Jennie sat in one of those director chairs in front of a mirror while some girl powdered her face. She moved a little and looked over at the makeshift stage to her right. She was about to be interviewed for the school station. Again.
It's been a week and Jennie was still waiting for Rosé to make an appointment to film her and her squad. She was getting impatient. She wanted to get this filming over with so she could put it behind her. That recruitment video would be the last publicity she'd have to do for the squad.
It had also been a week of Irene constantly bugging her about when she'd be seeing Rosé. Jennie had gotten so frustrated with Irene bugging her that she had even gone to the film department in search of the future director but could not find her. Jennie figured she was probably asleep somewhere.
She made a mental note to get Rosé's phone number the next time she saw her. Just for situations like this.
Jennie sighed and fidgeted in the makeup chair.
This would be her 16th appearance since becoming a head cheerleader. She had been booked by the show's host, Jihyo Park, to talk about the auditions for the new cheerleaders and how Jennie felt about leaving the squad.
Jennie took a deep breath.
"All done," the girl said, "Aren't' you going to miss this? All the attention and being on TV?"
"No," Jennie simply said, got up, and left.
She went over to the small refrigerator up against a far wall and grabbed a bottle of water. She suddenly felt incredibly thirsty. The last interview, she thought. Jennie wasn't sure how real celebrities actually dealt this shit. Here she was just the campus "famous" person and she could barely tolerate the whole thing.
"Jennie!"
Jennie swallowed the water in her mouth, "Hey Jihyo."
Jennie had met Jihyo during her Sophomore year when she had been booked on the campus talk show for the first time. Jihyo was just a production assistant back then but when the then host had graduated, Jihyo had managed to replace her. Jennie liked Jihyo. In small doses.
"You ready for your last TV spot?" Jihyo asked.
"You make it sound like the whole country is watching this," Jennie said, "It's only being broadcast within a 5-mile radius."
"Excuse you," Jihyo said, "But what year do you think this is? My little show is online. Anyone anywhere can watch it."
Jennie scoffed, "Yeah, I'm sure the whole world is clicking on the UCLA media site to watch this."
"You never know," Jihyo said, "OK, so you're a regular pro at this. Don't need to tell you what's going on."
"Nope," Jennie said, "Let's do this."
Jennie followed Jihyo to the stage and got ready for her last interview.
###
Rosé felt like a giant rock had been lifted off her back. She was done with her two film projects for her class. Normally she would love doing those projects but with the adoption fair, the cheer video, and her not yet written English paper also on her back, she hadn't enjoyed her film projects like she usually did.
Two things had freed up her time enough to allow her to finish her film projects. Lisa and Jessi.
Lisa had offered to edit the footage they shot on the field and had done a great job. Rosé had found out that she and Lisa had pretty similar styles and Rosé found herself agreeing with a lot of her suggestions. Sunny assigning Lisa to help her out had been one of the best things to happen to her this semester.
One of the worst things had been running into Jessi one day in the quad.
"Hey you! Tim Burton!" Jessi had called out.
Rosé hadn't been sure who had shouted, but when she heard the name of one of her favorite filmmakers, she had looked up. That's when she had seen Jessi practically stomping towards her.
Rosé was sure her eyes had almost popped out of her sockets out of fear.
"Listen up Blond Ambition," Jessi had said, "You're the one filming my video right?"
Rosé had just nodded.
"I did a background check on you when I found out our name. Had to make sure you knew what you were doing."
"I do," Rosé had said softly. This lady really was super scary just like everyone had said.
"Saw some of your short movies," Jessi had told her, "Nice work. You actually have some talent."
Rosé was sure she had smiled.
"So listen up," Jessi had gone on, "Your filming the squad and me will have to be pushed back a week. I'm menstruating and bloated like a whale and I cannot be filmed now."
Rosé had been confused. Jessi looked way old. Like Grandma Park old and she was sure grandmas that old didn't get their periods anymore. But she said nothing.
