Jisoo and Jennie start to get to know each other. Or do they?
~
"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"
Jisoo stared at Jennie with wide eyes, not believing in what was happening.
"Did you not see me here?" She asked with her arms opened, looking at the red stain on her top.
"No, I didn't. That's why I'm apologising."
Jisoo sighed. She was feeling angry but at the same time she knew she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings. She was looking at her phone when she collided with the girl.
"Well, I guess the fun is over for me. Can't stay here like this," she said frowning and turning around to leave.
"No, Ms. Kim...Jisoo! Wait!"
She felt Jennie grabbing her arm, stopping her from walking away. Jisoo stared at the girl's face and she looked indeed really sorry for what happened.
"You don't have to leave. Follow me."
Jisoo watched as the brunette released her arm and turned around. She followed her across the gallery and through a door on the very back of the building. It led to a hall with an elevator door. She saw Jennie pressing the button and the door opening. She walked in after the brunette, not understanding exactly where she was being taken. After a few seconds, the elevator stopped and the door opened. They stepped into another small hall that looked incredibly fancy. Jisoo looked around as Jennie pulled a small bunch of keys from her pocket. She opened the door and invited Jisoo in.
"Come in. I will only be a second." The brunette said after closing the door behind them and going to grab something.
Jisoo couldn't believe in what she was seeing. She thought there would be a normal apartment on the top of the old gallery building but it was a massive loft. She took a few steps inside to see it better. There was a large lounge area with big sofas and a TV, the walls were covered with canvas prints of beautiful photographs surgically placed. It was all very clean, she thought. The kitchen area was spacious and fully equipped. Everything was very modern. Across the loft, she saw Jennie messing with something in a cupboard. The bedroom area was also incredible. A big double bed in between two bedside tables were by the window and two doors led to what Jisoo assumed to be a walk-in closet and a bathroom. Jisoo didn't even notice that Jennie was right by her side until the brunette spoke.
"Here. There's a towel and a few options of tops. Hopefully you will find one that fits you. The bathroom is right there, that door on the left," Jennie pointed the direction to the raven.
"You live here?"
"Yes?"
"I mean, you seriously live here?"
She saw Jennie growing a small grin on her face.
"Yes, I seriously live here."
Jisoo stared at the brunette for a moment, not knowing what to say. She felt a word slipping out her lips before she had time to stop it.
"How?"
She closed her eyes acknowledging how stupid it sounded but she quickly opened them again as she heard Jennie laughing. She didn't take notice before of how pretty the girl was. Her hazel eyes were pressed with laughter and her mouth was opened. She was taller than Jisoo and had long brown hair carefully covered in braids. Jisoo wondered how long it would take to get all those braids done. She sighed and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, that was a stupid question."
"No, it's quite alright," Jennie said, still laughing. "This building belongs to my family. Well, to my grandfather's family. And since I'm the last one standing, it kind of belongs to me now."
"This building? The whole building? The gallery?"
"Yes. It was not a gallery originally. After my grandfather passed away, I decided to convert it and give a good use to this building. An art gallery was the only thing I could think of because he loved art. And well, it wouldn't hurt to live here since it's such a nice area, so I transformed the top floor into this loft and moved in."
"Wow. It's... a really nice place."
Jisoo watched as the small grin on Jennie's lips turned into a smile and she couldn't help but smile back. She looked around again and, as she turned back to face the brunette, she saw that the girl was still staring at her with a smile. She felt a bit awkward and at the same time she felt bad for being so harsh with the girl previously.
"I better go change then," she said, taking the towel and tops from Jennie's hands and walking towards the bathroom.
She closed the door behind her and looked around again. The bathroom wasn't too big but it was big enough for a bathtub and a cupboard as well as toilet and sink. She took her top off and used the towel to dry the wine, placing her stained top on the sink and putting one of the clean tops on. She looked in the mirror and fixed her hair a bit before turning to the door again and leaving the room.
"Hey, do you have a bag I can put the dirty top?" Jisoo asked as she approached Jennie, who stared out the window.
The brunette turned to face her and took the towel and dirty top from her hands with a smile.
"I'll take care of that."
"Thanks," Jisoo looked down, still feeling slightly uneasy.
She watched as Jennie put the dirty fabrics away and walked back towards her.
"It looks nice on you..." the brunette said. "...the top."
Jisoo felt her cheeks going warm and faced the floor.
"Thank you," she said timidly.
"You're an artist yourself, then?"
Jisoo looked back at her not quite understanding why the girl would be interested in chatting to her after she was so rude to her.
"Yea. Well, trying to be."
She stared at the brunette who still held a smile on her face.
"Well, we better go back downstairs then. I wouldn't want to keep you from appreciating good art. And Mino can definitely provide us with good art!" the brunette said, excited.
"You know Song Mino?"
"He was my grandfather's best friend. They went to university together and my grandfather helped him a lot when he was starting. It's because of them that got interested in art but I'm hopeless with a pencil," the brunette giggled. "Anyway, he will be here soon, I can introduce you, if you want."
Jisoo's eyes grew wider. Of course she wanted to meet him. Song Mino was one of her favourite local artists and an inspiration for her.
"You... don't have to do this," she said awkwardly.
"Don't be silly, I'm sure he will be delighted to meet you. Let's go."
The raven felt Jennie grabbing her arm again and pulling her towards the door. She took a deep breath and let herself be pulled, not noticing the smile that grew on her face.
~
"There he is," Jennie whispered in Jisoo's ears, causing her to feel goosebumps on the back of her neck.
