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Haneul has no idea who he is, but the smell of black haired teen’s clothing assaults his senses as he passes by the table Haneul is perched at with his lunch and laptop, making the older boy’s stomach churn at the stench.

The air is stifling and does nothing but cause his previous appetite to disappear. Haneul drops his chopsticks with a tsk, food now forgotten while the boy’s face scrunches up, wrinkling his small nose in distaste. The distinctive pungent odor of cigarettes is heavy, lingering like a perfume.

Even without looking up, Haneul can feel the pleading look that Rosé is shooting him across the table because she can practically sense the younger’s ‘trigger radar’ alerting five yards away at this point in their friendship. She is not here for it, just wanting to avoid an argument or fight to enjoy her lunch in peace. Still, his stomach is churning uncomfortably at the stench, and ‘really he can’t be more than a child, so why the hell is he picking up such bad habits?’ Haneul reasons with himself, trying to justify his pending confrontation and ignore Rose’s intense stink eye. What’s so wrong about caring for this nation's health and well-being? He’s just doing his civic duty as a hyung and member of YG. It is only right to steer this child correctly! Right, he mentally muses, it’s settled then.

They both know Rose’s attempts are futile, as the brunette tilts his head back indigenously, defiantly against his friend’s disapproval.

“Hannie-” Rose whines quietly, but it falls on deaf ears, of course, it does, as the boy is already popping off to the fleeting black hoodie-clad back without a single care in the world of Rose’s impending death by embarrassment. And she sighs loudly, slumping down in her seat with a quiet resignation because really, she tried, but it’s too late. Damn, she should’ve chosen to sit on the other end of the table next to the trashcan… Why didn’t she plan for this? It would’ve been the perfect spot to cower.

“Cigarettes are only for adults and people who want lung cancer, and you don’t look like the former.” Haneul’s haughty tone makes Rose sigh louder, silently praying that at least the black-clad male won’t beat Haneul up too badly. Especially since, much to her horror, the boy has definitely heard Haneul, and she really wishes she sat next to the trashcan to hide behind it.

“Haneul, shut up!!” Rose hisses, eyes never leaving the mysterious smoker’s back as it tenses. The boy in black stops walking for a few tense seconds caught between steps, and Rose is ready to cry a little bit into her grossly bland food. Could she ever catch a break?

They’re met with an oppressive silence from the black-clad teen. Haneul takes the time to glance back at Rosé’s pained expression, their eyes easily meeting to share a silent, if not intense, conversation of, 'PLEASE SHUT YOUR MOUTH BEFORE I SHUT IT FOR YOU.' Still, Haneul hopes his own convey his irritation at her lack of interference, 'YOU WANT A DUMB CHILD TO DIE BECAUSE HE MAKES BAD LIFE CHOICES?'

And just as predicted, Rosé’s glare is much less intimidating this time with her plump lips pulled down in a pout of defeat, and she quickly resigns herself back to picking at her disgusting heap of ‘diet food.’ The battle was lost, but the war wasn’t over.

Just when Haneul is about to make another comment, the kid’s unfamiliarly deep tone cracks through, and really Haneul wished it hadn’t. The little ’s rude tone is apparent, “Wow, you caught me - I’m sooo ready for lung cancer.”

The black-haired boy turns to face their table on the heels of his worn sneakers, and Haneul is secretly a little taken aback by the sheer ferocity of the kid’s heated glare that meets his own narrowed gaze. Not that he’d ever admitted such a thing out loud, but still, he wasn’t expecting such a heated glare. Haneul knows those looks, has given more than a handful of his own nearly identical, but if looks really could kill, he’d be six-feet under right now.

But Haneul is just as stubborn and not about to let some brat get the best of him. “Listen here, little boy, you might not care about your health, but you need to watch your habits, especially if you’re a trainee here under YG. I don’t know how you think you’ll be able to keep up with that corrupting your lungs.” Haneul takes a few spare moments to stare the teen up and down.

