Manager LSW invited Lalisa Manoban, RubyJane, and Park Chaeyoung to the group chat. 
Lalisa Manoban joined  the group chat.
Park Chaeyoung joined the group chat.

Manager LSW (12:02PM):
Where are you, guys?

Lalisa Manoban (12:02PM):
We're at home, except Jennie-unnie. Chaeyoungie is in her room.

Park Chaeyoung (12:02PM):
Yup, I'm in room while Lisa watches a Thailand movie that I don't understand.

Manager LSW (12:03PM):
Jennie texted me. How's her condition?
Read 2 (12:03PM)

Manager LSW (12:13PM):
Hello? Why aren't you guys answering me?

Lalisa Manoban (12:13PM):
She hasn't come out from her room , yet. Didn't have any breakfast and lunch.
Ah, I'm with Chaeyoungie now, we'll use my phone to reply.

Manager LSW (12:13PM):
Have you guys tried to ask her to come out?  To eat with you guys?

Lalisa Manoban (12:13PM):
We did, but she didn't even answer. We thought we should just leave her alone, but we're getting worried.

Manager LSW (12:13PM):
This is bad. We've never seen her like this.

RubyJane joined the group chat.

RubyJane (12:14PM):
Are you guys talking about Jisoo-unnie? Has she stopped crying?

Manager LSW (12:14PM):
She cries?

Lalisa Manoban (12:14PM):
She cried last night. And she cried again this morning, we heard her when we asked her to eat breakfast. We're not sure about now...

Manager LSW (12:14PM):
She cried all night?  Alright, I'll try to finish the meeting as soon as possible.

RubyJane (12:14PM):
Help us, unnie..

Lee Sang-won put her phone inside her pocket before she entered the meeting room. Yang Hyung-Suk was already waiting for her along with other music producers, vocal trainer, and choreographer. The agenda for that day was to check on Blackpink's progress, and to decide the schedule for their comeback.

The meeting started with the financial report of Blackpink sales for the previous releases as the management team explained what made a huge impact, and what went wrong. The music producers added the report with their own findings, comparing the result of Blackpink latest tracks.

"From the very first time, we had determined this girl crush concept. This concept is both a success and a failure. Why? "Stay" didn't receive as much appreciation as "Playing With Fire" since people have expected Blackpink to come out with a strong music and powerful beat. It's more exciting, it's more welcomed by Korean fans." The music producer explained.

Yang Hyun-Suk nodded. "They're new. It's better to gain more public recognition. As they get older, I'm sure their preferred style will change. How about their progress? Dance? Vocal?"

The choreographer spoke up first. "If you look at each of them separately, there are still many flaws. But when they dance together, they are perfectly in-sync."

"Rose's vocal is always improving, and she always sings perfectly during practice. However, I do notice that she needs to improve her breathing, especially when she sings and dances at the same time. On top of that, she's still more nervous when she performs on stage. I'm sure she'll get better. Lisa's Korean is getting better, so she feels more relaxed and confident. The other two have no problems."

The meeting went on but Lee Sang-won couldn't concentrate. Her mind couldn't stop thinking about Jisoo. Jennie texted her this morning before she went to have lunch with her mom, texted her to talk to Jisoo. The girl had been locking herself inside her bedroom, and didn't come out once. She knew exactly the reason, since she saw it with her own eyes; how Jisoo's smile abruptly fell just as Jinyoung walked pass her like he didn't know her. Sang-won had known, obviously, about Yang Hyun-Suk's warning because he told her to tell Doyoung's manager about that. And she did expect that Jinyoung would seriously do it. He was a real man, one who wouldn't break his promise, who was always aware of the consequences for every action that he did, whether he broke or followed the rules. She knew that by the time Jinyoung heard about this, he would understand perfectly where he should stand, quickly understand the existing barrier between him and Jisoo.

She just didn't expect Jisoo to be this heartbroken. Sang-won thought that she should've been more straightforward about YG's real intention.

Sang-won could never blame Jinyoung, it was entirely her sajangnim's fault. Her CEO even went as far as to ask his fellow CEO friend to deliver the memo to the poor boy. Jinyoung must have been in pure shock; he must have thought that this was an extremely serious matter when in truth, it was only YG's paranoid tendency towards scandal.

