TO LOVE AND TO BE IN LOVE
Summary: In their supposed individual journey through uncertainty, they meet one another. Walking side-by-side, hand-in-hand with a smile in their faces even with the amount of weight in their shoulders.
Words: 1.9k
Tags: fluff (lots of it), angst, small mention of parents passing, a staff member being real mean to Ivy, body shaming
A/N: In celebration of SEVENTEEN's 10th-Anniversary, I bring you a short glimpse of how SEVENTEEN joined Pledis and how the relationship between Scoups and Ivy blossomed into something more than a friendship.
To love and to be in love.
When Ivy was born, she was greeted with nothing but warmth and love, surrounded by those who have long awaited her arrival. Her parents, who have done their very best to provide for her; her grandparents, who adored everything that she does; her aunts and uncles, who shower her with gifts; and so many more.
Even in the absence of her late parents, their warmth and love stayed within her.
Her grandfather would always say to her when she was little that he could feel as if their souls were protecting her precious heart from the cruelty of the world.
Whenever someone would meet her, they would describe her as if the sun had taken human form. She brought warmth to those around her, even those she would simply pass by in the streets. With a smile, a hug, and a pat on the back, she gave comfort. She silently assured everyone that everything would be okay and that brighter days were ahead.
So when she moved to South Korea, this was something that she brought along with her on her journey in the new country. In a country filled with unfamiliar faces and languages, she walked with a confident smile on her face. Greeting those around her with respect and kindness, even those obviously undeserving of it.
It came as a shock to many, especially the trainees under Pledis debut project "SEVENTEEN," when it was announced to them that Ivy will be joining their line-up and will soon be training alongside them.
"I can't believe we'll be having a girl in our team," Hoshi said in worry and curiosity.
"Hyung," Seungkwan called out to him after talking to one of the staff. "I heard that she's scary from other trainees. We'll be alright, right?"
"Ey!" Jeonghan spoke up from the other side of their practice room with melon-colored walls. "Surely she isn't that scary."
"I heard that she has this scary aura," DK also spoke up, plopping down beside Jeonghan. "That her eyes would, like, change like a hawk watching her every move in front of the dance practice room mirrors." He said this while trying to imitate the look that a trainee told them she had.
"They also said that she's really good," Seungkwan added, grabbing hold of Hoshi's hand. "dancing, singing, even acting!"
"Hey," Seungcheol called out to them before DK could even add another rumor that he had also heard. "It's not nice to talk about someone behind their back, you guys do know that, right?"
"Yeah," Joshua said from beside Seungcheol. "And I heard from the staff members that she's nice, so there's nothing to worry about!"
But even with the assurance of their older members, they still couldn't shake the worry that they had. It wasn't until the day of the first official day that they met Ivy, who proved the rumors to be true, well, some of it.
"Hello!" Ivy said with a bow in front of the SEVENTEEN TV trainees. "My name is Ivy Alexandra Vasilios; you can call me Ivy or Alex for short. It's really nice to meet you all; let's all get along well!"
She said all of this with a smile.
Not a normal smile but a smile that showed how genuine she felt in meeting them all.
'Wow... It's like we're looking at the sun.' This thought went through each and every one of them.
It wasn't until one of their staff members, who stood next to Ivy, that they snapped out of their daze and bowed back.
After their formal introduction, their staff gave them some time for Ivy to meet and get to know her new fellow trainees. It was all silent, with all of them fidgeting with their hands, looking at one another, and whispering, just trying to figure out how to get rid of the awkwardness.
"Um," Ivy said through the silence, which caught all of their attention in an instant. "I know that me joining is sudden news to you all, and I also know that you might have heard some things about me, but I want to say that I am very thankful to have this opportunity to debut with all of you."
This took them aback, the fact that she said it all with a smile like she knew in herself that she is not who those rumors say that she is.
"I heard from the staff that you are all very talented, and actually, I've seen some of your performances at the live streams." She confessed, a little bit embarrassed.
"We've seen some of yours as well, Noona!" Seungkwan said all of a sudden, catching her and the others off guard. "Wait, is it okay to call you Noona?"
It was silent for a second as Ivy tried processing what he said.
Then came out a small laugh.
Then a full wholehearted laugh.
"Yeah," she replied while wiping the tears that formed around her eyes. "It would be an honor."
With her laugh and permission, all chaos broke loose.
They asked her about everything and anything, and she answered every question with a big smile.
From that day on wards, she was surrounded by a family that provided her love and warmth in an unknown country as they go through their journey.
It has now been a year since she had joined the line-up for SEVENTEEN and almost 5 years since she had moved to Seoul to become a trainee for Pledis. Her year as part of the SEVENTEEN project was filled with many memories, from happy to sad. But what she was most thankful for was that in every challenge, she had someone with her to face it.
