Noon. The scorching sun was directly above us as we laid tiredly on the ground. Although we did our best, we weren't the first ones out of the forest. In fact, we were the last ones out.
The reason for this was simple─ There were 30 people in my class and 18 were eliminated from the game. 4 of the 12 remaining players teamed up and had departed from where they were before sunrise. As a result, they got here the moment the sun was fully out.
3 purposely hid themselves somewhere near the training grounds and were the first ones to arrive, it was honestly a risky move but it was worth it in the end. And the other 5, us, woke up later than everyone else and were lost deep in the woods.
Of course we'd be last, the outcome was inevitable considering our circumstances. We were far from the training grounds, too. The walk to our destination took longer than expected but thanks to Pluffy, we got here just before Jihyo announced the end of the game.
"I've been curious about this lately," Tzuyu bit into her apple and averted her gaze to Nayeon who sat close by. "Why are you called The Midnight Death Roses? Most knight orders prefer to keep their team name short, but yours is pretty lengthy, don't you think?"
"Ah, that?" Nayeon looked at her. "You know how we don't usually agree on the same things, right? I wanted our team name to be something pretty, Jeongyeon wanted it to be cool and scary while Queen wanted something elegant"
Tzuyu and I nodded along. I couldn't help but wonder about the process of how they named themselves. I get the feeling they debated for an entire day and were throwing fists here and there─ a complete chaos is what I imagined.
"It was a complete chaos..."
See? I was right.
"In the end, we all decided that each of us chooses one word and then mix the 3 together. I chose Roses, Jeongyeon chose Death and Queen chose Midnight. Thus, The Midnight Death Roses were born" She explained as Jeongyeon came closer and stood next to her.
"I kind of regret doing that, though" Jeongyeon grumbled with her arms crossed. "Our name becomes even longer when we need to add The Order Of whenever we formally introduce ourselves"
She wasn't wrong, The Order Of The Midnight Death Roses was a rather long name. The name I came up with for my knight order, The Diamond Phoenix, was something I just randomly thought of one day. Jennie and Taehyung had no objections with my choice, so we went for it. Thus, The Order Of The Diamond Phoenix was born.
"Well it's not like we can change our name now, it'd be too much of a hassle" Queen voiced out while dragging her chair next to Nayeon's and sat down.
"Speaking of change, you should really change that armor of yours. You said it's experiencing some issues, right? It's been exposed to too much fighting, so I doubt having it repaired would do much. Just order an entirely new set" Suggested Jeongyeon to Queen as the latter considered the idea.
"I'll think about it" Queen replied nonchalantly before turning to us. "Anyways, could you 2 gather some fruit? Anything will do, just make sure they're in good condition"
"Why do I have to do it?" Tzuyu tried to complain but I quickly silenced her by covering her mouth.
"Sure! Let's go, Tzu" I grabbed her wrist and pulled her up, dragging her back into the sea of trees.
"Couldn't she just let the others do it?" She groaned while lazily carrying the basket in her hands.
"Quit complaining, small tasks like this aren't meant to be refused. Don't forget those 3 are our superiors"
"But aren't you supposed to be one of them?"
"Unfortunately, no. I am currently acting as Y/n Granbell, not Y/n L/n. That means my rank is lower than theirs" I said and pointed at the shiny apple hanging on a branch. "Go get it"
She sighed loudly but did what she was told nonetheless. She placed the fruit in her basket as we continued on our way to find more.
"This training camp will be over soon, huh?" I looked up at the sky before taking a peek at Tzuyu. "What should we do when we get back home?"
"Sleep" Unlike her, Tzuyu's answer was short.
"Could you suggest something more exciting?" I rolled my eyes at her boring reply.
"I've had enough excitement these past few days, all I need now is sleep─ and a long one..."
Sighing, I left our conversation at that and quietly filled my basket with fruits. Despite her tendency to start fights out of nowhere, Tzuyu likes peace and quiet.
There were times she preferred isolating herself from the world and stayed in bed for several days. During those days, all she does is sleep, eat the snacks she prepares and then sleep again.
