the truth about monsters (Chaennie)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Drunk Thoughts and Motorcycles

Jennie gave Rosie two weeks to get over whatever trauma she'd caused before she expected Rosie back to work again, and Rosie tried not to wonder what would happen if anyone got injured and needed her attention during her break period.

It was, in essence, a lot to mull over.

She'd been caught red handed. Jennie had threatened her family.

She learned that the Jeons, while she never thought them to be saints, were perhaps the greater of two evils.

Somi was definitely sleeping with Mino. Rosie was no idiot.

Was that why Mino had been so amicable? Did he dare tell Somi what Jennie had planned?

Was it within Rosie's prerogative to even say anything?

And they all thought she was sleeping with Jennie Kim.

The thoughts of Jennie were constant in her mind, permanently etched into her core, her being. They weren't always healthy, and they certainly weren't like before. In times of anger and frustration, Rosie would always take to art- she'd portray her demons and fears in harsh undertones, as if it were a viable method of revenge. It was more like a coping strategy, but Rosie wasn't ready to admit that.

So she drew.

She tried to take her anger out on Jennie's form, which manifested in a great many of her works. Her emerald eyes would sparkle even then, and she'd tilt her head so curiously. Rosie remembered that she was young, that there was youth beneath her schooled features and strict provisions.

And then, right from the canvas, Jennie would whisper, "I'm sorry, Rosie." And Rosie's heart would be torn from her chest all over again.

So she'd rip the pieces before they were even finished, and she felt like she was hurting Jennie somehow.

Why did it hurt so much? They'd both just been doing their duties, but the trust... if it could be called that, was sacred to Rosie. And now, it was gone.

The Jeons were beyond thrilled that Rosie had, as they put it, "Held Jennie Kim on a tight leash". They wanted Rosie to consummate it, to be certain that it was genuine.

And then they wanted her to strike.

But Rosie was through being a pawn. Jennie had bestowed an unwanted knighthood upon her. She was through with both sides.

Rosie was going to become her own queen.

With this agonizing wait, Rosie spent a great portion of her time off drawing, catching up with Sehun, and planning out her strategy to get answers.

Because nothing was going to stop her from hearing the truth. Not from Jennie's mouth, her luscious lips bearing lies that, when whispered to Rosie, could make her weak in a heartbeat. Not Jungkook's knowing smile, behind which Rosie had invested her entire trust and adolescence, and her love.

The real truth. Unclouded by her sentiments and emotions and inability to distinguish right from wrong.

The whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help her, God.

The first day back had been as awkward as Rosie had envisioned. Mino, her possible friend, wasn't even there to soften the blow.

And to make matters worse, Chaelin's golden daughter, Doyeon, had arrived. Before Rosie. She and Jennie were currently in Jennie's office; which Rosie had just been told she needed to report to.

Awkward did not begin to cover the sentiment Rosie felt as she stood, donning her best mask of professionalism, before smoothing out her white coat that she wore as a professional courtesy. She glanced at herself in her phone's camera, eyeing the makeup was she was wearing.