The next few days passed in a furor. Anytime any of them stepped outside, they were stormed with journalists, paparazzi and fans; they were outside the apartment complex, YG headquarters, even the restaurants and shops they were known to frequent on occasion. Not that any of them had any intention to go out in public, unless they absolutely had to, until things died down. Because while part of the whole craziness was positive support, it was still incredibly overwhelming.

Jennie knew how much Jisoo hated being the centre of attention, specially when it was that invasive and intense, but she could see how she always put a brave face on, and smiled to the cameras and fans, because, after all, she knew all the craziness was for the greater good.

Their dance studio had somewhat become their little refuge. The long hours they spent there, away from their phones and in the company of only Ken, his assistant and Yuri, seemed to work as therapy for Jisoo; she always looked more relaxed, although exhausted, by the end of their dance rehearsal, almost as if she’d forgotten what was waiting for them once they stepped out of the studio’s doors.

Jisoo had, understandingly, been pretty distracted with the whole attention she’d been getting. She’d been meeting with Sami, almost daily, after they were done in the dance studio, to go over their next “damage control” PR move. It wasn’t all bad; in fact, they’d been booking Jisoo in all sort of interviews and appearances, knowing full well she was an hot topic and capitalizing as much as they could on the whole situation.

She’d also been spending a lot of time with her family. She’d been going over to her parents for dinner a few times a week. Jennie knew that Jisoo’s only regret about coming out was to put her family through the craziness of having something so personal exposed to the public, and she’d been mitigating her guilt by helping them through it as much as possible.

This meant that Jennie had barely spent any time with Jisoo, outside of work, and even then it had been with Lisa and Rose around. Jennie had hoped they’d find the opportunity to talk about their relationship soon, but with Jisoo pulled in a million different directions it seemed like any alone time to sit down and have the conversation was near impossible.

Jennie was impatient, but she had to remind herself that Jisoo was going through some overwhelming things of her own, and that maybe it was best for Jennie to stand back and wait for things to quiet down, before adding more to the girls’ plate. And if what Jisoo needed, at that moment in time, was only her support, then Jennie was going to give it to her. Their relationship could wait. Jennie wasn’t going anywhere, nor were the feelings that ate her insides every day.

That didn’t mean there weren’t times Jennie felt like exploding, at how overwhelming her feelings were for Jisoo. She’d seen the girl, across the dance studio, frowning at something on her phone – likely another article about her, or another text from someone who she’d spoken to once in her life – and Jennie wanted to sit on her lap and kiss the frown away. When Jisoo seemed tense and uneasy, Jennie wanted to massage her shoulders and tell her to relax. When Lisa kept pushing for them to go out for dinner at one of their favourite restaurants, despite the fact that it would certainly turn into a media circus, Jennie wanted to yell at her, because more attention was the last thing Jisoo wanted or needed, at that moment.

She had all the urge to protect and take care of Jisoo, but no real way to funnel those feelings, because she was trying to give Jisoo her space and let her work things out on her own, and hope that she would come to her when she was ready.

That afternoon, at the dance studio, they managed a few flawless run-throughs of their choreography, even though Jisoo seemed tense and tired. Ken had just given them a 20 minute break, and Jennie watched as Jisoo chatted to the choreographer and his assistant, casually, before their conversation was interrupted by a young boy, standing at the door of the studio, holding a bouquet of flowers, “Flowers for Kim Jisoo?”

Everyone’s attention turned to Jisoo, who seemed surprised and confused, “Here.” She managed, before walking across the room and taking the flowers from his hands. A pink note was tied to them, and Jisoo carefully removed it, before reading it.

“Unnie, who’s it from?” Lisa asked, indiscreetly, peeking over Jisoo’s shoulder.

“Hm- Son Shinyin.” Jisoo replied.

“The actress?” Rose asked, confusedly.

Jisoo nodded, eyes still glued to the note.

“What did she want?” Rose dared to ask.

“To congratulate me on coming out,” Jisoo answered quickly, and then hesitated, “and invite me to dinner this weekend.”

Jennie stopped breathing. Before she could even try to understand how she was feeling and why, her eyes had started to water, and the tightness in her chest felt a lot like a panic attack, but, in reality, it was more like her heart breaking.

