After killing it in the January evaluation, Jennie had felt the need to step it up even higher. How? Strategy. Jennie and Lisa would supervise all of the PINKPUNK members' both individual and group performances for all of them to get straight As. Yes, Nini had gone insane, but she truly believed this would work, so Lisa, Jisoo and Miyeon went along with her plan.
Lisa noticed Jennie binge-eats whenever she's overworked. You could only imagine how she was on the day of February's evaluation. Right now, they were sitting outside the dance hall, waiting for their turn. "You're eating gummy bears?"
"You want some?" Jennie asked but didn't offer the bag at all.
"No, thanks. I don't like gummies."
"Good, I didn't really wanna share."
"Oh, how nice of you." Lisa wasn't sure what she could do for Anxious Jennie. She couldn't hold her hand because Nini was too busy grabbing gummy bears out of the bag she was holding. Telling Jennie to calm down wasn't an option either, that would only make her explode. Instead, Lisa decided to rest her head on Jennie's shoulder.
It was surprising how Lisa was keeping her cool after designing and correcting nine dances, eight for all the members and one for the group itself. Lisa would normally be super nervous before a performance, but seeing Jennie losing it made her just focus on Nini and forget about herself. Love was selfless, wasn't it?
Suddenly, Jisoo came up to them after talking to some members in the hallway. "Ah, I see Jendeukie is gaining strength."
"Uh... how?" Lisa asked, very confused by her statement. The Thai girl was sure she could feel Nini shaking.
"I enjoy tearing apart gummy bears with my teeth, specially beheading them." Jisoo flexed her muscles jokingly, smirking. "It makes me feel powerful."
However, Jennie was too lost in her own world to be distracted by Jisoo's weird story. Chu kneeled down in front of Nini and pinched her cheeks, surprising her. "Jendeukie, there are no more gummy bears. Stop reaching for the bag."
Jennie blinked a few times. "Oh."
"Put yourself together, Jendeukie. We need our leader."
"You're right. Sorry, unnie." Jennie sat straight and took some deep breaths, which seemed to have helped her a little. Lisa took a mental note of that for later.
After a moment, Nini finally took a look at Lisa. Leaning against her had ruffled Lili's hair, so Jennie began fixing it with a hairbrush she had in her backpack. "Your hair's so long now," she said softly in her ear, immersing herself into another world.
"Yeah, I'm really happy about it," Lisa answered in a low voice. Nini's breath was giving her goosebumps. "I think I wanna dye the ends brown and maybe get my bangs back."
"You would look so beautiful, more than you already are if that's even possible."
Lisa was glad that Jennie couldn't see her face from that angle because she was blushing like crazy. Before Lili could reply, Jennie stopped brushing her hair.
"It's time, Jendeugi," Jisoo called, mixing Jennie's name with the Korean word for stylist. Chu had been watching the couple carefully. One time, Jisoo and Lisa had been messing around and Chu tried to ruffle the maknae's hair, but Lisa had pushed her away instinctively. Guess it's different with Jendeukie, huh?
Jennie nodded and stood up with Lisa, heading to the main dance room. Out of the three close friends, Jennie was up first. Her mind felt calm now and she was able to execute her cover of Jennifer Lopez's Jenny From The Block with great success. It's a hip-hop/R&B song that Jennie had always loved singing because, well, it had her name and it was her style.
For her solo dance, she had chosen Whine Up by Kat DeLuna, which was a very catchy and sexy song. Jennie was definitely setting the room on fire. The first verse and the pre-choruses involved a lot of slow movements. But once the chorus and rap verses hit, the dance got stronger and more complex, which just took everyone's breath away.
Lisa was so proud of her and, well, Jennie in that tight outfit performing Lisa's choreography... It made her feel like she had swallowed a dozen butterflies while her mouth had been agape.
Jennie bowed down to the jury and made her way over to Lisa. She was supposed to be changing into the group's outfit but Jisoo was right after her, so she would wait until Chu's turn was over.
Jennie was feeling the thrill of performing, knowing she had done amazing. This had been one of her best, for sure.
Lisa wanted to congratulate her and tell her how cool she is, but no words would come out. Nini's grin didn't help either.
Jisoo introduced herself and the track she would be singing, Goodbye Baby by miss A. The song was an angsty but empowering pop song, which somehow fitted her vocals very well. Coach made her try a lot of ballads, so this was Chu's modern take on all her knowledge.
The song Jisoo chose for her choreography was ChoColat's Syndrome, an electronic bop. Even if you weren't a fan of the genre, the instrumental would definitely make you wanna dance. Jisoo had very expressive facial features and Lisa told her that was her biggest selling point, so she should use it to her advantage during specific moments in the choreography.
When Jisoo's turn was over, she and Jennie headed out to change their outfits. By the time they were back, Lisa was called out to the front. Even after all these months of training, Lisa was still one of the few who chose to dance first. According to her, she hooks the judges with her dance and then impresses them with her singing. No one could argue with that, the Thai girl being the only one who had never gotten anything but an A.
This time, Lisa made a choreography for Hey Baby by Pitbull, featuring T-Pain. It's a 100% a party song, so it was all about the buildup until the beat dropped. Lisa's charismatic vibe was always contagious and it was hard to not dance along with her. Even the judges were unconsciously banging their heads to the rhythm. The Lisa Effect.