"Umm, sure," Rosé had told her, "I'll start next week. Umm, I'll...I'll make an appointment with Baekhyun."
"Don't bother," Jessi had told her, her hand now on her stomach, "Ugh, cramps! Anyway, I'm about to go see Porcelain now. I'll tell him. I'll have him call you with a date."
"Yeah, OK."
That had been last Tuesday. Rosé still hadn't gotten a call from Baekhyun or whoever the hell Porcelain was. She didn't mind though. The extra free time had been just what she needed. She had even gotten able to sleep in a couple of days.
"Are you all done?" Lisa asked coming into the editing room where Rosé had spent the last two hours retouching some shots for her projects.
"Yup!" Rosé clicked the eject button and took out the DVD from the computer, "Now I just have to go by Sunny's office and turn this in and I'm free!"
"That's great," Lisa said with a laugh.
"Thank you so much for editing the field footage, Lisa," Rosé said taking the DVD and putting it in her bag, "You totally saved me."
Lisa shrugged her shoulders, "Just doing my job."
"Still," Rosé said looking at Lisa, "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"As a thank you," Rosé said standing up and grabbing her bag, "I'm buying you lunch. Or dinner. Or a chocolate shake!"
Lisa laughed, "That's not necessary, Rosé. I'm getting paid to do this."
"OK, well," Rosé said, "Let's make it a 'Welcome to UCLA' gift then."
Maybe it was the extra sleep but Rosé was surprised at how friendly she was being with Lisa. There was no awkwardness, no shyness. It was a great feeling to be relaxed around someone new.
"Fine," Lisa said, her cheeks with a slight trace of a blush, "How about we get something to eat when we go see that movie."
"Oh for sure! Wanna go tonight?"
"Sounds great," Lisa said, smiling.
"Oh!" Rosé suddenly remembered, "I invited my friend Ashley. I hope that's OK?"
The smile on Lisa's face seemed to falter a bit, but only for a split second, then it was back, "Your best friend right?"
"Yeah," Rosé said stepping closer to Lisa, "I told her about you and she wants to meet you. Actually, I want you two to meet. It'll be fun. Like the Three Musketeers."
"That sounds great, Rosé. I'd love to meet Ashley."
"Awesome!" Rosé said, surprising herself when she suddenly gave Lisa a quick hug. She let go before Lisa could even hug back, "I'll call Ashley and tell her. She usually has nothing to do Tuesday nights so it should be cool. I'll call you with the details."
"Can't wait," Lisa said.
Rosé gave Lisa one last smile and left for Sunny's office to turn in her projects.
###
Jihyo turned to the camera and closed the show. Jennie just sat there with a practiced smile on her face. Once the red light of the camera went out, so did her smile.
"That was great," Jihyo said wistfully, "I'm going to miss this stupid little show."
"You still have a couple of months," Jennie said as she and Jihyo walked off the stage.
"I do," Jihyo said, "Being host was fantastic cause I got to confirm that I'm way more awesome than most of this school..."
Jennie rolled her eyes.
"But now that I'm graduating I feel like I have to start all over," Jihyo finished.
"We all do," Jennie said, "And besides, you're not even interested in being a TV host."
"It was still fun."
Jihyo was majoring in Public Relations and event planning or something, Jennie couldn't remember what. Jihyo had been tapped to plan a lot of the squad's and football team's parties and other events. She was exceptionally good. Jennie was sure that if anyone could make party planning into a successful career, it would be Jihyo.
"Hey," Jihyo said, "Wanna hang out tonight? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."
"Uh, maybe."
"And Irene too. I haven't seen her that much either. Oh! We could double date! I'll bring Daniel."
Jennie inwardly groaned. She wasn't a big fan of double dates. Especially not with Jihyo and her boyfriend Daniel Kang. They were both such party animals they made Lindsay Lohan look like an amateur. But they were good people and Jennie did consider them friends.
"Sure," Jennie said giving in, "I'll call Irene."
