angst where gaeul sees nahyo, ssamkkura, etc and starts feeling jealous because yujin isn't as affectionate with her and starts resenting her being picked leader but she keeps bottling it up until she accidentally blurts out a "must be nice being picked leader" in the middle of practice do you see the vision 👀
and esp cuz gaeul was the trainee leader back in their trainee days until iz*one disbanded and yujin + wony joined them in training thats when gaeul lost her leader position to yujin. maybe gaeul has a little resentment from that time, but being trainee leader was really exhausting so at the time she was really happy yujin became the leader of ive.
in the beginning, yujin was focused on being a good leader---focused on arranging schedules, catching mistakes and refining details in their choreo because she has so much pressure on her shoulders to lead the team to success. yujin believed that the key factor in dictating whether they successed or failed was based on her leadership.
but as well in the beginning, yujin would often turn to gaeul for advise and just to confide about her struggles with her because gaeul had been the trainee leader for years while yujin was previously the loving doting maknae of izone who has now suddenly been thrusted into a leadership role. gaeul was happy to be the shoulder for yujin to lean on.
in the early days, yujin would come to gaeul for advise. they would spend hours on end talking alone. some days, gaeul would take yujin out to get some fresh air when she notices how much yujin has buried herself in her responsibilities. in return, yujin would treat gaeul to dessert as a token of her appreciation. gaeul loved spending time with yujin. seeing the more vulnerable side of yujin made her heart swoon; she was the only one who ever saw this side of her. with the rest of the girls, yujin was fierce, confident, and assertive, but with gaeul, she was soft-spoken, caring, and she was small. gaeul was her unnie and yujin could be her loving dongsang.
but sometime after their debut, yujin became more confident in her role as a leader. there was a small shift in their dynamic. yujin stopped coming to gaeul with her concerns and fears as a leader. instead, yujin drifted farther away from her. she became a confident leader. the executives and fans all praised her amazing leadership skills and professional edge---some even going as far to say she was a natural-born leader. yujin had gained the confidence she once lacked and needed to come to gaeul for reassurance. gaeul isn't bitter. or at least, she tries to ignore these comments. gaeul basically made yujin into the leader she is, why is no one praising her?
the rift between the two grows so intensely. yujin seems to be closer to the other members now. gaeul watches how close yujin and rei have gotten---them bothing going on outings together every chance they get and gaeul being left at home alone. again, she isn't jealous of the two of them. what yujin does is her buisness.
when yujin interacts with gaeul, she feels more standoffish and cold towards the older girl. it was like the two were compete strangers. the warmth that once filled her voice when she spoke to gaeul has suddenly disappear. yujin speaks to her like she was another one of their staff members, not like a mentor or friend who guided her through her toughest time. gaeul wondered what changed, but deep down, she knew what changed between them.
at music shows and award ceremonies, gaeul is tortured with the relationships between other groups. she sees le sserafim backstage at a music while passing through the halls. she didn't mean to linger and easedrop, but she could help it. she couldn't help but notice the affection in chaewon's voice as she talked to sakura---fiiled to the brim with warmth. the sounded like a warm hug, but felt like an arrow to gaeul's heart. she remembers when yujin used to speak with her like that back in the early days. the pain of the memory was unbearable; somedays, she wishes she could erase them.
the pain in her heart grows even more painful when she spots nayeon and jihyo interacting during an award show. gaeul had already started to space out twenty minutes into the opening---thinkning about nothing in particular. but when she snaps back down to the present moment, her eyes fixate on nayeon and jihyo sitting at the table in front of them. she notices how close they're sitting together, holding hands tightly while watching the performance intensly. she watches as nayeon leans in close to jihyo's ear and whispers something that makes jihyo quietly giggle. they lean impossibly closer to each other. she could almost feel the warmth from them radiating back towards her.
she looks down at her own hands in her lap, then to her left where yujin was sitting. there was a noticable gap between them that made her feel oddly cold even with the blanket laying neatly across her lap. yujin was watching the performance as well, a polite smile resting on her face as she groves along to the music. the space between was so wide, they might as well have been sitting at different tables, maybe some might even mistake them as members of different groups that were forced to share a table together. she remembers the nights when the two of them would hold hands, huddling close together to avoid the brisk cold air of the winter as they walked along the han river. she remembers of the warmth of yujin's hands covering her own, the feeling of yujin's body heat warming her own heart up. now her body was cold, and yujin was miles away on her left.
it frusterates gaeul to wits end how much her relationship with yujin changed in a matter of seconds. she rememebers how sweetly yujin smiled at her when they bid each other good night after returning home from a night together. then suddenly, the next morning, yujin was gone. she had disappeared for a few days---citing a family emergency. gaeul had taken over the leadership role temporally during dance practices, but she didn't do much. everything else, she left to the dance teachers and managers to decide. she misses the way her heart would beat out of her chest when she was with yujin, now she feels like her heart barely beats at all.
one day, during a particularly stressful dance practice, she just snaps. yujin was being a little to much towards all the members, but to gaeul in particular, yujin seemed to be more critical of every little mistake she made. it felt unfair. gaeul couldn't take it. they only had just started learning the choreo yesterday, mistakes were a given in the first two days as they all tried their best to memorize everything. instead of taking the berating from yujin with a dismissive smile, she snapped.
she fought back. she quipped back snarky remarks towards yujin. she would've caught herself if she was in the right headspace, but she just couldn't take it anymore. yujin looked shocked as soon as the words left her mouth, but she wasn't going to back down. she had to assert herself as the leader.
the two went back and forth, passive-aggressively exchanging remarks towards each other. the members watched in silence, none of them strong enough to gather the courage to stop either of them. everything that had brewing inside of gaeul, the resentment, the jealousy, the hurt, came bubbling out of her and spewed out into the words she projected towards yujin.
yujin kept defending herself, refusing to back down or deescalate the situation.
they kept going until gaeul released the bomb.
"it must be nice being picked as the leader. you can say anything you want. you can use me as a stepping stone to get your foot up, then completely discard me as soon as everyone around us praises your 'natural' leadership ability."
the room went silent. yujin looked hurt by gaeul's words, but she couldn't careless. she stormed out shortly after, unable to handle the aftermath. the regret comes flooding in her brain as soon as she stepped into the freezing hallway, storming down it. unsure of where to go, she lets her legs lead her out of the building, tears streaming down her face.
how she wished yujin loved her again. she missed her warmth, her affection, her smile that was reserved for her exclusively. she misses the early days where yujin wasn't a leader, and they were both equally dependent on each other.