For her vocal evaluation, Lisa had chosen Domino by Jessie J. It's a completely different mood from her previous song, which obviously left everyone in awe. Domino can be a bit difficult to sing if you don't know where to breathe during the chorus, but Lisa obviously had all of that covered with the help of her personal coach and Jennie.
After everyone's turns were over, the group performance began. They were doing Hands Up by 2PM, an absolute banger. While the song only had five individual parts, the choruses were repeated enough times so everyone got a chance to sing. Lisa got the second verse, Jennie the section after that, and Jisoo Sohee's iconic line in between (changing oppa to unnie) and the bridge. In conclusion, it was lit.
The song finished, all the members of PINKPUNK breathing heavily, remaining in their ending position until the judges told them to sit down. All the girls were feeling both excited and nervous. Excited because the performance had been perfect but nervous because you just never know with these judges, nitpicking the tiniest of things. If it wasn't your dancing or singing, it could be your outfit, your attitude, your vocalization—whatever flaw they found in you.
The strangest thing happened though. When the CEO started announcing the scores for each girl, they got As for every single category. Everyone was so confused, especially when CEO Yang said, "PINKPUNK will debut."
Jennie couldn't hear anything after that, she couldn't feel Lisa's tight hug or react to the gasps and squeals from her team members. PINKPUNK will debut. PINKPUNK will debut. PINKPUNK will debut. Did she hear that correctly? PINKPUNK will debut.
Jisoo later told her CEO Yang started rambling about how it might happen by the end of the year or the first half of the next, how they were going to have individual photoshoots to slowly present them to the audience, how they would do a studio test with all their voices with a producer and write a song that fit them best, plan music videos after that, how their training would only become tougher and now they would have mid-month evaluations.
That was a lot to take in, for sure, but it was what they'd sign up for and they were all ready to take in the challenge.
For Lisa, it felt like this process had come full circle. Her first group performance had been Again & Again by 2PM and the performance that got her through was Hands Up by the same group. She saw Jennie perform What's My Name? in her first evaluation with Lisa and now no one would forget she was Jennie From The Block. Of course, these weren't going to be their last evaluations but it was crazy, how Lisa was the only one in PINKPUNK who had that experience.
Jisoo hadn't spent a lot of time in PINKPUNK, just quite a lot with a couple of its members, who taught her to be ambitious and always improve after each performance. She finally saw herself worthy of a big stage, an arena—the world.
March started out fiercely. They hadn't lied with "training will only become harder." Besides the monthly evaluations, now they had to prepare for a mid-month session, where they would be filmed singing covers. The point of these were so they could possibly be posted in YG's website and also to keep track of their progress. The songs had to be different from what they were performing by the end of the month.
Also, the new moves for the dance lessons required your whole physical and mental capacity to execute them, the only ones who could really keep up were Lisa and Jinny. But everyone was trying to put up an equal fight. The group's roles were gonna be chosen soon, so you had to stand out if you wanted a mayor spotlight once you debuted.
PINKPUNK LINE-UP MARCH 2012, Jennie's notes read. At the moment, these were her current predictions:
— Jennie: Leader, main rapper, lead vocalist ฅ(ﾐ꒡⋏꒡ﾐ)∫
— Jisoo: Visual, main vocalist (*_*)
— Lisa 🇹🇭: Main dancer, sub-vocalist, lead maknae 쪽
— Miyeon: Main vocalist (^o^)
— Eunbi: Main vocalist 활활
— Euna: Lead rapper, lead dancer, sub-vocalist 짝짝짝
— Jinny 🇺🇲: Lead dancer, sub-rapper, sub-vocalist, main maknae (⌐■_■)
— Hannah: Lead vocalist (ᆺ_ᆺ✿)
*DEBUT DATE: TBA!
This was one of many lists Jennie had done ever since she started training, always thinking about the future and that shining day where The Line-Up List would come true.
A lot of things had changed every time a new member joined over the last year. They got their second international trainee, Jinny Park, from the United States. Since she could speak English, she managed to get close to Lisa, the two being the youngest and also the best dancers in the group. Jennie had befriended Hannah, who always encouraged her when Jennie felt like she couldn't keep going in practice. Eunbi and Euna always seemed to be together, being an amazing vocal duo on their own. Jisoo naturally got along with everyone, only being a little closer to Jennie (who had roommate privilege) and Lisa (who was her K-drama buddy and had my-family-loves-you privilege).
It was the first time there wasn't a lot of arguing within the group. The members that had arrived last knew they still needed more work, so they didn't whine much about not being in the center and such.
By the end of the month, two days before Friday's evaluation, there was an important date coming up. Lisa's birthday on the 27th. That morning, she had been woken up by a video call from her parents, which made her entire day already. They told her they sent her a gift and it should've arrived already, which was true. It had been kept at the dorms' reception. Lisa had also received a lot of messages from her friends in Thailand, including her old members of We Zaa Cool. It was reasonable if they couldn't call, they were two hours behind Korea's timezone. Also, they all had school.
When Lisa had entered the dance room for her first class, Jennie was the only one there, as if she had been waiting.
"S̄wạs̄dī txn chêā!" Jennie said slowly in Thai, making Lisa stop in her tracks towards her. "Meeting you last year was the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't believe in luck, but I know I'm lucky to have you in my life, my partner in crime. Happy birthday, Lisa!"
Lisa spaced out for a second to take everything in, tears already forming in her eyes and her heart was pumping really loudly. Her sudden sniff snapped her out of it. "Nini..."
Jennie walked in front of her and wiped her tears. "Don't cry, Lili," she said in English. "You're beautiful."
