They stayed a little longer speaking about everything and nothing. Jisoo had come back at some point to finish unpacking. Chu hadn't brought too much stuff, everything was mostly clothes. It made Jennie wonder why Jisoo kept using the same hoodie, especially now that they were in summer.

Jisoo didn't get involved in their conversation since it was in English. She was too concentrated on storing all her clothes in the closet. Once Chu was done, she exited the room and left them alone. That's when Jennie decided it was about time to pick her outfit for the day.

Lisa was laying on her stomach on Jennie's bed, reviewing her dance notes from yesterday. "I should practice my Korean too—"

Jennie had started undressing out of nowhere, pulling her sleeping T-shirt off.

Lisa buried her head in her notebook. "You need to stop doing that!"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Whenever Jennie changed clothes at her place, Lisa instantly left the room. Jennie found Lisa's reactions hilarious, so she kept doing it. With the intention of making her comfortable, of course. "We're both girls."

Exactly, I don't wanna picture my friend naked... Wait, what? "I don't care. I never did that in Thailand, it's... awkward."

Note taken: Never take Lisa to a jjimhilbang. "It's only awkward if you think it's awkward."

"Thai people cover up a lot, you know that... Anyway, are you done? I'm getting hungry."

"Yeah, yeah." Jennie decided she would do her makeup while they waited for their food to be ready at the café.

Lisa first peeked to verify Jennie's words and then she stood up. She put her notebook back in her bag and exited the room with Jennie.

All the boxes from earlier were gone, so Jisoo must have cleaned up. Chu was currently on her laptop with headphones on, really concentrated on whatever was on the screen.

Jennie glanced at her, getting her attention. "Unnie, we're going out for breakfast. Wanna join us?"

Jisoo shook her head, ready to continue her game. "I already ate, thanks for the offer though."

"Alright. See you later then." Jennie turned around and began walking out.

"Next time close your door when you're with Lalisa!"

Jennie blushed. Guess with unnie being the oldest, those sorts of thoughts would pop up if she saw Lisa on top of her, kissing her cheek. Jennie decided to ignore it for now, they were just having fun. Lisa wouldn't see her that way, she was way too pure. But she had mentioned girls would crush on her, though... Of course Lisa was the type of girl to have boys and girls crushing on her.

Jennie had seen many gay and lesbian couples in New Zealand, everyone there was so proud and accepting. When Jennie pictured love, she could envision some of those couples there. But in South Korea, you never got to see that, as if it didn't exist. Jennie knew it was the same thing for Thailand...

Asian men love to tease girls when they're together, but when it becomes something serious, you're suddenly being harassed and shamed. At least that's how Lisa had perceived it in her hometown, when a girl had crushed on her in school last year. The girl's crush had been pretty innocent, disguised as admiration. But oh god had they gotten in trouble.

This girl... let's call her C for cutie. Lalisa and C didn't really talk in class, but C started coming to Lalisa's dance presentations after she saw her once on TV. When Lalisa noticed her in the crowd after a public performance, Lalisa ran up to her to say hi and she made it a habit ever since. C had told Lalisa she had only shown up for her, not necessarily We Zaa Cool. While that comment was sort of mean to her group, it made Lalisa feel special and seen.

Lalisa certainly loved the attention and stares she would get from C in the classroom. They decided to team up for science once. Lalisa was really good at it while C was more the just tell me what to do, so I don't blow anything up type.

The more they spoke, the more comfortable and playful Lisa got with her. They hung out at each other's houses, visited local markets together while they drank street Thai milk. The good old days.

But one day at school, four months before Lalisa moved to Korea, C had asked her to stay after classes were over to talk. C walked to the back of the classroom, sitting on the cold floor. Lalisa followed her steps, sitting next to her.

"I don't know how to say this, so I'll just say it. Liz... I have a crush on you," C confessed.

Lalisa had opened her mouth, but she had lost her words. She grabbed C's hand instead, it was shaking. Do I like C? Do I like... girls? The love stories Lalisa saw on TV or read in novels, they were never in between girls. Maybe C only likes me now that I look boyish? She had so many doubts she couldn't make sense of. Liking girls? I can do that?

