IVE and the Great Strawberry Heist of 3024

The dorm was silent, which was the first sign of the apocalypse. Usually, there was the sound of Rei practicing her "raps for plants," or Liz accidentally dropping a spoon into a parallel dimension. But today, there was only the hum of the refrigerator.

Wonyoung stood before the appliance like a knight before a dragon. She opened the door. The light hit her face, illuminating her perfect skin, but her eyes were filled with a tragedy deeper than any K-drama.

"It’s gone," Wonyoung whispered.

"What’s gone? My dignity? I lost that during the last TikTok challenge," Yujin said, appearing out of thin air while wearing three hoodies at once and holding a megaphone for no apparent reason.

"The strawberry," Wonyoung pointed a manicured finger at the empty crisper drawer. "The Last Strawberry of the Season. The one with the perfect symmetry. The one that was supposed to be my lunch, my aesthetic, and my best friend."

Gaeul walked into the kitchen, wearing a Gandalf beard she’d found in the basement. "I sensed a disturbance in the Force. Or maybe it was just Liz trying to microwave a literal rock again."

"I was trying to see if it would turn into a diamond!" Liz shouted from the living room, where she was currently engaged in a high-stakes thumb-war with a cardboard cutout of Leeseo.

"Silence!" Yujin bellowed into the megaphone, even though she was three inches away from Wonyoung’s ear. "We have a thief among us. A berry-burglar. A fruit-felon. A... strawberry-snatcher."

Suddenly, the lights flickered. An ominous K-pop beat started playing from the walls. Leeseo (the real one) slid into the kitchen on a pair of motorized Heelys, holding an IVE lightstick that was glowing an unnatural shade of neon purple.

"Unnies," Leeseo said, her voice sounding like it was being fed through a voice-changer. "The strawberry wasn't stolen. It was summoned."

"By who?" Rei asked, appearing from inside a kitchen cabinet, covered in glitter.

"By the spirit of the 1st Generation K-pop Idols," Leeseo whispered. "They say if a strawberry is too perfect, it creates a rift in the space-time-dance-practice-continuum. Right now, your strawberry is currently being held hostage in the year 3024, inside a futuristic convenience store located on the moon."

Wonyoung gasped so hard she accidentally did a hair-flip that blinded Liz for three seconds. "Then we have no choice. We must go to the future. Get my lightstick. The one that doubles as a teleporter."

"Since when does it do that?" Gaeul asked, stroking her fake beard.

"Since I updated the firmware this morning," Rei said, pulling a laptop out of her sleeve. "Buckle up, girls. We’re going to the moon."

The Journey to the Moon (3 Minutes Later)

The members of IVE were not in a spaceship. Instead, they were all sitting in a giant laundry basket while Rei hit the 'Spin Cycle' button on her laptop. With a sound like a distorted "LOVE DIVE" remix, the world turned into a kaleidoscope of sequins and high-definition lip gloss.

BAM.

They landed in the middle of a futuristic 7-Eleven. But it wasn't a normal store. The shelves were stocked with "Instant Charisma" sprays and holographic snacks.

"Welcome to the year 3024," a robotic voice echoed. It was a vending machine, but it had the face of a very confused cat. "Please scan your DNA or perform a 2x speed dance cover to enter."

"I’ve got this," Yujin said. She proceeded to do the choreography for 'After LIKE' so fast that she actually broke the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom that knocked over a display of "Zero-Gravity Ramen."

"Access granted," the cat-vending machine purred.

They ran to the back of the store. There, sitting in a laser-guarded pedestal, was The Strawberry. It was glowing. It was rotating. It was wearing a tiny pair of sunglasses.

"There she is," Wonyoung sighed, reaching out.

"STOP!" a voice cried.

Out from behind a stack of "Cyber-Kimchi" stepped a figure. It was Liz, but she was wearing a silver jumpsuit and had a robotic arm that was actually just a whisk taped to her hand.

"Future Liz?!" the present Liz screamed. "Why are you a cyborg? And why do you have a whisk?"

"The future is rough, Liz," Future Liz said dramatically. "In 3024, strawberries are the only currency left. With this one berry, I can buy a ticket to a concert where the idols are actually just sentient clouds of glitter. I cannot let you take it back to 2024 just for a selfie!"

"It’s not just for a selfie!" Wonyoung argued. "It’s for... okay, it’s mostly for a selfie, but it’s a really good one!"

"Battle!" Leeseo shouted, waving her glowing lightstick. "Whoever wins the 'Random Play Dance: Extreme Gravity Edition' gets the berry!"

The music started. It was a mashup of every K-pop song ever written, played at the same time, backwards.

Gaeul started doing a hip-hop routine while floating toward the ceiling. Rei began rapping in a language she invented five seconds ago, which apparently translated to "The strawberry belongs to the aesthetic." Yujin was doing backflips off the slushie machine.

Future Liz tried to keep up, but her whisk-arm kept getting caught in her silver hair. "System error!" she cried. "Too much talent! The synchronization... it's over 9000!"

With a final, synchronized pose that sent a shockwave of sparkles through the store, IVE finished the dance. Future Liz dissolved into a pile of confetti and a single coupon for 10% off space-bread.

Wonyoung grabbed the strawberry. "Let’s go home before the space-police realize we didn't pay for the air we’re breathing."

The Return

They landed back in their dorm laundry basket with a heavy thud.

"We did it," Yujin panted, adjusting her three hoodies. "The timeline is safe. The strawberry is ours."

Wonyoung looked at the strawberry in her hand. Everyone leaned in, breathless. The most beautiful fruit in history.

Suddenly, Leeseo’s stomach growled. It sounded like a tectonic plate shifting. Before anyone could react, the youngest member leaned forward, snatched the strawberry, and ate it in one bite.

Silence.

"Was it good?" Gaeul asked, her Gandalf beard falling off.

Leeseo chewed slowly. She blinked. "It tasted like... cardboard."

"Cardboard?" Wonyoung shrieked.

"Oh," Rei said, looking at her laptop. "Wait. I sent us to the year 3024, right? In that year, all fruit is 3D-printed. We stole a plastic prop."

Wonyoung stared at the empty space where her dream once lived. She looked at her members—glitter-covered, bearded, wearing whisks, and exhausted from space-time travel.

"You know what?" Wonyoung said, pulling out her phone. "The plastic strawberry actually has better lighting anyway."

"Group hug!" Yujin yelled into the megaphone.

As they all piled onto the sofa, the refrigerator door creaked open one last time. From behind a jar of pickles, a second strawberry—even more perfect than the first—slowly put on a pair of sunglasses and winked at the camera.

THE END.