lights

***

It goes something like this.

Rosé is preparing a bowl of popcorn in the kitchen, humming to herself happily as she watches the kernels go pop pop pop in the microwave that’s practically music to her ears. The sight makes water in anticipation.

Nothing else satisfies her really.

She’s simple like that.

The time is a quarter past nine in the evening and since the girls are given a few days off, they have decided to spend them leisurely.

Jisoo has left to be with her family while Jennie has gone on a lowkey Myeongdong shopping spree with Chahee, informing them ahead that she might not make it home either. This leaves the maknaes alone at the dorm which typically calls for chaos to ensue whenever their nagging unnies are nowhere in sight. They’re terribly exhausted, however, after biking along the Han River the entire afternoon. So they decide that the chaos can wait.

After all, they have a couple more hours to themselves before Jennie is supposed to be home (if she does come home anyway).

The microwave beeps and Rosé delicately takes the bag with her fingertips, careful not to touch the hot surface. She waits for it to cool down before ripping it open and transferring the popcorn onto a plastic bowl. A buttery aroma spreads in the air as Rosé wafts in content, her stomach grumbling despite having a considerably heavy dinner consisting of ribs, pasta and a plate of pancakes (“Who the hell eats pancakes for dinner?” Lisa’s face contorted when the waiter arrived with their dishes. “I do. Duh,” Rosé shoved a forkful into . “Food is food, Lisa!”).

Her slipper-clad feet slap against the wooden flooring, trotting towards Jisoo’s bedroom carrying a bowl in one arm. Lisa is already perched on the bed in her pink pajamas, legs stretched with one crossed over the other, and a MacBook balanced on a stack of pillows across her. The laptop screen indicates that the movie has been playing for a while, with Lisa so engrossed, her eyes unblinking and her face superglued to the film. She doesn’t even budge when Rosé enters.

Not a glance, not a single movement.

Rosé dives onto the bed beside the blonde, causing some popcorn to fall onto the bedsheets (Lisa pays no mind). She mutters a sheepish “oopsie” before naturally picking them up and eating them. The older maknae asks in between chews. “So what happened?”

“NOTHING HAPPENED IN THAILAND!”

Lisa blurts suddenly, recoiling in the same manner a cat would upon being drenched by a bucket of ice-cold water. Rosé almost chokes on her popcorn and sports a bewildered expression because wow that came out of freakin’ nowhere so she’s looking at Lisa like the girl has grown a second head.

“What..?”

“Nothing.” Lisa shakes her head, averting her eyes, unable to meet Rosé’s curious ones. Was she just thinking out loud? Maybe. But Rosé isn’t entirely convinced, with the fact that the words have slipped from so it really must mean something.

“But you said—”

“It’s really nothing sorry,” Lisa mumbles hurriedly, having very little conviction in how she says it, sounding somewhat nervous. She offers the Australian native a thin smile in assurance as she composes herself and returns to the movie. She does a doubletake when the bowl of popcorn catches her interest. “Oh, hey, popcorn!” The Thai casually grabs a handful. Her late reaction doesn’t surprise Rosé there, considering the younger girl has got the attention span of a meatloaf. Still, her behavior doesn’t add up but Rosé could be overreacting here so she doesn’t dwell on it too much.

“If you say so.” Rosé studies her once more, letting her gaze linger a second longer.

Come to think of it, it’s been a week since Lisa and Jennie’s Thailand trip. They had arrived full of stories about their adventures, retelling the wondrous sunset up on this restaurant, their hunt for the best Thai cuisine in town and even meeting some Thai blinks. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary since they returned.

At least, until now.

Rosé frequently observes Lisa from her peripheral for the remainder of the movie, noting how odd it is how her personality does a total one-eighty like she’s been possessed moments ago and the spirit has left her body after three seconds.

It’s weird, no doubt, but Rosé isn’t one to push or pry.

Whatever it is, it’s strike one.

***

The sun is out.

The cool wind breezes by.

The weather is great.

It’s a fine day out today and there’s nothing but the serene landscape that envelopes the open field that’s a far cry from the crowded, noisy and bustling metropolis of Seoul. The panoramic view is a scene to behold, greens flourishing left and right, flowers dotted among the tall bladed grass.

Birds chirp merrily on a tree branch until an airplane swoops in and nearly beheads the unsuspecting feathered creatures.

A remote-controlled airplane that is.

“Let me try!” Rosé attempts to steal from Lisa’s hold. Unfortunately, Lisa’s precise reflexes enable her to jerk it away, navigating the airplane into another direction using the knobs underneath her thumbs.

“No, I finally found something that I’m better at than you!”

“Better at killing birds apparently!”

“I did not kill them.”

“You could have!”

“But I didn’t.”

“You are such a baby!” Rosé whines, crossing her arms and pouting like a petulant five year-old. She stomps her foot disapprovingly. So maybe she is the baby in this situation, only because Lisa has been hogging the controller for thirty minutes.