Sniff, sniff. "I can't believe you would..."
"You keep doing all these big gestures for me. Of course I would."
Lisa hugged her and whispered, "I'm just not so good with words."
"That's okay, even if it drives me crazy sometimes," Nini whispered back. "I just wanted to say, you're my number one too, in every single way." Jennie kissed her cheek, tightened the hug one last time, and pulled away. Lili was smiling at her, even with her glowing wet eyes.
Lisa kept her index finger interlaced with Jennie's, letting it dance in between the we-should-let-go and just-a-little-longer.
"Lisaengsin!" Jisoo exclaimed as she stepped into the room, combining Lisa's name with the Korean word for birthday. Already familiar with their weird behavior, Chu decided to ignore it as they pulled apart by the surprise. "Happy birthday, Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalisa~!" she said in English.
Jennie laughed at her unnie, who said "La" fifteen times, which was Lisa's age now. Jennie still couldn't begin to think how Jisoo came up with every joke she made. Chu was truly four-dimensional.
"Thank you, Chichu!" Lisa crossed her thumb and index finger over her closed fist, giving her an idol heart.
Jisoo started hitting her. "Don't think that you'll get away with that just because it's your birthday, you punk!"
"Ouchh!" Lisa whined. "Jen, help me!"
"You brought that upon yourself," Nini answered and proceeded to stretch for the dance lesson.
The other members arrived shortly. While Jisoo had disliked all the birthday attention, Lisa accepted it with open arms. The Thai girl loved being surrounded by people that cared about her and vice-versa. Not to mention Lisa was euphoric about her chocolate cake.
After lunchtime and finishing her tom jeau salay, Jennie sneakily dragged the birthday girl out of the building, leaving all of their responsibilities behind. "Where are you taking me?" Lisa asked.
"Trust me, partner." Jennie smiled and led her to Hapjeong Station, which was just a few blocks away from the agency. They rode the bus for at least forty five minutes, enjoying the beautiful Seoul scenery. In the meantime, Lisa had told Nini about her parents' call and how Thai people normally celebrated birthdays. It wasn't much different from New Zealand, but a lot of Thai traditions were influenced by Buddhism.
"Oh, I forgot." Lisa pulled a gift box out of her bag. "My parents sent me this. I still haven't opened it."
Jennie's eyes widened. "Why? Oh my god!"
"I didn't wanna open it alone and then you did your thing back there." Lisa smiled and unwrapped the gift carefully. "Wow!"
"Yooo, Lili!" Jennie gasped. "That's a really fancy film camera!"
Lisa blinked, not believing her eyes. "It is? How did my parents afford this?"
Jennie found a note by Lisa's parents. The first part was written in Thai and the second in English. "Because we're super proud of our Laliz. Make a lot of great memories. Happy birthday, Pokpak —Dad," Nini read out loud and then handed her the note.
Lisa read her mother's handwriting too as Jen checked out the camera's specs. "Aww... I might cry again."
Jennie placed a comforting hand on her knee, knowing how hard it must be to be far away from home. "So... Pokpak?"
"Oh!" Lisa blurted out, surprised by the sudden question. "That's a nickname my childhood friends gave me."
"How come?"
"So my birth name was Pranpriya, but one day me and my mom visited a fortune teller and they told us the name Lalisa would bring me prosperity. That's why we changed my name."
"Pranpriya," Jen repeated.
"Mhm," Lili hummed. "It means beloved soul."
"That's so sweet... And what does Lalisa mean?"
"The one who's praised." Lisa blew a kiss in the air.
Jennie was still surprised by how much Thai people believed in luck. Trusting something blindly, without any type of reassurance or proof, was scary and risky. Apparently changing your name to free yourself from possible bad fortune in the future was very common in Thailand. "Pokpak and Laliz are such cute nicknames. Meanwhile, my childhood friends just called me Jerry," Jennie revealed.
Lili burst out laughing.
"Hey!" Nini pouted, bumping her shoulder playfully.
"Sorry, sorry!" Lisa tried calming down. "Why?"
"Koreans find my name difficult to pronounce, as you saw with Chu's grandpa."
"Ah..." Lisa trailed off. "I just imagined it was because you're pretty small and cute like the mouse."
Jennie just scoffed at the comment. She had never seen it that way.
At last, they arrived at Yeouido Park. As soon as they entered the main area, Lisa was faced with rows and rows of cherry blossom trees. Unconsciously, she jumped up and down out of excitement. "It's so pretty!"
"Right?" Jennie was just as impressed. She had missed the cherry blossom season last year, so she hadn't seen any in forever.
"There are only cherry blossoms in the north of Thailand, so I would only see them if I went camping with my parents." You see, Lisa had lived in Bangkok her entire life, making occasional trips around her country when she had school breaks. "Thank you, Nini!"
"You are very welcome." Jennie smirked. "Now let's walk around and test that new camera of yours."
"Yay, let's!" It took Lisa around ten minutes to figure out how her camera worked. She had Jen's help, of course, but the camera was a bit more modern than hers so they were practically learning together.
The golden hour came and offered the most beautiful lighting for photos. After taking turns and even asking a stranger to take a picture of them together, Jennie and Lisa made their way to the riverside of Yeouido Park to see the sunset over the Han River.
The Spring breeze was just perfect—not too strong and cold enough to soothe the heat of the sun. That's why Spring was their favorite season. Besides the weather, Lisa had come to South Korea last Spring and met Jennie, with whom she made the greatest memories in Hongdae, Lisa's favorite place in the country for that same reason.
