“Me too,” Youngeun says. She turns to me with an appreciative smile. “My mom’s thrilled. And she wants all of you to come to the café soon—I think she’s already called Mr. Noh fourteen times about setting something up, so look forward to that being added to your schedules.” She gives a half smile and rolls her eyes. “Anyway, we really have you to thank, Rachel. I’ve thought about moving home before, but I never would have brought it up with the execs if you hadn’t first. Thanks for the inspiration.”

I feel a wave of relief. After hearing over and over again how much grief my moving out was giving DB with all the bad press, I feel so glad to hear that something positive has come out of it for the group. “That’s great news,” I say. “Really great news. And speaking of inspiration…” I reach for my big shopping bag, feeling butterflies in my stomach. I’ve been waiting for this moment all night, but I suddenly feel nervous. “I have a gift for each of you.”

One by one, I pull out eight handbags from inside the shopping bag. “These are the bags from my fashion line. They’re all inspired by important moments or phases in my life. And for the past six years, you guys have been there for every single big moment. So I wanted you all to be the first to have one.” I lay out the bags on the table, flushing with nerves, and maybe a little bit of pride. I hand out the NYC bag, the Trainee bag, the First Tour bag, and my favorite, the one I call the Rachel Now bag. It’s buttery smooth and spherical shaped, and meant to represent my current life as a globe-trotting K-pop star.

I can’t stop smiling as they fight over which bag will be each of theirs. I’m so glad they like them. My groupmates are so unpredictable sometimes that I was keeping my expectations low, but I didn’t realize how much their support would mean to me until now. I watch as Eunji tries on the Trainee bag, the one that transitions from a crossbody to a clutch. I thought I changed a lot during my seven trainee years, but I see now that these past six years—the ones since we debuted—have been just as formative, if not more. I’ve grown into a well-rounded person who can love K-pop with all her heart but still pursue other passions.

Well-rounded. The perfect description of the Rachel Now bag. I make a mental note to put that in one of the promotional posts, then remind myself to stay focused on the moment. Our anniversary. I can’t believe it’s been six years already. As I look around the room again, my eyes get a little watery. We’ve been through so much together, these eight girls and I.