His skinny frame is covered by a large black hoodie and fitted black sweatpants, all the way down to his ratty converse. The entirety of the kid screams ‘edgelord’, and Haneul has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep in the laugh that slowly bubbles up his throat. Very typical ‘teen angst’ attire that goes with his behavior, what a perfect match.

The intimidation of the look is a bit lost when the boy opens his mouth again, this time where Haneul has a good view and catches the sparkle of light that reflects on the row of braces lining his teeth. He can’t help but think it’s an endearing addition, regardless of his attitude issues, and, if anything, softens his appearance to that of a young teen.

But of course, he just has to go and ruin it by snarking back.

“Last time I checked, you weren’t my mom, so why don’t you mind your own damn business? If I want to smoke, that’s my life, and who are you to tell me otherwise? Move on, .”

At that moment, the identity of the young teen hits Haneul like a truck. The little is Park Jinseok, and now it all makes sense.

Jinseok was one of the most problematic trainees of the bunch. Rumor has it that his brother was an idol and he had some kind of stigma or jealousy - who knows, but that didn’t matter to Haneul because brother issues or not, Jinseok was about to get beaten within an inch of his young life. If Haneul had been annoyed earlier by the kid's attitude, that’s now scratched out with a slattering of blinding red.

The kid smirks down at him with so much smugness that Haneul wants to slap the expression right off his little brat face. Who the was this little brat, and how dare he talk like that! - Haneul splutters in absolute shock for a few seconds before his brain catches up with the blatant homophobic remark, and he’s ready to throw mister angsty, dark lord off of the highest floor of the YG entertainment building.

Nothing grats him quite like some bigot, and sure, he’s heard worse from other trainees in passing but never to his face, and that’s the difference. Haneul is quick to jump on some even in an overheard conversation but having someone say something rude like that to his face has him reeling.

“EXCUSE ME, YOU LITTLE HAT, PARK JINSEOK-” Haneul’s angry rant is cut off as soon as he hears Rosé’s anxious tone and his eyes snap over to her direction.

“Haneul, please!” The girl’s hair could honestly rival the color of her cheeks right now from how embarrassed she is.

And of course, that’s when Haneul processes the number of curious gazes now glancing their way. Practically the entire food court is staring at them, trying to see just what was going on. He’s not bothered in the slightest by anyone staring, but Rosé’s posture is hunched in discomfort, and she’s gripping her chopsticks so hard that he’s confident they might snap off under pressure.

He didn’t care about people looking at him, but Rose was here, and he wouldn’t dare do anything to hurt the older’s reputation.

Letting out a long sigh and a silent curse towards his weak heart for his friend, he begrudgingly sits his back down in the plastic chair, not without a perturbed twitch of a perfectly arched brow. The relief that washes over Rosé is immediate, and Haneul can’t say that he’s pleased not when there’s still an to scream at, but it’s whatever, he tells himself, there’s always a next time, and really Rosé is way more important than a bratty kid. She really is.

They hardly get any extra time together these days now that she’s debuted and becoming one of the leading female vocalists of their generation. Their time together is just as rare as it is precious, and now Haneul can’t shake the slight gnawing of guilt in the pit of his stomach at the expression of distress on her pretty face.

She’s only here because of the rumor of YG debuting a new group, which means Blackpink has a nearly impossible break for the first time while the company gets things sorted. Now their meeting is kind of ruined, and Haneul blames the brat.

“Yeah, listen to your noona,” Jinseok drawls with a cackle, in that dry tone that makes Haneul want to cringe, and he actually has to hold himself back from suplexing the other with his tiny angry body.

So yeah, maybe he does glare after the boy’s smirking face as he shifts and turns on his sneakers to walk in the opposite direction. And maybe when the boy waves goodbye with a taunting hand, Haneul flips him the bird instead, but hey, at least he’s calm. He is calm. Thank you very much. He could’ve done worse than that, but Rosé is right there, and his noona would not be happy with him. So he reels it in for once, just this once.

