"Park Jin-young is blind for disagreeing. You're very pretty and talented. Your songs are beautiful—you deserve to have a music video. Do you agree with me?"
Han Seo-jin gently touched Llana's cheek.
The moment those fingers brushed against her skin, a cold, unpleasant feeling crawled beneath it. Her stomach twisted with disgust, quickly followed by nervousness.
What disturbed her even more was the fact that Han Seo-jin's expression still looked calm and composed, her voice smooth and professional enough that most people would never notice anything wrong.
Even Llana herself had not sensed anything strange earlier.
This woman hid it far too well.
If not for the ASSISTER's warning flashing before her eyes, she might have mistaken this entire situation for nothing more than excessive concern for a junior artist's growth.
Han Seo-jin's fingers slowly slid down to Llana's chin, lightly tilting it upward until their eyes met.
"You know I'm on your side," she said softly. "Just tell me, and I'll fight Jin-young-nim's decision for you."
"Thank you, but, Ma'am, could you please take your hand away?" Llana said politely, forcing her voice to remain steady. "I'm feeling uncomfortable. I hope you understand and respect my boundaries."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the album resting on her lap.
Llana had to fight hard not to let the disgust show on her face.
Even harder not to follow the intrusive thought urging her to punch the woman away.
She was afraid she might punch her—or worse, hit her with the album—if Han Seo-jin did not remove her filthy hand from her face immediately.
Han Seo-jin looked at her intently for a moment.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she broke into a warm smile.
"Of course. I'm sorry about that."
She withdrew her hand and calmly distanced herself, returning to her original seat behind the desk.
"So," she continued smoothly, "what do you think about my proposal?"
Llana quietly took a deep breath before answering.
"I'm sorry, Director, but I have to decline for now. I actually understand JYP-nim's intention. I'm a little saddened that I won't be able to have a music video yet, but I know, and he knows, that my body can't handle the pressure right now."
She lowered her gaze slightly toward the album in her hands.
"I'm not only preparing for my solo debut, but also for TWICE's debut. I don't think I can handle the schedule if we add music video production on top of everything else."
Not to mention, she still had to train three hours every single day.
Just thinking about it already made her body ache.
She slowly raised her head again, carefully maintaining her polite expression.
"Is there anything else we need to discuss?" she asked, desperately wanting to leave as soon as possible.
Han Seo-jin smiled lightly.
"No, we're good. You can go now. Remember, if you need anything, don't hesitate to come to me, okay?"
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind," Llana replied with a small nod, feigning gratitude.
Then she glanced down at the album still in her hands.
"Here's the album, Director-nim. Thank you for letting me see it."
"No," Han Seo-jin said with a small smile. "That's yours. You can keep it."
"I'll take it then, Director Han. Thank you… and thank you for your time."
Llana stood up and bowed politely before leaving the office with the album.
The moment the door closed behind her, she finally released the breath she had been unconsciously holding.
Unaware of the strange glint that flashed through Han Seo-jin's eyes, nor the way her lips slowly curled upward afterward.
____
After thoroughly washing her face, Llana headed toward TWICE's practice room.
*Knock* *knock*
Llana knocked twice, but without waiting for permission, she immediately opened the door.
The moment she stepped inside, chaos erupted.
Momo nearly choked after swallowing the food in her mouth whole, her eyes widening in panic as Jihyo hurriedly patted her back.
"Momo, don't die with us!" Jihyo exclaimed, repeatedly hitting her back while turning toward the entrance.
The moment she realized it was only Llana, she visibly relaxed before quickly looking around for water.
Beside them, Jeongyeon was coughing just as badly after choking on her drink, too busy trying to breathe to care that Momo was practically dying next to her.
At the same time, the other members scrambled to hide the food scattered across the floor.
Chaeyoung quickly shoved a bibimbap box behind her back.
It would have worked—if there had not been a massive mirror wall directly behind her reflecting the entire thing perfectly.
Mina calmly hid her juice between her thighs while pretending nothing was happening.
Sana grabbed two burgers at once before awkwardly stuffing them beneath her oversized hoodie against her stomach.
Meanwhile, Dahyun and Nayeon looked so horrified their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, both frozen mid-bite like criminals caught red-handed.
Llana froze near the doorway, blinking slowly at the complete disaster unfolding before her.
"…You guys are absolutely doomed if the managers find this," Llana said, slowly looking at them one by one. "You could have at least locked the door."
The company strictly monitored their weight, especially now that TWICE's debut preparations had officially started. Heavy foods like this were practically forbidden.
At this point, it felt like the only thing the company allowed them to eat was grass. Jihyo had even been forced to survive on ice cubes just to maintain her diet.
The entire practice room smelled overwhelmingly of fried chicken, burgers, bibimbap, and spicy tteokbokki.
Very much not diet food.
Silence filled the room.
Momo finally stopped coughing, still wheezing slightly as she clutched her chest.
"I almost died…"
"I almost died…" Nayeon echoed dramatically, patting her own chest as she released an exaggerated sigh of relief.
Momo slowly turned to look at her, disbelief and disgust mixing visibly across her face.
"Do I have a share in there?"
Llana slowly sat between Jihyo and Chaeyoung, scanning all the food.
Seeing the familiar containers and plastic bags confirmed her suspicion that Sana was indeed the one talking to the man she had ridden the elevator with earlier.
Llana briefly glanced at Sana from the corner of her eye.
She was not a snitch.
That did not mean she would not inquire about Sana's relationship with him.
After all, they were forbidden to date. It was written in their contracts for at least three years.
Sana would not do anything to jeopardize that, right?
Chaeyoung handed her some food without a word, and Llana accepted it.
"Hmm, this is good." After swallowing a bite of burger, Llana casually took a sip from Chaeyoung's drink. "Who smuggled all of this in?"
"Channie bought it for us," Sana answered casually, taking a fry and eating it.
The others did not even react, making Llana raise a brow.
'It seems everyone knows him…'
"Channie? Who is Channie?" Llana asked in confusion.
"You don't know?" Sana looked at her with equal confusion, only making Llana even more confused.
"It's Bang Chan, another trainee," Momo answered on Sana's behalf. "He usually sneaks food for us. He's a very good guy."
'Everyone who gives you food automatically becomes a good guy in your dictionary,' Llana thought silently, giving Momo a look.
"But…" Sana paused, suddenly turned and picked up a small paper bag. "Here. This is for you. He asked me to give it to you."
"Ayieee!"
"What's this?"
"What's going on between the two of you?"
Everyone immediately started teasing Llana.
Llana, on the other hand, accepted the bag in confusion.
Wait. Wasn't she supposed to be the one asking Sana those questions?
How had the tables turned on her instead?
Ignoring the loud teasing around her, Llana opened the small paper bag.
Inside was a small box of medicine.
Painkillers.
Llana's eyes widened slightly.
'…He noticed?'