roll the credits

chapter seven

***

“I have to meet with Irene-unnie now,” Jennie says as she and Lisa exit from the tearoom of the hotel they’re staying at in Los Angeles.

“Tell her I said hi.” Lisa responds, matching Jennie’s smile and closing the door from behind them. She widens her arms and Jennie takes the invitation to step into the space Lisa has created for her. The two girls go in for an embrace, encasing the other with gentleness, in the middle of the empty hallway.

Or so they thought.

“…and now kiss.”

Across the two members is a conference room, its exterior covered in tinted glass, permitting onlookers from the inside to be given a clear view of the hallway. And in the room stands Kim Jisoo, palms placed firmly against the glass and in between her face that’s pressed to the barrier, lips quirking into an excited grin as she spies on her two unsuspecting targets.

“Come on you little s.” Jisoo presses her nose further onto the glass but her figure remains unseen by Jennie and Lisa. If she could just smack their faces together, she definitely would. Her excitement increases when the girls break their lengthy hug halfway and stare at each other with heart eyes (as Jisoo would call it), their gazes locked, and she swears they are about to lean in and—

“Jisoo, what are you doing?” Seulgi nags at her in a hushed voice, careful not to give themselves away by making too much noise. She tries to pry Jisoo off the glass but the girl remains rooted to her spot until her grin fades.

“Did you see that?” Jisoo turns to Seulgi and jabs her thumb to the hallway. Jennie has already disappeared into the main lobby, with Lisa heading to the elevator. “They were so close!”

“How long have you been in here?” Seulgi asks. She had probably arrived minutes earlier, probably discovered the trail of ketchup that had dripped from Jisoo’s hotdog leading to where they are now.

“Like.” Jisoo wipes her ketchup-and-mustard stained fingers on the sides of her jeans before fishing out her phone from her back pocket. She unlocks it then answers, “thirty minutes ago.”

“What?!”

“I had my hotdogs to accompany me.” Jisoo points to a trashcan containing two crumpled hotdog wrappers.

“But why?”

“Because I’m a for hotdogs, Seulgi.”

“No, I mean why were you here for thirty minutes?”

“Oh. I saw those two walking alone towards somewhere like all hush hush and I was sneaking behind them and I find this room unlocked so hmm, maybe I can listen to the other side through the wall in here,” Jisoo walks to the other end of the room, passing by a long table and pats the sole drywall, “But nooo! Apparently, all rooms are soundproof, except this one.  Which is dumb because this is supposed to be a meeting room.” She gestures to the entire room. “So I just munch on my hotdogs until they got out.”

Seulgi shakes her head disapprovingly at the younger girl with her hands on her hips in a motherly posture. She and Jisoo had planned on going on a short day out, the same kind Jennie would be having with Irene. And seeing her engrossed in this Jennie and Lisa thing, she fears it could someday lead to a horrifying debacle if she were to cross the line (and according to Irene, Jennie hasn’t shared anything Lisa-related so maybe everyone else is in the dark about their status albeit the obviousness on and off-cam).

“Okay, Jisoo. Let’s try this again. How can you be nice to your friends?”

“By not stabbing them.”

“Riiiight, setting the bar a little too low there, but another way you can be nice to them is to give them their much needed space.”

“I did. That’s why I hid.”

Seulgi sighs exasperatedly. This is hopeless. “Do you remember the stunt you pulled few months ago?”

“Hey, Jennie. Want to go out for dinner at eight?”

“Sure.”

“Cool. Hey, Lisa, wanna join us for dinner at eight?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“Alright, since I have a ton of things to do, you go together without me and enjoy your date. I reserved the restaurant in Jennie’s phone, bye!”

Jisoo laughs internally at the memory but she remains stoic as she deadpans at Seulgi. “Nope. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Seulgi sighs once more, feeling awfully drained for wasting her breath like this. She practically pleads, her hands clasped together in a prayer-like action. “Just please, don’t get in the way, okay? No more surprising them with dinner dates they did not plan themselves, and absolutely no texting the other girl by using one of their phones.”

Jisoo hesitantly hands over Lisa’s iPhone to Seulgi.

