rei causing her eyes to crescent.

“YA don’t say that” shouts Yujin in complete fluster.

“ooohh did unnie get a boyfriend?” tease Eunchae with a smile.

“Ugh Nooo, he is not my boyfriend. UGHH.” Says Yujin, hand on her head as if she’s ripping her hair off in frustration causing the rest to laugh.