Chapter 5: BTW (BlackPink, The Toxins and WINNER)

Hanging out at Times Square was super duper fun yesterday. The positive reactions we got from the fans sent us trending all over Twitter within hours and soon, everyone got to know that BTW meant BlackPink, The Toxins and WINNER.

But that didn't matter. The three groups together with Lee and TOP had a ton of fun stuff to do at Times Square soon after we had lunch. We first went to watch a movie on the largest screen in the world, which was amazing. Then we went and had fun at the "I Like Dalgi Children's Theme Park", meant for little kids. But hey, who says grown ups can't have a little fun too? Don't worry, we weren't actually playing on the swings or anything. We actually played around with the adorable kids.

There were plenty of open outdoor spaces like the ecology park, a fountain and a rooftop garden that we visited. We even took group pictures and selfies with the beautiful nature around us. And we managed to get pictures with a few fans too.

The time we were done having fun at Times Square was in the evening and it was completely unbelievable when we stepped out into the parking lot and found three black SUV cars, for each of the three groups waiting to pick us up. What made the scene even more dramatic yet terrifying, was that our two managers were there, waiting for us. They had received the message through social media alright and they didn't look too happy that we had all met and decided to hang out. It was surprising to them that we had all met "by coincidence." The rest of us never said a word about how everything came to be. Especially with WINNER visiting The Toxins the previous day, of course.

As much as the managers kept their cool and didn't say a word afterwards meant they weren't really mad at all and we managed to drive away from Times Square without any complaints. I knew my plan would work but I also knew we were in for a serious talk from our two managers after they take this all in.

Right now, this very morning, I was bending over, tying my shoelaces and wondering what they could possibly want to talk to the three groups about as we meet with them. Collins told us a few minutes ago during breakfast that he and Yang Hyun-suk want the three groups to go to YG and talk. I hope it isn't that serious because yesterday, they didn't seem so mad at all. But why was I so worried? I couldn't figure out what was bothering me and I just couldn't take it.

I stood up straight after tying my shoelaces and I noticed Zoey approach me as she came out of the bathroom.

"Do you think they are mad?" Zoey asked as she stood a few feet away from me.

"You're worried, aren't you?" I asked.

"Aren't you?" Zoey folded her arms.

I sighed. If Zoey could be as worried as I was, the rest of The Toxins were too.

"I am," I said. "It's pretty troublesome that they would want us all to meet at YG."

"I thought you said your plan would work."

"In some way, it did, because they would have been so furious at us, but they weren't."

"Do you think they would want to talk about this BTW thing?"

I felt like slapping my forehead because I realised I was such a complete idiot. Of course. BTW. Now that Zoey mentioned it, it all made sense. The managers would probably want to talk about BTW because as far as the three groups meeting "by coincidence" was concerned, they had completely brushed it off.

"Ya, you're right," I said. "They obviously want to talk about that."

"Do you think they would want to make it a real thing?" Zoey was getting anxious.

"I would hold that thought for a while if I were you and see what the managers have to say."

Zoey raised an eyebrow at me. "You're worried that they wouldn't agree, aren't you?"

I shrugged. She read my mind really well. "I can't lie. I thought about it yesterday and now that you bought up the BTW thing, I realise it's what's been bothering me the whole time."

I sat down on my bed as my mind kept spinning around the issue. I shouldn't have told Zoey how I felt about all this but I had to let it out somehow.

"You know, you should have given us a heads up about it, Sam," said Zoey as she also sat on her bed facing me.

"Gosh, you really should have seen the looks on all of your faces when we were having fun yesterday. I just couldn't burst your bubble and tell you whats likely to happen to BTW. We all weren't going to enjoy ourselves when it really mattered so I kept quiet. I for one even forgot about it too."

"Ya, you're right not to have brought it up or I would've killed you."

"Like you almost did to Mike?" I smirked.

"Mike is annoying sometimes," said Zoey as she expressed her irritation with her hands as though they were bear claws. "You could scratch his eyes out."

"You've been planning to do that ever since we became best friends and he knew the essence of being annoying around you."

"You're right. I should burn him instead."

I laughed. "The drama between you two never gets old."

"And what about the drama between you and Seunghoon?" Zoey's eyebrows were raised and she had a crooked smile on her face.

"Don't even go there," I warned as I pointed a finger at her.