She wasn't alone in her battles anymore.
She had a family that would fight for her like she would for them.
But there are times that she has to fight some battles on her own, afraid of burdening her younger members. Afraid of her showing them negativity and sadness.
To her, they deserve nothing but happiness.
So when a new staff member came around that watched her like a hawk and criticized everything and anything about her, she hid it all.
She hid the pain behind the same smile she would present to everyone.
She hid the growing anxiety and worry that had formed inside her head after weeks of emotional torment from the same staff member.
"Ivy, don't you think you're eating too much?"
"Ivy, you're too slow with this movement. Keep up, will you?"
"Are you really the trainee that everyone is praising? It's like everything everyone is saying is all a lie."
"With that singing, you won't debut."
The staff member would say this when no one was around to listen. At first, Ivy was even thankful that none of her members were there to listen to what the staff would say to her. In fear of what they would do, even with the painful words, she still took it all with a nod and a small smile.
But it's not long before someone notices; she knows who will notice first.
He noticed everything about everyone, especially her.
The moon that shone through the night became the only witness to the pain that she tried her best to hide from others. Sitting on one of the swings at the playground near their dorm, she cried silently. It became a routine for her since the staff started targeting her to come to the playground at night after buying strawberry milk from the convenience store. She would sip away the sadness before the tears would slowly creep in her eyes, which would be followed by sobs until she fully broke down.
A week was how long it took for someone to finally see her.
"Sadness really doesn't look well on you, do you know that?" A voice said in front of her; she didn't look up.
She didn't need to. She knew who stood in front of her well enough that she didn't need to look up as she continued to look down at her lap.
"Are the kids asleep?" was what she only said in return.
"Yeah," he said, taking a seat at the empty swing next to her. "They're getting worried as well."
"I don't want them to," she replied.
"I can face them alone." She said this all as she continued to let out small sobs. "I've faced them alone before; I can do it now."
"But you don't have to," he said while standing up from his seat at the swing. "You're not alone anymore. When things get heavy, you're not alone to carry it all."
She said nothing, but she was listening.
He knew she was, but he wanted her to understand it all.
Putting his hand on both of her cheeks, he raised her head gently. His heart clenched in a way he couldn't understand upon seeing her red nose and trembling lips.
"You can tell us, and we'll face it with you." As he said this with a gentle smile, she couldn't help but be teary-eyed.
"For now, let it out," he said as he rubbed his thumb on her cheek. "But tomorrow, you have to promise me that when you return to this playground, you'll be smiling, okay?"
She said nothing but nodded her head before burying her head on his stomach that was clothed by a hoodie that smelled much like him. His hand patted her head in comfort and rubbed her back when she would let out a sob. It was like his arms were made to be wrapped around her. Her form molding into his.
Like a missing piece of a puzzle.
Under the moon. In the playground.
Wrapped in each other's warmth.
That night, something formed between them. A silent shadow intertwining behind them, hiding from their own eyes.
To love and to be in love.
The next morning, the staff was no longer around. Other staffs only said that they were fired because of personal reasons.
Everything returned back to normal.
With a small change between the two oldest.
This change that seemingly obvious to others and to themselves but they refused to acknowledge because of the fear.
A fear of everything changing between them.
But what never changed was their dedication to be there for their younger members and each other.
Side-by-side, hand-in-hand.
But they both knew, that they have found a special kind of love from one another.
A love that only they could understand.
Now years later, even though many things have changed some things stayed the same, like the chaos of their group. The teasing and the play fighting— nothing changed.
All of them grew a lot after debuting, learning throughout their journey as idols and individuals.
They knew deep down that inside each and every one of them, lived their young trainee selves who strived to survive and debut. To prove to the world that even with the number of members that they had, they will succeed.
For Ivy and Seungcheol, little changed between them.
From that night at the playground near their dorm to now at their practice studio, watching their younger members be in their own little worlds. There was only a little change.
Looking down at their joint hands, an identical ring sitting on their pinky finger.
With the small addition of a ring that sat on Ivy's ring finger.
There was only a little change.
That was, the loudness of their love for one another.
They weren't afraid anymore; they let the shadow that they once hid be out and embraced it fully.
They were 18 when they fell in love.
Now, they were both 30, still in love but now holding a promise for forever.
A/N: I really hoped that you all like this little sneak peak into the past of how Ivy joined SEVENTEEN and how Scoups and Ivy's love story began. There will be more to come so stay tuned and enjoy!
Also my requests are open (won't be closing it for now) so if you want any contents for IVY (both individually and seventeen) feel free to drop it on my request box. You can also drop asks or questions that you might have for me as well, I love interacting with you all and hearing your feedbacks!