***

“Sorry I’m late.” Chaeyoung takes the seat opposite of Jisoo. They’re back in Seoul and are dining at this private restaurant Jennie had introduced to them in Gangnam. Security is tight within the establishment which gives them the privacy they badly needed.

“What happened?” Jisoo asks, at the same time calling out to a waiter to pour Chaeyong a glass of wine. She had already ordered their food for them, considering Chaeyoung is thirty minutes late, much to Jisoo’s annoyance. They have some important matters to talk about and she can’t put this off any longer.

Chaeyoung smiles at the waiter and thanks him. She waits for him to be out of earshot before answering. “Nothing. I just didn’t want to be here,” she mutters into the rim of her wine glass, taking a nice sip afterwards.

“Rude.”

Chaeyoung hardly looks fazed by her insult and rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. You just want to gossip about Jennie and Lisa.”

Jisoo gasps, dramatically places a hand over her chest, feigning offense at the accusation as if Chaeyoung has punched her mother square in the face. “I do not! I cannot believe you said that. Ever thought that maybe I want to chill and hangout with one of my beautiful best friends at this amazing restaurant? All you do is expect the worst in me. I am hurt, Chaeng. Hurt.” She tears her eyes away from Chaeyoung, batting her eyes like she’s trying not to let the tears spill as she fans herself with her hands.

The façade lasts for five seconds.

“But speaking of Jennie and Lisa—”

“There it is.”

“—don’t you think they should disclose their relationship status to us?” Jisoo slightly pokes her fork on her plate multiple times as she makes her point. The clanging noise of the utensils makes Chaeyoung grimace. “If they’re already smacking and banging.”

“I never should have told you that they kissed. Or have been kissing.” Chaeyoung says as an afterthought. “Let them be, unnie. You’re getting pretty annoying about this.”

“Thanks.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

“Because I stopped listening at pretty and I only acknowledge the positive things in life, Chaeng.”

Chaeyoung groans, shutting her eyes and massaging her temples. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Unbelievably cute.” Jisoo confidently winks at her.

There’s something about Chaeyoung’s expression that either translates to: I can’t believe I’m friends with you or I can’t believe we’re actually having this conversation. But basically, Chaeyoung simply gives up on trying to make sense of this meeting they are having and mentally praises the Lord that Jisoo hasn’t done this to Jennie, who would have blown a fuse at this very moment. At least, she thinks, she is getting delicious free food from Jisoo’s incessant talking.

Chaeyoung suddenly remembers Jennie’s perfect analogy for this kind of situation: Jisoo’s mouth is like a machine gun and her words are her ammo.

She gives a silent toast to Jennie’s words.

While on the subject, something hits Chaeyoung. It comes in a slow and stinging sensation in her brain, as if she’s just gotten her senses back for the first time in years. She’s not sure if it’s the wine, but if it really is the cause for her to open her eyes and realize that the gears in Jisoo’s head have once again started turning, then she’ll have to thank it.

“Oh my God.” She drops her knife and fork onto the plate, pausing to stare at Jisoo. “I know why I’m here.”

Jisoo doesn’t bother looking up from her dish, however, she does manage to sport a sly smirk. “Took you long enough.”

“Are you serious? You could have called me or waited until I get home tonight!” Not that Chaeyoung doesn’t appreciate the free meal (free and food together are like the definition of Roseanne Park), it’s just that she could still be asleep right now and be lazing in her bed until late afternoon.

“But this is urgent.”

“Placing bets on who would slip up and confess isn’t urgent.”

Jisoo leans in with her elbows propped onto the table and her chin on her hand. “Ahh, so you’re saying some loveydovey crap is going on?”

“I’m saying I know how that mind of yours works.” Chaeyoung declares, resting her utensils on the side of her plate in a more ladylike manner this time. “I really shouldn’t have told you they kissed.”

“And not make easy money out of that? You chikin, Chaeng?” Jisoo says tauntingly, inching herself forward as she challenges the younger girl. She doesn’t add anything else, but she’s patient and she knows Chaeyoung so well that she calculates that it will only be a matter of minutes until the light-haired girl gives in to pressure, just as she always does.

And Jisoo’s success rate at luring in Chaeyoung is at around ninety-nine percent.

Her statistics don’t lie.