"Sorry, but just so you know, all the guys on social media were kind of jealous when he posted that pic of you and him together."

"Pff! That's not true." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you can ask Seungri and TOP who made a comment on Instagram last night."

I blushed and at the same time felt so confused. Zoey had a silly smile on her face and I couldn't tell whether she did that to intimidate me or there was some other hidden agenda.

"You weren't on Instagram last night, were you?" she asked this time with a surprised look on her face.

"I was," I said as I stared at the ceiling to avoid her eyes."But only for a little while."

"Or you weren't really there at all. If you did, you wouldn't have that look on your face."

I sighed in surrender. "Fine. You caught me. I logged out of Instagram because I wanted to. Besides, I knew all the notifications I was bound to receive were going to be endless, so I did what I had to do."

Zoey shook her head. "You really surprise me how much you aren't really a fan of social media when most of our peers are."

"You know me already, Zoey. I like social media when it's necessary."

"And hate it when you hit the headlines. Ya, I know you very well."

"Okay, enough. What happened on Instagram last night?"

Zoey had an excited look on her face that for a moment, I was surprised that she was ever even worried about us meeting with the managers at YG. Something hot was cooking about Seunghoon and I being called a couple. And it could clearly show all over her face.

"There was a debate last night whether you made a compatible girlfriend for Seungyoon," said Zoey as she excitedly bit her lip.

I shook my head. "And?"

Zoey folded her arms, still smiling. "Some people thought you and Seunghoon made a lovely couple, but others, mostly guys, didn't."

"Hold that thought. This wouldn't have come up unless someone said something about the two of us after Seunghoon posted that picture."

"Don't look at me." Zoey looked the other way. "I didn't say anything."

I snapped my fingers. "Seunghoon."

"Bingo!" Zoey clapped her hands.

"Gosh, what's wrong with him?" I rubbed my forehead feeling like I might just develop a headache.

"He's a fan. Is that so wrong?"

"Well, he hid in our closet."

"That was just the closet. Even I would do that for my bias."

"Wow!" I leaned back in surprise. "Did you just say bias?"

"Ya, why?"

"Looks like we just developed the k-pop culture where we refer to our favourite celebrity, whom we consider perfect as our bias."

Zoey thought for a moment over what I said as she looked at the floor and then back at me. "Mmmm, I guess you're right."

"But anyway, Seunghoon hiding in my closet wasn't the only thing that he has done."

"What do you mean? You got to meet Seunghoon for the first time when he jumped out of our closet. What else could he possibly have done before that?"

"We had a few encounters before though I never knew it was him."

Zoey's eyes bulged out in surprise. "He was stalking you?"

"Not really. But I can say he was. Just a little. If he was a full time stalker, he would've been doing so everyday."

"When did that happen and when were you ever going to tell me?"

"I wanted to but I kept it to myself. And when other issues started to arise, especially with Jehan, I even forgot that I even had a stalker."

"Jehan. Don't remind me," said Zoey as she rolled her eyes.

"Ya, I shouldn't. But now you know. And for the record, don't tell anybody."

"My lips on this one are sealed. I won't tell anyone, not even G-Dragon."

I looked at Zoey with a questioning look. "Why would you mention him in all of this?"

Zoey quickly got up from the bed. "Pretend I never said that."

I quickly stood up and Zoey made a beeline for the door. I followed her and just before she could hold the door knob, I reached her, held her by the hair and pulled her back.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Zoey yelled as she held the back of her head from where I pulled at her hair.

"Zoey, you're going to tell me right now what you mean," I said, pulling her hair even more. "Or else, I'll pull your hair out and you will not think of dying your own hair pink in the next ten years."

"Ouch! Sam! You're hurting me!" Zoey complained. "I was just joking around."

"You're lying."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Come on, Zoey. You personally had a talk with G-Dragon, didn't you?"

I felt Zoey pause as she stopped struggling to get away. "How did you know?"

"I know because I know. So, what did you two talk about?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why?"

"Because it's confidential. Owwwuch!" I made sure I tightened my fist even more under her hair pulling at her roots. "That really hurts!"

The door in front of us suddenly flew open. Lee came in the room and paused upon seeing the scene in front of her.

"Is it me or is Sam trying to braid your hair?" Lee asked Zoey with an unbelievable look on her face.

