"Yes, of course I can help you with that." Jisoo heard Aeri attend to another customer while she set up the new phone that had arrived on display.
"Ma'am, are you sure it didn't come in contact with liquid?" She heard Lisa anxiously ask.
"Of course not!" The customer rebutted.
"Ma'am, it's leaking orange juice." The girl tiredly informed her.
"It must be some type of phone fluid." She insisted once again. With a sigh, Jisoo heard Lisa politely take her to the counter to examine if she could save it.
"Done with the display?" She looked up from the wires to see Irene poking at the new camera.
"Almost. Any issue with that?" Jisoo pointed to the camera in her hand.
"I'm trying to put in a new memory card, but it keeps rejecting it. Seul is dealing with that loaded guy who gets a new phone monthly, and Yeri told me to just slam it in."
Jisoo laughed at Yeri's suggestion. "Ask Lisa for help."
"I'm waiting for her to finish with that old lady." They wistfully looked at the younger still nervously trying to tell her she can't save her phone.
"Yeah, I don't think she'll be done anytime soon, so just go over there and flash your face, and maybe she'll let Lisa go."
"Is that all I am to you? A pretty face?" Irene gasped with faux offense.
"Hey." Jisoo put her hands up in defense. "It's not our fault old customers love you. Little kids love me, and teenagers love Lisa, so it's all coordinated."
"Keep using that excuse to get me to deal with old people." Irene rolled her eyes before making her way to Lisa. Jisoo watched for a while as Irene used her charm to get the customer to go easy on Lisa.
She shook her head when Irene winked at her and fluttered her fingers in waves while she left to go to the back, confirming she was about to sell another phone.
Jisoo quickly put her head back into the area below the display and began rewiring to connect the phones together.
"Is there really no one available right now?" A voice full of irritation asked.
"Just ask her."
"Fine." A sigh was heard.
Shortly after, Jisoo felt a tap on her shoulder, which caused her to look up in reflex and bump her forehead right under the board of display. Clutching her eyes shut, Jisoo was left sitting on the floor, covering the sore area with her hand.
"Oh my god! Are you okay?"
"Yes, ma'am. Just give me a sec-"
"I'm so sorry!" A pair of hands were tracing over her. Not one too comfortable with touch, Jisoo's eyes fluttered open to meet brown eyes filled with worry, an inch away from her.
As Jisoo slowly removed her hand, they stared at her in worry and shock.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She softly whispered. Jisoo nodded, slowly closing the cabinet and fleeing to stand on her feet.
"So," The raven dusted off her pants and looked up at the girl. "What can I help you with today? You seem to be in a hurry."
"No!" She yelled out, startling Jisoo and the rest of the workers in the store who were ready to jump in if it was another rude customer. "W-We have time. You can take your time with me."
"We do?" The girl beside her asked.
"Yes. Yes, we do." The older girl turned around and spoke through her gritted teeth while holding a smile. She turned back to Jisoo, who looked at her in confusion.
"So...could you help me?"
"I would love to, ma'am." Jisoo politely smiled. "But you haven't told me what you need help with."
"Ah, yes." The raven watched as she reached into the purse hanging on her bent arm. Her eyes lurked to see the sharp Chanel logo that made her gulp. She couldn't afford to offend someone this rich.
"I dropped my phone and shattered my screen completely. All my data is on it, and I need it all back by tonight."
"Hmm.." They followed her to the counter where she began working with the computer there.
"I'm sure I can transfer the data elsewhere for now..." Jisoo held her hand out for the latter to pass her the phone while she was distracted with getting the right application open.
She was going to continue working when she felt an unusual warmth in her hand that definitely wasn't a phone. The raven looked up to see the girl's hand on her outstretched hand instead of her phone.
"Uhh..." The younger girl behind her looked as puzzled as Jisoo. Jisoo raised her brows slightly at her, but she just held a blissful smile.
Is this girl an airhead?
"Ma'am."
"Mhm." She nodded, still smiling.
"I reached out for your phone."
"OH!" She quickly scrambled to place her phone in Jisoo's hand while heat ran up to her cheeks, making them bright red. "Sorry." She meekly replied, embarrassed while the girl behind her slapped her own face.
"Thank you." She was about to scan the phone when she realised the display was quite inaccessible. The glass screen was shattered all over as if it were thrown off the 50th floor. Jisoo was flabbergasted, to say the least.
"C-Can I know what happened?"
"Ahh, she dropped it out of the penthouse balcony." Jisoo's jaw dropped at the girl's answer. "Jennie unnie's just clumsy like that. It's pretty normal, don't worry."
"Oh." Jisoo continued to work with the phone.
"Do you want to play 20 questions?" Jennie asked out of the blue. Jisoo looked up from the phone with a raised brow, but she understood how boring it would be to wait around like Jennie.
"Sure. I'll go first. What's your favourite colour?"
"Triangle." Jennie answered quickly without a delay. Her eyes were laser focused on Jisoo. "Do you like girls?" Jisoo, for the first time, faltered in her steps. Jennie looked so laser focused on her, awaiting an answer.
"Unnie!" Ningning slapped her arm. "I'm so sorry about her. She's just really bad at socialising." After looking between Jennie's determined face and Ningning's embarrassed one, Jisoo burst out laughing.