The clues are simple.

It begins with Chaeyoung deserting her latest task, such as putting down her knife and fork. Next, she can bee seen staying silent for a good minute or two (sometimes five if it’s dangerous or in Chaeyoung’s words not worth the -whooping we’ll get) and avoids eye contact with Jisoo. If she switches onto another topic, it’s only a sign for Jisoo to bring it up sometime later, but most of the time Chaeyoung says the inevitable:

“You are so on.”

Chaeyoung’s competitive nature emerges through the determination in her slanting eyes and the tilt of her lips.

Jisoo loves how she can perfectly manipulate the situation into her favor. She would have made a sleazy money-making lawyer. Sleazy, sure, but hey on the bright side she would be bringing home the bacon (more like one whole pig if that were the case).

They lay out the rules for the bet, like two professional businesswomen engaging in a multi-million dollar business deal. Except that this does not involve money, not yet anyway, as Jisoo suggests they need to kick it up a notch to make things even more interesting. Chaeyoung figures she has dug herself a trap if ever Jennie finds out but she can’t deny to herself that she isn’t intrigued by this.

The members have already gone as far as setting up names for each other, one that they believe would befit their roles in this curious case of Jennie and Lisa.

“If we were actual professionals, I’d be Roseanne Park, MD.”

“MD as in for the ones in the medical field?”

“No, as in Master Detective.”

Yes, of course, Chaeyoung would go with that.

She has gone on about her so-called detective skills, jotting down every single piece in the puzzle of their members’ relationship in her imaginary notepad and assessing the situation cautiously, like she has taken this master detective act to heart.

Jisoo, unlike Chaeyoung, doesn’t just watch from the sidelines, doesn’t just gather the data for “research purposes” but rather steps in once in a while so she goes for:

“Then I’d be Kim Jisoo, MC.”

“For emceeing?”

“No, for Marriage Counselor.” Jisoo says smugly. “And I think we should just up our money game for this bet. Like two-hundred thousand won?”

“That’s a lot of money.”

Jisoo sips on her wine. “That’s a lot of food too.”

Chaeyoung makes a whining noise at the back of . “I hate how you know how to speak my language.”

Before they could carry on, Jisoo has one more thing in her agenda. She would have to confirm something first from a reliable source of hers and she rummages through her belongings in her purse for her non-work phone. “Darn it, I left my other phone.” Jisoo rises from her chair, having no luck of finding it. “I gotta go text something important!”

“Hey! Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Jisoo looks around, checks her purse if she hasn’t forgotten her first phone and rechecks if she’s left something else. She’s not entirely sure about what Chayeoung means because she can be super vague. So she uncertainly walks closer to where Chaeyoung is seated, still confused, and kisses the crown of her head then dashes out of the restaurant.

Chaeyoung’s mouth hangs open before crying out, “No! The bill, woman! Damn who raised you?”

***

You

yo bobby!!!

hey wassap boi

Bobby

Hey? This is unexpected lol

You

Just a quick question

How well do you know Chan?

Bobby

Pretty well. Why do you ask?

You

What reason did he tell you about his break up with Lisa?

Bobby

Hmm

Something about Lisa not fully reciprocating his feelings

unfortunately she has been doubting herself about someone else for a long time

she didnt say who

Chan took it like a champ tho

Is something wrong?

You

I see

just wanted to confirm something

And no bobby everything is fine

perfectly fiiiine ;)

Bobby

dont know what that winky face means but okay lol

***

Jisoo likes to keep things on the down low while they’re in Seoul in between flying to different cities for their Asian tour. Despite the disguise she would have to put on, there’s this sense of freedom, a liberating sensation she acquires whenever she goes out to anywhere public during her free time, not worrying about shooting, rehearsals or the like.

Days before they’re scheduled to fly to Singapore, Jennie has set aside her day to be with Chahee while Lisa meets up with her other Thai friends. Jisoo decides to go on a shopping spree in Hongdae as Chaeyoung tags along since her older sister had gotten the flu and cancelled.

