After Jennie has spent a month away, she and Jisoo are reunited.
They sit out under the stars, discussing life and their relationship, realizing just how much they have come to care for each other.
-
Jennie sighed. It had been a long month away from her friends, taking some time off with her mom. The breakup had been more emotionally challenging than she had anticipated. The whole reason they broke up was because she loved Jisoo, not Kai. Her and Jisoo talked things over and were beginning to get closer again. They were now together, just as Jennie had wanted. But all of this was so mentally draining, so she needed some time to clear her mind. Much as she'd enjoyed her trip, she was glad to be home.
Jisoo waited at the airport expectantly. She had shrugged off the thought of the Jennie being away for a month, but in reality it had been hard. Of course the maknaes were great, but it wasn't quite the same.
Jennie caught sight of Jisoo at the gate, and her face brightened immediately. She'd missed her, although she was too proud to openly admit it. "Jisoo-yah!"
"Jendeukie!" she cried, her face breaking into a huge smile. She looked as beautiful as ever, her slim figure and every inch of her exposed skin gleaming. She wanted to run over and plant a friendly kiss on her cheek, but she was well aware that it wouldn't be appropriate.
Jisoo glanced around quickly. Everyone else was absorbed in their own business. She smiled to herself and lay her hand gently on Jennie's waist and grinned happily. She felt complete. "Shall we go?" she asked.
Jennie smiled warmly. "Yes please, Chu." She loved being around Jisoo, she just made her feel happy in ways that other people didn't.
Jisoo knew Jennie well enough to not expect an unseemingly over-enthusiastic greeting. But she was looking forward to spending some time in Jennie's company and hearing all about her time away. When they arrived at the dorm, she was glad that the maknaes were asleep. She loved them of course, but right now she wanted some uninterrupted time with Jennie.
As Jennie unpacked her things, she smiled at the familiar surroundings. "I am glad to see you again, Chu. I was so lonely without you."
They eventually went up to the roof, finding a spot where they could lay down.
Jennie let out a big sigh, settling onto the small blanket. "Come lay down with me?"
Jisoo gladly took up her place upon Jennie's blanket. She laid her cheek on Jennie's and just took a moment to appreciate how lucky she was. She knew that Jennie could sometimes be haughty and hard to get on with, but she had been privileged enough to see her gentler side. "It was lonely here too," she admitted.
Jennie raised an eyebrow. Her dear Jisoo, lonely? How upsetting. She'd have to make it up to her sometime. For now...
"Is it still lonely, now that I'm back?"
"No Jendeukie, it isn't lonely now." She didn't want to come across as needy, that wouldn't sit well with her companion at all. But, genuinely, being without Jennie was just... not right. "How was the trip?" she asked.
Jennie smiled. "It was incredible, to be able to see my mother, my relatives and my old home once again."
"Wow," said Jisoo, "I bet you were quite the celebrity!" She was aware that many people would do almost anything to have the chance to meet the Jennie Kim in person.
"Would you ever... be tempted to leave Seoul and libe a normal life? You know, like to start a family." Jisoo wouldn't dream of ever holding Jennie back, but her heart beat fast at the thought of her leaving. New Zealand was a long way away, and she had never left Seoul.
Jennie shook her head as best she could, wobbling Jisoo slightly on the bed. "Despite how nice it sounds, Seoul is my home."
She looked over at Jisoo, smiling slightly. "And besides, I could never leave you behind, Jisoo."
Jisoo blushed. She would follow Jennie anywhere, if she asked. But Seoul was everything she knew. "That means a lot, Jendeuk," she said.
Her cheeks colored as she thought through the last month. "I... was worried that you might meet someone else," she confessed.
Jennie's eyes widened, and she'd looked over at Jisoo in surprise. "Jisoo-yah..."
She hadn't thought she might feel that way. "Even if I had, I could never leave you behind. You mean so much to me."
Smiling happily, Jisoo patted Jennie's thigh. "Jennie, you mean the world to me." She had said it without thinking, and as the words hung on the air she suddenly realized just how far they had come. When she first arrived at YG, being a trainee had been absolute hell. But now.... she understood.
She understood why people flocked to be in YG, why everyone loved them, and why Mr. Yang was always so hard on them.
