(for my french-speaking readers, i mean no harm, i think french is cool, pls don't kill me :'] )
previously: rosie turned down yang's job order and talked to ella about lisa and the concert, the vault gang prepared for somi's party, irene interrogated jennie.
"Lemme hear ya people!" Lisa hollered as she bounded across the stage with Somi, one arm slung around Jisoo's shoulder. "Here comes the drop—IT'S MY LIIIIIIIFEEEEE AND IT'S NOW OR NEVER!"
The crowd shouted with her as the three girls shouted the lyrics in each other's faces, falling back laughing.
At the bar, Jennie's left eye twitched without stopping.
"You okay, Jen?" Irene asked amused.
"Me? Why wouldn't I be? I'm just peachy," Jennie said sarcastically, "really, don't you see me having fun Irene? This is fun, right?"
The gaggle of girls at the far end of the diner-turned-dance-floor screamed boisterously to Chaeyoung and Seulgi's rendition of Bon Jovi's It's My Life and Jennie bit back another grumble.
She wasn't sure what she had expected of Somi's party, but she was starting to yearn for those relatively quieter bar nights when Lisa and Momo fobbed off fangirls to get free drinks. They were infinitely more bearable than all the thumping noise and sweltering heat.
Jennie slammed back her shot and set her glass down a little more forcefully than she intended.
"Easy there Jen," Yeri hooted as she took Jennie's glass away, "the night is still young, you know?"
"And I want a dance with you before it's over," a tipsy and clingy Joy warbled, throwing her arms around her girlfriend. Aside from Somi's friends, some of the workers at the diner had also dropped in to party. Jeongyeon, Nayeon and Joy were having a whale of a time cat-calling Lisa in particular as she jumped and hyped the crowd from the stage.
"Babe, I'm manning the bar," Yeri said half-heartedly as Joy started peppering the side of her face with sloppy kisses. "Please, there's Jennie about to murder someone—"
"I'm fine," Jennie huffed, crossing her arms. "I'm completely fine—"
She scrunched up her face as another rousing set of hooting laughter drowned out her voice, coming from the centre where Lisa, Somi, Seulgi, Jisoo and Chaeyoung were currently standing onstage and talking to their audience after finishing the previous song.
"...and so, as I was saying to my good friend Somi here," Chaeyoung was saying with a broad smirk, "you know how they say French is the language of romance and love? So I had the idea, what if you actually spoke French while you're getting some action in the bedroom? Set the atmosphere and all to get things going, am I right ladies?"
"I'll speak French between your legs," Seulgi purred seductively and a few girls squealed.
"The hottest things I've ever been told!" Jisoo intoned.
"I'm just picturing someone screaming 'BONJOUR' at a penis," Lisa snorted.
"SACRE BLEU MADEMOISELLE VAGINA!" Chaeyoung exclaimed unromantically.
"HON HON HON TITTY CROISSANTS!" Jisoo bellowed into her microphone.
"Titty croissants!" Seulgi wheezed. She doubled over laughing, joined by Lisa, Chaeyoung and Jisoo. At the bar, Jennie face-palmed for the umpteenth time.
"None of you should ever be having sex," Somi said in disgust as everyone laughed. "And they say I'm the most immature one of the whole outfit," she added cheekily, "anyway, moving on, we're only just getting started! I wanna see y'all having fun! Me and my gal pals are gonna make sure of it with our band! Give it up foooooorrrrr—"
"Daddy's Girls!" Lisa cheered.
"The Weird Sisters!" Jisoo shouted.
"Somi and the Sapphos!" Chaeyoung boomed.
"The Fap Five!" Seulgi yelled.
Somi face-palmed amidst laughter. "You klutzes, I said we were gonna be called the Wannabes! Were any of you even listening?"
"It's lame and basic, sorry Mimi," Lisa said breezily. "All in favour of Daddy's Girls being our name raise your hand and say ay!"
"Lisa!"
"I'd rather die," Chaeyoung said flatly amidst catcalls and a flurry of Ay's! from the crowd.
"I think you just have poor taste Chaeng, unlike our lovely audience here. Thank you ladies, Daddy loves you all!" Lisa winked and blew kisses, readily lapping up the attention.
Jennie groaned, long and loud. Irene was actually giggling as she shook her head.
"Moving on!" Somi called quickly.
"Gotchu!" Lisa winked and turned to address their audience. "So our next song is dedicated to the gals that have been let down by their loser boyfriends at one point or another in their life—"
"What about the gays?" someone shouted.
"Don't get your panties in a twist, we'll be serving y'all gay anthems in a moment! But in the mean time, you can com-mis-e-rate! That's a new word I learned today by the way," Lisa announced proudly. "And oh! A special dedication to my lovely sister Jennie and her mysterious ex that she still won't tell me the name of."
"It's none of your business!" Jennie yelled, but nobody paid attention. Lisa only waved back heartily, cheerfully ignoring her sister's glare.
"Sing along y'all, lemme hear them pipes!" she cackled and snapped her fingers at Jisoo. "Hit it DJ!"
Manning the turntables and surprising everyone with how adept she actually proved to be, Jisoo gave a thumbs up and pushed up the knobs to a deafening volume. She joined the ensemble with a broom for an electric guitar, just like Chaeyoung and Seulgi had, which provided for comic relief and epic air riffing when Lisa borrowed one too.
Karaoke hadn't yet started properly, but with the help of Lucas, Somi had put up a screen and he was manning the projector that shone the lyrics on to them. So far, the whole operation was working smoothly.
The crowd cheered when they recognised the upbeat melody of Potential Breakup Song, making Lisa and Somi grin and jump to action right away, alternating verses and playing off each other as they laughed and interacted with the crowd alongside the other girls. They had a great energy going on between the five of them, Jennie had to admit that.
She thought that if they all had just a little more refinement in their throaty enthusiastic singing, a little more grace in their boisterous bouncing around the stage and a little less drink, they wouldn't have been too bad.
All of them were on their way to being drunk already, laughing and sipping soju in between songs they performed for the crowd. They had even worn black pants and white button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up. All five sported identical loose black ties, courtesy of Somi's dance crew probably. They looked like a high school boy band straight out of a teen movie playing at prom.
The microphone's occasional high-pitched squeals grated on Jennie's ears but nobody else seemed to care as they all screamed and cheered loudly.
Somi hadn't been kidding when she said she was inviting people to liven up the party because anybody walking in would have mistaken the place for a fully fledged club: there was a disco ball taped to the ceiling reflecting dizzying strobe lights down on to the main stage area which was a small step-platform Somi and the others had put out for their performances.
Jennie couldn't take the loud stuffy atmosphere, so alien from the usual lowkey diner she was used to working at every night. The whole place was also decked out in gaudy tinsel, of all things, which grated on her nerves all the more—Lucas had found the Christmas decoration in some godforsaken locker while he was helping the girls set up earlier and Somi immediately pounced on the idea of hanging it up.
Only the sight of Jisoo's million watt grin as she laughed with the others made Jennie stay and endure the nightmare.
Irene laughed at Jennie's grumpiness, shouting to be heard. "Well, it was your idea to have them be a band—"
"I hate myself," Jennie said miserably. "I should have known they would take it too far, as always."
"Aw, lighten up Jen," Yeri said kindly, "you should celebrate too. Lisa is back in the game isn't she? Let loose just this once, eh?" She slid over another shot despite Jennie's protest. "Relax, honestly. I'll keep an eye on everybody and won't let you leave if I see you drunk out of your minds, not until you sober up. Just have fun for tonight. Your girl wouldn't want you to be grouching all by yourself in this corner now, would she?"
