Chaeyoung arrived in town early on Saturday morning, and Jennie borrowed Minzy's car to pick her up from the bus station, her face lighting up at the sight of her sister waiting there, sunglasses on, backpack slung over one shoulder, and her dark hair fluttering around her chin. Honking the horn slightly as she pulled up, Jennie couldn't help but smile as Chaeyoung pulled the passenger side door open and climb in, shoving her bag down between her feet and leaning over to wrap Jennie in a hug. An overwhelming feeling of love and safety washed over her, and she allowed herself a few moments of comfort in the embrace of her sister's strong arms, the smell of leather filling her nose as Jennie took in the familiarity of Chaeyoung's leather jackets and spearmint gum smell, before pulling back.
"God, I've missed you so much."
"Maybe you shouldn't have taken off for a month," Chaeyoung accused her, smiling as she wound down the window and half dangled one arm out into the cool air as Jennie pulled out into traffic.
Driving through the middle of town, Jennie smiled, the smell of the sea mixing with the strong smell of pine as the trees started to shed some of their needles as the weather started to turn. The radio was tuned into a classical music station, and Chaeyoung let out a snort of laughter, reaching out to change it, finding her sister's hand stopping her in her tracks. Chaeyoung's eyes were hidden behind her lenses, but Jennie still picked up on the surprise, a small wry smile on her lips when she realised that she'd picked up on a few of Jisoo's physical cues that weren't readable in the eyes.
"What, you're into classical now?"
"Well sorry for getting fired," Jennie rolled her eyes, "I'll be back soon anyway. I've been applying for some more jobs. I'm thinking maybe an online one could work too. If it's not in Seoul, then they might not have managed to spread the word that far. And yes, I happen to think it's calming. It's helping me write more."
Slowly drawing her hand back from the dial, Chaeyoung settled back into her seat, watching the houses and trees pass them by, the sound of the engine grumbling and the roar of the hidden sea mingling with the soothing sounds of Debussy, and Jennie breathed in the clean air, watching as the wind stirred up a few leaves on the road. Autumn was right around the corner, and Jennie felt comforted by the smell of the late summer flowers - little pink snapdragons and vermillion cinquefoil blooming in patches of grass and front gardens along the roadside - and with her sister right beside her, she felt happier than she had in weeks. This was how it usually was, when they came to see Minzy for the holidays or a weekend getaway from the stress of work. It seemed that Jennie was more stressed about getting work these days.
"So, how've you been?" Jennie asked, shooting her sister a quick glance, her hands steady on the wheel.
Chaeyoung turned to give her a small smile, "good. Keeping busy. Same as you I guess."
"Still hurts?"
"Oh yeah."
"Sorry."
Sighing, Chaeyoung reached over to give her shoulder a quick squeeze, almost like a silent reassurance that they were both in this together. Jennie almost wanted to tell Chaeyoung she was going to pack her bag when she got inside, that she was going to go back to Seoul tomorrow, because her life in Auckland was exactly the same as it would've been unemployed and living with her sister in the city, but she knew she wouldn't go back yet. She just missed her sister. There was still the deep shame and embarrassment about being fired, dumped and kicked out of her apartment all in one day, and Jennie was too proud to head back to Seoul on any terms except ones where she came out on top. She wanted to go back with her chin up and prove that she didn't need Ms. Kim or Taehyung to feel like she was worth something.
When they got home, Chaeyoung took her bag up to their shared room, and Jennie felt the twinge of excitement she got whenever they came back to the big shorefront house with their narrow single beds on opposite sides of their room. It always felt like they were girls again, when every night had felt like a sleepover, and Chaeyoung had taught her poker as they sat across from each other in the empty space between the beds, or they'd huddle up on one bed and watch horror films, Chaeyoung laughing at the gore, while Jennie buried her face in a pillow. She hoped the weekend would hold the same kind of excitement as those nights, when Jennie had known with certainty that she would be a reporter, and nothing would stop her from writing. Now, she was in that same bedroom, a reporter, just like she'd known she'd be - albeit an unemployed one - and no one, especially not Ms. Kim, was going to stop her from writing, which had admittedly been the problem in the first place.
