It was only six am in the morning, but the whole JLNC building is bustling, not because they are currently in-game or are in a training match, but because they are preparing to get their official group and players' photos taken.
"Hurry up! Hurry up, you guys!" Dewy can't help but massage his temple because of how messy the members currently are
"What's wrong, Dewy?" Key had just woken up, hence, she was still oblivious of the events
"Have you just woken up?" Quant asked her, his eyes slightly widened out of surprise
Key was usually the earliest person to wake up in their company but right now, she looks so innocent in her white shirt and black cotton shorts and slightly disheveled hair.
She obviously had just woken up because her eyes are still sluggish.
"Hmm, yes, why, what's up?" Key asked and slightly tilted her head
"Get ready, Key, we're leaving to get your photos taken." Bright answered and it seems that it had triggered an alarm clock in Key's mind as she immediately headed back upstairs
Key moved quickly, because of her past rendezvous, she was able to get ready within less than half an hour and was already ready to leave as soon as she arrived back on the first floor.
"Wow, you're quick," Alexei commented while looking at Key's appearance
"Just as slow as you are," Dewy said making Alexei chuckle and raise his hands
"Move quickly, we'll get late." By their captain's order, the members got ready and in less than half an hour, they were ready to leave
"Alright, the company bus is here," Dewy said and they left the JLNC base
They rode the company bus that has the team's colors and the team name in large print on the sides and front. Dewy sat behind the driver, Bright sat on the chair across him, and behind them, Quant and their captain, Rasheed, are seated next to each other, and across them is Alexei.
Key sat on the chair at the back, she sat near the aisle and left the window seat unoccupied while Rio sat on the seat across El and Opal who are seated in front of Key.
"Everyone settled?" Dewy asked and stood up to look at them
"Yes!"
"Yeah,"
"Sure,"
"Yo, Key, are you alright being alone there?" Opal asked and El looked behind his seat to look at her
"I'm okay," she smiled while answering
"Okay, sir, we're good to go," Dewy told the driver who then started the engine and began driving out of the subdivision
During the ride, everyone has their own worlds, Dewy is browsing on his phone, Bright is watching a match game on his phone, while Rasheed's eyes are closed and he is leaning on his seat with his arms crossed. Quant is eating, Alexei is playing a game on his phone, El is leaning on his neck pillow with his eyes closed, Opal is playing a game against Alexei on his phone, and Rio on the other hand is watching a video, and Key's eyes are closed.
When her phone rang, everyone looked over their seats and Key smiled sheepishly before muttering a short and soft "Sorry" to them.
She brought out her phone and looked at the caller.
"My, what a surprise, babe," she said softly after answering the call
However, no matter how soft Key's voice was in answering the call, everyone on the company bus still heard her voice, what she had said.
They exchanged confused and surprised glances and looked at the oblivious Key who is smiling brightly with her phone near her ear.
"Key, it's been a while, I missed you." Key couldn't help but chuckle at the other person's words
"I missed you too, babe, how are you doing?" she replied sweetly with a smile
"I'm doing good, I'm still writing every day and I already finished the series I told you about before. How about you, Key, what's keeping you occupied nowadays?" The person from the other line is obviously delighted and that sent a warm feeling in Key's heart
"Hmm, don't tell them, okay?" she started
"I haven't heard from Chela-san in a while," the other line said and Key looked at the window
"I'm a member of the JLNC." Key put the phone away expecting a loud sound like when Chela discovered that she had joined E-sports but there is none, which made her wonder
"Eh, you're not surprised?" she asked gently as she had expected that she'll be bombarded by series of questions after her answer
"Rio already told us about having a teammate who looks like Kami." Akio replied which made Key look in Rio's direction
"Huh…" for a minute Key seem to process what Akio had said and her eyes widened with realization
"No wonder his surname sound familiar, Kio, he's your cousin." Key shook her head while chuckling
"And he told us that you're on your way to a photoshoot so we won't be taking your time any longer, bye for now, Keychantel." Akio said softly and Key smiled
"Hmm, take care of her for me," Key replied
"There's no need for that, Key," Key chuckled at that reply and smiled
"See you when I see you, babe, I love you." Key said and the call dropped
"Is there anything wrong?" Key asked after she noticed the silence
The sound of Quant eating his junk food stopped, Rio stopped the video he is watching, Alexei and Opal looked over their seats to look at her, and El also looked back at her while Dewy and Bright turned around to look at her.
"Wow, I didn't know our youngest member has a boyfriend." Alexei said to which Key shook her head
"I don't have a boyfriend." She said clearing the thought
She doesn't have a boyfriend… well, not anymore.
The men turned their attention back to what they were doing a little while back but they didn't buy Key's words.
To them, why would you call someone 'babe' if you don't have a relationship? It just doesn't make any sense.
When they arrived at the studio, they were led to a dressing room. There were make-up artists, the photographer and his team was already setting up when they passed by the part of the studio where their photos will be taken.
"Wow, you look young." The make-up artist tasked to put make-up on Key said
"How old are you, sixteen? Oh, no, you can't play if you're not yet of the legal age, eighteen then?" The make-up artist asked Key and the rest of JLNC couldn't help but chuckle at his first guess of Key's age
"I'm twenty-four," Key's answer made her teammates look at her
"I thought you're twenty-one," Opal said and looked at Key in disbelief
"Is that for real?" Alexei asked
"Yep," Key answered with a smile and closed her eyes as the make-up artist applied eyeliner
"Wow, I'm only two years older than you," Rio said
"Are you guys ready?" Dewy asked after entering the dressing room
"Hey, Dewy, did you know that Key's already twenty-four?" Opal asked
"Yeah, she mentioned that the first day, didn't she?" Dewy replied with his forehead slightly knotting
"When Captain Nico asked her if she's even in the legal age." El added bobbling his head up and down
"You guys forgot already?" Key asked with her eyes still closed
"After that, change into your uniforms, we'll start by taking solo pictures of each of you then a group photo." Dewy said and left the room
After getting their make-up done, the members of JLNC wore their uniforms while Key was left behind to have her privacy while changing.
Rasheed, Opal, Quant, El, Alexei, and Rio went to the studio and had their solo photos taken, Key followed afterward within a few minutes wearing their signature yellow gold and black uniform with their team name and logo 'JLNC' printed in white on the back.
Their usernames are embroidered at the right chest part with white thread, all of their tops are jacket-like with zippers, while, unlike the guy members who are wearing long black slacks with white lining, Kashmiri is wearing an above the knee-length skirt with white lining at the edge.
"Raise your head a bit and look at the camera," the photographer instructed when it was Key's turn
"Show the camera that you are a queen," Key did as she was told and the photographer smiled in satisfaction after getting a good result
Key looked quite intimidating when her arms are crossed and her emotion blank, although that intimidating aura dissipated when she smiled afterward. After taking a couple more photos, the photographer allowed Key to smile and took a photo.
"All the photos were great," Dewy said
"Alexei, go take a photo with Key,"