"I don't know how I feel..." Lalisa concluded.

"There's only one way to know," C whispered.

Lalisa just closed her eyes, letting whatever would happen... happen. She received a soft kiss on her cheek, all the worries in her head becoming blank.

"Do you feel warm?"

"I..."

"Come on, continue," a male voice said. He was an older student, probably in his last year of high school. "Make out."

Everything wonderful Lalisa had been feeling before was quickly gone and layered with fear. Even though she had let go of C's hand, now Lalisa was shaking herself.

"Do it or I'll tell the teachers that you were kissing."

Romantic relationships were banned in Thai schools, the consequences could be really extreme. Still, C and Lalisa were way too shocked to even react, remaining frozen in time.

The guy scoffed after a moment, leaving the classroom to do exactly what he said he would. When the girls were questioned by the principal, C was way too shaken up to talk. Whether they were into girls or not, they were still friends. They had to protect each other.

"We're not a couple. I rejected that guy earlier today and he's trying to get back at me," Lalisa said firmly, her voice sounding deadly serious and unusual to anyone that knew her. "Besides, that's crazy. We're both girls," she added, hoping it would make her lie more believable.

We're both girls... those words would haunt her forever. C had taken them to heart, assuming that had been Lalisa indirectly rejecting her. C began avoiding her at all cost and while Lalisa wanted to talk it out, she wasn't sure she even knew how she felt. C was pretty, Liz thought that a lot. She also enjoyed spending time with her. But was that love? It sounded so simple and complicated.

Maybe if Lalisa had loved her, then she would've fought for them. Instead, she moved on and kept pursuing her dreams of becoming an artist, participating in more talent shows and different auditions. She had to admit though, she felt a bit lonely without a familiar face in the crowd.

At night, Jennie and Jisoo met back at their dorm. They sat down and spoke about the current dramas in their separate groups. One of Jennie's members was starting to wild out and say she wanted to be the center, so Jennie told her to ask their choreographer. She did and Lisa just stared at her bluntly, not understanding anything that came out of the girl's mouth.

Meanwhile, Jisoo was given a place in the back for her lack of skills. That's when Jennie found out Jisoo was now in a group with some of her old members from PINKPUNK. It was so disappointing to hear how they were treating each other.

After that, they took showers and got ready for bed. Before turning off the lights, Jisoo looked at her dead in the eye. "There are no ghosts here, right?"

Okay, but why did Jennie attract people connected to spirits? "Um... I don't think so. I've never seen one in my eleven months here. I don't have that kind of sensibility though." Jennie yawned, stretching her arms. "Lisa does though. You can ask her."

Jisoo nodded. "Goodnight, Jennie."

"Goodnight, unnie."

She slowly opened her eyes, the morning light tempted to invade the room with brightness as the wind danced with the curtains. Jisoo blinked a few times, disoriented. Ah, right... she had moved in here yesterday. Chu checked the time on her phone. 6:21am. It was still quite early, her body not used to the fact that she could sleep in yet, so she could stay here for a little longer.

Alright, let's play games until seven o'clock. Then shower, eat breakfast at the cafeteria, maybe with Jennie, and finally go to class.

Jisoo decided to continue her playthrough of Portal 2, wearing headphones to not wake the younger girl on the other side of the room. The first game had been amazing, so she was excited to follow the story. Puzzle games weren't normally her thing, but she felt so smart whenever she figured out the solution to get to the next level. It also helped her focus for the rest of the day, which was a huge plus.

She stopped at seven on the dot, unconsciously obsessed with round numbers. At the same time, Jennie's phone alarm started ringing. The younger girl groaned and turn it off.

Jisoo left the room to take her respective shower and put clothes on, noticing Jennie was still in their bedroom after Chu had dried her hair. Did Jennie's schedule start later today? That wouldn't make sense, Lisa was here yesterday to pick up Jennie around this hour. After all, Jennie's alarm did ring.