"No. No. It's fine." She covered her laugh. "And yes, I do."
"So....how long have you been working here?"
"Isn't it my turn now?" Jisoo asked back, amused. Jennie gulped at her look of confidence. "I'm just kidding. It's fine."
"Uhhh..." The raven kept her eyes on the phone as she answered. "Since I was 21, so about..."
"About..." Jennie eagerly waited.
"Two years."
"Twenty-three." Jennie whispered to herself.
"Seeing anyone?" Noticing that Jisoo was open to answer anything while distracted, Jennie took her chance.
"No." The raven didn't notice the sudden bright smile and smirk Jennie set at Ningning, who rolled her eyes at her. Jisoo eventually got to see if she could recover any data, and once she found a way, she looked to Lisa, who saw her and made her way there.
"Wow, you must've seen a text of your boyfriend cheating on you with your mom to throw your phone like that." Lisa gasped at the device. Ningning chuckled at her words while her sister glared. She looked back to see Jisoo holding back a smile.
"I'm not...I'm not dating anyone." She said, looking at Jisoo. The raven just dismissively smiled, not paying attention.
"I can grab the data from this easily, but it'll take a little while." The younger one informed them.
"I wanted you to fix it for me." Jennie glowered at Jisoo. The two workers looked back and forth between each other in surprise while her sister held an embarrassed look.
"Well..." Lisa cleared her throat. "It'll be the same no matter who fixes it. We were thinking, while I work on it, Jisoo over here, could show you the new phones that came out."
"Jisoo?" The brunette innocently turned to face her.
"Yes. Kim Jisoo. I'll help you for the day."
"The whole day?" Jennie gasped, a delighted smile on her face. Ningning awkwardly smiled before letting a confused Jisoo walk forward. The younger pulled Jennie back before she could waddle right behind Jisoo.
"Please have some shame! I can't be embarrassed like this!" Ningning harshly whispered to her sister.
"I'm trying, but it's so hard when she's so hot." Jennie quickly strutted in her heels towards Jisoo, who was already looking through the phones.
"So, we have a few new models that came in. Do you have any preferences?"
"You."
"Excuse me?" Jisoo furrowed her brows together.
"Ah, I mean, do you?" Jennie nervously smiled once again.
"Well, right now I have the Samsung-"
"Samsung!" Jennie's eyes lit up. "I want whatever the latest Samsung is!"
"The flip?"
"Yes! I'll take it!" She exclaimed loudly.
"Are you sure you don't want to hear any of the features?"
"Will you be telling me about them?" Fluttering her eyes, she leaned closer into Jisoo.
"Yes, I believe so," The raven looked around to see that almost everyone was busy. Aeri, who wasn't occupied, just stared at her with a smirk. "Considering there's no one else here to help." Jisoo replied through her gritted teeth.
"Oh, then, go ahead." Jennie replied, smitten by her. "I'll listen." As Jisoo explained the features of the phone and Jennie nodded, absolutely smitten.
"....and that's mostly what it contains. The storage is great and easily transferable, which I think you will love."
"I do love it." She fluttered her lashes at the raven again.
Jisoo nervously chuckled at her. "So, should I pack this up?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, give me a second, and I'll check in with Lisa and get the phone for you."
"Take your time, I'll wait." Jennie smiled at the raven as she watched her walk over to speak with the blonde. Ningning covered her face in shame.
"Unnie, I'm once again begging you to behave."
"Leave me alone. I'm trying to admire your future sister-in-law."
"Unnie!" Ningning exclaimed to an unfazed Jennie, who made her way to the counter.
"Oh, you're going to be happy to hear this." Lisa smiled at Jennie. "I'm ready to transfer your data. As soon as Jisoo gets your new phone, we can finish it immediately."
"Immediately?" The brunette was panicking. "Why don't you take your time? Are you sure it's complete?"
"Yes, of course! You can trust me, I'm the best at this job!" The younger one boasted, not understanding Jennie's distress.
"Ahem." They turned to see Jisoo clearing her throat. "Second best. Aeri surpasses all of us." The raven tapped Lisa's head playfully with the box in her hand.
"Your phone's ready, ma'am." She informed Jennie, who still had a worried look etched on her face. "I'm sorry, was there something else you were looking for?" She looked back, easily worried.
"Huh? No. Nothing. It was perfect." Jennie snapped out of her trance on Jisoo. "I'll just wait for her to finish."
"Great. I'll just leave this here." Jisoo placed the phone down at the counter. "You can finish with Lisa here. I hope you like your new phone!" Without a word from Jennie, the raven sped past her to help the next customer.
Without Jisoo in her presence, Jennie dropped her smile immediately, which made Ningning sigh, knowing her sister wasn't going to just leave like that. Lisa was surprised to be met with a grumpy customer but did her job nonetheless, eager to finish up with them.
"Here's you pho-"
"Thanks!" Jennie quickly grabbed the bag and gave her tight-lipped smile before strutting off. Stepping out of the store, Jennie turned around to glance at Jisoo, who was helping some teenagers with airpods.
"That's going to be my girl." Jennie announced the Ningning as she glanced at Jisoo and sped past her. The latter sighed and ran behind her.
