"Hana. Deul. Set. Ne--!"

 

"Jichu!"

 

"Ohhh! Jendeuk Jendeuk Jendeukieee!" The little girl wearing a pikachu hoody ran over to her friend who was calling after her. As she started talking -more like shouting - to Jendeukie, she was jumping up and down. She tripped a bit and gained a scrap on the skin but she was too excited to pay attention to her knee. "Lookie lookie over there, Jendeukie! I found some treasure!"

 

"Jichu! Geez!" She was inspecting her best friend's body all over. "What kind of treasure?" Jendeukie blinked her eyes a couple of times. "We're not supposed to go there, Jichu! It's dangerous! See?! You got hurt!"

 

"But but but! They were shiny! And smooth and everything! It's that die-almond seonsaengnim was talking about the other day!!"

 

"Die-almond? What is that?" Jendeukie's eyes widen and Jichu decided to pinch her by the cheeks.

 

"Yahhh! Why weren't you listening yesterday?! You shouldn't be playing around during class, Jendeukie!" The slightly younger girl was squirming from Jichu but when she tried to get away, the latter pulled her in a tight hug and gave her a noogie. "It's the gem that's sparkling sparkling sparkling!!"

 

"Ahhh! Jichuuu! Stop that! You're ruining my hair!" Jendeukie whined but Jichu kept her in place since the other one was weaker compared to her. "I reaaally don't like thiiiis!"

 

"But I love this, Jendeukie! You should too!" Jendeukie was finally able to pull away from Jichu's knuckle treatment.

 

"I won't!!"

 

 

Jendeukie said it rather louder than usual and in a serious tone so the other girl pouted dramatically. Dramtically because you can almost see her teary eyes.

 

 

"You don't like it when I get mad, do you?" Jichu nodded her head. "Are you going to cry now??"

 

Jichu shook her head quickly. "I'm only going to cry if you get hurt." She pouted and it was something cute that even the cheeky Jendeukie can't resist. "Are you hurt?"

 

"Nope. Not really." She smiled at the older yet more childish girl. "You?"

 

 

Jichu shook her head once more and excitedly tugged her friend to follow her. She was limping a bit and when she cried out, Jendeukie stopped and bended down. She studied the wound on Jichu's knees and took out a band aid from her pocket. It was something she couldn't leave the house without with since these kind of things usually happen to Jichu.

 

 

"How many times do I have to tell you to be careful, Jichu?" Her playmate was giggling so she looked up. "What?"

 

"It will feel good after I got hurt so it's nice, Jendeukie!"

 

"How can it feel good?" She secured the band aid and leaned in.

 

"Because you always--" Jichu waited until Jendeukie kiss the part where she got hurt.

 

"Hmm?"

 

"I always get a kiss from you and it feels good! I feel better! You should really be a doctor, Jendeukie! You'll be jjang jjang jjang!!" She patted her Jendeukie by the hair.

 

 

 

The little 5 years old Jennie blushed more than ever in her life. She thought and she believed that it was because Jisoo told her how great a doctor she would be in the future. So she kept a wide gummy smile with her cheeks blushing all the way to her ears. She would become that jjang jjang jjang doctor.

 

 

 

 

 

=  =  =  =  =

 

 

 

 

 

"I told you to always be careful in what you do, right?"

 

"Yah! I didn't know that getting equipment from the shelf would get me hurt." 15 years old Jennie was studying the superior part of her childhood friend's face. "And hey I was doing it for you! You said you needed the whole box urgently. Your members weren't doing it so I decide to!"

 

Jennie chuckled but became serious when she looked at the latter's forehead. "I could've done it. You shouldn't be getting hurt in my place. I'm surprised you haven't cried when you have such a wound on your head."

 

Jisoo blinked then gave a huge smile with her heart shaped lips. "I won't cry. Unless you're the one who's hurt, Jennie, I won't cry."

 

 

Jennie didn't say anything but she leaned in to kiss Jisoo's forehead. There was silence afterwards but they kept their eyes locked with each other.

 

 

"If I'm the one who got hurt... will you kiss me too?"

 

 

The older girl wasn't able to answer her since the school nurse came up to check on her. Her yes was already at the tip of her tongue but knowing Jennie... She wasn't sure if it was a harmless question, a usual prank or... something more.

 

 

 

In her 16 years of existence, sometimes Jisoo wished that Jennie would get hurt even though she cares for her a lot. Not that seriously bad but at least a small wound on her lips or something. Because by then, she would have the reason and excuse to kiss her on those luscious lips that attract her so much more than anything now.

 

 

 

 

 

=  =  =  =  =

 

 

 

 

 

"Yah! Kim Jennie, you!!"