When Chaeyoung came back downstairs, her footsteps loud in the quiet hush of the house, Jennie was in the middle of pulling two cups out of the cupboard and rifling through the cupboard for some coffee filters, and was stopped short by Chaeyoung, who suggested they go out for coffee, rather than staying cooped up inside the house. Jennie readily agreed, slipping her denim jacket back on and fetching the keys off the counter, before they were both driving back towards town, this time with Chaeyoung winning the fight about the radio and turning it over to some classic rock, which didn't stop Jennie from singing along at all whenever she knew the song. They parked along the main street, heading towards their favourite diner from when they were in school, and Jennie hunched her shoulders as she walked past the new coffee shop she worked at, feeling slightly embarrassed at the thought of one of the staff members drawing attention to her with Chaeyoung beside her, and then they were sliding onto the cracked vinyl seats in a booth near the open window. Perusing the menu, Jennie ended up ordering a latte, and Chaeyoung went for a black coffee, knowing that it could be hit or miss in this place, depending on who was working. Their coffees were soon sitting in front of them, and Jennie carefully measured brown crystals of raw sugar onto her spoon with a brooding look on her face, before stirring it into her coffee.
"Okay, what is it?" Chaeyoung sighed, setting her mug back down onto the white saucer, the spoon rattling against the china.
"What?"
"You've been brooding ever since I got here. You look like you're thinking too hard. I thought we were going to have a fun weekend."
Jennie blinked in surprise, the slight frown wrinkling her forehead disappearing as her features softened, "we are! I was just thinking about everyone back home. I miss you all."
Grimacing, Chaeyoung reached across the table to give her hand a quick squeeze. "I know you do. Don't worry, something will turn up soon! I mean, was YG really the place for hard hitting journalism anyway? Fuck that guy. You don't need him anyway! You could start your own blog if you wanted to. And you have your book! How is the book, by the way? You're being very mysterious about it on the phone."
Laughing, Jennie ran a hand through her hair, letting her gaze travel to the window, taking in the specks of first and the posters taped to them, the corners peeling up and the titles of odd plays and fundraisers happening in town written in fancy fonts, before she let her eyes wander past them to focus on the street outside. People were rushing about their daily lives - buying groceries, taking babies to the park or to the beach, enjoying a quick coffee break before heading back to work - and Jennie found herself lost in her book for a moment. She didn't know how to answer that question. She'd had a stroke of inspiration that evening on the beach, looking at the dark house looming out of the twilight with the haunting piano notes drifting towards her, seeming magical and hypnotic at the time. Immediately she'd put together the image of a mysterious figure - a man, she'd decided - broken and lonely, shunned aside by everyone, because what other kind of person could play such beautifully heart-wrenching music? But since she'd found out it was Lena, she'd been conflicted. Instead of a man, she'd found a woman, not broken and lonely, but content and reclusive on her own terms, and her music was her happiness. Jennie had tried to change the story, sticking with a man - a man with dark eyes that turned to amber in the sunlight, and auburn hair that shone like burnished metal, a man who played the cello, or perhaps the violin. Except, whenever she wrote, trying to piece the puzzle together, she'd picture him, trying to conjure up the man she saw, only to have those amber eyes turn to a dark brown, and red hair turned into long long brown locks. The long fingers that dragged a bow across the strings of whatever instrument she fancied at the time would soon turn into the thing, delicate press of Jisoo's fingers dancing across ivory keys, and Jennie would have to shake herself out of it, Jisoo's quiet laughter ringing in her ears, along with the conjured memory of whatever song had been playing that evening when Jennie went to sit on the sand dunes.
"Jennie?"
"I don't know. I'm having trouble."
"Writer's block?"
A despondent look on her face, Jennie grimaced, before she let out a small sigh, meeting Chaeyoung's warm brown eyes. "I don't know. It's there, I just- I can't write it how I envision it. I keep getting distracted."
"Huh. Well, you'll get there."
"Mm."
Jennie couldn't tell her sister that the character she was creating wasn't exactly fictional. There was too much to unpack there, and she was confused as to why she was so fixated on Jisoo. Sure, there was the whole mysteriousness that had drawn her in, but that had been shattered - for the most part - which begged the question as to why Jennie couldn't stop thinking about her instead of focusing on her writing. The mystery was gone; she knew who her piano player was. It wasn't just that though, because Jennie had been drawn to her from the very beginning, and couldn't help but wonder if she was already that lonely here. Perhaps staying in Auckland was a mistake, because she had no friends - only her adoptive mother - and the second she'd sort of found someone to spend time with, she was becoming too fixated on her. She hadn't received a call from Jisoo since she'd given her her number, and Jennie found that she was starting to get lonely. The only thing taking the edge off was her shifts at the coffee shop and the fact that Minzy was home early most nights, otherwise she would've been completely alone.
