𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘂 || 𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗸

seize.

the four nct members found themselves seated inside their sajangnim's office. they were patiently waiting for him with their manager as their boss was still held up in a meeting. lucas found himself fidgeting his fingers and shaking his leg which annoyed kun, whom was unfortunately sitting beside the taller male. the oldest of the four nudged lucas, hissing at him to stop what he was doing. he didn't want to admit it but he was also nervous. could it be possible that their sajangnim found out him and lucas brought girls to their dorm? it was also a possibility but why else would sicheng and ten be there. they weren't involved at all. kun's eyes widened as he realized he had sent that group picture with yeri and lisa in it to his dongsaeng. could sicheng possibly have told their ceo? he couldn't. sicheng wasn't that kind of person. he wouldn't snitch on any of his fellow members especially those he's more comfortable with conversing to.

it crossed kun's mind that they weren't gonna get fired according to their manager but how could he trust his words? who knows, he might only be saying it to get them inside their boss' office.

the silence in the room was interrupted as they heard the door open, revealing the ceo. the four immediately got up and bowed in respect. all of them were now frightened with what's about to come.

"all of you must be wondering why i asked for you here." lee sooman said as he approached his desk and sat down, motioning for the boys to sit down. the four sat down in sync making the ceo chuckle internally. maybe he didn't regret his decision after all.

"uhmm...sajangnim...with all due respect, we're not gonna be fired, are we?" ten spoke, bravely but his voice was still shaking.

lee sooman paused as he processed what the thai male had said before breaking out into a small laughter.

"no. i'm not here to fire you. i understand that it might've looked like that since i never really asked for the four of you specifically. i asked the four of you to come because..."

⋅︓︒︑∘∗✧∘︑︒⚬∙︓⋅⠄✯∘⠄✧⠄

soft laughter filled the dining room of blackpink's dorm as taeyong had, once again, made lame jokes. he was internally cringing at himself but as he heard the thai female's laughter, he was satisfied enough that he gave himself brownie points. after what he had found out the night before, he was about to give his feelings up for lisa so his dongsaeng can have the chance but the selfish side of him won. thinking about anyone else with lisa didn't feel right for taeyong. he wanted to be the only one who can put that kind of smile on the thai's lips. he wanted to be with her if it wasn't obvious enough.

he wasn't naive. he had noticed a lot of people shipping him with jennie but what the public didn't know is that the yg princess was already taken by kim jongin himself. besides, jennie kim wasn't his type but lisa was.

"oh goodness, you're so lame." lisa chuckled and took a bite of the food taeyong had bought for her.

"at least you laughed. that tells me my joke is funny enough." taeyong defended, letting out a small laugh as well before taking a bite.

a small silence filled the room as the two ate. it wasn't awkward for the both of them. it wasn't like it was their first time eating together anyway.

"thank you for this, oppa. i haven't had a full meal in a while." she gave the male a soft smile.

this made taeyong sigh. he knew what the netizens were saying about her weight. he knew how much lisa wanted to eat but the ceo of their company was really strict on how much his artists consume. it was bad enough that lisa had high metabolism yet she was restricted on what to eat.

"what they're saying about you...just ignore it, lis. remember, they don't know you. what people negatively say about you is what they're insecure about themselves. you should talk to your sajangnim about it. how come your unnies can eat whatever they want and you can't?" taeyong spoke, softly with a concern tone in his voice.

"i get the most criticism in the group. i'm the only non-korean artist under yg and also a brand ambassador for moonshot and nonagon. as a model, sajangnim doesn't want to risk my gaining weight." lisa replied. she was grateful enough for everything that their ceo provided for her. despite not being paid equally, (a/n: they actually revised the law now so all the thai idols in the industry are paid equally as korean idols. yay! idk about the other foreign idols though. i hope they get paid equally now too.) their sajangnim made sure to make up for it with other deals for lisa just so she could earn close to equal to her korean members.

"that doesn't matter. what people say shouldn't matter. you own your body. you can't let people tell you what to do and how to take care of yourself. you have the power to tell your sajangnim that. you have no idea, lis. everyone else can deny it but you're his most prized possession. everything you wear sells out, everything you advertise sells out in seconds. everyone wants what you have. reputable brands send you things for free to wear cause they know how powerful you are. you think lowly of yourself but everyone else thinks highly of you. the hate that's thrown at you goes to show that people can't accept how influential and likable you are."

lisa felt her eyes cloud with tears. only her members had ever really seen her shed a tear. she was afraid to cry and be vulnerable to anyone else. she didn't want to look weak in front of people cause she knows how much they would judge her for that too. her heart was touched by the nct leader's words. she was happy she has someone like him to guide her. lee taeyong was known to be wise and caring. he embraces the fact that he wasn't perfect and that his past was going to haunt him forever. lisa felt like she could confide in him with anything and he wouldn't judge—she doesn't think she even needs to voice it out loud and sometimes, that was a good thing for lisa. there were things she was afraid to say with her own voice.

at that moment, lee taeyong became a very dear friend to her.