Jisoo opened their bedroom door slowly, peeking her head. As Chu suspected, Jennie was still sleeping. She looked really tiny. Well, that's because she is, just like Jisoo, but Jisoo couldn't really see herself from afar to comment on that. Jennie had a smaller head though, resembling a cat. Meanwhile, Jisoo's face was a bit larger, sort of like a rabbit. Not a monkey's.

Jisoo opened the curtains, making Jennie cover her eyes with her arm. Chu approached the sleeping baby and shook her shoulder, only earning annoyed grunts. Suddenly, Jennie pulled one of Jisoo's arms (with God-knows-what-strength) towards her, making her Jennie's little spoon. The younger girl held her tightly as Jisoo tried to free herself. "Get up, Jendeukie!"

The nickname seemed to have worked. Jennie had let go for a second, but that was just enough for Jisoo to get up. She grabbed a pillow and hit Jennie. "Bad Jendeukie!"

Jennie was now fully awake, protecting herself with her arms. "Jendeukie?"

"Yes, you're so clingy!"

"Sorry..." Jennie couldn't deny that. Whenever she had a sleepover, she tended to hold onto the person she was in bed with. She had never acted as recklessly as today though. Jennie had some trouble falling asleep last night. Normally, she just slept with the dog doll her mom had gifted her before she moved to New Zealand, but lately she had gotten used to sleeping with Lisa.

Since the Thai girl slept like a rock, she didn't mind Jennie cuddling her. And yes, Lisa was really skinny and there was much to cuddle, but the feeling of having someone in your arms gave comfort and peace to Jennie's heart. Lisa was way better than her dog doll, no offense.

Now that Jennie was fully awake, she felt a bit nostalgic seeing Jisoo here. It'd been forever since she had a roommate.

"What's your first class?" Jisoo stored a water bottle, a notebook, and a pencil-case in her small bag.

"Dance with Kim Hee Jung."

"Ah, Gamja Seonsaengnim."

Jennie burst out laughing. Potato teacher? "What does that nickname even mean?"

"Haven't you seen her backbone?" Jisoo articulated. "In my five days in YG, I've noticed that whenever she wants to roll her eyes, she arches her back instead. With the turning motion and everything. It's always when someone annoys her. That someone is me, kekekeke."

That made more sense. Gamja also meant Backbone. "Are nicknames your thing?"

"Absolutely." Jisoo smiled proudly. "All the girls in my group are already calling her that behind her back."

Jennie tended to cringe at puns, but this one had been unexpected, making her giggle.

During her dance lesson, she couldn't stop thinking about Jisoo's nickname as she saw Seonsaengnim Kim Hee Jung arch her back every time a trainee messed up, as if she was so done with life. Once you knew, it was impossible to unnotice.

Jisoo ate her lunch as she stared at Lalisa in the cafeteria. The Thai girl was still using a spoon for full meals. But well, that wasn't what she wanted to talk to her about. "Hey, Lalisa."

Lisa finished chewing after hearing her name being called and looked up at the older girl.

"Are there ghosts in the dorms?" Jisoo asked in Korean and Jennie translated.

"Ani." Lisa shook her head. "But there's a strong energy in the dance rooms."

Jennie translated again, gaining some interest. Lisa had never mentioned that to her. I guess it's because she was scared to even admit she sensed spirits.

"I thought I was the only one who felt it!" Jisoo exclaimed. "I don't wanna scare you, but yesterday I saw a ghost in my dance practice. I asked out loud who it was, but my members just looked at me like I was crazy. I had to pretend it wasn't there."

"What did they look like?" Lisa asked.

Jisoo looked up, going through her memory. "It was a man wearing a suit. He was in the back of the room, where lights couldn't reach. I thought it might be someone important like Mr. Yang watching, but it would be weird for him to show up, wouldn't it?"

Jennie nodded before translating her description into English. "Mr. Yang only shows up for some evaluations. He also watches the evaluation and midterm videos, that's how he sees our progress."

