How You Like That

Collection of JenSoo Short Stories

A/N: Hello! The first one-shot is finally ready! It is loosely based on the lyrics of 'How You Like That". Maybe it would be a better experience to read with the song on loop (to be honest, I haven't tried it but let me know if the reading experience is much more pleasant with the song on loop ^.^)

Note: Some of the phrases are not mine, credits to Blackpink and their song production crew for their content, creativity and hard work!

--------------------

The day that she has been waiting for has finally come. Jisoo looks at herself in the mirror, satisfied with how she looks. She has lost some weight and toned her entire body, looking amazing in the mermaid purple prom dress that hugs her figure. Furthermore, with the glam make-up on her face that her underclassmen had just applied for her, she looks very stunning, for the first time in her life.

"Unnie, you look amazing!" exclaims her junior, Lisa, as she stares at her pretty senior through the mirror.

"You will surely be crowned as prom queen!" exclaims her other junior, Chaeyoung.

"Yes! Bring out the boss !" Lisa exclaims at the top of her voice. At first, Jisoo was sceptical when the girl applied for her club, thinking that she had applied wrongly. However, amidst all that swag and being an awesome dancer, Lisa loves books.

She giggles at the reactions of her two juniors and the laughter amplifies when they begin to squeal and fangirl, chanting, "prom queen, prom queen, prom queen!"

To Jisoo, it doesn't matter if she is crowned as the prom queen later or not. She just wants to get back at that one person who has brought her hell during her final year at YG Girls' High School. Jisoo is determined to shake things up later. She puts on her magenta-purple masquerade mask that takes the shape of a butterfly. Just like the butterfly, a symbol of resurrection that she has changed for the better.

"Jennie Kim, you better watch out."

Soon, Jisoo arrives at the venue and gets off the car, bidding her juniors goodbye. She takes a deep breath before entering the reception room to get her registration number. She looks around the venue and even though she is early, the room is already packed with students from her grade and they are mingling around. With everyone wearing masks, she couldn't even recognise anyone. Not that she can even recognise many people since she was very introverted and a huge nerd in her past life. No one would recognise her even when she always reported early for classes and always sat right at the front.

As she walks around, she sees many people turning their heads around to gawk at her. She loves the attention that she is getting but she is determined to only find her one sole target for tonight.

It is not hard to spot her. Jennie Kim. The queenka of her grade. Back in high school, everyone worshipped her. Even when she walked along the hallways, her fans would always cheer for her, and her locker was always chockful of gifts and letters. Her every being screamed luxurious with her high-end styling even when wearing the school uniform. Chanel and Gucci products dangling on her, those little but expensive jewellery and accessories sparkled even under the crappy school lights.

Even now, nothing has changed. She is still worshipped, with a huge crowd around her. Maybe it is the "Jennie effect". She looks amazing in that black prom dress that hugs her figure and accentuates the right curves. The low back and the plunging neckline that shows off her toned back and full bossom. The accessories, Chanel earrings and tweed brode necklace dazzle brighter than ever under the dimly lit chandelier of their reception room. Moreover, the scarlet red masquerade mask that she has on her face provides a light mysterious feel to her entire look.

As their eyes meet, Jisoo almost crumbles in front of her eyes. Memories of the past flash past her mind and her hands ball into tight fists. She can't crumble down at the moment. Not now. She has worked too hard for this. All she needs is a good comeback.

"Because of you, I hit rock bottom and sunk deeper. I am going to grab the last bit of hope even if it means reaching out with both of my hands."

Jisoo isn't lying when she said she was a huge nerd back then. She carried a white and old haversack every day with all the textbooks in her bag, whether she had that class for the day or not. She wouldn't even dare to put it in her locker as she always wanted to bring them back home to read. She spent her recess and lunch breaks reading at the library or deserted corners of the school while munching on her bread. She reads so often that she is the proud president of the school's book club that only has 3 members, her and her two juniors, Lisa and Chaeyoung. Even outside of school, she would go to the library or hit the newest bookstores all over the country. Unlike the queenka, she knew nothing about fashion and fitness. In short, she was a plain Jane.

Now, it is different, a plain Jane no more.

