Chae woke to soft fingers stroking her hair. It took her a second to recognise where she was and when she turned she was met by sleepy brown eyes. The instant Jennie saw she was awake she made her way in to Chae's arms. She snuggled in to the younger girl and surprisingly Chae felt her heartbeat increase. She pecked the top of Jennie's head and wrapped her arms around the cuddle ball on top of her. Last night, after some heated kisses, they decided to just go to bed. Jennie lent Chae some PJ's and they cuddled until they fell asleep.
She thought back to what happened and couldn't understand what had prompted her to kiss Jennie. She had a crush on the older girl and the more time they spent together it just grew. But she was also aware that Jennie had just come out of a relationship from hell and she...
Chae's thoughts stumbled. She'd been in relationships before but none worked out. She always gave too much and 2NE1 had chastised her constantly for it. However over the years she had learnt to be cautious and take a step back. Moreover she's been preoccupied with her "cause" for at least the past two years. A few one night stands here and there but nothing worth considering. But Jennie, held something. She held a chance for her to be serious and Chae liked how caring the older girl was. Jennie didn't even have to try.
"Calm down Chae."
Jennie gave her bottom lip a small tug and kissed her lightly. The younger girl's heartbeat was pounding and Jennie hoped she wasn't having some sort of panic attack. Chae gave Jennie a hug and a small smile. The brunette sat up and pouted cutely. Chae's stomach rumbled as she rubbed her eyes. Jennie laughed at the loud sound and Chae giggled along. Jennie reached for her phone on the side table and saw that it was just past 10am.
"I'll go make something to eat. I guess that's why your heart was ringing in my ear," Jennie smiled cheekily.
Chae moved her gaze slowly up and down the brunette and enjoyed the way Jennie's shorts sat on her. Her thighs were exposed and Chae could only imagine what lay beneath all the cloth.
"Yeah, I definitely need to eat," Chae's eyes were staring at Jennie's breasts.
The older girl reached for a pillow and smacked Chae lightly. She continued doing so for a few minutes, while the younger girl laughed and begged for her to stop.
"Don't look at me like that, Park Chaeyoung,. The only thing you're eating this morning is eggs," she hopped off and made her way to the kitchen.
The conference room was stuffy; Lisa fiddled with the air conditioners remote. Cool air breezed throughout the room. She moved around to sit closer to it. Jennie let down the big screen while Jisoo set up the footage. They made themselves comfortable when everything was ready. Jisoo played the video. It was a split screen and it took some concentration for Chae to decide on a focus point. She chose the middle block and hoped at least one of them would find something. It played for six minutes and all they saw were dancing bodies and flashing lights.
Jisoo's eyes darted from block to block. There was only ten minutes left. They continued watching in silence. Chae's phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out and saw that Lee had responded. She was available to come with Chae tomorrow. Jennie peered across the table and saw the red head smiling faintly at her phone. She returned to the screen. Her eyes fell on to a figure who was wearing a similar outfit to Siyeon's. She told Jisoo to pause and they analysed the figure. The woman's built seemed to match their target but the video was grainy. They were unable to clearly see her face. She had entered a backdoor in the club. They finished the video and the woman did not exit. They replayed it and again, the woman did not come out from the room.
"We don't know the exact date to when she went missing; we've just been following her movements. If this is her, this could have really been the last place she was," said Lisa.
"We should go back, talk to Tanabe and see if we can get any more information," suggested Jisoo.
Chae asked them to play the video once more. Her interests weren't necessarily on the suspected Siyeon but on what followed her entrance in to that room. She asked Jisoo to pause two moments after the woman's entrance and zoom in. She had seen the woman before. Jennie looked closely.
"That's Isha," she stated. Jisoo zoomed in further and despite the bad quality she agreed with Jennie. It was definitely Isha Tanabe. Jisoo was coming to the conclusion that the owners of Hysteria were not being entirely truthful.
"I thought she told you guys that she wasn't involved in that part of the business," Lisa.
"We should go talk to them" said Jisoo.
"Tomorrow," suggested Jennie. Lisa nodded along and saw no harm in confronting the couple. She was sure that, that woman was Siyeon Li and she appeared to have been last seen in these people's club. Something wasn't making sense.
"What time?" asked Chae
Jisoo explained that the restaurant part of the business opens at 9am. She was sure that both Lee and Isha would be available. The man had given no inclination that he would be out of town last night. Jennie suggested that they call and so they did. She ended the call politely while Lisa lowered the air conditioners temperature.
"They are both willing to talk but they are only available at 10:30am. Isha will ask one of her staff to supervise while she's away. They asked us to meet them at their place."
"Brilliant! You and Chu can talk to them while Chae and I snoop around the house. I'm sure we'll find something interesting," Lisa smiled broadly.
Chae wondered what she would do. The potential findings at the Tanabe household could lead her to further progress in the investigation. However, she had already planned with Lee to go to the Boltron together. She felt that it would be a meeting that could lead her to something entirely else. Moreover, Lee had been unsuccessful in discovering the details of Mr Jama's meeting with YG. She had been tipped off anonymously as the individuals in the networks that 2NE1 have been building don't fully know what each other look like.
"I can't come with," she said.
They looked at her curiously and no one replied. Chae felt it would be best to not explain herself unless they ask. Silence made itself present as nobody said a word. The girls looked at Chae expectantly but Jennie realised that the red head felt that what she had said was sufficient.