Lisa didn't really know what the man in her night terror had looked like, just his body shape. It could be the spirit that haunted her in Thailand. All her previous night terror stories were similar to the one she'd experienced in Korea, she could never see the man's face. Lisa hadn't felt anything weird in the hallways or in Jennie's dorm. It was just that night.

Since then, Jisoo suspected that Lisa had lied about the dorms. Why? Because she stopped showing up to meet Jennie there for two weeks now. Not to mention Jisoo had gotten sleep paralysis the morning after seeing the ghost, that's why she had asked Lalisa in the first place. Chu had seen the same man in a suit. In the past, no one like that had ever showed in her nightmares. It was as if the suited man belonged in the agency.

After calming down from another sleep paralysis, Chu glanced at her roommate quietly sleeping in the bed beside her.

"Jisoo unnie..."

Chu raised an eyebrow, Jendeukie didn't seem to be awake at all. "Yes?"

"Could you param param param?" Jennie mumbled gibberish.

"Uh?" Jisoo asked confused.

"Ram pam pam pam, pam pam pam."

"What?" Jisoo sat up to look at her roommate properly, but she looked dead asleep. The hell? Was Jennie a sleeptalker?

Chu decided to drop it for now, it was gaming time. An hour later, when she turned off Portal 2, Jennie's alarm rang.

The younger girl turned it off with eyes closed. Jisoo wondered why Jennie set an alarm this early if she would just keep sleeping after.

After Jisoo finished her shower, Jennie was using her phone while still laying down. "What did you need earlier?"

"Huh?" Jennie put her phone down.

"You were talking to me before I showered. I couldn't understand you."

"Oh, really? I don't remember..."

"You really are a sleeptalker!"

"That's not a word and no, I'm not!"

"How could you know? Kekekeke."

Jennie couldn't argue, that was true. "I'm gonna shower."

"Next time I will film you!"

That night, when Jennie came back to the dorms, Lalisa was with her.

"Hi, Jisoo-ssi," Lalisa greeted.

"Hey, Lalisa-ssi." Jisoo looked at Jennie strangely. "It's late, what are you guys up to?"

"In two weeks we have the next evaluation, so we're gonna practice. Will the noise bother you?" Jennie asked. "If so, we can go to Lisa's. It's just, there's more space here."

"Oh, don't worry about me. This is your dorm too." Jisoo realized she had never seen the two of them dance. "Can I watch?"

"Sure." Jennie smiled. "We're gonna have an audience tonight," she explained to Lisa.

The Thai girl smirked. "Cool!"

After Jennie got a roommate, Lisa had tried to give Jennie her space. Jennie had also mentioned that she should get used to being in her own dorm, so Lisa didn't push. They used the first two weeks of the month to learn the song and teach the choreography to the other members. Now that everybody knew the moves, it was time to practice their individual performances as well.

Jennie first showed Lisa her choreography and the Thai girl suggested some changes that honestly made a huge difference. Jisoo was surprised to see Jennie move with so much emotion. But what was even more surprising was how Lisa kept up with everything she did.

"How does she remember all your dance? You just showed her!" Jisoo gasped.

"Oh, right, you've never seen her dance," Jennie said. "Lisa can memorize any choreography in seconds. I don't know how."

"No way!"

"Name any song."

"Hmm... Lucifer by Shinee."

"Lisa, can you do your thing with this song?" Jennie asked the Thai girl after typing the song into YouTube, choosing a live version so Lisa could see the full dance.

Jisoo watched as Lisa imitated some moves and tapped one of her fingers after a section was finished, as if she was storing what she'd just seen in there. When Jennie played the song for the second time, Jisoo practically had her mouth hanging open as she saw Lisa exactly replicate the four-minute dance.

"Wow..." Jisoo breathed out.

"The dance is kinda easy, we could do this for one group performance," Lisa commented.

"Baby PINKPUNK already did it, kekeke," Jennie laughed. "It was the first dance I had to learn. It was hard then."

Lisa decided to smile. "You were just a beginner though. I'm sure you were amazing anyway."

"Ugh, I wish. Mr. Yang told me I wasn't in sync with the others."

