"Uh-uh! 6 o'clock!"
She was sitting languidly in the open bar with Chahee, sipping her afternoon tea while the bartender was busying herself by wiping the glassware free from fingerprint smudges and moist. It was a routine that Chahee was very particular about.
She had been wasting away her afternoon at the bar after she spent the first half of her day inside her office and rehearsing for the show later. Her bandmates were so into it, especially A-yeon, who for some reason, was being tyrannical about getting everything right.
It was what Chaeyoung would prefer to call her self-imposed 'the lazy hour' of the day. Although not technically just one hour, max. But until she would found again the motivation she would need to move around and resume her day. Which Chaeyoung had found out that it was a hard thing to do, especially because Chahee had been a really good companion and they were talking and exchanging ideas that ranged from the weather outside to just about anything that their minds would tread and wander.
"What?" Chaeyoung asked in confusion.
Chahee nodded towards the entrance, a few feet behind Chaeyoung.
"What is she doing here?" the hot bartender hissed.
Chaeyoung was wondering the same thing after she whirled around on her seat and saw Jisoo standing at the entrance, obscuring the view and blocking out the chilly air for them when she opened the door and took a step forward to admit herself in. As if the chaebol hadn't stormed out angrily the last time she was here and left Chaeyoung a not-so-forgettable memory. "What now?" were the words swirling inside Chaeyoung's head as she locked eyes with Jisoo.
Jisoo was looking as impossibly beautiful as ever, Chaeyoung thought as she watched the woman walked towards them. In fact, 'beautiful' was an understatement to describe someone as out-of-this-worldly beautiful as Jisoo. She had to admit that, because it was the least she could think of to justify the pulchritude Jisoo had. With her raven hair bouncing on her every step like in a shampoo commercial and eyes piercing through whatever she'd set it upon. And she was unabashedly setting it on Chaeyoung. Her gaze was penetrating, like she was sending Chaeyoung an unspoken message to cipher or whatever. It was unnerving, that she heard Chahee snorted and scoffed behind her.
There was something on Jisoo's overall being that exuded many other multiple things other than her being outrageously beautiful and Chaeyoung couldn't pinpoint and define at the moment. Maybe it was the way the woman's brows were furrowed a little. Like, she had woken up on the wrong side of her bed. Or maybe not. Maybe it was the chilly air outside. And Chaeyoung told herself that maybe she should just stop bothering to know already because how the heck would she know?
She didn't know Jisoo that much. She wasn't even sure anymore if the truce that they had agreed the last time was still in effect. Considering that the night did not end well between the two of them the last time. Well, none of the nights ever did, anyway.
"Do you want me to talk to her?" Chahee offered in whispers, dropping the piece of cloth and the glass she was holding.
Chaeyoung should say yes. She wasn't up for anything confrontational today, like facing the very person who stole a kiss from her few days ago. The thought was still tormenting her. Not in the same way as it was tormenting her after it happened, but still. And Chahee was already looking ready to leap passed her, probably to prevent Jisoo from coming closer and inflicting anything more unnecessary things on her. The gorgeous bartender hadn't forgiven the chaebol yet, obviously.
But it was now or never, Chaeyoung Park thought. Besides, she and Jisoo were somehow connected now. They would need to re-acquaint sooner or later, despite how immaturely they had dealt the other during the course of their brief encounters. What with Lisa and Jennie being romantically involved with each other. They didn't have to be friends, though. Just, something that doesn't involve bickering. It was the very thing that Lisa have asked from her—begged, even—after she told the Shutterbug about the stolen kiss. And she said she'd give it a thought.
"No. It's okay, Chahee. I can handle this," Chaeyoung assured the bartender. The look on the chaebol's face was still unreadable.
There was no excuse not to deal with whatever they needed to deal with now, especially since it was nothing but an expiremental kiss from Jisoo's part and an overreaction on her part. It didn't even feel like a kiss, if truth be told. It was more like two mouths colliding with one another, Chaeyoung told herself. So, what's there to be awkward about? Right?