"The girls are doing well. They follow all the rules," not all of the rules, though, "and they listen to us managers. They never skip any training, including physical exercise, and always maintain their weight." Lee Sang-won reported, shortly. Yang Hyun-Suk smiled.

"I see. That's good to hear. Based on these reports, I think it'd be alright to schedule a comeback earlier. And by earlier, I mean June to be exact, since it's the start of summer. People will have more time to listen to Blackpink's song. Plus, their music fits the summer vibe." Yang Hyun-Suk concluded the meeting. Others agreed, never really had anything against their CEO. Lee Sang-won nodded.

The girl would be busy preparing for their comeback. And it'd be a perfect distraction for Jisoo.

~

Jisoo was tired.

Her eyes swelled so bad and her head was spinning from crying all night. She hadn't come out from her room, and she wouldn't do it any sooner. Her members had been calling her to go out and eat, but she refused. Not now, not when she was this pathetic.

All night, she spent all night rereading their conversation in KakaoTalk, trying to see if she had said something wrong to Jinyoung. However, the more she tried the worst she felt, in the end all she did was to blame herself. Maybe I'm just not enough, maybe I'm just so insensitive. What if my jokes actually offended him? What if...all night, she couldn't sleep all night thinking like this and now she was wretched.

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by someone banging on her door.

"Jisoo, this is me. Let me in."

"This is an order."

Jisoo heard her manager-unnie calling her loudly. She got up from the bed but she fell back on it, the pounding in her head got even severe. She sat on the bed slowly to regain her composure. Outside, her manager was still banging on her door.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by her manager who was holding a tray of food. Jisoo expected her manager to be furious, but instead her face was calm. She let Sangwon-unnie in.

"Goodness, look at you." Sang-won put the tray on Jisoo's bed, while she eyed Jisoo from head to toe. The girl was a mess; her hair was tousled and her eyes were puffy and red, her dark circles got even darker. The only thing she wanted to do was to hug Jisoo but she held back, afraid that the girl would burst out crying again.

"I know you're hungry. Eat this, even if you don't feel like eating, just try to eat a few bites." Sang-won handed her a plate of curry rice. Jisoo took it weakly.

Sang-won looked at Jisoo as the girl ate. She never saw Jisoo this vulnerable, perhaps this was the reason why Jisoo didn't want the other members to see her. Unlike the rest of Blackpink members, Sang-won rarely saw Jisoo so frail. The other three members would occasionally came to her crying, to share their burdens. Rose often came to see her, to ask for advice for missing her family so badly. Jennie came to her one day crying after receiving so many mean comments on the internet. Lisa didn't cry at lot but she would tell her how hard it was to learn Korean, and got scolded in the midst of learning it.

The only time Jisoo personally came to Sang-won was to tell her manager that she had fallen in love with her idol friend, who was also her colleague.

And usually, she would just tell the members to stay strong, to help them as much as she could. This time, with the girl in front of her, she couldn't bring herself to tell her to stay strong.

Sang-won watched as Jisoo finished the food. Deep down, she felt proud of Jisoo. Though she was feeling depressed, she was still considerate of other people, politely finishing the food that her manager brought for her. Or maybe she was just hungry.

"Thank you for the food, unnie." Jisoo mumbled, unable to look at Sang-won. For a while, neither of them talked. Sang-won was still watching her while Jisoo looked down.

Sang-won spoke up. "Don't you have any questions?"

Jisoo looked up immediately, her eyes wide. For a second, Sang-won saw a glimpse of hope in Jisoo's eyes.

"Do you have any idea about what happened, unnie?" Jisoo asked, certain that Sang-won understood what she meant. Her manager could only nod.

"Is there something I don't know about?" Jisoo asked again. Sang-won nodded again.

This time tears were starting to well up in her eyes, as Jisoo's breath hitched. The heavy feeling came back again as she tried to muster up the courage to ask, and to prepare herself for any answers.

"Unnie, w-why," she sobbed, "I don't have a single clue. No one told me what is happening, but everyone knows. Jinyoung and Doyoung were both acting so strange last night. Do you know something about this?"