Several customers passed throughout the day, and the workers continued to put on a smile for each one of them. Once it was time, they slowly dragged their limbs to clean up the place and close the store.
"The inventory matches up. All the displays were restacked, and the place is squeaky clean as usual." Irene looked up from her tablet. "It's time to go home, kids!!"
They cheered as they went to the back to change out of the uniform. The favourite bonding activity of gossiping about their customers ensued as they changed.
"That girl was totally checking out Jisoonie." Aeri pulled her shirt over her head. "Her friend was cute too." Her muffled voice added.
"I don't know what you're talking about. She just looked like an airhead to me."
"You just can't tell when someone's into you, unnie." Lisa remarked.
Jisoo shrugged it off, quickly changing and waiting for the rest of them. The girls didn't miss a chance to tease her on the way to the bar and even as they drank. She simply tuned them out the whole night.
That was until her alcohol-filled brain hit the bed. Jisoo laid there trying to remember the details of her day of her interaction with Jennie. Was she flirting, or was she just a bit dumb? Whatever it was, Jisoo found her weird and totally out of her league.
The raven pulled her blanket over her head and headed to sleep.
-----------
Lisa perked up at Jennie's entry into the store. "Welcome back! Seeing you so soo-"
"Yeah, so soon." The girl was practically at risk of snapping her neck, the way she was looking around so vigorously. "Where's Jisoo?"
The blonde smirked at her actions. They were going to have a field day teasing the poor girl.
"Actually, Jisoo's not here today."
"She's not?!" Lisa held back her laugh at the defeat in Jennie's voice. "Why not?!"
"She's here but not at the front right now." Delivering her words with an innocent smile, she watched Jennie's face contort from a look of irritation to joy. "I can help you, though."
"No, it's fine." She grit through her teeth. "I'm busy right now anyway, I'll...uhh..come back later."
"Sure." Lisa waved Jennie off with a beam. With one last glare, Jennie grumpily stomped out of the store. Barely five minutes passed when Jisoo walked out of the back to Lisa.
"We don't even have any Nokias in our stock, jerk." Lisa winced at the flick on her forehead. She sent the raven away when she saw Jennie near the store.
"Hey! I just wanted to make sure." The younger shrugged, grinning at the raven.
"Whatever, get back to work." Smiling at her antics, Jisoo looked around to help customers.
The afternoon passed by pretty quickly, and so did Jennie's patience. Every time she pretended to walk by the store to check for Jisoo, Lisa was one step ahead of her and made sure to hide the girl by hindering her with a random task.
Right before they closed, Jennie stormed into the place while the Thai was too busy with a customer. By the time Lisa finally noticed her, Jennie was running to the raven.
Unfortunately, she couldn't stop herself before she collided. That's exactly how Jisoo ended up falling on her butt to the floor, clutching her forehead again. Groaning, she attempted to stand up but realised heavy weight was still on her.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Her voice made Jennie finally look up with a scrunched up face, also holding her forehead. Eyes widening, Jisoo continued to stare at her breathlessly.
"Jichu! I finally found you!" Jennie flashed her gummy smile at her, melting her heart.
"It seems I'm going to end up falling for you every time we meet." Laughing, the raven watched her stumble up from her with heated cheeks. Grabbing onto the hand Jennie offered, Jisoo also hopped up and dusted herself off.
"How may I help you today, ma'am?" Jennie only seemed to stare back at her with a focused look. "Ma'am?" Jisoo waved her hand in front of the brunette's face for her attention, which finally caused her to snap out of it.
"My phone broke!" Quickly digging into her bag, Jennie held out her newly smashed phone that she definitely did not purposely drop from the top of her 20th level office.
"Again?" She looked at the phone and back at Jennie, who sincerely nodded with a pout. "Do you need your data transferred or?"
"Nope! Just get me a new phone, please!" She requested with a smile that caused both her eyes to turn into little crescents. Jisoo patted her chest as she looked down to slow her heartbeat. She decided to blame the words from the girls for this sudden nervous feeling in her gut.
"A-Alright, this way, please."
They spent almost hours picking out a phone while Jennie asked a focused Jisoo unnecessary questions and also requested to call her by her name.
"You'll love Kuma!"
"Not as much as you'll love this phone." Jisoo packed it up and continued to check it out for her. "And...you can pay." Jennie simply tapped her card as she stared at Jisoo with heart eyes as usual.
"Your purchase is finished!" Jennie brushed her fingers as she handed over the bag to her. "I hope you don't accidentally drop this one from the 20th floor again, Jennie." The raven joked, earning an unbelievably large laugh from the latter.
"Jichu! Stop!! You're hilarious!"
"Haha, I guess so." Jisoo scratched her nape, wondering if that terrible joke was really that funny. Was it even a joke?
"I-If it's alright, could I get your number?" Her scrunched brows discouraged Jennie. "I-In case of an emergency? If my phone malfunctions!"
"The company number will d-"
"No! I need yours!" The brunette demanded, making Jisoo even more confused. "We're more familiar."
"I'm actually not too fond of sharing numbers with others."
"Oh!" Jennie brightened up. "That's good. That's actually great. Don't give your number out to other girls. Or guys!" Jisoo found her optimism somewhat adorable, and she caved in.
"I suppose I could give it to you, though." Once she typed in her number, Jennie's smile doubled in size.