"Why not Chae?" she asked
"I have another meeting near the same time. Unfortunately, it is something I cannot move," she replied.
"Who are you meeting? What's it about?'' Lisa wondered why her friend was being so coy.
"It's a personal matter, I'm sure you of all people can understand my hesitancy in revealing something I am not ready to talk about," Chae looked away sadly.
Lisa wanted to ask her friend more questions but Jisoo grasped her hand. The older girl shook her head and Lisa knew that she had to give it up. Jennie stared at Chae and wondered if this meeting had anything to do with the way she was looking at her phone earlier.
"Fine, Chae I get it. It's cool, Chu and Jen will still interview the Tanabe's and I'll sneak in to the house and find something. You go do what you need to," Lisa gave her friend an assuring smile.
Chae nodded her head gratefully and for the rest of the meeting the other girls discussed how they would go about tomorrow. Chae added a few suggestions here and there. They ended ten minutes later and Jisoo was glad for it. She and Lisa were planning to go out for the rest of the afternoon. Lisa stood happily at the door waiting and when Jisoo had all her things they left. Jennie spotted Lisa reaching for Jisoo's hand before the door closed. She smiled knowingly. Chae was packing up her things quietly and Jennie felt the sullen air around the younger girl. They made their way up and Chae was still being moody. In the elevator Jennie had tried to cheer her up but the red head was not paying much attention to her. On their floor Chae was about to head to her room when Jennie stopped her.
"Come spend some time with me," she looked at her earnestly.
Chae followed Jennie in to her room and they made their way to the living room. She settled on to the couch while Jennie headed to the kitchen.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"Coffee," shouted Chae in return.
She took off her shoes and brought her legs up. She laid her head on to her knees and lost herself in thought. Should she be completely honest with team Blackpink? Then again she wasn't entirely sure where their loyalties lied. Though the agency had treated them like utter shit the girls seemed to hold a sincere devotion to it. What she was doing might ruin the agency as a whole, despite her goal only being to find and then kill one particular person. Jennie held the drink in front of Chae and sat down. She placed the red heads legs across her lap and began to massage her feet.
"Aren't you having any?'' asked Chae
Jennie shook her head in the negative and continued to massage her feet. Chae sipped on the coffee and felt herself relax. She listened quietly as Jennie spoke of her suspicions of Jisoo and Lisa's relationship. She found herself amused because she knew those two were horrible at hiding themselves.
"I think it's great. It's been a long time coming and I'm happy they're willing to take the risk," Chae looked confused at Jennie's words. The older girl looked at Chae's feet as she spoke.
"It's against agency policy to date within our own team. That way they don't have to separate teams if a couple have broken up," she explained.
"I see," said Chae. She drank her last bits of coffee and set the cup on the table. She placed her chin in her hand as she thought.
"Jen, about last night," she began.
Jennie looked at Chae intently. They were unable to discuss anything this morning seeing as they had a meeting soon after. She knew this would happen and they had been tip toeing around the issue of their feelings for one another for too long. Last night was an accumulation of those pent up feelings.
"I think it would be best if we were just honest with one another. I know that you just came out of a relationship and I don't want to force you in to anything. But I have genuine feelings for you Jennie. I'm willing to explore it with you, as long as time will let me," Chae looked straight in to her eyes.
Jennie was slightly surprised by Chae's straight forwardness. Her heart had swelled at the girls words but she didn't know what she meant about the amount of time they had. Yes, Chae was only at the agency for this particular investigation but whether she stayed or not didn't mean they would lose contact. Then there was also YG's suspicions of Chae, Jennie felt conflicted.
"I like you...I really like you Chae and I can't promise you anything yet but I would also like to see where this goes. Let's just take things as they come for now," she smiled gently.
Though YG wanted them to see Chae's intentions for themselves Jennie could not deny the fact that she was extremely attracted to the younger girl. She needed time. Time to get to know Chae, to see if YG was correct and more importantly to understand her feelings towards the other woman. She shifted closer towards Chae and rubbed the back of her neck. Chae relaxed in to Jennie's fingers. She moved to lay her head on the older girl's shoulders and Jennie enveloped her. They sat like this for a bit.
"Chae, you can tell me if you need anything. If whoever you're meeting tomorrow is dangerous and you need help with something, we can talk about it," Jennie bit her lip in concern.
Chae's eyes flashed open and she stared in to nothingness. She could sense that Jennie was being heartfelt. Her mind worked furiously, as she contemplated her options. She meant what she had said but she knew she couldn't tell Jennie everything. Not yet. Jennie looked down and saw that Chae's pupils had increased slightly. She didn't look like she was here.
"We don't have to talk about it now. But know that we can whenever you're ready," Jennie asked Chae to sit up. She laid herself on the couch and opened her arms for the younger girl. Chae fell in to the warm embrace and allowed herself to get lost in Jennie's presence. The brunette caressed her softly. Soon after she heard shallow breaths escape Chae. She peered down and saw that the younger girl was asleep. She slipped out of her hold and laid her down on to the couch. Fetching a blanket from her bedroom, she covered Chae and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She took in the sight and wondered why the red head was hesitant to speak about the meeting. Deciding to get her mind off of it, she headed towards the kitchen to make them something to eat.