It had been a month since Jennie had been talking to Kai. The rest of her group members were frustrated. Lisa was still not allowed to hang out with Ten, while Rose and Jisoo couldn't approve activities that involved NCT members. It was as if Jennie was giving herself special treatment. The manager took notice of Jennie's frequent phone calls and had a meeting with the CEO about it. 

"We might need to put a tracker on her phone." The manager suggested. 

"We will not be doing that. I will not stoop to SM's level. There has to be another way." Papa YG said. 

"There may be away." The manager nervously said. 

Taeyong couldn't stop thinking about Jennie. It wasn't that he was in love but rather that he was worried. He knew the plan. Everyone knew the plan. Although he despised YG, he knew Jennie pretty well.  What SM was planning to do would destroy both her and Black Pink forever. This was taking it too far. He knew he would pay the price if he intervened so he was very conflicted.

Recently, the higher-ups discovered that Ten was secretly hanging out with Lisa, without their permission. As his punishment, he was not going to be added to NCT 127. Everyone was bummed, especially Johnny. But they knew how strict SM was when it came to things YG related. It was fine if idols dated, just as long as it wasn't with a YG artist. SM especially encouraged their artists to date within the company so that they can easily control the situation. 

Ten felt empty inside. It was his dream to become a Kpop idol. After years of hard work, his company forced him on hiatus and he was considered a trainee again. His friends believed the punishment was too severe. Although he was considered a trainee again, he didn't have to go through the process all over again. Instead, he was an assistant to the choreographer, and would often give newer trainees advice. 

"Hi! I'm Guanheng. " A trainee shyly introduced himself. 

"I'm Ten." He unenthusiastically greeted back. 

"Wait a second. You're the NCT member that debuted and then became a trainee again. " Another trainee named YangYang laughed and said. 

"Stop it! You might hurt his feelings. "A trainee the same age as Ten named Kun interrupted. YangYang stuck out his tongue and started running around the dance studio. 

"I'm sorry about him. He's still a child so." Kun said. Ten rolled his eyes and then he laughed a little while Kun showed him his dimple smile. 

Lisa was upset. For the past 2 weeks, she has been trying to reach Ten, but he would not answer. While watching TV she saw that NCT 127 would come back with a new song called Cherry Bomb. She got excited and hopeful that Ten might be added to 127. If not, she would plan to ask one of the other members for him. At that time, Black Pink was also promoting As If It's Your Last. She tried to ask Jisoo since she was hosting Inkigayo with Doyoung but she wouldn't respond. 

"Congrats to Black Pink, for winning #1," Doyoung said. The girls were shocked that they won. Jennie started tearing up while the others were touching the trophy. Lisa was happy about winning, but she wanted to hear about Ten. The moment their encore stage was over, Lisa rushed backstage and accidentally bumped into Taeyong. 

She repeatedly started bowing and apologizing until Taeyong stopped her. His eyes were filled with concern. It was the first time that he didn't seem cold to Lisa. He didn't say anything and quietly dragged her somewhere quieter. She looked up at him confused. 

"How's Jennie?" He asked her. She yanked her arm from his grip and started to have a blank expression. 

"She is the happiest she has ever been, now let me go," Lisa said about to walk off. 

"Ten!" Taeyong yelled,  which made Lisa quickly turn around. Taeyong took a deep breath and then sighed. 

"He's not here because he got in trouble for hanging out with you." He said in a gentle tone. Lisa widened her eyes. 

"W-What do you mean by trouble?" 

"He was kicked from joining the NCT 127 lineup," Taeyong responded. Lisa felt like her heart dropped for a moment. She felt terrible and like it was her fault for causing this. 

"They made him a trainee again." He added. Her eyes felt warm as she let tears softly stroll down her face. She had never felt so guilty in her life. Now she knew she definitely needed to speak to Ten. If they continued hanging out, their companies might try to ruin their careers. She had to end whatever was going on between them. 

Taeyong looked at the girl with pity and lightly wiped away her tears with his index finger. Doyoung gasped as he secretly watched the scene playing out. He had no idea what to do.  

Lisa had finally recovered from crying. 

"I want to see him." She said with a more stern voice. Taeyong sighed. 

"Very well then. I will arrange a time for the two of you to talk but it can only be for 1 hour. I can't tell you right now, so I will have to explain it later." He said. She didn't want to stop hanging out with Ten. He was her safe space. He made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. If she had a bad day, hearing him strum notes on a guitar, over the phone made her feel better. She was going to miss the times where they felt free and didn't have to worry about Taeyong or Jennie trying to separate them. 

Doyoung waited till the two were finished plotting to confront him. "You saw what happened to Ten, are you also trying to get in trouble?" Doyoung asked him. Taeyong ignored him and began heading back to their dressing room. 

"Don't you dare walk away from me?" Doyoung began nagging. 

Lisa reached the dressing room to find the members excited, happily taking pictures with a celebratory cake and replaying their live stage. She nervously smiled at them and Jennie quickly noticed. 

"Hey what's wrong? Aren't you happy that we won? " She asked her. The maknae nodded. 

"Well then, act like it," Jennie said as she wrapped an arm around Lisa and brought her over to the cake. The stylist who brought the cake took out a lighter and began lighting the candles. The four girls blew the candles and started clapping. 

