“I really don’t know how you tricked me into this,” Jennie confessed, groggily rubbing her eyes, as she rode the elevator down to the hotel gym.

“I think I mentioned something about the endorphins at the end of a work out,” Lisa looked every bit as regretful as Jennie, even though this had been her idea to begin with.

“Doesn’t chocolate also give you those?” Jennie asked.

Lisa closed her eyes, leaning back against the wall of the elevator. “Do you think we would hate ourselves if we went down to the breakfast buffet instead?”

Jennie gasped, “Can we? It does seem like such a better idea that working out. I mean, it’s not like our life isn’t one big workout, the way we rehearse, anyways.” Jennie had never truly been in it for the endorphins; in reality, she and Lisa hadn’t spent alone time in a while, and she missed it. While they bickered, perhaps more than any other members, Lisa was always Jennie’s buddy; the girl she would come to when she wanted to get in trouble. Her partner in crime. And Jennie needed a distraction, because being consumed by thoughts of Jisoo 24/7 was bound to not be the healthiest thing for her sanity.

They ended up in the hotel’s breakfast area. While the thought of having an extra hour of sleep sounded appealing to Jennie, sitting down and having a proper, unrushed breakfast for once, before their busy day in Barcelona, was actually surprisingly pleasant.

Jennie was wearing a big, oversized, grey sweater she had swiped from Jisoo’s luggage (without her noticing) a few days before. It smelled like Jisoo which was weirdly unsettling to her; it made her feel at the edge of her seat, expecting the girl to be behind her at all times. Like she needed Jisoo to consume her thoughts anymore than she already was.

“I bet Rose and Jisoo will be shocked when they found out we, out of everyone, woke up early voluntarily,” Lisa laughed.

“Yea, those lazy asses are probably still deep asleep,” The image of Jisoo curled up in her bed sheets was tempting. Jennie wondered if she could bring some coffee up to Jisoo, as an excuse to maybe get a morning cuddle from her. She realised she was failing her mission to get her mind off of Jisoo.

“I’m in such a good mood,” Lisa declared, joyfully, slapping her hands on the table, “Who knew getting up early would make me feel so good? Those endorphins must be working.”

Jennie chuckled, “I think everyone’s in a good mood, lately. It’s probably the knowing that we will be home soon.”

“You’re right,” Lisa nodded, pensively. “Have you noticed how happy Jisoo seems lately?”

Jennie’s heat fluttered. “Really? Like, unusually?” Both her and Jisoo had been so giddy around each other lately, it made all of Jennie’s observations a bit fuzzy.

“Yes, she just seems a bit freer and more relaxed.” Lisa commented. “I think the tour must have been stressing her.”

Jennie couldn’t help but wonder (and hope) if she had anything to do with Jisoo’s excessive happiness as of lately. It was a hugely flattering thought.

“Coming out to us must’ve been so stressful to her, too.” Lisa shook her head. “Bless her.”

“Yes.” Jennie had been so proud of Jisoo’s bravery and so thankful for Rose and Lisa’s support.

“I’m just hoping she stays this happy and relaxed,” Lisa says.

It was a mission worth pursuing for Jennie. She had never been so dedicated to something.

They finished breakfast – with a big, self-indulgent bowl of yogurt, chocolate sprinkles (for the endorphins) and caramel – and made their way back onto the hotel lobby. There, they crossed paths with a surprisingly fresh and awake-looking Jisoo, wearing her work-out gear.

“What are you girls doing up so early?” Jisoo asked, clearly shocked to see them, as she side-hugged Lisa.

“We went to grab breakfast.” Lisa explained, conveniently leaving out the fact that they had just backed out of a work-out.

Jisoo smiled affectionately at Jennie, putting her arm around her shoulder and squeezing her, “The hoodie I thought I had lost over a week ago looks good on you.” She joked.

“Oh, you didn’t know I had it?” Jennie asked, blinking innocently. “I thought you knew that I stole from you while you weren’t looking.”

Jisoo chuckled, “I must’ve missed that. Somehow.” The shine in Jisoo’s eyes made Jennie fantasise about them wrestling for the hoodie. Preferably on a bed. It was insane how the idea of being pinned down by Jisoo made Jennie so excited.

