The plane wheels hit the tarmac with a soft, reverberating thud that echoed in Ivy's chest like a heartbeat. She blinked at the cabin lights slowly warming back to life, rubbing her eyes and tucking her hoodie tighter around her shoulders. The air smelled like recycled coffee, plastic trays, and the faintest whiff of someone's overly enthusiastic perfume. Seoul. She was here.
Again.
She stepped off the plane quietly, her sneakers making the softest scuffing noises against the jet bridge. Her carry-on slung over one shoulder, headphones looped around her neck, a white ribbon peeking out from her side braid. It had been almost a year and a half since she left. Now she was back — not as a trainee, not yet an artist. Just... Ivy.
A girl who wore color like armor and sunlight like perfume.
The airport was humming with movement. Ivy moved slower. A stillness in her pace, something careful and unsure. But her eyes were steady.
Her phone buzzed again. She pulled it out.
Felix Lee:
U landed?? U good?? Want me to come get u?
She smiled — soft and real.
I'm okay. Just waiting on the van. I'll text when I'm settled.
Then another buzz.
Chris Bahng JYPE:
Let me know when you get to the dorm. I told the guys. They're chill. You're good.
Her thumb hovered for a second before replying.
Thanks, Chris. Really.
Don't thank me yet.
You still owe me for the time you roasted me in front of staff. 😒
She laughed, right there at baggage claim, dragging her suitcase behind her.
Outside, Seoul felt... louder than she remembered. Bigger. The chill of winter still lingered in the wind, sneaking under the sleeves of her cardigan. Her scarf fluttered gently as she stepped toward the van waiting just past the barrier.
Inside, the driver nodded politely and took her bag. She slid into the back seat, where a small water bottle and protein bar had been left on the seat. A quiet welcome.
As they pulled out of the airport, Ivy leaned her head against the glass. Buildings started to blur past. Signs she half-remembered. Corners that used to hold memories. Late-night tteokbokki places, convenience stores with neon lights, street vendors already packing up.
It felt like walking back into a memory.
Only this time, she wasn't the same girl who had run away.
Her phone buzzed again.
Felix Lee:
I'll see you soon, yeah? I missed my arcade buddy.
She smiled.
Missed you too. I'm back now.
She didn't say it out loud, but she felt it in her chest.
I'm really back.
────୨ৎ────
The hallway smelled like detergent and floor wax — that oddly familiar scent that hit Ivy like a time capsule. Her suitcase wheels squeaked against the polished floor as she stopped in front of the dorm door labeled "103."
She hesitated. One second. Then knocked twice.
The door exploded open.
"I knew it was you!"
"Felix—?!" was all she got out before she was tackled into the softest hug she didn't know she needed. Felix practically crushed her, arms tight around her shoulders, face half-buried in her hair.
"I missed you, oh my god," he said, muffled into her hoodie. "You smell the same."
"That's weird," she laughed, hugging him back with a squeak. "You're weird."
"No, seriously. Same perfume. Like... peachy sunshine."
He pulled back just slightly, and for a second, they just stood there grinning at each other like it hadn't been a whole year apart.
"Still pretty," he added, teasing with a wink.
"Still dramatic," she countered, flicking his forehead.
Behind him, the other trainees started appearing — some familiar faces, some new. The dorm was chaos already: snack wrappers on the coffee table, someone's sock hanging off the back of a chair, and a drama playing way too loud on the TV.
"Is that... Ivy?" one of the boys whispered to another.
"Yah! She's real?"
Ivy tucked her hair behind her ear, gave them a small wave. "Hi. I'm back for a bit."
"Just a bit?" Felix repeated, dragging her suitcase inside like it weighed nothing. "Nah. You're back back."
"I'm just staying for now," she said, looking around. "Don't make it dramatic."
He grinned again. "Too late."
────୨ৎ────
6 months later
two months before debut
The JYPE conference room was oddly formal today. It wasn't a regular trainee check-in — they could tell from the moment they walked in. The usual whiteboard had been wiped clean. Fresh bottled water lined the center of the table. A Division 1 badge clipped to a manila folder lay at the front, untouched.
"Something's up," Hyunjin muttered under his breath.
"No way we're in trouble, right?" I.N whispered back. "Right?"
"I didn't do anything," Han said automatically, defensive on instinct. "Recently."
Chan stood at the head of the table, unusually quiet. Not tense — but thoughtful. His fingers were typing fast on his phone. He didn't look up.
Lee Know raised a brow. "You good, hyung?"
"Yeah," Chan said absently. "Just... give it a second."
They waited.
Footsteps approached in the hallway, light but steady. The door handle turned.
When she walked in, the air changed — not dramatically, not like thunder. More like a summer breeze slipped in unnoticed through an open window.
Ivanna Solene Brown.