"Yes, I was," I said as I let go of Zoey's hair and Zoey blew out a sigh of relief. "Turns out, I'm not that good at it at all."

"No, you aren't," said Zoey as she massaged her scalp from where I had pulled her hair and she looked at me with a frown.

"You can tell me about your drama later," said Lee. "The car's here and we have to go."

Zoey whined as though she was about to cry. "Do we really have to go now?" she asked.

"I know it feels like you're going for a trial, but you don't have a choice."

"Lee's right," I said. "We do have to hear our managers out. Though we all know it won't be pretty."

"Fine," said Zoey. "Before we get there, I better prepare for the worst."

"Think positive," said Lee. "You can never know what might happen."

"No, Sam's already spoiled my mood with her own premonitions."

"And she did the right thing," said Lee with a smile.

I playfully rolled my eyes and didn't say a word as I walked out of the room with Zoey and Lee following suit. I found the other Toxins waiting by the elevator. They also looked worried.

"You all look like you're going to a funeral," said Zoey.

"And you were sounding like your hair's caught fire a minute ago," said Mike, folding his arms and looking at Zoey.

"I fell on the floor." Zoey looked at Mike with wide eyes.

"Never mind. Just like you guys, we are also worried," I said.

"Where is Collins?" Daniel asked.

"He left soon after breakfast," Lee answered.

The five of us turned to look at Lee. "What?" we said at the same time.

"He left early," said Lee, shrugging her shoulders

"Why? Is he really that mad at us that he wants to go ahead to prepare a death trap?" Zoey asked.

"Death trap? Seriously, Zoey?" Christine asked.

Zoey shrugged. "Couldn't think of any other way to say it."

"Okay, first of all," said Lee grabbing our attention. "There is no death trap. Secondly, after we came back from Times Square, I personally talked to Collins and he wasn't mad at you."

"Then do you know why he wants BlackPink, WINNER and us to meet?" Mike asked.

"That, he couldn't say."

"I thought you were his assistant," said Daniel.

"You know, Collins doesn't tell me everything. He treats me like I'm part of you guys too."

"Welcome to the monkey side," said Zoey as she rolled her eyes and scratched her head.

"Ya, I now know how that feels. But right now we better go."

Christine pressed the button to the elevator and when we all got in, we headed downstairs and went in the black SUV waiting for us. There were a few fans who stood outside the hotel premises and for a moment, it felt a little awkward that they were here in the nearly hours of the morning. I know it's normal for every fan to do so but today I couldn't help but feel that something was a bit odd about it. Then I remembered BTW.

We got to YG right on time and immediately we stepped into the lobby, we found all four members of WINNER heading for the elevator. Looked like they had also arrived a few seconds earlier.

"Hey, guys!" Zoey greeted loudly so that she could grab their attention.

"Zoey!" Mino turned around and had a huge smile on his face. "Hey, guys."

"Hi," the four of us responded and not in a way people would like to hear.

"You all look down," said Seungyoon. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing really," I said. "We just don't like how this meeting is going to turn out."

The four members of WINNER all muttered at the same time.

"Guess we're not the only ones feeling that way," said Jinwoo.

"Are BlackPink already here?" Mike asked.

"The receptionist says they are waiting in the conference room," said Seunghoon.

"Okay," said Daniel as he rubbed his hands together. "Let's go meet our fate."

"If this comes out as a death trap, I'm going to say I told you so," said Zoey.

"There will be no such thing," said Christine. "You're just exaggerating what might come up that we won't like at all so you refer to it as a death trap."

"And you're making it sound ten times worse than it already is, Zoey," said Seungyoon, as he pouted his lip and scratched his head.

"Wonder where that came from," said Mino.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," said Lee as she pulled out her phone from her purse. "You guys go ahead and I'll give your managers a call that you're here."

"You aren't coming with us?" I asked.

"I might have joined the 'monkey's club' but I'm not going to be there when they drop a bombshell."

"See, death trap!" Zoey emphasised.

"Zoey!" everyone muttered loudly that Zoey quickly covered her mouth and looked away.

"Look, whether they are going to say what we might not like, a death trap as Zoey likes to put it. Or not, you'll be fine," said Lee. "We all have gone through this where you never like the decisions the managers have to make."

"Please, don't remind us," said Mike as he rubbed his forehead.

