[CONTENTID1]  p r i c i p l e s [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]

  The night wore on slowly until finally the lights flickered off and Ubers arrived one by one to collect the guests. To Jennie’s relief, by then Jongin seemed sober and alert enough to spin Soojung a bold-faced lie.

  By then Jennie was too fatigued to notice much of her surroundings, but from the corner of the room, she spotted the girl she caught Jongin in the bedroom with glaring at her. Jennie wasn’t concerned; with Soojung there nobody dared approach them.

  She was dumped at her house where she stumbled in through the doors, ready to fall asleep. It was dark but the living room TV still sounded. Hwasa lay asleep on the couch and Jennie covered her with a spare blanket before checking her sister’s room.

  Jessie snored softly in her bed with a glass of water at her bedside and a nightlight dimly illuminating the room.

  Finally content, she retreated to her room. As soon as her head hit the pillow, the light went out in the world and fell asleep.

***

  “Mr. Simple” by Super Junior blasted from her bedside, shocking her awake.

  She was overtaken with confusion, but reactively she reached for her phone to mute the obnoxious ringtone. It had been a mistake to use her favourite song.

  With bleary eyes, she answered. “…Hello?”

  Hwasa crawled into the room on all fours, yawning. “Who is it?”

  “Kim Jennie,” said Soojung.

  Her voice was more effective than any alarm or coffee. Jenni immediately jumped to her feet, alert. “Good morning.”

  “Did you just wake up?” she replied. “It’s far past morning, Jennie. You’re going to have to get dressed fast. We’re meeting up at Gangnam Mall in half an hour. We’re going on a shopping trip. Kai will be there of course.”

  “What?” she said. “It hasn’t even been a day since the last time.”

  Hwasa had crawled over to her bed and was now listening intently over her shoulder.

  “This isn’t up for question,” Soojung answered curtly. “You either do what I tell you to or you fail. For your sake, it better not be the latter.”

  Anger grew in the pit of Jennie’s stomach. She wasn’t sure how much more of Soojung’s attitude she could take, but for the sake of her safety, she remained silent.

  “I’ll have someone pick you up in fifteen minutes. You better hurry up.” She hung up.

  “Wooow what an epic ,” said Hwasa.

  Jennie sighed and rushed to the bathroom. “Hwasa? Sorry, but would you mind-”

  “Getting Jessie breakfast and babysit?” she finished. “Don’t worry man I got it.”

  Jennie knew she liked Hwasa for a reason. “Thank you and I promise I’ll treat you to whatever you want when I get back.”

  “Dude, I have front row seats to the reality show that is your life. I’ve got more than enough payment without a free meal, but I’ll take it anyway.”

  Jennie burst out of the bathroom, clean, ready, and in a fresh set of clothes. “I’ll get going,” she said. “See you later!”

  “Good luck!”

***

  The designated meeting spot was the Chanel store which Jennie rolled her eyes at. She stood there staring at a mannequin dressed in what looked like carpet fabric until Soojung arrived. Two girls stood behind her in almost matching dress, and Jongin stood beside her.

  When he saw her, their eyes met briefly, and a soft, almost bashful smile appeared on his face, catching Jennie by surprise.

  Soojung beckoned her aside, and obediently she followed. She felt like a dog.

  “Alright, so today we’re just doing some shopping. Kai gets bored so I need you to keep him company while I go with Luna and Victoria.”

  “If he gets bored why don’t you leave him home,” she replied dryly.

  “He’s my boyfriend. He’s supposed to go shopping with me. Don’t worry though; I’ll only need you to stick around until three. We’ll meet up at the food court then y