----Interlude: Lisa----

The sky might be filled with menacing grey clouds, the blowing wind is chilling her all the way to her bones, and maybe Kuma jumped on her bed this morning and bumped into her nail polish bottle, spilling its content all over her blanket, but Lalisa Manoban, Blackpink's main dancer, couldn't care less.

Today will be an amazing day, she just knows it.

Even if the weather is depressing and even if her favorite yellow blanket is forever ruined. And even if Dalgom once again ran away from her this morning when she wanted to give him a goodbye hug and a nose kiss.

None of those things matter.

Today is the day she's dreamed about back in Thailand as an aspiring dancer.

It's the start.

She hopes it's where it will start.

Positive thinking will lead you to great places, that's what her mother always preached. And her mother is a sagacious woman.

As she heads to the designated location, Lisa once more wonders why his choice fell on her.

The curiosity is killing her, and it took all of her self-control to refrain from asking him as she doesn't want to appear insecure in her skills which might tempt him to retract his offer.

Lisa waves the thought away as soon as she thinks it. Jung Hoseok isn't the type, she just knows it.

He did explain that his old dance crew was in a bind, with a show coming up and two members out of commission, so he agreed to help, taking the spot of the first performer. But why did he think of her as the replacement for the second dancer?

Sure, the part was for a female, so his own members were out, but he must know other female dancers besides her?

He doesn't even know her that well. They danced together once at Jisoo's improvised party. For a couple of hours sure, but had that been enough for him to think her the best choice for this gig?

She did go hard in the beginning, with everyone shouting the word 'competition', firing her up to the max.

And yeah, they somehow exchanged phone numbers 'to chat about dance stuff' just before Jisoo tug her back to their room at the hotel.

She did think her name would get lost among the zillion other names on his contact list, but somehow, a few days later, he sent her the link of a video of a dance crew's routine for a Kendrick Lamar song, and the conversation never died down since then.

It's mostly them gushing about dance moves like wide-eyed giggling kids, but Lisa also started a little game where they imagine dancing a certain choreography to a bunch of unrelated songs, with half-serious and half-hilarious suggestions, and Hoseok stated that they would have to try out the best ones some day.

She likes the idea and hopes that they weren't empty words written on a whim, because she's already imagining all the fun they would have, so it has to happen, someday. Soon?

And then out of the blue, he sent her that proposition. Yes, she did squeal loudly at the opportunity. For a long time too, until her voice became hoarse. The questions of 'why' came much later, but Lisa doesn't like dwelling on little details that could potentially ruin her good mood.

Because no matter the 'why', Lisa can't deny the excitement she feels at this opportunity.

They'll all be wearing masks as part of the aesthetic of the dance, which is why YG allowed her participation to this show in the end. She hasn't had as much opportunity for solo work as the other girls, and even if people won't recognize her, she's still floating on a sea of clouds with the unicorns.

She feared he would reject the offer since it wouldn't bring anything to Blackpink, but he nodded impassively, and Lisa was relieved that she wouldn't need to live in a future where he refused her this chance.

To add to her euphoria, the practices for the show are actually being held at the 1Million dance studio, one of the most prestigious dance schools of South Korea. Hoseok explained that the choreographer in charge of the show knows someone there and they're letting them borrow a room since their previous local suddenly became unavailable.

Lisa regularly watches their YouTube videos, so it's a dream come true to actually go there. She'd actually shrieked and jumped all around the dorm when she found out the location for the practices, her three members watching her with controlled patience.

She never thought she would survive the wait -she hasn't looked forward to a day as much since their debut date- but it's finally the time for their first meeting, and Lisa admits feeling anxious among all of her excitement.

It roots her down to earth.

After all, if they aren't satisfied with her, they'll drop her. Understandable, since they don't know her, and only have Hoseok's word for it.

Her manager drops her at the front entrance without a look back, and Lisa pouts. All of their managers appear to be giving them the cold shoulder treatment ever since that meeting with Yang Hyun Suk.

That didn't stop Lisa from chatting all the way and cracking jokes. She'll force a smile out of him eventually.

As she watches the exterior of the building in awe, imprinting the image in her head forever, she sadly wishes she could take a picture. Her manager could've snapped one with her standing in front of it like a tourist posing at a historical monument but his antisocial behavior dissuaded her. 

Time is ticking, and Lisa carefully steps inside after a last glance, her anxiousness pushing forward and taking hold of her heart.

She isn't exactly sure where to go since Hoseok didn't mention anything besides '1Million studio'.

Crap, she really should've asked for more details, right? What if no one can help her and she has to run around the whole building, sneaking in each room to find the right one, and ends up being late? She would absolutely hate to make a bad first impression.

But as she heads inside, her worries evaporate because he's already there, waiting for her near the reception desk.

She walks toward him, nonchalant, hands in the pocket of her jacket, but inside she's screaming in relief at seeing him. Like her knight in shining...sweatpants, all ready to lead the way to the treasure room.

"Hey," he immediately greets her when she's within his reach. "Thanks again for doing this."

"I'm the one who should thank you for the opportunity," Lisa answers politely. She's having a hard time containing her trepidation now that she's here; her insides are about to burst with anticipation.

He takes the lead and she follows through stairs and corridors, admiring the modern and slick decor as much as she can with his dynamic pace, with pictures of the choreographers she watches all the time on YouTube all lined up on the walls pridefully, and she silently mouths their names as th