 

Their eyes meet for a second but seeing how Jisoo's hand was held by that strawberry blonde hair guy, Jennie just passed them and went into her house. Jisoo was flabberghasted by the sight of the girl. She looked like she was beaten up and cuts on her skin were so obvious.

 

 

"Jisoo. Jisoo... Kim Jisoo!"

 

 

She turned her head back around to see the worried face of Jinhwan.

 

 

"Sorry. I can't really talk right now. I have to go. Mianhe, Jinan."

 

 

Just as she was going to go barging in into Jennie's house, Jinhwan called out to her.

 

 

"I like you. I'm always going to choose you over anyone and anything else."

 

"I know. Me too."

 

And I meant choosing myself and Jennie over you.

 

 

She didn't want to be rude but she was already frustrated with not knowing what happened to Jennie. Words that she knows she might regret later on spill out of .

 

 

"I'm also going to choose myself. So I'm sorry if I have to go now. This is one of the important moments in my life."

 

 

She left him on the cold pavement and went inside in search for her other half. They've been together and went through many things that calling Jennie her best friend wasn't enough. She found Jennie looking at the mirror with the red kit on the table.

 

 

"What happened?"

 

"I got bullied." She said in a monotone voice which made the latter get more heated up. "It's nothing. Go home, Jisoo. It's nothing serious."

 

"Nothing?! You look like this and you say it's nothing?! What's wrong with you, Jennie?"

 

 

She didn't get a response as Jennie put an oinment on her cheek. Jisoo studied every skin and part of Jennie that was bare for her to see. There wes a cut on her lip and cheeks and a few scratches on her neck up to her collarbone and she swears she's going to hunt down and cut those fingernails that left marks on it. Aside from looking like she was pushed down on the ground, it didn't look like it was really anything that serious.

 

Jisoo took a seat and hid her face. She took some cotton balls and took extreme measures to ease Jennie with the scrape on her knee. She sniffed and started crying. She wiped down her tears and tried not to weep even harder.

 

 

"Are you crying right now?"

 

"..."

 

"Jisoo, you don't have to see me like this. You can just... go, you know."

 

 

She looked up to Jennie and the latter was looking at anywhere but her face. Her eyes dropped to those perfect lips even when it had a cut that looks so painful. It wasn't the right time but it's as if Jisoo's hands have a life of its own. She cupped and moved Jennie's face towards her.

 

Thinking that she can go on with what she wanted to do, she leaned in and closed her eyes. Before their lips can even come in contact, Jennie pushed her away a bit and stood up. It seemed like it was a lot colder in the room now.

 

 

"There's a limit to these kisses, Jisoo. I don't want your kiss just because you see my damned cut lips now."

 

"No. Jennie, I--"

 

"Just what would your boyfriend think of you if you kiss someone right after you confessed to each other?"

 

"Boyfriend?" Jisoo blinked a couple of times. "What do you mean--"

 

"I heard you two earlier." Jennie pursed her lips and turned the other way, not letting Jisoo see her face. "Just... Just go. I don't need you right now. And I definitely don't need your kiss on my lips. It will only hurt if it comes close to yours. I've had enough pain today."

 

 

Jisoo wasn't sure what to make out of that but it didn't take a smart person to figure that out. Maybe she assumed that Jennie would want her back. That maybe her kiss would also ail the pain of the wounds on Jennie's face just like how the other girl's usual kisses on hers would make her feel okay and happy.

 

There's just that problem. Maybe Jisoo was the only one happy with it. Maybe she was the only one who felt that way. She stood up and sprinted away crying her eyes out. Maybe it's because Jennie is so hurt and said that she had enough pain. After all, she'll only cry when the latter gets hurt.

 

 

Or maybe and most probably...

 

 

Because Jisoo never thought that being rejected by Jennie hurts this bad.

 

 

 

So much that she actually cried for herself.

 

 

 

 

 

=  =  =  =  =

 

 

 

 

 

"I was convincing this patient of mine to finally admit herself so we can start with the surgery already. It's a long procedure too."

 

"Oh. Is it that girl with benigh brain tumor? Was it benigh?" Jennie asked as she walked with Nam Joon in the hallways.

 

"Hopefully yes. It's a hella lot of problems for us if it's malignant or if the tumor was cancerous. Remember that patient we had last year?"

 

Jennie looked actually almost glared up at him so he shrugged. "Did you really have to ask? You know how much that that kid meant to me and to lose someone full of life like that..." She sighed heavily as she remembered her favorite patient. "Why bring that up, Nam Joon?"

 

"Because we're the same. I've been just meeting her for