"Either way," Lee continued, "you better go. You don't want to be late."

"Won't you wish us luck?" I asked.

"You don't need it when you already know what's going to happen."

I gave Lee a sad smile and turned towards the elevator. I started to feel the way I always felt whenever you had to hear a decision that might just cost something in your life. Like suicide.

We started our way towards the elevator when all of the sudden, I stopped when I realised that I didn't have my phone with me. I checked the pockets of my jumper and my jean trousers. Nothing.

"Gosh, I think I left my phone in the car," I said. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up."

I quickly ran out of the lobby as the others made their way into the elevator with Lee. When I got to the parking lot, I made my way towards the SUV we had driven in and luckily, I met the driver who was almost about to leave the car. I told him about my phone and he unlocked the doors for me so that I could check for it inside.

When I got to the passenger's seat, I saw the phone in between the seats I sat on with Zoey on our way here. I got in the car and sat in just to get it. When I did, I checked to see if I had any missed calls or messages. There were two missed calls and a message. I opened my inbox to read the message and it was one short sentence with only four words. I looked at the message again not believing what I read. There was only one logical explanation to this and I was going to find out why.

Just as I was about to get out, I jumped in fright when I saw who was standing right outside the car. Seunghoon.

"Seriously, I can sue you for stalking me," I said as I held my chest. My heart was beating so fast. I never even heard him coming.

"Just came to check on you," he said with a smile.

"You're not my bodyguard that you've to follow me around," I said as I came out of the car and banged the door shut. "How did you get here? I never heard you coming."

"Maybe I have kitty attributes like you." Seunghoon raised his eyebrows up and down and leaned towards me.

I blushed. "You know about that?"

"Everyone knows you have cat feet, Sam. No one ever hears you coming unless you want them to. Zoey once mentioned that in an interview, I remember."

"Never mind. I just came to get my phone and you didn't have to follow me."

"Looks like I did the right thing because you look like you're about to punch something right now and I'll be the one to control your anger."

"If I wanted to, can you be my punching bag?" I folded my arms.

"You wouldn't even if you wanted to." He smirked and I rolled my eyes.

"You're right. I don't want to be sued by YG for breaking your face."

"And because you're a lady and you don't have to punch anyone unless it's necessary. You might have punched that school mate of yours but that was years ago. So, what's up? It looked like you just received a bad message."

"It isn't a bad message. Just something that needs a little sorting out. Come on, you'll see."

I quickly started my way back to the YG building and Seunghoon was up to pace with me with his long legs.

"Can you at least tell me what's going on?" Seunghoon asked when we finally got in the elevator and he pressed the button leading to the floor to the conference room.

"Nope, if I tell you it won't have that wonderful dramatic effect," I answered.

"What dramatic effect?" Seunghoon looked me in the eye with a curious look on his face as he came closer. I took a warning step back.

"If you hadn't followed me to the parking lot, you would know what I mean and you would be trying to recover from the little surprise you'll find in the conference room."

"What surprise?"

The elevator stopped and the doors flew open. Just as Seunghoon and I turned to look down the hall, there was Zoey coming out hurriedly through the door of one of the rooms, into the hall and running towards the elevator upon seeing us. Seunghoon and I stepped out.

"Zoey, what's wrong?" Seunghoon asked when she reached us and she had a horrified look on her face.

"You will not believe what's going on," said Zoey.

"I already have a guess," I said.

"You know?" Zoey grew shocked as she looked at me.

"Yep. And we are going to sort this out right now."

I made my way towards the conference room. Seunghoon and Zoey follow.

"What's going on? Can someone please tell me?" Seunghoon asked.

"You're about to find out," said Zoey.

When we reached the conference room, I took hold of the door knob, turned it and opened the door. The conference room was quiet and there was a weird aura that I felt immediately I stepped in. I didn't have to ask why.

In the conference room was a huge round mahogany table. It's polished surface shining bright under the tiny light bulbs embedded in the roof. There were black office chairs around the table. The other Toxins, BlackPink and WINNER were all seated at one half end of the rounded table. When they saw me enter the room, the look on their faces was so worrying that I grew horrified though I did my best not to show it.

"Sam," said Mike and I stopped him short before he could say anything else with my hand raised.

I looked to the opposite half end of the table from where the others sat and I noticed that one of the chairs faced the other way. Someone was sitting there and had turned their backs to us facing the wall.

