Wednesday 5pm (2 weeks later)
Lisa's P.O.V
A month after our first mv and a second was soon released. We watched as our songs gained in popularity as attention on campus at YSJ continued to soar.
Today there had been a large fan meeting at a mall in the center of Seoul. We'd anticipated a good turn out but nothing could compare for the cheering and groups of fans who queued up in their thousands just to see us.
As we continued signing autographs, I'd noticed Jisoo and Rosé laughing and talking cheerfully. They seemed to have been spending a lot of time together and as such Jisoo and I had spent more time apart. Jennie said it was natural, that they were working out their differences but something sinister still worried me as it played on my mind. It bothered me more than it should.
As another fan approached the table, she seemed to be a big fan of me from the t-shirt she was wearing and the poster in her hand. It was always an amazing occasion to see how happy we made our fans, the training and endless schedules seemed all worth it to be able to pursue a career I could only have ever dreamed of.
One of the apprentices called Yeji, a positive and intelligent girl new addition to the team seemed eager to impress. She handed me an iced tea nervously as this was still only her second week on the job. She too had a passion for music and we'd often talk about our shared interest in dance. She was noticeably pretty and had a creative flair for song writing with hopes that one day she too would be accepted to train to be an idol.
As she gave me the drink, I took a small sip and gave her a thumbs up from afar as she smiled widely before checking on the others.
We continued to take photos and sign more autographs for the next few hours until it was finally time to leave. Waving at the audience, the music played us out as we made our way back to the comfort of the private minivan that was waiting outside to take us back to the dormitory.
The next few weeks were expected to be busy as we'd be working alongside other girl groups for a large upcoming concert to showcase the next biggest talent from YSJ. I was excited to meet other artists and get to know idols that were going through the same experiences as us.
"Jennie, what's wrong?" I asked after we finished dinner and we're sat late that night in Jennie's room. She'd been silent since we got back from the fan signing event and in the short time we'd been dating, I knew her silence was never a good thing.
"You were ignoring me all afternoon." She muttered, without sparing me a glance as she fixed her hair in the mirror.
"We were at the fan meeting? I wasn't ignoring you." I replied in confusion.
"You gave all your attention to everyone but me. Some more than others..."
"I didn't mean to-"
"You didn't even sit next to me on the journey home." She complained, slouching down to sit on the bed with her back resting against the headboard.
"Well... you didn't sit next to me either..? Besides, Jisoo wanted to show me the new mv from-"
"I don't care what Jisoo wanted!" She yelled, making me flinch. When she took a moment to compose herself, she pouted and looked at me with her sad kitten eye.
"Seriously Lili, sometimes I wonder if you're dating me or her."
"Not this again..." I muttered under my breath, big mistake.
"Yes, this again! We've only been dating a few weeks, you should be spending all your time with me!"
"All my time..? I mean we did say we'd take things slow and just you know casual... which doesn't seem like what this is..."
"Are you trying to piss me off right now because you're doing a very good job of it?" She growled, her eyes flicking with glimmers of jealousy.
"Fine, I'm not arguing. I'm going to sleep in my room tonight." For the past few weeks, Jennie and I had spend every night together in either her room or mine. She liked to cuddle, saying it helped her to fall asleep. As I started to make my way out of the room, she grabbed my hand stopping me from leaving.
"No. You'll stay here. You can sleep on the floor." She said throwing a blanket and pillow to the ground before turning away to face the wall.
I furrowed my eyes, confused by her mood swings that seemed to be becoming more and more common. "I don't want to sleep on the floor, Jennie. It hurts my back and we have a big rehearsal in the morning."
"Not my problem." She sharply replied. It frustrated me when she was like this for no reason, confusing me to say the least.
"We've spent every day together since we started dating, I don't know why you think I'm ignoring you-"
"You're still sleeping on the floor, goodnight."
"You know you're being completely unreasonable." I stated, adjusting the pillow to get comfortable but to no luck.
For the rest of the night, we lay in silence. I knew she wasn't asleep but she had this strange way of making me feel bad, liked I'd done something wrong but I didn't know what. I wanted to make it up to her, to fix things between us to resolve this uncomfortable atmosphere.
After finally getting 3 maybe 4 hours sleep at best, I awoke the next morning to find that Jennie was nowhere in sight. Her bed was made and coat was gone suggested she'd left early this morning. She hadn't even left a note to say bye or sent me a morning message like she usually did each day. It made my heart ache further in misery.
