it's always ourselves that we find in the sea || jensoo

Chapter 16

"I'll be ready in five."

Ten minutes later, Jennie was rifling through the boxes in the garage, letting out a triumphant shout as she found one with a pair of muddy gloves, slightly rusted shears and a small trowel. The lawnmower was already in the car, alongside a metal rake and a weed trimmer. Minzy had a coat thrown over the top of her plain shirt and pants, a white coat slung over one arm as she climbed into the front seat of the car, and Jennie quickly wedged the box into the back seat and climbed in behind the steering wheel, the engine roaring to life as she turned the key in the ignition. The staticky radio played music from the eighties as they headed into town, bypassing the high school Jennie had attended and making their way to the old brick hospital. Minzy climbed out of the car, telling her to have a good day, and Jennie returned the sentiment, assuring her she'd be there to pick her up at six. Fifteen minutes later she was pulling up outside Jisoo's house, a determined look on her face, her eyes glinting with the prospect of tackling the overgrown garden, and she cut the engine, lifting the box of gardening tools out of the backseat and kicking the door shut behind her. The sun was pushing through the veil of clouds now, and she breathed deeply as she walked up the front path, dumping the box on the front porch. Then she went back to the car and dragged the lawnmower out of the car, the contraption rattling as she pushed it up the path, coming back for the weed trimmer as well. The grass was too long, along with the sandy stalks of sea oats waving in the midst of them, so she'd need to shorten it before she could run a lawnmower through it. She was in for a busy day.

Once she had everything set up, she jogged up the steps, quietly knocking on the front door and waiting for Jisoo to answer. There was no sound coming from inside, and Jennie assumed that it meant she was asleep, and turned around, going over to the box and pulling out the thick gloves and a pair of shears, along with a roll of trash bags. She didn't want to start making a racket if Jisoo was asleep, knowing that her sleeping schedule was all over the place and she might've just gone to bed, and decided to tackle the flowerbeds beneath the shuttered windows. They were overgrown with weeds, and Jennie eagerly knelt in the dirt, pulling weed after weed with her gloved hands, putting them into the trash bag and digging up roots and stones as the sun beat down on the back of her neck. She'd brought her earphones to play music while she worked, and she got lost in the work, ignoring the ache in her back and hunched shoulders as she finished below one window and walked to the other side of the porch and started that one.

A gentle tap on her shoulder made her let out a loud exclamation of surprise, along with some choice swear words as she was startled, and Jennie tore the earphones out of her ears as her pulse raced. The lyrics to September were cut off as she clutched her earphones in a muddy gloved hand, already on her feet staring at Jisoo, who was wrapped in her silk bathrobe, a pair of slippers on her feet and a newspaper tucked under one arm. Her hair was a birds nest and her eyes tired but amused.

"You have a lovely voice."

"God, you scared me," Jennie breathlessly exclaimed, brushing flyaway hairs out of her sweaty face as she looked at Jisoo.

"I believe it was more like holy fuck ," Jisoo said, her lips curling up into a smile, "but good morning. You're here early."

Blushing red, Jennie pulled off one of the gloves and tucked the earphones into the front pocket of her overalls, looking down at her grass stained knees and streak of mud on her thighs, her hands worrying at her braid as she tried to make herself somewhat presentable - not that it made much difference. "Good morning," she squeaked, hesitating slightly before she stepped closer and kissed Jisoo on the cheek - a compromise on being too forward and too shy - before stepping back and smiling slightly. "How did you know I was out here?"