"She's not my girl. And Jisoo seems to be doing perfectly fine singing out there," Jennie retorted. Nonetheless, she picked up the shot Yeri had passed her. "Doesn't all the noise give you a headache?"
"You aren't drunk enough yet," Yeri chuckled before hustling over to the other side of the bar to serve a bunch of customers who were already getting demanding. Joy trailed after her with a puppy-eyed expression.
"I admit it's a bit too much for my taste," Irene shrugged, answering Jennie's question, "but nothing I can handle from over here, away from where it's all happening. As long as Gi is having fun and I got you here, I'm cool."
Irene looked nice, going for a casual look as Jennie had suggested. She wore a smart blouse paired with jeans and some modest heels. She didn't look at all out of place as she feared, and indeed, a few girls had already expressed their interest before catching Jennie giving them the stink-eye. They scarpered in search of other prey.
Jennie sighed, kneading her temple.
Yeri was right. She and Lisa deserved to unwind. It had been a stressful month and they had gotten through the Purge. Yet, all the little incidents and harrowing events, the near-misses with other fighters and run-ins with Jinyoung had her constantly on edge, especially with Irene's renewed determination to interrogate her earlier that morning.
She frowned and sat thinking hard as Irene bopped her head and cheered whenever Seulgi sang some verses. Jennie inadvertently smiled whenever Jisoo turned in her direction. Seeing her friends enjoying themselves had Jennie come to a decision.
She was going to let loose of her stuffy, stiff self and party. Tonight, she wasn't going to hold on to anymore responsibilities. She wasn't going to entertain any worries; she focused on the bad plenty of times during the day.
It was time to celebrate the good things: new friends (with Dahyun, Seulgi, Jisoo and Rosé); tossing out toxic people (Momo); achieving goals (Lisa getting through the Purge) and doing it all without losing her sanity.
Think of Hwangssabu, Jisoo had told her, would he really want you to never laugh again?
Jennie called Yeri as she took out her wallet. "Some makgeolli Yeri, let's get the real stuff going."
She grinned when Yeri's eyes widened.
"Wow, now that's a complete 180," Joy commented, apparently still lucid enough to pick up on what's happening. "Come find me and Jeong Jeong and Nayeon, Jen."
"Yes go find Jeongyeon so I can do my job in peace," Yeri laughed, shooing off her girlfriend. Her mouth curved up into a smirk as she hurried to prepare Jennie's order.
"Makgeolli? You're bringing out the hardcore partygirl huh? Should I be...concerned?" Irene said, but her lips were quirked up at the corners.
"Fret not," Jennie said airily as she took up the glass of the cloudy white liquor tha Yeri slid across the counter. She gulped it down in two breaths, already feeling the rush of heat warming her body as she slammed the glass down and smiled widely.
"It might have been a while since I have drunken my favourite poison but I can handle it just fine. Wanna dance?"
"I'll pass. Go have fun, but don't go overboard, okay?"
Jennie snorted. "What do you expect me to do, grab a mic and debut on Broadway?"
>
"I LOVE YOU BEYYYBAYYY!" Jennie shouted into the microphone, "AND IF IT'S QUITE ALRIGHT, I NEED YOU, BEYBAYYY—"
"Look at her go," Somi grinned. She had her phone out to record the performance. "Oh she's gonna kill me tomorrow but it will be so worth it! I want this playing at my funeral, Lisa!"
She wiped her brow and wolf-whistled along with other people as Jennie pranced in front of the karaoke screen, belting out lyrics at the top of her lungs with gusto.
The entertainers (hitherto still unnamed because they still couldn't agree on a name) had stopped for a brief break and let other people have their turns at entertaining and playing karaoke.
Jennie had appeared out nowhere and snatched Jisoo's microphone, jumping on stage before anybody could stop her and loudly requesting 'Can't take my eyes off you'. Lisa and Somi were too flabbergasted to react but Jisoo recovered quickly and put on the song.
"This is how you sing, losers!" Jennie shouted and everyone watched in amazement as she shed her stiff persona and strutted around the stage.
"Go Jen go! Yeah girl! That's my sister!" Lisa shouted as Jennie even showed off some dance moves, albeit clumsily—drinking and dancing gracefully didn't make for likely partners after all.
But Lisa cheered through it all, thrilled that her sister was finally joining in on the fun.
Recovering after that little stunt, Lisa scanned the gloomy surroundings at times, her head swivelling wildly. She watched Seulgi wade through the crowd to make her way to Irene's side at the back.
Watching her go had Lisa feel wistful as she looked around at her friends.
Jeongyeon had Nayeon, Joy drifted back to Yeri at the bar, Seulgi had Irene, Somi had her friends and Chaeyoung had Mina. Everyone seemed to have their own person to hang out with. Despite enjoying herself immensely so far, there was still something—or rather, someone—missing to make the party complete for Lisa.
She glanced at the diner entrance hopefully, the strobing lights blinding her at times but the otherwise gloomy setting made it impossible to tell apart the indistinct faces.
"I'll be a little late because I have to send Ella for her sleepover and lock up and catch a cab. But I'll definitely be there before midnight," Rosé had reassured her.
"Okay Cinderella, your prince Charming will be waiting for you," Lisa had chuckled, taking a dramatic bow and making Rosé giggle.
She squeezed Lisa's hand, looking as though she had something else to say, her gaze fixed on her. Lisa waited patiently but the other girl merely ended up nodding and left.
"Yes Jendeukie!" Jisoo cheered, enthusiastically waving her broom above everyone's heads before Lucas tugged it out of her hands. She let go with little protest, too focused on hyping up Jennie. She cupped her hand over her mouth to shout above the ruckus, waving crazily.
"Jendeukiieeeee I'm your biggest fan! Notice me!"
Jennie turned to her, pointing and winking, still shouting at the top of her lungs.
"YOU'RE JUST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUEEEE, CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOUUUU—"
"Wow Lis, you need to get your sister drunk more often, she's a riot," Chaeyoung laughed.
Her hand rested around her girlfriend Mina's waist. Mina had seemed to be the shy type when Chaeyoung introduced them, but through the alcoholic haze fogging her brain, Lisa remembered that underneath that meek exterior lurked a veritable sex demon, at least according to Somi.
"You guys didn't believe me before," Lisa lamented, letting her chest puff up with pride. "Nini could be a star if she would just let loose, I'm telling you, I don't call her Sharpay for nothing! We would be an awesome duo!"
"Speaking of duos, where's your girl?" Chaeyoung wiggled her eyebrows.
"My girl? What girl? I don't have any girl!" Lisa said defensively.
"Don't give me that. Where's Rosé?"
"She's not here yet. But she did say she's gonna be late," Lisa said dolefully. She glanced at the entrance again.
Chaeyoung laughed and clinked her soju bottle with Lisa's. "Chin up, there's plenty other fish to fry here if Rosé's a no go. How about that brunette shaking her hips over there? Or does she have to be blonde?"
"No no she's a go," Lisa slurred, "Rosie promised she'll be here." She nodded to herself, wondering why her voice sounded funny.
"Might as well have fun before she shows up then," Chaeyoung winked, "you wanna stay there on your lonesome like some scarecrow?"
"I uhm...I'm good...I'll wait, in case she doesn't see me..."