This only happens when she has completely exhausted herself. Like that one time in world 1 where we were given a ton of projects all at once. We barely had any time to relax back then so when everything was finished, Tzuyu locked herself in her room for 3 days straight.
And this time is no exception to that. But although I say that, Tzuyu looked surprisingly fine. She didn't have any dark circles under her eyes and she didn't look that tired either.
So I guess she won't isolate herself for that long after the training camp. That's a good thing though! I don't want her going into sleep mode and leaving all the chores to me and Mina. If she did do that then I might throw her out the window to wake her up.
Nah, I'm joking. I wouldn't go that far, I care about her too much. Geez, this little sister of mine sure is spoiled. I sighed while reaching my hand out to grab another fruit.
"Dinner..." Tzuyu's faint voice sounded from behind me.
"Hm?" I turned my head to look at her.
"Le- Let's go have dinner somewhere once we get back... Just the two of us..."
"Like a date then?"
"Wha─ Da- Date!? What the hell are you talking about?!" Her face suddenly turned red while stuttering like an idiot.
What's up with her? It's natural for friends to go on dates, right? Friendly dates are common in every world.
"Well, I wouldn't really mind but are you sure you don't want to invite Mina and your aunt?"
Tzuyu fell silent for a while as her eyes darted all over the place, making sure to avoid mine at all costs. Her lips quivered a bit but they eventually relaxed when she opened her mouth.
"I- I'm very sure, so don't tell them we're having dinner somewhere by ourselves... okay?" She finally looked at me. For some reason, her eyes looked brighter than usual and the way she batted her eyelashes looked incredibly cute.
I smiled. Who knew she had a cute side? And here I thought she only knew how to scowl and intimidate people. "Sure, sure, but we're splitting the bill"
"You sure are stingy..."
"Oh, shut up. You're the one who invited me out, so shouldn't you be the one paying?"
"You're making someone younger than you pay for dinner? How cheap can you get?"
I smirked and clicked my tongue 3 times. "You seem to be forgetting something, chewy. Since Lord Dandi made me younger, the 2 of us are currently the same age. So there's no such thing as older and younger between us. After all, we're the same age" My smirk grew even wider as I watched her wear an exasperated look on her face.
"Fine, we'll split the bill..."
"Woohoo! Dinner with Tzuyu! Woohoo!"
-
Yawning, I flipped through the pages of my book as I changed my position. I was sitting on the same rock where Jihyo and I sat on the other day.
I couldn't sleep, so I decided to read the book my parents gave me instead. Although it was night, it was bright out. The moon shone as bright as always.
It's been a while since I've read this thing. I only open it whenever I have spare time in my hands and since I've been busy, I haven't gotten the chance to read lately.
I've always been fond of reading during my breaks. It keeps me occupied when I have nothing to do and helps me escape from reality. Since there's no such thing as an easy life, jumping into the world of fiction was a great way for me to forget about my problems.
Although I could do other things rather than just sit in my room and read, I'm not always in the mood for stimulating activities. Sometimes, having a book in front of me was the best way to spend the day.
Sure, I liked jumping around and doing anything that involves moving a lot, but I need a break from all of that once in a while. I'm a human too, after all. I can't always waste my energy and then get right back up the next day without proper rest.
And after everything that's happened in this training camp, I really needed to sit down and relax. And it's a good thing I brought this book with me, I have something to entertain me on quiet evenings like this.
People who think reading is stupid are the ones who are truly stupid. They blame the book for being boring when in truth, they gave up on reading simply because they lacked the patience to continue.
I've seen far too many people give up on reading a masterpiece. And I completely understand that it could have been because we have different tastes or maybe the book really was boring, but it was mostly because they didn't want to keep waiting for the exciting parts to show up.
Or maybe they already read the exciting part but failed to notice? Well if that were the case then that's their problem, not mine. Patience is the key to discovering the treasures you can find in a book, and they surely did not have that key.