"Woot!" Jihyo said, "Alright I'll leave you to go read a book or something. I'm waiting on...oh, well speak of the Devil."
Jennie followed Jihyo's line of sight and saw a girl she sort of recognized. She vaguely remembered her dating one of the football players but Jennie couldn't remember if she had actually met her.
"Ashley!" Jihyo called.
"'Sup girl!" Ashley said giving Jihyo a hug.
Jennie smiled at this girl named Ashley still trying to place her.
"Jennie Kim," Ashley said with a smile.
"Oh, uh, hi...Ashley," Jennie said pretending she knew her.
"Hey," Ashley said, "We've never met. Not officially. I dated Matt Jackson up until last year. You may have seen me at a few football parties."
"Oh right!" Jennie said, now remembering, "Matt. You're the music major."
"That's me," Ashley said proudly.
"How are you?" Jennie asked even though she didn't really care all that much.
"Fine. I hear you're working with my girl Rosie."
Jennie saw Jihyo almost jump at the mention of Rosé's name, "Oh man Rosie! I still have that small camera she let me borrow last week."
"Uh yeah you do," Ashley said, " Rosé doesn't like violence, but if you don't give her back that camera today, she will gut you."
"Alright, alright," Jihyo said waving her hand.
Jennie just watched them. First, she finds out Irene knew who Rosé was. Now Jihyo. And apparently, Jihyo was also friends with Ashley who considered Rosé "her girl".
"You're friends with Rosé Park?" Jennie asked.
"That's my girl," Ashley said, "Best friend since Freshman year, day one. Anyway, so how come you guys haven't told her to start filming yet?"
"What?" Jennie asked confused, "She hasn't contacted us. We've been waiting all week to set up a date for this filming but she hasn't called."
"That's not what she says," Ashley said, sounding a bit defensive for her friend, "Your coach postponed the filming for the week. She said you guys would call Rosé."
Jennie shook her head trying to remember if Jessi had said anything. Of course, this being Jessi, she probably didn't say anything at all.
A phone rang.
"Oh, her ears must have been burning," Ashley said as she answered her phone, "Hey Rosie. We were just talking about you."
Jennie snapped her attention to Ashley. She needed to talk to Rosé to sort this mess out.
"Can I talk to her?" Jennie asked.
Ashley gave Jennie a look like she couldn't believe she had just been asked that question.
"Umm Rosé," Ashley said into the phone, "Jennie Kim wants to talk to you.....yeah in front of me....I'm with Jihyo at the station...I don't know...hold on..."
Jennie took the phone Ashley was offering, "Hello Rosé."
Rosé was not prepared to talk to Jennie at all. In fact, she hadn't really thought about the cheerleader for the last couple of days and now here she was talking to her. She took a deep breath.
"Hi, Jennie."
"What's this I hear about our coach telling you to postpone the filming?" Jennie asked.
"She didn't tell you?" Rosé asked surprised.
"Obviously not or I wouldn't be asking," Jennie said with a bit of frustration in her voice. She looked up to see Ashley giving her what could only be described as a death glare. Jennie looked away.
"Oh, right, umm sorry," Rosé stammered a bit. She really didn't like mean Jennie and the last thing she wanted was to deal with her again, "Your coach was supposed to talk to someone named, uh, Porcelain or something and have him or her call me with a date."
Jennie heard the timid voice of Rosé explain what happened and felt horrible for her snappy sarcastic remark. She wanted to apologize but didn't. She wasn't about to apologize in front of an audience.
"Oh, OK," Jennie said, her voice a bit more gentle, "Porcelain is Baekhyun. Jessi just calls him that." Jennie looked to see Ashley still giving her the evil eye and moved away from her and Jihyo a bit.
"That makes more sense. I'll call him now then? I really want to shoot this and get it over with."
"Me too," Jennie said, "The squad meets tomorrow afternoon and Jessi will be there as well. Come to the field around two."
"I don't have to go through Baekhyun?" Rosé asked.
"No," Jennie said, "I'll take care of gathering everyone. You just show up with your camera."