"Come on, lemme introduce you to some friends until she shows up," Chaeyoung coaxed. "There were a couple gals I know back there that were almost flinging themselves on to the stage when you were doing your thing. They're dying to meet you."
"But Mimi said not to talk with her friends," Lisa said uncertainly.
"Mimi is busy and you have my permission," Chaeyoung brushed off. "I'll be right back babe," she told Mina, leaning over to give her a quick smooch.
Mina giggled and pulled her in for seconds, making Lisa pointedly turn away, shuffling her feet awkwardly as the couple behind her made out, their moans still very much audible over the loud party.
She didn't turn again before she heard Chaeyoung speak. "Just gonna go 'round and say hi. Lisa, grab some booze and let's go get you a girl."
"I have a girl!"
"I thought you said you didn't?" Chaeyoung smirked. She had lipstick smeared around her mouth like a child with tomato sauce after messily scarfing down a plate of pasta.
Chaeyoung pointed at her mouth, her grin growing wider. "Yeah you ain't slick Kim, I see you looking. And that's all you'll be having tonight unless you get a move on and find a girl, 'cause I certainly ain't gonna be smooching you, thanks very much."
Lisa rubbed her neck and huffed, coming to a decision as she fished out her wallet and dumped some bills in front of Yeri.
"A couple of soju please," she muttered.
"You're still not finished with yours," Yeri pointed out firmly.
"It's not for me, it's for Chaeyoung's friends." Seeing Yeri raise her eyebrows, Lisa groaned. "I'm not trying to get them drunk or anything, I just want to kill time and chat with people I guess. Chaeyoung's introducing me to her friends. I swear I won't be doing anything!"
"Mhm," Yeri said as she pulled out some bottles. "I thought you were waiting for your girl?"
"She's not my girl," Lisa said wearily, starting to grow very tired of all the assumptions everyone seemed to be making behind her back. She stared when Yeri laughed.
"Well, unless you grow some balls, she never will be for sure."
"Excuse me, but balls shouldn't even be mentioned if we're talking about getting courage to speak up about something," Chaeyoung said, inserting herself in the conversation as she sidled next to Lisa. "Grow some balls? Pah, it's all so misogynistic! Why does it have to be balls? Why do we call people pussies to imply cowardice? Why does it have to be all about men? If anything, pussies are the toughest—"
"Alright alright!" Yeri cut her off hastily before she went on a feminist rant. "Lisa, woman up and be a pussy and tell your girl that you like her. Happy?" she added in Chaeyoung's direction.
Chaeyoung nodded in approval and grabbed the bottles. "So, ready to go mingle?"
"Yeah yeah, getting to know people is fun and all, but the moment Rosie is here, I'm outta there, you hear me?" Lisa warned. "And Yeri, the second she steps in here, you let me know, got it? She's tall, blonde and gorgeous—"
"Are you talking about French fries or your Rosie girl?" Chaeyoung asked stupidly. "'Cos if we're getting McDonald's, I'm soooo down, I'm kinda peckish."
"Rosie, I'm talking about Rosie!" Lisa yelped, blushing a deep red. 'Your Rosie girl' had sounded nice, too nice. Her heart seemed to agree, if its sudden burst of gymnastics was any indication.
"Just checking!"
"You guys this is, like, the best party eveerrrrrrr," Joy burbled, appearing out of nowhere and slinging herself over Chaeyoung and Lisa. She poked Lisa's cheek, frowning. "Awww what's with the pouty pout?"
"She's missing her girl," Yeri laughed. "Her tall, blonde and gorgeous Rosie."
"Don't forget hot too," Chaeyoung slurred, her filter long gone.
"You've got Mina!" Lisa yelped, electrified. "Hands off Rosie!"
"So defensive," Chaeyoung grinned lazily, "can't I appreciate a hot girl now? It's not like she's taken or anything, right?"
"Well no, but still," Lisa grumbled sulkily. "She's not someone you just strip in your head, okay? Respect her. And what would your girlfriend think, seeing you ogling other people?"
"Hmm well you know, I think I remember Mina saying she kinda fancies threesomes, but of course, I'm not bringing a prude like you up for that conversation. Maybe Rosé would be interested though. I'm pretty sure Mina wouldn't mind having someone extra to play with—"
"Shuttup shuttup shuttup!" Lisa babbled, clapping her hands to her ears as Chaeyoung and Yeri laughed at her. Her face was on fire as she desperately fought to stifle her overactive imagination.
"Why so shyyyyyy?" Chaeyoung smirked. "What are you, some closeted virgin?"
"Well uhm actually, I never—"
"Poor, poor lovesick puppy, missing her Rosie, tut tut that's not good," Joy cooed obliviously, "should I phone her for you? What do I say?" Her eyes glittered wickedly. "Oh I know! Lisa missesssss youuuuuuuuu mwaaaaahh hurry here before she starts crying—"
"Okay enough!" Lisa exclaimed mortified when Yeri and Chaeyoung doubled over with laughter, holding their sides and gasping for breath.
She scrambled to salvage her remaining shreds of dignity. "Joy, Chaeyoung and I were going to talk to some friends. Why don't you come with us? And Yeri, keep me posted! Rosie's her name, don't forget."
"Rosie. Tall, blonde, gorgeous and hot, got it. Anything else?" Yeri humoured her.
"Oh yes," Lisa shouted over her shoulder as Chaeyoung pulled her away, "she's got hips that don't lie, they're like a Victoria's Secret model's type hips, and she's got these hella plush lips and these beautiful eyes, and she smells like strawb—"
But Yeri didn't hear the rest of her description because the crowd thronging around them swallowed her up from sight.
>
Rosé cautiously pushed open the diner's door to be met with a cacophony of voices and music that blasted her eardrums. The darkness had her blinded for a moment until her eyes adjusted to the gloominess that was intermittently broken by strobing lights. The glare of a spotlight lit up an area further inside the diner where she could make out some people dancing wildly.
Her eyes could be playing tricks on her, but at least two of the figures on the little platform were jumping around riffing on a broom and looking for all the world like demented bass players as they headbanged energetically. She could have sworn one of them was Jisoo, but she was too far.
Rosé shook her head and continued scanning her surroundings, finding herself a little helpless since she couldn't recognise anyone. Her heart thudded anxiously as she looked for the familiar blonde she was longing to see.
But Lisa was nowhere to be seen, and neither were her other friends, or Jennie. Rosé spotted the bar counter up ahead and waded through the mass of girls squawking at the top of their lungs.
At least the one good thing about this party was that there were only girls, no lecherous guys to worry about. It had her thudding heart gradually slow down as she got more used to her surroundings. Her hand grazing her neck—where Jimin's bruise that had all but faded was hidden by generous application of make up—slowly relaxed too until she forgot all about it.
Rosé hadn't been to parties or clubs since she had Ella. She couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the scale of the party, having expected a smaller, intimate gathering. As she tried searching out for any familiar face, the barwoman called her attention.
"Hey, just got here? It's a bit loud isn't it?" she asked kindly, noting Rosé's dazed state. "Can I get you anything? What do you wanna start off with?"
Rosé remembered Lisa mentioning that her friend Yeri would be manning the bar and she took the opportunity to ask.
"Are you Yeri by any chance? I'm looking for Lisa."
Yeri's face cleared. "Oh you must be Rosie then? Lisa's told me all about you, and then some."
Rosé blushed. "Good things, I hope."