Idiots shall remain idiots unless they do something about their idiocy. But since they're idiots, it'll be hard for them to realize they're actually idiots.
But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people who don't like reading are idiots. I'm only saying that people who blame something or someone else for their shortcomings are the ones who are truly idiotic.
"Hm?" I was perplexed by the page I had flipped to. Unlike the others, this page's texts were in red. "I can't read it..." Also, it was written in a language I couldn't understand which was weird. But the magic circle drawn in the middle was even weirder...
It was different from the magic circles I've seen before. This one looked a lot more complex and it was also colored in red like the texts.
I tried turning the book upside down, to the right and then to the left but it was undecipherable no matter what angle I read it from. "That's odd..."
"What is?"
I shrieked from the sudden voice that spoke behind me. I quickly shoved the book back into my bag when Nayeon's face came into view. First it was Jihyo and now Nayeon? These girls love going out at night, huh? Well, it's not like I'm an exception to that...
"What are you doing out here when it's this late?" She asked and sat next to me.
"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to read instead" I nervously replied while not-so skillfully hiding the bag from her. If she sees that book then it's over for Y/n Granbell. My true identity will be exposed if she ever laid eyes on that book of mine.
"What were you reading?" She tried taking the bag from me but I quickly leaned away.
"No- Nothing in particular..."
"That's suspicious..." She eyed me up and down, making me gulp. "You were reading something indecent, weren't you!?"
"WHAT?! No! What gave you that idea!?" I tried denying her accusation but she wasn't listening to a thing I said as she crossed her arms with a sigh.
"Well, you are at that age so I guess it's only normal for you to be curious about things like that"
"No, I really wasn't─"
"It's alright, Y/n. I completely understand! Everyone goes through that phase at some point"
"Will you please stop assuming I was reading something indecent in the middle of the night like some kind of pervert?!"
She burst into a fit of laughter while slapping my arm. That hurts, you know?...
"Geez, you really haven't changed..." She always liked to accuse me of doing something perverted as her way of teasing me.
She's been like this ever since our trainee days, I wish she'd stop doing this now that she's an adult. But I guess that's impossible at the moment since she's the fake maknae of her group.
"You say that as if we have known each other for years" She giggled.
That's because we have...
"A- Ah, right..." But I obviously couldn't say that since it would blow my cover. "Anyways, I'd like to ask you the same question. What are you doing out here when it's this late?"
"I woke up because I needed to pee, but when I laid back down I couldn't fall asleep. So I came out to get some fresh air and saw you here by coincidence" Without warning, she rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Or maybe it wasn't a coincidence? If you think about it, it might be fate that we're sitting here alone like this"
I chuckled at her words and leaned my head against hers. I could smell the lovely scent of her hair, it was honestly relaxing. It eased my nerves right away.
"You really haven't changed..." I mumbled and decided to stay like this for the next few hours, just chatting and leaning against each other.
It wasn't much, but I enjoyed our little moment quite a lot.
-
"Finally, we're going home..." Tzuyu sluggishly walked out of the forest as if she had finally escaped from hell and the devil's wrath. And by devil I mean Queen...
"Walk properly, Ms. Homesick" Jeongyeon pinched her back and quickly jumped into her wagon just before Tzuyu could have her revenge.
"Tsk! What is she, a child?"
"She's still older than us, y'know" Momo reminded her.
"And yet she's as childish as you" Queen said, glancing at Tzuyu and then at Jeongyeon who was sticking her tongue out at the younger girl.
"How am I childish!?"
"You're always in a fight with Momo, you barely listen to a thing we say and you're always complaining. You are childish, Chou Tzuyu. In fact, you're the perfect example of a brat" Without any mercy, Queen said the things Tzuyu didn't want to hear at all.
And the thing that annoyed Tzuyu the most was how she couldn't deny what Queen said since it was all true.
"But," Queen paused and looked her at her fondly. "The current you is a lot better than the one I met in the past. Back then, all you ever did was cause trouble for your aunt and the people around you. You never made any friends, you only cared about yourself and fighting was all you knew"
Tzuyu blushed, feeling humiliated by how she was being exposed like this in front of so many people. She was about to throw a tantrum but Queen's hand that was now caressing the top of her head had silenced her.
