July 2018

Jennie’s POV

The day we got back from Tokyo, everyone was really excited to get some rest... Except for Chaeyoung.

Now, don’t get me wrong, she was excited to be back, but not for the same reasons the rest of us were. That night, literally only 3 hours after we got back from the airport, she had dinner plans with that one girl from Red Velvet. 

Was it Anger? Sadness? Disgust? I honestly don’t remember her name, but it was definitely one of the names of the characters from the Pixar movie Inside Out.

Anyways, she spent SUCH a long time getting ready. We all thought she would have a couple of hours to unpack, rejuvenate, maybe even take a nap before she started getting ready, but literally, as soon as we got back to our dorm, she dropped her bags and ran to the shower. And after she took a shower, she spent a good hour thirty running between all of our rooms, showing us outfits and asking for our opinions. And then, after she picked an outfit, she ran out the clock doing her hair and makeup.

Now I clearly remember her saying that putting an effort in your appearance when going out with friends—we aren’t even gonna talk about the other possibility, which was a d-d-d-date *cringes and sobs at the same time* —was only to be polite and that in closer relationships (in this case she was referring to ours), there is a certain amount of trust and understanding that we don’t judge each other by appearance when going out, BUT it seemed like she was putting WAYY too much effort into this look for her to just want to seem polite. It really seemed like she wanted to look her best for this “Unnie”.

And unfortunately, if this was her goal, she nailed it. She looked amazing. She had on a black blouse with small white polka dots that seemed as if it was designed just for  

her. It’s deep square cut around the neck and shoulders perfectly showcased her stunning, chiseled collar bone and it’s crimped, cropped waistline seemed to highlight her tiny waist. She paired it with light blue, high waisted skinny jeans and kept her light pink, almost faded to blonde hair down in loose waves. Her makeup was natural and gorgeous, accentuating her pink, plump lips and her unique eye shape. I remember every detail because that’s how gorgeous she looked, that’s how much I fell for her in that moment.

But all that was shattered when that “Unnie” seemed to have the same reaction I did when she first saw her.  

I watched the tall, chestnut brown haired girl eyes grow big and full on check out my Chaeyoungie as she opened the door for her.

“Sooyoung unnie! Come in!”

Ah. That was her name. It’s all coming back to me. Park Sooyoung, better known as Joy. That’s where I got the whole Inside Out theme earlier.

She walked in the door with a white collared flowy button up shirt tucked into blue jeans on, high heels, and a huge smile. 

A smile that only a person with a huge crush can have. I saw right through her and her tainted intentions. But it didn’t matter because Chaeyoung did not. She often could only ever see the good in a person, never the bad.

“Jennie unnie come here!” I snapped out of my thoughts as I heard Chaeyoung call my name.

“Joy-ssi right?” I asked, politely, trying really hard to suppress all my aggression towards her. 

“Yea! We met a number of times now, no need to be formal, friend,” she said in banmal (informal language/dropping honorifics).

“Ah, yes. Rosie told me we were the same age.”

“Rosie?” she asked looking back and forth between me and Chaeyoung.

Well at least that’s something that will always stay uniquely mine: my nickname for Chaeyoung.

“Yea. That’s the nickname Jennie unnie gave me after she learned my english name.”

“That’s so cute! I didn’t know you had an english name! What’s your real name?” she asked, pretending to be genuinely curious when I know it’s all just for show.

“Roseanne,” I responded in perfect English before Chaeyoung could say anything.

“Oh wow, beautiful. But I seriously don’t think could ever call you that,” she remarked.

I saw Chaeyoung’s face get darker and sad all of a sudden.

“Why?” she asked timidly.

“Because my pronunciation is terrible!” Joy responded, laughing at Chaeyoung’s shocked reaction at her little joke.

And then Chaeyoung started giggling as well, which only made my blood curdle more. 

“Don’t you guys have somewhere to go?” I asked, letting my pettiness get the best of me.

“Oh yeah, you ready Chaeyoungie for the best date of your life?” Joy said with a sly smile on her face.

“Yup!” Chaeyoung replied enthusiastically, “Let me just go get my shoes and we can go!” And we both watched as Chaeyoung skipped to her room, leaving me and Joy to stand there awkwardly alone. 

“I get that they were tired after traveling all day but did they really have to take naps right now? Where the are the two crackheads when I actually need them?” I thought to myself as I seemed to stare holes through the closed doors of Lisa’s and Jisoo’s rooms.

“Soo, your friends with Irene unnie right?” Joy asked, trying to break the tension in the air.

“Oh, yeah... We ran into each other at the same salon a couple of times, and that’s how we got to know each other. Now we actually see each other quite often.”

“You must be a great person because I know my Irene unnie and it’s rare for her to get close to a person in such a short amount of time. She has high standards,” Joy said, looking at me with a bright smile on her face. 

“Thanks,” I responded with a tight smile, trying my hardest to keep up this act of friendliness.

