Isha sat rubbing the inside of her left eyebrow. Her husband was blubbering in front of her father. The old man sat more amused at his daughter's exasperation than his son-in-laws lacklustre excuses. Lee Tanabe continued fawning over his father-in-law. He needed to please the man. If not he would feel the wrath of his own father and that was the last thing he needed. Having two exceptionally intimidating old men breathing down his throat was stress he knew he could not live with.
The old man got up and poured himself some whiskey. He offered Lee some and he humbly accepted. He needed it anyway. The door to the study squeaked open as two giggling boys burst in to the room. They ran up to the old man and hounded him with their excitement. He listened happily to his grandsons and saw that his wife was right behind them. She gave her daughter a firm nod before kissing Lee's forehead. She took a sip of her husband's drink and complained it wasn't strong enough. He smiled at her lovingly and promised Lee would get a better brand for his household. Lee nodded furiously.
Isha rolled her eyes at her husband's lack of dignity. Her sons came to her and she hugged them tightly before they went to go show their father what their grandmother had gotten them. She eyed her mother and nearly mentioned her distaste for the older woman's attire. She thought it best to keep her mouth shut. No use in agitating the real dragon in the family. The boys laughed happily as their father teased their choice of gifts. She looked at them with care, regardless of everything their parents had forced them in to; she loved her husband with all her heart.
"Anyway honey, I was just informing Lee and Isha of their importance in the family business," he took a sip of the drink. His wife looked at the couple seriously.
"That's right, it's a family business. Has your father spoken to you, Lee?'' she asked.
"Yes mam, Isha and I had a video call with him. It was informative and pleasant to speak to him again," his lips thinned.
"That's good. You should really make an effort to go to Japan. I'm sure he would love to see his grandsons. No I'm sure he would," she continued.
"Yes, we plan on going there at the end of the year. But we need to sort some stuff out," said Lee. His father-in-law got up and told the boys to go fetch their bags. He was tired and wanted to return to the hotel. He handed his glass to his wife and she finished it for him. She said her goodbyes to them and left after the children. The old man hugged Lee tightly and whispered.
"I'm sorry we had to involve you in this. I've always been sorry," he patted Lee's shoulder and headed towards his daughter. She didn't allow him to hug her but she gave him a nod of acknowledgement. The resentment in her eyes broke his heart.
"You know what to do tomorrow," he left and Lee turned to his wife.
"Seems like the boys are enjoying their time with their grandparents," he looked at her hopefully.
"I want them back the day after tomorrow. I don't like leaving them alone with them. They might be putting ideas in to their heads," Isha slouched in to her seat and kicked off her shoes. Both her own and Lee's parents exhausted her and her husband's incessant need to please everyone instead of saying NO, nagged her further. Lee walked around and kneeled before her. He smiled at her softly and just like that he was forgiven. She nestled her fingers in to his hair and moved to kiss him.
Lisa held on to Jisoo's waist tightly, she had decided to not where a helmet. With Jisoo she felt completely safe and she knew that the older girl was a cautious driver. They leaned to the left as the motorbike whizzed them on to the top of the hill. It was a beautiful evening and the ride alone felt cinematic. But when Jisoo had laid out the blanket and Lisa passed the drinks, the glistening stars felt immaculate. They snuggled up closely and allowed themselves to breathe.
"You know I could have beaten you one more time, Chu,"
"Baby, we would have been at the arcade for a life time if I kept letting you want a replay," she kissed Lisa lightly.
"Sure, sure. I still kicked your butt today though," Lisa raised her soda triumphantly as Jisoo chuckled at her. She had allowed Lisa to win at practically every game they had played at the arcade. She knew Lisa was lousy at such things and almost always lost. Jisoo wanted to spoil her in more ways than one today.
She planted soft kisses on to Lisa's neck and pulled the younger girl in. It had been a nice afternoon. There was no talk of work stuff and Lisa was as easy going as ever. She nudged Jisoo for a kiss and she obliged. It was gentle and Lisa found herself craving more. Their shadows danced underneath the moonlight. They gave each other room to breathe and Jisoo urged Lisa to hug her tighter. The blonde shifted nearer from behind and enclosed Jisoo with her warmth. They admired the night sky together, as nature hummed quietly.
"I really want to film you Chu, you were so expressive today. It made me feel things," Lisa stopped herself.
"Oh, I thought you were just staring because, well, look at me," Jisoo lifted her head and grinned.
"Well that too," she bent down to peck Jisoo's lips.
"Just tell me where and when. I'll be there Lisa," she looked up at the stars. Lisa nodded absentmindedly and they chatted softly. The night air was as cool as a knife and it pierced their skin chillingly. But huddling together allowed them to contain their warmth and Lisa was not about to complain for that reason only.
"What's your biggest fear Chu?" Jisoo thought for a moment. Considering everything they had been through and the role Chae played in that, the answer came to her slowly. Her relationship with Lisa was developing wonderfully despite a few disagreements here and there. Jisoo knew if it wasn't for Chae's encouragements, she probably wouldn't have taken the leap. Now this issue with YG was stressing her out more than she liked to admit.
"I don't like to lose...I don't like to lose those I've come to care for. It frightens me," she pouted solemnly. Lisa heard the tone in her voice and kissed the top of her head comfortingly.
"You won't," she offered. Jisoo gazed at the stars as she promised to hold Lisa to her word.
