Two years have passed since the group came to be and they have never been happier. They had fallen into a peaceful routine where they go about their own way for a bit then all come together every night. Jennie sometimes worries that maybe they are way too close, that they won’t be able to survive without each other. Jennie has even voiced this out to the rest of the group, who all thought it was for the best. They declared they didn’t care about anything or rather anyone else. Few weeks after dismissing the idea of being too close to each other, Jennie felt the need to bring it back up again. She had met Mino and his crew for dinner and they had grown very uncomfortable  with her constant talk about her group back home. It had actually been Jinwoo who had pulled her to the side and questioned her.

“Do you know what’s happening? Are you seeing other people besides them Jennie ? I don’t want you to become trapped. I don’t want you to be sick of them, or rather become so accustomed to them that you forget the rest of the world. I understand closeness after all I am inseparable from Mino, Seungyoon and Seungyoon but this doesn’t seem healthy. This doesn’t seem like just hurt people helping each other,.You cannot live in a bubble no matter how hard you wish Jennie. We all have to be brave at some point, and I think all of you - Irene, Taeyong and Jaehyun need to realise this. All of you are scared individuals feeding of each others insecurity. You guys feed off each other’s desperation, the raw dark feelings that you keep hidden from everyone else. Oh Jennie, don’t you see that you guys are together because you are all damaged. You all want to fix up each other but I’m afraid you’re tearing each other more than your fixing each other.”

By the time he was done, Jinwoo was panting rather hard and Jennie was shocked. She knew she had gotten unhealthily close to the three individuals for someone who could barely manage to keep more than one person besides them for more than a few years. What Jinwoo said then , Jennie took it to heart. She realised as well how toxic they could become to one other. She remembered a life time ago, when a person she used to hold in her heart had said to her that he would avoid meeting her too much because he didn’t want her to be sick of him. Jennie missed him sometimes but her memories of him were frayed and nowadays she hardly had strength to preserve them.

So, after the talk with Jinwoo she once again proposed meeting new people to the group at home. They were hesitant and confused, fearing they had done something wrong. They thought they had done something wrong and Jennie saw the toxicity in a clearer view. She relayed what Jinwoo said to her and begged them to understand and so as her family they promised to try.  They all went out and tried to make “friends”. They tried to meet new people and make new experiences, they even tried to stay away from each other for a certain time frame. Ironically enough , it was Jennie who caved first. Living away from the other three for just 4 weeks had made her sick. She was constantly getting sick, loosing appetite and feeling this longing inside her. It was when she realised this feeling of her had pushed her to starvation that she met up with the rest.

As Jennie stood sandwiched between them she was oh so glad that she decided to come back because she couldn’t handle the burning sensation in her stomach anymore.

One peaceful afternoon Jennie and Taeyong were the only ones who had a day off and were home. They were casually laying in Taeyong’s bed as he stared up at the ceiling in deep thought and Jennie hummed along to a slow song with her eyes closed.

“I think you love him noona and I mean that truly. I think you love him from your heart, from that place where you gave me your love.” Taeyong whispered to Jennie.

Jennie froze, the music wasn’t that loud and Taeyong’s whisper seem to ring around the room.

“Did you just call me noona?” was what she replied. “You’ve never done that before, we don’t use formalities with each other and besides I’m only a few months older than you.”

“I’m not being formal noona, and you know I did call you that a few years ago. Now, don’t avoid what I’m saying.” Taeyong closed his eyes not moving an inch from his spot.

Jennie however moved from her spot in the armchair to lie down next to him. She slowly grabbed his hands and threaded it with her own, noticing his breath didn’t hitch like it would a few years ago. A lot had changed since then though, they were both very very different. It almost seemed like a different life, a new life. Jennie sighed, suddenly unsure of where this was going. Everyone around her was aware of her love for Hanbin. Why had Taeyong brought it up?

“I do truly love him from the bottom of my heart, Taebreeze. You know it has always been him from the start.” Jennie slowly stated. She could feel her heart beating anxiously and didn’t know what to make of it.

Taeyong laughed then, soft  and turned to look at her. He sat up and Jennie slowly followed him. His eyes were shining and he looked so amused and carefree in that moment that Jennie’s breath caught in .

“You love Jaehyun, not Hanbin noona. Hanbin is just a habit that you cannot let go of. Do you know how you look at Jaehyun recently? You look at him like he breathes soul into your body. Your cheeks burn brighter than ever and the fire in your eyes blaze like an inferno. Your smiles are frequent and your laughs sweeter than honey. You’re at peace when you are with him and he is the same. He relaxes around you. His body leans on yours when you sit together and his arms always find their way around your shoulder. When you talk his eyes are focused on you and only you. When you call his name, he drops everything to turn to you and when you frown his face turns to stone. He can’t stand to see you like that.” Taeyong finishes with a soft squeeze to her hands.

Jennie is even more shocked now, what had possessed Taeyong to say something like that ? Could he perhaps like her , like that ?

Suddenly, Jennie heard him laugh loud and clear and she turned to him. She felt a flush on her cheeks when she realised she had accidentally said it aloud. Her face grew even more flushed when Taeyong laughed with such might that his whole body shook and tears fell from his eyes. As she slowly thought about it , she realised that it did seem pretty stupid. Taeyong had also considered himself to her brother even before she had started acknowledging him as such. Feeling a chuckle bubble up , she slapped him on the arm urging him to stop and he did, very slowly. When he stared her down with that knowing look in his eyes again, Jennie felt the need to clear things up.

She closed her eyes and laid back down on the bed. “Why do I still carve Hanbin’s name over and over until it bleeds red and dirty then? I’ll tell you why TY, it’s because I still love him. I still love Hanbin.”

