Jennie’s face would pop up randomly in Jisoo's head all throughout the weekend. Did she have a proper night of sleep? Was she cold? Was she hungry? Was she lonely? The more these questions floated in her mind, the more she wanted to go back to the station to check on her. But could she help her? How?  

No, no, no. What was she thinking?  

But was she going to let her live on the streets? Then again, Jisoo didn’t know if she was really sleeping on the streets. She knew... nothing about her. 

But she wanted to. Jisoo wanted to know what lead Jennie to ask people for money at train stations. She wanted to know her problems, her story and the person she was better. 

Damn, didn’t Jisoo just meet her?! What if she was some creep, or some delinquent?  

No. She couldn’t be.  

Jisoo laid down on her bed and called Dalgom. The dog snuggled against her chest as she hugged him. 

“I’m going mad, am I not, Dalgom?” She sighed. 

--- 

After the weekend, spent doing nothing more than nothing (at least she cleaned her room), Jisoo was back to work. And of course the time she was looking forward to the most was the time to leave.  

Even if though she was tired, she'd be fooling herself if she said she wasn't looking forward to possibly meeting Jennie. And there she was, when she arrived at the train station. And this time, she was sitting in the same bench where they sat last Friday to eat. Jisoo's legs moved on their own towards her.  

“Hi.” 

Jennie’s head shot up and her features lit up. 

“Jisoo! I was waiting for you.”  

“Oh, y-you were?” Jisoo squatted to pet Kuma as he barked for her attention. Her heart was a beating mess and Jennie only said one sentence.  

“Yes. Since you bought me food the last time, I thought I could repay you. I-If you're hungry, of course." 

"Oh! I can't possibly take that. Save it for you and Kuma." 

“Please, let me. Or else I’ll feel bad.” 

Jisoo pondered a bit, her eyes never leaving Jennie’s. 

“Okay, but only if you let me pay tomorrow.” 

“Deal.” Jennie smiled. “Kuma, stay with Jisoo while I get our food, alright?”  

The dog barked and wiggled his tail, sitting next to Jisoo's legs. She sat on the bench and looked at Kuma, resting her hand on his head. Her eyes drifted towards Jennie. The fact that Jennie waited for Jisoo today just to repay her only proved to Jisoo that she truly was a good person, no matter what her situation was.  

Besides, she had already accepted her invitation to get food again the next day, so she was guaranteed to see her then too, which was great news. 

The twenty minutes until the train arrival went by way too fast. Jennie knew how to keep a good conversation, bringing a smile to Jisoo's lips with absolutely no effort. And just like the last time, Jennie walked Jisoo to the train, waiting until it left before she turned around.  

Jennie came back to the train station, at the exact same time, on the exact same spot, every day of that week. Jisoo spent her day at work looking forward to those few minutes she could spend with Jennie at the end of the day. Jisoo learned they have the same family name, Jennie learned that Jisoo worked a ten-minute walk away from the train station. They discussed books, movies, music, and hobbies.  

In so many conversations, there were plenty of opportunities to ask Jennie what she wanted to know, but Jisoo still wasn’t sure if she should. Jisoo thought that if she was meant to know her and her life better, the time for it would come.  

It was Friday, and it seemed like time was going by slower than usual. For some reason, Jisoo was more anxious to see Jennie today than any other day of the week. Maybe because she wouldn’t see her during the weekend? What if Jisoo invited her to spend a day with her? Or the weekend? Jisoo shook her head vigorously with her own thoughts. 

“You okay there, Jisoo?” Rosé, her coworker and friend, asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yeah, absolutely! I’m great!”  

“Your face is really red. You aren’t getting sick, right?” Lisa, her other friend, asked. 

Jisoo widened her eyes and covered her cheeks with her palms. Her skin was, in fact, warmer than it was supposed to be. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry!” She reassured. 

Lisa and Rosé exchanged a look and shrugged, driving their attention back to the computer screen. Jisoo also got her eyes fixed on the screen in front of her, and she gathered all her focus to finish her work quickly. 

As the clock ticked 10pm, Jisoo rushed to the station. Her heart beat faster when she found their bench empty. Everyday, Jennie waited for her there. Jisoo looked around, but she couldn’t find her. Maybe she lost track of the time? So, Jisoo sat and decided to wait. 

Five minutes. Ten minutes. Nothing. 

“Jisoo!”

Her heart almost stopped. She turned to the source of Jennie’s voice. The girl ran to her with Kuma on her arms, and Jisoo knew something was wrong, starting by the way she called her name. As she approached, Jisoo noticed her red eyes and the absence of her smile.  

“Jennie... What happened?” Jisoo stood up and in a quick pace, walked to her. 

“J-Jisoo, please h-help me, Kuma, h-he...” Jennie trembled from head to toe as she tried to speak. 

“What's wrong with Kuma?” Jisoo held on to Jennie’s arms and took a closer look at the dog. He seemed to be asleep.  

