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

Chapter 29

            The three of them ate breakfast while they talked, the sweetness of maple syrup and the richness of the coffee slowly bringing Jennie to life as the sky continued to lighten outside, the soft blush colour of the wispy clouds growing pinker as the sky turned from blue to violet. Minzy didn't stay too long, helping herself to one pancake before pouring her coffee into a thermos, giving Jennie's shoulder a quick squeeze and telling her to have a good day before she swept out the front door and into the cold. Jennie finished eating first, nursing the rest of her coffee as she watched Jisoo slowly cut up perfect golden pancakes, and as soon as she set her knife and fork down she gave Jennie a small smile.

            "Ready for your gifts?"

            Scraping her chair along the floor as she climbed to her feet, Jennie couldn't help but smile as she watched Jisoo follow suit. Quickly gathering up the dirty plates and bowls, waving away Jisoo's protests, Jennie stacked the dishwasher and then followed Jisoo down the hallway. In the spacious living room, a lonely balloon absentmindedly drifted above a small wrapped gift, weighed down by the weight attached to the length of string. It was a shiny metallic blue with Happy Birthday emblazoned across it amidst a colourful confetti pattern and Jennie smiled at the image of Jisoo walking the whole length of the beach in the dark with the balloon in hand.

            Biting her lip as she eyed the haphazardly wrapped gift, the paper patterned with different breeds of dogs and clearly wrapped with care, even if it was a confused mass of tape. The effort alone was enough to warm Jennie's heart, making her grateful for the lengths Jisoo had gone to. "Can I open it now?"

            "Yes, but you might hate me for it," Jisoo said with a fleeting smile.

            Her curiosity piqued, Jennie wrapped Jisoo's hand in hers and crossed the room, guiding her down onto the sofa before she leant down to scoop up the gift and sat down next to Jisoo. It was a square box, and Jennie carefully unwrapped it, finding herself staring at a plain cardboard box, until she opened it and found a mug nestled inside. She pulled it out and let out a loud laugh as she took in the blocky black words printed across the white ceramic mug. World's Best Reporter. She gave Jisoo a befuddled look of amusement as she held the mug in her hands.

            "Thank you," Jennie said, her voice coloured with amusement as she smiled.

            "Look inside it," Jisoo told her, her lips twitching slightly.

            There was a strip of paper inside, curled in on itself, and Jennie unfurled it to reveal the first line of sheet music, the bars dotted with notes. Her smile grew wider as she toyed with the ripped edge of the paper, wondering what sound the notes clustered along the lines would make when played on the piano, for it was undoubtedly a piece that Jisoo had composed for her. But there was only the first bar of it, and Jennie couldn't help but wonder where the rest was.

            "You wrote me another song?" Jennie softly asked, a tender look in her eyes as she looked at her.

            "I did. And I got you a shitty mug."

            Laughing, Jennie held it to her chest, "I like the mug. I mean, I'm not a reporter, but I love it."

            "I didn't want you to lose sight of what you want," Jisoo told her. "You'll get there one day."

            "Thank you," Jennie murmured.

            "Now, like I said, you might hate me for it, but you have to earn the rest of your gifts," Jisoo said, reaching out to give Jennie's knee a quick pat, "so you might want to get dressed. I'll wait here for you."