Jennie suddenly sneezed. It was a short high-pitched sneeze, which Lisa found adorable. Unlike Lisa, Jennie wasn't wearing a jacket. They kind of had skipped class and left with their stylish exercise clothing. Since Lisa wasn't as sensitive to the weather, she gave Nini her hoodie, revealing her crop-top underneath.
Jen gazed at her, checking her out. "Won't you get cold?"
Lili shook her head confidently. "I already told you, strong Thai genes."
"Says the girl who got a fever last time." Jennie reached for her own bag and pulled out a vegan leather jacket. "Here."
"Wait. You had a jacket?"
"I just wanted to wear your hoodie." Jennie giggled. "But the jacket I just gave you is your birthday gift."
"Oh wow, you shouldn't have. Coming here was enough..." Still, Lisa wrapped the jacket around her shoulders.
"Well, it was leverage just in case I fucked up with the Thai, I can just have it for myself—"
"I really love the jacket, so I'll take it. Thank you, Jennie!"
Jennie patted her head. She noticed Lisa slightly flinch before her hand made contact with her hair. So Jisoo hadn't been lying. Unnie had told her a few days ago that Lisa wouldn't let her touch her head, claiming it was sacred. Chu had investigated and found out that it was offensive to touch people's heads in Thailand. It was hard to believe when Lisa had let Jennie do it since the day they met. Was she really the exception?
Jennie stopped. "Lili, why do you let me do this?"
Lisa tilted her head. "Do what?"
"Pat your head."
"Because it's you." Lisa hadn't given it much thought, it seemed like an obvious answer to her. "It... feels right."
"Fuck, I really wanna kiss you," Jennie mumbled.
Lisa's cheeks became red. She fumbled with her jacket's zipper shyly. "Why don't you?"
"You know why."
"So... you like me back?"
"I spent half of my allowance on you, yes, I like you back." Nini giggled, remembering her times in New Zealand when she had to save up a few dollars for sweets or cheap clothes. Just like Lisa's head was sacred for the Thai girl, Jennie's allowance was sacred to her as well. That's why Jennie mainly gifted handmade items, which she genuinely enjoyed putting together.
Lisa grinned like a child and did a happy dance, deciding to ignore the first half of Nini's statement for now.
"Don't do that..."
"What?"
"Make me want to kiss you more."
Lisa leaned her back against the railing and Jennie did the same beside her. The sky was already blue and the place had more people than before. It only took a second thought to stop themselves, remembering all the girls that had been kicked out before their eyes.
Jennie turned around and stared at the Han River. She noticed something in the distance and got an impulsive idea. She grabbed Lisa's hand and dragged her to the dock of the park. Slow Motion by EPIK HIGH began playing through the area's speakers as Jennie paid for the Swan paddle boat ride. There were two options, pedal and automatic. She chose automatic and let Lisa get in the boat first. Jennie entered after her and the engine started running shortly.
The sudden movement scared Jennie at first, so Lisa held her hand. A moment or two passed and Nini's pulse was back to normal, at least as normal as it could get. They were now far enough from the park that light barely reached their faces. Lisa felt Jennie's other hand land carefully on her cheek, turning her head towards her.
Lisa had never done this before, so she just closed her eyes like in the movies. Jennie's lips were soft and warm. The moment they touched hers, Lisa had responded naturally, all her worries about doing it right or wrong melting. If a fortune teller had told Lisa her first kiss would be in a Swan paddle boat in Korea two years ago, even she would have found that incredible.
Jennie pulled away. That had been a small peck, but the sweetest she'd ever had. She wasn't gonna lie and say that she hadn't kissed anyone before. In her last months in Auckland, she had attended lots of parties with her high school friends before returning to Seoul. If Jennie saw a cute boy or girl, she would approach them just to know what it's like, but kissing strangers only felt exciting in the beginning. Then it became overdone, boring. Lisa reignited a new flame inside her—a stronger, better one. So that's how it's supposed to feel...
With a little more confidence, Lisa kissed Jennie again. Nini pressed harder though, licking Lisa's bottom lip. The surprise made the Thai girl open her mouth and Jen invited herself in. Lisa easily got addicted to her strawberry milk taste.
"Hey..." Jennie breathed out, her tone delicate and vulnerable.
"Hi..." Lisa trailed off, putting a strand of Jennie's hair behind her ear.
"I wanna go on, but I'm getting motion sick."
"Oh, crap." Lisa had completely forgotten about Jennie's condition, but everything had happened so fast and felt like an eternity, like they were the only ones in existence.
Luckily for Jennie, the automatic paddle boat had already turned on its way back. Lisa took deep breaths, making Jennie try to match hers. Nini focused on the Thai girl until the ride was over, gripping her hands. Lili helped her out and they found an empty bench in the park, never letting go.
Lisa waited in silence for Jennie to feel better. It seemed like the Korean girl was paying attention to a random object to stop her head from spinning, in this case, the Swan boat.
"I think I can walk now."
The Thai girl stood up, grabbed her hand, and helped her up. Jennie tried taking a few steps and she didn't feel as dizzy. "Let's eat something," Lili said. "My treat."
"But it's your birthday..."
"Come on, Nini." Lisa tapped her shoulder. "You already bought me this badass jacket and took me in the best ride of my life. The service was amazing, so let me treat you back."