You might also think that there is no way a nerd would cross path with the queenka. Let's just say that their meeting was like a cliché high school experience for a nerd.

Jisoo remembers the bitter memory of the past that ruined her senior year.

----------------------

-Flashback-

She was at the library reading her favourite physics textbook on quantum mechanics and was so engrossed that she didn't realise that The Jennie Kim had sat across her.

"Hey, you are Kim Jisoo right?"

She looked up and with the appearance of an unexpected person in front of her, she almost fell off her seat. Who wouldn't know the queenka of their grade? She noticed the queenka ever since her first day of high school and to be honest, Jisoo had a crush on Jennie. She almost wanted to hide her reddened cheeks at the moment when she realised that Jennie knew her name and her existence. She meekly nodded and avoided the other's eyes by looking at the textbook on her table.

"You know the CSAT is at the end of the year, can you help me to study?" asked Jennie, really politely.

She couldn't believe her ears. The queenka had asked her to help her study. She looked up and saw that the other was serious, with that cat eyes gazed at her with utmost seriousness and flashed an innocent smile that Jisoo fell for. Jisoo declined immediately, still not convinced that whatever going on was real but Jennie seemed to be persistent. The queenka raised her tone and pleaded, "Kim Jisoo, please help me to study, pretty please." That earned her table her loud shush from the librarian. With no response from Jisoo, Jennie continued to ask in that booming voice of hers, "please?"

To prevent anymore ruckus that would irritate the librarian, Jisoo agreed and packed her stuff before pulling the queenka out of the library to one of her secret spots, an empty staircase at the basement of the almost unpopulated computer science building.

"You are not joking right?" asked Jisoo, as she mustered the courage to ask the queenka.

"Of course not." That smile that Jennie flashed. Who knew that smile had a double meaning and that Jisoo was so foolish to fall for it?

---------

It was rough teaching the other initially since the queenka clearly did not show much enthusiasm for learning and often made the simplest careless mistake in topics that Jisoo found fairly simple, for example, differentiation and integration.

"By now, you should know that differentiation is to find the slope of the tangent of a given point and integration, to determine the area under the curve. Don't mix them up anymore," said Jisoo, who had already covered a 2-hour lecture on a topic that took at least 6 months to be taught in school.

"Alright, differentiation to find the slope and integration to find the area," said Jennie, as she tapped the side of her own head, gestured that the line was ingrained in her brain. But who knew if Jennie actually remembered anything from that long revision lecture?

---------

Jisoo, who had been seen around Jennie recently, had gotten quite a bit of attention and was one day, mobbed by the queenka's fan club.

"Stay away from our queen," taunted a fangirl and the other fangirls began to surround her, cracking their knuckles and neck, ready to beat her up.

Jisoo didn't know what to do. She was never bullied before since she would always disappear out of the classroom almost immediately. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping to brace herself for the beating but after a while, there was nothing. Total silence.

"You, Hwang Mina. You will be demoted as the NiNi fan club president for the intention to assault my friend. You, whoever you are, will be the next president, with effect from now. Tell the fans that they are not allowed to talk to my friend here, to touch her or even be near her. If she loses even a strand of hair. You all will be dead meat."

Jisoo heard an authoritative voice that sounded like Jennie and opened her two eyes slowly, one by one, peeking at the scene in front of her. Jennie was indeed standing in front, tall and firm. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight. That was the day when she fell for the queenka even more and that spelt for more trouble. Her infatuation for Jennie was like gravity, pulling herself, the matter, into the blackhole called Jennie.

---------

It was the end of the day and Jisoo was ready to head home after her book club meeting. It was raining so heavily but thankfully, she had an umbrella that could shelter her partially. While she was walking to the bus stop, she heard a honk and turned to see Jennie's hot pink Lamborghini at the side of the road. She remembered clearly that they didn't schedule any tutoring session for that day.

Jennie shouted through the window that was slightly drawn down, "Hey, get in! It is raining so heavily outside."

She got in the car and closed the door after folding and putting her wet brolly in a disposable bag. Jennie leaned over and Jisoo's mind was going crazy with how close the other's face was moving towards her. Jennie's light scent of Sicilian orange with a hint of basil filled her nose and soon her entire being. She closed her eyes tightly, thinking she was going to get a kiss from the other, fulfilling her recent fantasy she had. But soon, she heard a click and the scent barely noticeable anymore.