Sang-won nodded again.

Jisoo couldn't hold her desperate plea anymore. "Unnie, why don't- why can't I know?" Jisoo cried her heart out. "Did I do something wrong?"

Sang-won heaved a sigh. "No, it's not your fault."

Jisoo sobbed harder. "Unnie, please, please, tell me something. Jebal."

Sang-won passed a box of tissue to Jisoo. "Once you know, you'll feel worse." Jisoo could only solemnly stared at Sang-won, still sobbing.

"Calm yourself first."

~

Once upon a time, there were two empires. The Capulets and The Montagues.

House of Capulet is ruled by a cruel count. He was heartless and cold, but deep down he loved his children. He always wanted everything the best for his children, no matter what. He would go as far as to kill a man if it meant he could keep his children safe.

House of Montague, on the other hand, is ruled by a kind king. A fatherly figure, but he was strict to his children. To him, his children had to grow into a fine young man, or poise young woman, liked by the world. They were family, nevertheless, linked by a bond based on trust and respect.

Though both empires were ruled by two opposite people, they all lived peacefully, side by side.

One day, both empires were invited to another kingdom's party. House of Capulet sent their most beautiful, most charming princess they had. Her name was Juliet. Her heart-shaped smile would catch every man's heart, and she was really kind. Witty and cheerful, the count was sure that she would represent the House of Capulet well. House of Montague sent their finest young man, with a voice as sweet as honey, that would melt every young maiden's heart. He was courteous and charismatic, the king even crowned him as his trustworthy right-hand man. His name was Romeo.

Both the princess and the young prince went to the ball, yet to realize the fate that would be brought upon them. Throughout the night, as if it was written in their scenario of life, their eyes met and they fell in love. The princess told him about the House of Capulet, about her father who was really doting towards his children but cruel to other people outside their family. The prince told her about his 6 brothers who were so loud and how many times they got scolded by the king. In just one night, they grew close, promising to write letters to each other.

The count in the House of Capulet heard about the rumors, about his dear princess who was in love with someone from the House of Montague. He was raged, so he decided to call the king of the House of Montague, threatening to ruin the hundreds-year-old peace between them. The king was ashamed by the news, warned Romeo to do what the count said. Romeo was so devastated that he put himself in prison, to force himself to stay away from Juliet.

And every night, Juliet wondered as she gazed outside her chamber's window, waiting for her letters.

~

Sunday, February 26th, 2017.

It used to be her favorite day of the week. But that day she wished she got caught in flu so that she didn't have to come to today's Inkigayo broadcast. She woke up, already defeated first thing in the morning. She got up from her bed, washed up, put on her clothes. She sat in front of the mirror, to look at her pitiful state, feeling sorry for herself that she had to force herself to smile for the rest of the day.

This is so not you, Jisoo. You're always positive. You always love everything you do, no matter how hard it is, she cheered herself up.

Sangwon-unnie personally offered herself to bring Jisoo to the filming studio, and Jisoo was thankful to have her manager around. Still, the trip to Inkigayo was a quiet one.

As soon as she stepped into the building, she brought her lips to smile, greeting the staffs like she usually did. She thought, as long as she acted like nothing had happened, she would be fine. Right?

Jisoo took a deep breath before she went inside the MC waiting room. She was slightly a bit relieved when she found that Jinyoung was not there. Only Doyoung.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Doyoungie." She greeted cheerfully.

The reaction she got wasn't expected.

Doyoung approached her, his facial expression was uncomfortable as he frowned deep. He pulled Jisoo to sit on the sofa.

"Noona, I've got something to tell you. About the Gaon—" Jisoo smiled as soon as Doyoung mentioned Gaon Chart Kpop Awards that she very much despised right now.

"Gwenchana, Doyoung-ah. I know." Doyoung heaved a sigh. "It's fine! Don't worry to much about it!" Jisoo patted his shoulder softly.

"That's a relief. I didn't mean to be so cold to you, noona. I kept debating if I should tell you about this. In the end, I give in to my conscience. Did Jinyoung-hyung do the same thing to you?"