She turned her head to look at the tall old man who was chatting to a few journalists. The raven followed Jennie as she approached the group.
"Mino! I'm so glad you're here," Jisoo watched as the brunette hugged the man and kissed him on the cheek.
"Ruby, my dear. What a splendid exhibition. I'm very honoured. And proud of you, if I may say so," the man had a broad smile on his face. Jisoo could see the fondness between them.
"It's my pleasure," the brunette said with a smile. "Can I introduce you to a friend of mine? She is an artist herself and a big fan of your work," Jisoo felt shy while she approached them. "Jisoo, I want you to meet my good friend Song Mino. Mino, this is Kim Jisoo."
"Very nice to meet you Ms. Kim."
"Nice to meet you. It's an honour actually. Your work is a big inspiration for me."
"Well I'm glad to hear that, young lady. Ruby told me you are an artist. What subject is most interesting to you?"
"Nature. I love to paint nature scenes."
"And why is that?" the man asked as if he was expecting some specific answer.
Jisoo felt a bit threatened by the question, she didn't want to sound silly in front of such a great painter.
"Because..." she tried to think about it. "Because it's not scripted. You never know what you will find. You never know what direction the wind will be blowing or if there will be clouds diffusing the sunlight. You don't know where the birds will be flying to or what colour the flowers will be. It's always new, always a surprise, always a challenge."
The raven felt her cheeks going warm again as Mino started to slow clap after she finished speaking. She tried to hide how shy she felt by timidly smiling.
"You speak like a true artist," the old man said, smiling. "I'm sure I'll hear about you very soon, Kim Jisoo," he said, extending his arm to shake Jisoo's hand.
She took his hand smiling.
"Thank you Mr Song. It means a lot."
She saw the man smiling at her and turning his attention back to the journalists. She stood there looking at him, not knowing if what just happened was real.
She sighed and walked away through a small corridor that led to a different room of the gallery. She looked around the room that was filled with framed photographs. It was a different exhibition, much smaller than Mino's. Turning around, she saw the exhibition tile painted on the wall by the door.
Ruby Jane: Landscapes
A collection of the best landscapes of the young photographer.
Jisoo felt a little smile grow on her lips and turned to see the photos. The first was a beautiful bridge from afar, a blanket of clouds beneath it and the sunlight was hitting it from above. The next one was a beach with transparent waters, you could even see small fish swimming. By its side, a beautiful orange sunset seen from a higher ground. She was impressed. Jennie knew how to capture the mood of a scene and use the light properly. The images were strong and yet gentle to the eyes.
"Do you like it?"
Jisoo jumped in surprise and turned to face Jennie who was holding two glasses of wine. She smiled and took one of the glasses as the brunette offered it to her.
"Yes. They are beautiful. You're very talented," she said, sipping on the wine.
"Thank you," Jennie said, smiling. "Nature is my favourite subject too. There's never disappointment. It's always beautiful," the brunette said, looking at her own images.
Jisoo stared at the girl and smiled. She found herself feeling even more shy. Mainly because she was an asshole to the girl who was actually really nice. She felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, bringing her back from her thoughts. She looked at the ID and saw Lisa's photo. She wondered why her friend would be calling since she was at work.
"Sorry, I need to take this," she said to Jennie who nodded in return.
"Hey Lali, what's up?"
"Hi unnie. My boss let me go earlier, I'll be leaving in an hour but I'm tired as fuck. Do you wanna grab a movie and eat some crap?"
"Yea, sure! I'll grab some stuff on my way home! See you later."
She pressed the end button and turned her attention back to Jennie, who was messing with her own phone.
"Sorry," she said, getting the brunette's attention. "I... have to go now. I'm meeting a friend."
Jennie smiled at her and nodded.
"Thank you for not leaving and I'm sorry about your shirt and... everything else," Jennie looked like she really meant those words.
Jisoo walked towards the main door followed by Jennie. She grabbed her jacket and bag from the receptionist and turned her attention back to the brunette.
"Alright then, thank you for introducing me to Song Mino. It really meant a lot to me."
"It was my pleasure. I'm glad you enjoyed your night despite the bad start."
Jisoo smiled and waved goodbye, turning around. As she started walking, she thought that she actually had a great time and remembered the things Lisa said to her earlier.
Don't you think it's time for you to let things go? Not everyone wants to fuck with you.
She stopped and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Without thinking much, she turned around again and walked back inside the gallery. She saw Jennie talking to someone and approached the girl, poking her shoulder. As the brunette turned to face her, she extended her arm.
"Hi. I'm Jisoo."
"Hello, Jisoo. I'm...confused," the brunette said, briefly taking her hand.
"Look, I'm sorry I was a dick to you. I know what happened in the park was an accident and you were just trying to make things right. But I'm a fucked up idiot and overreacted. I did the same thing today and, again, you were nothing but nice to me," she paused to analyse the brunette's expression but the only thing she could see was the small smile on her lips. "So I guess I'm just trying to start over."
She felt extremely vulnerable in that moment. She stared at the floor while trying to organise her thoughts. That was hard. Lisa was her only friend, and she really didn't feel comfortable around anyone else. For a second, she regreted the decision and felt extremely stupid.
"I mean, I'm not assuming that you would have any interest in starting over 'cause, you know, you have your office and your gallery and all other million things I'm sure you have to do and people to hang out with so yeah I'm just being stupid to think that you'd want to..."
"Hello," the brunette interrupted Jisoo's rant with a smile, offering her hand. "I'm Jennie."