They go around the boutiques for what Jisoo thought was an hour but when she checks her Rolex strapped on her wrist, about five hours had actually passed. It wasn’t until it rained that she and Chaeyoung have called it a day, heading back to their dorm, a variety of bags in their hands. She had texted Jennie beforehand how they would be eating out for dinner, but with the sudden arrival of the heavy rain drenching the city, it was better to head on home.

“I am telling you, Chaeng, I can fit a lot of stuff in that cracked wall. It’s like a chamber of secrets except there’s no chamber so I guess it’s just a secret though I did find out about it so it’s not a secret either then it’s really just a hole in the—” Jisoo tugs the door open as she’s a few steps ahead of Chaeyoung, entering the small entryway surrounded by their shoe rack. She halts from slipping off her shoes when her gaze wanders to a scene so unbelievable that it takes a moment for her to process if her eyes have indeed deceived her.

From her standpoint is a crystal clear, ultra-HD view of Jennie and Lisa on the couch.

Kissing.

Jennie is sitting sideways on Lisa’s lap, arms looped around the taller girl’s neck, with Lisa having one hand on Jennie’s back and the other cupping Jennie’s cheek. They bring their lips together in soft tiny kisses, the little kissy sounds reminding Jisoo of someone chewing their gum loudly (she has now ruined bubble gums for herself).

Lisa gently moves Jennie to the seat on the couch while not breaking their contact, and before this make-out session escalates (as amusing as it is, Jisoo would have to bleach her eyes out and shower their dorm with holy water if they do go beyond kissing in front of her), Jisoo coughs loud enough for both girls to hear and enough to throw Jennie off in a panic, shoving Lisa harshly onto the floor who also has this deer-in-headlights look on her face when she realizes they have an unwanted audience.

“Uhh.” Lisa blinks hard at Jisoo.

“W-we can explain.” Jennie smooths out her wrinkled shirt and rubs the traces of Lisa’s lipstick off from the corner of (Jisoo is tempted to point out she’s missed some on her neck).

Jisoo slowly backs out of the room, eyes not leaving the two members while pushing Chaeyoung behind her. “Oh, silly me I got in the wrong room. I should just leave you two to carry on.”

Lisa lays dumbstruck on the floor as Jennie attempts to approach Jisoo. “Jisoo-unnie, plea—”

“Jisoo? I don’t know any Jisoo here. This has been a mistake.”

Chaeyoung tries to push her way in but Jisoo is alert to shove her backwards, forbidding her from stepping foot inside. The older maknae whines, “Hey, what’s going on? I thought you were going to show me—”

“To show you the way of the Lord, Chaeng.” Jisoo glances at the two guilty members then back at Chaeyoung. “Which isn’t this way.”

***

Jisoo doesn’t force Jennie and Lisa to explain, but waits for them to voluntarily do it themselves to Chaeyoung’s relief. Only because it had been funny, catching them at a very compromising position which was more than enough evidence to support Chaeyoung’s claim. And the fact that she had walked in on them kissing unfortunately, cancels out the bet they had, also to Chaeyoung’s relief (Jisoo already felt like she’d won when she saw the two lip-locking).

But to be honest, it was a little anti-climactic.

Jennie and Lisa, meanwhile, tiptoe around the subject and are both awkward whenever the four of them are together until Jisoo couldn’t take the recoiling and avoiding eye contact any longer (“Alright you idiots, we know you aren’t just friends because Chaeng and I are friends and you don’t see us making out and getting all handsy with each other!”). Lisa had the audacity to giggle at Jisoo’s straightforwardness, whereas Jennie had nudged the youngest member, another of her pink-stained cheeks making an appearance which Jisoo has been witnessing more often.

So they’ve wordlessly come to terms with it, though Lisa still jumps all fidgety when Jisoo sees her coming out of Jennie’s room one night.

“Are you going to do this forever? Like you haven’t kissed in Thailand two years ago.” Jisoo says, a pack of chips on her belly as she’s splayed on the living room couch languorously. There’s nothing remotely interesting about the Home Shopping Network but their Wifi is currently down so Netflix is out of the question.

“What?” Lisa queries, doesn’t seem to be aware of what Jisoo is referring to.

“Didn’t Jennie tell you? When you got drunk that time?”

As if on cue, Jennie marches to the living room in a dark purple pajama onesie, balling her fists and Jisoo is reminded of those grape-flavored gummy bears at the sight of her. “Lisa! Did you take my charger again?”