"Hey," Jisoo greeted with a nod to both women and planted herself a convenient distance from Chaeyoung. Her eyes lingered on the redhead after she offered a quick but courteous glance at Chahee, who was staring at her with tentative and calculating eyes.
"Hey," Chaeyoung replied. "Wha--,"
"What are you doing here?" Chahee had beat the redhead from asking. She didn't sound welcoming, at all. And judging by how her eyebrows were forming a formidable line on her forehead, Chahee was ready for war. If the situation would arise, that is.
Jisoo ignored Chahee's jab and the impoliteness and directed her eyes instead on Chaeyoung. "Can we talk?" she asked. "Please?" she added.
Chaeyoung took her time to gaze at Jisoo's eyes, seeking something in those irises that would somehow resembles something like sincerity. And when she found what she was hoping to see, she offered a half-shrug and said, "Yeah, sure."
She was aware of the look that Chahee was giving her but chose to ignore it. She'll have to explain later to her friend, though. And as weird as it would sound, she knew Jisoo won't do any more harm than she already did. Because what for?
"Are you sure?" Chahee blurted out in disbelief, her hands now on her hips. The look on her face was clearly implying that she was asking Chaeyoung to reconsider her decision. Afterall, Chahee had specifically told the redhead to avoid a sequel.
Chaeyoung chuckled and nodded. She appreciated her friend's loyalty and also found it funny—the way Chahee was shamelessly showing Jisoo the attitude. She was wondering how Chahee would react if she would tell the bartender the things that happened at the dawn of the fourteenth. Chahee would be livid.
"Alright, then. Signal me when you need a backup," Chahee told the redhead loudly and threw a sniding glance at Jisoo. "Excuse me," she told Jisoo. Which Jisoo responded with a nonchalant look, before she left the two women on her domain, reluctantly.
"Sorry about that. She hasn't forgiven you yet about what happened. Of course, I told her it was partly my fault. But she insisted that you should apologize in her presence," Chaeyoung said as soon as Chahee was already out of earshot.
"Maybe she shouldn't have left then. I'd give her her peace of mind," Jisoo said sarcastically. But it was done so with a bit of humor, the way Jisoo's eyes twinkle like she was indulging herself for a private joke inside her head.
"No, you wouldn't. Especially since she specifically mentioned that you need to kneel down in front of me, asking for forgiveness, with her as the witness," Chaeyoung said, trying to humor herself more than Jisoo. "So, what are you doing here, by the way?" she then asked, as politely as she could.
There was a sudden shift in the chaebol's stance. Gone was the haughty air and the discreet laughter on those eyes of hers. Jisoo suddenly looked awkward and anxious. It was so un-Jisoo-like, in Jisoo's personal opinion.
"I—uhm, just—well. . ." Jisoo stuttered and cleared her throat. "I would like to apologize for, you know?—what I did the last time? It was stupid. I wasn't thinking straight and it was really. . .unnecessary," Jisoo said, looking anywhere but directly at Chaeyoung.
Chaeyoung remained silent for about a few seconds and finally scoffed. She found the confession scoffable, if such word ever existed.
"Unnecessary, huh? I thought you said you wanted to prove a point?" she asked the other woman.
For some reason still unknown to her, Chaeyoung now couldn't stay mad at Jisoo—for what she did and what she didn't do. Surprisingly, if she may say so. Well, okay, yes. She was still feeling a little offended about the stolen kiss. But it wasn't because she feel attacked or harassed. But more like it shouldn't be how a kiss should be. She had done it with Lisa before. And although it was just a game, it was a good kiss. Something that she had treasured and would treasure for a lifetime. Lisa had set the bar high. Of course, she had to compare. And Jisoo's was anything but and that sort of tarnished her memory of a good kiss.
And she told Lisa about it, after she told her about how Jisoo tried to rammed their faces together, aiming for a kiss. Lisa asked if she was disappointed, the nerve of that woman. She said no, of course. Why would she be? But deep down, she knew she was. Because it had a been awhile since she had tasted another mouth pressed on hers. She loved Lisa. But Lisa was off limits now that she's with Jennie. Not that Chaeyoung was looking for a rebound, no. But it was a kiss, for god's sake! It was big deal for her.