"They were probably not in sync with you," Lisa defended, sounding completely convinced.

Jennie rolled her eyes, but appreciated her words nonetheless. She started typing Lisa's individual song and the Thai girl started dancing.

Jisoo couldn't help but keep being impressed by Lalisa's dancing. She was a natural, for sure. "Not even Gamja Seonsaengnim is that good," she admitted after Lalisa finished.

Jennie didn't know if that was true, but she decided to deliver the compliment anyway. As far as Jennie knew, Lisa enjoyed their teacher's choreographies.

"Oh, gamsahabnida!" Lisa bowed down. What an unexpected comment.

"Seriously, you're incredible. I just keep bumping into my group members, kekekeke." Jisoo giggled.

"So that's why Gamja Seonsaengnim is annoyed with you all the time?"

"Part of."

"Potato teacher?" Lisa asked, understanding a couple of words from their conversation. After Jennie explained the nickname and translated unnie's story, Lisa offered her hand to Jisoo. "Show me group dance," Lisa said in Korean. Her sentence sounded incorrect, but it was understandable.

After a moment of hesitation, Chu took Lisa's hand and got up. She felt awkward while dancing because she knew she was clearly the worst in the room. She only showed Lisa the first half of the song, not wanting to take up all of their time.

"Dance with me," Lisa spoke in Korean again. She had tried to learn sentences related to dancing since she was the choreographer of PINKPUNK.

Amazingly, Lisa had memorized the choreography and managed to avoid Jisoo's rusty movements all the way.

"Your members just don't know how to dodge," Lisa concluded.

After Jennie translated Lisa's words, Jisoo felt a bit more confident. She wasn't the only terrible one in her group, after all. Chu stayed up for a couple more hours to watch them practice together, she admired the amount of time they spent practicing off class. That night, Jisoo decided she would join them the following day. Jisoo wanted to become as good as Lisa.

A week before evaluations, Jennie arrived an hour early to the dance room. It was time for all of them to practice the group performance together and she was nervous about her part. It was really difficult and she couldn't do it quite yet. Jennie's body still refused to adapt to the amount of physical activity they did every day. Whenever Jennie tried her part, she got tired right away. Last night, she had asked Jisoo to wake her up and that's why she was here.

Jennie turned on the music and attempted to do the dance sequence. She got everything right until she had to jump up. "Fuck!" she let out in frustration.

"Hope that wasn't a curse," a voice said by the doorway. It was Gamja Seonsaengnim, who had totally heard her swear in English.

"Sorry..." Jennie trailed off. "I thought I would be alone for a while."

Gamja Seonsaengnim entered the room and left her bag on a table. "That would be the case if it weren't the last week before the end of the month. You are never this early around this time, I'm surprised."

"I normally just practice at the dorms, but now I have a roommate so..." Jennie felt awkward. Had she ever talked this casually with Gamja Seonsaengnim?

"Well, feel free to continue. I'm here to help you, after all."

Jennie nodded, feeling a little relieved that the conversation was over. She tried the choreography again, but still couldn't do it. "Ugh!"

"Hey, careful!" the teacher exclaimed after seeing what she was trying to do. "You might twist your ankle!"

"I just wanna do well, Gamja Seonsaengnim!" Jennie cried, remaining on the floor after falling on her butt.

"Did you just call me a potato?" Kim Hee Jung arched her back as she suppressed an eye roll. "I'm serious though. You do that wrong and you will get hurt."

Jennie wiped her tears, feeling childish for crying in front of her teacher. "I promised I would be able to do it for the performance."

"Don't be stubborn, change the choreography. Trust me, if you get injured, you're not gonna be able to debut. I've seen it many times."

With those words, Kim Hee Jung turned away from her and exited the room, leaving her student alone with her thoughts.

Jennie decided to wash her face first in the bathroom. Gladly, Gamja Seonsaengnim hadn't gone here. Even after the cold water hit her skin, the same thing kept popping up in her head. I have to do it, I have to do it. This was a big opportunity to show off to the judges, this could finally prove she was a great dancer.