"You know, with that smart brain of yours, I can't believe that you forgot about your seatbelt." Jennie chuckled.

Jisoo opened her eyes, with clear disappointment on her face. She was embarrassed from her own thoughts and also Jennie's compliment of her brain.

"Anyways, what were you thinking about?" the other teased cheekily and once more, leant even closer, staring at Jisoo's eyes behind the thick-rimmed harry potter style glasses that she had bought for her tutor.

"You know, I am glad that you liked the spectacles. It suits you." complimented Jennie, and with that, the queenka leant back, buckled her seatbelt and drove off. Unknown to Jisoo, who was looking out of the window after the second compliment, had missed the light pinkish hue on the queenka's beautiful tan face.

---------

She thought that Jennie was genuinely a nice person and treated her well but one day, she had unexpectedly stumbled upon the horrible truth. She was in the cubicle of the washroom and was ready to get out to wash her hands, but stopped when she heard a group of girls coming in. She recognised one of the voices. It belonged to Jennie. All the more she couldn't come out since it was Jennie who was outside and that the other was with her friends.

"Jennie, you know that time is ticking, and it waits for no one," said one of Jennie's friends.

"Relax, don't we have 2 more weeks or so till the end of the month," replied the queenka and that made Jisoo curious as to what that was about.

"Exactly 2 weeks. You've already spent almost 3 months with that nerd. When are you gonna get in her pants?" said another friend of Jennie's. Jisoo can't believe her ears... They were definitely talking about her. Her right hand made a tight fist.

"Soon, she's fallen for me, way too hard," snickered the queenka. Jennie wasn't that nice after all. The queenka got closer to her because of an ulterior motive. She definitely felt the pang in her heart.

"Oh yea, that story that you told us when she thought that you were about to kiss her. That got me crackling like crazy."

"Oh my, that story! You know, sometimes I can't hold back my laughter even when I look at her without having that story resurfacing in my mind."

Jennie's friends laughed loudly and it was at that moment when tears started to form on Jisoo's eyes. She then heard Jennie's laughter and a comment from the other that made her hold back her tears even harder, "my lips will never be on hers. Come on, let's go. Our next class starts really soon."

"Oh wow, the queenka actually bothers about being punctual for classes. Her nerdiness must have rubbed off on you."

"Shut up! It's Ms Sandara's class. I don't want to waste my time writing lines after school. You know, I still have that mission to accomplish."

Soon, there was dead silence and that meant the group had left.

Jisoo was finally able to let out all the tears that she had been holding back. The truth definitely hurt. From that day onwards, she hit rock bottom and sunk deeper. She didn't even bother to respond to Jennie, ignoring the other and even avoided her own secret spots around the school just to avoid the anxious queenka with her pending deadline. Jisoo even had to take 2 months of break from school so that she could recover from her declining mental health.

She remembered how hard was it for her. When her senior year was supposed to the best time of her high school years, it was, in fact, the opposite. It was the worst because she fell for the lies and deception of Jennie Kim. Jennie was like a strong magnet that could attract her but she also had to blame herself. If only she had insisted on not crossing path with the queenka, maybe, everything would have been different. She would be able to read more books rather than spending time to tutor that person. Initially, she spent her time off mopping about the stupid choices that she had made but it was only after a while when she picked up her favourite book from the shelf, a bibliography of Albert Einstein. Her eyes were drawn to the seven words on the foreword, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity". This quote resonated in her and from then on, she promised herself that she was going to grab the last bit of hope, even if she had to reach out with both of her hands.

----------------------

Jisoo has been locking eyes with Jennie for the longest time ever and seeing that Jennie's lips twitch into a slightly flirtatious smile and that on her lips when the queenka is blatantly checking her body, roaming her eyes up and down her entire frame. Jisoo knows that she has gotten the attention of the queenka. She sees Jennie excusing herself from the huge group and walks towards her. Before that, the queenka takes an extra glass of champagne and with a few more steps, the queenka is in front of her.

"Not that we are allowed to know each other's names in this prom night but I don't think I have ever seen you before, Beautiful," says Jennie, as she hands the glass of champagne to the other.

