« chapter sixteen »

•••

The weekend came and went, and Jisoo returned late Sunday night. Lisa was asleep by then, and Jisoo assumed that she was been tired, not knowing that Lisa and Seulgi had been doing anything but enjoying the weekend. Rather, Lisa was nervous about what Monday would bring.

If Seulgi hadn’t dutifully been waiting at the street in front of Lisa’s house that morning, Lisa didn’t think she would’ve even been able to go to class.

“Just put all of that out of your mind,” Seulgi advised. She was fully against any plan of Lisa trying to get close to Jennie, saying there was no way it would end well. You’ll only put yourself in more danger, she had said. The police will handle it—that’s their job, Lisa.

Lisa sighed. “Right.”

Seulgi looked at her warily. She knew her too well, and she knew that Lisa was not one to give up so quickly.

After all, if she had continued attending the academy despite all that harassment from Jennie, Lisa’s determination was commendable.

It was the first time Lisa was back in class after her freak out episode on Wednesday, since Friday had been individual practice time and she had avoided everyone like the plague. As nervous as she was about encountering Jennie, she was also anxious about seeing her classmates again. What would they say, after her running off like that—though the idea sounded good at the time, looking back on it, she knew it wasn’t her best decision.

But Seulgi reassured her that they weren’t holding anything against her. They were all upset, and it was understandable that Lisa was especially affected, with how close she and Chaeyoung were.

Taeyang, after an apologetic smile and quick pat on Lisa’s back, pretended like nothing ever happened. It wasn’t hard for Lisa to catch up with the slightly modified choreography, though she still felt uncomfortable with the changes. It seemed too permanent.

The end of the day approached too quickly, and Lisa realized how much she had missed class.

“Ready?” Seulgi asked as Lisa finished packing her bag.

Lisa nodded, and they were heading to the door just as another student opened it.

“Um ... I’m looking for Lisa?”

Lisa felt her stomach drop. That could mean only one person. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“Oh, hi, the director wanted to talk to you about something,” the younger boy said with a smile. If only he knew what her ‘talks’ were like, Lisa thought. He wouldn’t be smiling.

He closed the door behind him as he left, and Lisa was about to follow when Seulgi grabbed her arm. “Wait, will you be okay? I’ll wait by the—”

“No, no, I’ll be fine, you can go ahead. Hyoyeon will be waiting for you,” Lisa said. At Seulgi’s expression, Lisa lowered her voice and added, “She’s never ... she’s never hurt me, Seulgi, and that won’t change. If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know.”

Seulgi still looked uneasy, so Lisa amended her statement. “How about I tell you everything that happens right when I get out. Better?”

Seulgi laughed, and she nodded. “Okay. I’ll hold you to that, though!”

«•••»

The door was open, so Lisa skipped the knocking part, knowing that Jennie probably expected her. Jennie looked up from her computer as soon as she opened the door, and she had to resist the urge to freeze up. “You ... wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes. Close the door behind you, would you?”

Lisa wondered if she’d have something to tell Seulgi after all. Her expression must have changed, because Jennie sighed. “There’s ... no need to look so terrified. This’ll only take a few minutes.”

Lisa exhaled in relief. Not much damage can be done in a few minutes.

Jennie gestured for Lisa to take a seat, and once she did, she started talking. Her voice wasn’t as cold as it usually was, and her whole aura seemed less intimidating, if that was possible. “I ... wanted to apologize.”

Whatever Lisa had been expecting, it certainly was not that. Her jaw dropped slightly. “W-What?”

Jennie cleared , and she looked like it pained her to have to repeat herself. “I want to apologize,” she said again, almost spitting out the word. “I didn’t mean to ... intimidate you ... or punish you for being affected by Chaeyoung’s departure. We have all been affected and miss her greatly.”

Lisa almost mentioned that Chaeyoung hadn’t left the academy yet—she was still ‘missing’—but her shock at Jennie’s apology kept her silent. Jennie? Apologizing?

It was completely out of character.

“I ...” Lisa was at a loss for words, but she had to say something. She cleared . “It’s—it’s fine.”

There was an awkward silence after that, and neither seemed to know how to respond, especially Lisa, who was debating between quickly leaving or somehow trying to keep a conversation going ... but she had zero experience with the latter since Jennie was, well, Jennie.

Luckily, she didn’t have to do either.

“A word of advice,” Jennie said, breaking the silence. Lisa looked up from her hands. “I know you walk to class. Do you walk with a friend?”

Unsure of where the conversation was leading, Lisa nodded.

