SHADOWS OF TRUTH (JENNIE KIM FANFICTION)

1. Unexpected terms

Jennie finally had a rare day off.

Sitting on the cozy couch of her penthouse, she curled her legs beneath her as she absently petted Kuma, her dog, who was curled up contentedly beside her. The tiny Pomeranian rolled over, pawing at the air with lazy affection, soaking up the rare quiet of the day. The sun streamed through the large windows, casting a warm glow over the space. Jennie felt like she could finally breathe after a whirlwind of performances, interviews, and photoshoots. These quiet moments with Kuma were few and far between, and today, for the first time in what felt like weeks, she had no schedule to worry about.

Everything should've felt peaceful. But it didn't.

Her phone had been buzzing with notifications all morning—tabloid headlines about an alleged sighting of her and her boyfriend, Taehyung, had surfaced again. The rumors were heating up, and the gossip mill was turning relentlessly. Jennie hadn't seen him in days, and though they had managed to keep their relationship relatively under wraps for a while, she could feel the walls closing in... It wasn't that their relationship had been bad, exactly. But as the months dragged on, their stolen moments had grown fewer, filled with more secrecy, and tension. And now, things had shifted. Rumors were circling again, whispers in the media that she couldn't escape. She could feel the weight of it tightening like a noose around her neck, threatening to unravel the one thing she still held onto—the one person who wasn't in this world for her fame.

She scrolled through her phone, mentally preparing to send Taehyung a text, something light, to check in. But before she could hit send, her phone buzzed again.

It was her manager.

Jennie hesitated for a split second. It was supposed to be her day off. Something had to be wrong. She answered, the cool professionalism in her voice returning effortlessly, even as her heart sank.

"Jennie, you need to come to the YG building. Now. There's an urgent meeting." Her manager's tone was clipped, uncharacteristically tense.

Jennie furrowed her brows. "Urgent? What's going on?"

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, the kind of pause that spoke volumes. "It's about the dating rumors, Jennie. And something else. We need to discuss a plan. The CEO is here. Be here in twenty minutes."

Jennie's stomach knotted. She glanced at Kuma, who was still snoozing without a care in the world. "Can't it wait? I'm—"

"Now, Jennie," her manager's voice was clipped, her tone making it clear there was no room for negotiation. "This is serious."

The line went dead before Jennie could even reply. Anxiety crept in, her peaceful day shattered in an instant. She stood up, pacing the room. It wasn't unusual for YG to call last-minute meetings, but the urgency in her manager's voice didn't sit right with her. Something had shifted, and she wasn't sure she was going to like it. She glanced down at Kuma, who was now staring up at her with wide, expectant eyes. "I am sorry Kuma. I will make it up to you," she muttered, giving him one last pat before grabbing her coat and slipping out of her apartment.

Y/N stared at the ceiling of her dimly lit apartment, her mind clouded from the haze of another late night. The aftermath of last night's party was still sinking in—empty bottles on the coffee table, the faint smell of cigarettes on her, in the air, and a couple of missed calls from her manager. She knew the lecture was coming. She'd been pushing it, even for her standards. But after months of rehearsals, interviews, and being scrutinized by fans and haters alike, the thrill of a party was her only escape.

Le Sserafim's rebellious member. That's what the media liked to call her. At first, Y/N had enjoyed the notoriety, but now it felt like a chain around her neck, tightening with every headline. And after the last scandal, where someone had snapped a picture of her stumbling out of a club at 3 a.m., her manager had warned her: one more misstep, and it wouldn't just be her reputation on the line—it'd be her group's too.