“We kissed in Thailand?”

The anger and irritation in Jennie’s expression fizzles out, her fists loosening up into open palms. “You know what, you can have my charger.” She attempts to flee from further interrogation, head bent down and a small blush on her cheeks but Lisa blocks her path.

“We’ve kissed before?” Lisa asks, doe eyes getting rounder in a mild surprise. She fixates her gaze onto Jennie’s expectantly, using her stare to con Jennie into answering. The brunette traps her lower lip with her teeth, her eyes bearing into Lisa’s as well.

But their staring contest is interrupted by Jisoo’s obnoxious chewing on the couch. They both turn at her inability to read the atmosphere and she holds up a chip before . She doesn’t waste sending them a glance though she could feel Jennie silently telling her something like: do you mind?

“Sorry, I’ll keep it down. You won’t even know I’m here.” Jisoo then pops the chip into , her attention back onto a kitchen appliance sale that is being showcased on the flat screen while her ears are trained on elsewhere.

Jennie shakes her head and returns to Lisa. Jisoo could hear her sigh.

“Yes. Okay, we did. And for the record, you leaned in first.”

“Is that why you’ve been making the first move to return the favor?”

“Oh my God!” Jisoo almost chokes on her chips but she recovers by saying: “Fifty percent off on blenders? Insane!”

“Seriously!” Jennie cries out, slapping Lisa on the arm in embarrassment.

“Ow, what? What’s the point of hiding, Ni? She and Rosie know now.” Lisa rubs on the sore spot on her arm.

“They don’t have to know everything!”

“Like how neck kisses make you—oomph!”

Lisa crumbles onto the floor after being elbowed on the rib by Jennie whose entire face transformed into the color of a ripe tomato ready for harvest. She deserts the maknae, the youngest in pain at the jab.

“You deserved that.” Jisoo comments.

“That I did…” Lisa squawks amidst in a fetal position.

***

So things have normalized in a matter of days and Jisoo witnesses Jennie and Lisa more comfortable being open about their relationship at the dorms. Their handholding is apparent now and there’s a lot of staring (not that there hasn’t been any in the first place, only significantly this time).

One morning, Chaeyoung and Jisoo had woken up to the duo falling asleep on the couch, with Lisa cuddling the shorter girl and Jennie sandwiched in between Lisa’s body and the back of the couch. They really do fit together, Jisoo admits, as Jennie’s head is tucked in underneath Lisa’s chin like they’ve completed a puzzle piece.

Chaeyoung coos at them. “Aww, they look so cute—”

Jisoo aims a spray bottle into their direction.

“Rise and shine, lovebirds!” She sprays the both of the girls awake for, well, the heck of it. They contort their faces upon the liquid hitting them on their skin and Jennie is the one to get up while Lisa grunts and unaffectedly rolls over onto her stomach.

“Unnie! That’s a cleaning solution!” Jennie shields her face.

“Yeah, to clean all the cooties you’ve spread.”

Kissing, to be exact, is something they are not comfortable with, a possible effect from being traumatized by being caught. And Jisoo makes it into a little game, bursting into any of their rooms out of nowhere in hopes of catching them off guard once again. Chaeyoung says she’ll regret it once she’ll walk in on them doing something worse but Jisoo knows they have the decency to have their doors locked if ever things were to heat up.

The one time she’s not butting in on their business however, she and Chaeyoung are posing for a selfie since their outfit matches with the color of the couch and she thinks they have done a great job at camouflaging when Jennie and Lisa arrive, not noticing their presence. At the same moment, the lights go out from a power shortage.

“Babe, pass me the emergency light.” Jennie requests.

“You’re the only light I need.”

“Shut up, you dork.”

And even though it’s dark, Jisoo can still make out their standing figures, can make out how Lisa is closing in on Jennie and—

“Adorable guys but I can’t ing see!”

As Chaeyoung screams through the darkness in fright, the two separate themselves and Jisoo scowls at Chaeyoung, ruining their almost-kiss.

“They were so close, Chaeng. So close!”

And in every relationship, also comes the unavoidable:

Fights.

