“I gotta go,” Jisoo blurts out, a ball of nerves lodged in , and Lee Hi stares at her, confused.

“Don’t you want to wait for Jennie?” she asks. “I’m sure she’s about to wake up.”

I doubt that, Jisoo thinks rather uncharitably, because she knows Jennie—Jennie doesn’t wake up voluntarily before eleven o’clock. She’s a morning disaster, and making her get up from the bed is about as easy as prying loose a bottle of rum from a drunkard’s fingers.

In other words: an arduous struggle.

And it’s not even annoying, how Jennie seems to be in an exclusive relationship with her bed every morning, because she looks so cute about it, clinging to whoever would be lucky enough to have to wake her up. She’d be so grumpy and grouchy but so enchantingly sleep-tousled that Jisoo wouldn’t be able to find it in herself to force her to actually get up, and would in the end just sink into Jennie’s warmth, and—

Jisoo shakes her head.

It’s not her place to think like this anymore.

It’s never been your place to think like this, anyways, a dark grim voice whispers in her mind, and she shoves it far aside.

“Nah, it’s okay,” she hears herself say instead. “We’re gonna run into each other on campus, anyhow. It’s nice to meet you, Lee Hi.”

“Likewise, Jisoo.” Lee Hi beams at her, and it’s really pretty difficult to get mad at her because she looks so nice.

Not that Jisoo has a reason to be mad. Not really.

It’s just.

Well.

She’s dating the girl Jisoo’s in love with.

That just puts a damper on everything right now, no matter how truly likable Lee Hi seems to be.

Jisoo jerks a thumb behind her, where her friends are awkwardly watching the awkward exchange—because Jisoo is an awkward person and her friends are awkward people. “So. Bye.”

“Classy,” Seulgi whispers just so, and Jisoo is definitely going to kill her later. After she cries a bit. Or a lot. Probably.

“Bye.” Lee Hi waves at them in a little dainty movement and honestly, it’s totally impossible to not like her at all, isn’t it? “I’ll tell Jen that you guys dropped by.”

Jisoo nods, turns around, and swallows the bitter taste in her tongue down.

If only she could tell Jennie that her heart dropped too.

They make their way back to Jisoo’s apartment in silence. Irene, who has stayed behind, opens the door for them, takes one look at Jisoo’s face, and pulls her in a hug. Then she ushers them all to Jisoo’s dining room.

“Eat,” she tells them, quiet but firm, and they do so.

It isn’t until they have decimated the eggs and toast that someone speaks.

“We’re sorry, unnie,” Lisa says.

Jisoo chews on her chicken, swallows it, and shrugs. “Don’t be an idiot. You guys didn’t do anything wrong.”

Lisa exchanges a look with Rosé, who puts her cutlery aside. “Actually, about that,” she begins, winces, and tries again, “We’re sort of the reason they met?”

Jisoo stills. “What.”

“We’re in the same history class, the three of us,” Lisa explains. “And we sort of invited her and a bunch of our classmates to a sem-ender party then she met Jennie-unnie there?” Her nervousness morphs the statement into a question, and she’s fiddling with her fingers the same way she does when she feels really guilty. “Sorry,” she mumbles.

Jisoo feels betrayed, like a lot—if she were overdramatic, perhaps she’d say she felt what Caesar felt when he got stabbed in the back—but it is undue because her point still stands: Lisa and Rosé didn’t do anything wrong. They always put others’ interest in mind. They were just being friendly and nice, like they always are, introducing friends to new people.

It’s not their fault their friends happen to specially like those new people. One particular friend specially liking a particular new person.

 Ugh. This is all giving Jisoo a headache. Or maybe she’s just jet-lagged.

“Don’t be sorry,” she says. “I’m happy for Jennie. She’s my . . . She’s my best friend, so of course I’m happy that she gets to find someone to, you know, be happy with.” She sounds strange even to her own ears, like she’s drowning or something. Strangely appropriate, if she does say so herself. “I’m happy.”