"It hadn't brought me anywhere, to be honest," Jisoo answered and took the stool next to Chaeyoung uninvited.
Chaeyoung did not protest. Nor had she imagined herself in the company of Jisoo, without them bickering or trying to hurl out insults and provocation at one another.
Silence had started to envelop them. It was like their individual personal bubbles had sort of joined together in the middle and formed a bigger bubble and they were trapped inside it, enveloped by an unnerving kind of silence
A song was playing on the jukebox in the corner. Someone from Chaeyoung's crew must have inserted a coin. Prince's Kiss started to fill the void. They both turned their heads in an instant towards its direction, caught each other's eyes for a fraction of second after and looked away. As if the universe was conspiring all its elements to mock and remind them about that kiss.
Yes, Chaeyoung decided to keep the thing. She paid a good amount of money and a lot convincing bordering to begging to William, the owner of The Era, for it. The old, grumpy waitress at that cafe, who kept calling Lisa 'Barbie', wasn't ecstatic with the idea of letting the jukebox go. Lisa helped, of course. The Shutterbug was rather good at convincing people.
"Can I ask you something?" Chaeyoung decided to break the ice.
Jisoo gave her a shrug. Non-committal but otherwise accommodating. They were both looking at the entrance door and the busy pedestrians outside, walking to and fro, wrapped in thick clothes and their heads bowed to spare their faces from the frosty bite of the wind, minding their own businesses to get through their days.
It was a Saturday afternoon. The sun was still up behind the overcast sky. February was still as chilly as ever. And Chaeyoung's crew was preparing for another promised night of booze, music and who knows what else the night would offer later.
"Why did you do it? I mean, yes, I remember you said something about trying to prove a point and you said a lot of things which really didn't make any sense to me at all because you were talking incoherently—," Chaeyoung said incessantly.
"It's—I don't think it still matters now," Jisoo interjected, still looking ahead. There was no way she would repeat what she had told the redhead last week, after the kiss. After the moronic kiss she moronically instigated.
"Really? Because I thought I caught some words you said like you 'like me' and—,"
"Lisa!" Jisoo jumped, both in relief and utter surprise. She silently thanked the heavens for the sudden appearance of the tall blond at the doorway. Who, by the way, was wearing an oversized motorjacket with patches stitched all over it and a beanie on her head.
"Shutterbug!" Chaeyoung exclaimed when she saw Lisa. But it sounded more like someone who was caught redhanded while doing something illegal that she even fidgeted on her seat a little farther from Jisoo.
It was a slightly tensed moment, in Chaeyoung's opinion. For her, at least. First, because she wasn't expecting Lisa to come over unannounced and would find her in the company of Jisoo, whose arrival was also sudden. And she knew that particular look on Lisa's face while the Shutterbug was advertently averting those eyes from her to Jisoo and back and forth. It was annoying and so she glared at her bestfriend who was obviously teasing her with those round eyes of hers. And second, because she knew Lisa could be very annoying when she wanted to. She shouldn't have told Lisa about the kiss. That was a mistake.
"Hey, Chu! I didn't expect to see you here?" Lisa greeted Jennie's bestfriend first as she started to pace towards the two women. She smirked when she saw how uneasy Chaeyoung was on her seat.
"I was just passing by," Jisoo said, biting her lower lip after. Lying was never her forte. But what would she say? The truth? That she had planned this meeting all week? No way.
"Hmm," Lisa mumbled knowingly and smiled. "It's good to see you, though," she told Jisoo and turned her attention to the Chipmunk on her right. "Hey, Chipmunk!" she greeted and flashed another smirk.
Chaeyoung flickered a sideglance towards Jisoo, making sure that the black-haired woman was looking somewhere else, before she glared at Lalisa Manoban. Whose smirk have slowly turned into a grin, showing her those annoying pearly set of white teeth. A grin that Chaeyoung knew too well.
"What brings you here?" Chaeyoung asked, rather scathingly. She wanted to Lisa to disappear right there on her spot.