"Thank you, Jichu! You're the best!" Without wasting time, she leaned over the counter and pecked her cheek. With Jisoo in the frozen state, Jennie chuckled and skipped out while the rest of the staff also remained frozen.
"Umm...excuse me?" The girl in front of Aeri snapped her fingers, which made her head turn back. "So, can you get me a sim or not?!"
"Gosh, do you really need to call your cheating husband that bad, girl!?" She rolled her eyes before telling her to follow her.
-----------
Work was slow, which was inherently good, except the time seemed to also move slowly. Jisoo was at the counter trying to figure out how to stop Lisa from polluting her phone with pictures of her cats when the click of heels against the floor echoed loudly.
The phone in her hand was now dropped onto the desk. Jennie was back. It had barely been a week. Before she could ask, Jennie answered her.
"Kuma swallowed it."
"How is that even possible?!" Her brows furrowed as she tried to imagine it.
"Not sure." The brunette was so nonchalant. "Do you have any pets, Chu?"
"Yeah, a white Maltese." Jisoo smiled, taking out her phone to show Jennie. "This is Dalgomie."
"He's so cute!" Grabbing Jisoo's phone, she gushed over the dog and even scrolled through her camera roll. That was until she saw a picture, and her face turned sour. "Who's this girl, Jichu?" Jisoo tried to ignore the weirdly cute nickname.
She looked over at a picture of Lisa's girlfriend, Chaeyoung, playing with their cats. "Oh, that's just Chaengie." She decided not to mention Lisa's relationship, unsure it was hers to reveal to a stranger.
"And who is this Chaengie?" Jennie's mood had switched unexpectedly.
"A friend of mine."
"Hi again!" Lisa popped up before Jennie could unleash any wrath she held. She peeked at Jisoo's phone in her hand. "Oh, Chaengie. Isn't she the cutest? Look at her holding Luca." Lisa gushed at the blonde's gentle hold on their son, which just made Jennie furrow her brows in slight discomfort.
"Ahh, I'm so lucky." The younger sighed blissfully smitten. She leaned her head on Jisoo's shoulder and grinned.
"So you're both friends with her?" Jennie questioned, determined to know all details of this friendship.
"Friends?" Lisa stood up straight, snickering at the words. "That's my girlfriend, love of life, light of my world and soon-to-be fiancée."
"Fiancée?" Jisoo was surprised to learn of this. "Since when?"
"Oh, yeah. I was actually planning on asking you guys for help at today's dinner." Lisa smiled sheepishly. "I finally saved enough and even bought the ring she liked from that day."
"Oh my god, Lili!" The raven's smile grew enough for her eyes to scrunch close. "I'm so happy for you both. I can't wait! I'll do whatever you need me to."
Although Jennie felt she was interrupting an intimate moment, she couldn't help but fondly admire their relationship. Her admiration for Jisoo only grew larger at her adorable smile and want to be involved in her friend's happiness.
She decided not to bother them for the day and walked away with the broken phone while they were distracted.
--------------
Jisoo was idly sitting there poking at her lunch. The reason, of course, was the cat-eyed girl who visited her store every day just to see her. Sometimes, she would look around and ask Jisoo questions about products she had no interest in purchasing. Other times, she would just drag behind Jisoo, asking her questions about her and telling her about herself.
One good thing that came from it is that Jennie's phone seemed to rarely break nowadays. Only every few months.
"Jisoo!" The raven blinked away and looked up from her food to see Irene standing across from her.
"Yes, unnie."
"She's here."
"Can't you deal with her this time?" She tried giving Irene puppy eyes and a pout in hopes she would listen. Instead, she was met with an unamused look.
"Either go deal with your girl or get all of us coffee and lunch as a reward for putting up with her. Our supply is honestly running out. What tech store runs out of phones of all things?!"
"She's not my girl!"
"Tell that to the blush on your face." Irene retorted with her usual poker face. "Can't believe that's all you picked up. I just said we're running out of phones to sell!"
Sighing, Jisoo got up from her chair and eyed her half eaten lunch. "Manager."
"Yes?"
"Fuck you thoroughly."
"No thanks." Irene beamed at her before taking away her food and sitting in her seat. "And thank you."
Jisoo sauntered out to see the girl she had to deal with all week. Once she was spotted, Jisoo stood idly as the girl ran up to her, stopping seconds before crashing into her.
"Jisoo unnie! Hi! How was your morning? Did you have lunch already?"
"I had a morning, I guess." Jisoo bitterly stated. "My lunch is currently in the hands of someone else.
"Who?" Jennie grumbled angrily. "How dare they steal my Chu's lunch?! I'll have them fired!"
"Forget it. What happened to your phone this time? Did you throw it off the top of the Rocky Mountain? Drop it in your smoothie? Lose it in Paris again?"
The raven was no longer surprised. This was the 3rd one this month. It had been almost three months since Jennie started coming in looking for a new phone every week. It used to be every few days but slowly they broke less often.
The raven didn't know it was only like that because Ningning had told Jennie she was being too obvious.
"No. No. And I would've just let one of my assistants track it down." Jennie chirped orderly. "I accidentally set the language to French. Could you undo it for me, Chu?"