“You’re a lying, cheating, piece of !” Jennie shouts at Lisa, reaching her breaking point. They’ve been at this for an hour now.

“Fine! And I’m taking the properties with me!” Lisa shouts back.

Jisoo sighs. They shouldn’t have gotten together for this. She bends over to slide the board towards herself, the game pieces tumbling and rolling onto the space on the floor. “That’s enough monopoly for tonight.”

“Go yourself!” Jennie groans, flipping the Chance cards as she pushes herself into a standing position.

And Lisa reiterates with: “ me yourself, you coward!”

“Time to bounce.” Chaeyoung instantly pulls Jisoo out of the living room to leave the two to settle their argument or settle the weird tension that’s brewing from their screaming match. She drags her into her bedroom to let them have some time to themselves.

“Do you think they’ve already—”

“None of our business!”

“What if they’ve done it in our rooms! Hasn’t that crossed your mind?! Or the couch or the damn table. We eat there, Chaeng. Eat!”

“Still none of our business!”

Though Jisoo awakes the next day to Chaeyoung vacuuming the couch and wiping the dining table obsessively.

***

So it’s established that Jennie and Lisa have a thing going on (the dating stage in particular) but how far their feelings have gone isn’t quite understood just yet. In Jisoo’s knowledge, neither of them has professed those famous three words.

They’re getting ready to perform in their first ever Coachella stage and the four of them are waiting together for the band preceding them to finish their set. It’s natural to be nervous, Jisoo herself is sweating beneath her outfit.

Jennie is clenching and unclenching her hands, the perspiration twinkling in her palms under the backstage lighting. She and Lisa are a few feet ahead of Jisoo and Chaeyoung. Perhaps Lisa could sense Jennie’s anxiety since she intertwines their pinkies together.

“You can do this.”

Jennie nods but it barely eases her nerves so Lisa angles her head towards Jennie to whisper something in her ear, something Jisoo could read through the movement of Lisa’s lips. There’s a glint in Lisa’s heavy-lidded eyes as she moves to let three words flow easily and smoothly to Jennie’s ear.

“I love you.”

Jennie visibly relaxes her body and it’s there that Jisoo believes in people having this distinct glow when they’re in love because Jennie is glowing from Lisa’s words as she exhales a little laugh that brings a contented smile on Lisa’s face.

“And one more thing, Jennie.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m jealous of you.”

“What, why?”

“’Cause your girlfriend is way hotter than mine.”

Lisa says hurriedly and sneaks in a quick sticky kiss on her cheek before running off to her position. It takes seconds for Jennie to register Lisa’s statement, and when she does, she fumes at Lisa who is standing at a farther distance from them.

“But you’re my—OH MY GOD, LALISA!” Jennie shouts over the drums and electric guitar but she’s ushered by one of the staff to get into place so she resorts to darting a glare, a fond one, at Lisa.

“Damn, if only people knew what goes on behind the scenes.” Chaeyoung remarks as Jisoo nods with a chuckle.

edited.

before anything else, happy birthday to our beautiful crackhead lisa!

officially marking this story as: c o m p l e t e

first of all, i'd like to apologize for the delay of this chapter. i've been so busy that i've had the draft for weeks sitting in my laptop

second, i hope this chapter entertained u guys. a little surprise since it's from jisoo's pov

also, a fun fact: the first 2 parts of this chapter was actually converted from a camren fic i wrote 2 years ago but never finished. thought it would be a good material for this story

and lastly, i would like to thank everyone who have been with me in this journey of writing. your feedbacks have meant a lot to me, giving me the motivation i needed to continue

of course, a shout-out to all the memes and incorrect quotes i have come across (can't possibly remember every single one of them) which i have used as an inspiration for more than half of the dialogues. u meme-makers are the real mvp

i have an upcoming college-AU story in the works, planning it to be around 20 chapters long so look out for that!

but guys, i just want you to remember that everything i've written is a work of  f i c t i o n  and i am in no way insinuating that this is what truly happens behind closed doors. i have simply taken the girls as characters that would fit this narrative. as i mentioned in the beginning, please ship responsibly

and if you've enjoyed this story go on and hit vote with that ddu-du ddu-du

see u in the next story!