But it wasn't because she hated Lisa's presence. In fact, she welcomed Lisa's arrival as a breeze of air. Or a prickling needle that had popped the invisible bubble that was enveloping her and Jisoo. No. It was the fact that the way Lisa was showing her those perfect set of teeth through a wide grin that clearly and obviously indicating that it was more than an obvious indication that Lisa was, in fact, teasing her. Her assumption was eventually validated when Lisa slid a glance from Chaeyoung to Jisoo and back to Chaeyoung in a manner that would only mean that she wasn't buying that Jisoo-was-just-passing-by BS.
And Lisa was good at putting up a show when she felt like it. Like now, when she pouted and contorted her beautiful face and looked hurt from Chaeyoung's words.
"You should at least say 'hey' back, you know?" Lisa scowled.
Her scowl eventually made Jisoo turned her head towards the two women. Her eyes averted from Lisa to Chaeyoung, asking. Wondering what was going on. She bought the show that Lisa had put on. Chaeyoung noticed it and aimlessly waved her hand between the three of them.
"Don't mind her. She's always like this when she's bored," the redhead told Jisoo and then glared at Lisa.
Lisa's mouth dropped and her eyes were bulging.
"Oh my god! What is happening?" she asked.
"Nothing," Jisoo said and decided to changed the subject abruptly. "Have you heard from Jendeuk yet?" she asked Lisa.
Jennie, both Jisoo and Chaeyoung found out, was a good diversion for a curious and prying Lisa. The sudden change of Lisa's mood was a proof of their discovery.
Lisa sighed and shook her head.
"Nope," she said. "Have you?"
"No," Jisoo replied and forced a smile on her lips. "It's really hard to talk to her right now, Lisa. Let alone see her. It's weird, how not seeing her often. But it's okay. We'll get to see her eventually."
Chaeyoung, looking lost and confused, couldn't stop herself from asking.
"Why? What's up with Jennie?"
"She's finally filling in the biggest shoe," Jisoo provided an answer.
Which confused the redhead even more. So she looked at Lisa, her eyes pleading for a clearer and more elaborate version of the 'filling shoe' thing. But Lisa, who was as clueless as Chaeyoung, responded with a shrug. So they both turned to Jisoo to demand an explanation.
"I mean, Jendeuk has finally decided to work in the company. It's a big company and there are, as I've been told, too many bigger shoes for her to fill. I'm pretty sure her hands are full lately," Jisoo explained.
It wasn't a profound enough explanation and Jisoo had to explain in a way that she hadn't gave away informations that Jennie was obviously still withholding from Lisa. Jendeuk would kill her if she had a slip of the tongue.
"Oh, Lisa," the redhead sighed and reached out a hand on the tall blond, which rested on Lisa's wrist. "Are you okay?" Chaeyoung asked after she saw a fleeting emotion that flashed across Lisa's eyes. There was genuine concern and affection on her voice and it made Jisoo flinched on her seat.
"Yep. Why wouldn't I be?" Lisa professed and tried to laugh to shake the bitter taste of her own lie on her mouth.
"Oh, yeah? So, what brought you here, really?" Chaeyoung persisted with a raised brow. "Because I've been calling you nonstop since yesterday, Manoban, and you never did pick up. Not once. And now you just showed up here, unannounced?"
Jisoo had witnessed enough that she knew when it was time for her to leave. She couldn't be a third-wheel, could she? She held a distinguished pride of herself all these years just to allow herself to be sitting there quietly and watch Lisa and Chaeyoung bicker or whatever that was that they were doing. Because it was sweet. They looked sweet. And as hard as she had to convinced herself that she wasn't jealous—she was. But totally not in a weird possessive kind of way, she told herself.
She gathered herself and cleared her throat, in a way that wasn't really imposing, stood up and said, "Perhaps I should leave?" Her voice was tentative. Like, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to leave just yet.
Both Lisa and Chaeyoung turned their heads toward her and said, "No! Stay!" at the same time. And both Jisoo and Lisa looked at Chaeyoung after, in disbelief, because why would she stop Jisoo from leaving, anyway?
"I mean, you know—," Chaeyoung felt compelled to explain. But she found it hard to string a few logical words together to justify her refusal. Because she didn't even know the answer, herself.