"French?" Jisoo looked at her with a hardened expression. "Jennie, you literally speak French. I know you can undo this yourself."
"No, but-" Shaking her head, Jisoo let out a frustrated sigh.
"What about the other phone I got you a few weeks ago?"
"Someone stole it on the subway." Jennie faked a quick pout.
"You have a personal chauffeur, Jennie." Jisoo was unimpressed as she watched Jennie squirm around.
"Uhh...well...nevermind that. It's apparently not safe to take the subway. From now on I'll drop you off, Chu"
"No, I'm fi-"
"It's final!" They argued back and forth before she gave in. Jisoo ended up learning how persuasive Jennie could be or how easily she let her rule over her. They had definitely formed a weird relationship. She wasn't sure she could call it friendship but rather something similar to it.
------------
Jisoo was annoyed, if that was the right word for the burn in her throat right now. She was busily bringing in the new shipment that was just delivered alone because the delivery driver was too busy flirting with Jennie.
Usually, Bobby, the regular delivery driver, helped her or rather forced her to sit around in the truck keeping him company while he moved the boxes. He would excitedly speak about his family while she listened, eager to know more.
Whoever this Hanbin was, Jisoo already disliked him. Especially the way she could tell he was flexing his biceps while he leaned his side against the van with his arms crossed.
Jennie was polite enough to keep his company since Jisoo refused her help. Originally, she didn't want Jennie hurting herself in the process but now she regrets it horribly.
Interestingly, she didn't think she really had such strong feelings for the girl. Jisoo observed herself and how deep in the pits she felt as she watched Jennie laugh at his stupid jokes. They really didn't make any sense if you asked her.
She shifted the focus on the boxes once again and began her work. It was too hot of a day for this and her flannel kept getting in her way. The way her body burned with jealousy only added to the heat. Since the girl seemed to not pay attention to her for once, Jisoo decided to leave so she could go throw her flannel down in her locker.
While she was gone, Jennie immediately stopped talking to the guy since she didn't notice Jisoo in her peripheral vision. Did her plan work? Was Jisoo so upset and jealous that she had to take a breather? She secretly cheered inwardly and continued to pity-laugh at Hanbin's corny jokes.
It had been a few minutes and immediately Jennie's worries shot up. She was about to step back into the store when she saw Jisoo step out. Without her flannel. And accompanied by a girl that definitely didn't work here.
"I'm pretty strong, you know?" Jisoo laughed at her friend's words.
"Just keep me company. You can take my role for the day and I'll do Bobby's." Jennie squinted her eyes at the girl. She was slightly taller than her. Just slightly.
"Whatever. I just wanted to see you because our son misses you." Naturally, Jennie's teeth began gritting once the new girl wrapped her arm around Jisoo's shoulders.
Jisoo finally looked at her once as she walked back to the truck. She smiled at Jennie and passed a quick look at Hanbin. The girl with her jumped up to sit at the ledge of the truck, swinging her feet while Jisoo picked up the boxes. She watched the raven scurry off inside and decided it was fine to make her way to her.
"Hi, I'm Jennie." She reached her hand out to the girl who quizzically stared at it before shaking it, donning a huge smile.
"Soojoo! Are you a new employee? I've never seen you before."
"No, I'm just Jisoo's friend. You?" Soojoo held a mischievous smile that she didn't enjoy.
"I'm something like that too. I used to work here before. I just stop by sometimes."
"Something like that?" Jennie couldn't wrap her head around what that could mean.
"Hey, there's only a few more boxes. Want me to help?" Hanbin offered, standing behind Jennie. Soojoo seemed to slightly glare at him before sighing.
"No thank you. Sooya's been doing it all anyway, she'll finish up in a few minutes. Where's Bobby?"
"He just had a different errand." Hanbin scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, not really. I just decided to take it today since I was free. He'll stop by to check off inventory and take the truck back anyway. I'm off in a few hours." He looked to Jennie at the last sentence, hinting at a possible date.
"How many more?" They turned to see Jisoo sweating and panting as she walked towards them. Soojoo quickly counted what was left to take.
"Just four." She used the back of her hand to attempt to wipe off Jisoo's sweat. "You're sweating like crazy, you smell like Lisa's petting zoo that she calls an apartment." They laughed in unison as Jennie tried to hold in her irritation. She clenched the little tissue she held in her palm.
"Hey, if you and Jennie want to talk inside the storage for a while, you could." Jisoo stuck her thumb towards the building "Bobby called me and said he'll be here in 20 minutes and we'll be done by then."
"I'll do two, you do two." Soojoo offered. They unloaded the boxes and Hanbin quickly locked up the truck. Jennie walked behind Jisoo, ignoring his questions aimed towards her.
Even as she sat down with Hanbin, her eyes stayed on Jisoo who had finally brought everything in. Soojoo had left to hang out with the other staff and Hanbin was boring her with his stupid questions.
Just in time, Hanbin seemed to receive a call and excused himself. She peered to the side to see the raven had collapsed on top of one of the boxes and was left all alone, for Jennie to take. So without haste, she skipped towards her and squeaked out a small greeting. Jisoo found herself lazily pulling her torso to sit up.
"Hey." She groaned back in greeting. "Where's Hanbin?"
"On a call."
