VSOO :: PARALLEL LINES

2020.08.16

"Shut up!" Jisoo screamed as she got up from her bed, pulled her mom to her feet and shoved her towards the door. She flung open the door with tears flowing down her cheeks, and pushed her out. "Leave me alone, I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Jisoo slammed the door in her mom's face and locked her door, before sliding to the floor with her back against it. She buried her face in her hands, bawling and bawling for hours - or for as long as she knew, because the old wounds her mom had brought up... they really hurt.

Maybe it wasn't entirely her mom's fault. It was a combination of the stresses of moving house, combined with her mom saying things about him that she had never talked about for a long time, that really tipped the boat. It triggered Jisoo to think about the past, but it triggered her even more to consider the possibility that maybe... her mom was right. Maybe he had left and cut off all contact from her on purpose.

And even worse - maybe... maybe he was really no longer around, for all she knew.

She had considered that possibility in her mind more than once over the past five years. And because of that, she was always afraid to pick up a newspaper, or even to read the news on her cellphone. She didn't even dare to hire a private investigator to dig up news related to him. If he was really gone, she'd never be able to handle it. So she'd rather be kept in the dark, holding onto the tiny glimmer of hope that he'd be back someday, in his same dazzling and smiling self she'd remembered him to be. 

And maybe that's why she had yelled at her mom. If she really thought that her mom was really talking rubbish, she probably wouldn't even have bothered. It was precisely because she was afraid that what her mom said was true, that she always behaved that way whenever her mom spoke like that about him. It was because of the fear... the fear of the tiny possibility that what she suggested... was the actual reality.

Knock. Knock.

Jisoo groaned when there was a knock on her door a while later, when she had finally calmed down, but was overall still in a terrible mood. "I told you I'm not talking to you, mom. Leave!"

"I'm not your mom though."

Jisoo got up from the floor and unlocked the door when she heard the familiar voice. She flung open the door, her eyes widening as she spotted the only person she wanted to see at that very moment standing before her very eyes.

"Jennie-ya!" Jisoo flung her arms around her best friend, closing her eyes as she squeezed her tight. "Thank you, thank you for coming."

"You told me to come, didn't you?" Jennie laughed as she walked into Jisoo's room, before taking a seat on her bed. "Why are you acting so surprised when you're the one who asked me to come help you out with the packing?"

"Mm-"

Jennie glanced up at Jisoo and frowned. "Ya- unnie, why are your eyes so red? Did you just cry or...?"

"It's just-" Jisoo let out a loud sigh as she closed the door and took a seat on her bed next to Jennie. "My mom."

"What?" Jennie frowned. "Wait, you got into an argument with her, again?"

Jisoo bit her lower lip as she looked down at her hands resting on her lap. "Yeah."

"What is it this time?" Jennie furrowed her eyebrows, crossing her legs on Jisoo's bed as she turned to face her. "Is she giving you the smallest room in your new house? Forcing you to change to a new psychologist? Forcing you to eat her horrible home-cooked food?"

"No-" Jisoo chuckled at Jennie's words. "She promised me the biggest room, actually. And if she forces me to change my counsellor, I'll literally bodyslam her. For real, Dr. Min is irreplaceable. I spent the last three years getting comfortable around him and finally learning to trust him. Now that he's become one of my top confidants, if she dares take him away, I'll won't just sit there and do nothing, for sure. And wait, what? What horrible food?"

"Pretend I didn't say anything-" Jennie laughed. "Forget about the chatting. Let's get to work."

"Yeah," Jisoo brightened up a little as she hopped off her bed. "Yeah let's get to work. By the way, thank you for coming. I know you must be busy, especially with such a big day for you coming up and everything."

"Anything for you, unnie," Jennie said with a huge smile as she jumped up from Jisoo's bed and reached down to pull out the box from under Jisoo's bed. Her smile faded a little when she peered into the box, but she still continued smiling as she placed the box on Jisoo's bed. "Let's begin, unnie!"

But Jisoo had already noticed. "You don't need to pretend you didn't see it. That's the exact reason why I got into an argument with my mom today."

Jennie bit her lower lip anxiously. "Oh."

"I know you don't really know what to say to me, Jennie-ya." Jisoo pursed her lips, glancing at her best friend. "And I don't expect you to say much to comfort me either. Please, just listen to me and be on my side whenever I break down. It's a tough time for me during this period, especially, because I find myself thinking about him even more often whenever there are massive changes in my life. I always find myself thinking... how nice it would be if he were to be still here."

"Of course it'd be nice if he were still here." Jennie nodded in agreement as she took Jisoo's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "And don't worry, I'll be here for you all the way, unnie. Even if the world turns their back against you, I'll still be here by your side. You don't have to worry about that."

"Thank you, Jennie-ya-" Jisoo swallowed hard, trying fo fight back tears as she pulled her best friend in for a tight hug. "I really only have you."