Lisa, the bestfriend that she was, saved Chaeyoung from making a blunder of herself and said, "No, Chu. Please, stay. Chaeng and her band will perform later. You might want to check them out. They're really good. Besides, I'm leaving, anyway."
The "Why?" and "Where are you going?" from Jisoo and Chaeyoung were both hurled at Lisa at the exact same second that they had thrown Lisa off-balance.
"Whoa! Okay!" she said, throwing her hands above her head because she felt attacked by the demanding tones behind the inquiries. "I need to go back to my studio because I'm working on some rolls right now," she told the two women.
"And yet you're here, Lisa. What's up?" Chaeyoung asked with narrowed eyes, obviously unconvinced.
"I need to buy some film papers, Chipmunk. Because I know I told my assistant to buy a stack for me few days ago but he insisted that I didn't. And now I've ran out of papers. I just really dropped by to say hi. I swear," Lisa explained.
"Why didn't you just ask your assistant—what's his name again?—to buy them this time, Lis? I know you don't like it when you have to leave your lab especially when you're in the middle of developing films," said Chaeyoung.
Jisoo, meanwhile, was planted on her seat. Listening and watching, again, the exchange of conversations between the two women. She missed Jendeuk, she realized while looking at Lisa and Chaeyoung. And she knew Lisa's missing Jennie, too. She could see it on the strained and faint dark circles under Lisa's weary eyes. And then there was Chaeyoung and her flaming red hair cascading on her slender shoulders. Both her hands were nestled between the recluse of her thighs, back hunched slightly and her head inclined so she could look straight on Lisa's eyes, who was standing a couple of feet in front of them. Looking quite adorable, in Jisoo's opinion. She shook her head after that unwanted thought.
"Bobby. And I can't trust him yet. He's new and he's flirty. And there are unigirls everywhere. I don't want him running around, throwing flirty looks all over, when he's got loads of job to do in the studio right now," Lisa said.
"So, you're denying him the chance to find a potential love?" Jisoo asked curiously.
Lisa laughed. "No, Chu. I'm denying him the chance to lose his job and myself from losing an assistant because I'm in dire need of one right now," she said with a smile. "And I really have to go."
"Don't overwork yourself, Shutterbug," Chaeyoung reminded Lisa.
Concern and affection were written all over her face again, the tentacles of it were laced on Chaeyoung's voice, Jisoo noticed. It was raw and genuine that the effect of it somehow made its way to Jisoo's chest. Probably. Because she could feel the sensitive beating muscle inside there prickling and a little heavy just a little enough to make her feel something. . .weird?
"I won't and I'll see you both later tonight," Lisa said as she adjusted the beanie on her head.
"You're coming, then?" Chaeyoung asked a little hopefully.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it. So, you still better be here when I come back, Chu," Lisa told Jennie's bestfriend.
"Why don't we have dinner later? The three of us? My treat," Jisoo decided impulsively.
"Hey, I like that," Lisa laughed and started tracing the way towards the door. "Count me in! See you two later!" she shouted and waved an arm before she was gone.
"She knows, doesn't she?" Jisoo asked the redhead after all that was left between them was the bubble slowly forming back and enveloping them again with the kind of prickling silence. She was talking about that stupid kiss.
"I might have told her, yes," Chaeyoung answered and chuckled when Jisoo released a frustrated groan.
"Oh my god! Why?" Jisoo had to asked that. She just had to. She had never felt so embarrassed in her whole life.
"Because I tell Lisa everything," Chaeyoung answered with passion. Like, she was declaring her religion.
"Okay. But not the part about you being in love with her, have you?" Jisoo asked cockily. Which she didn't mean to, but the words just came out of her mouth before she could prohibit herself from being blunt.
Chaeyoung's eyes almost popped out of their sockets from utter shock. Her mouth was agape. She sat erectedly and her palms were slowly forming into a fist, which she layed it tensedly on her lap.
Jisoo anticipated what would happen next. Chaeyoung would slap her. Or punch her, judging from the way the redhead's balled fists. She deserved it, she told herself, for being such a bitch sometimes. She was beating herself internally while waiting for the coming onslaught.
