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The next day Rosé forces herself out of bed. Jennie had called her early in the morning to tell her that she had some things of Jisoo’s at the DEO lab that she wanted Rosé to look through.
Rosé almost said no, but she couldn’t resist seeing some parts of Jisoo again. It would be almost all Rosé had left of her.
When she gets there, it’s just a box labeled “unfinished.”
Jennie is looking at the box eagerly, but tries to school her expression once Rosé walks in.
“It’s some stuff she never finished working on,” Jennie tells her, as if she can’t deduce that from the large label on it. “Thought you might know what some of it does.”
Rosé doesn’t. Jisoo was never open about things she was working on, always dead set on surprising Rosé with it once it was done. It almost feels like cheating to be looking at them now.
“No, um, I probably don’t,” Rosé says, forcing a cheap smile at Jennie, but still tugging the box towards her. She pulls out a watch.
Jennie leans over her, looking at it curiously.
“Try putting it on,” she suggests, so Rosé does. Nothing happens. “Try pushing the button on the side.”
Rosé has a bad feeling about it, but she pushes the button anyway.
Nothing happens. She looks up at Jennie.
“Maybe she never—”
Jennie starts before she begins to disappear right in front of Rosé. Or, Rose’s the one disappearing. She sees her begin to say Rosé’s name before she’s gone, Rosé’s standing in the middle of the street somewhere.
She turns around just as a car hits her.
“Oh, my God!” the person getting out of the car exclaims, kneeling over her.
Rosé isn’t hurt, and she’s sure the car is more dented than she is, but she was still taken by enough surprise to get thrown to the floor.
Rosé rolls over and she—
Sees Jisoo.
She sees the love of her life.
“Jisoo?” Rosé rasps at the same time Jisoo gasps,
“Rosé?”
Rosé sits up so suddenly that Jisoo almost falls over in an attempt to stop Rosé from banging into her.
“This can’t be real,” Rosé spits, trying to get up.
Jisoo’s hand darts out to clutch Rosé’s arm. Rosé looks at her and notices tears welling up in her eyes.
“Jisoo?” Rosé asks because she can’t help it. “What’s wrong?”
“I never thought I’d see you again,” Jisoo says, and she tries to blink back the tears, but they begin to drip down her face.
Before Rosé even knows it, she’s being pulled into a tight hug. Jisoo tucks her face into Rosé’s neck and Rosé automatically loops her arms around her, holding her tight.
After a moment, Rosé pulls away.
“Jisoo, I’m not...” she trails off, unsure what to say. “I don’t think I’m from here. Where I’m from you...you...” She swallows thickly. “You died a week ago.”
Jisoo looks at her for a long moment.
“You died here a year ago,” Jisoo says quietly.
Rosé looks at her in surprise.
“You died,” Jisoo repeats and Rosé can see the tears welling up in her eyes again. “You fought Haein and he—he killed you, Rosé. But you took him down with you and I—” Jisoo stops and looks away.
“You probably want to get back,” Jisoo says, still looking away. “I can help.”
Rosé pauses for a second, then carefully pulls off the watch that took her here and stuffs it in her pocket. If this is the only way she’s going to be able to see Jisoo, she’s going to take it.
“No,” Rosé says. “There’s nothing there for me.”
You are here.
Jisoo smiles, and it’s the best thing Rosé has seen in a week.
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