"is that a e?"

jennie frowns at jisoo, taking a better look at the man she was pointing at, "that's my cousin."

"oh." the older woman says.

"what the hell, jisoo. what makes you think that he's a e?"

"leather."

"you're wearing leather?"

"but it doesn't look like i'm a mannequin off of a ing shop. he looks like a biker guy except it's a and in a set." jisoo pauses, taking a better look at the poor guy ordering a sandwich, "like a really low budget set."

jennie rolls her eyes, slumping down her chair and resting her chin on her palm, "i know this one jisoo."

jisoo raises her eyebrows.

jennie gives her a teasing smile, "you like him, don't you?" she points an accusing finger at her, smile growing to a -eating grin that did most into turning her to jim carrey in the mask more than any prosthetics could.

jisoo rolls her eyes, "no, jennie, i'm just saying. don't be going around making is–"

"jennie!"

jennie rises from her chair, interrupting jisoo's speech to wave at the guy across them, "baekhyun!"

jisoo pauses, looking at the two before going back to her tacos, muttering, "jisoo..." under her breath.

"jennie, i couldn't have expected you in a cruise! i thought you were broke!"

jisoo thinks it's supposed to be an insult. but jennie doesn't seem to think the same, because the younger woman just gives a wry laugh before practically climbing over the table, rushing over to baekhyun's upheld arms.

"jisoo over here," she points to jisoo amidst her and baekhyun's embrace. upon eye contact, jisoo awkwardly raises an open palm, "was so nice as to give me a free cruise! wouldn't you just think?"

baekhyun's mouth forms to a little o as he looks at jisoo from head to toe, little button nose raised and chin up. jisoo gives him a smile— wasn't really quite a smile as it was just a straight line with her lips, but still a smile in society's standards, she guesses.

"jennie, ever the charity case you are." baekhyun says, tone insinuating mock— this was the second time jennie got slapped with a 'you're poor' and jisoo still doesn't think that she gets it.

but maybe this is their bonding?

jisoo takes another bite of her taco, redirecting her gaze to the lone piece of lettuce on jennie's plate.

"oh, heavens, i don't think i've formally introduced the both of you yet!" jennie's smile is warm as she sits down across jisoo and ushers baekhyun to take a seat with her. "baekhyun, kim jisoo." 

jisoo gives him another kempt smile.

"jisoo, byun baekhyun." and he looks her straight in the eye, grinning.

jisoo thought he looked like a beagle.

"hi jisoo, i'm byun baekhyun. i'm the son of song soohee, the socialite, and byun baekhyun... senior.... like the senator with the ar law." and there goes his open palms, reaching over for a handshake. "i'm an engineer."

jisoo doesn't like him one bit, he sounds like an annoying frat boy, so, in order to embarass him, she gives the hand a gaze before completely ignoring it.

"kim jisoo, like, from kim holdings. i own that." she says, before lunging into her taco again.

baekhyun gives an impressed look, retaliating his open palms, "that's impressive. powerful women are a huge turn-on of mine."

jisoo contorts her face to a mixture of disbelief and annoyance, if jennie wasn't here, she could've called baekhyun a mooch. a mooch. but, since jennie is right in front of her, paired with a gummy smile and bright eyes, jisoo thanks him for the compliment.

baekhyun raises his hands, ushering over a nearby waiter, he was hot, "waiter! four margaritas please!" and then he slinks back in the conversation, leaning his torso forward into inquiring hands, "so, jennie, jisoo. how did you guys meet?"

"we met each other in rehab." jennie says.

baekhyun looks over at jisoo, pursing his lips.

"i have a brother there."

so he nods. "what's he in for?"

"he has an addiction with punching nosy people in the mouth." jisoo chuckles, baekhyun's eyebrows knit together slowly, and when it does, she retaliates, "oh no don't take that to offense, i didn't mean you. he really had an addiction."

jennie, still with her open-mouthed smile, interrupts baekhyun and jisoo's conversation, "and . a truckload of ."

"yeah, that too."

"my mother loved . once, she snorted alum thinking it was ... she got hospitalised... her lungs."

"oh. that's a good story, baekhyun."

"it was last week." baekhyun reaches over for a nacho in the middle of their table, "i think she's dying."

jisoo and jennie nod.

"my father died because he choked on a pack of skittles." a waiter interrupts, settling down four margaritas, "and my uncle died the same day, he attempted to poop but his head exploded because of too much pressure. we got a lot of laxatives in the wake."

"my condolences." jennie says sympathetically.

"they got me laxatives." the waiter grunts, bending down to start the fondue machine, "was this a joke to my uncle?"

baekhyun opens his mouth, jennie interrupts him with a glare.

"do you want to talk about it..." jennie leans over to check his name tag, "...kai?"

the waiter nods, taking a seat beside jisoo. "it was last week."

"go on." jennie ushers, her chin on her palms, "we're here for you." and then her hands make their way to squeeze jongin's closed ones.

"he was so young... my uncle, he was just nineteen."

"oh." jennie exclaims, retaliating her hands, keeping them beside her thighs, "how old are you?"

"i'm twenty-seven. my uncle was one of my grandfather's bastard children."

jisoo narrows her eyes at the relieved expression in jennie's face.

"thank goodness."

"what?" jongin asks, eyebrows slowly furrowing.

"yeah, baekhyun, what?" jennie frowns, looking at her cousin.

"what?" baekhyun sniggers, annoyed.

all eyes are on jennie, and she doesn't scramble to get out of the situation, confident, she slides her hands back on kai's, fingers on his wrist.

"anyways... kai, that's a nice name." jennie changes the subject, her smile is sweet. and jisoo clearly knows what's happening here.

that cut-crease jawline of the tan waiter says it all.

"my dog's name is kai." she says flirtatiously.

jongin appears to think, eyes redirecting to the room's ceilings, and then the creases of his mouth lift a little, and he reluctantly says: "one of my uncles' mistress's name is jennie."

jisoo tries to hold back her laughter.

"oh my god, same." baekhyun pipes up from beside jennie, inserting himself in the narrative, holding up a finger, "and she was..."

"a nineteen year old college student?"

baekhyun glowers, "and she was a blonde."

"she was!"

funny, jisoo thinks. jennie was blonde in college. it happened for a year until a junior told her she looked like the inside of a banana— it was so beautifully crafted, it ruined jennie's carefully built self esteem.

"oh my god, my dad's a senator, what was your uncle's job?"

jennie's boyfriend when she was nineteen and in college used to be the owner of a bunch of cruise ships (including the one they were on right now), although, he seemed to be dead: because just last week, jisoo was told that jennie received a text message from the original wife— it was after a bunch of 'stay away from my children and their father you yeast-infected 's' so she assumes the wife sent it to everyone on hee contact list.

jennie sen