Tzuyu had counted it five times. Five times where she’d been rejected to spend time with Sana.

At first, she thought it was normal. Sure, they’d been spending a lot of time together so it was fine that Sana wanted to hang out with others.

“Sana Unnie, are you free? Can we go to the park?”

“Sorry Tzuyu. I already have something planned with Jeongyeon Unnie.”

The second time was fine too. There were a lot of things to do in the house and Sana couldn’t spend all her time with Tzuyu.

“Unnie, could you help me with some homework?”

“Sorry Tzuyu. Jihyo gave me some chores to do around the house.”

The third time was when Tzuyu had started feeling sad about their growing distance. They hadn’t hung out in months and still weren’t able to.

“Sana Unnie, can we go out for ice cream?”

“I can’t go with you Tzuyu. I have to practice.”

By the fourth time, Tzuyu was already expecting a no. She didn’t know what it was about her that made Sana say no every time.

“Sana Unnie, I was going to the mart, did you want to come?”

“No thank you Tzuyu. I can’t make it. I’m going to do something with Dahyun.”

Tzuyu doesn’t know why she tried a fifth time. Maybe, she hoped that Sana would change her mind and say yes. Was she that bad of a company? Was her presence not wanted?

“Unnie, do you think you could come with me while I ride my bike?”

“Sorry Tzuyu, I have something on with Momo and Mina.

Tzuyu chuckled bitterly as the tears threatened to fall down her face. How had things changed so quickly and so much? The one person who cared about her the most no longer did so at all. She’d noticed all the distant looks in the dorm. The fact that no one really realised whether she was in her room or not. Whether she’d eaten or slept – no one cared.

Still she pushed on for the fans. She couldn’t let them think that there was anything wrong. Tzuyu gave them the realest smile she could muster and she could feel the glares of her other members. Had she done something wrong again? Before they left the show, Tzuyu excused herself from the others, informing Chaeyoung and Dahyun of her wish to go to the bathroom.

She washed face repeatedly, hoping it would provide some sort of relief from the tears that were about to come pouring out. She breathed in and out deeply but it didn’t work.

She broke.

Everything from the past few months came crashing down on her, pushing her emotional state even further. Tzuyu flinched as she felt someone embrace her, a soothing voice she’d never heard before wishing her to calm down. Pats on her backs, fingers running through her hair, Tzuyu had finally calmed down. Wanting to thank the stranger who’d easily calmed her, she turned around and met a concerned gaze of someone she’d never expected to meet.

Tzuyu could only frown upon seeing Blackpink member Lalisa being the one who’d come to comfort her. She bowed in respect but Lisa was quick to scold her for that.

“Please don’t be formal. You can just call me Lisa.” She suggested, giving Tzuyu a big smile. Unconsciously, she smiled as well, making Lisa clap crazily. “That’s the first genuine smile I’ve seen from you today.”

Tzuyu pouted, looking down again as she thought about everything that has been going on in their dorm. Her feeling of being left out and being neglected.

“Do you want to tell me about it? I promise I’ll keep my mouth shut.” Lisa asked concernedly.

Tzuyu was hesitant but Lisa was the first person to ask about her in a while and she felt like someone genuinely cared. Deciding to put her faith into the stranger that seemed to be sent to her in the form of an angel, Tzuyu spilled it all. She broke down several times while talking but nonetheless finished her entire story. Lisa couldn’t be more worried about the way Tzuyu was being treated. How could they leave someone out of their group?

“Do you have your phone on you Tzuyu?” Lisa asked.

“N-no. It should be in our dressing room.” Tzuyu stuttered.

“Alright, let’s go to your dressing room then.” Lisa stated, pulling Tzuyu up to stand.

Surprisingly, the two of them weren’t awkward as they thought they’d be. Maybe it was the fact that they could relate to each other – both coming from non-Korean backgrounds. They’d arrived at the dressing room to find it empty. Lisa could’ve sworn Tzuyu whimpered and she held her hand for comfort. What kind of group leaves a member behind?

Tzuyu’s phone was still left behind and she grabbed it from between the couch where it remained.

“Pass me your phone for a minute Tzuyu.” Lisa pleaded.

“Uh, sure Unnie.” Tzuyu said confusedly.

“Just Lisa. Don’t call me Unnie. It makes me sound old.” Lisa snickered as she typed her number in on Tzuyu’s phone. She called her own phone with hers too, successfully getting Tzuyu’s number as well. “Now, the reason I’m giving you my number is because I’m going to be making your life hell. I’ll be dragging you out of the house no matter what.” Lisa teased.

Tzuyu whined at the thought but was also grateful. “Thank you Unnie–I mean Lisa.”