Jennie couldn't resist Lisa's silly smile, so she just linked their arms. "Alright."
They got out of the park and walked three blocks to find all the food places. There wasn't much of a choice, they mostly sold meat. Jennie picked a place and the two ordered.
"So..." Lisa trailed off.
"We should talk about it," Jennie stated. "We can't date."
"I know, but still." Lisa bit her lip. "I want to kis—" Pause. "—do that again."
"Me too." Jen sighed. "We can only make this work if we don't get caught. That means, act as if nothing had happened in public." She looked up, analyzing the whole situation. God, she never expected to be in this position. "We have two advantages. One, we both speak English fluently while most Koreans don't. So, like today, we can get away acting like tourists."
"Well, technically I'm a tourist, so that works." Lili giggled. "What's two?"
"Korea is pretty homophobic—"
"Wait, that's an advantage?"
"Let me finish." Jennie cleared her throat. "Korea is pretty homophobic, so if we look like we're too close, people will probably think we're best friends or sisters."
"That's sad... but true." You would need an open mind to even consider she and Jennie were into each other.
The waiter suddenly appeared, leaving their dishes and drinks on the table. Jennie had jumped slightly, not expecting anyone to interrupt their serious and private conversation. To be honest, she had forgotten about the food, thinking about all the possibilities.
"If you're gonna be scared like that in YG, then I get why you're worrying so much."
Jennie rolled her eyes. "Rules," she continued. "No kissing, only when we're alone in our dorms."
Lisa pouted like a child but remained silent in agreement.
"No telling absolutely anyone about us, not even your cats."
"Meanie." Lisa started eating her meal. "I really wanted to tell them how I found a cute kitty in Korea."
"Hmm, maybe you can tell your cats." Jennie tilted her head to the side. "When you're back in Thailand."
"You're lucky you're pretty, otherwise I'd fight you."
Jen scoffed. "As if you'd dared."
Lisa just kept eating, knowing Nini was right. She would never mess around with Jennie the same, painful way she played with Jisoo. Lisa had never been like that with a friend, but Chu was so easy to talk to and had great reactions.
After eating, Lili paid the bill and the girls headed back to the station. As of tradition, the Thai girl fell asleep on Jennie's shoulder once they sat down on the bus.
Jennie decided to turn on her phone to look at the time, but she was invaded by a lot of missed calls and messages from Jisoo.
Right... Jennie sort of forgot to tell her she would be skipping class today, which was something she rarely did these days. "I'm sorry, Chuuuu ㅠㅠ," she started typing. "We're on our way back."
"You better be, Jendeukie!" Jisoo replied almost instantly. "Everyone started acting as if I was the leader!"
"You are when I'm not around ㅋㅋㅋㅋ"
"You punk, don't start skipping like Nallalisa every month."
"I won't ㅠㅠ It was only for her birthday. We had a great time ^_^"
"Good, you two work too much. Just let me know next time so I'm mentally prepared to give others advice on things I never thought of."
Jennie apologized again and texted Chu a little more, telling her about her day with Lili, excluding the minor details.
When Jennie dropped Lisa in front of her dorm, the Thai girl looked at her with puppy eyes. "Don't you wanna sleepover?"
"I doubt we'd get much sleep..." Jennie said, half-jokingly. "And Jisoo was worried because we suddenly left her, so I should check on her."
Lili pouted. "Aw, alright then. Goodnight."
Jennie fixed Lisa's bed hair. "Goodnight."
If they hadn't been in the hallway, she would have probably done something different. Before, they hadn't cared much about the cameras all over the building or the agency. But now that they'd crossed the line, they were more self-aware of their behavior.
The problem began two weeks later. On April 10th, YG Entertainment posted a picture of Jennie on their website, introducing her with the caption "Who's That Girl?" Just like that, the company kept her identity hidden and made YG fans wonder who she was. The media was already anticipating Jennie to be part of YG's new girl group.
In the photo, Jennie is sitting down with her legs crossed. She's wearing a pink shirt, light blue shorts, long white socks, and big earrings. Her expression seems distant, yet she gives off an innocent look.
When her picture first got published, it had all been exciting. Everyone at the company congratulated her, she got calls from family members she hadn't talked to in years and messages of her New Zealand friends who'd always believed in her. People online had started calling her "Mystery Girl." It's finally happening, Jennie thought.
She just didn't expect multiple paparazzi outside the YG building waiting to film her and ask questions on her way to practice. Fortunately, security had been at the front door and protected her. Still, Jennie had never experienced something of the sort, that kind of attention made her introverted self feel uncomfortable. After that happened once, she started disguising herself, wearing newsboys caps and big sunglasses to the agency.
By the end of the month, things had calmed down a little for Jennie. There was still always one or two creeps with their cameras in the distance, looking for the slightest crumb of information about these minors. The members that had been introduced first were Eunbi and Euna through a YouTube video posted on April 6, but YG hadn't said they were part of the new group yet, just labeling them as trainees. The two had gone through something similar but nowhere as crazy as Jennie since they had revealed their names already.
Jennie felt bad for Jisoo, she would be introduced in four days. At least she had Jennie's experience to learn from and could expect what's to come.
After her, Lisa would be presented next but, since she was YG's first international member, the agency also wanted to film a video of her impressive dancing. Lisa had finally dyed the ends of her hair brown for her photoshoot, going to a professional salon and everything.
