“Well? Know what?”

Jennie is getting impatient, tapping her feet against the floor. She had a feeling they were hiding some things from her but she just couldn’t put her finger on it. There’s a tingling sensation that goes down her spine whenever Lisa and Rose are together – many a time, Jennie has spied on them talking secretively and ending up in tears. When she gets the chance to talk individually with each of them, they become so guarded and practically tiptoe on eggshells around her. It worries her, because they’re supposed to be best friends without keeping secrets from each other. Jennie is tired of it all; she knows they're being extra cautious about their words whenever she's present. Her own best friends are hiding secrets from her and getting themselves into just to continue concealing it.

“Park Chaeyoung. I want to hear it from you, because you’re completely sober right now,” Jennie demands, her every step instilling fear in the young couple. She doesn’t want to back down from her stance anymore; she’s tolerated this too many times.

Rose wishes the ground would just swallow her whole right now. She can’t face Jennie when the woman is practically glaring her down, it’s almost as if Jennie wants to make sure she’s buried into the ground. If there is something Rose has learned after being friends with Jennie for so many years, it’s to tell the truth when she asks for the consequences are going to turn nasty in no time. Jennie has a good control over her temper but when someone doesn’t heed the warning the first time, she doesn’t have a reason to cooperate anymore. Right now, they might be best friends and whatnot but Rose doesn't think the relationship makes a difference either way. Jennie already suspects something going on, hiding it is going to make things worse.

Jennie crosses her arms over her chest in slight aggression, her eyes expressing the darkest gaze ever seen. She is waiting for an answer and she will not move until she gets it. She could care less that Lisa is tipsy and swaying a little; she’s willing to bet that this issue at hand involves someone that she loves.

“Well?”

“Damn it…” Rose curses, biting onto her lower lip. They’re definitely going to get in trouble for this. It’s bad enough they’re in this mess right from the beginning. “I think you need to take a seat for this. Please.”

This scares Jennie off more, even if she doesn’t show it. Among the four of them, only Rose doesn’t curse, or at least she never used to. Now that things have changed to the point of no recognition, Rose wonders if any of them have remained the same. These two are keeping so many secrets between them that it ticks Jennie off – has she not been reliable enough to look for when they need help? Months of being suspicious and having no inkling whatsoever, Jennie’s exasperation turns into anger with time. She doesn’t want to get angry but how can she not, especially when it’s obvious they’re hiding something that’s important to her. God forbid it has something to do with Jisoo..

Following Rose’s instructions, Jennie moves to the sofa and sits stiffly. She can feel herself getting more and more breathless as Rose sits opposite her. If there's anything that she needs to pay attention to, it's what Rose and Lisa were talking about earlier - there is someone who's forcing them against their own will.

“I just want you to understand something, Jennie, please,” Rose pleads first; she can already tell that their friendship might just run off the tracks in time to come. She has to salvage whatever is possible right now. “We… We were forced to do this.”

~\~\~

“What the hell happened?!”

“I don’t know, Lisa, I don’t ing know!”

The couple have been on edge ever since Jisoo’s body was reported missing. Usually, the body should be recovered within a month at most if the person is actually dead unless it’s of a rare case. However, the other people who perished had their bodies recovered within a span of a few weeks. Back then, Irene who had gotten into the same accident as Jisoo, had been found on a washed-up island along with a couple of other people as well. Needless to say, her family made sure she got the best treatment done in the States with Wendy giving her utmost support from the back. The only problem was Jisoo’s missing body. It's been a week since the update from the police and it's still reported missing, with the case closing in a couple of days.

To make things worse, Jennie has started going for treatment because of her anxiety attacks and constant hallucinations that were causing her a lot of pain. They thought making sure they could find Jisoo’s body and giving her a proper burial would be the end of it but alas, none of their wishes come true.

Rose starts pacing around the room, her tears flowing down her cheeks without fail. “I can’t believe this is happening! Jisoo deserves a proper burial like every other person! Why is it only happening to her when Jennie needs closure so badly?!”

Lisa has her face buried in her palms, unable to believe what the hell is possibly happening right now. She doesn’t understand why this has to happen right now; it’s really not a good time for both Jennie and all of them. Jennie is practically on the verge of losing her sanity and breaking down every single time they gather together. If that doesn't invoke their protectiveness over Jennie, then nothing else will. It really doesn't help that the memory of Jisoo giving constant reminders to take care of Jennie so frequently keeps replaying in their minds. The girl with the purest heart and kindest soul always makes sure her friends are perfectly fine with no problems, yet she herself is now missing and no one knows if she's dead or alive.

How are any of them going to pull through this?

“Lisa, baby… I’m so sorry, come here.” Rose calms herself a little, taking her sobbing girlfriend into her arms. She was so absorbed in figuring out what else is there to do that she forgot Lisa is literally Jisoo’s best friend. “I’m sorry, please. Let me hug you…”

The two lovers weep in each other’s arms as their thoughts begin running wild – like what if Jisoo never died in the first place? Or what if Jisoo was perfectly fine in America and her phone was completely whack? The various theories all seem plausible at this point, what with the lack of communication and competency of the police department here. If things could become any more suspicious, Jisoo's entire family has moved to another country too. Usually, their parents would talk and exchange their latest plans but not this time, and for no good reason too. It is an understatement to mention that the lack of communication is suspicious. It’s almost as if the entire Kim family vanished out of the blue. All they wanted to do was give their friend a proper burial… is that too much to ask as well?