“Sure, sure.” Across from her, Seulgi drains her cup of tea. “Wanna get wasted?”

Irene snorts.

“Dude, yes,” Jisoo says.

jisoo kim @kimchikin

the thing with loving people is sometimes they don’t love you back

18:13 – 21 April 17 – Twitter

seulgi kang @seulripper

@kimchikin i’m pretty sure that’s called unrequited love

18:14  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

jisoo kim @kimchikin

@seulripper stfu kang seulgi or i’m gonna kick your

18:14  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

“The thing with loving people is sometimes they don’t love you back.” Seulgi reads the tweet with a half-sympathetic, half-exasperated expression. Then she sighs, throwing the phone on the bed, before reaching over and giving a solid thwack on top of Jisoo’s head. “You’re such a hopeless cliche, honestly.”

Jisoo groans, covering her face with her hands. “I know.”

“The worst kind of cliche.”

“I know.”

“And you can’t kick my while being such a sad lump on the bed.”

“ off.”

“Language,” Irene berates. “There are children here.”

Lisa, seated on the carpet, laughs behind her soju. “Don’t worry, unnie. Chae and I know about swear words.”

Rosé nods mock-seriously. “We do.” She leans in, whispering conspiratorially. “Sometimes we even use them, especially during difficult exams.”

“See? They’re not as innocent as they look,” Seulgi tells Irene. “Loosen up, babe.”

“Go be annoying somewhere else,” Jisoo grumbles. “I can’t with you right now.”

“We’re commiserating. Be grateful you have such sweet friends.”

“I just wanna wallow in my despair in peace. Is that too much to ask?”

 Irene’s expression is sympathetic, and it guts Jisoo because. Wow. Is she really that pathetic now?

“Never mind, don’t answer that,” Jisoo says. She takes a swig of soju too. “I’m royally screwed.”

No one says anything, and that, honestly, says a lot.

seulgi kang @seulripper

@kimchikin is totes drunk rn it’s honestly funny

21:04  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

jisoo kim @kimchikin

@seulripper shut the hell up seulgi-bear

21:14  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

seulgi kang @seulripper

@kimchikin cALL ME BEAR ONE MORE TIME

21:14  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

jisoo kim @kimchikin

@seulripper go off with your hamilton references what a nerd

21:15  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

seulgi kang @seulripper

@kimchikin AND YET YOU RECOGNISE IT

21:15  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

jisoo kim @kimchikin

@seulripper thAT’S BECAUSE I’M ALWAYS WITH YOUR NERD

21:16  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

irene bae @icecreamsunbae

@kimchikin @seulripper please leave seulgi’s out of this, that is mine

21:17  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

seulgi kang @seulripper

@icecreamsunbae @kimchikin my uality: “that is mine”

21:17  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

jisoo kim @kimchikin

@icecreamsunbae @seulripper oh my god

21:18  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

jennie kim @jendeukie

@kimchikin @icecreamsunbae @seulripper what even is this thread

21:21  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

jisoo kim @kimchikin

@jendeukie @icecreamsunbae @seulripper

21:23  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

jennie kim @jendeukie

@kimchikin @icecreamsunbae @seulripper i’m coming over

21:23  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

irene bae @icecreamsunbae

@jendeukie @kimchikin @seulripper i got them, don’t bother

21:23  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

jennie kim @jendeukie

@icecreamsunbae @kimchikin @seulripper too late. i’m at the door.

21:33  – 21 April 17 – Twitter

Jisoo looks up when the door opens and there she is.

There she is.

Jennie looks impeccable, despite the late hour. She’s dressed in that leather jacket she’s ridiculously hot in, as well as tight-fitting jeans and boots. Her hair is elegantly draped over one shoulder, and she’s got on that signature smirk when she sees their various states of drunkenness.

And Jisoo is so happy to see her that it kind of, sort of hurts.

There’s a pang in deep in her chest that makes it difficult to breathe, but she smiles, because Jennie is here.

Jennie is here, and here is the closest that Jisoo will ever get.