"You're brooding again."
Jerking herself out of her thoughts, Jennie shot Chaeyoung a scowl, slinking down in her her seat, the vinyl seat cover squeaking slightly, and picked up her coffee. "I am not ." Taking a sip of her coffee, she cast Chaeyoung a quick look, taking in the curl of her smile around the rim of her coffee cup, and let out an exasperated sigh, unable to stop herself from smiling when she realised that she was being a little broody. Sitting up straight, Jennie took a sip of her coffee and set the cup back down, clasping her hands together and leaning towards her sister. "Fine. Maybe you can take my mind off it. What've I missed?"
Chaeyoung launched into a story about work, and then another one about Jon roping her into a video game night, and on and on the stories went, while Jennie listened attentively, smiling as she listened to everything her sister and friends had gotten up to. It made her happy to think that Chaeyoung was trying her best to move on, instead of wallowing in her self pity - Jennie's current stage of her own process - and she was glad that her sister was taking the time to go out and enjoy herself. Knowing that somehow made Jennie feel less lost and confused as they spent the morning together, walking through town as they went into the old bookshop and the library so Jennie could stock up on new reading material, stopped by an ice-cream parlour, getting double scoops of raspberry swirl and strawberry, and walked down to the beach. On the flat, exposed shore, it was windy and their skin was peppered with sand as the wind whipped it up into a frenzy, but neither of them cared, stretching out on the sand, shading their eyes from the glare of the weak sunlight off the sparkling waves as they chatted, soaking up the last few days of summer. By the time they were walking back into town, their stomachs were growling, and Chaeyoung convinced Jennie to stop off in a supermarket for some sandwiches and chips.
"Ham or turkey?" Chaeyoung asked, a thoughtful look on her face as she stared down at the two subs in her hands.
"Ham."
"You're just saying that because this is the last turkey one and you want it."
"Maybe. Or ham is just better."
Chaeyoung pursed her lips slightly, weighing up the options, before she handed the turkey one over to Jennie with a heavy sigh, "fine, you can have the turkey, but only because your life is shit right now."
Spluttering, Jennie couldn't help but laugh, "my life is not shit, thank you very much. It's just ... a little bit above shit."
"Jennie?"
Ears pricking at the sound of her name being called, Jennie's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise as she turned around, taking in the electric blue bomber jacket that assaulted her eyes, and the red sweatpants with black polka dots too. The unbidden thought that Jisoo must get dressed with her eyes closed crossed her mind before Jennie wanted to kick herself for her own stupidity. Realising that she hadn't said anything, Jennie smiled brightly, taking in the shopping basket that Jisoo was holding - a box of wheat crackers and some hummus inside - and the striped cane half hidden by her side.
"Jisoo! Hi."
"I thought it was you," Jisoo smiled slightly.
"Oh, um ... Jisoo, this is my sister, Chaeyoung. She's in town for the night," Jennie quickly introduced them, "Chaeyoung, this is Jisoo."
Chaeyoung extended a hand to shake, before Jennie quickly slapped it away, turning to give her sister a pointed look, jerking her head towards the cane, watching as her sister floundered slightly, quickly snatching her hand back with a sheepish look on her face. Oblivious to the silent conversation, Jisoo smiled, giving Chaeyoung a quick nod.
"Nice to meet you."
"You too," Chaeyoung politely replied.
"Jisoo plays the piano," Jennie hesitantly said, at a loss of what to say next.
"I'm also blind," Jisoo bluntly replied, her lips twitching slightly as she fought back a smile, "my two most interesting qualities."
Chaeyoung gave her a sharp look, wondering whether they were making fun of her, finding Jennie giving her a sheepish smile as she shrugged. "Jisoo also likes to make people feel uncomfortable about it because she thinks it's funny."
"Right," Chaeyoung slowly said, her lips curling up into a slight smile as she gave the brightly dressed girl a wary look, "well, I guess the real question is are you any good? I mean, I can shut my eyes and play the piano, but that doesn't mean I'm not shit at it."
Mouth falling open in surprise, Jennie shot Chaeyoung a look of horror, but snapped her mouth shut a moment later when Jisoo burst into laughter, giving them a perfect smile. "That's a good question. No one's ever asked before."
An amused look flickered across Chaeyoung's face, and she raised her eyebrows slightly at Jennie, who shrugged again. Turning back to Jisoo, her turkey sub held securely in her hands in case Chaeyoung changed her mind, Jennie smiled slightly, "so, uh, weekly shopping trip?"