Slumping back in defeat, Haneul slides a hand through his brunette locks, anger still coursing through his veins, but Rose is upset, so he tries his best to keep it at bay. But dammit!! When he finds Jinseok later, he’s definitely going to give him more than a piece of his mind.

“I-I just can’t believe that had the audacity-” Haneul starts, but Rosé just gives him a strained smile over her half-eaten tray.

“I know it’s hard for you to keep your opinions to yourself-” She starts, and Haneul splutters, mouth gaping slightly before opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“What! Hard for me?” He blinks rapidly with disbelief written all over his face while Rosé just chooses to ignore his comments and continue as if the younger hadn’t spoken at all. Really, she’s not wrong.

“But could you please calm down before the entirety of the company starts breathing down our necks? I’m finally having lunch with my bestie for the first time in nearly a year. You’re too busy getting in others business and riling up the trainees,” Rarely does Rosé use her age status against Haneul, especially since they’re only a year apart. She typically is the one who acts younger and needs coddling, but when she does take these rare opportunities, Haneul hates it, and she knows. It’s too obvious. She looks down at him with the same taunt expression of a disapproving parent to their disobedient child, a look he uses on other trainees quite often.

Still, it’s never directed at himself, and Haneul feels almost as if he was slapped across the face. He visibly bristles, cheeks tinting in a slight pink that could be either from embarrassment or anger, but Rosé just smiles knowingly, small giggles tumbling from her pursing lips.

“Rosé Noona!” Haneul wails nearly sarcastically, only causing her giggles to rise in volume, and the red-haired girl quickly moves out of the way of a tossed napkin. The pink on his cheeks quickly washes away as a small satisfied smile morphs his soft features, heartwarming considerably with Rosé’s happy laugher.

“Who cares about some nosey trainees? If they’re so worried about our conversation, I’d be happy to explain it to them myself.”

“No, I’m serious. He’s just a kid anyway. You know how it goes. And really, he wasn’t smoking in here, so what can you do? Nothing, now calm yourself before you have a heart attack.”

“Ugh, you’re so lucky you’re you…” Haneul threatens just for the front of it, but they can hear the fondness in his tone instead of heat.

“Oh hush,” Rosé laughs, a bright twinkling sound that lights up her eyes, “You love me, and you couldn’t live without me!”

“Sure, that’s just what you keep telling yourself.”

“Be in denial all you want, but you’re soft, Hannie!”

Okay, fine, maybe that’s only slightly true, and he won’t argue with her for once because they both know it’s just in vain. After all, yes, Haneul is soft for Rosé, and they both are fully aware of it. She’s one of his best friends, and he values her dearly. Which reminds him just what that little brat had so rudely interrupted, never mind it was Haneul who started it - Rosé and his lunch break together, for once in a million years.

“So, how have you been? Like really, not just what you tell the press. I was shocked you were able to actually see me for once, what with your crazy schedule,” Haneul asks before taking a long swig from his water bottle, using the moment to check Rosé over.

She looks good on the surface - coated in a layer of makeup now that she’s a member of the coveted Blackpink, debuting three years ago, she has appearances to keep up, a name to make, and she can’t look like any other mere lower idol or vocalist wannabe. But from this close to the girl, sitting directly across from her at one of the many litterings of tables in the cafeteria level of YG, Haneul can make out the dark eyebags hidden inconspicuously under a thick spread of bb cream and concealer.

Her thin frame is noticeably smaller than the last time he saw her, which isn’t saying a whole lot since she had been skinny before, but now and it’s bridging on being too small - stick thin as a rail. Of course, he's worried about her appearance and, more importantly, her mental and physical health.