When Jennie returned, she decided to practice the rest of the choreography. Soon enough, the teacher returned and didn't say anything. Minutes later, the rest of the group arrived. Lisa was surprised to see that Jennie was already out of breath, so she let her rest for a little while.

Over the following days, Lisa hadn't seen Jennie do all of her solo part in the group dance. In practice, she just did an easy version of it because otherwise she would get too exhausted due to her motion sickness.

Listen, Lisa trusted Jennie with her heart and soul, and she also knew Jennie wouldn't back down from a challenge. But she just had to make sure as a fellow member and leader. "Can you do it?" Lisa asked her in evaluation day. They had already changed into their outfits for the group performance.

Lisa is really asking me this right now? Jennie gave her an angry cat stare, but you could tell she was very frustrated if you looked deeply into her eyes.

"Jennie..."

"You wouldn't know what it's like. You memorize a choreography as soon as you see it. You get As in all the evaluations, you don't hear the judges degrade you and your friends. You haven't seen dozens of girls go," Jennie snapped, her breathing unstable. God, she didn't even know what she was saying. "I'm sorry. Forget it."

"I know I'm lucky. You always tell me the criticism nicely and give me solutions right away," Lisa said softly. "I may not have seen girls I'm close to go because I have a hard time making friends here, but I'll be okay. I know you're the one who will always make it." Lisa took a step forward. "I believe in you," she added in Korean. "So don't give up."

Her soothing voice helped Jennie calm down. She had felt on edge over this lately. Jennie was sure she would have either had a panic attack or ruin her singing if she had kept her breathing like that. "I wouldn't..."

Lisa hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. Then their group's name was called and they stepped into the center of the room. When she passed Jennie, she whispered in her ear, "Whatever happens, I got you."

Jennie didn't have time to know what that meant as the music started. Her body responded to the beat of the song, everything was muscle memory by now. Jennie did her best to ignore the nerves and not mess up her lines when her turn came up.

Here it goes... She tried doing the second jump, the one that would make her land perfectly on a standing position. Before she could fall, Jennie felt two firm hands hold her sides and pull her up to where she was supposed to be. On her feet.

Jennie had no time to process what just happened. She couldn't hesitate to finish the dance. Everything had been perfect so far, there was no way she was risking it again.

Moments later, PINKPUNK finally stood on their ending positions, heaving as they still tried to look pretty and confident.

Jennie was currently in the first row, so she couldn't see behind her. She glanced at the mirror wall in front of her, finding Lisa. The Thai girl just winked at her. Okay, where did all that strength come from? Did Lisa secretly lift weights? I mean, when Jennie had used Lisa's arms as a pillow in their sleepovers, they hadn't felt bone-y, which is the case of most skinny people. Her arms were soft, but not chubby at all. Also solid somehow. They were just... perfect.

"Let's go," Lisa told her in Korean.

Jennie blinked and realized she was the only one not hurrying back to their seats. "Right."

Once they sat down, she couldn't help but gaze at Lisa, perhaps feeling more nervous than before. "Um... Thank you... about, you know, everything."

Lisa shook her hands dismissively, as if it was no big deal. "You need to tell me when you can't do a move though. We can always change it."

"But I promised you I would..." Jennie looked at the floor, finding shapes in the wooden textures. "And more importantly, I promised myself. I didn't wanna let PINKPUNK down."

"Well, you didn't. You couldn't." Lisa placed her hand on top of Jennie's, so she would turn back to her. "If we mess up, we mess up. You just have to make it seem like you didn't. Exactly how you did back there."

That sounded so easy, but it was something hard to believe. YG wouldn't settle for people who made mistakes. Jennie sighed, offering a sad smile. "Sometimes I'm glad you don't know Korean. The way the judges talk to the girls... It can be too hurtful."

"I can take it. I've been in competitions before, you know." Lisa squeezed her hand. "Don't worry about me... unless I'm hungry and the cafeteria is closed."

Jennie scoffed. "Don't tell me what to do." Regardless of the silliness, Jennie now felt ready for whatever the judges had to say.