Oh, that typical line just to hook up with girls. She would have fallen for the other's words back then and those words would have been perfect to end her but Jennie had clearly missed her chance. Even with her wings lost from being trapped in those dark days, Jisoo is able to resist the temptations of her lingering feelings under the immense hate.

Jisoo in return just gives a slight nod and a shy smile, accepting the glass of champagne before moving her hips sensually, walking to the dining hall.

Soon, everyone is gathered at the dining hall, chatting with their neighbours while waiting for dinner to be served. Jennie doesn't know who is on her left or right but still, she engages in small talks. The person on her right is stunning and is trying to flirt with her. Jisoo isn't interested at all, but still, she flirts back, just to infuriate a certain someone sitting across her on the same table.

She giggles shyly at whatever jokes or funny anecdotes that her neighbour had just shared and Jisoo even lightly touches the other's arms as she leans forward with every giggle. She can feel someone's fiery cat gaze directing at her but still, sometimes, she would intentionally look her target, with a taunting smile. She loves making the queenka insecure and jumpy.

"I need to go to the washroom," says Jisoo, she tells her neighbour and excuses herself politely to head to the washroom. As she is heading to the said location, she hears footsteps behind her. She doesn't have to turn back to know who it is. The person's warm, sweet and citrusy scent is a huge giveaway.

As she enters the washroom, the person behind her quickens her pace and enters, pinning her to the door, with the strong and toned arms on either side of her head, barring her from escaping. The queenka says, "Hey, I have been patient but what you did just now with the other, it makes me mad. Nobody ever says no to me."

This isn't part of her plan but it makes things easier for her. This time Jennie's entire conscious is in her grasp. She slips her arms around the queenka's neck, pulling the other closer to her. She looks into Jennie's eyes and the queenka's words from her high school days rang in her head, "her lips will never be on mine."

She is determined to get what is hers. She leans in closer and closer and Jennie leans in too. As their noses touch, the queenka tilts her head slightly and their lips meet. Jisoo is almost too engrossed in the kiss but since she already gets what she wanted, she pulls back and whispers, "goodbye," and pushes the queenka slightly to exit the washroom.

"What took you so long? By the way, I have cut the steak for you. Enjoy it," says her neighbour as she returns to her seat. She thanks her neighbour and takes a bite of the food. She savours the food but unsure if the great taste is because of the food or the slight victory that she won just now. Now, she is greedy for more, hoping to be crowned as prom queen for the night. She wants to end the other so badly.

As she notices Jennie returning to her own seat, she throws Jennie a flirtatious smile and in return Jennie throws a smirk, now enjoying their secret communication through their eyes after the short heated moment earlier.

---------

"Ladies, we are coming to the last segment of today's prom. Who will be prom queen? We have collated the popularity votes and the votes from the student council. We will now invite the top 3 participants," announces the MC right after dinner is over.

The MC announces the top 3 in random order and Jennie has been called out. Jisoo hopes that the next announcement would be her number since it is just down to 1 more participant.

"Number 104!"

It is hers and she gets up, walking past tables to get up on the stage. She can hear some gasps as she walks past the tables. As she gets up the stage, she stands in the middle to give a slight curtsy and that has the crowd cheering like crazy.

"So, we have these 3 contestants. Any guesses as to who is the winner?" asked the MC and the entire hall fills with chanting of the various numbers, 104 for her, 01 for Jennie and 600 for the other participant.

"Drumroll please!" exclaims the host, trying to set the atmosphere and after a long pause, the MC continues, "104!"

Suddenly, confetti starts to fall on her and she relishes the amazing feeling. It is better than the times when she got up on stage to receive her prize for topping the cohort in physics and mathematics throughout her 4 years of high school. With hard work and perseverance, she has gotten acknowledgement in an area that is new to her. She believes that she is beautiful but there is no way she that would forget her nerdy past. She will embrace both sides of her that makes her special and unique. She doesn't need to conform to the ideals and standards of others. She knows that she is the best, in her own ways.

The other participants congratulate her and Jennie gives a hug, before whispering, "you deserve it, Gorgeous. Let's meet at the park behind the building after this event."