"OK," Rosé said, "I'll be there."
Rosé wanted to hang up. Badly. She was finding it very difficult to figure out Jennie. This is why I don't like meeting new people, she thought.
Jennie took another step away from Ashley and Jihyo who were trying desperately to pretend to not be trying to hear her end of the conversation. They were failing.
"Listen Rosé," Jennie said softly, "I'm...I'm sorry for being an ass when you asked if I knew. This is just a miscommunication and it's all Jessi's fault for not tell us anything."
This is the Jennie Rosé liked. She found herself smiling a little at the gentleness in Jennie's voice, "It's OK."
"No it's not," Jennie said, "I'm just...this video is the last publicity I'll have to do for the squad and...I just want to get it over with."
Rosé always thought Jennie loved being in the spotlight. All the games and videos she had seen Jennie in had shown her to be really excited and energetic. Like she loved it. Now listening to Jennie, Rosé wondered if she really didn't like it as much as she let on.
"Tomorrow," Rosé said, "I'll probably need to film the squad more on another day, but I'll film all your stuff tomorrow. That way you can be done with it."
"Thanks," Jennie said letting out a relieved sigh, "I'd like that."
"No problem," Rosé said.
"Ahem!"
Jennie turned around and saw Ashley, still with her death glare, motioning for Jennie to give her back her phone. Without realizing it, Jennie had managed to walk almost 10 feet away from Jihyo and Ashley.
"Your friend Ashley is giving me the evil eye. I think she wants her phone back."
Rosé let out a chuckle, "Yeah, don't make her mad. She can be scary too. Maybe even scarier than you."
"You think I'm scary?" Jennie asked a hint of sadness in her voice. She was scary to many people, but she didn't want to seem scary to Rosé.
"Can I get my phone back?" Ashley asked, impatient.
"You better give her back the phone," Rosé said not wanting to answer the question. She was afraid if she did tell Jennie she thought she was scary, she'd be mean again.
"Yeah, right," Jennie said walking over to Ashley, "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"See you tomorrow," Rosé said.
"Oh! Wait," Jennie said, "Give me your number."
Rosé felt like someone had put one of those heart starter machines on her chest and hit the button. Her heartbeat sped up like crazy.
"My number?"
"Yeah," Jennie said, "In case there's a change with the time tomorrow."
"Oh right," Rosé said shaking her head, "Right. Yeah, I'll text you, and that way you can have my number."
"Great," Jennie said, "OK, see ya."
Jennie handed back the phone to an angry-looking Ashley.
"You OK?" Ashley asked into the phone her eyes never leaving Jennie. Not many people could make Jennie fidget, but this Ashley girl could.
"OK good," Ashley went on, "Yeah I'm free...Oh great, yeah I'm up for a movie...I can't wait to meet Lisa...sure...OK later girl."
Jennie listened to Ashley talk. So now Rosé and Lisa were already hanging out and going to the movies together.
After Ashley hung up she turned her attention to Jennie, "Listen, Jennie. I don't care who you are. If you make this filming a nightmare for Rosé I'm going to break you."
"Excuse me?" Jennie asked almost with a laugh.
"She's a sweet girl," Ashley went on, "Just let her do her thing and she'll be out of your life in a day or two," Ashley turned to Jihyo, "I'll meet you at the sound both OK?"
Ashley walked away before Jennie could say anything.
"I keep telling you to be nice to people," Jihyo said shaking her head, "I gotta go. I'll call you about tonight."
Jennie watched Jihyo leave and wondered what the hell had just happened.
###
"Are you sure this is the right address?" Ashley asked from the driver's seat.
"Yes," Rosé said, "Lisa lives...oh right there in that brown building. There she is on the curb. Pullover!"
Rosé was really looking forward to this night out with Ashley and Lisa. It had been ages since she's gone out on a 'girl's night out' and she missed it. Jaehyun had invited her to a party but she wasn't in the mood for a one and told him that she'd already made plans. He had even suggested that she bring Lisa and Ashley to the party, but Rosé still had said no.
