You Stayed With Us

Hello, Little Ones

3rd Person POV

The room was calm.

For once.

Soft lullabies were playing from a phone tucked into a corner. The twins were finally asleep after a long night of being fed, burped, swaddled, and admired by every nurse on the floor. Jennie was propped up in bed, her hair tied messily, looking exhausted but glowing in that post-baby, "I'm-running-on-hormones-and-juice-boxes" way.

Lisa sat beside her on the armchair, eyes half-closed, her forehead freshly decorated with a square white bandage that made her look like a cartoon character who'd walked into a lamppost. Again.

Ella was curled on the other side of the bed, contentedly munching gummy bears and talking to the twins like they could understand her full life story. Irene was near the bassinets, taking her 394th photo of the boys in slightly different lighting.

Everything was peaceful.

Until—

There was a knock at the door.

Lisa, being the helpful partner she was, immediately got up with a soft grunt, careful not to wake the twins. She padded over to the door, whispering, "Coming, coming..."

She opened it—

SLAM.

The door burst open so hard it rebounded off the wall—directly into Lisa's head. Again.

"OH MY GOD—WE'RE HERE!" Jisoo shouted, as the entire extended family stormed in behind her like the cast of a sitcom's season finale.

Lisa staggered, hand flying to her forehead. "Seriously?! AGAIN?!"

But no one cared. Literally no one.

Rosé pushed past her like she was a coat rack. "Move, Manoban. I need to see the babies with my whole heart and soul."

"Hi, Lisa," Kai said distractedly, already taking off his shoes at the door for some reason. "Are they cute? Did they cry? I brought hats!"

"Jennie!" cried her mom, practically flying to the bed.

"Sweetheart!" her dad followed.

"NOONA!" Taehyung beamed, carrying a stuffed bear the size of a toddler. "Where are my new nephews?!"

Lisa blinked as she got gently shoved to the side by her own mom.

"Jennie!" Lisa's mother sang, arms open, already heading toward the bed with their dad behind her. "Are you okay? Look at those babies! So handsome already!"

Lisa pointed to her forehead, which now had a second red mark forming just under the bandage. "Helloooo? Possible brain damage happening right here—"

"LISA, THEY LOOK LIKE JENNIE!" Jisoo squealed, already crouched by the bassinets. "This one has her nose! And this one is judging me, just like she does!"

"They really do," Rosé agreed, tears forming. "No offense, Lis. You contributed... warmth?"

Lisa dropped into the chair and crossed her arms. "Cool. I'm basically the donor."

Jennie, who had been holding back laughter through all of this, finally burst into giggles.

"Oh my God," she said, half-choked. "You're literally invisible again."

"AGAIN," Lisa emphasized, pointing around the room. "They shoved me. Ignored me. I got smacked with a door. My own mother pushed past me like I was a vending machine."

"No one even asked about her bandage!" Ella whispered to Jennie, very seriously. "Not even one person."

Jennie laughed harder.