Maknae Princess || Stray Kids

39. HAPPY ITZY, HAPPY NABI

They Finally Debuted

Nabi knocked on the dorm door and waited for someone to answer. When they did she got a big smile on her face and flung her arms around the first person she saw in a hug, even jumping up and wrapping her legs around their waist.

"Ryujinie! Congratulations on your debut!" Nabi shouted happily.

"Oh, wow... " Ryujin laughed as she steadily caught the younger girl in her arms. "Thank you, Nabi-yah."

Ryujin quickly put her hands under Nabi's thighs to support her so the two didn't fall on their faces. Nabi was always really clingy, especially when she got excited and Ryujin was more than used to catching, carrying, and picking her up. She was literally a giant baby koala. Back when they were trainees and Nabi was supposed to be a part of ITZY the girls were constantly attacked by her affection and skinship, not that any of them really minded much. Nabi was really freaking cute.

Ryujin frowned a bit as Nabi detached herself and fell down to stand in front of her. She had a bright smile on her face while Ryujin did a full body scan of the girl with just her eyes.

"What?" Nabi asked in confusion at the way she was being stared at.

"You're lighter than before. Did you lose weight?"

Nabi mirrored Ryujin's frown now. "Why do people keep asking me that? My members stuff me full every day with sweets and snacks, how am I losing weight and not gaining it?"

"Who else asked? Bang Chan?" Ryujin guessed.

Everyone in the company knew Chan well, he was practically everyone's little brother or big brother. He was a really caring, loving, and helpful guy and it was all too obvious about how much he adored and loved Stray Kids. His members were everything to him so there was no way he wouldn't notice if something was wrong with one of them.

"No, but he did mention I should eat more in the dorm," Nabi admitted. "But I was actually talking about Jin oppa. I went to visit them a few weeks ago and he force-fed me like I was seven and not seventeen."

"Seokjin sunbae-nim?"

"Hm."

"Just eat a little more protein and less carbs," Ryujin suggested. "It's probably just your fast metabolism and all the dancing."

"You're right," Nabi said with a nod.

"Ah! Nabi-yah!" Yeji exclaimed in excitement when she walked into the living room and noticed a girl that wasn't one of her members.

"Yeji unnie!" Nabi squealed before running to hug the older girl. "Congratulations on your debut! I'm so proud of you! I knew you'd become the leader, you deserve it."

"Is that a compliment or a discouragement?" Yeji laughed but she wrapped her arms tightly around Nabi anyway.

Being the leader of any group was never fun. It was filled with constant responsibility and mountains of stress but Yeji in some way was like Chan. The two could act younger than the maknaes of their group but in one second they could also be the most serious and supportive.

"A compliment of course!" Nabi reassured.

"Yah, why are you all so loud?" Chaeryeong asked as she stepped out of her shared room. She saw Nabi still in a hug with Yeji and her eyes widened at the sight. She set her phone down on the nearby table before grinning and rushing over to join the embrace. "Aigoo, I missed you so much!" Chaeryeong sighed and buried her face in Nabi's neck successfully stealing the girl away from her leader's arms. "Why didn't you stop by sooner?"

Nabi laughed. "I wanted to but I didn't want to disrupt you guys. You've finally debuted, how does it feel?"

"Not sure," Ryujin admitted with a small tilt of her head.

"It doesn't feel real yet," Chaeryeong murmured.

"We'll feel it soon," Yeji said. "With our upcoming schedule, we're going to be feeling a lot of things."

"You guys will do well," Nabi promised with a smile. "ITZY fighting!"

"Yah, you're going to make me cry!" Lia exclaimed from behind Ryujin. She'd just gotten back to the dorm with Yuna right beside her.

"Ah, unnie, you were supposed to debut with us," Yuna whined cutely.

"Five's a good number," Nabi said as she pulled away from Chaeryeong to lean against the girl's shoulder instead. "Six would've been too many for ITZY. Five's the perfect number just like nine is the perfect number for Stray Kids."

Yeji knew Nabi's words were just to comfort their maknae but she guessed that's how Nabi genuinely felt now. In the beginning, while they were still trainees and before Chan found Nabi, she and Yeji would talk for hours at their trainee dorm about the future. How they'd debut together when the time came, stay by each other's sides, and build their career up. But things changed. They were still building their careers up side by side but now it was separately.

Maybe it was sad and disappointing when it happened but maybe it was also meant to be. After all, Nabi really fitted in well with her members. Despite them being boys and her being the only girl it didn't seem to matter for Stray Kids. Yeji was also pretty sure that no other person could ever match the image or the energy that Nabi easily did. At the start, it was a bit of a struggle, especially with Han but now Nabi didn't even have to try anymore.

Maybe it was because she had two older brothers in her family or that she basically grew up with BTS as her older brothers too. She could handle being surrounded by boys and living with them.

"That's your opinion," Yuna said with a pout.

"Come on, you guys just debuted," Nabi reminded them. "Don't make it sad when it's something really good and happy."

"She's right," Ryujin agreed. "Besides we'll see each other every other day. We're from the same company and Itzy and Stray Kids are in the same generation too. Our groups will make history together."

"Unnie, what are you thinking?" Yuna asked when she noticed Yeji's spaced-out expression.

Yeji blinked when everyone's attention turned to her. She shook her head and smiled. "Nothing, I was just remembering when Lia and Nabi snuck out of our trainee dorm in the middle of the night."

"You're still not over that?" Lia asked in exasperation.

"She holds grudges but thankfully she's not my leader," Nabi teased and stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Yah!"

The girls all laughed. They were happy. Even if in the end things didn't turn out quite how they pictured it, it didn't turn out badly at all just different. Nabi was where she belonged while Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna were where they belonged.

Everything was fine, everything was good and as long as ITZY was happy Nabi was happy too.

"How long before you leave?" Ryujin asked.

"I have the afternoon free. Why?" Nabi looked at her.

"Let's eat together! Lia unnie ordered fried chicken," Yuna quickly suggested.

"Sure," Nabi nodded. "But I thought you texted me complaining about how you were put on a diet?"

"We all were," Ryujin rolled her eyes.

"Who cares? We're in our dorm where PD-nim can't get to us and we need to eat to keep up our energy," Yeji stated matter of factly.

"Good leader," Nabi said with a thumbs up and Yeji laughed.

"Best leader!" the girls chanted, which successfully made Yeji shy as she turned around to hide her face.

Yeah, she was definitely a little, a lot like Bang Chan. Both were the best leaders that there could ever be for their respective groups, looking out and protecting their members.