Yeri smiled. "She told me to let her know you're here but right now....she seems a little occupied."
"Occupied? Occupied where?" Rosé said, feeling her anxiety return as she turned to glance around her.
Certainly, there were plenty of good looking girls all dolled up having a whale of a time. Lisa being the outgoing charmer that she was would have no problem chatting them up. The girls would probably flock around her like bees to honey.
Maybe she even gave up waiting, Rosé brooded. Maybe she's dancing with someone, or hitting on some girl. They did say she used to like flirting with fans after her boxing matches. Maybe she's having a good time and doesn't need me here—
"Ah there they are!"
Yeri's exclamation made Rosé look up in time to see a conga line heading in her direction, the dancers barrelling aimlessly as they followed the leader, whom Rosé now recognised as being Seulgi.
It was rather odd seeing the teacher in such a setting but Seulgi looked no less than a college girl out for a night of fun, not a professional adult with a straight-laced job.
She led the line around the diner, meandering and swaying tipsily as more people joined her train. Right behind her were Somi and Chaeyoung, belting out Smashmouth's lines to Believer as though their lives depended on it.
But where was Lisa?
And then someone's throaty enthusiastic singing caught her attention, growing louder and nearer as a figure broke ranks from the conga line and swung herself up the far side of the bar counter, twirling on the spot to the beat of the song.
"Lisa no you idiot!"
Yeri scrambled to get her down before the blonde tottered off the counter and hurt herself. Rosé hurried after her in concern.
"Lisa, get down from there!" Yeri shouted. Her voice was drowned out by all the noise.
Lisa never heard, too busy shouting with her head thrown back.
"What's the use in trying? All you get is pain," Lisa sang, "when I wanted sunshine—"
"Rosie's here, you doofus!" Yeri yelled.
It happened in a blur: Lisa snapped to attention as her eyes landed directly on Rosé, her foot slipped and she careened off the counter. Luckily, people had already given her a wide berth once she stepped up to sing so Lisa crumpled to the ground without bringing down anybody else with her.
Rosé was the first person kneeling by her side, heart twanging with worry. "Oh my god, Lisa! Where does it hurt?"
"And then I saw her face," Lisa laughed, singing right on beat, "now I'm a believer!"
Rosé couldn't help but laugh in disbelief as Lisa jumped up and grabbed her hand, still singing as though she hadn't just fallen off the bar.
Her tousled hair tied up in a ponytail, messy bangs, loose tie and top-button-undone shirt in the dim light was making Rosé feel a certain type of way, especially with the roguish grin Lisa had on her face.
"Rosie you made it! Sing with me!" Lisa laughed, tossing her head back. "I'm in love oooohhh I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her if I tried!"
She even let go of Rosé's hand and started air riffing energetically right next to her, clearing the area as people backed away to avoid getting hit by her vigorous movements.
"Slow down, you just fell off the bar," Rosé laughed, secretly relieved Lisa seemed okay.
"Nope nope nope no slowing down, we gotta partyyyyyy!" Lisa shook her head, eyes bright. She picked up Rosé's hand again. "Come on let's go—HEY, you guys are doing a mosh pit without me?!"
Distracted, Lisa rushed away before she stopped, ran back and picked up her hand again to Rosé's bemusement, holding it tightly.
"Hold my hand okay? There's so many people. Hey no fair! Wait for me guys, come on!" she called out to what looked like to be Jisoo and Somi who had just flung themselves unto the crowd to join a likewise floating Seulgi being passed over people's heads.
Rosé's heart stopped for a split-second, fearing the worst, but all three girls were raised up, floating above people's heads as they laughed while the bass blasted their ears.
"Go have fun, I'll be alright at the bar," Rosé said generously, noticing the longing look on Lisa's face.
"What? But Rosie—"
"Just come back now and then okay? Or else it will get boring. I'll join you soon, just need to warm up a bit."
"To dance?" Lisa said hopefully.
"I came all the way here, I definitely want a dance with Prince Charming before the night is over. And maybe more than just a dance," Rosé said boldly and winked.
What did she mean by that? Rosé had absolutely no idea, but she felt just the right amount of daring tonight.
It seemed to have set Lisa's mind at rest because she brightened and did a clumsy bow. "It's a promise, my lady! And by the way, you look absolutely spiffy Rosie! I learned that word today from the dictionary," she added proudly.
Rosé blinked. "Spiffy?"
But Lisa had already rushed away, pushing people aside to get to the platform. "Guys guys wait for meeeeee!"
Rosé watched her go fondly, her ears still throbbing from all the shouting. But she didn't mind one bit when it came to the blonde. Seeing Lisa so hyper and enjoying herself only made her look more endearing in Rosé's eyes.
"Who's choosing the songs? I haven't heard Smashmouth in ages, not since my daughter watched Shrek," Rosé chuckled as she turned to Yeri, the only other person around. "Oh and a soju to start off, please."
"Jisoo and Somi are in charge I think. From what I heard, Somi got them all together yesterday and they planned stuff out. They even coordinated the outfits and came here early to decorate and practice a bit too, get that band chemistry." Yeri shook her head. "They still can't settle a name for their little band though. Everyone has different ideas."
Rosé laughed. "I bet Lisa came up with something that the others thought was too wild."
"Hit the nail on the head," Yeri grinned. "If Lisa had her way, they would be Daddy's Girls, Lisa being the Daddy of course."
"That's...a bit cringy," Rosé laughed.
"Just a bit? Anyway, they've been jamming and entertaining all evening," Yeri told her as she passed her the bottle. "Even Jennie joined them."
"Really?" Rosé couldn't picture Jennie—stiff and pragmatic Jennie—singing and laughing and entertaining people the way Lisa enjoyed doing. "She went on that stage with them?"
"She started off the karaoke session properly, yes. Took everyone by surprise," Yeri chuckled. "It was quite a sight to see."
"Ah, and I missed that," Rosé sighed wistfully.
"Rosé?"
Rosé turned to greet the newcomer.
"Oh, Irene...unnie. Hello."
She was still rather shy to speak with the older woman, since there would usually be their other friends around acting as buffer. Rosé would be lying if she claimed to not be rather in awe of Irene, despite having spoken on the phone before to arrange for payment for Lisa's sessions, but that had been purely business.
"How stiff," Irene chuckled, "come on, we've met before and yet you're going to talk like I'm just a stranger?"
"Well, we never really got to talk properly before. And I kind of attacked your girlfriend last time," Rosé said ruefully. She bit her tongue when Irene paused. "Oh, I'm sorry for being forward, I didn't mean to assume—"
"It's okay," Irene shrugged blithely, "we're heading towards girlfriend territory anyway. Seulgi just gets me, you know? We really click."
"Hammered already, unnie?" Yeri teased when out of nowhere, Irene let out an undignified groan and held her head. She winked at Rosé. "Someone's trying to keep up with the party animals."
"Am not, I can handle alcohol fine," Irene protested. Now that Rosé looked closer, her eyes were bloodshot.
"That's what Jennie said before she jumped on stage," Yeri laughed, bustling about preparing a set of cocktails. "By all means though, if you jump on stage too, I can die happy. Or well, Joy would dig me up and kill me again because she didn't get to propose."
"Did somebody say propose?" Right on cue, a tall girl slumped on the counter in between Irene and Rosé, her long hair tickling Rosé's nose. She smelled of sweat and an earthy perfume and her nose was scrunched up in a pout.