"You don't have to act all high and mighty, you know?" I said to the person facing the wall. "I know it's you, GD."

G-Dragon quickly turned around on the chair and he had that smile on his face that was somewhat annoying and yet so cute that my heart almost melted.

"Hi, Sam," said G-Dragon as he leaned his elbows on the table and his hands under his chin. "How did you know it was me?"

"The message you sent me wasn't too hard to figure out that you would be here," I answered as I held up my phone.

"Huh?" Seunghoon looked surprised at seeing G-Dragon and also confused at what I said. "What did it say?"

"Just a simple, 'hi, are you coming?' was all," I said as I looked at Seunghoon.

"Wait," said Lisa who sat with the others at the other end, looking at me also with a confused look on her face. "You knew just like that? Through his message?"

"It felt simple and straightforward. For all we know, only BTW were supposed to be here to meet with our managers. And I for one didn't make any breakfast date with G-Dragon today."

"Smart," said G-Dragon as he winked at me."Looks like you're really referring to your little group as BTW then."

"I don't have a choice." I raised my eyebrow at him. "With you around, I just have to rub it in your face."

"We will see about that. Because we're going to have a serious talk about BTW."

"I had a feeling you would be on the managers' side the second we came here," said Mino.

"Ya, I know I'm a threat," said G-Dragon as he grinned. "I did say all this was going to have consequences if you guys keep on meeting each other."

"If you mean us getting into trouble with our managers, you're sadly mistaken," said Jennie. "They weren't even mad at all because all they know is that we all met by coincidence."

"You're right." G-Dragon stood up from his seat. "They aren't mad, just yet."

I didn't like his last sentence and something told me he had something up his sleeve.

"We wouldn't be having this meeting if it wasn't for you, am I right?" I asked.

The rest of the BTW crew grew confused and started muttering. And I could tell their eyes were flying from G-Dragon to me, wondering who would say something next.

"You know me so well," said G-Dragon as he stood up and came around the table to get to me.

"I just know how the human mindset works," I said. "I don't really know you at all."

"Hold up," said Zoey who stood beside me as she looked at G-Dragon. "So, you're saying, you called for this meeting to get us in trouble?"

"That's a simple way of putting it," said G-Dragon as he smiled at Zoey.

"Told you we'll experience a death trap," Zoey muttered loud enough for everyone to hear as she went to stand beside the others at the other end of the table.

"But is he going to do that?" Rosé asked. "He will need a lot of evidence to show that we all didn't really meet by coincidence."

There was silence in the room until Daniel and Mike murmured "oh no" at the same time. I knew that just like me, they had already figured out what G-Dragon was planning to do.

"He doesn't need any evidence to trap us," said Mike.

"What do you mean?" Jisoo who sat beside him asked.

"The managers would believe him if talks about what happened the day before yesterday at the hotel," said Daniel.

"The time WINNER came to see us," said Christine as the realisation settled in.

"And they would take his word because he has Daesung and Seungri to back him up," I said.

"And also because he's our senior," said Zoey as she folded her arms. "That's how he even managed to set this meeting up in the first place."

"Well, you Toxins did your homework," said G-Dragon.

"Why do I feel like I'm in court?" Seungyoon asked.

"It's because we are and we have to take defence," I said.

"Can't we just settle this matter somehow?" Jinwoo asked.

"Why do I feel I just entered an episode of Suits?" Mike asked.

I turned to look at Mike and I wasn't the only who did. Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"What? I watch Suits from time to time."

"What will it take so that you won't tell our managers?" Seunghoon asked.

G-Dragon smiled. He had us right where he wanted. I was so not liking this right now. When I thought we would be dealing with our managers, we actually were meant to deal with G-Dragon instead.

"I'm glad you brought that up because I was thinking of the same thing," said G-Dragon.

"What do you want?" I asked.

G-Dragon looked at me as he bit his lip. I looked straight at him in the eye wondering why he was doing all of this. I had a hunch, but I had to be sure of it before I came to any conclusions.

"To make things clear with all of you," said G-Dragon. "I might have brought up this idea of a meeting in the first place concerning BTW, but the managers had been thinking about doing the same thing."

"That still doesn't change the fact that all this was your idea," said Seungyoon.

