Matters | JENSOO

A visit

"Ugh, you look not bad as well." Jennie complimented her back.

"I tried."

"Do you think your dad will like me? My dress? Should I put this scarf to add some accent, I think this look too plain but I mean parents usual-"

"Why? Come as you are. If he likes you then he likes you."

"But what if he doesn't?? Can you help me to decide, are you trying to embarrass me in front of him!"

"Then if he doesn't like you so what. Who cares. You're the Jennie Kim. Now get in the car."

***

On their way, Jennie was frantic with too much worry. She finally decided not to wear the scarf. She also questioned Jisoo about Soojoo's outfit when she made her visit. Of course Jisoo didn't remember if Soojoo was wearing a skirt, pants or a dress-- and the color of her ribbon if she wore any- and of course Jennie was irritated at Jisoo's lack of attention to details. She asked whether her friends brought food or not when visiting, should she refer her dad as father or uncle, and a thousand more mind-bugging questions even Einstein couldn't answer.

"Can you relax, Jennie. It's only my dad."

"I am relax!" she said almost roaring. She clutched tight her handbag.

Jisoo glimpsed at Jennie, who looked utterly irritated and nervous.

"You know I'm on your side, don't you?" she reassured Jennie, "If at any point you feel uncomfortable, do let me know, I will take you home. Is that okay?"

"Okay..." Jennie sighed.

***

Apparently, Jennie came prepared. She brought with her a stack of premium fruit assortments, boxes of premium ginseng drinks, some bottles of good old wine and food and toys for Dalgom. And there were also shopping bags with brands Jisoo unfamiliar with.

"Jennie, it's not Christmas!" Jisoo was taken by surprised. They were already outside Jisoo's house.

"Do you think I will come see father empty-handed?" Jennie hissed. She clung tight to her handbag, taking a few shopping bags with her. She let out a series of short breaths, her fingers trailing her dress, fixing the wrinkles that weren't there.

Jisoo took some of the gifts to bring inside. Her small figure was thoroughly hidden and her head was completely buried by the abundance of boxes on her hands.

"Are we going in now?" Jennie asked impatiently. OMG, this is it Jennie. This is it!

"Daaaaaaaad." Jisoo screamed for help, feeling her arms numb from carrying the boxes.

A few minutes later, a lean man with tired yet friendly eyes opened the door. He greeted them.

"Oh Jisoo... Let me take some."

"Thanks dad." Jisoo handed some of the boxes to him, "Dad this... phew..." she caught her breath, "This is Jennie. Jennie this is my dad."

"Ni- nice to meet you, sir... father." Jennie offered him her hand but apparently he was occupied with boxes of ginseng.

"Jennie! nice to meet you. I'm sorry. Come inside. I'll put these down first."

He put the boxes in the living room, he ushered Jennie inside and invited her to sit. A white Shih Poo dog, Dalgom, came barking at her, smelling the scent of another dog from Jennie. Jisoo made some more trips to the car to fetch the remaining gifts.

"I hope you don't mind, father, these are only small gifts." Jennie made her introduction.

He looked stunned, "Jennie, I very much appreciate this but actually, you don't have to bother! I hope you didn't have a hard time to prepare for all of these."

"No it wasn't a fuss at all." It took Jennie a whole week to make sure she got the best fruits. Plus, she specially picked the bottles of old wine from her family's favorite French vineyard.

"I feel like getting gifts for marriage proposal." Jisoo's dad said jokingly; and like Jisoo, he laughed at his own joke.

Jennie looked away, blushing. She laughed awkwardly.

"Hey..." Jisoo landed herself on the sofa beside Jennie, "The boxes are heavy."

Jennie relaxed a little bit with Jisoo just beside her. She noticed that Jisoo had her father's warm eyes. She was wondering about Jisoo's lips, were they her mom's? She looked to the wall, where the photographs were. She spotted pictures of Jisoo and her dad, some with Dalgom; but there was no picture of a woman who might be her mother. Not even one.

"The pears are very good. They're crisp and juicy. I don't think I've had pears this good!"

Jennie smiled proudly. Oh wait till he open the wine and taste the persimmons! She was happy, Jisoo's dad seemed to like her. They chatted about table tennis, his favorite sport to watch, and Jennie made sure that she listened attentively. She also tried to win Dalgom's heart but the dog didn't cooperate since Jennie smelt like Kuma. But Jennie was Jennie, she always got what she wanted and she came prepared for any hardship and rejection. She opened a bag of treats she brought and the voracious dog fell into her trap.

Her dad? checked. Her dog? checked.

She'd probably just beaten Soojoo on this round. So she smiled enthusiastically at Jisoo's dad stories which now touched the topic of the parking problem in their neighborhood. She glanced at Jisoo, who looked at her apologetically, but she dismissed her. She indeed enjoyed her quality time with him, and no parking problem could tell her otherwise.

***

"What a beautiful day!" Jennie looked pleased.

They were now in Jisoo's bedroom. It was quite cramped if Jennie could be honest, but she was thrilled. She looked at the photographs and honors mounted on the wall; looked like Jisoo had won quite a lot of school competitions.

"Big Bang Young Scientist, MathWorks Winner, Future Tech Prize... Looks like we have a smart cookie here." Jennie said teasingly. She smiled at Jisoo.

So smart yet so dumb...

"Oh... Some of them are group competitions. Thanks to my friends, I guess." Jisoo got shy, she swung her small legs.

Jennie came to sit beside her on bed.

"Your dad seems nice."

"Thanks. He likes you."

"I can tell." Jennie replied enthusiastically.

"I told you not to worry. But Jennie, you don't need to bother yourself and bring gifts when you-"

And just like that. It was probably because she was feeling brave after winning Jisoo's family; or because being in Jisoo's small room made her feeling intimate; or probably because she wanted what Soojoo had.

But mostly because it was already in her head since God knows when.

So she rested her head on Jisoo's shoulder, instantly hearing Jisoo's sharp halt of breath. She took her time, waiting for Jisoo's reaction.

"It was nothing. If I could just give you everything..." said her softly. Can the smart cookie understands what I am actually saying?

If she lets Soojoo, surely she lets me... Now that Jisoo decided to resume her breathing, her shoulder rising and falling gently with it. Jennie then made a slight contact, arm to arm. Quietly she reached for Jisoo's hand and linked her pinky with her thumb.

She took a deep breath, catching the sweet scent of her shampoo.

"I'm happy," she said quietly, meaning every words she was saying, "You make me happy today."

***