In dismay, I left her room and made my way to the kitchen where Jisoo was happily making breakfast for Rosé. They were talking carefree and smiling like Jennie and I usually did. My tired eyes from lack of sleep from didn't go unnoticed.
"Goodmorning Lisa, you looked really tired. Didn't you sleep well?" Jisoo asked in concern, handing me a cup of coffee as I sat on the counter top and slouched against the cupboard doors.
"Not really, I'm so sore." I complained, stretching in agony.
"Oooh spare us the intimate details." Rosé teased as Jisoo giggled beside her.
"Not like that! I slept on the floor in Jennie's room." My cheeks flushed red, temporarily forgetting the pain I was in.
"Why?" Jisoo asked as she handed me a bowl of my favourite cereal.
I stirred it around, pouting as the flakes disintegrated in the now chocolate flavoured milk. "Because she was really mad at me, she still is. I literally did nothing wrong."
"It can't have been for no reason."
"She doesn't think I pay her enough attention. Something about the fan signing and... nevermind." I didn't want to mention the fact that my friendship with Jisoo was also part of the problem in Jennie's eyes.
"Jennie can be a bit sensitive l especially when she gets jealous or annoyed. I've known her long enough to realise that it usually resolves itself but I can talk to her for you if you like." Rosé offered as she continued eating her breakfast sat around the island of the kitchen.
I glanced at her suspiciously, it was an oddly kind thing for her to do. She was never nice to me or anyone unless she wanted something in return. "Why would you do that for me?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm trying to make amends for how I've been acting lately. I was going through a lot and well I feel like I need to just be me and not put on some sort of show for people's acceptance."
There was a brief exchange of looks between her and Jisoo who suddenly went shy, looking down blushing at her plate. I sensed something bad was on the horizon.
"Really? You came to this morale epiphany all by yourself." I mocked.
"Lisa... be nice. Rosé's really trying." Jisoo said as she ran her hand along Rosé's arm who in turn smiled back at me.
"I really hope we can be friends, Lisa."
I continued to play with the cereal in the bowl, frowning at the floor. "We can be colleagues and acquaintances. Friends is pushing it."
"Okay, well at least that's a start. Oh! I think I left my jacket in your room last night." Rosé said suddenly to Jisoo who was busy clearing the plates.
"You did? It's fine, I'll go get it."
As Jisoo happily walked away to her bedroom, I raised my eye brows at Rosé who was staring at Jisoo's retreating figure. "What were you doing in her room last night?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." She smirked, making my blood boil.
"You haven't changed at all. You're just trying to get Jisoo to do whatever you want." I muttered coldly as she grinned.
"What can I say, Jisoo and I... we look pretty great together. You can't deny it." She held up her phone looking pleased with herself, showing the background wallpaper from a recent photo shoot of Rosé and Jisoo together.
"Jisoo deserves so much better, you can't fool me." I scowled at her but she just laughed.
"You know Lili you have a very wild imagination but you do tend to be a bit cynical. I'd work on that attitude if I were you."
Casually, she got up to check her reflection in the stainless steel fridge, putting on her scarf as she spoke. "Oh! Will you be a sweetheart and tell Jen Jen I have somewhere to be after practice today. I won't be back until around 1-2am."
I didn't care to ask where she was going. I had no intention of giving her the satisfaction of knowing how much it bothered me that her and Jisoo were spending so much time together.
I scoffed, lazily leaning the back of my head against the cupboard door watching as she applied her lip gloss. "Tell her yourself. We're not supposed to be off campus grounds without permission after midnight during the week days, it's YSJ policy."
"It's also campus policy not to leave trash laying around in the kitchen and yet... here you are." She smirked gesturing towards me as I suddenly sat up and clenched my fists in anger.
Before I could reply, Jisoo reentered the room with a skip in her step as she handed Rosé her jacket. Gratefully, Rosé smiled taking the jacket as their fingertips grazed one another leaving Jisoo blushing again. There whole scene making me furious.
"Thanks Chu. Do you want to walk with me maybe get a coffee on campus before rehearsal? I made a playlists we could listen to on the way, I think you'll like it." Rosé asked as she got her guitar case from the side of the couch.
Happily, Jisoo nodded her headed albiet somewhat excitedly and grabbed her coat and bag from beside the door. "Sure, lets go. I hope you feel better, Lisa. We'll see you at rehearsal!"
As I watched them leave arm in arm, I glanced at my phone. There was still no reply from Jennie. For the rest of the morning, I sat miserably in the dorm alone wondering what the hell was actually going on.