Rosé knew Ashley was right. She needed to talk to Jaehyun about their relationship. She had almost said something last night when he had slept over, but she didn't. She really did like Jaehyun and didn't want to lose him as a friend.
"Hi!" Lisa said getting into the backseat, "Thanks for picking me up."
"No problem," Rosé said turning her body look at Lisa in the backseat, "Lisa this is my best friend Ashley. Ashley this is Lisa."
"Nice to meet you," Lisa said.
"You too!" Ashley said, "Rosé won't shut up about you."
Rosé wanted to crawl under her seat and just melt into the floor.
"Same," Lisa said smiling and looking at Rosé, "She keeps talking about you too."
"All good things, I promise," Rosé said softly still looking at Lisa, "You look really nice."
And she did. Lisa was wearing a purple top, fitted jeans, and sandals. She looked casual but fancy all at the same time.
"Thanks Rosé," Lisa said, "You look nice too. I like your fish tie."
"Thanks," Rosé said taking it in her hand and holding it out a bit, "I've got a duck tie too. I like ties with animals on them."
"It's very cute," Lisa said, "And we kinda match."
Rosé had opted to wear black shorts, black boots, knee-high socks, and a silver blouse. But it had felt too boring so she decided to put on her red fish tie.
"How do I look?" Ashley asked suddenly.
Rosé turned around back in her seat and looked at Ashley, "I told you, you looked nice when you picked me up."
"Still," Ashley said merging into traffic, "I just wanted to make sure you two didn't forget I was here."
Rosé heard Lisa chuckle in the back seat.
"Anyway, what's this movie we're seeing again?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah Rosé," Lisa said, "You never did tell me what movie we were seeing."
"Bonnie and Clyde!" Rosé said with a big smile, "They're showing it only for a week at The Plaza."
"Oh that's a good one!" Lisa said.
"Wait, hold up," Ashley said, "Are we seeing some old ass movie from like the 70s?"
"It's good Ashley," Rosé assured, "You'll like it. I promise."
"Humph," Ashley huffed.
"But first," Rosé said, "We eat. I'm starving and I promised Lisa a 'Welcome to UCLA dinner'."
"You really don't have to do that Rosé," Lisa said.
"I do," Rosé insisted, "And it's also a 'sorry I'm making you watch and old ass movie' dinner for Ashley."
"You're so silly," Ashley said with a laugh.
Rosé smiled because she knew Ashley wasn't upset about the movie.
"So," Ashley said coming to a stop at a light, "You guys all ready to film the mean cheerleaders tomorrow?"
"Are they all mean?" Lisa asked, "Jennie Kim just seemed like she was annoyed the whole time we were filming the B-roll last week."
"She can be nice," Rosé said as she played with her hands, "Maybe she's just stressed. Maybe that's what makes her mean."
"I don't know," Ashley said, "When I was dating Matt we hung out in the same circles and she wasn't that nice. Always snapping at someone."
"I heard she's like a super book nerd," Lisa said, "Is that true?"
"Yeah," Ashley said, "Weird right?"
"A little," Lisa said.
"Rosé," Ashley said, "If she gives you any trouble let me know. I'll take care of it. I already warned her."
"You did what?" Rosé asked mortified at what Ashley said.
"She was so rude to you on the phone!" Ashley said, now entering the parking lot of the town center, "And it wasn't even your fault. Just, don't let her walk all over you."
"I can't believe you did that," Rosé said slumping in her chair. Was that why Jennie had apologized, she wondered, because Ashley made her.
"I'm just looking out for you," Ashley said, "She'll probably make this a nightmare."
"She won't," Rosé said, "I told her we'd film all her stuff tomorrow so she wouldn't have to be part of the video anymore than she has to."
"Everything will be fine," Lisa said, "We'll finish the video and it'll be over before you know it."
Rosé didn't say anything. Jennie was mean. But she was also nice sometimes. It was so confusing.
