behind the scenes

post-credits

post-credits

epilogue

***

Ella plops heavily onto the floor, not caring how the harsh fall affects her bottom upon impact. All that matters is for her legs to be relieved from the numbing pain after being on her feet for straight three hours, perfecting their dance routine again and again and again.

She's not sure how long her limbs could survive but she's sure as hell they wouldn't be able to last long, given that they're so close to morphing into the state of a gelatin.

Just a few more days, she thinks.

As she labors her breathing and massages her outstretched legs, Ella scans the practice room. Her members are pretty much mimicking her actions, equally exhausted and bodies equally sore. They are situated a couple of feet away from her. One is lying on a nearby bench by the wall while the other two are on the floor as well, smartphones in front of their faces amidst drowning in a conversation.

Ella doesn't pay attention to what they're talking about, her thoughts going a million miles per second at the prospect of the dreaded evaluation in three days. She's alerted, however, when a member gasps unusually loud, features contorted in surprise at something she probably found on social media.

"No fucking way!" Lauren Jang, a Canadian-Korean trainee, curses in disbelief. The rarity of Lauren cursing attracts the rest of the girls to the situation, minus the unbothered maknae on the bench, which prompts Ella to go on all fours and crawl her way to her bandmates in curiosity.

"What, what, what?" Ella asks as she nears them in a hurry despite the stinging sensation in her legs.

"Yeah, Lauren, what is it?" Madee, a Singaporean native and the oldest of the group, also questions the person beside her.

Lauren doesn't answer, not until she's finished skimming through whatever it is at an incredibly fast rate judging by how her thumb glides across the screen of her phone. She doesn't say anything, but narrows her gaze at Ella inquisitively.

"Uh..." Ella glances at Madee. The other girl shrugs, confused.

Lauren finally speaks, "How long have you known about this?" She flashes Ella her phone and the American-Korean squints at the news article from a famous gossip site with headlines in big, bold lettering stating:

NEW YEAR IN NEW YORK: Former BLACKPINK members have made it Instagram official!

It has only been an hour since international fashion icon, Jennie Kim, posted on her Instagram a jaw-dropping, eye-popping revelation that has made a buzzing noise on the internet. The single post has broken records, being the fastest to reach one million likes in a span of fifteen minutes. Jennie shared two photos with the first one being a blurry image of two silhouetted people clad in winter gear during the New Year's Eve Ball Drop at Times Square, New York held last week. The second photo was a surprise to many fans as it contains a clearer image of the people in the first picture, revealing them to be Jennie on the receiving end of an adorable kiss on the nose from her apparent long-time beau and former bandmate, Lisa Manoban.

The caption reads:

"ny in ny. here's to 5 years and counting

i love you poopoo"