"You're right. And just to give you a heads up, the managers aren't going to let BTW be a group."

"We already know that," said Zoey. "We all had a feeling that it would come to this."

"And we will not allow it," said Rosé.

"Most of us are up for this idea and some of the fans too," said Mino.

"That's the problem," said G-Dragon. "You guys aren't going to let it slide and this why I came here with a deal."

"You want us to agree or else you tell our managers everything," I said.

"All's fair in love and war." G-Dragon gave a huge smile. "You guys are stubborn and they might just agree to your whims. So just accept what they bring up and we can go and pretend we never even had this meeting."

"Come on," Christine complained. "As if BTW is even going to be an ongoing thing. The Toxins won't be here for long and you know it."

"Christine's right," said Lisa. "I don't think it's wrong if we make BTW temporarily."

"BTW is nothing but a collaborative group on my part," I said. "It's almost in the same way artists collaborate. Like the way The Toxins and BigBang did."

"I firmly agree with Sam," said Jisoo.

"We all do," said Seunghoon. "Just imagine what BTW can do."

"Who knows, we might just have our own show!" Zoey said excitedly.

"Which won't last long by the way," pointed out Mike.

"And it's going to attract a lot of media attention like it did yesterday," said Jinwoo.

"We might just make BTW involved in market promotions too," said Mino.

"That's being business minded and I like it," said Jennie.

"See, there's a lots of things BTW can do though it might only be for a short while," I said as I smirked looking at G-Dragon.

"Well, you guys can dream all you want but it isn't going to happen," said G-Dragon.

Upon saying that, the door to the conference room flew open. I turned to the door and coming in were the two managers and Lee. For a moment I grew silent with everyone else in the room due to their sudden presence. Those who were seated stood up.

I gulped. I hope the managers hadn't heard the entire conversation. Especially the part where G-Dragon was to get us in trouble by telling them the truth.

The two managers had their eyes on me at first and I felt they had finally figured what was going on. I wanted to break into a sweat when they looked at me. But I kept myself calm telling myself that I maybe over thinking and nothing is wrong.

"Good that you're all here," said Yang Hyun-suk. "We have a few things to discuss. Zoey, Seunghoon, Sam, Jiyong, take your seats, please. And everyone else too."

I have always hated it when managers have that serious tone in their voice that shook every cell in your body. I quickly took the chair in front of me and G-Dragon sat to my left and Seunghoon to my right. For some reason, I felt really uncomfortable sitting in between them. The others sat back down on their seats.

The two managers and Lee stood at the other end of the table and we all had our eyes on them. I started to silently tap my fingers on the polished wooden table as I bit my lower lip. I turned to look at the others and even though some were trying to put up a straight face, I could tell they were as nervous as I was.

"Everyone in here looks really tense," said Collins. "As though you weren't the ones laughing about yesterday at Time Square."

"Well, we all know why we are," I said as I looked at Collins. "And we know it's something serious."

"You're right, it is serious," said Yang Hyun-suk.

Zoey sighed loudly in frustration and everyone turned to look at her. "Please just say it already," she said. "'You created a huge mess yesterday, blah, blah, blah you weren't supposed to meet, blah, blah, blah and so BTW was just a one day thing.' Some of us just want to go back to the hotel and watch some K-drama to forget the horrible aftermath of this meeting."

The two managers chuckled at Zoey's response and I couldn't figure out why they found it so amusing when most of us in this room were grieving in the inside. That was so not cool.

"You never cease to amaze me, Zoey," said Yang Hyun-suk. "And you're right. This BTW thing was nothing but a one time thing."

"Here we go," muttered Rosé as she leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes in despair.

"But that doesn't mean we can't reconsider it," said Collins.

My ears perked up when Collins said the word "reconsider." And I bet the others were all attentive too. Could it be that they might just turn things around?

Seunghoon cleared his throat. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"We heard you outside the door discussing or rather debating about making BTW a real group thing even if it's just temporary," said Yang Hyun-suk.

"And as we stood by the door, we reconsidered giving BTW a shot," said Collins.

"For real?" I couldn't believe my ears.

"Yes, Sam. For real," said Yang Hyun-suk. "But don't get your hopes up because we have to go through further scrutiny about this decision."

I smiled. Even if they were saying we shouldn't get our hopes up, it was quiet clear they were up for the idea themselves and that meant BTW was a go.

