The tour was going well and none of then realized how much time had actually gone by since they started. Areum was being mentioned in so many articles along with the girls and her manager was receiving a lot of texts and emails with regards to the soloist.

The incident for the first performance had been pushed to the back of her mind as she focused on her schedules and the girls. Currently, she was meeting with Jiyong, or better known as G Dragon, for her latest project. The male had flown out to meet with his dongsaeng, wanting to see how she was doing along with helping her out. "I'm so proud of you kiddo." The man grinned as he hugged her once he saw her waiting for him. The soloist smiled in response, giggling as she returned the hug then gesturing for him to take a seat.

​​​​"How have you been since you joined tour?" He questioned and the soloist hummed thoughtfully. "It's been really fun. I get to spend a lot of time with the girls and I'm not as nervous about being on the stage." She replied, making him laugh. "You've always had time with those girls ever since they debuted. There's no difference there." He chuckled and she grinned happily. "Well, they've been really supportive of me and they're always so caring." She tells him, making him laugh again and nod.

​"Anyway, what do you have now?" He questioned and she immediately took out a notebook from her bag and opened it to a certain page before she handed him one of her earphones. "I've been working on this song for a while now. I mean, CEO-nim asked me if it would be possible to connect it to my old songs." She explained and the male pressed play, nodding his head to the beat of the song while looking at the lyrics that was written in front of him.

"This is a rap?" He questioned as he listened to the beat again and Areum rubbed the back of her neck while nodding. "Dae. I figured it would be more fitting. I've been listening to all my old songs and they're all very upbeat. I just figured rapping would make it better." She explained bashfully and Jiyong nodded his head. "This is good! But can you do it? I've never heard you rap before." He said with a worried tone and Areum nodded her head. "I've been practicing a lot. Jennie and Lisa also set as good examples." They both laughed at the last comment and the male nodded his head. "Okay, let's hear it."

~Meanwhile~

"Why does she have to be out?" Jisoo whined when she threw her legs over the armrest of the couch. "She said she was meeting with GD oppa for her songs." Lisa mumbled while she took a picture of Jennie by the window. "But why?" The eldest continued to complain, flailing her feet and throwing her hands up. "She said it was important and since our concert will be on the third day, she's free to do whatever she wants for today." Rosé replied while munching on an apple and Jisoo huffed as she stared up at the ceiling.

They all busied themselves with their own things before Jisoo spoke again. "Have any of you noticed something a bit off with Areum, or is that just me?" Another wave of silence before Lisa slowly nodded her head while setting her camera on the table. "She's been a lot more quiet recently." She pointed out. "She also busies herself with working most times." Jennie added with a frown. "She's also on her phone a lot. I'm not sure what she looks at but she doesn't seem too happy." Rosé explained, Jennie's ears perking up. "Do you think they fought?" She quickly asked, and though she should be worried, she couldn't help the spark of hope at the thought of Areum and Krystal fighting. It made chances of the pair getting together slim.

"I don't think it's that." Rosé quickly shut her down, making the older girl groan as she sat on the couch. "Do you think she's getting used to the idol life again?" Lisa wonders. "As soon as she was able to, she was asked to start working and she was suddenly thrown into tour." She added with a small frown. "And it's not just a small tour. This is our world tour. Can you imagine how hard it is, not knowing anything and then you're being thrown into a plane to perform in front of so many people?"

"I can get that the CEO is trying to get her familiar with these, but it's a little too extreme." Jisoo agreed. "She could just be at the studio or he could have let her go home to what she actually does on a daily basis." Jennie pursed her lips in thought. "Did she have breaks often?" She suddenly asked, making Rosé furrow her brows. "Of course she did. She spent time with us and some other people, remember?" But Jennie shook her head. "Ani, I meant, like, an actual break? Not the ones we usually get for a few days."

The question had the others thinking as well. For the years they've known Areum, the girl has rarely gotten a break of her own. Even though she's been in the industry for years, she hasn't been given a proper break. The one she had taken to settle matters with her parents was just an emergency, but right after she came back, she was being swamped with work. After releasing how many comebacks and preparing various music videos with dramas along the way, the girl hardly had the time to catch a breath. They even remember a time they got to talk to the soloist when they were filming Blackpink House. She had mentioned how envious she was that they were able to rest and even do what they wanted. Though it was said in a joking manner, thinking on it now made them realize that she really didn'tt have much free time with how much YG was making her work.

"She must have been so exhausted." Jisoo mumbled quietly. "Didn't she have a tour right after her comeback in 2017?" Rosé questioned and Lisa nodded to confirm her question. "That was a little after dispatch caught her and Jimin." Jennie straightened in her seat and pulled out her phone before she began tapping furiously on the screen. "What is it?" Jisoo asked her and the other furrowed her brows as she read through the articles. "Her tour was announced four days after the director confirmed they were together. I remember that she talked to us right before she got a text from Daniel oppa that she was being called into the company." She showed them the time stamps of when the events occured.

"So, obviously, the director would have spoken to unnie before he released a statement with them dating." Lisa started off. "Then, right after confirming that, he went ahead and let her go on tour after how many times she asked and he kept saying she wasn't ready, mind you, she asked just a month before this." There was a sick feeling in their stomach as they tried to process what was being told to them. "You think... the CEO did that to punish her?" Jennie bit her lip as she tried to recall any odd behavior the soloist may have displayed, but couldn't exactly do so since the other was so busy with her schedules.

She let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know, but it's a theory. YG may not have been too happy about her dating someone and with a tour, her and Jimin had to deal with time differences."

"But unnie has always been one of YG's favorites. Why would he treat her badly?" Rosé questioned.

"Because he can." Lisa quipped with a deep frown on her face. "Whatever she does, she has to do what he tells her, just like us. But unlike us, unnie is a soloist. He has better leverage on someone alone than a group."

No one said anything after that, letting everything sink in. It was the harsh reality of being in this industry. They had signed off their freedom in exchange for fame. But they never expected anyone they knew or cared deeply for would have been forced to slave away the way Areum did. They hardly even noticed with how well the soloist did her tasks, always delivering the best of her performances and staying in a cheery personality when the camera is looking at her whether she was alone or with friends, and it was scary because they didn't know what really went through her mind.

Later that afternoon, the girls were getti