The girls have agreed to join Jennie in her photoshoot to showcase their support. Although their manager insisted that they didn’t have to, they hopped into the van before anything else could really be done. It’s either they ditch the dorm or die of boredom with nothing much to do aside from Netflix and taking unnecessarily long naps.

They have been waiting idly for their schedules in preparation for their comeback in June. While it hasn’t been finalized yet, finding an excuse to do something would have to do.

“Lice, where’s Jisoo-unnie?” Rosé looks around and notices that the oldest of the group has somehow vanished. She was just beside her moments ago.

“Dunno” Lisa traps her tongue in between her teeth, obviously uninterested in Jisoo’s disappearance. She focuses on the toy, which Rosé herself borrowed from the staff by the way. One minute, Rosé is telling Jennie that she’ll be outside (Jennie is still getting ready inside a tent that’s set up), and the next thing she finds is Lisa sprinting to the exit, the remote control and airplane in her possession.

Rosé calls her out.

It’s her childhood with Alice all over again.

“Yo, yo, Chaeng!” Lisa glances at Rosé cheekily. “Watch this.”

Rosé squints her eyes as the sun’s bright rays shield most of her vision but she manages to spot the airplane not too distant. It moves steadily at first, then along with Lisa’s guidance, it spins to its side flipping in three-sixty, zooming past the tree she’s nearly crashed into earlier.

“Woah, how did you do that?” Rosé asks in pure amazement. Lisa’s luck when it comes to practically anything is just as bad as her bowling skills. They’ve lost count on the number of times she’s lost in a game or a bet. She would be overqualified to enter if losing became an Olympic Sport because of how much she’s a professional at it. The girl’s got confidence, yes, but confidence doesn’t help you win sadly.

Lisa winks cheekily. “It’s a gift.” She repeats the same trick. Then does another, and another, and another and…

Okay, now she’s just showing off.

“Hey, guys!”

Jennie approaches the duo in careful strides, lifting the bottom of her dress to prevent tripping over them. The two turn at her arrival. She looks about ready to grant someone’s wish, hints of glitter are peppered around her neck and round cheeks. Her hair is tied up, stray strands framing her face.

“Wow, unnie you look good.” Good is an understatement, Rosé admits. “And ohmygosh! That lipstick though!” Rosé compliments the deep red that’s painted across Jennie’s lips that’s in contrast to her powder white outfit. She waits for Lisa to do the same, almost expects it even.

Strangely enough, she doesn’t.

In a usual setting, Lisa would be the first out of everyone to shamelessly shower Jennie with praises, backed with endless whistling and hooting like a crazed fangirl meeting her idol. What she is met with, bizarrely, is silence and a meek smile that doesn’t seem very Lisa-like.

Rosé raises an eyebrow.

The airplane flies out of course and crash-lands towards Lisa’s head. She flinches and is brought back from her slightly catatonic state, rubbing on the sore area. Rosé bites back a laughter (because she’s such a true friend) then she picks up the toy which rolled away a few feet from them.

“Lisa! Are you okay?” Jennie speed-walks to Lisa’s side, concern laced in her voice. When Rosé jogs to them, Jennie is inspecting the portion where the airplane had flown into. Thankfully, no bruise nor bumps are found but Rosé does catch the way Lisa’s shoulders tense up as Jennie inches too close.

“You’re all good, but you really at those.” Jennie muses, fixing Lisa’s hair with her hands.

“Yeah.” Lisa chuckles sheepishly, also swallowing visibly.

Rosé narrows her eyes.

Weren’t you bragging to me your skills earlier?

She wonders if Lisa’s airplane-flipping skills are all a fluke and that it was here mere of luck. But Rosé’s master detective senses are tingling.

Strike two.

“You look like you’re about to .” Jisoo materializes magically out of thin air and remarks in perfect English. How the heck did she get here so quietly and where the hell did she learn that. Rosé is visibly taken aback by this.

“What?”

“You’ve got a,” Jisoo gestures wildly to Rosé’s face, “constipated face going on.”

So much for being a master detective.

***

It’s been a few months since the second strike and Rosé would be lying if she hasn’t been anticipating something or anything to happen in those months. Sometimes would itch to corner Lisa about her observation but she’s resisted in order to let things go through its natural course as she reluctantly watches from the sidelines.

There’s promotion to be busy with so the strikes don’t invade Rosé’s thoughts as much as they used to. She’s too pre-occupied perfecting the choreography to As If It’s Your Last, making guest appearances on various TV shows and killing it on stage with showstopping performances.

She almost forgets about the whole thing.

Almost.

***

Reality shows have always been a source of amusement for Rosé.

It’s never crossed her mind though that she would be part in one.

The living arrangement for Blackpink House would take some getting used to, being monitored and having cameras following them twenty-four-seven in a period of a hundred days. An upside to this is being free to do whatever they wish (not exactly free, they still can’t go clubbing or go drinking in public) in the outside world minus their manager in tow.

