TDOCD Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Last Bloom 

[The Last]

[Bloom]

Of all the cards I could have drawn, fate had a cruel sense of irony. The words stared back at me from the card's surface, each character seeming to pulse with meaning: "The Last Bloom."

"What did you get? Show me what keyword you got..." The eager voice trailed into a heavy silence. "...Oh."

My hands moved almost automatically, passing the card to Han Damin as if it burned my fingers. It felt wrong somehow, like holding something that wasn't meant for me.

"This card... I think it was meant for you, unnie."

The irony twisted in my chest like a knife.

What kind of cosmic joke was this - giving "last" as a keyword to trainees just beginning their journey? Anyone familiar with the members' histories would know this word had been included by the production team specifically for Han Damin.

It wasn't meant for someone like me, Ryu Ji-ye, who had never even walked the path of a trainee before.

And yet... why did it make my heart ache so deeply?

"What does it say?" The question hung in the air, heavy with anticipation.

Han Damin read the card, and the silence that followed pressed against my ears like cotton. The weight of unspoken words filled the room.

"What? What's wrong?"

Seo Ra-eun couldn't resist stealing a glance at the card. Her teeth chewing her lip nervously as emotions chased each other across her face.

"What's written on it?"

Then came Choi Song-yi's voice, cutting through the tension with innocent obliviousness as she flipped through other cards: "The Last Bloom? Does that mean it'll wither soon?"

Really now...

Who interprets it that way...

Thank goodness only I heard Song-yi's muttering. Her accidental oblivious act somehow managed to puncture the heavy atmosphere, yanking me back to reality. A wry smile tugged at my lips as I surveyed the room, noting how even the usually composed Min Ha-young was now intently focused on "The Last Bloom" card.

Watching their reactions, it became clear that these two keywords would likely become the foundation of our team name.

Knock knock

The sudden sound made us all jump.

"How's the team name selection going?"

The door swung open revealing writer Son Yeo-jin. Her unexpected appearance sent a ripple of nervous energy through the room.

"Uh..."

We scrambled to our feet in awkward greeting, but Son Yeo-jin waved us down with a warm smile.

"No, no, sit down, sit down. I just came to see how things are progressing."

She pulled up an empty chair with casual grace, her presence somehow both authoritative and friendly. Pretending not to notice our nervous fidgeting, she extended her hand toward Han Damin.

"Did you find any keywords you like among the ones we gave you? From those cards?"

"Oh? Ah..." Ha Damin passed over the cards, her hesitation evident. "We haven't decided yet, but I really like this one. I haven't heard the other members' opinions yet."

"What about the rest of you?"

The responses came in tentative waves: "Me too..." "I like it the most too."

Our awkward chorus made Son Yeo-jin laugh, her hand covering her mouth in amusement. "I didn't come here to make you uncomfortable. I just thought choosing a group name by yourselves might be too difficult. So I came to help."

"Ah, I see~"

Relief flooded through the room like a warm breeze. Though we'd been playing around with the keyword cards, the pressure of creating our team name had been weighing on everyone's minds. Having the main writer offer her expertise felt like divine intervention.

To think I'd been worried she'd come to scold us for fooling around too much!

"Thank you!" The gratitude was genuine. Creating a group name by ourselves would have been daunting - the pressure alone would have blocked any creative thoughts. We probably would have ended up with something that sounded more like a field trip team name than a debut group. Among all the cool names chosen by the agency, we might have landed on something like "Team Get-It-Done."

Son Yeo-jin's smile was knowing as she examined the cards. "Let's see... 'Last' and 'Blooming?' These were broad keywords I included, and you liked them, huh."

Her pen moved across her notebook with practiced ease before she showed us her first suggestion:

[Last Florescence]

"How about this?"

My first thought was honest - isn't it too long? It was just an English translation of "Last Blooming" - perhaps too unwieldy for a group name. But none of us dared voice our concerns.

"It seems good."

"As expected of Writer-nim."