"Here's to many more wins," Rose said and they all clinked glasses. 

Ten had just met YangYang and Guanheng but it already felt like he had known them for ages. Ten noticed Kun would look at the two with a parental look on his face. He suddenly felt bad for him. Kun became a trainee a year after Ten had first entered SM. He was the only one from the original trainee's group, that had yet to make any type of debut. 

"Hyung! Do you think we will get to debut soon?" YangYang asked Ten after he was done playing. Ten smiled and patted him on the head. 

"You are very adorable. I'm pretty sure they'd let you debut." He responded. The boy cheered while everyone else in the room laughed. 

Lisa was in her room playing Ten's song, Dream in a Dream. She loved watching him dance. She was confident about her dancing skills, but she felt like Ten's was on another level. The way his body flowed to the music, it was almost like he wasn't human. He danced like he was a snake. As if there were no bones in his body. She then remembered the time they got to dance at the end of the year show. The cute smile he gave her when they were dancing together. 

Remembering all those things made her cry hysterically. Jisoo rushed in and looked at her confused. She then rolled her eyes and started hugging her trying to reassure her. 

"It's ok. One day you will be able to see your little boyfriend again." She said. That made Lisa cry even harder. As sad as she was, her crying made it seem a little funny, Jisoo was trying her best not to laugh but she couldn't hold it in any further. She stopped hugging her and started holding her stomach as she started crying of laughter. Lisa pouted and threw a pillow at her. 

"Unnie! Leave! " She said as she started to smile herself. Jisoo stuck out her tongue as she exited the room. She felt so nervous about seeing Ten after what happened. What would they even talk about? Why was Taeyong helping them and what was it he wanted to tell her? 

It was 6 pm and she was sitting down at the back of a cafe. A waiter came to her table. "Ma'am what would you like to today?" He asked. Lisa quickly scanned the menu and and found something she liked. 

"Can I have one milk tea ice cream and a green tea ice cream?" She said. The waiter nodded. 

"I'll have that out for you in a bit." The waiter grabbed the menu and left. She looked around and saw that the cafe was pretty quiet. The interior designing kind of reminded her of SM. The theme was pink and white. The tables and the floors were marble white. It was all very pretty. 

She heard the sound of a bell and saw Ten looking around. Lisa's face brightened and she happily stood up, getting his attention. He smiled and quickly went towards her to give her a warm hug.  She cherished this hug as she knew this would be the last time they saw each other. 

The two didn't know where to begin. They hadn't seen or heard from each other for a while. At the same time, Taeyong was in the survellience room closely watching the two.

"Once they finish talking, please erase all of this." He said to the security guard. Lisa suddenly felt nervous until Ten took her hand and held it for a while. It was as if time had stopped for the two of them. No SM, no YG, no idol life, it was just them. 

"There's something I need to tell you." Lisa finally started. 

"What is it?" He asked.

"We can't see each other anymore." She tried to hold back tears as she looked down. Ten took his free hand and lifted her head back up so that she can look at him. 

"I know." He responded. She looked at him confused but then remembered that Taeyong might have told him. 

"I'm gonna miss you." He continued. Lisa didn't care anymore and started crying. Why was life so unfair? She finally found her prince charming and yet the world tried to take him away from her. Ten pulled her into a tight hug while she weeped into his arms. The waiter awkwardly smiled at Ten as he quietly rested the bowls of ice cream on the table. 

Ten broke the hug and laughed a little at Lisa's face. 

"You know something? For a pretty girl, you sure do cry funny." He said. Lisa sat back up in her chair and playfully hit his arm as she rolled her eyes and wiped away her tears. Ten suddenly became serious which made Lisa worried.

"There's something you need to know about me." He said leaning in so that the waiter may not hear them. 

"W-what?" She asked as she felt her heart pounding. 

"Don't panic but SM tried to make me spy on you, whenever we would hang out." He started. Lisa gasped a little.

"Also, there is a big plan in the works that could destroy your group and YG's reputation." He elaborated. She did not like what she was hearing. Suddenly her sadness turned into anger. She never quite understood why YG hated SM but now she knew. She clenched her fists and backed away from Ten. 

"And why didn't you tell me?" She asked. Ten tried to grab her hand again but she yanked it away from him. 

"How could you?" She said. Ten's heart dropped when he heard how hurt she sounded. She grabbed her ice cream and was about to leave until he stopped her. 

"Please. You have to listen to the rest." He said. She yanked his hand off her. 

"I don't want to hear anymore because if I do. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself. I can't believe you lied to me." She said as she stormed out the cafe. Ten banged his hand on the wall frustratingly. This was the first time they ever fought. Unfortunately it was the last time he would see her for a long time. 

Taeyong came out the room and rested a hand on his shoulder. 

"This is all my fault." He said to him. Ten looked up at him angry. 

"Why do you even care. You're not the one in love." He said as he left the cafe as well.

Before Taeyong had time to react, he received a call that what the plan to destroy YG was postponed. He sighed and sat down in the chair feeling defeated. He did all of this to try and prevent something that wasn't going to happen. In the end he ruined whatever relationship Ten and Lisa could've had. Then again, maybe it was better this way. That way he wouldn't have to worry about Ten being in trouble.