“Good. Don’t ... don’t travel alone.” Her eyes flicked to the door momentarily before focusing back on Lisa.

“Um ... okay. Yeah, I won’t,” Lisa said. When the following silence lasted for more than a few seconds, Lisa decided that now was not the time to try her plan. “Then ... can I leave?”

Jennie nodded, and Lisa stood up, glad that she didn’t have to tell Seulgi anything worrisome.

«•••»

When Lisa made it back home—walking alone, despite Jennie’s strange advice—she was surprised to see the door open.

That surprise quickly transformed into a deep sense of apprehension as she noticed that one of the windows was broken. Backing away from the house, Lisa took out her phone and dialed for the police. After knowing that they’d be on their way in a few minutes, Lisa stood by uneasily, keeping her eyes on the slightly ajar door to watch for any movement.

And then a thought made her go very, very still.

“... when I came home all the windows were shattered, and the door was wide open.”

Her hand shaking, she slowly managed to dial Jisoo’s number and then lifted the phone to her ear. Please ... please pick up.

When there was no answer, Lisa started walking toward the house and redialed. As she uneasily climbed the steps up to the door, she realized that the faint ringing she was hearing was, in fact, coming from inside the house.

“... you’ll pay for this, Lalisa.”

Any thought of waiting for the police flew out of her mind. Lisa pushed the door open the rest of the way and had to stifle a gasp as her eyes surveyed the once again trashed living room.

She called Jisoo again, and when Jisoo’s phone started ringing she followed the sound, stopping when she reached the kitchen. Jisoo’s phone was on the counter.

Lisa took a few steps toward the counter, and that was when she noticed a shoe sticking out from behind it on the floor.

Lisa backed away so quickly that she tripped on an overturned lamp. Her phone fell onto the floor beside her, and she reached out for it, still staring at the very familiar shoe.

Is she okay?

Phone forgotten, Lisa pushed herself onto her feet and stood up. She started toward the kitchen again, and taking a deep breath, she walked behind the counter.

She held back a scream.

Jisoo was there. She was gagged with what looked like one of their kitchen towels, and one arm was bent at an unnatural angle. There was a small pool of blood near her head.

“Jisoo?” Lisa called out despite knowing that the other girl wouldn’t respond. Lisa fell to her knees next to her. “Jisoo?”

Before she could gather her wits enough to think of a course of action, she heard people entering the house, and within a minute they were in the kitchen. A hand was on her shoulder, pulling her back.

“Lisa,” the person said, and she recognized the voice as belonging to Chanyeol.

Others—paramedics, she assumed—walked around her to get near Jisoo. They checked for her pulse and then signaled for more help.

“Lisa, they need to move Jisoo, get her to the hospital. We need to get out of the way.”

She was alive.

Lisa let Chanyeol pull her away from Jisoo, and she watched as they placed her on a stretcher to take her to the ambulance.

Chanyeol started to lead her out of the house, only stopping so she could pick up her phone, as other police officers entered the room. Once they were outside, he turned her so that she was facing him. “Lisa, we need to get you somewhere safe right now until we can finish inspecting your house. Do you want to head to the station, or do you have someone in mind that you’ll feel comfortable with?”

“But—Jisoo—” Lisa stammered, only to be cut off.

“They need to stabilize her condition. Unless that’s what you really want, going to the hospital will only be more stressful.”

Lisa took a few deep breaths. Now was not the time to cry, she had to think, had to remain strong until Jisoo got back—

Seulgi, she thought. I can stay with Seulgi—

Only to put her in danger too? This is your fault.

Another option popped into her mind, and Lisa felt a chill go down her spine. But she didn’t want to go the station, or even the hospital—both would be too stressful, since she wouldn’t be able to distract herself from thinking about Jisoo. So she’d have to do something else, something that didn’t put anyone she cared about in danger.

She cleared . “Will—will you be able to go? To the hospital?”

Chanyeol nodded. “Of course.”

Lisa rubbed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. Jisoo will be okay. “I ... I know where I can go. I’ll call her,” she said. Chanyeol gave her some space, and Lisa turned around to dial the number and then brought the phone up to her ear.

The person who answered seemed very surprised that Lisa was calling. After all, Lisa was never the one to initiate a conversation, especially with her. “Lisa?”

“Um, Director Kim, hi,” Lisa said, stumbling over her words. She took a deep breath. “I—I need some help.”

•••

Author’s Note:

SCHOOL IS OVER SUMMER HERE I COME XD also, looks like things are bout to get interesting i'm laughing as i'm writing this i have no regrets for the cliffhanger

~ thana