LA LA LOVE YOU | LIZKOOK

xvii. knowledge is power

Lisa sighed and mumbled all the way back to Seoul. She had had the most amazing time in New York City. The Michael Kors fashion show had been amazing, and she had met so many fashion insiders there too. She spent time with Jisoo and Rosé and they had explored and eaten good food there. And most of all, her date with Jungkook had been perfect. She had only wished it could have lasted longer.
"Don't look so down, Lali," her unnie said to her on the plane ride back. "He's coming back to Seoul soon, isn't he?"
"No, not for another 6 weeks or so..."
"Oh..." Jisoo said, scratching her head, not expecting that he would be out of the country for so long... "Well, I'll keep you company instead. We'll go eat some good Korean food when we get back."
She smiled at Jisoo's kind words. Her unnie always looked out for her.
"Thanks, Jisoo-unnie. You always know what to say to make me feel better."
They did just that and Jisoo even accompanied Lisa on a shopping trip, even though Jisoo hated shopping with Lisa and her insatiable need to buy anything cute that she came across. But the oldest member's company was exactly what she needed to put her in a brighter mood.
That night and the next few nights after, Lisa didn't get a chance to speak to Jungkook on the phone or via video call. With the time difference, whenever she went to bed, he was just starting his day or in the middle of a schedule.
They were both also pretty terrible at replying quickly these days too. It was unintentional but sometimes they wouldn't text back for several hours.
Lisa checked her phone, and sure enough, no reply from Jungkook to her earlier text that she had seen his performance on Good Morning America.
However, just as she was getting into bed, her phone rang.
Her face lit up at seeing the caller ID. She quickly hopped into bed and pulled her duvet over her to get comfortable.
"Jungkookie~" she sang into the reciever.
"Laaaaalisa," he sang back, rolling the 'L' on his tongue.
"Are you okay? It must be serious if you're calling your girlfriend all of a sudden after ignoring her for so long."
"Ah you know it's not like that!"
She smiled and stopped her teasing. "Yeah I know, it's been busy, huh?"
His defeated sigh made her frown. He really did sound so worn out and exhausted. "Yeah, touring is hard on top of promotions."
"Are you sleeping enough?"
"I feel like that's all I do. Just sleep, eat and perform."
She hummed. "Well make sure to stay healthy. Drink lots of water and take vitamins!"
"Yes, ma'am."
"You wanna' hear a funny story?"
"Always," was his automatic response.
She retold him an anecdote that had happened to her recently involving a language misunderstanding, black bean noodles and a market vendor. Her retelling was spiced up with her trademark exaggeration and expressive storytelling skills. He was laughing hard by the end of it and Lisa felt herself becoming lighter hearing the sound again.
"Thanks, I needed to feel that second-hand embarrassment to make myself feel better about my own situation," he teased.
"Ya! What sort of gratitude is that!?"
He sniggered. "But thank you really, Lisa. You always know."
She blushed at his words. He may be right, but she was just being herself and the only person she knew how to be, and that was someone who brought light into other people's lives.
"Anyway, what's new in your life, Lalisa Manoban?"
"You know, this and that. We're back to having quite a light schedule. It's not stressful."
"That's good, and you're taking care of yourself?"
"Yes, yes, you're sounding like my mother."
"Well, your mother is a wise woman."
He had met her mom when she visited Korea a couple of times now. Her mom treated Jungkook like her own, easily taking him under her wing, showering him with affection and food, just like how she was with her members.
The line went silent for a while before she heard his deep sigh. She could imagine him roughly running his hands through his hair and messing it up.
"How do people manage long-distance relationships? This is so hard."
She sighed back also. It was true. Their relationship had changed with the both of them being on tour and their schedules never aligning. "I don't know. I always knew it would be hard but the reality is worse."
His voice thousands of miles away could never compare to his hands around her waist and his face buried into her hair, his scent enveloping her as they cuddled in bed.
He sang her a lullaby that night before she went to sleep. It was Lisa's lullaby - a beautiful, slow version of Euphoria, where she felt each lyric sang by Jungkook was specially written for her.