Lisa thanks God that she still has Rose by her side, yet wonders how Jennie and Jisoo could encounter such a tragic fate. They had begun liking each other like typical high-schoolers who start with having tiny crushes. Jisoo wanted to come back to Korea to be with Jennie, for God’s sake.

“What are we going to do, Chaeyoung?” Lisa whispers, her voice slightly muffled by Rose’s shirt. She can’t bring herself to think about the worst case scenario either… it might as well end up with one of them being dead. The best friend who has cherished her more than anything in the world and takes care of her like a mother would might be gone forever. “I… I can’t live without Jisoo. You know I can’t.”

Neither of them ever thought that someone else would be listening to their words and feelings being expressed so openly… if they did, they probably would have kept their mouths shut instead. It would have been a much better outcome for the future; a future that no one expected would become reality.

//

A month later

“Hi, I’m Lalisa Manoban… I was sent a letter telling me that I have a job interview here.”

Fast forward to current day, Lisa would have laughed in everyone’s faces if they told her she would be invited to join a company of high calibre. She still clearly remembers how the plane crash had left the three of them an absolute wreck. Jennie went for consistent treatments, Rose had to put on a strong front although she ends up in tears almost every day.

“Right this way, Miss.”

The secretary was a very pretty lady, going by the name of Im Yoona. She was tall and had an extremely slim body along with a face that could make others fall for her within seconds. There was something about her that caught Lisa’s attention; perhaps the smile on her face that disappeared for a split second when she heard that Lisa got a letter, or it might be the uncomfortable gaze that she holds in her eyes. Lisa couldn’t understand why for the life of her though; this is one of the most prestigious companies they’re talking about here. There is an unsettling feeling creeping up in Lisa’s chest; maybe coming here wasn’t such a good idea after all. Not being able to pinpoint the emotion she’s feeling happens to be the worst thing Lisa can go through; the last time this happened, Jisoo was in a plane crash,

Lisa would rather die than go through all that again. It was a pain more devastating to withstand than anything else in the world. Losing her best friend without even being able to say goodbye or send her on her last journey…

If only she knew who was behind that door.

“U-Uncle…”

“It’s nice to see you again, Lisa.”

~\~\~

“I… I left because I didn’t want to be controlled by him but the condition was to keep this whole thing a secret from you… Telling you that Jisoo was alive would ruin our lives for as long as he is watching.” Lisa whimpers helplessly. She still remembers every single detail to a fault, including the way her relationship was threatened. The fear that she went through keeping her girlfriend safe from harm’s way led to her making the worst decision of her life. “I couldn’t let Chaeyoung get hurt… please, please understand.”

To say that Jennie is angry is true to some extent but her heart feels the pain when she thinks of her friends getting threatened with more than just their relationships, possibly their lives too. They don’t deserve this as much as she doesn’t, all they wanted to do was protect each other from harm. What position is she to even complain? Her heart was constantly in pain but she can’t exactly say she never gave up on finding Jisoo. The only thing Jennie has done regularly is make use of people so her mind would be taken off the latter; besides the yearning of Jisoo, Jennie can’t say she’s been looking frantically. Relying on her friends and other news sources isn’t that big an effort to locate the girl at all.

The realization that Jisoo is alive still makes her mind go blank, every little memory they’ve ever had together running in her head like a broken record. Imagining Jisoo actually acting her words out like she promised is making Jennie tear up - there are so many things that they have to do together if she is alive.

“I… I need some space.”

Walking out of that door has to be a much needed decision; Jennie finally feels like she can breathe. She strolls along the park near her apartment, wondering how Jisoo has been all these years of not surfacing. Is it due to hideous scars, or maybe an injury that Jisoo doesn’t want her to know about? The main reason behind Jisoo’s disappearance and lack of effort in trying to resume contact with her is what Jennie wants to know most. What happened to the Jisoo who assured her that everything would be okay between them? It was Jisoo who always knew what Jennie wanted to hear and she had the words for it. Yet, finding out that Jisoo is alive but not contacting her might be the one that actually breaks Jennie’s heart more than their friends hiding Jisoo from her.

Jennie sits down on the bench with trembling legs, her hands supporting herself on the wooden armrests. She feels herself losing control over her life all over again, just like how it was years ago. Why does Jisoo, who’s not even looking for her, have this effect on her still?

“Kim Jisoo…”

It’s only then that Jennie remembers what her friends said, about Irene’s body being found on a washed-up island. If Irene had survived the crash and managed to reunite with her family, it only means her girlfriend must know where she is. The last time they met, Irene had just go together with another girl called Wendy. Perhaps Jennie can start by approaching either of them to know about Jisoo’s whereabouts first – Irene and Jisoo did leave to study in the States together and planned to come back for their respective loves anyway. There is a much higher chance that they are in contact, and it will serve as a stepping stone for Jennie to ahold of Jisoo once more. As long as she can find someone who didn't go through the same as her friends.

From her memory, Irene isn’t one to be under the palm of someone else anyway. She was the one who had others under hers, including her whipped girlfriend who ran around like a headless chicken whenever Irene wanted something.

“Wendy Son.” Jennie mumbles, staring at the profile on her phone. She thanks God that she never thought of deleting the group filled with different students from performing arts clubs. Because of her vast array of talents, Wendy happens to be in almost every performing arts group there is. “Let’s hope you know something or I’m going to go crazy here...”

Wendy Son sits in the bakery with a frown on her face.

Setting up her own bakery after finishing high school was an extremely impulsive decision, especially since she’s short-handed almost every day. Having a couple of part-timers aren’t enough to make life easier fo