There was an exciting feeling in the air now that the whole BTW crew were all rejuvenated by the exciting news. We were all smiling to ourselves and already I could see that Zoey and Lisa who sat next to each other were ready to clap their hands but they hid them under the table so that the managers wouldn't notice as they clapped silently.

"Are you sure about this?" G-Dragon asked.

I turned to my other side and I realised that the whole time we had been talking to our managers, I had been so oblivious that GD was sitting next to me. Maybe it's because right now, he felt like a traitor and his presence right now, didn't matter.

"You heard them when they talked to you about it," said Yang Hyun-suk. "In such cases, it's good to be business minded and see how all this goes."

"So, you all agree to this, right?" Mike asked with his eyebrow raised just to be sure.

"To be perfectly clear, yes, we agree," said Collins.

"And so even if we tried to object to it you would refuse us to do so because the decision came from you, right?" I asked.

This time it was me, or I can say, BTW, trapping G-Dragon. G-Dragon turned to look at me and he knew it. The managers' plan in the first place was not to make BTW an official group and if we refused, they would G-Dragon would tell them our secret and there would be no BTW. And due to the condition G-Dragon had laid out for us in the first place, there was simply no need for him to reveal our little secret anymore. All he told us to do was to agree to whatever the managers' decision was and we were doing just that. And there was no going back on his word. Look who's laughing now.

"Of course you should agree because whatever we decide is an order," said Yang Hyun-suk.

"Yep, an order is an order," said Mino with a huge grin on his face.

"I really thought they wouldn't make BTW official," said Jisoo. "Now that it is, I agree."

"We all agree," said Daniel.

"Hold your horses, people," said G-Dragon. "It hasn't been made official."

"But just because it hasn't, doesn't mean that it will," said Seunghoon as he looked over at G-Dragon with a victory smile on his face. That made me smile even more.

"Okay, so that's settled then," said Collins. "We will discuss for now and see what the seniors have to say. Once they agree, we will begin with the paper work and make BTW official."

"Of course they will agree," said Rosé. "Who wouldn't?"

I noticed that most of the eyes on the table especially from BTW flew to G-Dragon. Mine also did the same. Luckily, the managers never noticed a thing. But Lee did when she looked at me and I grinned.

"Okay, then," said Yang Hyun-suk as he rubbed his hands. "Now that's been taken care of, you may go but, with one condition."

There was dead silence in the room when Yang Hyun-suk mentioned he had one condition. My heart started to race.

"Before we make BTW official, may I advise that you three groups don't meet each other too often," said Yang Hyun-suk. "We don't want to raise a lot of people's hopes thinking that the group might be official so you better keep it low for a while. Is that good?"

"Fine by me," said Seungyoon. "As long as we can ask for your permission from time to time."

"That's fair enough," said Collins. "But today, you won't go and hang out after this because already there are too many of your fans lurking around hoping for BTW to be official and they can use anything just to let other people believe so."

"So you want to crush their hopes and later surprise them when you make the group official," I said while I nodded my head. "I had to admit, that's a pretty good strategy."

"Then if all is well and good, we will be leaving then," said Yang Hyun-suk. "We will keep you updated and not a word on social media."

I stood up from my seat and everyone else did the same. As our managers made their way for the door with Lee I couldn't help but smile and just as they were about to walk out, I stopped them.

"Wait," I said and the two managers turned to look at me.

"What is it, Sam?" Collins asked.

"Thank you," I beamed and I bowed. "Kamsahabnida (감사합니다)."

The rest of BTW also bowed and also said thank you. The two managers smiled at our lovely gesture.

"If it weren't for that I might just declare BTW official today," said Yang Hyun-suk.

"You would?" Zoey, Jennie, Christine and Jisoo asked at the same time. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"No." Yang Hyun-suk smiled even more and he walked out of the room with Collins. Lee waited a few seconds by the door until the managers disappeared down the hall.

"Congratulations, BTW," she said quietly. She looked really happy. "You did it!"

"Another music collaboration for The Toxins," I said with a smile.

"And triple more of the fun," said Mike.

"Now that I totally agree," said Daniel as he gave his brother a high five.

"This is like the best news ever," said Zoey. "Thank you so much, Sam for making me feel like all hope was lost when actually things turned out alright."

"I don't think you should be thanking Sam for that," said Jinwoo.