"But now look at you," Behind Queen's helmet was a proud smile. Although it couldn't be seen, we somehow were able to picture in our minds what kind of expression she was making─ relief.
"You have a lot friends who you care about and you've become someone who's capable of doing many things. Your aunt must be proud of you, huh?" And not only did Queen say the things Tzuyu didn't want to hear, she had also said the things Tzuyu wanted to hear the most...
The tall girl backed away with a red tint on her face. "Wh- What are you saying?! We haven't met even once when I was a kid, and yet you're acting like you were the one who raised me"
"Hm? You don't remember?" The older woman asked, slightly confused.
"Don't remember what?"
Queen stopped talking and thought for a while. After a few minutes, she opened her mouth while snapping her fingers. "Ah, right. You were very young back then, it was when I was still a trainee. Forgetting about our encounters is a natural thing for you"
"What do you mean?" Tzuyu tilted her head to the side.
"I often visited your aunt when you were little. You always got in the way of our meetings and even slept on my lap once. I came there without my armor, so it's understandable if you aren't able to recognize me. Actually, it's better if you don't recognize me at all" She caressed Tzu's head one last time before making her way over to Nayeon who was giving out orders.
"I had no idea you two were actually this close" I said, somewhat surprised.
"Neither did I, aunt Jieun never said anything about Lady Queen and I meeting in my childhood"
If they met even before Jihyo became a knight, then that means Jihyo has known her longer than I have. I only got to know Tzuyu shortly after I became a knight.
Wait a minute... Jihyo was already the queen in her trainee days, right? Doesn't that mean she was around 14-15 when she became the ruler of this world?
"You two! Don't just stand there, get in your wagons already! We're departing in a few minutes" Jeongyeon's loud voice immediately made us move, jumping into our rides.
And so, our travel back home began.
-
The first person that greeted us was none other than Mina. "Welcome home!" Confetti rained on us after the fairy threw it over our heads. "And congrats on surviving the special training camp!"
I giggled and immediately engulfed her in a hug. Lifting her from the ground, I spun around and watched her squeal adorably. "Glad to be back!"
Once I placed her down, she quickly led us into the kitchen and brought out a cake. "Tadaaa! I baked you girls a cake to celebrate your return!"
"How sweet of you" Tzuyu smiled as I pinched Mina's cheeks. She looked like a loving wife who was rewarding her husband and child for doing something praiseworthy.
"Oh, you're back..." Unlike Mina, Ms. Boss somehow looked displeased to see us.
"Could you at least try to hide your disappointment?" Tzuyu clicked her tongue while watching her aunt descend from the staircase.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. As you can see, I am very glad to see you're home" That was probably the biggest lie I've heard this year. She clearly looked annoyed with our presence and the way she sighed after seeing my face pissed me off a little.
"Oh, cake!" But what upsets me more was how she was happier to see the cake than us. To think I'd lose to cake... how low have I stooped?
"Now then, let's dig in while you two still have the energy to eat" Mina ushered us to our seats and gave us a slice of her homemade cake. It's been a while since I ate her cooking, so I really look forward to this.
And just as I expected, it was delicious. Her food tasted the best after a long day of work, and since Tzuyu and I have been away for a week, we felt like crying tears of joy.
"So, how was the training camp?" Ms. Boss asked and sipped on the tea Mina served us.
"It was exhausting, really" I was the first to reply. "Lady Queen put us through a lot of hardships, but it was worth it. I can proudly say that Tzuyu over here got stronger!"
"Is that so?" Despite her uninterested tone, I could tell that deep down Jieun was glad to hear my words.
"Nayeon and Jeongyeon joined us later on, they were noisy and irksome but they helped quite a lot" Tzuyu commented while taking another slice of cake.