Her face was meshed down as she was forced to ground on to the gravel. Her body trembled underneath his weight as she fought against him. He spat in to her face as he made her turn around. He barked his words at her as his frustrations overtook him. She was special he yelled. He'd chosen her personally. Every trainee in any agency would have begged for this honour, he spewed. Her frail body fought vigorously. Regardless of the normality this atrocity was becoming to her, she had vowed to fight each time. She found a way out of his grasp and tried to look for an escape. His lowered trousers nearly made him slip but he regained himself. Lunging at her his fingers wrapped around her neck, he squeezed venomously as she tried to let out a...
Chae woke up abruptly as her lungs fought for air. She looked around vigorously expecting him to return. Instead soft fingers turned her head forward. She flinched at the touch but was met by a very worried Jennie. The brunette pulled her in to a hug and rubbed her back slowly. Chae laid her head weakly on to Jennie's shoulder as she attempted to calm her breathing. Jennie's soothing touch was helping. Chae's belated breaths were the only sound in the room as the two girls worked together to restore her heart rate. For Jennie the five minutes it took for Chae's breathing to come back to normal were excruciating.
She had heard rough murmurs from the kitchen and had hurriedly come to see what was wrong. Chae seemed to be fighting something in her sleep and it had taken Jennie a while to shake her awake. Chae moved up from Jennie's shoulder and the older girl sat back to look at her. The red heads eyes blinked as salty droplets stung them. Jennie saw that the younger girl was drenched in sweat. She really did come out of a fight. Jennie got up and quickly returned with some cold water with a straw and a damp cloth. Chae drank greedily as Jennie wiped the sweat away. She made sure to be as gentle as possible as she didn't want to see Chae in any further pain.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Chae nodded and continued sipping on the straw. She rolled her tongue around the inside of her mouth. The nightmares only came when she was stressed. She thought back to the past few days and thought that maybe she was. The water cooled her down and she found herself grateful for Jennie's nurturing.
"Th...thank you Jennie," placing the glass down she smiled weakly. Jennie made it clear that it was fine and that all that matter was if Chae was okay. She assured the older girl that she felt better. She thanked her again.
"What was it about?'' Jennie wanted to know what type of nightmare would cause such a sight.
"Something that happened to me when I was a child. I...uhm, I have nightmares about it occasionally. Usually when I'm overworked," she replied.
"Chae, if you're putting in more hours in to this investigation then you need to stop. It's not worth your mental health," Chae placed a finger on Jennie's lips to make her stop. Jennie scrunched her eyebrows and shook her head at the younger girl's stubbornness. She decided to remain quiet. Chae knew it was most likely the countless hours she stayed up late trying to accumulate more information on her "cause". She wished she could talk about it to Jennie, she wished for a lot of things.
"I think I should go, I need to shower and," Jennie cut her off.
"You're sleeping with me tonight. This is non-negotiable. I can't be up worrying if you are actually getting rest," Jennie crossed her arms and Chae knew she couldn't argue with her. She agreed but told the older girl she still needed to go shower. She would be back the moment she's done. Jennie begrudgingly agreed and allowed Chae to leave. When the red head returned she was all cleaned up and her hair was tied in to a messy bun. Jennie urged her to go lie down in the bed while she brought them their food. She too had changed in to her PJ's while Chae was gone.
When she entered the room with the tray of food, she saw that Chae had brought her laptop with her. She placed the food down and Chae placed the laptop on the table on her side. Jennie rushed back in to the kitchen to fetch some sodas and when she returned she saw that Chae had moved everything onto the bed. She handed her a soda and placed the television on. They ate quietly as a random channel filled the background. Chae devoured her food and when Jennie blinked, she heard Chae say she was off to get seconds. When she left the room, Jennie eyed the laptop. It wouldn't take much to wait until Chae fell asleep and then take whatever data she could. But the image of a sweating Chae flashed continuously in her mind. She sighed in resignation as she knew she couldn't do it.
Chae returned, with a much larger plate and complimented Jennie on the incredible dish. The brunette looked at her fondly and was happy to see her with energy again. They began talking idly about everything besides work and Chae's nightmare. Jennie found herself giggling, she really enjoyed Chae's sense of humour. They finished up and Chae convinced her to stay in bed while she did the dishes. Again, Jennie found herself peering at the laptop but decided to stick to her convictions. She chose to flip through some TV channels but found nothing of interest. Chae returned and switched off the main lights. She placed herself in to the bed and huffed in contentment as she laid her head down. Jennie switched off the TV and lay down as well. The room was still well lit as the lamps on either side of them burnt brightly. Chae's eyes were closed and she had a cute smile plastered on her face.
Jennie took in every feature. Park, Chaeyoung was absolutely lovely. She reached out and Jennie released Chae's hair from the bun. It fell down gracefully and amplified Chae's beauty. The introduction of her hair made her eyes flutter open. Chae looked at Jennie and jutted out her bottom lip a little. Jennie would never know how much she appreciated what she did tonight. Yes, she was glad that Jennie was able to wake her up but above all the brunette did not push her. She didn't search for more information about the actual nightmare itself and this put her in a special place in Chae's mind.
"Thank you Jennie, thank you so much," she whispered. She inched closer as Jennie moved to lay on her back and moving downwards her hair encased them in to a cocoon of want and desire.