"How did you—?"
Jisoo breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Seriously? It's written all over your face," Jisoo said while brandishing her forefinger on the redhead's face, which Chaeyoung followed the every movement with her eyes. "Only a dumb person won't know it when she sees it everytime you look at Lisa. You're that obvious."
Chaeyoung fell silent. Longer than Jisoo was anticipating and it made her worry if she had somehow offended the redhead again. She was on tenterhooks, Jisoo was. But after what seemed like an eternity, exaggeration included, Chaeyoung Park turned her head towards Jisoo and offered a shy smile at the black-haired beauty.
"Don't tell her that," Chaeyoung said. "And Jennie, too. I don't want to cause any trouble."
"So, Lisa really doesn't know?" Jisoo asked.
Chaeyoung shook her head and said, "No. I don't know. I think she knows. She's smart. She just doesn't feel the same way," she paused and smiled languidly. "And hey, I know that Jennie's your bestfriend and, well, now that you know what I feel about Lisa, I just want to say that you don't have to worry about anything—,"
"Why so?" Jisoo interrupted.
"Because I'm not going do anything stupid to ruin the thing that's going on between them right now. I promise. I saw how protective you are with Jennie," she added after she saw how Jisoo's eyebrows were hitching higher towards her hairline.
Jisoo scoffed and asked, "Who says I'm worried?"
Chaeyoung looked at Jisoo with curious eyes and furrowed brows.
"I know you won't do anything stupid. You're better than that," Jisoo provided the answer to Chaeyoung's silent inquiry. And added, "I'm quite good at reading people, you know? And I know you're not a bad person. Not even when you tried to murder me after a stupid game some weeks ago."
Chaeyoung snorted and laughed out loud that it made Chahee looked up from whatever she was doing, who was sitting on a few tables away from them, and eyed Jisoo conspicuously.
"Please, don't remind me how pathetic I was that night," Chaeyoung groaned. "I'm really sorry about that."
"So, are we friends now or what?" Jisoo asked teasingly.
"No," Chaeyoung answered that made Jisoo crestfallen, before the redhead added, "We should do a reset first. Then we'll be friends. So," Chaeyoung turned her body towards Jisoo, extended her hand forward and said, "Hey! I'm Chaeyoung. Lisa's bestfriend. You know, that tall, pretty, sometimes clumsy blond woman that your bestfriend Jennie has fallen in love with? Lisa's an idiot most of the time, by the way, but don't tell Jennie. Anyway, you can call me Chaeng, if you like."
She curved her mouth and formed it into a playful smile after the introduction. And when Jisoo was unresponsive because the latter was just staring at her with eyes that clearly said she was being ridiculous and cute at the same time, that Chaeyoung had to shove her hand forward and raised her eyebrows, eyes dilated and gestured Jisoo to take it for the customary handshake.
Jisoo recovered from herself and laughed. She shook her head, rolled her eyes and accepted Chaeyoung's proffered hand.
The redhead clasped her hand on Jisoo's, a little too delicately, and shook their both hands slowly. Causing the bracelet that Jisoo was wearing to rattle and create a soft tingling sound against the thin air between them.
"I-I'm Jisoo," the chaebol said. And she was not okay.
Because she could feel the loud beating of her heart against the cavities of her chest. It was chiming along with the tingling sound of her bracelet. It was heavy that she almost couldn't breathe properly.
Her hand felt weird against the redhead's hand. She felt it clammy against the warmth of Chaeyoung's. In fact, she knew it would have slipped away involuntarily if not because of Chaeyoung holding it and keeping it in place.
Jisoo felt weird.
It was weird how it made her feel weird all over. She wondered if this was how it was to Jennie when she saw Lisa the first time?
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jisoo," Chaeyoung said. Still playing the role that she chose from her own script and still not letting go of Jisoo's hand.
"The pleasure is mine, Chaeng," Jisoo replied with a nervous chuckle and riding on with the redhead's charade. No matter how clammy and weird she was feeling at the moment.
Because she didn't want to disappoint Chaeyoung.