“And from the way Chaeyoungie talks about you too, I was really eager to talk to you a little more.”

“Really, what did she say?” I asked, now showing more real interest in what she had to say.

“Well, she’s always showering you in praises and telling me how even though you seem pretty badass and intimidating on stage, you are sweet, cute, and funny in real life.”

“Really? She said the same thing about you.”

“Did she then say we are similar and subtly remind you that we are the same age?”

“Yup, did she then reveal her true intentions: to get us to hang out and contact each other more?”

Both Joy and I must have realized how Chaeyoung was not as transparent as we thought she was because we were both cracking up at this point. She really made a whole script just to get us two closer.

“Wow, she’s surprisingly really sly,” Joy said in between laughs.

“Yup! Our Chaeyoungie seems like an open book, but she’s actually pretty unpredictable,” I responded proudly.

“Yeah, I see that now,” Joy chuckled.

“I didn’t need all that convincing though,” I admitted. 

“Really?” she asked, kind of surprised after my visibly cold reception of her just a few moments ago.

“Yeah, Chaeyoung is a great judge of character. She tends to see only the good in people, which is both a bonus and a flaw. But when it comes to people she really opens up to, she’s pretty selective. With people she’s not as comfortable around, she becomes this really cheerful, happy-go-lucky person. And although she is relatively cheery and positive all the time, when she opens up to you, you are revealed to a much deeper, complex character. You find that despite her cheerful disposition, she has worries and regrets and darkness. And yet she chooses still to be warm-hearted, determinate, and strong. And even though you think you can’t admire her anymore than you already do, you find that this side of hers makes her so much more commendable. And as you get closer to her, you discover more facets of her character and find more reasons to be grateful she’s your friend.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. She is like an onion, so many layers to peel off, yet each layer brings so much more flavor. And both onions and Chaeyoung both make you cry a bunch,” Joy added.

“Yeah, you guys cried so much that night at the barbecue place. But that’s what’s crazy to me! She’s pretty shy and hesitant when it comes to opening up to new people, but in the first few minutes of talking her, you were given access to this deeper Chaeyoung. The one that touches you, moves you... and in your case, brings you to tears. I saw that rare side of Chaeyoung that night because of you and immediately knew that you were an amazing person.”

“So what I got from this conversation is that we both have band mates who have pretty high standards when it comes to friends.. and that we are both pretty ing awesome,” Joy responded after a few moments of pensive silence.

“Or Chaeyoung was just pretty drunk that night. She gets pretty emotional and pretty open when she’s drunk and you were both bawling by the end of the night,” I teased.

We both genuinely laughed together for a little while before Chaeyoung interrupted by bouncing out of her room.

“Sorry that took so long. I had to grab a couple things,” Chaeyoung said to Joy. “Sooo, I take it from the laughing and the good atmosphere I walked into that you guys got along pretty well while I was gone?” she asked eagerly, showing her true intentions in taking her time. She was sly but not that sly.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Joy admitted. “We basically only gossiped about you though,” she then revealed, giving me a little wink.

Chaeyoung started freaking out, “What gossip? What about me?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It was nothing THAT embarrassing.” Joy teased before exaggeratedly winking at me once again to tease Rosie even more.

“Jennie unnie, what did you tell her?!” Chaeyoung turned to me in panic, wanting me to spill the beans.

“It was nothing. Truly nothing,” I said, patting Chaeyoung on the back before pushing her towards the door. “Now then, don’t you guys have to go?”

“Yup! Cmon Chaeyoung-ah. Let’s go.” Joy backed me up. She grabbed Chaeyoung’s arm and pulled her to the door.

“Hey! I’m not gonna let you get away with this unnie! We are talking as soon as I get back!” Chaeyoung yelled as Joy dragged her out of the apartment.

“Okay byyyeeee!” I yelled back enthusiastically, before closing the door on a still panicking Chaeyoung and a hysterically laughing Joy.

I have to admit I’m starting to like Park Sooyoung.

Chaeyoung’s POV

“So, where are you talking me?” I asked as I strapped on my seatbelt. “There’s not many places open over here at this time of night.”

“It’s a surprise!” Sooyoung unnie said with a smirk on her face, in sync with the roar of the engine, signaling the start of my first ever car-ride in Sooyoung unnie’s Benz.

“You want to connect your phone to bluetooth?” she asked as she backed out of the space, her hand gripping the shoulder of my seat to stretch to look behind her. 

“Hhh-huh?” I mumbled, distracted by her gorgeous neck line and collar bone that were now in my immediate field of vision. 

“What are you distracted by?” she turned her head towards me. “Park Chaeyoung, are you checking me out right now?” she then questioned, abruptly stopping the car mid-back up. 

“Unnie! NO! What are you saying?” I yelled back as she stared back at me, chuckling softly. Shocked at her boldness, I felt my face turning red and turned my body towards the passenger-side window, my arms folded.

“Don’t be upset. I was just teasing!” Sooyoung unnie reassured as