The girls were currently learning the choreography for Turn Up The Music by Chris Brown in their dance class, so Mr. Yang would give everyone a week to master it. For Lisa, that was a piece of cake. She would even do a front flip, that's just how amazing she was.
How was their relationship going? Well, nothing happened outside the dorms, to say the most. Jennie was too scared to go out in public and drag Lisa with her, not to mention it might spoil her as Jennie's fellow member before Lili's proper announcement. They couldn't risk that. Sometimes they were even afraid to be by themselves.
Every day had become harder to endure, but then a change of pace hit them on May 7th. After Lisa's Korean lesson, she entered the elevator to head to her dance class. She pressed the button and the door was about to close until someone outside opened it.
"Thank God," the girl breathed out in English. She had some sort of accent, different from Jennie's. New Girl was wearing a tight blue shirt, skinny jeans and vans, a guitar case hanging over her shoulder. Australian, Lisa thought, getting that vibe from her. New Girl was a centimeter taller than her, which was surprising, considering everyone else here tended to be shorter.
Lisa didn't expect New Girl to follow her into the same practice room, but she did. Lisa decided to ignore her for now, starting to stretch by herself after leaving her backpack on the side.
Through the mirrors, Lisa could see New Girl looked lost, but the Thai girl wasn't confident enough to talk to a stranger in English or Korean yet. Plus, Lisa had to prepare for the video, she didn't have time to think about anyone else right now.
Jennie was the third girl to arrive, noticing New Girl immediately. "Oh, hello, I'm Kim Jennie. You are the new international trainee, right?" Jennie asked her in Korean.
New Girl took a moment to answer but then nodded her head. "Yes, I'm Park Chaeyoung from New Zealand. My parents are Korean and I grew up in Australia."
"Oh my god, what are the chances?" Jennie suddenly answered in perfect English. "I lived in Auckland for five years before becoming a trainee. I visited Australia too, but I ended up choosing New Zealand to study."
"Oh wow, I didn't expect anyone here to know English. My Korean is a little rusty because I rarely use it nowadays, so sorry if I make any mistakes." Chaeyoung glanced around. "So, where's everyone?"
"Right. Um, you're a little early. That's why only me and Lisa are here, the others should be arriving in fifteen minutes." Jennie paced for five seconds, deciding how she should handle this. "Okay, are you a dancer or a singer? Or both?"
"Singer, I've never really danced in my life."
"Lovely, YG put you in the hardest dance class on your first day," Jennie commented, scoffing. "Do you know the song Turn Up The Music?"
Chaeyoung nodded. "Of course, I don't live under a rock."
"Great. You can leave your guitar over there and we can get started." Jennie pointed towards the wall beside the chairs. "I'll teach you the basic moves."
Chaeyoung did as Jennie told her and then stood beside the Korean girl.
"Okay, the intro is really easy. First, you put your right foot on the front. Second, you lift your leg backward, kneel in the air and then place it behind you with strength." Jennie demonstrated the move. "As if you were going to take a step forward, but then you realize you forgot something so you retreat and go back for it."
Chaeyoung laughed, this girl was clearly making it seem easy, so she tried it and instantly regretted it, seeing that she looked silly through the mirror.
"Hey, it's fine, it's your first time, remember? Let's try it again."
Jennie is so cute, Lisa thought to herself as she watched them practice in the background.
After Chaeyoung learned the three-steps-move in the intro, that's when the difficult part came in.
"You haven't had any krump lessons yet, right?"
"No, I think I have that class after this."
"Oh, you might meet my roommate there, cool." Krumping was really hard in the beginning. Unless Chaeyoung was a natural, they couldn't get this part done in ten minutes. "Well, basic krump... Hmm, what was that first class?" For Jennie, that had been almost two years ago.
"Balance," Lisa mumbled in the distance, loud enough so Jen would hear.
"Yeah, balance. Thanks, Lili." Jennie put her weight on one foot first and then on the other, bending her leg in every step. "Do it with me."
Chaeyoung imitated her and found out she had no real sense of balance. It was probably because she was way too tall or just because she sucked, but she hadn't expected this to be this hard.
Jennie left her practicing by herself and asked her to call her when she thought she was ready to learn the next move.
Chaeyoung felt overwhelmed, she had cried all night after her parents left her at the dorms by herself. They had only come to drop her off, say their goodbyes and then fly back to Melbourne. Chaeyoung had been too scared to fly by herself, not knowing how to deal with anything. Her world had been turned upside down overnight and she was just a fifteen year old.
All the other trainees showed up and their dance coach arrived right on time. Kim Hee Jung counted her students. "Jennie, where's Jisoo?" she asked, sounding like she was annoyed.
"She had an appointment in the hospital to check her ankle, she'll be back for her next class."
"Ah, I remember now." Hee Jung sighed. "You two need to stop being reckless," Hee Jung commented, rolling her eyes with her body. Jennie and Jisoo kept going to the hospital because they always pushed themselves too hard. "Anyway, we have a new student who auditioned in Australia, she got the first place within 700 contestants. Park Chaeyoung."
Chaeyoung blushed, not expecting such a big introduction. She tried to not be so embarrassed as she did her best not to laugh out of anxiousness. "Hello, everyone. Park Chaeyoung. Nice to meet you all!"
"Since this is your first class, I'll let you watch the full choreography first. I want you to pay close attention." Hee Jung send Chaeyoung to the chairs and went towards the radio. "Lalisa, do the routine. The rest of you, warm up in the back."
