Instinctively, Jisoo straightens up and tries to neaten her hair, blinking hard a few times in an attempt to look more sober than she really is.
"Sorry to be barging in after hours," Jennie sounds so apologetic Jisoo almost apologises too. "I was just passing by and then I saw you guys through the window and thought I'd come in to say hi. But... um...," she hesitates, caught between a flood of concern for Jisoo and respecting her privacy.
"Good thing you did," Soojoo chuckles, genuine and welcoming. "Come have a seat here," she gestures towards the bar stool beside Jisoo, before reconsidering, then pointing to another one further away, "or you might want to take that one instead if you're allergic to drunkards who cannot think straight."
"Hey!" Jisoo protests and instantly regrets as the pounding in her head intensifies. She winces, making sure her back is to Jennie until the throb returns to bearable.
"Don't mind her. Would you like something to drink?"
Jennie glances at the mess of bottles around Jisoo, who has refused to text, call, or meet up with her outside of work for a couple of weeks now, and she worries about what has gotten into her. "Thanks but I think I'll share with this one, though. She looks like she could use some help."
Jisoo scowls childishly, "I don't need any help."
Refraining from pinching Jisoo's puffed-up cheek, Jennie chuckles, "Sharing is caring." And she takes the bottle and drinks from it anyway.
Soojoo's lips tug up at the sight. She knows Jennie is drinking from Jisoo's supply so that the stupid drunkard would have less to drink.
"I assume you don't need a shot glass then, guzzling from the bottle like that," Soojoo teases and then thumbs to the kitchen. "Well, I have to clean up the back, so, take care of her, will ya?"
"No promises, but I'll try."
They laugh and Soojoo throws a wave over her shoulder before rounding the corner.
"So," Jennie settles beside Jisoo and folds her arms on the countertop, "what's the occasion?"
She observes the deep flush in the architect's face, from her forehead down her cheeks to her neck and disappearing under the collar.
"You're checking me out."
In a hidden fluster, Jennie instantly averts her gaze and clears her throat. From the corner of her eye, the silly lop-sided grin that Jisoo wears makes her cough out a laugh.
"Nope," Jennie pops the 'p' and drinks from the bottle, "and speaking of which, you're the one who hasn't been checking in with me." She abruptly finds that saying it aloud makes her sound less like a concerned friend and more like a demanding girlfriend, and she internally cringes.
"Check in with you, where? Sounds sleazy," Jisoo's voice is low and husky, as she leans the side of her face against her loose fist, propped up at an angle against her elbow on the countertop. She still has that dopey harmless grin, which, try as she might, cannot look less innocent.
Heat rises in Jennie's cheeks, in spite of herself, and she chuckles to mask it. She taps a finger on her phone screen, her painted nail clicking crisply against it. "Here, silly."
"Oh," Jisoo says eloquently and sighs through a small smile, reaching out to retrieve her bottle from Jennie's side. As Jisoo takes a swig from it, Jennie horrifies herself with the thought of indirect kissing, and hurriedly diverts her attention to the interior decor instead.
It does not escape Jennie's notice, though, that Jisoo has neither answered her question nor offered an explanation on her radio silence over text.
She studies Jisoo picking aimlessly at the ends of the label stuck on the bottle in her hands. At this juncture, this person is not someone she is familiar with -- she is not the amusing architect who bounds into her office with bursting enthusiasm, or the skater who is fun, kind, confident and sensitive, or the annoying friend on the other line throwing witty humour over late in the night when she cannot sleep, or the listening ear who keeps her secrets beneath the waterfall.
No, this person next to her is definitely not the Jisoo she knows, but a side of the Jisoo she finds herself dying to know regardless.
And so her hand moves on its own to gently cover Jisoo's, stopping it from picking further.
"Hey... are you okay?"
Jisoo freezes at the touch. The back of her hand that meets Jennie's skin feels warm and comforting. She wonders if it has always had the same effect on Nayeon, and then her head pounds, as if to warn her not to overstep her boundaries. So, placing the bottle back down, she shifts in her seat, sits up a little straighter, and meanwhile slips her hand out from under Jennie's. She feels her chest tighten like it physically hurts to miss Jennie's touch.
She folds her arms and rests her elbows and gaze on the countertop. Tonight is supposed to be for unwinding or, as her best friend puts it, moping, not plastering on a smile in front of her biggest client and prettiest serendipity and the most distracting person on earth. Tonight, she is both unprepared and too tired to keep up the pretense.