Jisoo began busily rearranging the boxes she had brought in. A sense of relief overcame her once Jennie was back at her side. Carrying around the boxes was making her sweat and Jennie, generously, offered to wipe it for her against her will. "I would compliment you but I'm worried you'll take it the wrong way."
"The wrong way?" Jisoo huffed out, dropping another box on top of the rest.
"Platonically." She just received a smile in return. Jisoo had become used to her advances. She had turned around to pick up another box when the shuffling of cardboard caught her attention. She turned around to promptly be pushed down to the floor with Jennie falling on top of her.
"OH MY GOD! I'm so sorry!!" Jisoo could only groan as she let her the pain in her back numb. A few seconds passed as Jennie continued to gush out apologies, still sitting on top of her.
"It's fine." She groaned out. "Just, stop squirming so I can regain feeling in my back."
"I'm sooo clumsy!!" Jennie continued to snuggle closer to Jisoo's chest.
"Yeah well, I'm not." Jisoo managed to find the strength to pull herself to sit up right. It barely changed Jennie's position. "Any plans on getting up?" Jennie had a suspicious grin on her face which gave Jisoo enough of a hint of the answer.
"So this Soojoo, you never mentioned her."
"She's my friend. You know Jinyoung-"
"That stupidly nice guy that won't stop looking at you with that stupidly nice smile." Jisoo ignored Jennie's choice of words.
"I suppose. They're siblings."
"The whole family is out to get what's mine." She mumbled to herself with a serious pout. It must be planned. It seemed too much of a coincidence to Jennie.
"You okay there, mandu?" Shs poked her cheeks to check.
"Due to personal reasons I am mad now." She continued to curve her brows closer together. Jisoo ran her hand through Jennie's hair. Her usually straight strands were now presenting as loose brown curls
"Okay, I'm calm now." The latter fell into her touch, mewling.
"I really like your hair like this. Looks like Chapagetti." She played around with a few curls.
"Did you just compare my hair to ramen?!" Jennie lifted her head off Jisoo to feign offence. The raven's head bobbed up and down with a playfully smile.
"Mandu and Chapagetti. You're making me hungry."
"You want to eat me?" For the first time, Jennie saw the girl flustered.
"Time to get up." Jisoo squeaked out. She scrambled to push Jennie off and began dusting her pants off.
"Ouch!" Her rushed movements came to a stop once she heard her. She looked down to see Jennie's eyes slightly welling up naturally.
"Jen?" The raven helped her up and was quickly on one knee inspecting her for any visual of a bruise. "Where does it hurt?"
"Jisoo." At the mention of the name, she got back to standing on both legs to face Jennie.
"You call me dumb, cute nicknames and say you like them, panic at the slight thought of me getting hurt, and get stupidly jealous of some guy as if you haven't noticed I've been hitting on you since we met. So will you finally have some confidence or ask me out or do I have to make my own move?"
Jennie was once again grinning at her like usual. At that moment, Jisoo felt an urge to feel Jennie against her. So, without any hindrance, she stepped forward enough with nothing but only let a small gust of wind pass between them.
Jennie stood tall in that dark storage room. She found herself slightly tiptoeing to lean into Jisoo.
"I'll have you know, I've never been the one chasing. So what are you going to do?"
"Nothing you don't want me to do." Jisoo was close. Too close. Her breath was hitting her lips.
"What if I don't want to be kissed in a cold and dark storage room?" A hint of playfulness danced along Jennie's upturned lips.
"Then I would simply step back and continue with these boxes."
"Nope. This isn't exactly the romantic first kiss I had in mind for us but I can't let this slip." Jennie circled her arms around Jisoo's nape. "Think you're a good kisser?"
"We'll just have to find out." Jennie gasped when Jisoo latched onto her lips. Her hands slipped down to get a hold onto the neck of Jisoo's top. The raven's head slightly bobbed around as she worked on brushing Jennie's lips. She felt the girl clenching her top tighter by the second. Jisoo only let go once she felt Jennie patting her chest.
Jennie made sure to slap her arm after she caught her breath. "So aggressive." She received a guilty shrug in return. Rolling her eyes, she pulled the girl back into her by her tank.
They continued for a few more minutes until they heard shuffling and voices coming from outside. Jennie tried to pull away only for Jisoo to not allow her. She forcibly pulled herself back while the latter continued to hold her close by the waist.
"Relax, Jichu. We have all the time in the world."
"I think I want to spend most of it kissing you." Jennie blushed at her. "And sleeping. Definitely eating too." Soon the brunette was rolling her eyes giggling at her words.
"Sooya?" Jisoo pulled away and fixed herself to walk out. Jennie wondered if she wanted to keep them a secret for now but her doubt vanished once Jisoo weaved their fingers together and walked out with Jennie by her side.
"Are you done with the boxes?" Irene asked, looking at the tablet in her hand.
"Yeah. I haven't checked the inventory yet."
"I'll be doing that. You can go out to the front and stop Aeri from fighting another middle aged woman."
"I thought Lisa was on Aeri watch."
"There's a rush of teenagers in there. I think they're on a school trip and just chose Lisa as the target for today." Jisoo smiled and was about to walk out when Irene called her back without turning.
"Please separate your hands for the time being. And, no matter how long you hang around the store, I'm not paying you, Jennie. Now, good luck on the shift!" Irene yelled, walking away.