“A man demanded I gave him money but I refused, so he became persistent and violent. Kuma bit his foot and he k-kicked him! He was just trying to protect me, and he was the one getting hurt! When I bent over to reach out to Kuma, the man managed to rip my bag from my arm and ran away with it! He took all of my things and all the money I had saved and now I can't even take Kuma to the vet.” Jennie talked fast, with tears streaming down her eyes.  

"Oh god," Jisoo tried to remain calm, and also get a hold on her body that wanted to hug her so bad. "Okay, there's a 24-hour vet near my house, let's get on the train and take Kuma there. Then we'll go to the police to file a complaint. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"  

"I-I'm fine." Jennie sobbed. 

"Everything's gonna be fine, I'm here." Jisoo muttered, caressing her arms. "Let's go, the train is almost arriving." 

Jisoo didn't let go of Jennie's arm. Not even when she bought her train ticket, not when they went upstairs and entered the train. They sat together and silence settled in, Jennie's quiet sobs randomly sounding between them. Jisoo wanted to say something, but when Jennie rested her head on her shoulder, her body froze. Only her eyes could move, looking at Jennie from the corner of her eyes. She kept on petting Kuma. The dog was awake now, but he seemed weak, leaning against Jennie's chest.  

"We're here." Jisoo said, noticing Jennie had spaced out. "Do you want me to carry him for a bit? You must be tired." 

"No, that's okay. Thank you, Jisoo."  

 Jennie rushed inside as soon as they reached the vet, talking to the assistant, and Jisoo followed. After a couple minutes, Jennie came back to her, and they sat together while waiting. 

"They're going to check on him. She said he is probably okay." Jennie seemed a lot more relieved. 

"That's great. I'm sure he'll be fine." Jisoo smiled. 

Just like before, Jennie shifted closer to Jisoo and let her head rest on Jisoo's shoulder, but this time, a warm hand came to grab hers. 

"Thank you, Jisoo. I don't know what I would do without you." 

A shiver ran through Jisoo's back, all the way up until her neck. She was sure it was not from the cold, because Jennie's body was glued to hers, keeping them both warm. 

Jisoo couldn't make herself to say a word. So, instead, she squeezed Jennie's hand back, and rested her head on hers, hoping she would get the message. 

--- 

After having hot chocolate and a sandwich Jisoo got from in the vending machines, Jennie dozed off. Was Jisoo's shoulder that comfortable, or was Jennie exhausted? Either way, Jisoo enjoyed it. More than she expected. Jennie’s presence was comforting and warm. Of course she felt comfortable with her friends, but the feeling with Jennie was something she never felt with any of them. Like she could stay like that forever, like she didn’t want Jennie to leave her side. 

When the assistant came back, she had Kuma on her arms. Jisoo beamed and gently shook Jennie. She had barely opened her eyes, but as soon as she heard Kuma's name, she shot up from her seat. 

“We conducted the necessary trials, and he didn’t suffer any internal injuries. You can breathe now, he’s fine and he can go home.” The woman said, as she let Jennie hold him. 

“Thank you so, so much.” Jennie said as she hugged Kuma. 

Jisoo allowed her lips to form a wide, relieved grin. She stepped ahead with her wallet in hands to pay for the charges, and thanked the assistant too. 

“Thank you, Jisoo.” Jennie said as they stepped outside the vet, the chill wind hitting their faces. “I promise I’ll pay you back.” 

“You don’t need to.” 

“Of course I need to! I don't want to be a burden." 

“Jennie.” Jisoo called, taking a step closer to her. “I’m not doing this expecting you to pay me back. If you want to repay me, just let me help you.”  

Jisoo didn’t remember talking so seriously before. Jennie held her gaze for a moment before speaking. 

“Why? Why do you want to help me so much?” 

“Because... why wouldn't I?”  

It wasn’t just because of it, and deep down, Jisoo knew it. 

“You’re just... pitying me, aren’t you?” Jennie asked with a certain hesitation in her voice. 

“What, no! Of course not!” 

“But that's what everyone does. People look at me with that look of pity on their eyes, and some help me just to feel good about themselves. Oh, I did a good deed today, I helped a poor girl asking for money on the train station.” Jennie scoffed. 

Jisoo’s heart felt like someone had just stabbed it. She was so taken aback couldn’t make a sound. 

“I-I'm sorry.” Jennie muttered, taking a step back. “I'm gonna get going.”

Just as Jennie turned, Jisoo took another step forward and grabbed her arm.

“Jennie, wait! We need to go to the police station now to report that jerk.” 

Jennie looked back, and even under the dim street lights, Jisoo could see her sparkling eyes. 

“Whatever with the police, they're not going to do anything about it, especially when they find out I'm a beggar.” 

Jisoo looked down, at a loss of words. 

“Well, where do you plan on going? Do you... have a place to stay tonight?” Jisoo finally asked the question she had been wanting to ask for so long. 

Instead of answering, Jennie looked away and shook her head.  

“There's no way I'm letting you wander the streets until dawn after what happened to you today.” Jisoo said, making Jennie look at her again. “Why don't you stay in my house?”

---

A/N: Hi everyone! Oh my god thank you so much for all your comments and votes already, it makes SOOO happy and motivated that you're enjoying the story already! <3