Her claw-clipped hair bounced with each step, sleeves too long on her hoodie, pastel phone in her hand. Her skirt swept just above her sneakers, and her lip gloss caught the overhead light when she smiled awkwardly.
"...Did I walk into the wrong room?" she asked, blinking.
Chan looked up, finally, his grin blooming slow and familiar. "Nah. You're right on time."
"Hyung, you invited her?" Felix whispered — though clearly excited. His Aussie accent slipped in, louder than intended. "You should've said something!"
"I didn't want her to stress," Chan replied, sliding out a chair beside him. "Ivy, sit here."
She eyed the table full of half-familiar faces — guys she'd seen in passing during her trainee year, some of whom she'd shared a hallway with, a studio with, maybe a lesson or two. But she hadn't been one of them.
She sat down anyway, tucking her knees together. She waved lightly at Felix, who immediately beamed back. His fingers tapped the table like he was trying not to jump out of his seat.
Hyunjin leaned toward Han. "She's so... calm. Did she know she was coming to a secret meeting?"
Han replied out of the side of his mouth, "Did we?"
Before any more confusion could bubble up, the door opened again.
Division 1's team lead entered, a clipboard under one arm, a tablet in the other. Tall, suited, polished. Like a sharp checkmark in human form.
"Good. You're all here," he said.
Chan dipped his head respectfully, and the others followed suit, more out of habit than understanding.
Ivy sat straighter in her chair, glancing once at Chan, then at the man who looked like he ran this whole floor.
The team lead set the clipboard down. "I'll be brief. You're all deep in preparation, and time is not something we waste this close to debut."
All eyes on him.
Except Felix's — his eyes flicked to Ivy.
"She was a trainee here," the man said, glancing her way. "She trained hard. Took a break, yes, but kept improving. Kept working. She's had experience, charisma, strong stage instincts. And she already holds chemistry with some of you — especially you two." He nodded to Chan and Felix.
Ivy looked around, visibly confused now. "Sorry, um—what are you talking about?"
The team lead smiled faintly, folding his hands. "We're adding you to the final lineup, Ivanna. You'll debut with Stray Kids."
The silence was so thick, it was like the oxygen got replaced with static.
Han blinked so hard it looked like his brain momentarily blue-screened. "Wait—what?"
"You're kidding," Lee Know said, eyebrows shooting up.
Jeongin dropped his water bottle and scrambled to pick it up without looking up.
"I—I'm joining?" Ivy whispered. Her voice was steady, but her hands gripped the edge of her chair. "Wait—me? Now? Why?"
Chan was the first to speak, softly but clearly.
"Because you never should've left, Vee. You didn't fail — you were just early."
Felix grinned, pushing his chair back so he could half-skip over to her and wrap her in the tightest hug.
"You're back." he said into her hair, and his voice was so genuinely happy it made her eyes sting.
"You've been sunshine since day one," he added, pulling back. "Now you're sunshine with a mic."
The other boys were stunned. Not cold — just shocked. Two months before debut, and now this colorful, calm, gentle soul was going to be their bandmate?
"It's a lot," Chan admitted, addressing the whole group. "We didn't know until last week either. But she fits. Trust me."
The team lead gave a curt nod. "She'll move into the dorms next week. Full training schedule. Prep begins immediately."
As he stepped out, the room was quiet again — but not with confusion now. It was just a pause.
A moment of recalibration.
"Ivy," Seungmin said slowly, "you okay?"
She laughed once, shaky. "No? Yes? I—can someone pinch me?"
Han grinned, getting up and poking her shoulder. "Welcome to Stray Kids."
"Hope you like chaos," Hyunjin added, folding his arms with a smirk.
"...And midnight ramen," Lee Know chimed in.
Felix was already beside her again. "And screaming vocal warmups."
"And really bad jokes from Jeongin."
"Hey!"
She just smiled — overwhelmed, touched, so completely stunned, but somehow... right at home.
"I've missed you guys," she said honestly.
Chan smiled softly, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "We missed you too."
Then he tilted his head toward the doorway.
"Now get ready," he said, "because we've got work to do — and Ivy, you're not just in the room anymore. You're one of us now."
"Welcome to Stray Kids."
────୨ৎ────
The dorm smelled like fabric softener, leftover snacks, and something a little too citrusy — probably a room spray someone overused. Ivy stood at the doorway, suitcase at her side, hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands. The moment was weirdly still. Quiet.
Until the door flung open.
"SHE'S HERE!"
Hyunjin's voice cracked as he practically launched himself into the hallway, followed by Seungmin, who just nodded with that signature smirk.
"I told you she'd actually come," Seungmin muttered.
"She almost didn't," Bang Chan said from the kitchen, peeking around a cupboard. "You guys would've scared her off in five seconds if I didn't tell you to chill."
"Hi," Ivy said, her voice soft but sweet, cheeks warm already. She gave a little wave. "I, uh... like the air freshener?"