"I guess I won't have to worry about her opposing me." Jisoo squinted at Jennie. "What? I still have to get approval from your coworkers."
"Lisa and Aeri will only bother me, they're like your biggest fans. Yuna will probably jump in joy and worrying about Kazuha is a waste of time. She's just happy to be there."
"Then, I guess you're the only one that has to worry."
"Pardon?"
"Ningning might be easily won over but the Jung sisters won't let you breathe if you even answer one question wrong about me. Nayeon will probably bully you but..."
"Will she eventually stop?"
"No. You'll just get used to it." Jennie suppressed her smile while Jisoo's jaw slightly dropped.
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"How?" The disappointment was visible on her face. "You have no reason to do this anymore so why?"
"It wasn't on purpose!" Jisoo turned towards Ningning for the truth.
"She did it on purpose." The sister shook her head.
"Snitch!" Jennie exclaimed at the betrayal.
"Jennie." Jisoo let out a long sigh. "What possible reason could you have to break another phone?"
"Ads kept popping up while I was binge watching shows."
"And you broke your own phone for what? To assert dominance?" She shook her head innocently.
"I wanted to see you." Jisoo sighed, letting her body droop in posture.
"And you couldn't just text me? Call me even? I would've answered as soon as I saw it." Jennie gave her biggest pout at her, which was very efficient in softening Jisoo's mood.
"You were angry. I wasn't sure you wanted to talk to me."
"I was upset you let Kuma eat your airpods so you'll be able to spend an entire shift with me after Irene banned you from hanging around and stopping customers from speaking to me."
"They kept trying to get your attention!" She grumpily frowned which made Jisoo huff out a smile.
"They're customers. I kind of am obliged to give them my attention, Jen."
Jennie rolled her eyes and continued to fiddle with her fingers. "Whatever."
"I'm going to get Lisa to fix this." She waved the phone in front of Jennie before walking away as the two sisters followed. "This will be the last time you get a phone from our store." Which received her a gasp.
"I'll complain to Irene that you're chasing away a paying customer!" Jisoo shrugged her off.
"Go ahead. She'll probably ban you from entering the store in total."
"Jennie!" Lisa greeted with a large smile. "I already have it ready. Just tap over there." She pointed to the machine.
"How did you..."
"You come so often, this is the bare minimum." She shrugged and watched Jennie pay. "You should just get one of those old Nokias. They never break."
"Thanks for the birthday idea, Lili." Jisoo chuckled and held the bag out to Jennie who snuffed her and walked away before she could at least give her a tiny kiss. Ningning giggled and bid her goodbye to the both of them.
She laughed it off and went on with her shift. It was the end of the week which meant it was not a slow day even if they wished for it. By the end of it all, they were mentally exhausted with aching limbs.
Irene sighed as she finished inventory to see the zombies that were her coworkers. They all groaned and complained while they fully closed the store and limped to the back.
Jisoo texted Jennie to let her know they're going out together. She waited for her quick response but was met with a "seen" instead. Knowing how her stubborn girlfriend held grudges, she decided to just leave early to meet her instead.
The girls were well on their way out of the door when Jisoo decided to call Jennie one last time.
"Seulgi's driving today. Who's going home with us?"
"I'm with Sooya as usual." Lisa hugged her, attempting to kiss her as usual.
"NO YOU'RE NOT!" Jisoo and Lisa winced as the raven pulled the phone away from her ear. They both stared at the phone unsure how it was that loud.
She quickly held the phone closer to her ear with Lisa attaching her ear to the other side when a muffled sob broke out.
"LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS ARE SO HARD! I MISS YOU SO MUCH, JICHU!"
"Jennie? Baby, It's only been a few hours."
"I CANT BREATHE I CAN'T- PLEASE LET ME COME BACK! LIFT TO THE BAN! I WANNA SEE YOU"
"Is she drunk?" Lisa suggested and the raven widened her eyes at the possibility.
"Shit. Jennie, are you drunk?"
"Jennie? I THOUGHT I WAS BABY!" Jisoo pulled the phone away at the pain caused by the sheer volume of her girlfriend's sobs.
"The volume on your phone is great but there's a weird echo with the audio." The older one nodded as they both stared at her phone scrolling through the settings to fix. Their tired coworkers who had already spotted the cause of the commotion quickly hit the two clueless girls.
"Ouch?!"
"Unnie!?" Irene signalled towards the parked cars. They shifted their attention from their aching limbs to see the car they all recognized.
"Jennie!" The girls watched as Jisoo jogged towards the girl who was unaware and still sobbing on the phone call.
"Hey guys!" Ningning watched them all flinch in surprise. She hooked her arm around Aeri who already held a mushy smile to her face. "So what's the plan for the night?"
Jisoo knocked on the window of the car and watched her girlfriend jump at the sound. The tears that had briefly paused to show a look of fear resumed once Jennie saw who was at her side. Hearing her unlock the door, Jisoo quickly opened it and lowered herself closer to Jennie.
"I was just about to come to you." Jennie pushed her back slightly to step out. She was sure she was in for an argument when Jisoo was pulled into a hug by the sobbing girl.
"Really?" She heard Jennie ask over her shoulder.
