Elijah

Jennie and I spend the whole night together. We drive around Seoul, stops to places we used to hang out before, listen to music, visits the night market, and finally, eat something in the convenience store just like before. They used to spend time a lot in the convenience store back in the days. They are inside GS25, their favorite convenience store that overlooks the Han River, enjoying a snack. I'm eating jajangmyeon and kimbap together with my all-time go-to convenience store drink, Binggrae banana milk.

"Stop staring at me, mandu. Are you not going to eat?" I said before pinching Jennie's cheek. I missed eating Korean snacks in a convenience store late at night.

Jennie rolls her eyes and stops me from pinching her cheek. She pouts and innocently says, "Hmm, maybe ramen before we go."

I laugh and by saying, "Ramyeon meokgo galrae?"

"Ya! Stop it." She said with a flustered look on her face. Blood runs through her cheeks upon hearing my joke.

"You're fast, huh?" I laugh again and continues to . I saw how her cheeks turned crimson red after teasing her. 'Ramyeon meokgo galrae?' or 'Wanna eat ramen before you go?' is the Korean counterpart of the 'Netflix and Chill' of the Western modern dating culture. Jennie rolls her eyes and grabs the rice roll in my hand. We continue to talk and tease each other until we realize it's already four in the morning.

We start to get ready to leave as Jennie still has to go to training later. I stood right in front of Jennie and moved the strand of hair that covers her face. I gaze at her beautiful soft eyes, and I knew right then that I am home.

Jennie looks up and meets my eyes. "I never felt so much happiness in the past three years of my life, not until this very moment."

I smiled at Jennie. I fixed her bonnet and scarf before leaving the store. "Are you sure you don't wanna eat some ramen before we go?"

Jennie hit me in the shoulder as I keep teasing her. She looked around and saw one of the clerks smiling. She turns to me and says, "Ya! Stop it, Oppa!"

I laughed harder upon seeing Jennie's embarrassed look. "Kamsahamnida!" I say to the clerks while slightly nodding to show respect and bows before leaving.

We drove back to Hapjeong, where Jennie's dorm is located, as well as my uncle's apartment building, and the old and new YG building. I stopped right in front of her dorm. "Go in and get some sleep if you can before going back to training. We should've come home earlier, sorry. I wasn't able to track the time." Jennie avoids my eyes and looks out in the car window. I reach her hand and kisses the back of it. "I'll pick you up later after training. Let's have dinner with the girls." I played with her palm after hearing nothing from her. "Jennie, look at me. I'll see you later, alright? I promise."

"I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you." Jennie looks up to avoid her tears from falling.

"Saranghae," I said while looking at her biting her lip to hold her tears. "I'll stay with you forever."

Tears she's been holding flow. I kiss her forehead while hugging her. "I'll see you later, Jennie. I promise."

I waited for her to go inside the apartment building before heading off home. I will go home to take a quick shower and change my clothes. I need to go to the office with my grandfather.

Later that day

It was a rough day for me. I attended meetings after meetings without sleep. I'm tired and sleepy and dying to see Jennie, who has been in my mind all day. I was relieved after my last appointment ended. I was about to head off when I found out that I need to fly out to Malaysia tonight with my grandfather to attend a conference. I tried to convince my grandfather to leave me in Seoul, but my grandfather insisted on having me. I am frustrated, but I can't disobey my grandfather. I remembered the very first thing my grandfather told me after arriving from Paris, and it was, "I allowed you to do everything you want in the past three years. It's time for you to do your responsibility in this family." I closed my eyes, accepting the defeat.

I tried to call Jennie right away to let her know the situation while I'm in the car traveling to the airport, but I found out that I left my phone in the office. . I cussed. I'm so annoyed. We arrived at the airport and went inside the business class section of the plane. Disbelief is all over my face after finding out that we will be having a meeting inside the plane while flying to Malaysia. For 's sake. What did I do wrong in my past life to have this kind of luck? Why now when I promised Jennie I'll see her tonight? I can't even call her. I was annoyed and cussing all the saints I know. I can't meet Jennie tonight after promising her I would.

We arrived in Malaysia after more than six hours. The first thing I asked my grandfather's secretary is to buy me a mobile phone. The conference starts at 7 am, and it took hours for my grandfather's secretary to buy me a phone. I went outside and tried calling Jennie, but she's not picking up my call. I gave up after several tries and went back inside. I left several messages to let her know what happened and focused on the conference.

The conference ended late in the afternoon. I flew back right away to Seoul after the meeting. I tried to call Jennie several times before taking the flight to Seoul. I drove to Jennie's dorm right after landing Seoul and texted Jisoo to ask if Jennie is still awake. I'm already right in front of their dorm, waiting. I'm so exhausted that I feel like I can pass out anytime. I haven't had any decent sleep in the last three days, but I want to see Jennie and apologized personally. I went outside the car upon seeing someone walking towards the building exit. I saw the girls coming out without Jennie. I hide the disappointment in my face and greets the girls cheerfully, and we decided to go to the nearby restaurant to eat. The girls tried to persuade Jennie to come along, but she refused. They chose to walk, but regret it after just a few minutes of walking as it started to snow hard. It is the winter season in Seoul, and the weather is freezing. The girls lead me in a Ramen food truck located just a few meters from the dorm. We fought the cold to eat in this food truck, and it was perfect. We were freezing, but we enjoyed the short time we were all together. We went to the convenience store to buy some snacks before heading back to the dorm.

I went inside the dorm to give Jennie the snacks I bought for her. I look around the cramped apartment shared by the five trainees, a typical dorm of an idol trainee. I knock on the room shared by Jennie and Jisoo, and Jennie opens the door with an annoyed look. I pout my lips and uses an aegyo that made Jennie cracks a smile. She rolls her eyes after realizing the smile on her face and says, "Get out! Boys are not allowed here in the dorm."

"Who says I'm a boy?" I asked her.

Jisoo laughs and says, "Finally! I have been telling you since we were kids that you're a girl. I'm so happy you finally accepted the truth."

I roll my eyes jokingly at Jisoo and hugs her tight she almost can't breathe. We laugh like we used to be before. "I missed this. I miss the three of us hanging out in the convenience store late at night." Jisoo says.

"Then, let's do it again. We won't be able to do it once you debut." I said while drinking the banana milk I bought for Jennie.

Jennie and Jisoo looked at each other and shook their heads. Their debut got delayed several times already that they are not even sure if they will have a chance to debut in the future.

"Ya! What did I tell you five years ago? I promised I would do everything in my power to help you achieve your dreams, and I plan to keep that promise. Hang in there, alright? Trust me on this." I smile at them brightly, and the three younger girls joined them to share some laughs. I look at them. These girls have been through a lot since joining the company. Jennie and Miyeon have been training for almost six years, Lisa and Jisoo for more or less five years and Chaeyoung for four years. They saw people leave the company, people they get used to living with, and become friends. They were together celebrating after receiving news about their debut, together crying and feeling hopeless after finding out it will be delayed again. These girls became like a family. "You will debut, the five of you. Remember the pain of all the disappointment since becoming a trainee. Never forget how hard you fought to reach where you are once you debut. It will keep you grounded."