Yeah, he did much better job than you, Doyoung-ah, Jisoo thought as she nodded. But she smiled nevertheless.

"By the way, where is Jinyoung-ssi?"

Doyoung rose one eyebrow at the honorific but decided to ignore it. "He's coming, noona. Just wait."

They waited for Jinyoung while practicing a few lines of their script. After a few minutes, someone knocked and opened the door. It must be Jinyoung, Jisoo was sure she stopped breathing for a second before she closed her eyes and prepared herself to meet Jinyoung.

"Sorry, I'm late." The voice she was so familiar with spoke. She gathered herself together and greeted him back with a wide smile.

But then she and Doyoung was awestruck by the sight before them. Jinyoung was wearing a super-cute Tommy Hilfiger Jeans Jumpsuit. Jisoo and Doyoung couldn't help but laugh. Jinyoung flustered, but he laughed along.

"Aren't you kyeopta, hyung, jinjja. I have to take a picture of this." Doyoung took out his phone.

"Yah, don't you dare." Jinyoung said. He then looked at Jisoo, who was smiling and laughing together with them. The sound of her laughter was something he really missed. However, his shameful self decided to act as if he didn't do anything wrong. This is the best for both of us.

The filming went well. Jisoo was convinced that her lips and cheeks were so trained to smile that it felt hurt when she didn't. When she was about to join the others to the backstage, a hand stopped her. Jisoo turned around to see Nayeon, her best friend.

"Jisoo-yah, how cruel. Why don't you see me?" Nayeon said, playfully. Jisoo smiled, a sincere one.

"Nadong-ah, finally we can meet in music show!" Jisoo said, clasping her hand with Nayeon. They went back to the backstage together.

"Yah, Jinyoung-ah!" Nayeon greeted Jinyoung, as they strolled down the corridor. He just waved back before he went in the MC waiting room with Doyoung. Jisoo was about to excuse herself but Nayeon pulled her hand, and whispered to Jisoo's ear.

"How's my bro Jinyoung. Hm?" Nayeon asked.

"What do you mean, Nadongie?" Jisoo brushed the question.

"I heard you two are close. Is that true?" Jisoo raised her eyebrows.

"Where do you get that information? We're close, but not that close." Jisoo explained. But Nayeon made a face. "Yah, Jisoo-yah. Since when can you lie?"

"I'm serious." Jisoo said firmly. Nayeon sighed and nodded, "I know, I'm just teasing you. I mean, Jinyoung is always too stern. Even when there are so many female trainees in my company who like him, he remains unbothered. I'm starting to think that perhaps he doesn't like girls!"

Jisoo glared at Nayeon lightly. "Nadong-ah, that's not nice." but Nayeon only laughed.

"Yah, that's how we joke around in JYP. Culture shock, huh?" Jisoo finally laughed.

"But yeah, he's always so serious. He is also really kind and funny at the same time." Jisoo said, unaware that Nayeon was gasping quietly.

"He jokes with you? Already?"

Jisoo eyed her. "Yeah.., is there a problem?"

"Jisoo-yah, he is sooooo allergic to women, do you know? He is just that polite, to the point it makes him uncomfortable to be so close to a woman for a long time. But when he begins to joke around with a woman, it means he's already comfortable with her. Congratulations to you! It took me 2 years, 2 freaking years to talk comfortably with him. Can you imagine our shy Tzuyu? She was scared of him in the past."

Jisoo was confused with the new information, didn't know how to respond. Her casual banter with Nayeon turned into a gossiping session. About the man she likes, Park Jinyoung.

"I used to like him in the past, just a simple crush. Because once he is comfortable, he is soooo nice to that person. He takes care of me, or anyone he is comfortable with. He doesn't pretend not to care, it's kind of like an impulse, you know. I just hope he'd loosen up a bit. He's too ambitious."

Jisoo stayed silent, You're right Nadong. He is kind, he is too kind. I like him more and more everyday, every time he throws his super bad jokes, every time he shows his childish antics, every time he lets me fall asleep in the middle of our phone call, every time he texts me about random things. But who am I? Who am I to hope that there will be a future for us, when we sell our youth to our career.