Changbin squinted at her. "Is that sarcasm?"
"No, it smells like... lemon head gum," she giggled, walking in. "Like if someone accidentally chewed ten at once and cried."
The room exploded in laughter. Felix practically rolled out from behind the sofa, his voice breaking as he laughed. "VEE!!"
"You're so unserious," Jisung mumbled, grinning as he handed her a bottled water.
Ivy took it with both hands, bowing politely, then awkwardly. "Thanks. For, um, letting me stay. Again."
"No need to be formal," Jeongin said, motioning to her slippers already lined up near the door. "Chan-hyung's been nagging us about this all week."
"Be nice. Be patient. Let her settle in. Don't scare her," Hyunjin mimicked Chan in a fake deep voice.
"Okay, but in my defense," Chan said, stepping into the room, arms crossed, "she roasts harder than all of you combined. I'm protecting you."
Ivy smiled, then leaned over to Felix and whispered (a little too loudly), "He's still salty about that evaluation, huh?"
All the boys groaned. "She's starting already!"
Later that night, they were sitting on the floor with takeout containers between them — chicken, tteokbokki, fries, half a box of mochi ice cream. Ivy sat cross-legged in a fluffy cardigan and pastel sweatpants, hair in a loose braid, cheeks flushed from laughing too hard.
Jeongin passed her a water bottle. "What's your room like back home?"
"Bigger than this," she teased, then waved her hands quickly. "But this has more charm. The mess is... intimate."
"Intimate is one word for it," Seungmin muttered.
Felix leaned into her side and whispered, "I missed your chaos."
Ivy smiled at him, eyes warm. "I missed yours too."
────୨ৎ────
The studio smelled like polished floors and caffeine.
It was barely 9AM, but the energy in the room was already buzzing — water bottles in a line, phones in airplane mode, and a big Bluetooth speaker humming to life. Ivy stood in the corner tying her hair up, her reflection meeting her gaze in the wall-length mirror.
New outfit. New shoes. Same heartbeat — loud.
This wasn't trainee work anymore.
This was Stray Kids.
She turned when the door burst open, nearly off its hinges.
Felix skidded in first, hoodie half-zipped, holding two bananas in one hand and a phone in the other. "Ivy! You want a banana??"
"Good mornin' lix," she laughed.
Behind him, Han and Hyunjin tumbled in like toddlers set loose. "Coffeeeeeeee," Hyunjin groaned.
"I drank Chan hyung's by mistake and now I can't blink," Han said, already stretching in a half-formed split.
Lee Know wandered in like this was just a Tuesday morning, airpods in, sipping from a metal flask labeled don't touch.
Then came Jeongin, eyes half-shut, trailing after them like a cat that didn't sign up for this.
"Did no one sleep?" Ivy asked.
Felix beamed. "I slept on the couch. Power nap!"
"I'm regretting this already," Seungmin said, stepping in last. His hoodie read NOPE across the front.
Then—
"Alright, let's lock in."
Chan's voice cut through the chatter as he entered, a clipboard in one hand, her inhaler and a water bottle already tucked under his arm. His black cap was low, eyes already focused. He didn't even have to look her way.
He just walked past, quietly handed both items to her, and said under his breath, "Keep 'em near you. If you even feel it creeping in, tap me. No pushing through, okay?"
Ivy blinked. Then nodded.
Okay. Okay. Breathe.
"Today's the first full group choreo run-through," Chan said, clapping his hands. "I know we're all adjusting — especially Ivy — but this isn't about perfect. It's about connection."
Positions. Lights. First beat dropped.
It slammed through the room — powerful and urgent.
Her body moved on instinct. Step, twist, drop low. Catch breath. Her lungs were holding, rhythm syncing with Felix beside her — who kept subtly checking in from the side.
Han passed her like a breeze. "Doing great," he mouthed.
One run. Then two. Then a third.
By the fourth run, sweat was dripping, sneakers squeaking, breath getting tight.
"Pause," Chan called. His voice wasn't sharp — just decisive. He turned, eyes landing on her. "Water. Break. Now."
Ivy didn't protest. She knew that tone. It wasn't commanding. It was caring.
She moved back, took her bottle, leaned into the mirror as she caught her breath. Chan passed her the inhaler silently, thumb brushing hers for half a second. She nodded. I'm okay.
"You good?" Felix asked beside her, kneeling down like he was tying his shoe but really just there to ground her.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"You killed that last turn. Literally slayed it. Like, textbook slay."
"You're so dramatic."
"And you're surviving. Proud of you."
They got up again. The track replayed. Again, and again — and each time, it was a little more cohesive.
They were strangers learning to breathe as one.
But in that studio, where every move was sweat and effort and support — Ivy wasn't just a new piece.
She was part of the shape now.