"Here we go again," Yeri said wearily.
"Yerimie, I thought I was going to propose, are you scheming behind my back?" the girl whined, pointing an accusing finger.
"The sheer audacity. Joy, I would never," Yeri said theatrically. "I don't have a death wish, yet."
She deftly poured liquor in a glass as she spoke and handed it to a customer before cashing in the money.
"Good, because if you even think about trying to one up me with a surprise proposal, I'll...I'll turn it down!"
"I hear you."
"I'm dead serious!" Joy thumped the counter.
"And I'm trying to earn us money. Be a good girl and go find Jeongyeon."
"You're no fun anymore!"
"Girlfriends?" Rosé mouthed at Irene who nodded.
"Rosie, this is Joy. Joy, Rosie," Yeri introduced them. "Forgive her, she's a bit tipsy."
"Rosie?" Joy blinked up at Rosé, ignoring her outstretched hand.
She looked her up and down before nodding approvingly. "So this is the pilates chick I've been hearing all about that got Lisa crushing like a twelve year old boy? Nice taste, yes, very nice indeed, Lisa might have just hit the jackpot. Wanna dance, Miss Victoria Secret Hips?"
"Joy, really?" Yeri scolded as Rosé's heart did somersaults in her chest, "stop badgering my customers to make me jealous, it's not gonna work!"
"You're no fun," Joy mumbled.
"Where's Nayeon and Jeongyeon?"
"Making out somewhere, duh," Joy rolled her eyes and pointed at Yeri. "Don't you go anywhere, hottie, I'll be right back."
Yeri blew her a kiss and Joy immediately dissolved into giggles as she threw herself back into the fray, all forgiven.
"It's sweet how well you two go together," Rosé smiled, still trying to calm her giddiness over Joy's words.
Had Lisa mentioned that she had a crush on her for real? Or was it Joy mixing stuff up because she was drunk? And what was that about Victoria Secret hips? Was that Joy's compliment? Or was it something Lisa had said?
Suddenly self-conscious, Rosé pat her skirt and the fishnets she had plucked out of the bottom of her drawers. A smile found its way to her mouth and she was unable to stop it as she turned Joy's words over and over, particularly the Lisa crush part.
Ella pleading with her to ask Lisa, her own heart demanding she got answers, and now this seemingly casual mention of Lisa crushing on her...the universe seemed pretty consistent in its signs lately, pushing her towards the blonde boxer.
Maybe it was indeed time to make her move and find out what Lisa considered her to be: a friend, a fling, or something more serious.
However, the girl in question was currently having fun in the middle of the dance floor; having a conversation on such a serious topic wasn't possible.
But there was plenty of time. Rosé didn't mind waiting just a tiny bit longer, sipping on her drink to hopefully loosen up and get rid of the ball of nerves sitting in the pit of her stomach.
Whatever she decided could alter her future and impact Ella. Not to mention the ever present complications that came with her night job and affiliation with Yang.
"Three years this year, I think? But we've known each other for longer," Yeri was telling Irene when Rosé tuned in back to the conversation, "Joy is just a hopeless romantic and is dying to do the proposal, on her knee with the ring and everything. So I promised her I had no intention of doing a proposal if she wanted to do it so much, but I would be ready any time she asked."
"That's sweet," Irene cooed, "no wonder she was so upset thinking you're trying to do it yourself."
"Yeah. She's a dork, but she's my dork," Yeri replied with a fond shake of her head.
"Like Lisa," Rosé interjected suddenly. "She's a dork, but she's my dork."
She nodded cheerfully to herself and gulped down some more beer that she had been steadily sipping, unaware of the two women throwing each other knowing smirks next to her.
The soju was particularly delicious tonight, especially since she wasn't in the habit of drinking at home, because of Ella. Red wine for occasions like birthdays was as far as she got.
After the first few sips Rosé had rediscovered the delight of drinking something cold, refreshing and purely alcoholic. Now, she was downing gulp after gulp as though quenching a dreadful thirst.
"Whoa there! The girl keeps pace!" Yeri said, impressed.
"So Lisa's your dork then, huh?" Irene asked with interest.
"Mhm," Rosé affirmed, "just like Seulgi is yours. And Jennie has Jisoo. And Yeri has Joy. We all have a thing for goofy dorks. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Very enlightening."
"I love being a bartender," Yeri laughed as Rosé finished her bottle with a satisfied smack of the lips.
>
Rosé was in the midst of regaling Irene and Yeri with some anecdotes about Lisa and the cats in between drinking her new glass of makgeolli (Irene had declined drinking with her, fearing that makgeolli would be too much to handle) when the sound died suddenly and the strobe lights stilled.
"What are they up to now?" Yeri asked curiously as the last girl who had been singing to Ariana Grande hopped off the platform to be replaced with Somi and Chaeyoung.
"Don't worry folks, the show is far from over!" Somi began, beaming widely.
"Hell yeah, I wanna sing more!" shouted someone from the crowd that sounded suspiciously like Jennie.
Somi cracked up with other people joining in. "Jisoo, get your girl, she's wildin'! Now, what are we doing, you might ask? Chaengie, wanna tell'em?"
"Well, one of us Somi and the Sapphos members—"
"Oh my gosh Son Chaeyoung, we are not Somi and the Sapphos, I can't believe we're still not over this—"
"—wants to serenade a certain special gal, if you get me," Chaeyoung winked greasily, "to win her over and stuff, you know the drill. It will be a group effort, cos' all for one and one for all, am I right ladies? Yeah, that's what I thought. We'll leave it up to you to guess who."
People laughed and applauded, with shouts of who is it? doing the rounds, but surprisingly, Chaeyoung merely smirked and mimed zipping her lips, keeping the secret despite clamours.
"Let's get on with the show! Music, maestroooooo!"
"It's Dee-jay, you idiot!" Somi hissed before they hurriedly got into position as the lights turned low, except for a small spotlight trained on the stage, manned by Lucas.
Rosé squinted in the dim light, trying to spot Lisa but the blonde girl was nowhere to be found.
"What are they up to now?" Irene mumbled next to her, likewise bemused. Rosé shrugged and turned her attention back to the stage.
"Eenie meenie miney mo, catch a bad chick by her toe..."
Chaeyoung started off the song, with a good chunk of the girls immediately recognising it and squealing giddily. Somi followed with her verse, her voice carrying steady.
The name of the song escaped Rosé.
Then, as they watched, the crowd parted to reveal Seulgi in a low top hat. She walked forward, singing with a bounce in her step as she made a beeline right for Irene, her voice a bit raw but still mellow to the ear. People oohed and whistled as Seulgi approached while Rosé clapped along, giggling gleefully under the rather hot light shining on them.
"So give me the night, to show you, hold you, don't leave me out here dancin' alone," Seulgi sang, extending her hand to a stupefied Irene, playfully beckoning to join her on the floor.
Irene waved apologetically and Seulgi backed away with a wink, not offended in the least by the rejection despite the crowd's vocal disappointment, which was quickly forgotten when the chorus dropped and everyone started bouncing and yelling along to the song.
"Ah, I'm so old," Irene groaned mournfully, "I should have danced but I'm really not feeling steady. Will Seulgi think I'm too old? Lisa is right, I'm such a grandma."
"Nah, it's only just playing around, Seulgi isn't taking it as seriously as you're thinking," Yeri comforted. "Rosie knows that too. Right, Rosie? Rosie?"