"Really." The younger girl wrapped herself tightly around Jisoo to her best ability and so Jisoo took to drawing circles on her back to soothe her until her sobs mellowed.
She slowly pulled away and brought her hands up to cup Jennie's face and wipe away the remaining tears on her face with her thumbs. "Baby, what happened? Did you drink? Who drove you here?"
"You don't love me anymore. I did. Ningning."
She answered her, sobbing between each sentence. Jisoo held in her laugh unsure if it would make her cry harder.
"It's impossible for me to not love you." She gently brushed her fingers through Jennie's hair. "Why would you ever think that?"
"You banned me from the store!" Jennie threw her an accusatory but childish look which finally caused Jisoo to burst out a chuckle. "You got tired of me. You don't even want to see my face anymore."
"Gosh. You're so cute." Jisoo held her smile while dropping swift kisses to Jennie's cheek. "That was to stop you from wasting money, baby. I could never get tired of you."
"But I have to!" Jennie whined. "I want to see Jichu when I miss you. And Irene won't hire me!"
"You could just FaceTime me when you miss me. I will answer if I'm free."
"Not the same, Jichu!" Jennie huffed and pushed away Jisoo's puckered lips before she could kiss her again.
"Okay. Then how about only stopping by when you miss me? No breaking or buying phones. Just briefly stop by when you miss me." Jennie dismissed the idea with a head shake. "What's wrong with this proposal?"
"No buying means not seeing Jichu. Then I only see Jichu when you're jobless!" Jisoo let out a laugh at Jennie's choice of words. "Only two of...seven?" She watched her girlfriend count her fingers until she was sure. "Seven! Seven days!"
"I call you in the morning when I get time in-between and at night, baby."
"Not enough! Bad! Worse! I wake up alone and go to bed alone! So... I always miss Jichu..."
Jennie fell limp against her body, and Jisoo could do nothing but let her heart swell at the sight. She shuffled to get Jennie into the backseat of the car and was soon on her way to her apartment.
She struggled to get a sleeping Jennie to shower in her tiredness, so she opted for a quick wash for both of them. After texting Ningning, she let Jennie sleep on her bed to slip away to change.
Jisoo came back to see the pure sight of Jennie comfortably tucked into her bed. Not wanting to ruin her sleep, she attempted to slowly slither in.
"Jichu..." Unsure how her girlfriend has managed to sense her, Jisoo just allowed herself to be dragged to lay on top. She shuffled to wrap her arms around Jennie's waist as she laid on her chest.
"I always miss you too, baby." Jisoo smiled when she felt a certain heart beat slightly pace up.
"Stop pretending to be asleep, Jennie." A few minutes passed by, and her girlfriend still didn't move. "If you don't wake up, I'm going to pull on your cheeks until morning."
"That would certainly trouble me." She chuckled at the little whisper. "But I'm sure I'll wake up if I get a kiss."
Smiling and shaking her head at her, Jisoo pulled away. "See, I knew you were awake."
"Noooo." Jennie whined, pulling her to fall back. "I'm still sleeping. I'll wake up with a kiss." Puckering her lips and clenching her eyes, she waited for her kiss patiently.
"That's too bad." Jisoo pushed herself up onto Jennie. "I'm sleepy." Her yawn tickled the younger's neck. "Goodnight, Jendeukie."
"So mean." Jennie wriggled down and managed to cup Jisoo's face with her hands. "Jichu! Open your eyes!"
"You don't open your eyes when you kiss, idiot." Jennie pouted yet still went in and was met with instant reciprocation. She made sure to slow down her girlfriend, who apparently wanted more than just a kiss. Jisoo didn't pull away first as usual and waited until Jennie was satisfied.
Jennie had a proud grin as she pulled away. "I just made out with Jichu."
"Yes, I'm aware. I was there." Jisoo gave her a small peck before laying back down. "Sleep."
"We're sleeping together." Jennie held her arms tightly around Jisoo. "Are we going to wake up together?" Her girlfriend shifted her head up to see Jennie's glossy eyes awaiting an answer in the dark.
"The sooner we sleep, the sooner we can wake up together, baby." She watched her quickly clenched her eyes closed. "Oh, is Jennie sleeping?" The small nod made Jisoo laugh. "Goodnight, baby."
"Night, Jichu." A small whisper came.
•••••
Breaking out a small yawn, Jennie tried to shift to her side. Soon, she became aware of the compression of her chest. Jennie squinted her eyes at the action.
"Chu." Jisoo was snuggled up on her chest with the most innocent pout. "Oh my god! I'm going to lose my mind!" Jisoo seemed to groan at her whispers, so Jennie tried her best to be silent.
"Shhh. So loud." Jisoo yawned out her words after a few minutes. "In case you don't remember, we're at my apartment. You drank too much and showed up after work, so I took you home."
"I'm in your bed."
"Yeah, and I'd like to stay in my bed." She nuzzled into Jennie. "Let's sleep in."
"Together?" Jisoo peaked up to look at Jennie's dumb but cute smile.
"You want me to sleep in with someone else? I mean, if you wan-"
"NO!" The brunette quickly tightened her hold and closed her eyes. "I'm asleep." Jisoo sleazily grinned and followed the same actions.
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This is months old but just something for now