For over two years, Jennie had been nothing but a figure that wasn't really real. Rosé had a certain perception of her. One of her being fun, happy, engaging, and loving the spotlight. All of which made it easy for Rosé to crush on her. Now that she had gotten a chance to actually interact with her, Rosé was finding out that she had been wrong about Jennie.
The girl she had had a crush on didn't exist. She was just a persona on TV, posters, and games. Rosé had no idea who Jennie Kim really was.
###
Jennie squeezed Irene's hand and they walked through The Plaza on their way to dinner. Jihyo, the planner that she is, had suggested they all head over to Breadstix for dinner and then either go to a movie or to a bar. Daniel had laughed at the idea of a movie and had decided for everyone they'd got to the bar here at The Plaza after dinner. Jennie didn't argue. She really could use a drink. One of the perks of being 21 now was that she could do away with her fake I.D.
"I saw you on TV," Irene said bringing Jennie's hand to her lips and kissing it," You looked amazing!"
"Thanks," Jennie said with a smile.
It was times like this when she liked being with Irene. When she was supportive and sweet and not trying to use their relationship to climb the UCLA social ladder, which Irene had done a lot in the beginning. Now, however, Irene seemed to want to be with her for her and not for her status. At least that's what Jennie hoped.
"Alright ladies," Daniel said, "Let's get some food!"
Daniel and Jihyo who had been walking a little ahead of Jennie and Irene and reached the entrance of Breadstix first. Daniel opened the door.
"Hey! Look who it is!" Jihyo said running into the restaurant.
Jennie was still behind and couldn't see who Jihyo was talking about but apparently, Irene did see who it was.
"Oh great, there's Rosé!" Irene said letting go of Jennie's hand and quickly running inside the restaurant.
Jennie wasn't sure why she suddenly felt a tingle of nerves hit her as she caught up and passed through the doors.
Rosé felt like she had been ambushed. One second she's talking to Lisa and Ashley about what dessert they'd all share and the next Jihyo was coming through the door and hugged her and Ashley at the same time.
"Umph!" Rosé huffed bracing herself so she wouldn't tip over from Jihyo's weight.
"Damn Jihyo get off," Ashley said with a light laugh, "You'll knock us over!"
"Sorry," Jihyo said, "I'm just glad to see you guys," she turned to Rosé, "Did Ashley give you your camera? Sorry I kept it so long."
"Umm, yeah," Rosé said, "I got it thanks."
Rosé liked Jihyo but sometimes she was way too friendly and excited about everything. Rosé was about to introduce Jihyo to Lisa when she heard her name being called.
"Rosé!"
Rosé looked at the open front door and saw Irene Bae. Jennie's actress girlfriend. If Irene was here then Rosé figured Jennie was here too. Rosé suddenly wanted to run away, which was silly because she'd have to see Jennie tomorrow anyway.
"Umm hi," Rosé said. She and Irene had met a couple of times and both times had been short interactions but Irene was looking at her like they were old friends.
"You're a hard woman to get a hold of," Irene said with a big smile.
"She's very busy," Jennie said stepping into the restaurant and seeing not only Rosé, but Lisa and Ashley as well. This must be the movie date she had heard begin planned over the phone.
Jennie tried to suppress a smile from forming when she saw that Rosé was once again wearing a tie. This time with fishes on it. She found Rosé's whole outfit cute which was strange since Jennie was never one to Tim Gunn anyone's outfit. Those shorts really were flattering on the film major.
Rosé looked behind Irene to see Jennie walking into Breadstix with what looked like a small smirk on her face. Jennie looked like she was dressed to go out to some fancy restaurant with her tight white skirt and black blouse. Her makeup was flawless. In all, Rosé thought she looked gorgeous.
"Yeah..yeah," Rosé said, "I'm swamped."
"Of course you are," Irene said sympathetically, "I'm sure you've got lots to do. Like the cheer video."
Rosé nodded.