She’s been drained. It’s not a secret that debuting is more than stressful. It’s completely and utterly exhausting and requires every single moment of your life for the effort to pull through. Idol life isn't nearly as glamorous as the media makes it out to be. All of the flash and fancy that's barely scraping a coated surface, hiding what's really under all of that glitz.

It’s only been just three years since Blackpink came crashing out the gate to win the hearts of not just the entire nation but the world. They were technically getting out of the rookie phase and nearly a household name by now.

It was insane how much of a phenomenon Blackpink had become, but each and every girl deserved this. They were only destined for success, and he meant it. He knew it the first time he had joint vocal practice with the New Zealand native, and she belted out a perfect timbre rendition of a bigbang classic, with a unique indie style addition. She had nearly immediately become a favorite vocal partner. She still struggled now and then but so did Haneul, and he couldn’t relate more.

Helping each other improve their breathing techniques and the head sound was some of his best training memories and reminded him a lot of his opera singer mother. Rosé had that something, and he was so proud of her for showing glimpses of that something to the world. She was a born star, much like someone else he knew, and this is why he was ready for the inevitable conversation coming.

The subject, his least favorite of all but it needed to be addressed. One of the real reasons she was so exhausted.

“I’m...alright, just tired, really. I’m actually glad to be back from touring for at least a few weeks since YG is focused on his newest project. Some break time for us, thankfully. It’ll be nice to see-”

“Ew, don’t say his name in front of me.” He knows the comment sounds childish and petulant, and especially rude since he cut off his elder, but he can’t be bothered when even the sound of the guy’s name makes Haneul have sudden violent urges.

The red-haired girl frowns deeply, and Haneul can’t bring himself to make eye contact under his noona’s disappointed glare. “Haneul! Stop being like that. We’ve been together for years now, and I want you to at least be civil with him. I mean, come on, it’s been a long time!”

Okay, true again. Yes, it has been a long time. WAY too long if you ask him. Four years was too much time wasted on someone as lowly as Dongwook, and really, he’s still shocked Rose has put in so much effort on someone not worth her time.

Dongwook is horrible, in Haneul’s opinion. He could mysteriously disappear one day, and Haneul honestly wouldn’t be that sad about it, or really, sad at all… How his lovely best friend and gentle soul became so mesmerized by Dongwook’s lode of lies, Haneul will never understand, but he knows it had to be some trickery involved because Rose was no fool.

Dongwook was probably a witch and cast some kind of dark magic on Rose to blind her to the truth. That or he had hired a hypnotist in order to keep the star around.

“It’s hard to be civil with someone who is the complete opposite of civil himself. You’re way too good for him, and he knows it.” Haneul says while picking up his forgotten chopsticks, choosing instead to imagine Dongwook’s face on a piece of kimbap and quickly skewering and shoving it in his mouth but the mental image made him feel only slightly better.

Rose slowly went back to her food, and he watched as she half-heartedly scooted a piece of pale chicken around the tray, her features marred in a frown. Haneul just wanted to think that she was coming to terms with the fact that she was a million times better than Dongwook, who didn’t deserve her affection, but it was only a vain attempt to shield himself from the true meaning of her discomfort.

Haneul was just about to speak again, opening his mouth when Rose sighed and cut him off, lifting her eyes to his own gaze, “Look, I get that you have less than friendly feelings for Dongwook, but he’s my boyfriend, and I love him and you so please try for me to get along.”

Ugh, there it was. His weakness that she so carelessly threw around. His feelings. His emotions, because he was soft and easily swayed by his softness. Rose knew he'd bow to that - “I love you too, so get along with him.” How dare she pull the love card and undermine him.

Haneul's hands were tied, and his stomach pitted because he obviously loved Rose like a sister, but he just couldn’t see her throw her life away for some rich brat of an . Dongwook was the poster child of privileged frat boys, a perfect example of a rich kid gone wrong. Even as a rich kid himself, growing up under the wing of a well-known opera icon, Ha