𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑫𝒚𝒏𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒚

𝟑𝟎

Jisoo sat at her desk, surrounded by stacks of papers and files. Her eyes scanned the documents intently, her hands flipping through pages and making notes.

She was in the middle of an important task when her phone rang, piercing the silence of the office.

Jisoo picked up the phone, recognizing the number flashing on the screen.

Her initial expression was neutral, but as she listened to the person on the other end of the line, a frown slowly formed on her face.

Her normally poised mannerisms changed, her fingers clenching the phone tighter.

The maknae swiveled her chair to face the unnie with a raised eyebrow. The blonde sat nearby, her pen abandoned as she observed her unusual behavior. Ruby, the leader, had silently turned her chair to listen in on the conversation.

Lisa's mouth was ready to burst out into a sarcastic remark, but a glance from Jennie silenced her. She sat there, legs crossed, watching her intently.

Rosé fidgeted in her seat, her eyes darting between both women, waiting for something to be said.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Lisa quipped, a touch of sarcasm in her voice. Jennie shot her a warning look, signaling her to watch her words.

Rosé let out a small laugh, trying to ease the tension. "Yeah, and it looks like it stole your humor along with your soul," she added, a small smile playing on her lips.

Jennie  rolled her eyes at Lisa and Rosé.

"What's wrong unnie?" she asked, raising her eyebrow and spinning her chair around.

"EXO," was the only word that could escape her lips.

Jennie froze in her spot, her body going rigid. Her heart felt like it had skipped a beat, her eyes fixed on a spot.

There was a complicated history between her and a certain member of EXO. A wound that hadn't quite healed, a thorn that had lodged itself deep within her heart.

The three girls saw the difference in her actions. She was usually calm and collected, always keeping her feelings hidden behind a shield of not caring.

Lisa leaned forward in her chair, her eyes trained on Jennie. She could see the subtle changes in her friend's expression – the clenching and unclenching of her jaw.

Rosé swiveled her chair to face Jisoo, "Unnie, what happened?"

Jisoo placed the phone back on its holder with a heavy sigh. Her tired eyes met the expectant gazes of the maknae line.

Jisoo ran a hand through her hair, sighing before speaking. "That was Yuna. She warned us about an attack from them."

Lisa rolled her eyes, a scoff escaping her lips. "Why are they coming after us after all these years? Those bastards..."

Rosé shot Lisa a disapproving look. "Language, Lalisa. And we both know why they're coming after us."

Lisa huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Still, it's been years. You'd think they'd get over it by now."

Jennie, who had been quiet for the most part, finally spoke, her voice laced with controlled rage. "Not a time to let our guard down."

"Let's go to the departmental office."

...

She slammed a file onto the table in the center of the big room.

"They have some unknown attack means. It's hard to say we can defeat them this time," she stated.

Lisa's voice rang out in the room, full of rage and frustration. "We are BLACKPINK. Freaking BLACKPINK! We've faced bigger monsters than EXO. We're goddamn BLACKPINK, Hwang Yeji."

Jizoo shot Lisa a warning look, signaling her to tone it down a bit. The other department heads in the room were already on edge, and they didn't need a full-blown argument between the BLACKPINK members.

Yeji, the department head, sat at the head of the table, her face set in a serious expression. She looked at Lisa coolly, her eyes never wavering.

"We know you are BLACKPINK," she replied, her voice steady. "But EXO is not an ordinary group. They have power and resources we can only imagine."

Lisa opened her mouth to protest, but Jennie placed a cautionary hand on her arm, signaling her to hold her tongue. Jennie stepped forward, her eyes fixed on Yeji.

Jennie's lips curled into a sly smile as she replied, "Then get the information. Gather intel, find their weak points, and use it against them."

Yeji stared at Jennie, impressed by her choice of words. She nodded slowly, "I'll do my best to gather whatever intel I can," she replied.

Rosé, who had been listening intently, chimed in with a suggestion. "We need to increase our training sessions. We need to be at our absolute best for when they do make their move."

Chaeryoung, who had been quietly gathering information, suddenly spoke up. Her fingers danced across the keyboard of her laptop.

"I have a better idea," she said, her gaze never leaving the screen.

Lisa stepped forward, leaning over Chaeryoung's shoulder to get a better look at the screen. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, her signature raised eyebrow indicating her curiosity.

"And what?"

Chaeryoung finally looked up from her computer, her eyes meeting Lisa's. "Work with BTS," she stated simply.

Lisa's mood darkened and she backed up away from the screen. She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white with the force of her grip.

"Work with BTS?"

"The same guys who kidnapped us and almost got us all killed?"

Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo moved closer to Chaeryoung's desk, their expressions serious. Rosé spoke up first, her voice slightly raised.

"Why the hell would we want to work with BTS? After what they did to us? They're the ones who kidnapped us, for crying out loud!"

Jisoo, who usually remained quiet, chimed in with a scoff. "Yeah, like hell we should trust them. They're the ones who almost got us hurt badly. Why should we even consider working with them?"

Jennie, who was the most composed of the three, crossed her arms, a cold look in her eyes. "We are BLACKPINK. We don't need their help. We can handle this ourselves. Working with BTS is not an option. Period."

Chaeryoung's shoulders sagged slightly as Ryujin standing nearby, stepped forward.

"Actually, Chaer might have a point here," she interjected, her voice steady.

Lisa immediately turned her attention to Ryujin, her eyes narrowing. "Are you serious? You think it's a good idea to work with those fuckers after what they did to us?"

Ryujin held raised her hand, a placating gesture. "Hear me out," she said, her tone measured. "BTS has a wealth of experience and knowledge when it comes to dealing with powerful groups like EXO. They've been in the game longer than us, and they might have valuable intel that could help us."

Rosé, still skeptical, rolled her eyes. "Oh, so now we're supposed to blindly trust them just because they've been in the game longer than us? That's a weak argument, Ryujin."