"Anyway," Irene went on, "I've been leaving you messages at the film department. Did you get any of those?"
Rosé rarely checked the student mailbox she had in the film department's offices. She couldn't even remember the last time she checked that thing.
"Oh, umm," Rosé said, "I don't check that. Not really. Why..why are you looking for me?"
"Irene," Jennie said, "Maybe now isn't the time."
"Time for what?" Ashley asked, her eyes glued on Irene.
"Well," Irene said, "I was hoping to hire you Rosé. To film a video for me."
"What kind of video?" Rosé asked.
"Of my acting," Irene said proudly, "I want to get a compilation of all my work so I can show casting directors."
Rosé heard Ashley let out a breath.
Jennie just shook her head. She hated when Irene turned into "Irene The Actress" when they were out. This was not the time to bug Rosé about this.
"Irene," Jennie warned.
"I'll pay you of course," Irene told Rosé, ignoring Jennie.
Rosé felt like she should just say yes to get Irene to leave her alone. She looked back and forth from Jennie and Irene. They really did make a beautiful couple she thought. Both Irene and Jennie had a beauty that was made to be seen on the screen. Rosé thought they had charisma and sex appeal. The perfect couple.
"Rosé. Table for three!"
"That's us!" Ashley said grabbing Rosé's arm and pulling her slightly.
"Maybe we can all sit together!" Irene suggested.
Jennie let out a breath, "They already have their table," she said, "We'd just be making them wait longer for a bigger table."
Jennie knew how Irene could get and she wanted to save Rosé the hassle of dealing with "Irene The Actress" during her dinner.
It was at this point Lisa spoke up, "Irene? Look our table is ready," Lisa said as she reached into her purse and took out a business card to give to Irene, "Call me tomorrow and we'll set something up for you to talk to Rosé about this video you want."
Rosé looked at Lisa and mentally thanked her for saving her from Irene.
"I'm sorry," Irene said a bit in disbelief, "Who are you?"
"Lisa Manoban," Lisa said, "Assistant to Sunny Lee and sometimes Rosé here."
"Nice," Daniel said, who up until now had remained silent, "Hot chick assisting another hot chick."
Jihyo punched him in the arm.
Jennie rolled her eyes watching Lisa try to play the hero for Rosé who did look like she wanted nothing more than to end this conversation.
Rosé grabbed Lisa's arm, "Call Lisa. Or Jennie has my number so I guess you can get that from her."
"Let's go," Ashley said pulling Rosé and now Lisa to the dining room and to their table. She called out to the two couples, "Bye guys. See you around school."
Rosé let herself be led by Ashley. She chanced a look at Jennie, who was following her every move as she walked away. Jennie just gave her a small smile.
"You have her number?" Irene asked, sounding a bit annoyed, "You know I've been trying to get a hold of her. Why didn't you tell me you had her number?"
"I just got it this afternoon," Jennie said, giving her attention to her girlfriend, "And besides, it's not my place to just hand out her number like that."
"I'm not just some random stranger," Irene said, now clearly upset, "I've been trying to talk to her forever."
"Now you're just exaggerating," Jennie said.
"OK!" Jihyo said clapping her hands together, "What does it matter? Irene, you talked to Rosé and got a card. She's expecting your call. Can we just eat?"
"Yeah," Daniel said, "Unless there's a mud pit involved, I'm not interested in seeing a chick fight."
"Ugh," Jennie groaned, "Why are you such a pig Daniel?"
"It's part of my charm," Daniel joked.
"Jihyo party of four!"
"Let's go," Jihyo said.
The host leads the three through the main room and seated them at a booth. Jennie managed to get a glimpse of Rosé, Lisa, and Ashley in a booth opposite where she was walking. Rosé looked up and caught her eye but just as quickly looked away.
Jennie just shook her head and followed the host. They were seated in a section of the restaurant that made it impossible to see the table of the other three. It was probably for the best. She needed to spend the dinner trying to fix this disagreement with Irene.
The two groups didn't see each other again that night.