At Jongseok’s words, I instantly think back to that day I was waiting for Leah in the DB lobby. Those angry adults stomping down the stairs. That woman with the bob haircut and blunt bangs who looked familiar. Envisioning her furious expression now, I suddenly realize why. That piercing look in her eye. It’s the spitting image of Lizzie when she’s pissed.

“Everyone was very upset that you had gotten the chance to do a fashion line. They claimed they had no idea about it,” Jongseok explains.

“Oh my god.” I can’t believe they’d say that. My groupmates knew all about my fashion line. I’ve kept them in the loop every step of the way, and I have plenty of texts with them to prove it! Then I remember. The “plan” the girls were gossiping about at the café… this must what they were talking about. “What did DB do?” I ask Jongseok.

“Well, the company explained that you had DB’s total permission and approval for your line. And then they said everyone was free to try and start their own companies, if that’s what they really want,” he says with a shrug.

“Oh! I… Oh,” I mumble, genuinely surprised. “Well, good. I’m glad to hear it.” As I process this, it occurs to me that this is quite possibly the best-case scenario. Everyone is free and empowered to pursue whatever they want. If I can have it all, the rest of the girls should be allowed to have it all too.

After all, when one of us wins, we all win. Right?

“All right, ladies. Let’s call it a night,” our vocal coach says after we finish running through the new songs in the set list for the LA concert. “You sound beautiful.”

It’s true, we did sound great. Harmonizing with the girls tonight felt like the perfect metaphor for things finally starting to heal between us. But even so, the intel I got from Jongseok is weighing on my mind. It’s clear that we still have some things to sort out. Luckily, it seems like maybe the girls are feeling the same way.

Sunhee stops me after practice, inching toward me, almost shyly. “Hey. It’s been a while. We feel like we never see you anymore. Why don’t you come by the villa tonight? Lizzie’s coming, and Youngeun too—she’s going to make tteokbokki. You should come, it’ll be like old times.”

“Okay,” I say, giving Sunhee a small smile. I’m glad we’re going to get the chance to address what happened with their parents. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding, or maybe Jongseok got the story wrong. Hopefully, going over to the villa tonight will help clear the air. “That sounds great, actually. I’ll just run home and shower and then meet you guys there.”