"Those two," Jieun sighed. "why do they love bothering other people so much? I really wish they'd start taking their job more seriously instead of getting in Queen's way all the time"
I was in complete agreement with her. Although those 2 were great company and helped out quite a lot with the training camp, it would be better for them to start focusing on their own missions.
They should use that energy of theirs to fulfill their duties while they're still young. Time flies fast and waits for no one. Weeks will feel like days, years will feel like months, and centuries will feel like decades─ we'll be frail, old ladies without even noticing.
Ms. Boss should really pay them a visit and scold them personally. That'll scare the laziness out of them and give them the motivation to work for months without stop. Maybe I should suggest that to her.
The day went on with the 4 of us exchanging stories about what happened during the past week. Eventually, evening rolled in and my promised dinner with Tzuyu had begun.
"We'll be going out for a while, eat without us!" I announced while standing at the doorstep with Tzuyu.
"You just got back but you're leaving again?" Ms. Boss eyed us from the living room as Mina walked out of the kitchen in her apron.
"Where are you two heading?"
"Anywhere," Tzuyu answered. "We're in the mood to stroll around the capital. It's been a week since we've last been here, so we wanna see what's new"
"Is that so?" The fairy smiled before waving us a goodbye. "Have fun then! Don't stay out too late and make sure you don't run into any trouble"
Sometimes I wonder who's the real adult in this house. Is it the fairy who's properly sending us off with a caring smile or is it the woman in the living room who didn't give a damn about our well-beings.
The latter even had the nerve to say "Buy us some snacks while you're at it" while pointing at the door to make us hurry. "Go on, shoo!"
A vein popped on my forehead. "That woman is unbelievable..." I sighed loudly once the door closed behind us.
"I couldn't agree more" Tzuyu shook her head as we walked through the noisy streets of the capital.
We spotted a few shops that opened while we were gone, but this place wasn't much different from before. It's as lively as always.
"Tzu, look!" We stopped in front of a flower shop that opened recently as I pointed at the eye-catching flowers. They kind of looked like hydrangeas but were far prettier, they were glowing too.
Each of them emitted a different color of light and they smelled amazing, better than most of the perfume Ms. Boss uses. "They're called Scattermoons, they glow when the moon comes out and you can only find them in World 5" Tzuyu explained while crouching down next to me.
"It's so pretty" I gawked. I couldn't seem to take my eyes off it, they were truly beautiful.
"Of course you'd say that, they are your favorite flowers"
"They are?" My brow shot up. Even I wasn't aware of this fact, but considering how pretty they were, I might have fallen in love at first sight.
"Yup, you had a garden of them back in your domain. You often talked about how magnificent they were, so I'm sure it's still there. Lady Jennie also likes them, she's probably the one taking care of them in your stead"
"I'd love to see it again"
"You will, eventually" She stood up and walked away first. I quickly ran after her and brought up another topic as we chatted until we reached our destination.
"We're finally here!" Tzuyu looked overjoyed to see the restaurant.
"I'm starving"
"Same, I didn't get to eat lunch because I fell asleep right after we finished eating cake"
"I wonder what I should get" Just as we entered, a passing body collided with mine. "Ah, sorry! I didn't see y─" I cut myself off when a familiar face entered my field of vision.
"Fancy seeing Lady Lee's nieces here. It's been a while, huh?" Kim Jennie nonchalantly said while wiping her wet hands with a handkerchief.
"La- Lady Jennie!" Despite the alarms blaring in our heads, we immediately bowed to show our respect.
This is bad, this is very bad! Ms. Boss told us to keep our distance from her and Taehyung, but the universe just had to mess with us.
"Lift your heads. Right now, I'm not an elite knight, I'm simply a woman who's here to have dinner"
"Ri- Right..." We slowly straightened our backs. Tzuyu and I exchanged looks, nudging each other while communicating through our eyes.
What the hell should we do!?─ is what her panicked gaze was telling me.
Don't worry, Little Chewy! Leave it to me!