"Thanks, but, I don't really want to talk about it," she forces a smile and a quick glance at Jennie, "it's sweet of you to ask though, but, yeah, sorry." She knocks back a shot, which burns her throat as much as her words did.
Despite the fact that she really, really wants to talk to Jennie like the way they used to, she needs to keep her at arm's length before she falls too deep.
Jennie does not recognize this Jisoo, but neither does she give up trying. She is, after all, good at negotiation.
"That's alright," she coos as her fingers brush Jisoo's hair back behind her shoulder, away from her face. "I just want you to know I'm here for you. Is there any way I can help?"
Jisoo closes her eyes and counts to three, hoping the copious amounts of soju have not devoured her self-restraint. It is dangerous, like a moth to fire, how every part of her automatically finds solace in the softness of Jennie's voice and the gentle graze of Jennie's fingers across her cheek.
"No, not really, I don't know - I mean -" she sighs and, not wanting to be rude, chances a glance at Jennie but regrets it because now, she cannot seem to tear herself away. Jennie's gaze is full of patience and empty of judgment, and it is chipping away at Jisoo's strength of will.
Jennie smiles, angelically, "It's hard, isn't it? Trying to organize thoughts and feelings, trying to sift out what you should say out of all that you want to say."
Jisoo finds herself agreeing inside but stays silent. She watches Jennie stretch to take the only bottle left standing, refill the only shot glass on the counter, and knock it back cleanly. They stay quiet for a while, keeping eye contact so mysteriously intense Jisoo worries her inner thoughts may actually be visible and she averts first.
She can feel Jennie still studying her side profile for a tad longer, before she waves a finger over the scatter of empty bottles lying in front of Jisoo, and picks one out, "A little game may help, are you game for it?"
Releasing a chuckle at that horrible attempt at word play, Jisoo wants to shake her head immediately but she figures a harmless game beats awkward silence any day, so she shrugs with a small, curious smile, "Entice me."
"It's like, spin-the-bottle but with a, well, spin," Jennie laughs at her own sentence.
Jisoo rolls her eyes and scoffs, but she pays attention still, more to Jennie's contagiously adorable laughter than to her words actually.
"So, basically, there's only the two of us, right," Jennie shifts eagerly in her seat to face Jisoo, "so we're going to halve this space," she slices the air between them with her open hand, "and we'll take turns to spin the bottle. If it ends up pointing to your half, I ask and you answer; and if it points into my half, you ask and I answer. Simple?"
What's the point of this again? Jisoo wants to ask, but Jennie is sitting so upright and radiating so much excitement and her cheeks look so fluffy that Jisoo would be downright cruel to burst her little bubble.
"So it's like, spin-the-bottle minus the kiss plus truth-or-dare minus the dare."
"Yeah, if you put it that way..." Jennie purses her lips and considers. "Or do you want me to add it back?" And she blushes the moment it leaves her mouth.
"The kiss, or the dare?" Jisoo doesn't let up the chance to tease, admiring the way that beautiful face turns deep pink.
Jennie is quick on her feet though, and pretends to ponder. "Probably neither. I don't quite want to be taken advantage of."
"Shouldn't I be the one who's worried?" Jisoo shoves Jennie's shoulder with a laugh. "Guess we should stick to the original version then."
"The spin-the-bottle minus the kiss plus truth-or-dare minus the dare version?"
"Yeah, that," Jisoo has loosened up a little, but suddenly regrets agreeing to this, not comprehending why she even agreed to it in the first place. Oh right, it's inhumane to crush Jennie's overwhelming enthusiasm for her suddenly invented game.
"Wait, I'll throw in another rule. There can only be yes-no questions." That is her best, though still feeble, attempt at reducing her vulnerability.
"Sure," Jennie rubs her palms together. "Ready?" She doesn't wait for a response before sending the bottle into a tight spin.
Jennie gets to ask first.
"Yes! Okay, so," Jennie narrows her eyes at Jisoo, "are you upset, and that's why you're drinking?"
"That sounds like two questions."
"Okayyy, how about, are you drinking because you're upset?"
"Yes." Jisoo spins the bottle without waiting.
Jennie again.
"Did something happen at home?"
"No, my family's fine, thanks for asking."
"No problem, and that's a relief to hear." Jennie spins the bottle.
Jisoo. Finally.
"Why are you here?"
"That's not a yes-no question, Jisoo. You're cheating."