Taeyong sighed and laid back down next to her. When Jaehyun returned home searching for Jennie, he found her laying besides Taeyong their hands still entwined despite them being on the opposite sides of the bed.

On 30th March, Jennie , Jaehyun, Irene and Taeyong all prepared for a party. Jaehyun and Irene weren’t really feeling up to it but decided to keep quiet after seeing Jennie and Taeyong’s excitement. It was Mino’s birthday and they were excited, Mino was a dear friend of theirs and they hadn’t seen him in a while. In fact, Jennie hadn’t seen the whole crew since the episode where she stayed away from the group and returned to them. Jennie was slightly hesitant to see Jinwoo again but she really did miss them and decided that perhaps it was worth the judgemental and uncertain glances. There was also another reason why Jennie wanted to go. Her heart had been aching to see Hanbin. It had been a few years since she had avoided him but she wanted to see him. Even if it was just a glimpse, she wanted to see him. So she dressed in her prettiest one shoulder red dress that was long at the side but quite short over all. She left her hair out and kept her makeup pretty light.

She knew she looked good when Jaehyun’s jaw dropped and Irene smirked at her in a manner that could only bring trouble. Jennie giggled, feeling better than she had in a long time and made her way to Taeyong the only one who was behaving normally. She looked him over, ruffled his freshly died pink hair and looped her arms through his. He rolled his eyes but put up with her.

Just three hours later , Jennie wondered how she got into this situation. Jisoo sat from across her, Mino diagonal to her while Taeyong and Jaehyun took the spot on either side of her. Irene sat next to Taeyong, drunk out of her mind and her feet on his lap while she flirted with the bloke next to her. Jennie didn’t know his name, nor did she care. She was stuck. Jaehyun had been subtly staring at Lalisa the whole night and she knew he wouldn’t be stopping anytime soon. After all she was doing the same with Hanbin who was sitting next to Mino. Occasionally, she would catch Mino’s eyes when he caught her looking at Hanbin but he would give her an unreadable look and go back to flirting with an uninterested and an incredibly drunk Jisoo.

Jennie felt another wave of uneasiness as she observed Jisoo glaring at Irene and her. It seems Jisoo hadn’t forgotten what went down in that abandoned classroom years ago. Jennie couldn’t blame her, not really she knew Irene hit really hard. The slap must have hurt quite a bit. As Jisoo continued glaring, Jennie suddenly had enough and smiled tightly her way. Jisoo grew furious and Jennie immediately regretted her decision. Jennie watched Jisoo suddenly down three more tequila shots and knew something was coming. She was suddenly distracted when she felt Jaehyun put his arms around her. When she looked at him, his eyes were still on Lalisa, Jennie rolled her eyes. She bet he wasn’t even aware he had his arms around her, it was almost like a reflex for him now. She nudged  him when his arms pressed down. He turned towards her dazed and she giggled at him. He raised his eyebrows before glancing at her upturned lips and smirking. Jennie rolled her eyes again. He was such a .

“So, it’s true then you guys really are a couple ?” Jennie heard Mark ask but paid it no mind. She was busy making faces at Jaehyun, who now looked amused. She was sure it wasn’t aimed at her anyways.

“Uh guys, I know you guys love each other but at least answer the question” Mark said again and Jennie felt her curiosity rising.

She tore her eyes away from Jaehyun to realise the group consisting of Jisoo, Mino, Hanbin, Lalisa, Mark,Jackson, Bobby,Jinhwan, Chanwoo, Mina, Nayeon, Seungyoon and Seungyoon along with Taeyong, Irene and mystery boy staring at them.

Jennie balked. They were talking to her! Without turning she nudged Jaehyun who then turned to the group confused.

“You mean us, Jennie and I?” Jaehyun questioned baffled.

“Yes of course you too, the two people who have been stuck in each other’s eyes for the past ten minutes” Jackson sarcastically bit back.

Jennie opened before closing it. She didn’t know what to answer. She felt her gaze unknowingly turn towards Hanbin, who was watching her curiously. Knowing his attention was on her, she felt close up. Jennie was frozen unable to say anything and Jaehyun was in a similar state. Irene giggled then.

“Of course, it’s been like this since the reunion few years ago” she replied back as Taeyong nodded while chuckling. Jennie was too dazed to correct her or nudge Taeyong as Jackson shouted in the background “I freaking called it.”

Everything passed in a blur then , it seemed that question had burst open a dam. Everyone started questioning one another and the hour passed with drunk revelations and giggles at the secrets uncovered. It was as the clock was ticking to two and Jennie was feeling incredibly tired that Mina asked the question that turned everything around.

“So Jennie and Jaehyun, Irene as well I guess, what happened that day? Or rather that week, when all you decided to leave. Along with Yuta all of you just disappeared, no one heard from you or was able to contact you. It was the talk of the town for many week after you left. Was it all connected why you left ?”

There was a tense silence in the air. Everyone was waiting for the answer. Irene seemed to have regained her sense due to the question as she suddenly sat up. Jennie, Irene and Jaehyun exchanged glances as Taeyong looked at them curiously. He didn’t exactly know the reason either. Jaehyun had just opened his mouth when Jisoo who looked more drunk and crazy than anyone else, beat him to it.

“Oh, don’t you know Nini here had just the biggest crush on Hanbin . She said she loved him, said she was heartbroken that he was with Lalisa. She couldn’t bear to stay when she would have to experience the girl who stole everything from her steal the one guy she loved as well. Isn’t that right Jennie? You left because the guy you loved no, no the one you obsessed over since forever was taken by the sweet girl that only just wanted to be your friend? Didn’t you leave because you were so damn selfish, Nini? Didn’t you leave because you couldn’t be happy for your friend?”