As It Should Be [BAMLISA x Hit The Stage] ✔️

chap 12

"Sajangnim that's-" Lisa was at a loss for words.

"Yes?" He pushed her to continue.

"I-it wasn't just us. We were with Sorn from CLC and Bambam of Got7." She shook her head repeatedly.

"So it was a double date?" YHS rose his brows with still a frown on his face.

"What? No sajangnim. We were just hanging out as friends. I guess dispatch caught us at a wrong time," she said nervously.

He was still looking at her for a few minutes. "I told you all to be careful. You know that your actions don't only affect you but also the whole group. Think about your members, all the staff handling you. The company?" She could only keep her head low. "You are a new group. What will happen to all the people around you because of issues like this. Not only that. I've given you a chance to be in a show. We've used resources to get you prepared for this. What will happen to all this effort? Will it be wasted?" He looked at her, waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry. That was not my intention..." She was trying to keep her tears at bay.

"I see that, but as an artist in this industry, you need to be even more careful than what is normally necessary. And this boy? Ten? His group is still fairly new. What will happen to him? This issue will also affect him, not just you."

"Yes sajangnim. I'm sorry."

"For now, you need to ask for permission and be in strict surveillance when meeting with your friends. And you cannot meet with any guys in the meantime. At least until this issue dies down and a little beyond that."

"I...understand," she said glumly.

"Please be patient. For your sake and everyone around you." He dismissed her with that and she couldn't help but feel even more guilty. Was she that much of a burden?

As Lisa entered their dorm, she was welcomed by warm hugs. The girls asked if she was ok. She tried to force a smile on her face but she couldn't and it would be wasted on them. They'd see past it. She just excused herself and retired to her room. As she was about to enter in, a hand fell on her shoulders and stopped her. "Don't read the articles and the comments, ok? They don't know a thing so don't listen." Jisoo smiled gently at her as she nodded.

She wanted to listen to her unnie but a part of her still wanted to see. What if they were saying bad things about the girls, about Ten? She felt accountable to what happened. If they've read this, shouldn't she as well? She was a big reason why it happened, whether it was a misunderstanding or not. So she looked at the comments under the article.

How shameless. Idk why rookies these days have no care about their groups and their fans
Wth is this lisa b***h with my precious oppa
Just because you're popular, doesn't mean you get to date around so early in your career
First and last year of both groups lol

Her teary eyes shifted from the comments to the top of her screen. A notification from Sorn.

Sorn: hey girl are you okay?
           I'm really sorry about this mess.
Lisa: it's fine, unnie.
          It's not your fault :))
Sorn: lisa 😞
           We'll fix it. Don't worry. We'll tell them about thai meet up
Lisa: ok, unnie. Thank you :"))
Sorn: 💕💕💕

She knew it will really help, but at the same time the damage was done. She surely ruined the trust their CEO had for all the girls, and surely Ten got scolded as well. Another notification came. She was so tired that she just wanted to close her puffy eyes and sleep but her phone slipped and the chat opened accidentally.

Bam: lisa
           How are you?
           Everything will be fine

She saw the words but didn't reply anymore. She closed her eyes and everything that happened replayed behind her eyelids. She cried herself to sleep that night.

The morning she woke up her eyelids remained heavy as if forcing themselves shut. She didn't have the heart to even open her phone the way she'd normally do the moment she wakes up. It was a little later than when she'd normally rise from bed as well. The girls must have been worried. Then a knock came from her door. Lisa dragged her feet across the room and opened the door to see Jisoo. "Chaeng and Jennie tried knocking a while ago. We tried to wake you up for breakfast...anyways there's still some lunch left."

"I'm not hungry at the moment, unnie. Maybe later." She smiled and was closing the door when Jisoo stopped the door. "You need to eat Lisa."

"I know...just not now. Please" she looked at Jisoo pleadingly.

Jisoo nodded sadly. "The four companies have already released their statements." She said encouragingly, to which Lisa smiled softly. "Thank you, unnie." Then she closed the door.

She did feel better with that news but YHS's words still rang in her head. She still needed to be really careful. So for now she needed to focus on practice and practice alone. She needs to gain back their CEO's trust, their fans', and everyone else's.

There were times when she would be left alone in the practice room as all the other dancers have packed up and left. Her phone rang and vibrated constantly, trying to catch her attention but she'd just turn it off. She danced until her arms and legs were about to give out. She did this for days all while shrugging off the concern of her members with forced smiles up until the next shoot.

When she arrived at the dressing room, she saw Bambam looking at her with concern in his eyes. Whether she meant to or not, she has been avoiding him for how many days. She's been avoiding everyone. Her eyes glanced at him ever so quickly showing only the tiniest of smiles and walked past him towards Seulgi and the other girls. She could see from the mirror in front of her how Bambam's shoulders went slack with her obvious avoidance. She can't think of that for now was her reminder to herself. She needed to focus.

The theme was 'Play' and she was up first. Her routine was energetic and cheerful but her heart wasn't in it, and it might have shown. Their dance was almost circus like. It was supposed to show an image of excitement and clamor within a tent of wonder. She did flips and floor dancing, a lot of quick and thrilling movements as if she was on a tight rope. She tried so hard to make it work but she knew no matter how good her techniques and execution was, if she did not enjoy it, nor would her audience. Especially not the judges.

Yooa won the 2nd episode. Her routine was reminiscent of her past guest appearance. She was like a playful kid on stage that you couldn't help but feel childlike and nostalgic alongside her. Lisa was barely able to focus on the dances or the whole shoot at all. She knew that the moment she finished, she messed up, which ultimately dampened her mood. But she tried to show Yooa she was happy for her and congratulated her. She genuinely was and might be even more so if she didn't keep carrying the baggage of all that happened this week on her shoulders.

As she was about to go Bambam held onto her shoulder. "Lisa, wait."

She looked back at him, "Bam, pl-" Bambam's pleading eyes stopped her. "Let's talk, Lice..." His voice sounded so sad but all she could say was, "sorry." And then she left.

A/N: reminder that this was set in 2017