Lalisa nodded and waited for the queue. She started with the moves Jennie was teaching Chaeyoung but Lalisa was going all out, adding krump techniques to the three-step intro and the following part. Everything had passed in a flash, Chaeyoung felt like she had just watched something out of this world. Despite seeming shy, Lalisa danced and acted like a professional. Could Chaeyoung ever get that good? She really wanted to.
Chaeyoung managed to go through the dance class, but barely. The instructor had put her aside, showed her how to warm up and also taught her some basic techniques. In that moment, she had missed Jennie's funny way of explaining things. But well, it's not like she wanted to burden the others in her first day, so she just did as she was told. When the rest of the trainees took a break, that's when Coach Hee Jung started demonstrating the choreography to Chaeyoung.
After that, Chaeyoung attended her first krump lesson, leaving her guitar beside the chairs again. Half the students were different from her previous class and, well, the only person she had talked to wasn't here. Just as the teacher was about to close the door, the most beautiful girl popped her face through the frame, flashing a playful smile. "Nyeongan!"
Was this what they called love at first sight? Chaeyoung wondered. The girl had shiny black hair, big eyes, and plump lips. She was only wearing a little makeup, which gave her a natural look. She was wearing a big red hoodie, black stirrup pants, and white sneakers. In comparison to the others, it was a simple outfit, but she looked like a model on it.
"Jisoo, just come in," the teacher said, moving aside.
"Yeah, yeah." Jisoo entered the room and said hi to a few girls from the other class, who asked how her hospital visit went. "I'm fine, don't worry."
Suddenly, Jisoo turned around towards Chaeyoung, her hair flipping. Jisoo approached her, jumping like a cute bunny. "Hi, I'm Kim Jisoo. Nice to meet you!"
"Ahjshs, hi. Park Chaeyoung," the New Zealander answered, trying her best not to panic over this goddess talking to her. "The pleasure is mine."
"You're so formal," Jisoo giggled. "Relax, Chaeyoung-ssi, krump is all about letting loose to have control."
After that, Jisoo spun around and went into position for the lesson. Chaeyoung found an empty spot by the back and took it. Krump was really tough, but Jisoo's words had eased her mood quite a lot. Chaeyoung got mad whenever something didn't go her way and dancing had definitely not.
At least she had personal singing lessons past that, which was what she had wanted to do all day. Let every stressful emotion come out. Let new emotions in. Learn how she could improve. Feel everything through until it didn't matter anymore.
Fortunately, she didn't have any dance classes for the rest of the day. She had an individual guitar and piano lesson, and for the end of her first day, Japanese. That's where she reunited with Jennie, Lisa and Jisoo, who were all sitting together. Jennie and Lisa were in the back, sitting side-by-side, and Jisoo was in front of Jennie's desk. Rosé took the seat next to Jisoo, who just smiled at her. "Nyeongan, again!"
"Hi..." Hearing Jisoo just reminded Chaeyoung of how embarrassed she felt after that krump lesson, but Jisoo didn't seem to be judging or pitying her. It's more like... she had been through it.
Jennie leaned forward, noticing the new girl. "How was your first day?"
"I hate dancing."
Jisoo chuckled and Jennie glanced at her girlfriend. Lisa seemed to be in her own world, writing and drawing things in her notebook. Jennie thought she'd jump right in and defend what she loved the most, but it was like she didn't even want to try talking to Chaeyoung. I guess she was still not comfortable speaking to anyone besides her, Jisoo and Jinny. Don't get her wrong, Lili talked to their other members when it came down to explaining her choreographies, but that was pretty much it.
"I used to be like that. I felt like a drag," Jisoo shared. "But I didn't want to be that person, so I worked hard."
"It becomes fun once you get the gist of it," Jennie added, feeling like she had to defend Lisa's territory.
"Mhm," Jisoo hummed in agreement, giving Chaeyoung a little hope that things might get better.
By the end of the class, Jennie looked at Chaeyoung. "Are you staying at the dorms or do you live with your family?"
Chaeyoung's expression changed, seeming very upset. "The dorms. My family only came to help me get settled and left last night. I've never been so far from them..."
"Hey..." Jennie said softly. "Wanna hang out in our dorm for a little while?"
Chaeyoung's eyes widened. "Oh, is that okay?"
"Girls Night," Jisoo said in English, sounding extremely adorable. How could she say no? "Yo, Lalisa, you too."
Lisa finished packing her notebook and just nodded, following them all the way to the dorms. Even though Chaeyoung could have stopped by her own room to drop her stuff, she still carried her guitar around to Jensoo's dorm.
When they entered, Jennie pulled out some snacks and served pear juice for everyone. Jisoo had sat down on her bed with Chaeyoung and initiated a conversation about kangaroos and koalas. In the meantime, Lisa was just sitting on Jennie's bed, looking awkward.
Jennie approached her girlfriend, giving her a bag of the chocolates she liked. "Are you okay?" she whispered.
Lisa nodded, smiling at her. "I just don't know what to say around her."
"Whatever's on your mind is fine. Don't think too hard, that's not my Lili." Jennie poked her nose and handed the other girls a bowl of chips. "We sneak these into the building, we're supposed to diet though."
Chaeyoung gasped. "They don't let you eat these?"
"They can't stop us," Jisoo stated, raising her fist in sign of revelry.
"They don't sell things too high on calories in the bending machines," Jennie elaborated. "And well, we work out with all the training we do..."
"So it's as if we never ate it," Jisoo finished mysteriously.
