"Chaeyoung-ah, what's wrong with her?" Seulgi discreetly pointed at Jennie who seemed to be struggling to hide her puffy eyes behind her eyeglasses.

"You are asking the person who slept in the same living room as you last night."

"I know, but maybe you asked her or something."

"Eonnie, you were up before I was. I don't remember ever sleep-talking. Did you see my spirit talk to Jennie-eonnie?"

"Your wit is of no use today." Seulgi declared while looking for the right timing to catch Jennie's attention.

"I don't know how you've surmised that. But okay."

"Jennie-ah...!"

"Eonnie, I need to finish something important." The other girl replied without caring to look back as she went up the stairs.

Even Seulgi's response emitted reluctance and dread. "Oh. Okay, nothing important anyway. Maybe later."

"Or never..." Chae mumbled.

"Even I'm scared of her. Was she crying all night? Her eyes are really swollen." Seulgi whispered.

"Is that a rhetorical question or are we going to continue the vicious cycle of nonsensical asking? If so, I might not have the whole day, eonnie."

Glaring at the one of the team's youngest member, "What if I don't give you your allowance for June??"

"What if I go hack your bank account and withdraw everything the team has?"

"Aish! Get out of here! Wash dishes or something!"

"But you just washed them."

From the other side of the apartment door, Joohyun and Jisoo could hear a portion of the two's laughable exchange. Albeit they knew undoubtedly who would win the argument, they chose to spend a few seconds snickering to the banter before going in.

"Did you actually think you'll win, Seulgi-ah??"

"Well, there's no harm in trying."

"That cliché is relative and debatable. Like there's definitely harm if you tried killing yourself." Chae reasoned. "I can provide a few more instances, but I guess you already got my point."

"Why don't you just go to your laptop..." Seulgi paused obviously calculating her move. "... and check if Boss JD emailed back."

"That reminds me, Joohyun-eonnie, I need to get the laptop from your room." Chae darted to the stairs as soon as she remembered, which made Seulgi smile in relief.

"Okay. But get down here after, we're bringing food. If Jennie-eonnie is up there, drag her down! Tell her my birthday isn't over so she can't refuse."

"Noted."

---

Jennie's grey hoodie, unkempt hair and thick specs failed considerably at concealing the unspoken. I didn't need to ask because it was unmistakable that she cried last night. And judging by how swollen her face was, I know she didn't just shed a few tears.

I didn't speak because for one, it's futile to ask her, and also, I was lethargic and could already feel the exhaustion that lingered from last night's misadventure. As expected, no one dared to interrogate her, not because of the fear of getting shot like I did, but because they understood that it was more important to respect the distance that she has always preferred. I could tell that everyone was already thankful that she chose to join us for a meal.

But despite the fatigue, my heart did not fail to quiver frantically to Jennie's palpable nearness as she sat beside me. As we took out the food from the paper bags, I sensed everyone control their urge to tease to the sight of an event of absolute rarity.

Amidst the internal commotion I was having, I couldn't help but recall every second I spent with Jennie by the bathroom door last night. Now that the alcohol has been completely extinguished from my system, all that's left is the vivid memory and the feeling it aroused in me. It didn't help that her body's intoxicating scent found its way to my nose overpowering the tenacious aroma of Chinese food, I couldn't keep my mind off the yearning to be close to her again.

Our oddly quiet dining and my inappropriate brunch daydreaming were disrupted by Lisa's enthusiastic return to the apartment. "Wow there's food! Thank goodness, 'coz I'm starving."

"Yeah, tell us about it..." was all I could say, feeling the same hunger from being up and dead-tired the whole night.

"You sound really exhausted Jisoo-eonnie..." She my back before she settled on the chair on my left.

"Of course, I would be tired, we didn't even catch some sleep."

"Awwww... I'm sorry about that..."

"Well, 'coz it was non-stop. I don't even know why I still have the strength to eat right now." I slumped slightly on the low backrest of the bar stool hoping someone would just funnel the food right into my gut.

"It was impossible to sleep anyway because it was sooooooooo loud..." Joohyun's voice was also unable to hide the sleepiness she was holding in.

"But Jisoo-eonnie, didn't you at least have fun?" Lisa nudged me that my shoulder bumped into Jennie's. Tsk. I should have just exaggerated swaying and intentionally fallen onto Jennie's arms, but it was too late when I realized that. My brain didn't work as fast as it usually did.

"Honestly, aside from being sleepless, the heat and sweat, I liked everything else." Which was the truth. It's just that I would have definitely stayed by Jennie's side, starting at her the whole night if given the choice.

Before Lisa could speak again, everyone heard Jennie sniff back a sob before she heedlessly dropped the chopsticks into the sink, grabbed her book and rushed out of the apartment. The rest of us fell extra silent looking at each other deliberating on a plausible cause for her sudden departure, except for Lisa who hasn't had any clue of Jennie's baffling physical state.

"I knew you had it in you to be working in a place like that." Lisa continued ignoring the strange but fairly common occurrence of Jennie's unexplained exile.

"Mainly, I like drowning in music and being around a