"Jinwoo's right," I said. "We wouldn't have been able to get our managers to reconsider if it wasn't for G-Dragon."

The room grew silent as all eyes were on Jiyong. I looked at him through the corner of my eye and smiled.

"I've to admit you played me very well," said G-Dragon with a look of defeat on his face. "Congrats."

"All this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't tried to trap us in the first place," said Seunghoon.

"I knew there was a reason for G-Dragon to have called for this meeting in the first place," said Lee. She shook her head in disappointment as she looked at G-Dragon.

"You knew?" Christine asked.

"I got to find out when I went to see the managers."

"But everything turned in our favour in the end," said Lisa. "So, I'm not even that mad at him at all."

"You just got lucky because the managers happen to be eavesdropping on our conversation at the wrong time," said G-Dragon.

"At the right time on our part," said Mino.

"I'll just say, I'm mad at you, GD. But since you did us this huge favour, I forgive you," said Zoey as she smiled.

"Thank you, G-Dragon!" BlackPink said all together. "We love you!"

"Well, you guys can tell me how this all went down from the beginning, but right now, you all have to go," said Lee. "And I'm supposed to see to it that you all aren't going to go into the same car."

"Don't worry, we won't disobey our managers after all this," I said. "Can I have a talk with G-Dragon alone, please?"

Everyone else started to slowly step out of the room and I made sure to say bye to BlackPink and WINNER. When everyone had left, Lee closed the door behind her. It was only G-Dragon and I.

"I'm mad at you," I started.

"I know," he replied. "Sam....."

"Save it." I held my hand up to silence him. "You know, you reminded me of all those times you and I used to get into a fight and it seems you're bringing it all back. I thought we were past that but now it's like you want to bring up a war again."

"I'm not trying to bring up a war."

"You put us in a horrible position and we had to fight against you. That my friend, is called a war."

"Look, Sam, you've already won and I admit that trying to rattle you out to our managers was wrong of me."

I folded my arms. "Great! You realise it now when everything backfired on you and you didn't get what you want."

G-Dragon looked at me and me at him. Right now, I was fuming and I felt like I was going to burst. I never knew he would turn on us like this and it hurt me like a stab in the heart.

"You're right. I realise it now because I didn't get what I want. But I want us to forget that all this ever happened."

"You know, the others might forgive you because of the outcome but I am so mad that you could ever do this just because you don't like it when we went out to hang out with WINNER yesterday."

"If you're trying to say that I'm jealous, then yes, I am."

I nodded my head. What I thought from the beginning the time I came to the conference room was true. He was jealous. Not just of The Toxins hanging out with WINNER but of Seunghoon and I.

"You know you and I can only be friends and that relationship can't go any further than that. It's the same thing with Seunghoon. And until you get over it, I suggest you find a way for me to forgive you or this friendship might just go down the rocks."

I headed for the door without a second thought and I didn't even get to look at him one. As soon as I found myself in the hall heading for the elevator, there stood Zoey, waiting.

"I'm guessing you put him in his place," said Zoey as I approached her.

"I sure hope so," I said with a sigh. I felt like I had just arm wrestled with a body builder and emerged victorious, but at the same time came out exhausted.

"When you're this mad, trust me, you do know how to put people in their place."

Zoey turned around and pressed the button to summon the elevator. When the elevator came, we stepped in and the doors closed.

"I guess you figured out what G-Dragon and I talked about last night," said Zoey as she looked at me.

"It wasn't that hard to figure it out," I said.

"Just like it wasn't hard for you to know that G-Dragon would be here. Sometimes your mind works like a supercomputer."

"You know computers are just dumb machines, right?" I looked at Zoey. "They only do what they do because they have commands installed in them to work as they are supposed to."

"You're right. You're like a detective who plays by her own rules and always connects the dots."

I smiled. "You always call me that."

"Ya, because you're smart too."

The elevator reached the ground floor and we came out of the elevator finding ourselves in the lobby.

"You know we should celebrate our victory," said Zoey.

"How?" I asked. "The group hasn't been made official and we can't celebrate when the three groups aren't together."

"We can figure something out," said Zoey. "We won't have to be all together in one place, you know?"

"I think I've an idea," I said as we walked out into the parking lot heading to the car.

"I knew you would," said Zoey as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders.