Chapter V

i knew you were trouble

“Rosé, what do we do? I heard she’s back,” Lisa panics, biting her nails.

Rosé doesn’t say anything but stares into space while nodding her head in a quite manner. They are currently in an old and empty classroom at the far end of the fourth floor of the school building. Both of them have classes but they decided to skip after Lisa received the text from their friends from abroad. Rosé was shocked as Lisa but did not show any emotion after Lisa broke the news to her. It’s not a surprise for Rosé to hear that the past memories, along with the people in it, will resurface in the present. Unlike Rosé, Lisa was a nervous wreck after receiving the news. She is still shaking and biting her nails, a bad habit she had grown accustomed to, as if her life depended on it.

“Quit shaking and biting your nails, geez,” Rosé says, putting both of her hands on Lisa’s shaking shoulder. “Look, I don’t care if she’s back. So what if she is? That does not mean that she can haunt us, now that we are doing fine—and hey, listen, nothing bad will happen to us, okay?”

Lisa lets out a sigh and bobs her head like a little kid. Somehow, what Rosé just said gave comfort to her. It still bothers Lisa though.

“I’m just—s-scared, Rosé-ya. What if—what if it would happen again, you know? I have nowhere to run to. This is the last resort I know and I just don’t want to go back there because it’s either there or here in Korea. I—”

Lisa kept mumbling and pacing back and forth so Rosé tries to calm her down by embracing her into a tight hug. She knows that what happened two years ago, back when the both of them were still studying in New Zealand, left a huge trauma and scar to Lisa. They were still freshmen and they were still the immature kids back then when a tragedy happened that had caused the both of them to flee away to Korea. Although Rosé was just as traumatized, she couldn’t help but feel pity towards her best friend. Lisa is younger than her and she treats her like her little sister. She is like a huge baby in the eyes of Rosé even though they are both considered as adults now. Unlike her, Lisa is super sensitive and she tends to keep her problems to herself a lot by keeping her dorky exterior but Rosé sees through that facade. They’ve been friends since they were kids and they grew up together so they practically know each other that much. They have always relied to each other, may it be personal, or just some silly stuff that are going on in their lives.

“I am scared, too, Lisa. But I have you and you have me. We are stronger than anyone. We can even beat ultra-man if we want to,” Rosé jokes, caressing Lisa’s blonde locks.

Lisa giggles and pinches Rosé’s side. “You really are good at ruining moments like this, aren’t you?”

Rosé laughs. “Should I put that on my resume? My skills: ruining serious moments with my unnecessary jokes.”

“Definitely. If I was your employer, I’d hire you in a heartbeat,” Lisa chuckles, while a series of sniffs follow after. Rosé gives her a comforting smile while she fixes Lisa’s disheveled hair due to crying.

After Lisa’s breakdown, they lingered for half an hour, since they can’t go