"Sorry," Jisoo says unapologetically. After all, she is a little drunk. And reckless. Or more than a little. "It's way past opening hours. Did you intentionally drop by to look for me?"
"Yes."
The answer is blunt but Jisoo keeps her reaction to herself, and Jennie spins the bottle.
Jennie.
"Are you avoiding me for the same reason you are upset?"
Stunned, Jisoo swallows hard and hesitates about answering honestly. "Ye- wait. That's a double question."
"I caught your answer though. So you are avoiding me. Why?" Jennie leans into her space.
Ignoring, Jisoo grabs the bottle and spins.
Jisoo.
She looks up and realises Jennie has not backed down. The proximity makes Jisoo clear her throat by instinct and avoid Jennie's searing gaze clouded with questions.
"Are you still hurting over your past relationship?"
It is out of the blue and catches Jennie by surprise.
"I... I don't know, to be honest. It's getting better recently, but," she waves a hand around, "I'm not exactly sure why."
Of course she would be better. Jisoo abruptly grows irritated and huffs, "Okay." If she was sober, she would know she should be happy for Jennie. But she is drunk, and impulsive.
Trying to read Jisoo's expression without much luck, Jennie spins the bottle.
Jennie.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"No."
Jisoo reaches for th-
"Have I done something wrong?"
"No." She retracts her hand and stuffs it in her pocket.
"Said something mean?"
"No."
"Then I don't get it. Why are you upset and avoiding me all of a sudden?"
Jisoo sighs. This is getting too draining and it is manifesting as a hammer in her brain. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"
"No, I don't. And don't change th-"
"You shouldn't be here, Jennie. Go home or something." Jisoo gulps down whatever is left of her last bottle of soju. Her head hurts and her heart aches and she is tired right down to her bones and she desperately wants to leave.
Raking a hand messily through her hair, Jennie tries to keep her voice level as she continues to seek answers. "Then where should I be, huh?"
"With someone else," Jisoo probably sounds like a sour grape but clearly, she doesn't care right now.
"Who?" Jennie knits her brows together in confusion.
But Jisoo merely shrugs, "I don't know. Someone you love. Someone you proposed to."
"What? How did-"
Jisoo roughly turns the bottle to point it to herself. "Can I go now? Yes."
She pushes herself hastily off the bar stool and yanks her jacket off the back of a chair, rushing for the door.
"Wait!" Jennie snatches her purse and hurriedly gives chase, her heels clicking rapidly. "Jisoo, wait up!"
The icy air hits Jisoo in the face as she rushes out onto the empty streets. Her head throbs vehemently, from intoxication or emotions, she does not stop to figure out. The world is spinning under her wobbly feet and she can't seem to keep a straight line.
She can hear the sharp clicking of heels and then she feels a pull on her elbow which she pays no attention to.
"Jisoo, please," Jennie is out of breath trying to keep up with her in those high heels, and as much as Jisoo does not want to be concerned, she is. She slows for Jennie, and finally, halts.
She can no longer hold her wreck of emotions in, she's losing it and Jennie is on the receiving end, unfairly, and she doesn't want to make it worse than it already is.
She takes a deep, measured breath, and exhales, her eyes trained on the cement beneath her feet. "Just... leave me alone, okay?"
Jennie does not let up, however; she needs answers and she prefers them now.
"No, Jisoo. Is this what you're upset about? That I had a fiancée? Why?" Her voice is strained.
No, I'm upset with myself, for knowing you as more than just a client, for developing this big stupid crush, for getting into this fiasco and thinking I can look at you and not want more.
Jisoo sighs, and turns to meet Jennie's gaze, "Look, I've not been slacking on the job, right? I've been working hard and producing results, haven't I? So why are you interrogating me, boss? What the hell more do you want from me?"
It seems to hit a nerve in Jennie. "I just want things to be okay between us! Come on, Jisoo, talk to me. Has Nayeon said something to you?"
Jisoo skips the question, "Work is between us and work is going great, so what's the deal?"
"This! This is the deal! You're suddenly distancing yourself and, and putting up this," Jennie gestures agitatedly, "strictly-work wall!"
Jisoo scoffs, her own words a mockery to her foolish heart, "Is there more to it than work?"
"Yes! We're friends! I mean," Jennie rakes her hands through her hair and drops them by her sides, "aren't we?"
Her insides twist and her heart constricts before it cracks. "No, so get over it."
She starts walking, and this time, Jennie does not follow.
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