Jennie, Jennie, Jennie, Jennie.
It was the only word she could say and think about as Lay drove towards Suho's mansion. Her Jennie was a strong woman, but she could not unsee the image of having a physically stronger man alone with her, not to mention a man with destructive intentions. Jisoo could not just predict what could happen, but she felt something bad was happening to Jennie, something that could reopen or worse, create, scars on her body.
"Please drive faster."
The car was going at 120 kilometers per hour, but it felt slow against the quick turns of every second on her watch.
She could not stay still on her seat as she felt the churning of her stomach into knots. No one had told her worry and fear could feel so much like grief. The same feeling of nausea, the same feeling of restlessness, the feeling of having the world conspire against her to keep her far from the one person she needed to reach.
And when she saw the familiar gates of the compound, Jisoo had her hand ready on the door. And Lay had to stop abruptly in front of the garage when Jisoo had opened the car door without waiting for him to park. There was no time she could waste on waiting.
Jennie needed her. She needed Jennie.
But the moment Jisoo had entered the opened doors to the garage to see Suho's fist meeting with Jennie's face, a new door came to open inside of her. There was no worry, no fear, no mercy, only rage and resentment as she ran forward to him, tackling him to the ground with a violent hit, Suho losing all rational thoughts as his back met with the hard concrete, Jisoo straddling his hips.
Jisoo leaned back and tilted her head, seeing Jennie laying helplessly on the ground. She could not even stand the thought of having someone hurt Jennie, how much more if it were real? She sat on top of him as if she were a creature numb with anger, nothing audible as the rage burst into her and coming off in waves of lightning as she began to return every punch he gave to Jennie a hundredfold, maybe even a thousand at this point. Jisoo was hitting him fast that he could not respond with anything to stop her.
Rage had given Jisoo the power to fight, killing her own capacity to show mercy as it rose above in her mind. Jisoo pulled his head to break his nose as he grunted loudly in pain. Still holding his head, she started to elbow his chest with equal measures of fury in every blow to the body. His face was bleeding profusely, but Jisoo saw none of this. Her mind was engaged in returning the hurt he had bestowed upon Jennie. Her rage had taken over her completely.
"Which hand did you use to hit Jennie?" She asked as she stopped, her voice husky and filled with deep hostility.
He didn't answer.
"Which hand?" Jisoo asked again, her face empty of any emotion.
Suho could only laugh as he coughed blood. "My right hand. You should know, it felt the best hitting her. Even better than sex."
Almost involuntarily, her hands found his right and held it at an uncomfortable angle, twisting it to a direction it should not go to. Jisoo slowly put more force into it as he release a blood-curling scream when he felt his hand was about to break. But just before it could happen, Jisoo felt the familiar welcome of two arms encircling around her waist, pressing her body into another. A pair of lips came to stroke her ear, speaking words to a whisper.
"That's enough, Jisoo."
Jennie's voice came to break the control of Jisoo's rage over her. Her rage slowly went back inside the cage it was ensnared in, Jisoo's heart and mind hoping it would not come out ever again. But after hearing Jennie, they were sure Jisoo would never need it in the future.
Jennie was here, with her, and she would promise her days with no more pain and hurt now that she knew the truth.
Jisoo left him limp on the ground as she turned her attention on Jennie who knelt weakly beside her. "Jennie!" She caught her in a tight embrace as she fell forward.
"You saved me." Jennie said in disbelief, thinking it was all a dream.
"I'll always save you."
Jisoo held her tight, never wanting Jennie to be taken away from her. But the garage doors opened to reveal Lay and some policemen he had called when he stayed outside. He could only stare in pity at Suho who laid beaten on the ground.
After a few questions, Jisoo and Jennie were inside the car on the way to the hospital. Both were exhausted, but never tired to have each other locked in a close hug.
It was finally over.
***
Jennie, without delay, was brought inside the emergency room, and the feeling was almost the same when Jennie had given birth to her baby. Jisoo prayed she wouldn't need to see Jennie inside the hospital in a near-death experience again. Minutes of waiting had passed before Jennie was brought up to a private room and her doctor coming to speak to Jisoo.
After hearing that Jennie's condition was not in line with anything serious, Jisoo felt all the heavy anchors of anger, worry and rage release her simultaneously. Without waiting for anymore words to be said by the doctor, Jisoo ran to her room, running past nurses, doctors and patients that were in the hallway. Her feet would only halt to a stop until they had reached the place her heart longed to be. She didn't even bother knocking on the door.
All heads in the room snapped up to look at Jisoo who stood panting by the entrance. Her brother, father and mother were all there, but all her eyes could see was that one woman on the bed that was holding their daughter.
