between the spolight - purinz ✧

ripple effect.

giselle's pov —

the boardroom was dead silent after they told me. too silent.

i sat there, my hands gripping the edge of the chair so hard my knuckles turned white. the director's words circled in my head like a curse: "effective immediately, you're being removed from the group."

i didn't argue. what would've been the point? the evidence was ironclad—the screenshots yunjin had turned in sealed my fate. she'd been meticulous, gathering everything i'd done: the rumors i'd spread, the lies i'd whispered into the fanbase, the subtle sabotage of her reputation. and then chaewon got dragged into it, her precious golden-girl image tangled in the mess. i didn't care about chaewon—never had. she was just collateral damage. the problem was, she got too close to yunjin.

and no one was allowed to be closer to yunjin than me.

"however," the director said coldly, his words slicing through my anger, "we won't be terminating your contract. you'll be reassigned. consider this an opportunity to reflect on your mistakes."

reflect? mistakes? i almost laughed in his face. but i didn't. i just nodded, letting them believe i'd been broken, that i'd learned my lesson. deep down, though, the rage was simmering, boiling, clawing at my insides.

they thought they could take everything from me? my group, my career, her?
no. this wasn't over.

the new apartment they dumped me in was a joke. a box. four white walls and nothing else. it wasn't a dorm. it wasn't filled with the laughter and energy of my so-called sisters. it wasn't anywhere near what i deserved. and it gave me way too much time to think.

yunjin consumed my every thought. she always had, but now it was worse—now, she was gone. and chaewon? god, that smug little bitch was everywhere. always next to yunjin. always smiling that stupid, perfect smile. i saw the way she looked at her. i saw the way yunjin looked back. it made me sick.

i scrolled through Instagram, my jaw clenched so tight it hurt. there they were again—yunjin and chaewon, side by side, like they'd been crafted for each other. chaewon's arm around yunjin, her cheeky grin on full display. the caption was something nauseating like, "grateful for this one!"

grateful? for what? for stealing what was mine?

i threw my phone onto the couch, breathing hard. chaewon had no right. she wasn't worthy. she wasn't me. and she needed to know that.

finding her wasn't hard. chaewon was predictable, like a wind-up doll going through the same motions day after day. that stupid café near the company building? of course she'd be there, sipping her overpriced lattes like the perfect little angel everyone thought she was. when she finally walked out, my heart started pounding, anger buzzing under my skin like electricity. she didn't even see me at first, too busy texting or smiling at nothing. but she saw me when i stepped right into her path.

her smile dropped the second her eyes met mine. "giselle?"

"we need to talk." i said. my voice was low, but i could feel it shaking with barely contained fury.

she blinked, clearly thrown off, then frowned. "i don't think that's a good idea."

i laughed—a sharp, bitter sound that made her flinch. "oh, i don't care what you think. this isn't about you." i stepped closer, forcing her to look me in the eye. "it's about yunjin."

her brows knitted together, and she glanced around like she was hoping someone would save her. "what about yunjin?"

i tilted my head, smiling, though i could feel the rage bubbling beneath the surface. "you need to stay away from her."

that got her attention. her eyes widened before narrowing. "excuse me?"

"you heard me." my voice dropped into a hiss. "she doesn't belong to you. she never did. and i don't know what kind of pathetic act you're pulling to keep her around, but it ends now."

her mouth opened, then closed as she processed my words. and then she laughed. laughed. like i was a joke.

"giselle, you're insane." she said flatly, her voice laced with disdain. "this isn't normal."

that calm, dismissive tone set something off in me. "don't talk to me like i'm crazy!" i shouted, stepping closer. people around us were starting to look, but i didn't care. "you don't know anything about me. about us."

"there is no 'us.' " chaewon said sharply, her voice cutting through the noise in my head. "yunjin doesn't want anything to do with you. she's done with you."

my vision went red. "you don't get to decide that!" i yelled, my voice echoing down the street. "you don't know what we had! she loved me! she still loves me!"

chaewon took a step back, her hand clutching her bag like she was ready to swing it if i came any closer. "you need help, giselle. seriously. you're embarrassing yourself."

that word—embarrassing—made something snap. before i even realized it, i grabbed her arm, my nails digging into her skin. "you think you're so much better than me, don't you?" i hissed. "you're nothing, chaewon. you're just a cheap, boring little rebound. she'll get sick of you, and when she does, she'll come back to me. you'll see."

she winced, yanking her arm free. "you're pathetic," she spat, her voice sharp with anger now. "that's why she won't talk to you, giselle. because you're a freak. and guess what? she's never coming back."

her words hit like a slap, but i didn't let it show. instead, i smiled—cold, sharp, and venomous. "we'll see about that."

chaewon didn't bother responding. she turned and walked away, her pace quickening as if i were something disgusting she needed to escape from.

i stood there, my chest heaving, my fists clenched so tightly my nails left crescents in my palms. my mind was racing, spinning with every insult, every bitter thought, every broken piece of myself. this wasn't over. it couldn't be over.

that night, i sat in my dark, empty apartment, the shadows pressing in around me. the faint glow of my cracked phone screen lit up the room. there they were again—yunjin and chaewon, smiling, laughing, perfect.

the picture blurred as tears filled my eyes, hot and stinging. and then i snapped, hurling the phone against the wall. it shattered on impact, the sound echoing like a gunshot.

if i couldn't have yunjin, no one could.