"A- Anyways, we'll take our leave now. We don't want to bother you any longer than this, especially when you're here to have a good meal. Don't mind us and enjoy your night!" I grabbed Tzuyu's hand and began dragging her to the table that was the farthest from Jennie's.
"Wait a minute" But before we could fully disappear from her sight, she grabbed our shoulders and stopped us.
I internally cried as we turned around to look at her. "I- Is there something wrong?"
"Since you're here, why don't you join me? I'll pay for your food"
Somebody kill me...
"If it's okay with you, the sure!" With fake enthusiasm, I answered and felt a pinch on my arm from Tzuyu.
She was looking at me as if I was stupid. Well, sorry to break it to ya but we don't have any other choice. If we refuse her, she might get the idea that we're avoiding her and will grow suspicious of us.
Jennie has keen eyes and is extremely perceptive, she notices the tiniest of details and can read you like an open book if you're not careful.
Decline her offer now and we're done for...
We silently trailed behind her when she guided us somewhere. We sat around a circular table as Tzuyu and I gulped nervously. For some reason, I feel like I'm attending an important meeting that'll decide my fate...
Her stare gave me the chills. Call me a coward all you want but the look she had made me want to run for my life. She looked intimidating as hell.
"Relax, it's not like I'm here to execute you" She tried reassuring us when she noticed how nervous we were.
No offense, but she did look like she was here to execute us. If she drops that scary look then we might calm down. You're the problem here, Jen. Please notice that and show us your mercy by looking a little nicer...
"Ahahaha, right..." From now on, I will be known as Y/n Awkward L/n.
How pathetic, to think I'd ever be this nervous around Jennie. I'm supposed to be her captain and yet here I am, sweating buckets just because she looked absolutely intimidating.
Well, it has been a while since I last saw her, so that's probably another reason why I'm so jittery.
"So, what brings you here alone, Lady Jennie? Where's Sir V?" I said that without stuttering. Yay, me!
Her brows immediately furrowed at the mention of her brother. "Let's not talk about that idiot, it'll ruin my appetite"
Don't tell me they're fighting again...
Somehow, hearing that eased my nerves. I smiled softly. They haven't changed much.
A waitress came to our table just before I could ask her what happened. "Order anything you like. It's my treat, so don't worry about the price" She said while browsing the menu.
"How kind of you, thank you very much" Surprisingly, I regained my composure quite quickly and told the waitress my order.
Tzuyu looked at us back and forth, hiding the lower part of her face with the menu. From the looks of it, she wasn't planning on letting her guard down.
Well, of course she wouldn't. Ms. Boss specifically told us to stay away from the Kim siblings, so it wasn't a surprise to see her being so wary.
"I'll go use the bathroom real quick" Tzuyu hesitantly stood up before leaving, not forgetting to shoot me a concerned look.
I smiled. It's rare for her to worry about me, how cute.
"So, how'd your training camp go? I heard Queen was your instructor, that woman can be pretty cruel" Jennie started a conversation.
"She made us climb a mountain that was covered in ice..."
"I knew it, that woman really is cruel..." Jennie shivered a bit.
"Well, her ways of training us were very helpful, so it was worth it in the end"
"Yes, but you and your classmates are still rookies. That kind of training isn't fit for trainees who joined Honor Academy just a couple of months ago" She sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose. "Even the training camp I went through as a trainee wasn't that extreme"
"Is that so? What was yours like then?"
"All we did was have sparring matches, magic training, danger beast hunting and exercises. The exercises were pretty intense, but I'm sure it's nothing compared to what Queen had you do, right?"
"Well..." Our exercises contained climbing waterfalls, running a hundred laps around the forest and all the other scary things she made us do. "But the results were satisfactory, so I guess it's alright!"
"What a positive mind you have there, I'm quite envious. That time all I wanted to do was go home and get away from my stupid brother, all he did was annoy me the whole camp. It was embarrassing to fight in public, so I resorted to bottling up my emotions instead"
I chuckled at her words before resting my chin on my palm. "Do you two fight often?"