Yeri followed Rosé's fixed gaze, lifting her eyes to see a new figure in a hat identical to Seulgi's, standing at the far end on the platform with the spotlight now illuminating her.
"Let me show you what you're missin': paradise," Lisa crooned as she descended the stage to join the crowd, eliciting squeals and gasps. "With me you're winnin' girl, you don't have to roll the dice."
Some girls swooned as Lisa walked on past them.
"Tell me what you really here for," Lisa winked at a girl, slinging an arm around her shoulder. The girl, a brunette, fanned herself furiously as Lisa went on: "Them other guys? I can see right through ya."
She raised her eyes, meeting Rosé's gaze and Rosé could have sworn that everything else vanished: it was just her and Lisa looking at each other from across the room while all sounds, scents and people faded away into the background. Her heart picked up pace as Lisa approached.
"You seem like the type," Lisa trilled, shimmying closer with her eyes fixed only on Rosé this time, "to love 'em and leave 'em and disappear right after the song. So give me the night: to show you, hold you..."
Just like Seulgi had done with Irene, Lisa held out a hopeful hand to Rosé, inviting her: "Don't leave me out here dancin' alone...."
The crowd erupted in cheers as Rosé took Lisa's hand with a grin and Lisa triumphantly led them in the middle of the floor as the music blasted from all directions: "Can't make up your mind, mind, mind, mind! Please don't waste my time, time, time..."
Rosé remembered the song now and she sang loudly along with Lisa, yelling into the microphone without a single care. They laughed and jumped with the other party people, joined by Seulgi, Jisoo, Somi and Chaeyoung taking over the song.
"Thought you might like this one cos' of the eeny miney mo thing that you do!" Lisa chuckled, holding up the microphone between them as she took off her top hat and placed it on Rosé's head. "Sing with me: I wish our hearts could come together as one! Cos' shawty is a eenie meenie miney mo lover!"
Even in the middle of having her eardrums blasted to pieces, Rosé couldn't help but be touched that Lisa paid such close attention to even her little habit of uttering the rhyme under her breath, enough to find a song that highlighted that mannerism.
And then Lisa had to blast her in that moment with her happiest grin, eyes sparkling as she took Rosé's hand and made her twirl, unaware of the surge of emotions Rosé was experiencing.
Maybe it was stupid, and certainly not the best place to do it, but Rosé wanted nothing more than to kiss Lisa right there, hidden from the world and exposed to all at the same time. Her wish was probably written plainly on her face, revealing her inner desire for Lisa to pin her up against the nearest wall and—
Her train of thought was interrupted by a hard jolt as someone bumped into her, catapulting her right into Lisa's arms.
"Whoa there," Lisa chuckled, "you okay?"
"Fine," Rosé gasped, suddenly very aware of the fact that her arms had somehow looped around Lisa's neck and Lisa' hands were cinched around her waist, steadying her.
Add to that the fact that Lisa's face was bent close to hers to be able to hear better and Rosé physically felt herself go limp, the cocktail of desire and alcohol in her system coupled with Lisa's intense gaze on her being all too much to resist.
Lisa tightened her hold, caught off-guard by the girl sinking in her arms.
"Rosie?" Lisa's eyebrows furrowed, her hands gripping her waist tighter. "Hey you okay? Do you need to get some air?"
Rosé shook her head absently, distracted by Lisa's lips. They were close, so close. Maybe if she reached out a little further, tilted her face up...
kiss me kiss me kiss me, she chanted in her head.
To her enormous disappointment, Lisa turned her head away, but only to hand the microphone and hat to the nearest girl, before she pressed a hand to Rosé's back, concern radiating off of her in waves as she spared Rosé only a quick glance with pursed lips.
Rosé was still processing this turn of events as Lisa cleared a path for them to wade through the crowd until they were at the very back of the diner, with less people and cooler air that helped Rosé to rapidly regain her composure.
Chill out, she admonished herself.
She had nearly jumped on Lisa back there when Lisa clearly hadn't caught on to her intentions—her friend was still in party mode, her mind probably a million miles away from any kind of lustful thoughts.
Rosé grimaced, hating how her intoxicated self was reduced to her impulsive teenage version that threw rationality out of the window for the first person that paid attention to her.
It's what got you pregnant, don't forget, she reminded herself.
Rosé's heart lurched dangerously when she noted Lisa's hand was still resting protectively on her side.
Dammit, shouldn't she be feeling at least an ounce of guilt for enjoying Lisa's touch on her? Because she didn't feel anything like that, at all. In fact, it was the opposite: she wanted more.
Lisa had been standing next to her all this while, studying her quietly.
"Got a bit too much eh? Must be a bit of a shock to the system, dancing after drinking."
"Hmm?" Rosé shook her head, white noise still echoing in her ears. "What?"
She regretted her inquiry when Lisa sidled up closer to her ear and quietly repeated her statement, unaware of the pleasurable shiver that ran down Rosé's spine.
Lisa's breath grazed her ear. Was Lisa lingering on purpose? Rosé quickly brushed the thought away.
"Uh, shock to the system?" Rosé asked stupidly. She seemed to have lost the ability to string a sentence together, growing even more flustered when Lisa cupped her face, looking even more anxious.
"Are you okay? You didn't take something did you? Did you watch your drink? Where was Yeri?" Lisa watched her pupils intently, letting Rosé get a good view of those doe-eyes that had her flustered.
Her nerves were going haywire, but through all the tingling sensations erupting under her skin, Rosé managed to shake her head as best as she could.
"I'm good I'm good. I'm fine, I...just a little spaced. The alcohol, you know..." she added lamely.
Lisa seemed to buy her excuse because she lowered her hands, allowing Rosé to breathe freely again. She sat back against some crates piled up against the wall, arms folded. Rosé copied her and they fell into a comfortable silence, shooting each other small smiles and glances while the party raged on.
So much for being Yang's silver-tongued vixen! So much for wanting to have a serious conversation!
Rosé mentally kicked herself. She was even more tongue-tied and flustered tonight than ever, making a laughing stock of herself in front of the object of her affection.
Somehow, the scenario she had built up earlier in her head of coolly approaching Lisa and sitting down and having a serious conversation was starting to look more and more improbable.
Instead, it was continuously being replaced by increasingly creative methods of how she would have Lisa kissing her at the end of the night, preferably pinned up against a wall.
Rosé groaned and held her head.
"Hey, no stress okay? I'll wait with you until you feel better," Lisa—sweet, kind Lisa—said, oblivious to Rosé's unholy thoughts, "I could do with a little sobering up too."
"Sobering up...yeah...wouldn't want you to step on me when we dance," Rosé snarked. She smiled when Lisa grinned, ready to rise up to the challenge.
This was good, bantering was familiar territory. She could handle bantering.
"Oh yeah? You sure it's not you who'd crush my poor little toesie woesies?"
"Yeah I'm sure," Rosé snorted, "your toesie woesies are safe because I'm light on my feet. Can't say the same for you. You're as graceful as...as a drunk goose."
"Excuse me!" Lisa exclaimed righteously, "I'm your Prince Charming with a capital C. I'm the dictionary definition of graceful! I'm graceful even when hammered!"
She demonstrated with a twirl, stumbling near the end and making Rosé laugh.
"All the more reason I should be the one worried," Rosé giggled.
"But you'd still dance with me, right?" Lisa pouted.
"Hmm, would I?"
"You're meannnnn," Lisa whined.
