"why the hell are you all even here?" I said while our friends started greeting Jennie and I like we're expecting them.. which we don't I was just on the phone with Jisoo after Jennie and I talked and they're suddenly here
"we're paying you a visit" Jackson said casually as he shows off his tight lipped smile
"can we come in now?" Bambam asked making me sigh
"go ahead, you will be late" I said towards Jennie who's still in disbelief probably cause she wasnt expecting this as well but also since she last saw their faces a couple of years ago.
"You can take the day off, right?" Irene says towards her bestfriend
"Kang will be suspicious if she did" Rosie said making me nod
"Can't you use cheating as an excuse for divorce-" Jisoo immediately cut her off by shushing her since we're literally on the hallway and anyone can hear us
"let's go inside, Jennie go to work and we'll just see you later" Jisoo said pushing Jennie towards the elevator softly
"we'll take Jennie to the parking lot" Eunwoo said making me nod
"Just don't act like you know her when someone's around" I said making them nod. I then escorted Irene, Jisoo, Seulgi and Rosie back to my apartment. I open up the door and go straight towards the living room completely forgetting that Mingyu is also here
"oh sorry for taking too long" I said, Mingyu immediately stood up when he saw my friends behind me
"Ya Lalisa! you're having two flings?" Jisoo said making Mingyu's eyes wide as his cheeks blush
"What the fuck are you saying?" I said hitting her arm to shut her up. Irene and Rosie greeted Mingyu politely while Seulgi's also looking at the guy curiously "I'm sorry about that" I said towards Mingyu "these are my friends, Jisoo, Rosie, Irene, and Seulgi" I said pointing them out one by one "this is Mingyu, my colleague. His father was the one who sent the letter back to me" I said making Jisoo put her hand over her mouth realizing what she just said earlier
"Nice to meet you all" he said bowing down politely probably recognizing the Korean features on their face
"I need to go to work. I didn't even know y'all will show up suddenly. Anyways, you can stay here if you want to.. or you can go out and look around. Just don't go near Kang alright?"
"Not even one pinch or anything?" Seulgi says
"Don't" I said seriously
"I don't even want my hands to get dirty by touching him" Irene says
"Says the one who's about to kick his ass earlier" Seulgi says from behind her which earned an immediate death glare from the smaller woman
"I have to go to work right now so we'll just leave you here. Try not to burn the place down by doing anything crazy" I said and nod towards Mingyu. He said goodbye to them first before making his way out. I stayed behind for a couple of seconds to just repeat the same 'dont-go-and-threaten-Kang' kind of thing. They told me not to worry about it so I grab my bag and walk outside. When Mingyu and I are waiting outside the elevator, Eunwoo, Jackson, and Bambam just went back so I introduced Mingyu to them. They definitely have the judging gaze towards Mingyu but I told them that he is my colleague so they just dropped it in the end.
Mingyu decided to drive us both to the studio and he also insisted on driving me home later. I'm very glad that I found a friend like him. It's not like the rest of my friends will stay here in LA for the time being. We basically just went straight to the studio to prepare our equipments for the actual shoot outside. The preparation is taking way too long than I thought and I don't even know if we'll be done by then.
"Lisa, the organizer called me earlier saying that the whole place is good" he said while I'm on my table replying to Seulgi who keeps texting me about every little thing. She asked me what is a good place to eat around the neighborhood and she's been spamming me when I'm not replying... for God sake I'm working.
"Won't we clash with another reservation?" I asked Mingyu while looking at my phone
"No, not really. The place is secluded so they don't usually get reservations" he said. Our photoshoot will be at different locations and our first one will be at a forest out of town.
"Alright, just make sure we're all good" I said as I turn my phone off once I finished replying to Seulgi
"Yeah sure. It's already lunch time we should go eat" he said while the other staff starts getting up from their seats as well. I look at my wrist watch and nod.
"There's a Chinese restaurant a couple of blocks away. We can walk if we're not in a rush" the other staff suggested
"Sounds good to me" the others end up agreeing so we dropped everything we've been doing and went out to grab lunch. When we reached the restaurant and was about to take the table on the far left I heard multiple voices behind us but I didn't really pay attention
"Lisa" Mingyu calls out when we're about to sit then he nod towards my back. At first I'm very confused as to what he's tryna point out but then I turn around to see Jennie with Kang and a couple more doctors. Fuck "do you want to go to a different restaurant?" He asks probably thinking that I'm feeling awkward... I mean maybe
"No... Yeah, no it's fine. We can just eat and go" I said. I was thinking to sit here so I won't be able to see them but I guess I'll just sit next to Mingyu so I can watch over Jennie. Mingyu scoot to the side to make space for me. When I sit down that's when Jennie's eyes land on mine. I saw how her expression changes but she's quick to compose herself like nothing happened. It's better that way. She stare at my eyes for a couple of seconds before pulling it away to not look suspicious.
Our order came a couple of minutes later. Kang's not doing anything unusual it seems like he's trying so hard to socialize with the people around them but it seems like the two woman beside Jennie are her friends at work since they don't seem please eating with Kang. Jennie will sometimes look my way but it's just a glimpse so I'm just doing the same. For the whole span of at least 40 minutes I'm just sitting here feeling so uncomfortable but at the same time I'm nervous that Kang will do something even though he won't do that in public. I don't even want to rush my colleagues to eat faster for my sake.
When we finished eating I told them I'll pay for it but Mingyu already did before we even start eating. I look up just to see Kang's arm stretch out to side hug Jennie with a smile on his face. Jennie put down her spoon and subtly push Kang's hand away from her arm but he put it back while still talking to the other doctors. I just know that Jennie's very uncomfortable but he's just doing whatever he wants. Jennie's friend on her other side pretended to put her hand on Jennie's arm as she push Kang's hand away but she does it like she's just casually patting Jennie's arm while talking to her about something I can't hear from our distance.
"Let's go?" One of my colleague says
"I'll just go to the bathroom before we leave" I said making them nod. I walk towards the bathroom and open up the empty stall to pee there. I heard the door closes a couple of times so there must be people leaving and entering. Once I'm all done I open the stall's door just to see Jennie leaning on the sink while facing my way.
"Hi Doctor Kim" I said jokingly making her smile as I walk towards the sink to wash my hands
"Sorry, do I know you?" She said making me chuckle
"I guess you're not having so much fun on your lunch time huh?"
"Maybe.." she says, I grab a tissue to dry my hands
"You barely ate anything" I said turning around to see if the stalls are empty which luckily they are
"Do you really expect me to eat beside that guy?" She said
"I know it's very unappetizing but, don't starve yourself for an unworthy guy" I throw the tissue at the bin before standing in front of her while her arms are crossed and she's just looking at me "also, I'm glad you're with your friends. I saw that they're looking after you, so I don't really have to worry, don't I?"
"They're trying not to leave me alone with Kang while we're on duty" she said
"I'm glad" I look at her for a couple of seconds before stepping closer to her while she's just looking up at me with her arms still crossed "I need to go back to work but I'll see you later. Also, eat your lunch alright?" I close the gap between us to hug her. She drop her hands on her side and let me engulf her in a hug. I pull out from the hug but before I can completely step back she pinch my cheek
"There's something that's still unappetizing for me tho" she said making me furrow my brows
"What is it?"
"Watching you sit next to the guy who happens to be in front of your door this morning. I'm well aware that I warned him"