While Mina, Lizzie, and Eunji rock-paper-scissors for the first post-flight showers, I make a beeline for the kettle to heat up some water for hot cocoa, while Sunhee and Youngeun start brewing some tea. “Wait, did you guys hear about N&G?” Ari asks, flopping down on one of the stools at our kitchen island.

I love the guys of N&G. They debuted a couple years ahead of us, and we’ve gotten to know them pretty well. They’re like our collective big brothers, or older cousins. “No, what’s going on?”

Ari scrolls through her phone and reads out loud: “ ‘N&G—or Namil and Gangmin—a former subunit of K-pop boy group ROYALBLU, announced today that they will be participating in an upcoming multigroup show this summer. This will be the duo’s first performance since parting ways with their agency, DB Entertainment, last year.’ ”

Jiyoon rolls her eyes as she fishes for some matcha-mousse Pocky in the pantry. “That’s not news. Gangmin Oppa told me about that last week when we saw them in Taipei.”

It may not be news to Jiyoon, but it’s definitely news to me. Namil and Gangmin have been really quiet over the past year—no music releases, no TV appearances, no performances. I guess they’ve been working really hard to hone their new sound as a duo. I’ll be excited to see them perform this summer.

What happened with N&G was major. Last year, they sued DB over the thirteen-year contracts that they were forced to sign. That we were all forced to sign. Shockingly, the boys actually won their case against the company, and as a result, all of DB’s artists got to re-sign new, shorter deals. Now we’re only on the hook for seven years at a time. Though, with the “optional” three-year extension we’re also required to agree to up front, it still ends up being a ten-year commitment. When year seven comes along, DB will put out a simple press release and make it look like we’ve all just decided to remain a happy family for three more years—when in reality, that “decision” had been made long ago, when we were trainees and had no say in the matter. Even so, what N&G were able to achieve was huge. I mindlessly stir milk into my cocoa as I think about how much we all owe to Namil and Gangmin.

“Rachel!” Ari gasps, still looking down at her phone. I nearly spill my cocoa down my blazer. “You’re on Nell Kramer’s Instagram!”

Nell Kramer?! With those two words, all thoughts of N&G evaporate from my brain. I’ve been obsessed with Nell Kramer’s fashion designs since I first saw that two-page spread in Elle of her all-cerulean line. “Is that—am I on her weekly inspo post?” I ask, my voice a reverent hush.