Jennie smiled brightly, proud that Jisoo thought of her in such a way. She had never been told she meant the world to anyone except for her mother, and was highly flattered.
She stared up at the stars quietly, contemplating. She remembered her first meeting with Jennie, and everything that they had experienced together since. It put a warm feeling in her chest to know that she was cared for like this. She'd never expected to be loved, merely to be useful.
The stars glinted in the sky above them, tiny points of light in the wide black sky. Jisoo felt relaxed and comfortable, the tension she had been carrying in her shoulders fading as she allowed herself time to be still. "Sometimes, people say that you can see the future in the stars," Jisoo said, "what do you see in the future for us?"
Jennie squinted. "Well, that cluster looks like a clock. Perhaps we have a lot of time left together, or a lot of time around each other." She blinked, surprised. "That one's movi- Oh no wait, that's a plane."
Jennie sighed, bemused. "I suppose I'm not very good at this, am I Chu?" She chuckled. "I'm not the brightest star out there huh?"
Jisoo laughed. "You're my star!" she said happily. Sitting up, they stared up at the stars. One hand rested on Jennie's waist, her body heat comforting and familiar. As her eyes adjusted Jisoo began to see patterns and shapes in the sky. She imagined lines linking the scattered lights, joining them and spreading out like a great network of tracks.
Jennie turned her head to glance at Jisoo, eyes focused on the stars in the sky.
She loved how happy Jisoo looked, how carefree she'd seemed, a solid figure amongst a sea of sparkling stars.
Jennie was always so gentle and careful; so much more of a woman than, well, any female she had ever met. But it wasn't a side she showed to just anyone. She grinned to herself as she imagined what the other people would say if they witnessed this side of the seemingly arrogant rapper. "You know...." Jisoo said thoughtfully, "everyone has you all wrong, don't they?"
"I don't know what you mean! They have me perfectly right!" Jennie spluttered.
Jennie's cheeks turned a brighter red, and mumbled something quietly.
"Do they, Jendeukie?" Jisoo turned her head, fully facing Jennie. She tried to keep her voice down to avoid making a commotion and getting caught on the roof. Jennie's face had hardened into that uptight expression that everyone else knew so well, but to her now it didn't suit her at all.
Jennie could hear the disappointment in Jisoo's voice, and couldn't hold the facade. She relaxed, and sighed. "They do."
Jennie looked up at Jisoo. "I'm only ever like this for you."
"Well I am lucky," she said, "but don't you think that... maybe... they deserve to know the real you?" Jisoo bit her lip, part of her wishing she could take those words back. It wasn't her place so say things like that.
Jennie couldn't look Jisoo in the eye. "I... I do, sometimes. I know I shouldn't hide like this but... I'm terrified."
"I've shown them a strong, confident exterior for my whole life! I... I'm scared they'd reject me. Or worse, mock me."
"But you've seen all of the things we have gone through! Has anyone ever been left behind? And everyone has a soft side... even the worst of us... so why should you need to be any different?"
Jennie was trembling, ashamed. "I... I..."
Jennie couldn't get it out. She couldn't say it. The words stuck in her throat, and glued her lips shut. 'I don't,' she wanted to say. 'I don't need to be any different. I only need to be me.'
But the words could not be spoken, and she looked down in defeat.
"Oh, you big idiot!" Jisoo lunged forward and hugged Jennie, closing her eyes and just savouring their closeness for a moment. Pushing it wouldn't help. Maybe she should just be satisfied that the Jennie felt comfortable enough to share her true self with her.
"I know," Jennie whispered quietly. "I know I am. But somehow I'm less of one around you."
Jennie focused on Jisoo's embrace, on the warmth of a hug from her dearest friend and, dare she say it, love. It grounded her.
Jisoo felt herself blush. Perhaps that was it, the great gift that they shared was their ability to truly see each other.
A wave of emotion overcame Jisoo and she pressed her forehead to Jennie's, steadying the swirl of her thoughts. She wore her own facade too, she realized, but here under the blinking stars it was falling aside. Who cared what the world thought? Who cared what people might say? Some gifts were too good, too rare and too beautiful to hide away. Like the stars, they should be allowed to shine. "I love you Jendeukie," Jisoo murmured.
"I love you too, Jisoo-yah." Jennie replied.