"You're just a big baby," Rosé teased swatting Lisa's shoulder.
"Oh yeah?" Lisa swatted back.
"Oh yeaaah." Rosé shoved Lisa, giggling.
"Oh yeaaaaaah?" Lisa shoved harder, chortling and swaying with the momentum. She latched on to Rosé's hand to stop from falling and Rosé pushed back, almost tripping over Lisa's feet.
"Oh yeaaaaaaaaah."
They stumbled again and recovered, with Rosé pulling on Lisa's loose tie and accidentally bumping foreheads. It only made them laugh harder as though they cracked the funniest joke ever.
"Oh yeaaaaaaaaah?"
"Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah."
"Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?"
"Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—"
"Ok time out for you, and time out for you," Somi declared, startling the giggling girls as she appeared out of nowhere and pushed them apart. She snagged Lisa's arm. "Lis, we gotta go, the show's about to start."
"Wha Somi, what are you—"
"We've been looking all over for you! Where's your hat? Come on, it's almost time!" Somi said frantically. "Come on, you're wanted at the front!"
"Wha— but I was dancing!" Lisa argued. "I'm Prince Charming and Cinderella wants her dance!"
"Yeah no, Cinderella can wait before you crush her toes—"
"Ha! How you like that?" Rosé said triumphantly, punching the air. "I told you!"
"Aww shucks," Lisa sulked. Somi tugged at her arm impatiently.
"Come onnnnnnnnn—"
"Hang on hang on I'll be over real quick."
Lisa turned to Rosé, her face losing all traces of mirth as her expression turned serious. She cupped Rosé's face, studying her. "Feeling better, yeah?"
Touched that Lisa still remembered the reason they had stepped aside and even wanted to make sure she was alright before leaving, Rosé smiled widely.
"I'm fine now, thank you. I'll go find Yeri at the bar."
"We still have the dance!" Lisa called, letting herself be dragged away. "Don't run away from me now Cinderella!"
"Wouldn't miss it."
"I'll find you!" Lisa promised, reaching out to Rosé dramatically with a big smile cracking up her face even as Somi pulled her back into the fray.
"Counting on it!" Rosé called back, cheeks igniting. She watched Lisa disappear in the crowd still going strong around them and held her cheeks, feeling the heat slowly dissipate.
But the warmth in the pits of her stomach stayed, curled up like a cosy cat.
When had she last felt this cared for? When had she last even been wanted in this way? Lisa just kept exceeding expectations.
That's when Rosé decided: she liked Lisa too much to keep pretending and dancing around each other when all she wanted to do was kiss her hard.
But first, she needed to talk, and she would do that once Lisa came back and asked her to dance. She would pour her heart out and hope for the best, hope that Lisa would catch her.
No going back, no hesitation. She had given herself the deadline—the timing felt right and the liquid courage still thrumming in her veins was persuasive.
Buzzing with nervous energy, Rosé made her way back to the bar wrapped in a haze. Impatience coloured her thoughts: now that she had settled on a plan of action, she wanted Lisa to come back already.
But the band were caught up in a new game, the crowd standing back and giving them plenty of space away from the stage as everyone waited around, restless without any thumping music.
"What's going on?" Rosé asked Yeri as she camped on her barstool again. "What are they up to? Somi came and took Lisa."
"They're all gearing up for something," Joy said. She greeted Rosé with a wave of her beer.
"Joy, easy, you're gonna get mega hungover—"
"You won't dance with me, so I'm drinking," Joy pouted. Yeri pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I'm kind of doing my job here."
"Just one dance—"
"I'll dance with you when we go home, how about that?"
Rosé noticed Irene with her head down in her arms on the counter and cast a wary look at Yeri, who only shrugged.
"She's dozing. Don't worry I got my eyes on her," Yeri reassured, "and as for Somi...I think she mentioned a sing-off. Or was it a dance battle?"
"Dance battle? They're all drunk," Rosé chuckled.
"Even better, we'll get a laugh," Yeri smirked.
Jennie wandered up at some point while they waited, greeting Rosé with an uncharacteristically cheery tone.
"Rosie posie's finally here! Someone should tell Lisa—"
"I talked to her."
"Fantastic, are you having fun?"
"I am—"
"Awesome, I gotta go pee now, I'm absolutely bursting, toodles!" And Jennie left as quickly as she appeared.
Rosé shook her head, catching Yeri's grin. "Well..."
Yeri chuckled. "I told you, I love bartending. It's a non-stop show—"
"Yerimmmmmm," Joy whined listlessly and Yeri caught her empty beer glass before she dropped it.
"Except for the babysitting part," Yeri sighed wearily making Rosé laugh.
"Alright folks!" Jisoo announced, taking up the role of MC as she took to the stage, "apologies for the delay, we had a slight hiccup because one of the band members was rather busy getting it on—but it's finally time for the event of the night!"
"Dance-off! Dance-off! Dance-off!" chanted her audience.
Jisoo laughed, making Rosé unconsciously smile too. The older girl's unabashed laugh was one of the things that had her drawn to Jisoo in the beginning when they had been seeing each other.
"Playing a medley of songs, we're gonna see which of our two pairs will be the better team to adapt to spontaneous music change and rules we throw into the mix!" Jisoo explained. "Keeping them on their toes before they get too comfortable. But we're gonna start out easy at first. Presenting Lisa and Somi versus Seulgi and Chaeyoung!"
The said girls all appeared one after the other as Jisoo called out their names, donning identical hats and plastic sunglasses as well, striking ridiculous poses that made the crowd roar appreciatively.
Lisa especially played it up, obnoxiously tilting her hat and pushing down her glasses to wink at the nearest gaggle that squealed her name.
Not that Rosé was particularly paying attention to them anyway, not at all.
"Aaaaaaaaannnd music, deejay!" Jisoo called.
"Barba Streisand," boomed the speakers and the two pairs took to the floor.
Freestyle!" Jisoo called above the beat. "Show us your moves!"
Everyone started hyping up Lisa and Somi who stepped forward first, busting out moves that made Rosé, Yeri and the rest of the crowd crack up laughing.
It was evident they weren't taking themselves seriously and just moving their bodies to the beat, clumsy and ridiculous but entertaining at the same time.
They stepped back to let Seulgi and Chaeyoung have their turn, hyping their band members along with the rest of their audience just like they had done.
"Do the shimmy shimmy!" Jisoo announced, enjoying herself. Obediently Chaeyoung and Seulgi shimmied, eliciting claps and laughter. "Now Lisa—the chicken dance!"
The dance-off continued as they cycled through several songs, with Jisoo throwing in a different condition each time the song switched without warning. If one of the girls didn't perform correctly, she was forced to stand aside until the song switched again.
Rosé enjoyed the show thoroughly. Jisoo mixed in some tricky conditions with the song choices which proved to be entertainment gold.
She had them hopping on one foot, twirling their hats non-stop, waving their hands in the air, waltz with their dance partner to a rock song, do the Macarena to a song that wasn't the macarena, do the WAP (which garnered a lot of screams and shouts), do headstands, do splits, do a tango to a ballad song...
Rosé lost count of the number of times she laughed so hard she nearly toppled off her stool and even Joy forgot her sulking.
"Irene you gotta see this, it's priceless!" Yeri kept saying, tears in her eyes, but Irene would only groan weakly and sip from her bottle of water. She was not faring well with her headache and Rosé was mildly concerned for her.
"Hey unnie, why don't we go outside and get a break from all the noise?" she asked.