The downside?

Every move is being constantly watched.

Rosé feels rather conscious, the cameramen trailing after them doing the most mundane things a regular person could do.

Here, all four girls are packing their belongings to be brought into their temporary summer home and it’s exciting and it’s thrilling and basically those combined that Rosé could not help herself but throw a private dance party in her bedroom (something the cameras caught but hopefully wouldn’t air).

Rosé manages to be done before the others so she lounges at the living room couch, wasting her time mindlessly on the internet. The cameramen have gone out for a break and Rosé uses this short period of privacy to her advantage.

She hears Lisa sluggishly padding into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets, doors squeaking upon closing and opening. Rosé sighs. Lisa has this unfortunate habit of abandoning certain tasks when she’s been doing them for too long.

One of those tasks is packing.

“Chaengieee,” Lisa leans against a side table by the kitchen. There’s a basket of fruits behind her that were bought home by Jisoo on an impulse buy. Rosé doesn’t respond so Lisa tries once more, “Chaeyoung-ah.”

“What?”

“Rosie.”

“What?”

“Rosie-posie.”

“What?”

“I hate packing.” Lisa complains, her head lazily hanging to one side.

Rosé rolls her eyes. “So does Jisoo-unnie yet she’s finishing up unlike someone.”

Lisa groans dramatically, jutting her lower lip out as far as it can go. Instead of doing as she’s told, Lisa remains in her place, zoning out on the living room window. Her silence catches Rosé. The hard blank expression on the maknae’s face says that she’s got some thinking going on in her head.

Something she hasn’t spoken about.

Jennie emerges from her room, hauling her suitcase with her. She frowns when she realizes she’s missed a bag that’s been discarded on the side table that Lisa’s been leaning on. Dropping her suitcase on the living room floor, she s it and requests, “Hey, Lice, could you toss me that bag?”

In the midst of what Rosé could only deduce as her mind and body reacting on autopilot, Lisa tosses a watermelon.

Strike three.

“Lisa! What the hell?” Jennie’s eyes go wide in a mixture of puzzlement and anger. She was fast enough to remove her hands before the heavy fruit could crush them.

Rosé lays frozen too stunned to say anything.

“I thought you said watermelon,” Lisa drones, still with that deer-in-headlights look in her eyes.

“Why the would I say watermelon?!”

“I don’t know! Life is confusing!”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Jisoo finally comes out of her bedroom in a rush to inspect all the commotion, her big sister instincts kicking in. She regards the three girls inquisitively, utterly aghast at the splattered watermelon bits all over the floor. “What is going on—Lisa! Didn’t I tell you to stop playing real life Fruit Ninja? Chaeng had a bruised lip the last time! You know the consequences—”

“I’ll go lock myself in the veranda.” Lisa announces hastily in surrender before Jisoo could reach the end of her sermon. She shuffles to her bedroom quickly, in a way to escape further questioning.

“Uh, okay?” Jisoo shrugs, eyeing Lisa’s retreating form in mild wonder. “Guess my job here is done.” She returns to her room without much comment on the maknae’s strange behavior.

Jennie’s gaze is fixed on the path to Lisa’s bedroom, like she’s contemplating whether she should tail the younger girl or not. Rosé’s not sure if what they had is something you would call a fight. It was more of a weird misunderstanding and she’d be in Jennie’s position too because how do you properly react when your best friend throws a large round fruit that could potentially rearrange your face at you?

Lisa has always been quirky, she does a ton of dubious things but her actions lately seem very…off.

“Seriously, what the hell,” Jennie says more to herself than to Rosé.

Jennie.

Rosé’s brain connects the dots from the three strikes.

Somehow, Jennie gets herself directly and indirectly involved in Lisa’s series of indescribable weirdness. From blurting out their Thailand trip, plunging the remote-controlled airplane off-course and to throwing a goddamn fruit at her.

And that’s when it hits her, like she has been er punched straight in the face.

Or like that one time when Jisoo failed miserably at grabbing some midnight snack (which happened to by Rosé’s) by knocking down a couple of containers in the fridge that woke everyone up (or maybe it was Jennie’s heavy footsteps and her loud “All I want is some ing sleep in this house!”), ultimately ending the mystery behind the snack burglar who was notorious for stealing other members’ leftovers that may or may not have caused some petty fights, serious trust issues and half-hearted threats (that one’s on Jennie). But God, Rosé should have known that Jisoo was behind it when she placed the blame on the infamous YG ghost that “probably followed us home and is messing with our food” as she explained it, which everyone took into consideration because yes the YG ghost does exist—

Wait.

Rosé is getting awfully off-track here.

Back to her point.

The thing is, it’s all happening under her nose and she’s bound to get to the bottom of it.

Master detective Roseanne Park is ready to work on her case.

edited.