“Hey, how are you all doing tonight?” Jennie says as she fiddles with the guitar in her hand in preparation for the next songs she will be playing. 

For most of the people in that bar, it’s just another Saturday. 

They came to the place for a good time with great company and even better music, or so Jennie liked to think. 

It has been years since she started playing and though she hasn’t caught a big break yet and had to work two jobs to be able to stay alive and fed, she wouldn’t trade the feeling nights like this gave her. The joy of being able to share her music to whoever would listen, the hope that someone may take something away from the songs she sings, it’s enough fuel to keep her going. 

Though, if she’s being honest, a part of her keeps singing in the hope that her songs would reach the person she wrote them for. It has been years since she last heard from her muse and it was a parting she would rather forget. Things started to be a mess when her love’s family found out about them and she was forced to make the decision that would cause her to lose it all. 

“Leave my daughter. You can’t give her the life she deserves.” Mr. Kim stated coldly as he regarded his daughter’s girlfriend.

This was not what Jennie thought she would hear from the man Jisoo positively adored. Although she knew he was not in favor of their relationship, Jisoo always told her that he was just taking his time dealing with the fact that his daughter loves another woman. However, based on the way their conversation is going, his issue seems to be more about Jennie’s state of life rather than her gender. 

Jennie knew she didn’t come from much. 

Her father left them when she was born because he wasn’t ready to be a father yet and her mother is working three jobs to keep them afloat, refusing to let Jennie do anything but focus on her education. But Jennie is tenacious, she continues to try and help her out by taking whatever gig she could make money off of. A musician at heart, she’d get performing gigs at coffee shops or from various organizations for a small fee. She’s also a tutor for various subjects and a quite good one at that. It was through this that she met Jisoo who needed a tutor for Physics and Calculus. They hit it off immediately and now here she is, stuck in front of a man who doesn’t see her as a suitable fit for his daughter. She never really resented her situation but today, a small part of her couldn’t help but hope things were different.

“Sir, I’ll work hard. I promise. Please sir, don’t ask me to leave her.” Jennie begged as she thought of kneeling down just to show how badly she wants her plea to be heard.

The man before just looked at her angrily. “Look at yourself, young lady. You don’t have anything my daughter could possibly want.” He continued insulting her. “Your life is abysmal, your house in tatters, your future not in sight. What could you possibly give my Jisoo except pain and suffering? Hell, you’re probably only with her because of our money.” 

Shaking her head vehemently, she opposed. “No sir, I love Jisoo with everything I have.” 

He laughed mockingly, “Well, I guess that’s not a lot because you don’t have much.” 

She stared at him with tears in her eyes, “What do I have to do to earn your permission? Please sir, I love Jisoo. I can’t lose her.” 

“She’s meant for far greater things than you could ever dream of giving her. Let my daughter go.” He said again, dead set on not seeing her genuine love for Jisoo. 

Knowing that she won’t be able to change his mind, she decided that she would have to settle for something else, something that would let her keep Jisoo just for a while longer. 

She looked at him again and said evenly with a bravery she didn’t know she could be capable of having, “I will do as you ask and let her go on one condition, Sir.” 

“You are not in the position to bargain, runt.” he began dismissively but then Jennie cut him off.

“I am if you don’t want Jisoo to find out about this conversation.” she retorted defiantly. “She thinks the world of you and I’m sure you want to keep it that way.” 

This gave the older man a pause. He looked at her up and down with a piercing gaze for a couple of minutes and it took everything in Jennie to stop herself from shaking. Maybe he found something in her posture or maybe he just wanted to toy with her but he eventually raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Well then, let’s hear that condition.” 

Shocked, Jennie couldn’t stop herself from looking at the man. He seemed to be a little more open to listening so she decided to just go with what was in her head right at that moment. 

“Give me the rest of the school year with her, please.” she implored.

They were both in their senior year of high school now so Jennie knew there is a possibility of things ending by then. Now, it’s a certainty. She is heartbroken but right now, she can’t process it yet. However, a bigger part of her thinks that having the chance to spend the rest of their time together in peace is a bargain she would take.

“Please sir. Just the rest of this year then I’ll be gone from her life.” 

“Why are you pushing this?”

“Sir, I know you think I don’t know much about love and that we’re still too young to know what it is but I truly do love Jisoo. She’s everything to me and I will not forgive myself if I can’t let her know and feel just how much I do.” 

“You’ll hurt her in the end, you know.” 

“I know, Sir. It will break me too.” 

“And yet you will still risk it?”

“For her sir? I will risk everything.” she swallowed as she prepared to give Jisoo’s dad a piece of her mind. “I know I’ll hurt her then but isn’t that what you want? She’ll be so eager to leave this place, to leave me. But I would still take the few months left before that anger arrives to let her feel my love. If this is the only chance I’ll get to love her then I will love her with all of my heart.”

“Even if she’ll hate you in the end?” 

“Even then. I already hate myself right now sir but I’d rather it be me than you. She thinks the world of you and she would be heartbroken if she were to find out about this.”

He leaned forward in interest. “You won’t tell her?”

Jennie shook her head again. She seemed to be doing a lot of that.

“I see where you’re coming from, sir. You’re a father who wants the best for their child. Granted, it doesn’t make it hurt any less and I am honestly extremely hurt and angry right now, but I get it. I also know how it feels to not have a father you can turn to and I would never want Jisoo to know that pain so no, I’m taking this to my grave. But sir, I hope that someday, when Jisoo brings home someone new, I hope you love her enough to let her be happy even if her idea of happiness does not match yours.” 

“Very well. You have the rest of the year.” 

So she made it count. 

Every day, without fail, she'd fetch and walk with Jisoo to school. She'd bring her flowers and other little trinkets and when she inevitably finds herself running out of cash, she learned how to make various things and shapes through origami, coming up with just about anything because Jisoo always told her that more than anything, it's the fact that someone took the time to come up with something for her that matters. 

She also learned to cook more and more things, wanting to take Jisoo out on dates but barely having enough money to spare. She woke up early everyday just to make them food for lunch seeing as she commandeered that time with Jisoo, another attempt to try and show her just how much she loved her. 

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