Our uncertain glances and vague praise made Son Yeo-jin laugh again. "You didn't think I meant to use it exactly like this, did you? No, let's try shortening it."

Her pen danced across the page once more:

FLOLA

FLONA

FRINA

"Something like these."

"Oh, wow!"

The exclamation burst from my lips before I could stop it. These were actually good! As expected of someone with her industry experience - creating such clever, simple group names in mere moments!

Son Yeo-jin's modesty showed as she shook her head, though her voice remained firm: "These are just examples. Examples of how we could combine elements to create a name. Take your time to think about it and let me know if you have better ideas."

"I don't think we could come up with anything better..." I admitted quickly. It was true - her example names far surpassed anything I'd been struggling to imagine.

The other members seemed to agree, their pleading looks clearly saying 'please let us choose from these names.'

"I think FLOLA would be good, Writer-nim. I was just thinking of something like 'Last Flower' myself."

Han Damin's serious tone made Son Yeo-jin look surprised before breaking into delighted laughter.

"Haha! Really? Would that work? I don't mind - if you want to use it, go ahead!"

"Yes! We love it!"

"So from now on, we're 'FLOLA'!"

Just like that, our identity transformed from 'F team' to 'FLOLA'.

As soon as the sun set, the production staff burst into the practice room.

"Alright everyone, let's wrap up practice and head back to the dorm."

"Ah, okay!"

"We'll collect the microphones!"

The filming was wrapping up. Though reluctant, the members started tidying up obediently.

Normally, we could use the practice room freely even after the microphones were collected.

But today, practice was strictly forbidden.

The reason being we had an early morning rehearsal tomorrow.

Thanks to that, for the first time since starting our training camp, we were heading back to the dorm before 10 PM.

'Well, I guess this worked out better...'

We hadn't been getting proper sleep all week, and you could see the members growing more exhausted day by day from constant practice.

Better to go back early and rest than push ourselves and end up in poor condition for the actual performance.

Let's rest.

Ha Damin stared longingly at the practice room with dark circles under her eyes, but I headed straight for the dorm.

'At least I got two hours of sleep per day.'

This is the first time I've pushed my body this hard since right before debut.

Even though we're calling it "early," it's still 10 PM. With my eyes already half-closed,

The exhaustion hit me full force as I trudged up to the second floor, making a beeline for the shower. My only plan was to wash up, roughly dry my hair, and collapse into bed.

That was the plan, but...

"Uh..."

The sight that greeted me made me pause. Why was the room so crowded? All the members were huddled together in this tiny space, each clutching a pillow like a lifeline.

Girls, why are you really doing this...

"Oh, Jiye's out? Then I'll go shower!"

"Why is everyone here?"

"Song-yi suggested we all sleep together since it's the last night of training camp~ Your room is the biggest, so we came here - is that okay?"

Han Damin's cheerful explanation included a note about the other rooms being too cluttered with clothes.

"Sure, it's fine."

But hadn't everyone been complaining about exhaustion?

Saying they'd sleep for three days straight after the performance? After surviving on just two or three hours of sleep per day during practice, we finally had a chance to rest properly - and now they wanted a group sleepover?

I knew how these things usually went with teams this bright - they'd end up chatting all night instead of sleeping. But seeing their excited faces and happy giggles, I couldn't bring myself to dampen their spirits.

Instead, I forced a slight smile and managed a weak: "Since it's our last night, sleeping together will make a good memory."

I quickly claimed my spot on the bed. Sorry, everyone. Have fun chatting. Your unnie won't be able to stay up with you.

Just as their chatter was becoming pleasant background noise, lulling me toward sleep...

"I almost lost it earlier, you know?"

Han Damin's bitter voice cut through my drowsiness, making me open my eyes to stare at the ceiling.

"When I saw that group name keyword earlier - 'The Last Bloom.' It really woke me up. Made me think I need to work even harder."

Her next words hung in the air, heavy with meaning:

"This is truly my last chance."