“Where were you heading?” Lisa’s voice interrupted Jennie’s daydream.

“I was going down to the gym,” Jisoo explained. “Starting the day with some cardio. Getting those endorphins.”

“I hear chocolate can give you those, too.” Lisa butted in.

“The tip of the tongue, the teeth, the lips,” Rose vocalised, enunciating carefully. She covered her ears, really focusing on the sound of her own voice. “The tip of the tongue, the teeth, the lips.”

Lisa, standing next to Rose in the green room, stretching her back by rotating her torso, performed a lip thrill, before bouncing in place.

Jisoo found Jennie’s eyes from across the room. She was bent over, stretching her legs. “It’s like an asylum in here.” Jennie mouthed, amusedly.

Jisoo laughed. Their warm-up routines probably seemed cooky taken out of context.

“Ladies, this is your real five minute warning.” The stage manager sounded in their in-ears.

“Is that any different from our fake five minute warning?” Jennie deadpanned, making Lisa chuckle.

“Your last show, ladies, let’s go out there and give it all you have.”

Their last show. Jisoo was both ecstatic and sad. She wished to be back to the comfort of her own bed, to hug her mother, to eat kimchi rice. But the tour, with it’s ups and downs, turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to Jisoo. She had grown stronger, braver, more honest, and happier. She wasn’t hiding her true-self from her best friends anymore. And, last, but not in anyway least, she now had Jennie by her side.

What if this world they had lived in for the past 2 months, the tour, where they were removed from their normal comforts, friends and family, was the only world in which she and Jennie would work? She couldn’t help but wonder if their tour life was what was pushing Jennie to her, looking for something familiar and comfortable to cling on to.

It was a terrible thought. Jennie had made her promise she wouldn’t doubt Jennie’s feelings ever again- but Jisoo’s insecurities took over her, sometimes.

She looked down at her left hand, and touched her heart-shaped ring wit her thumb. Jennie loved her. Jennie wanted to be with her. She just had to keep repeating that to herself, and eventually it would become ingrained in her brain.

“Let’s go for food after the show, okay?” It was Rose who was suggesting. “It’s our last night in Europe. We should enjoy it.”

They huddled up, putting their arms around each other. “We did it.” Jisoo said. The last two months had been hard, but so incredibly important. “I am so proud of all of us. This has been an amazing tour; we’ve worked so hard but also achieved so much.”

“Stop it, I’m going to cry,” Rose warned, already fanning herself in an attempt to stop her tears. Jennie grabbed a tissue and helped her keep her make-up intact.

“2 minutes, girls.”

“Let’s have fun, okay?” Jisoo continued, ignoring the stage-manager. “Nothing matters tonight, except us having a good time. The fans will enjoy it, whether we mess up the choreography or not.”

“Amen,” Jennie echoed, the party most guilty for such an offense.

They put their hands together in the middle, and then let them drop without any cheer. It made them laugh.

“Can you help me with my pack, baby?” Jennie asked, turning her back to Jisoo and lifting her hair off her shoulders. “I feel like it’s slightly loose.”

“Baby?” Lisa laughed, as Jisoo worked on Jennie’s mic pack.

Jisoo hadn’t even noticed Jennie had called her that. She’d been doing so, in private, for a few days now, so much so that Jisoo had somehow gotten used to it. It didn’t occur to her that it would’ve sounded strange to someone unaware of hers and Jennie’s new dynamic. While they had had many affectionate nicknames for each other over the years, baby was not one of them.

“You never call me baby,” Lisa whined, throwing her arms around Jennie.

“Don’t be jealous, Lalisa, it does not suit you.” Jennie said, and the irony was not lost in her.

“Well, don’t forget. I’m still a better match for you and Jisoo, than you are for each other,” She leaned in, trying to kiss Jennie.

Jisoo watched as a flash of anger spread through Jennie’s face. Despite everything that was going on between them, she could still see how affected Jennie was at the simple mention of Jisoo with someone else. It maybe wasn’t the healthiest expression of love, but it was still an expression of love, and Jisoo needed to start taking Jennie’s words for it.

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