"Unfortunately, yes. It's what siblings do"
And without me realizing, I began talking to her as Y/n L/n. "You should stop that. I understand that you don't always agree on the same things and can't help but find each other stupid. But at the end of the day, you two only have each other. When one suffers, the other takes action to help them and vice versa. But what happens if you lose the other?"
She was clearly taken aback by my words as I turned to face her properly. "Once the other is permanently gone, you'll end up all alone. You'll realize how lonely it is without them, you'll feel empty and regretful─ regretful for not being nicer to them, for not listening to them and for not trying to understand how they felt"
I looked down at her clenched fists and gently held them in my hands. "When that happens, you'll feel like you're drowning in a pool of your own guilt. That's why," I paused and tightened my grip.
"you should use the time you have now and make happy memories. Drop the fighting and go on a picnic or something, hear each other out and understand one another. Forget all the bad stuff about him for once and try to see his good points. You aren't a child anymore, so I'm sure you understand what I'm trying to say. Right, Jennie?"
Although she looked hesitant and perplexed, she obediently nodded, making me smile. "Good!"
"Hey, can we get ice cream after this?" Tzuyu asked the moment she sat back down.
I let go of Jennie's hand and looked at Tzuyu in disbelief. "Lady Jennie was generous enough to pay for our food and now you want her to buy us ice cream? Are you perhaps taking advantage of her kindness?"
"I never said she'll be the one paying, moron! I was just asking if we could get some, aunt Ji told us to bring snacks!"
"Ah, right. She did say that"
"Geez, how dumb can you get?"
As Tzuyu and I continued to bicker, Jennie fell silent as she looked down at her hands.
-
3rd Person's POV
Jennie's back leaned against the wall. She had just arrived home and was now inside her office. Her legs eventually gave up on her and she quickly fell on her bottom.
"Was that real?..." Her voice echoed around the dark room. "For a moment there... I felt like I was talking to Y/n L/n. Granbell's words... Whenever Taehyung and I fought, our Y/n would always say something very similar to stop us. And the shape and temperature of her hands were exactly the same as our Y/n's..."
"Was Taehyung right all along?" She held her head as her breathing became heavy and unstable.
"If that's really the case, then that means─" Grabbing a fistful of her hair, she pulled on it hard and began shaking. "Then that means Y/n Granbell might be Y/n L/n... Our supposedly dead friend might actually be alive..."
Her eyes widened as she immediately slapped herself. "What in the 6 worlds am I saying!? Of course that's not the case! I already concluded that they're entirely different people!"
She stood up and fixed her clothing. "Don't get fooled, Jennie Kim. Y/n L/n is dead, you have already accepted her death a long time ago. Don't get swayed by mere words and hands..." She spoke to herself while tidying her office to avoid overthinking ridiculous things.
Someone knocked on her door and in came her brother. "Why didn't you tell me you were home?" Was the first thing he said.
"Leave me alone"
He instantly sighed and closed the door behind him. "At least tell me where you're going first. You suddenly left without saying anything"
"Just go away!"
"I was worried, y'know?"
She froze. Those words were all it took to shut her up. Then, Y/n's voice spoke in her mind.
"Once the other is permanently gone, you'll end up all alone. You'll realize how lonely it is without them, you'll feel empty and regretful─ regretful for not being nicer to them, for not listening to them and for not trying to understand how they felt"
She stood there for a while, unmoving and silent. Taehyung was growing worried and tried reaching his hand out, but then Jennie turned around.
"Take a day off tomorrow"
"What?"
"You heard me" She crossed her arms. "I said take a day off tomorrow"
"Sure, but... for what?"
"Let's go on a picnic"
"Huh, why?"
"Stop asking questions! All you need to know is we're going on a picnic!" She pushed him out of her office, not bothering to answer any more of his questions.
She sighed deeply and rested her forehead against the door. "Seriously, Y/n is the only person who can make us want to reconcile like this. But this time, it was a different Y/n" She turned around and looked out the window.
"Or maybe it wasn't?..." She gathered her thoughts together before combing her hair back. "Well, that's for me to find out"
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