After receiving the prize and just saying a short "thank you", she gets down the stage and the prom night ends with the school song. She isn't a fan of taking pictures and exits quietly but with her sudden risen popularity, she has to politely decline those that pestered for pictures and heads off to the said park while waiting for the queenka.

She has enjoyed the prom night. The gains that she has gotten today is beyond what she imagined. Let's just say that today is a really great day and like what Albert Einstein said, opportunities do arise through difficulties.

"Hey, sorry for taking some time to get here. Had to push through the crowd," says Jennie, standing in front of her without her mask. "The event is over, don't you want to take off your mask and show off your beautiful face? You know, you have been awfully quiet."

Jisoo almost wants to laugh cynically. She can't wait for the shock on Jennie's face when she takes down her mask and reveals herself. The excitement is building inside her and she asks, "do you really want to know who I am, Jennie Kim?"

Jennie freezes. She recognises the voice and the only person that would call her Jennie Kim rather than Kim Jennie is her... She can't believe it. On the other hand, Jisoo savours the intense shock on the queenka's face, glad that everything is going far too well.

"Laugh at me while you still can, Jennie Kim. Because it is your turn," Jisoo taunts and soon after counting down, one, two, three, she takes off her mask, throwing Jennie a pity look and says, "this plain Jane got hijacked, don't like me?"

"You..."

Jisoo feels bad but there is nothing she can do. That's right, she has gotten right back here, visually beautiful, heart stronger than ever. In this dark place, she lights up the sky.

Once more, she says, "this plain Jane got hijacked, don't like me?" Jisoo leans in almost too close to Jennie, that with every word she says, her lips graze on the queenka's plump lips, "how you like that?"

Today is definitely a 10 out of 10 and she gets what's hers already. Karma has come and got some. She leans in and presses her lips on Jennie's for the last time and pulls back almost immediately. With that cue, she walks away, not bothering to exchange any looks or words with the other. Instead of putting the other in more misery, she wishes the other all the best in her heart.

This is definitely a great way to end her senior year.

--------------------

A/N pt 2: Hope that you have enjoyed it! A little math and physics lingo cuz I am quite influenced by the drama 'The King: Eternal Monarch". If you haven't watched it but you like Sci-fi, fantasy and a little history, it's a really good drama and the cinematography is amazing.

Anyways, back to the story, it's a little dark and twisty but remember to love yourself for who you are and with a little improvement, you can become a better version of yourself! Really love the empowering messages that Blackpink always want to bring across through their songs.

For the next chapter, I am thinking of writing a one-shot to encapsulate JenSoo's relationship throughout the 4 seasons and the different weather conditions, inspired by  the songs from DIA's album, Flower 4 Seasons. Let me know if it is a good idea. Anyways, as usual, do feel free to request down what you would like to read!

Also, I hope that through this project, I can also recommend and convey some helpful tips, insights and discussion on happiness and well-being through the stories, especially during times like this when the world is in a really awkward state (hard to say if it is a tough or an alright situation since this is actually quite subjective).

Hope that you have enjoyed the 1st one-shot! 

Spy's out~

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
wywhere #1
cuteeeeee!
Jensoo4everlove #2
Chapter 17: awww this was so sweet
Twinjung88
1076 streak #3
Chapter 1: After 6mns here I am again rereading it hehehe🤣
Ash-LaoSiow #4
Chapter 1: This is litttttttt
Twinjung88
1076 streak #5
Chapter 30: I wonder from who's pov is this authy? Ah welcome back 😁😁😁
Twinjung88
1076 streak #6
Chapter 22: happy birthday Queen Jisoo and advance happy birthday Queen Jennie and a happy new year to all of us
Erika1987 #7
Chapter 22: Sooo cute
bp_blunt #8
Chapter 18: <span class='smalltext text--lighter'>Comment on <a href='/story/view/1451693/18'>Fallen Kitty Angel and Th...</a></span>
that was so adorable 😖🥺 thank you 🥰 how about like a 2nd shot for this? 😬
Twinjung88
1076 streak #9
Chapter 21: merry xmas and a happy new year for us
ohmg_imstuck
#10
Chapter 21: geh very geh ☺️ merry christmas yall