A Thousand Purple Stars (JinJi)

Dear Mama

She bit down on her lip and let out a long sigh. It was pointless, she saw.

"Anyway, I just need to tell you that I got a new job. And... I'm going to have it through the summer, so I can't stay home too long."

"Jisoo—"

Jisoo muttered a quick "I love you" and then ended the call. She heaved in a deep sigh and then groaned. She knew he meant well. He always did.

Jisoo thought about her father, living alone back home on Kim's Peaches and Plums. He was a kind man who never once hit her or raised his voice at her when she was growing up, but he was often out of touch with his daughter. When she told him of the bullying in elementary school, he told her that she just needed to be friendlier and the kids would warm up to her. He had a hard time letting Jisoo grow up. He never said it aloud, but Jisoo knew that he was heartbroken when she decided to go to college so far away from home. Her four years of undergrad were almost over, and she knew that he was expecting her to take her to come back home and take over the business.

It all started after her mother died, Jisoo supposed. He was crazy in love with her, and when she passed away, he held onto Jisoo tighter, his last connection to his late wife.

The last thing she wanted was to break his heart even more. But Jisoo knew that if she never let herself try to reach her dream, if she gave up and just went back home to farm, she would regret it forever. She would always wonder if she could have done it. It hurt her that her father didn't think she could.

Jisoo decided to shelve those thoughts for now. She had a mission, she thought to herself as she looked in the mirror. Her makeup was finished and she was already wearing her dress. But her hair was still as flat and lifeless as ever. She crouched down and grabbed the electric hair curler from a basket. As much as Jisoo didn't want to give Jinyoung the satisfaction of thinking that she was curling her hair for him, she did agree that it looked nicer that way. So she shoved her pride down and began to heat up the curling iron.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Jennie poked her head into the bathroom.

"So, don't panic," she said. "But Jinyoung is dressed in a tux, and he's waiting for you in our living room."

Jisoo widened her eyes. "What?" she said. "It's only 6:30! He's early!"

"What should I tell him?"

Jisoo shrugged and despite Jennie's warning, she did start panicking. "Uh, well, I guess you gotta tell him to wait," Jisoo said. "I'm not ready yet!"

"Okay!"

Jinyoung sat in his tuxedo on the blue couch that the girls had in their apartment living room. It was easily the most luxurious-looking piece of furniture in the room, making him wonder how the girls had ended up with it. There was a smaller sofa opposite the blue one, but it was a simple black, faux-leather piece that could fold up into an arm chair. Jisoo's three roommates sat there, staring at him.

"Good evening," he said stiffly.

"Hi," said Jennie.

"Hello, there," said Rose.

"What's up?" said Lisa.

"So you and Jisoo are going to a fancy-schmancy event today?" asked Jennie. Jinyoung nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "That is, if she gets ready in time."

"She's getting ready," said Jennie. "She's just in the bathroom, doing her hair or makeup or whatever. She'll be out soon."

"It takes a lot of work to look as good as she does," Rose said, giggling.

"Here's an idea," Lisa said. "Do you want to wait in her room?"