"Just wanted some hummus," Jisoo said, raising her basket slightly for Jennie to see.
"Oh, cool," Jennie said, reaching out to gently touch Jisoo's elbow, slowly ushering her down the aisle so she didn't have to use her stick in between the cramped shelves and fridges, "you all done?"
"Mhm."
"I, uh, like your jacket today," Jennie said, shooting Chaeyoung a dark look as her sister turned around, her eyebrows shooting up in amusement as she bit back a smile.
Face lighting up slightly, Jisoo turned to give Jennie a warm smile, "thank you. It's new."
Chaeyoung walked ahead of them, keeping her pace slow so that she didn't shoot off, and Jennie nervously steered them towards the till as soon as possible, worried that her sister would say something insensitive. Jisoo didn't seem to mind when Jennie put her foot in it, but they actually knew each other now, and Jennie was silently praying that Chaeyoung wouldn't say anything stupid just for a few minutes as she rifled through the pockets of her denim jacket, pulling out some crumpled bills and setting them down on the counter, paying for their sandwiches and the packet of chips that Chaeyoung had snagged from a passing shelf. Jisoo put her own two items on the conveyor belt and Jennie put the basket away for her, smiling at the murmured thanks, and lingered as Jisoo paid, making idle talk while Chaeyoung watched on with amusement. The three of them walked out together once they were finished, with Chaeyoung holding the door open for them, shooting Jisoo curious glances on occasion.
"Well, I'll leave you to it," Jisoo said, adjusting her dark sunglasses as she shrugged her grocery bag higher up her shoulder, "it was nice to meet you, Chaeyoung."
"You sure you don't want a ride anywhere?" Chaeyoung asked.
"Oh, no, I'm fine. Really. I don't want to intrude," Jisoo waved away their offer, giving them a small smile.
Sighing, Jennie reached out to gently turn her around, facing her towards the direction their car was in, "we're heading home now anyway. It's on the way; it's no problem."
Hesitating slightly, Jisoo opened her mouth to protest, but firmly shut it and nodded. Beaming at her, Jennie set off towards the car, taking up post on one side of Jisoo, while Chaeyoung walked on her other side, hands in her pockets as she stared at Jisoo. Jennie wasn't sure if it was out of curiosity of the fact that she was blind, or the fact that Jisoo was definitely a little odd, attracting a few strange looks from passersby as the three of them walked down the street. They made a few comments about the weather and the new Italian restaurant opening on the other side of town as they walked down the sidewalk, Jisoo carving a path through the oncoming flow of pedestrians as everyone recognised her - as the blind woman, if nothing else. Soon enough, they were standing beside the car, and Jennie opened the door for Jisoo, her hands nervously fluttering around her as she waited to help Jisoo into the car, if she needed it, before firmly shutting the door behind her and climbing into the passenger seat. She quickly buckled her own seatbelt, turning to watch as Jisoo fumbled with her own, biting back the urge to ask if she needed help as she watched Jisoo's slender fingers carefully guide the metal part into the buckle, a quiet click resounding. Turning back around, Jennie watched as Chaeyoung pulled into traffic, the radio humming quietly in the background as they made their way through the town, Jennie quietly singing along to the songs, smiling when she looked in the wing mirror and saw Jisoo drumming her fingers on the shoulder of Jennie's seat.
Giving quiet directions to Jisoo's house, Jennie folded her arms on the door, resting her chin on them as the wind toyed with her brown hair and the sun warmed her skin, listening to the tittering songs of birds and the sound of leaves rustling. She felt surprisingly happy, not quite knowing why but knowing that the lightness in her chest had something to do with the fact that her sister was here, and so was Jisoo, although neither of them talked much on the drive to Jisoo's house. When they finally pulled up outside her house, Chaeyoung's eyebrows rising slightly at the sight of the overgrown garden and the massive house standing alone in the midst of all the trees, and Jennie quickly climbed out of the car, opening Jisoo's door for her and walking her up to the front door. Jisoo hesitated before going inside, giving Jennie a small smile.
"Thank you."
"No problem. You know how much I like to bump into you in random places."
"I'll give you a call sometime in the week. Maybe we can hang out if you're not working," Jisoo said, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head as she smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Jennie just stared at her, looking into those eyes that she couldn't get rid of, and the piercing stare she couldn't shake. "Have a fun night with your sister."