Jennie sighed, sitting beside her girlfriend and squeezing her knee playfully. "If only we were like Lisa. She doesn't gain weight, no matter how many sweets she eats."
"For real? I'm so jealous," Chaeyoung whined. "She already dances perfectly. Is there anything she doesn't excel at?"
"No. Wait, maybe guitar—"
"Korean," Jisoo joked.
Lisa threw a pillow at Chu, showing everyone that she had been paying attention to them.
Chaeyoung raised her eyebrows in realization. "Oh, where is she from? I thought she was just shy."
"No, I'm just Thai," Lisa answered in Korean, hugging Jennie's dog doll. And maybe I feel something is up with you. I don't know, something felt off, how this girl was so friendly and ended up here. Lisa's best friends really had a big heart.
"She's the first international trainee ever," Jennie told Chaeyoung. "You're the third but, unlike you, she came here not knowing the language."
"Ah, I know what that's like." Chaeyoung munched on some chips. "My parents just kept talking to me in Korean growing up and then they sent me to an English-speaking school."
"Seriously, how haven't we met before?" Jennie asked, she had gone through the same thing.
"I moved to Australia when I was... eight?"
"I went to New Zealand when I was eight." Jennie laughed. "Wait, how old are you?"
"I turned fifteen in February."
"Ah, you're the same age as Lisa, just one month older."
"Lisa will always be the maknae," Jisoo singsong, and this time she dodged Lisa's second pillow and threw it right back. "Maknalisa!"
"That's now Jinny!" Lisa argued, getting up to hit Jisoo with the pillow.
"Even though this will be hard to believe, Jisoo is the oldest, she's seventeen," Jennie said in English as Chu and Lili began fighting. "And I'm in the middle."
Chaeyoung didn't find it all that difficult, Jisoo was truly beautiful and her facial features were a little more refined than the others', just like her body's.
"Kids, we have a guest, remember?" Jennie called them out. She had invited Chaeyoung to cheer her up, not to watch a brawl. Jennie had already been used to living by herself when she moved to Korea, but she definitely knew how it felt to be away from her family.
"Sorry," the two apologized in unison, getting back to their spots.
"So, how did you end up here?" Lisa asked Chaeyoung in Korean. The way she had phrased it sounded a bit rude, but she pretended not to know that.
"In YG?" Chaeyoung questioned, too innocent to notice. "My dad told me about the audition because I kept singing, and playing guitar and piano all the time. I never considered becoming a real musician until that moment, but it just made sense." Chaeyoung giggled. "It's so funny, my parents told me I was so loud I wouldn't let them sleep. I think half the reason they pushed me to take the audition was so they could."
Everyone but Lisa laughed. "What did you sing in your audition?" Jennie asked.
"I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz."
"Oh my god, I love that song!"
"Play it," Lisa said upon hearing Jennie's comment. "You have your guitar." Plus, she wanted to hear how good this girl was.
Chaeyoung blushed at the request and was about to make some excuse, but they were all really nice. "S-sure!" Chaeyoung opened her case and pulled out her guitar, putting a capo in the second fret. She grabbed her pick and checked if her acoustic guitar was on tune. It seemed to be fine, so she began performing the song.
They couldn't help to be impressed by Chaeyoung's voice. It was completely different from anyone else's. If Jennie had to compare it to something, the word "Honey" came to mind. Chaeyoung was also really good at guitar. While the original song had a lot of simple chords, Chaeyoung added riff parts in between sections, assimilating the piano and giving the song a new sound.
When Chaeyoung finished, they were left speechless. A sniff broke them out of the trance. It was Lisa. It was the first time she heard that song and the lyrics just got through to her, thinking about her and Jennie.
"Lili..." Jen murmured, gazing at her sadly. She would be lying if she said she wasn't close to crying too, picturing the same thing as her girlfriend. Jennie sat beside her and put her arm around her. "It's okay."
Chaeyoung didn't know what to say, she had never made anyone cry with one of her performances. But she completely understood how Lisa felt, the song was special to her too. There was a girl she had a crush on in her high school in Australia, but Chaeyoung had never been brave enough to tell her. When Chaeyoung found out that she would be going to South Korea, it just seemed pointless to tell her. Maybe she was wrong.
"Don't worry about her, she's a crybaby," Jisoo told Chaeyoung, remembering all the times the maknae balled her eyes out watching dramas.
Lisa leaned forward, as if she were about to fight Chu, but she ended up preferring Nini's embrace. "That was beautiful," Jennie commented.
Jisoo nodded. "Your voice is gorgeous."
"Aw, thank you." Chaeyoung smiled wholeheartedly. She proceeded to put her guitar down, but—
"Keep playing," Lisa interrupted, her voice a bit hoarse from crying. "Something happy."
"Hmm..." Chaeyoung moved her capo to the seventh fret and quickly practiced a few chords, seeing they would work. She started humming the intro melody of Maroon 5's Moves Like Jagger, strumming her guitar as quickly as the original.
Such a catchy hit got Jennie to sing along to the second half of the verse. Lisa couldn't resist anymore, singing, "And it goes like this, uh~"
Jisoo didn't know the exact lyrics, but she did the falsetto in the chorus, contrasting Chaeyoung's and Jennie's voices. Lisa did all the backing vocals, even adding random ad-libs, which was hilarious.
This was Chaeyoung's first time hearing them all sing and damn, they were all very talented. She didn't really know these girls but, unlike anyone else, they stayed up jamming songs with her until five in the morning.