come around | lisrene (completed)

83

Irene is 19

"I'm glad you decided to come here!" Wendy exclaims.
"We really thought you're going to the path that will consume your mind, body and soul." She added. They decided to meet inside the university during lunch time. Irene already met four of her professors who didn't even consider that it's already the first day of school when they wrote their assignments on the board.

Irene, who is looking at her phone with a slightly annoyed expression upon seeing Jennie's post of Lisa saying that the younger girl caused a stampede on her first day looked at her friend.
"Yeah." She replied. Her plans for the future are only shared with her family, Jennie and Lisa. Their approval are the only ones that matter.

"Yeri will be pissed." Joy said. "She followed you only to abandon your plans of coming there."

Jinyoung laughed. "I hate to admit it but I miss our old school. All of my classmates look like they are to swallow me whole."

Joy and Wendy laughed.
"How about you, Irene? Any first-day impressions?" Thirdy asked.

"Nah. I don't care about them. I need to focus on my studies.
And having more friends feel like a chore.
You guys are enough."

"You are cheesy. If we didn't know any better you just didn't want any kind of miscommunication between you and Lisa." Joy said.

"Right. I have plenty of stars to earn." Irene replied.

Wendy chuckled and then she asked.
"How are you two?"

"We are okay. I am slowly rebuilding the bridge that I singlehandedly destroyed.
God. I can't even hold her hand anymore."
Irene replied quietly.

"I saw her with your other friend, Jennie? That's her name, right? The one who set-off a belt of firecrackers during Foundation week on her first year?
They seem closer." Joy said. "They are even holding hands."

Irene's chest tightened. There's one morning during the first week of the summer when she came to Lisa's room early in the morning out of desperation to apologize only to find Jennie safely tucked under Lisa's arms. The memory haunted her the entire summer and caused despair and jealousy. When she fell asleep on Lisa's bed last week, she woke up with a pillow between them with Lisa's back facing her. That's why she asked Lisa to stay with her the other night. She needed a new memory.

She hates the old Irene who used to sleep in Lisa's arms. The one who is stupid to break something that's hard to repair. The one who didn't know the word contentment.

"Irene. Are you okay?" Jinyoung asked as he reached for Irene's arm and squeezed it gently.

Irene woke up from her trance.
"Yes. Yeah. I will be."