"Not a bad idea," Yeri nodded. "Don't forget your purse."
>
There were only several other people outside, most of them smoking or chatting quietly to get a break from the party. Rosé and Irene made sure to stay downwind of them, both for privacy and to steer clear of the smoke fug.
While Irene was gratefully soaking up the cleaner air, Rosé fidgeted. She didn't know what to do, even if she had been the one that volunteered to accompany her outside.
On sudden inspiration, Rosé took out her phone.
"Excuse me for a moment, I'll just send my daughter a quick text to check up on her," she told Irene.
Ella had an old phone Rosé kept for emergencies, nothing too fancy, but it would do the job to set Rosé's mind at rest and keep them in contact with each other.
"She's alone at home?"
Rosé heard the belittling judgement behind Irene's sharp question but didn't comment about it, allowing the sting of guilt to settle before answering.
"Oh no no, she's at a sleepover. I wouldn't leave her alone like that."
Irene shrugged and fiddled with her own phone, the air between them suddenly frosty.
Rosé bit her lip and turned her attention to her text to Ella.
She was vaguely aware that Irene probably judged her lifestyle as a single mother. Lisa had once mentioned that despite offering to sponsor pilates sessions, Irene didn't approve of Lisa and Jennie competing for PFB.
"I'm sorry."
The apologetic tone had Rosé glance at Irene to find the other woman looking up at the night sky. She wondered if Irene was a little bit too drunk.
"The others tell me I'm prejudiced sometimes. Or most of the time. Narrow-minded and backward. Maybe I earned my nickname of grandma. After all, I'm like a fussy grandma, forever poking my nose in other people's business and looking down on them."
Irene didn't look at Rosé as she kept speaking. "I'm just... I might not go about it the right way, but I do care. I just...I just want people to be alright. But nobody wants someone breathing down their necks about it like a fussy mother, do they? I suppose not. It's why people clam up when I'm around, because they don't want judgemental, they want people to understand them. But how can I understand when they don't tell me anything?"
And that was when Rosé spotted a single tear slip down Irene's cheek.
She ducked her head, finishing up her text instructing Ella to call her before she fell asleep as she thought about the words she could tell the hurting woman next to her.
Against her better judgement, Rosé squeezed Irene's hand to get her attention. She couldn't bear the sadness in the older woman's voice, hiding so much pain in plain sight, so she had to give it a go at consoling her.
"I don't know you well enough to say anything about what other people say or tell you," Rosé said softly, "but I do know that you mean well. I truly do. It would be lovely to have a friend who cares so much to go out of their way and tries to point me down the right path, just because they care about me from the bottom of their heart.
"I never had a friend like that growing up, or anyone, really. It was me, myself and I against the world and I admit I made mistakes along the way, bad ones too. Mistakes for which I'm still suffering the repercussions. Lisa and Jennie are very fortunate to have you looking out for them, unnie, and I know they care about you too in their own way. Somi as well, she looks up to you a lot."
Irene gave a weak chuckle. "I'm just the prude grandma to her. She wouldn't stop going on and on about me dating someone, that was her only source of interest in me."
"That's because she wanted to see you happy with someone that cared for you."
"What?" Irene was stunned. "You think so?"
Rosé smiled. "Why else? Somi's a good kid with a good heart, even if she might be the teasing type. I know her that much."
Irene paused, digesting her words. She was looking at Rosé differently now, with a new gleam of respect shining in her eyes.
"Thank you. You're really different from what I thought, Rosé. And...I'm sorry for dumping on you like this. I'm never drinking again," Irene groaned, making Rosé chuckle again, the leaden weight in her heart lifting because it finally seemed that the tension surrounding her and Irene had lifted for good.
"Hyun?" Seulgi stepped out of the diner, her eyes immediately zeroing in on Irene. "There you are. I thought you left. Are you okay?"
"Just getting a little air and talking with Rosé," Irene said, brightening at the sight of the other woman. "Has the show finished? What are you doing out here?"
"You're more important than the show," Seulgi smiled. "I was looking for you to make sure you're okay. How's your head?"
"Better, thank you. But you should really head back—"
"Don't worry, Jisoo took my place."
"But who's MC-ing then?" Rosé wondered.
The way the teacher grinned mischievously had her guessing right away, especially when Seulgi opened the door a little wider for noise to filter out.
"—NOW DO A JUMPING JACK! LISA THAT'S THE MOST LAME-ASS JUMPING JACK I EVER SAW IN MY LIFE, DO TWENTY PUSH-UPS AS PENALTY! YOU OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!"
"Is that...Jennie?" Irene asked, slack-jawed.
"She's definitely enjoying herself," Rosé chuckled.
"You missed quite a bit, Hyun," Seulgi added fondly and took her hand. "Say, how about we ditch, hmm?"
"I can call you guys a cab if you like?" Rosé asked delicately.
"I'm fine," Seulgi said dismissively.
"But we can't just leave either, Somi would be upset," Irene said anxiously.
"We've been here long enough and I want some time with you too. Trust me, I think Somi would be even more pleased to learn that we both ditched and left together, even though nothing is going to happen. Nothing you don't want, I mean," Seulgi said, suddenly anxious. "I mean, I don't want to move fast or anything, but if you'd like to come back to my house for a nightcap or hot chocolate, I mean it's really up to you—"
Irene cut her off with a sweet kiss as she cupped her face. "Sounds good to me. Rosé, we'll take it from here and call a cab."
"Hyun, we can take my car—"
Irene shook her head, tracing Seulgi's cheekbone with her thumb. "We're taking a cab, Gi. I don't want to risk anything, especially since we've both been drinking and you're ten times more likely to be clumsy. Better safe than sorry. Please, for me?"
Seulgi turned her adoring eyes to Irene. "For you? Anything."
Irene smiled and leaned forward to kiss her again. This time Seulgi kissed back, hands resting around Irene's waist and pulling her closer.
"Uh...I'll be heading in then," Rosé excused herself, inwardly melting at the tender sight before she wrenched her gaze away.
Maybe before the night was over, she and Lisa could also—
Rosé shook her head, face heating up as she dived back into the chaotic party.
She made her way back to Yeri and informed her about Seulgi and Irene ditching before she settled to laugh at the show Lisa and the rest were still putting up with a drunk Jennie clearly having a whale of a time shouting out more and more ridiculous conditions.
"Now twerk it, shake it and grind it up against your partner!" she chortled into the microphone.
Her voice gave out abruptly when she saw Jisoo and Chaeyoung took one look at each other before Jisoo advanced on Jennie with a smirk.
"No stay away from me aaaaaa someone save meeeeeee!" Jennie went sailing across the stage as she ran away from Jisoo, who couldn't even walk properly because she was bent over laughing and holding on to Chaeyoung.
Wiping tears from her eyes, Rosé noticed her purse was vibrating and reached inside for her phone, drawing it out and answering with a laugh.
"Ella baby, I thought you had fallen asleep! How's it going? Hope you're having fun."
"Hello Thorn."
Rosé froze.
************
dun dun dunnnnnnnnn
thought i'd put this up since it's practically done, i edited some last minute things and honestly don't have more to add
thanks to StanThinMints for helping, particularly in part 2 of this update which i still have to finish but her help was invaluable, especially in the drama and emotion department 👀
see you in the next update (hopefully soon), which still has some more to go but you got plenty to digest here until then either way :P
p.s. rosé's solo was awesome!