"Sorry if she was a little... blunt," Jennie winced, "she's not insensitive, she just doesn't like to be messed with. I think she thought we were joking at first. Not that I'm an expert, but I'm not sure if people are usually that blunt about being blind."
Jisoo let out a loud laugh, "there's no better way to be, Tolstoy. Confront them with the elephant in the room and then they can't awkwardly dance around it. If it's any consolation though, she seems nice."
Ducking her head, Jennie let out a quick laugh, "yeah, she's pretty great. I'll talk to you later. Play something nice for me, Mozart."
"Will do."
Once Jisoo was safely holed up inside her dark house, Jennie turned, her footsteps thudding on the porch steps as she quickly jogged down them, hurrying down the flagstone garden path and hopping into the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt as Chaeyoung pulled away from the curb. They were silent for a few minutes, driving back down the deserted street, the towering pine trees throwing shadows onto the car as they passed beneath them.
"Go on, ask away," Jennie sighed, knowing that Chaeyoung was itching to ask a dozen questions.
"The jacket ."
"That's what you want to start with?" Jennie snorted, giving her sister an amused look, "I don't know. I don't know if she doesn't know what she's wearing, or if she just doesn't give a shit. Or if it's intentional. She always says she sticks out with her cane - obviously - so I think she wants people to notice something else beside that. I don't know. She's a little ... eccentric."
"I'll say. Does she really play piano?"
A soft smile crossed Jennie's face, and she leant her head against the inside of the door, looking out at the sunlight filtering down through the canopy, dappling her skin with warm, yellow light and shadows. "It's unlike anything I've ever heard. It's... incredible. You'd never believe that someone could write something like that. I could listen to her play all day."
"But she's blind."
"I know. I thought she was messing with me too when she first said it, but apparently good ones should be reading the sheet music and not looking at their hands anyway. She was some child prodigy or something."
"Huh."
"What?"
"Nothing. I just... you never mentioned you were making friends," Chaeyoung slowly said, looking slightly put out by the thought, an unreadable expression on her face as she focused on the road.
Shrugging, Jennie gave her a warm smile, "well, I've got nothing better to do right now. May as well get to know someone around here. I mean, it's not like I can go up to Irene and try and be friends with her. She hates my guts, and I don't even know why."
"Because you were the town weirdo."
"I was not!"
"Mm, maybe a little . No wonder you and David Bowie hit it off."
Frowning slightly, Kara shot Alex an unimpressed look. "Who, Jisoo? Don't be mean, Chaeyoung. She doesn't have any friends. I mean, it's her choice, but still."
"I'm not being mean! All I'm saying is that if she turned up dressed as Ziggy Stardust, I don't think it would even be surprising," Chaeyoung laughed, "I like her. She's odd. Witty though, and blunt - I like that. She's got... character. Maybe you should write her into your book."
"Thanks for your approval," Jennie snorted, trying to stop the choked sound of surprise from escaping her mouth at how close Chaeyoung's words had been to being the truth. She wasn't quite writing about Jisoo, but she'd be lying if she said it wasn't her who kept overtaking the character in her mind.
They pulled up outside the house then, shedding their shoes and jackets inside the doorway and making their way upstairs, sitting out of the deck overlooking the garden as they ate their sandwiches, bottles of raspberry sparkling water shining the palest shade of pink in the sunlight as they sat on deck chairs, heads tilted back as they basked in the sun, even if the cool wind sent goosebumps rippling across their skin. They stayed outside until the sun set, Jennie with a worn paperback in hand, reading through it while Chaeyoung dozed, her head lolling on her shoulder, and by the time the sun was barely a glimmer of orange on the horizon, Jennie was shaking her sister awake. A part of her couldn't help but wonder what song Jisoo was playing at that moment - a part of her wanting to go for a late evening jog, but knowing that she wouldn't because she had precious little time to spend with Chaeyoung - and as they both made enchiladas for dinner, Jennie could almost imagine the sound of a distant piano drifting in through the open window as she chopped red bell peppers and coriander.
Minzy was home from the hospital early, having wrapped up her lab work hours ahead of her usual time in order to eat dinner with both of her daughters, and the three of them crowded around the table, talking about their day as they ate, before they made their way into the living room, watching reruns of Friends and drinking white Moscato. By the time they went to bed, it was late, and Jennie curled up in her small bed, smiling softly to herself at the sound of Chaeyoung's quiet, deep breathing from across the room, thinking that it had been just like all the other times they'd come to visit.