“Come on, I’ll ask our manager to drop you to your dorm. I’m not going to let you stay here by yourself.” Lisa smiled, slipping her hand through Tzuyu’s and pulling her towards their own room.

Tzuyu bowed down to the rest of the Blackpink members as she walked inside and they all immediately widened their eyes, shaking their heads.

“No, no, no. Please don’t bow. You can call us all Unnies.” Jennie suggested.

Tzuyu blushed when they all gushed over her, feeling shy and Lisa was just looking at her amusedly.

“Alright you all, stay away from my Tzuyu.” Lisa snickered.

“Your Tzuyu? Why is she your Tzuyu? I’m going to keep her then!” Rose teased, sticking out her tongue as she pulled Tzuyu behind her.

Tzuyu couldn’t do anything so she just let them pull her around the room. What was going on, she had no idea.

“GUYS. STOP.” Lisa shouted.

“Why are you shouting for maknae?” Jisoo asked.

“Can we drop Tzuyu off to her dorm please? She got left behind.” Lisa pleaded.

“I’m sure our manager would be fine with that. Are you okay though Tzuyu? I’ll talk to Nayeon about it.” Jennie said.

“No, no! It’s okay Unnie.” Tzuyu immediately denied. Things could get worse if other group members were involved. Lisa squeezed her hand and Tzuyu turned to her, a smile on her face to not worry Lisa.

“You do know that maybe talking to Nayeon will help.” Lisa whispered.

“But it could also make things worse and I don’t think I could deal with that.” Tzuyu replied as Lisa frowned.

“Come on Tzuyu. We’ll take you home.” Jennie offered, calling her as they walked towards their van.

Home.

It was home yet it didn’t feel like home at all.

Tzuyu bowed once again as they reached her dorms. Lisa pulled her back for a minute, talking to her one last time.

“If you ever want to talk to someone Tzuyu, message me straight away. I promise I’ll reply as soon as I can. Be on the lookout for a visit from me within the week. I’m going to come get you.” Lisa said sincerely, hugging Tzuyu and surprising her. She couldn’t remember the last time she got a hug.

She smiled in acceptance and nodded, waving goodbye as she walked into her dorms. She actually felt happy. Her mood dropped when she entered the dorm though, seeing her managers sitting down looking stressed along with the elder members of the group – even Sana.

“Tzuyu!” Nayeon shouted, getting up from her seat.

Tzuyu frowned as the eldest called out to her, making everyone’s attention turn to her.

“Where were you?” Jihyo asked.

“I was left behind at the show.” Tzuyu muttered.

“How did you get here then?” Sana asked, surprising Tzuyu by talking to her for once.

“Another group dropped me here.” Tzuyu answered.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone you were left behind?!” Sana pushed, confusing Tzuyu.

“I told Chaeyoung and Dahyun that I was going to the bathroom.” Tzuyu frowned.

“What? You did? Chae and Dubu, come here.” Jeongyeon called out.

“Did Tzuyu tell you she was going to go to the bathroom?” Mina asked.

The two of them shook their heads, staring at Tzuyu and hoping she wouldn’t rat them out. Tzuyu was seething internally – why couldn’t they just say the truth.

“Are you lying Tzuyu?” Sana accused, scoffing.

“They probably didn’t hear me.” Tzuyu mumbled, hoping her voice didn't break from hearing Sana’s tone.

“Alright, everyone, off to bed. I’ll talk to Tzuyu.” One of their managers spoke out.

Tzuyu could’ve sworn she felt glares but she pretended not to feel them as she walked away from the rooms to have a talk with their managers.

“Tzuyu, you can’t just walk off on your without telling everybody. You could’ve easily caused another scandal if things went wrong. We explained things clearer than this and Tzuyu, you should know better. You need to be more responsible, even if you’re the youngest. You can’t act on a whim. You shouldn’t lie either.” A manager scolded.

Tzuyu was on the verge of tears but she held it in, not willing to break in front of her managers. She was thrown under the bus by her own roommates, her friends.

“I understand.” Tzuyu said before she was dismissed. She walked in her room with her down, ignoring all the looks from other members. She felt so ty inside, she just wanted it to all go away.

“T-Tzuyu?” Dahyun stuttered.

“We’re sorry. We didn’t mean to throw you under the bus but we would’ve gotten into deep trouble if we said that we left you behind.” Chaeyoung apologised.

“It’s fine.” Tzuyu replied, not in the mood to talk to anyone.

The other two members didn’t say anything but went to their respective beds. Unaware to the two of them, one of their managers were outside the room listening to the entire conversation. She was coming to check in on Tzuyu but this was more shocking. She internally cursed at the fact that they’d all jumped to conclusions and not believed Tzuyu but two of them had s