Jennie had a couple of purple spots on her face, one on her temple and another just by her cheek, but just as always, Jisoo had been underprivileged by the ability to breathe. Looking at Jennie now felt like gazing at a star that was blessed by the heavens to a mortal like her. This star was real, more real than any scientific entity the world had known.
Jisoo had beads of sweat rolling down her forehead as she gasped for air, hair unkempt, but just as always, time had been generous to Jennie as it let itself slow down for her to admire her loved one. Looking at Jisoo felt like gazing at the human form of art, a woman that had been brought to life to make shame to the most perfect sculptures, statues and paintings.
Both held their gazes for a long time, speaking the language only their eyes and hearts could manage to use. It had been a great mutual effort and risk to love each other, but surviving through the pain because of their love had rewarded them with the most purifying escape from the pits of hardships into the place where they could be finally free, where they could finally have their love.
No more hiding, no more half-truths, just the sincerity and honest form of loving and giving will they have between them.
Knowing the lovers could use the time for themselves, Jisoo's parents and brothers went outside, carrying Lisa along with them. When the door had been closed, Jisoo still stood by it, fidgeting on her spot, timid to come close. Jennie found it very endearing for the usually forward and confident woman. She smiled and scooted a little to the side to have some space for another body.
"Come and sit with me?"
She need not ask twice.
Jisoo's legs went under the covers to sit beside her. They stared at each other for a good minute before Jisoo attempted to wrap her arms around Jennie, before she stopped her.
"I need to tell you something."
Jennie paused, thinking if she should tell Jisoo, worried that she might refuse her afterwards, but Jisoo deserved to know the truth about her past. She would not allow another hidden fragment of her life come between them ever again.
"As you know, I was abused as a child, and when my mother killed herself in front of me..." Jisoo's eyes widened at the revelation, but stayed silent to let Jennie speak.
"I had no one, had nothing. My classmate in ballet class brought me to a stripclub. I became a stripper then." Jennie turned her head away, ashamed of her profession before. "I met Junmyeon when he had reserved me for a private session. I thought I had fallen in love, until I knew he was married. When I told him I was leaving, he raped me, thinking I would feel his love for me."
Jisoo clenched her fists, not wanting to be reminded of her loved one's wounds, but Jennie saw this and held Jisoo's hand, slowly intertwining their fingers. "I left him eventually, but I still thought I loved him. But then I saw the most beautiful being my eyes have seen."
"Who was that?" Jisoo asked, silently drowning in envy at the mention of it.
Jennie looked up at her. "You."
She giggled. "I still remember my thoughts about you. I could never forget. She was a celestial being that had walked the stairs from the heavens down to the Earth, shaming the other men who did not think the name beautiful belonged to her. Her eyes were made from the most rarest pearl, sparkling with pride. Her hair came from the evening sky, turned into strings. When I heard her speak, her voice came from the most perfect notes from all instruments. I was drawn to you the moment I saw you at the cafe."
Jisoo felt the heat crept up to her cheeks, tainting it a hue of pink as she rubbed the back of her neck, grinning shyly at Jennie.
"I found out I was pregnant not long after, and then I was placed under your care. Days ago, I met Suho, He knew all about me, and I guess you know what happened after that."
Jisoo nodded.
"But I'll understand if you don't want me anymore after hearing all of this. I'm embarrassing, I'm unimpressive, I was a stripper, I don't have a stable job, I'm a burden, I---" Jennie spoke the words softly, craning her head down again, casting her eyes from Jisoo. And Jisoo, Jisoo could only smile as she carefully cupped Jennie's cheeks to bring their lips together, just as they had a million times before.
Urgently, their mouths danced along each other with affectionate kisses that had melted their pillars of sand under the rain of their passion. Both of them gave into it, for days they had restrained from such intimacy, but they did not have to anymore as they had given themselves to the moment with pure emotion and love. Then, their tongues had taken over it, the dance an equal to their favorite meal. Though yearning and longing for each other, the kiss remained slow and deliberate, both lips wanting to take memory of the perfection of every touch, every flick as they enjoyed it.
And when they had parted for breath, the beams on their faces could not be contained as it reached to the ears. Jisoo found herself panting the second time that night, and she was thankful for the second time.
"Wow."
Every kiss was perfection in itself, but this one, this one was something beyond expectation.
"I know."
Jennie's chest moved with great effort as she panted. She started leaning towards Jisoo to kiss her once more, but she took a gentle hold on Jennie's face.
"If you'll kiss me again, I won't stop until I have kissed every inch of your skin. Every inch. We haven't made love for the past few weeks, and I don't want our first in a long time on a hospital bed, Jennie." Jisoo said, lightly kissing Jennie's forehead.
"We might have to wait a bit longer until you're out of here. Your love is mine, Jennie Kim, only mine."
Jennie caught her lips in a brief second before wrapping her arms around Jisoo's neck, engulfing her in an embrace.
"Yours, only yours."