Jisoo said goodbye to Nayeon before the TWICE girl ran to their own waiting room. She knocked on the MC waiting room door and opened the door. She was surprised to find Jinyoung sitting alone, already changed into something more comfortable and less ridiculous. No one else was inside, apparently Doyoung left already. At first, Jisoo thought about leaving him alone but it would make everything even more awkward between them so she went inside.

"Too bad you change your jumpsuit. It was really cute, you know?" Jisoo faked a playful banter. But clearly, Jinyoung wasn't buying. He stood up and approached her.

"Jisoo." He called her. "I need to talk to you."

Jisoo's smile fell, feeling a bit relieved that he decided to bring up the matter. At least now she shouldn't fake her smile any longer. It was getting tiring.

"About Gaon—"

"Hajima." Jisoo interrupted, "I know. I know about everything. My manager told me." She tried hard to halt the tears that started to well in her eyes. Jisoo thought she was ready to talk about this with Jinyoung but she was wrong; she felt like vomiting.

"I'm sorry, Jisoo." He said softly, with a sincerity that melted her heart. However, in a flash, she remembered the words her manager had told her. 

"You have yet to understand how bad scandal will affect your career, especially dating scandal. YG hates it so much because he knows how it destroys his artists. He wants to protect you." Sang-won argued. Jisoo didn't stop crying, after her manager revealed everything. 

"Dating is not a crime. But the origin of the word 'scandal' after the word 'dating' comes from the fans. If the fans don't like it, it'll be called a scandal and you'll be ruined. Not only your group, but also your company. You have to remember that you represent YG wherever you go."

"Jisoo, Jinyoung did it to protect himself, but also to protect you, too. I bet he wants to smile at you, to talk to you. But at this point, with YG already sensing what is happening between you two, it will be hard to continue being together. Sajangnim is keeping his eyes on Jinyoung, that alone is already frightening." 

Jisoo blowed her nose. She took another tissue and wiped her tears. "Unnie, what if I start missing him? And our late night phone call?"

Sang-won wiped the tears on Jisoo's cheeks, which hadn't stopped falling. "You really have to keep it to yourself. Once you call him, don't you think you'll miss him even more? Don't torture yourself. Over time you will forget, the pain will force you to forget. I promise you. Don't call him, don't text him. You should be aware of the barrier right now. Save yourself from the pain."

That was what her manager told her to do. 

"It's not your fault, Jinyoung-ah. Did YG-sajangnim really contacted JYP-sajangnim to tell you not to interact with me?" She brought herself to smile. 

"Yeah, he told me."

"Must've scared you."

Jinyoung chuckled. "A little bit."

Both Jinyoung and Jisoo didn't dare to talk about their relationship but they knew that from this point onward, they were just friends. There wouldn't be late night phone calls, or private messaging. They would only talk in the group chat, and during their time as Inkigayo MC. That was it. It was all clear now. 

"By the way, good work today." Jinyoung said. "I have to leave now for another schedule."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Jisoo said. "Annyeong!"

"Annyeong."

They were back to square one.

~

Days had passed and Juliet had yet to received any news from Romeo. Her heart broke by the betrayal and by how much she is missing him. 

One day, one of her chambermaid told her about what her father did to Romeo. Romeo put himself in the jail for humiliating the name Montagues, and to prevent himself from running towards her. 

Juliet was devastated. 

Just like him, she locked herself inside her chamber. And just like him, she imprisoned herself to prevent herself from chasing after him. 

----------

This chapter is a turning point. The end of a phase, but a start of a new one. Please look forward to it!

By the way, I surprised myself by how fast I update this story. My adrenaline is pumping right now because GOT7 IS COMING BACK WOHOOO!!! I love them so much! I have always liked JYPE since 2PM because they are so likable and funny, and GOT7 is the same. I start to stan Stray Kids too! Oof! 

I don't know about you, and maybe it's a bit confusing but I kinda like the Romeo and Juliet reference lol. Capulet is obviously YG and Montague is JYP. I hope the way I describe them is correct. 

The 'prison' is a metaphor. They imprison their feelings. Sorry if its a bit cheesy..

Thank you for those who vote and comment!!!!!!! You guys are jinjja daebak!