“Ooooooh.” Lisa was whistling, suggestively, “I told you, unnie, you’re going to have girls fighting over you now. Damn, you guys would make such a hot couple-“

Jennie knew that her devastation was clear in her face, and that she had just about a few seconds before she started sobbing uncontrollably. She didn’t want to break down in front of everyone, especially Ken and his assistant, so she made a dash out the door, leaving everyone behind her speechless.

She wasn’t sure where she was heading, but the search for privacy and a quiet place to find her composure again lead her to an empty dance studio at the end of the hallway. She didn’t bother turning on the lights; she was sure that the reflection of her crying would only make her feel more pathetic.

The thought of losing Jisoo to someone else, due to Jennie’s stubbornness and childlike-tendencies, broke her. Son Shinyin was older, more experienced, probably wiser than Jennie was. She’d certainly make a good partner for Jisoo. What if Son Shinyin was a more supporting and understanding girlfriend than Jennie had been?

It all had changed so suddenly. Jennie had thought that it was always a matter of when not if she and Jisoo would get together again; but now she was starting to see that such may not be the case. If Jisoo had other, better options, why would she go back to the girl that had already broken her heart? Jennie couldn’t erase what had happened already, but if she could go back in time she would’ve slapped the belligerent child out of herself, and reminded her that Jisoo did not deserve the kind of pressure she had put her through.

Jennie wondered if she was able to excuse herself from the rest of the practice by citing some kind of sudden illness. She couldn’t imagine walking back to the dance studio and act like everything was fine now; not after she had ran out in the tears in front of everyone.

She heard the door of the studio being pushed open, “Jennie?” It was Jisoo’s careful, soft voice calling out.

Jennie couldn’t help to sniffle, “I’m here.”

“Why are you in the dark-“ Jisoo started to ask, before there was a loud sound, and she gasped, “Who left that chair there?”

“Turn on the lights, silly,” Having Jisoo not injure herself while trying to navigate the dark room was more important to Jennie than keeping her dignity.

Jisoo did so, and once the lights were on, she saw Jennie sitting on one of the tumble mattresses laid against the end of the studio. “Jennie, why are you crying?” She softened, as she walked over the girl and kneeled on the floor, in front of her.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help-“ Jennie sobbed, “I didn’t want to make a scene. But I’m sure I did-“

Jisoo clicked her tongue, her hands cupping Jennie’s face, “Don’t worry about that. Are you okay?”

Jennie started to nod, as an automatic reaction, but then realised how silly that was. She shook her head, “I just- I really hate myself right now.”

“What- why?” Jisoo seemed genuinely perplexed.

“I pushed you away. I actually voluntarily gave you up.” Jennie shook her head, not quite believing it herself, “I must have gone mad. I don’t blame you for hating me. I know I put you through a lot.”

Jisoo sighted, “You did.” She nudged Jennie’s head up, in order to look her in the eyes. “But I don’t hate you. I never did. How could you think something like that?”

Jennie sniffled. “I was a to you.”

“You weren’t.” Jisoo leaned her head to the side, “You were hurting.”

“I don’t blame you for changing your mind about us,” Jennie told her, “I was a ty girlfriend to you. I was pushy, unreasonable.”

“Jennie, stop.” Jisoo shook her head. “Stop saying that about yourself. It’s not true. We both made mistakes with our relationship, and we’re both taking steps to make up for it.”

Jennie stared into Jisoo’s eyes, and she felt slightly calmer. She wasn’t sobbing anymore. She wiped the tears off her cheeks, and Jisoo smiled, softly. “Are you going for dinner with her?” Jennie asked, not wanting to assume anything.

Jisoo almost chuckled, “No. Of course not.”

“Why? You’re single.”

“Right now?” Jisoo pretended to think. “Yes. But I was hoping that would change before the weekend.”

Jennie blinked her tears, feeling her breath catch in . “What do you mean?” She needed to hear Jisoo say it.

“What I mean is,” Jisoo’s hands slid down Jennie’s face, and she wrapped her arms around Jennie’s neck, bringing her in closer, and kissing Jennie’s cheek, softly. “I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you. I’ve never stopped wanting to be with you. And I’ve been working hard to be