Jisoo usually hates waiting. Especially since she's one very important person in their industry. Making The Jisoo Kim wait means game over for anyone who's brave enough to do so. But as she sat down the empty conference room of The Black Label, being kept waiting was the least of her concern. 

She has thought thoroughly about speaking to Roseanne after two long years. Jisoo knows she doesn't have to do it herself. She could terminate a contract without lifting a finger. Who do these people think she is? 

But what concerns her is the fact that Roseanne accepted the offer despite knowing that it's her and Lisa's wedding. Jisoo knows the girl's planning to come back. To their lives? Perhaps. But Roseanne is definitely back, and it's not a good news.

"Jisoo."

The door to the conference room opened, and Jisoo must admit she was disappointed when she didn't see the face she was expecting to see.

"Teddy", she stood up briefly to greet the man.

Now, why is the record label's CEO here instead of Roseanne?

Teddy Park. He's been a father figure to the four of them ever since Roseanne joined his company. Being the singer's mentor, the girls have grown close to him during those years. He knew them well. And he was there when they broke apart.

But again, why is Teddy here instead of Roseanne? Jisoo remembers she specifically said she wanted to talk to the singer when she scheduled a meeting with them.

"Please, have a seat", Teddy said in courtesy before settling down on the chair across the girl's, "I've heard about the wedding. I came here personally to congratulate you and Lisa. I hope everything's going well with the preparations?"

Jisoo offers a small smile and nodded, "Thank you. Almost everything's ready, except that I haven't found my singer yet."

The man looks a bit taken aback, confused, "Oh, I thought Chaeyoung's—"

"Speaking of, I thought I've scheduled an appointment with her?"

Teddy pauses and heaves out a sigh before answering, "Well, to be honest, she's nowhere to be found."

Jisoo raises a brow at the CEO's statement, "What do you mean?"

"I couldn't reach her. Her phone's off, she's not responding on her socials, and her condo unit was completely untouched."

"I thought you flew back to Seoul together?"

"Yeah, but the moment our plane landed, she was out of sight."

"Oh, wow. So much security for your highest selling artist, huh?"

She didn't mean to sound rude. But she's really disappointed that she wasted her time going there without seeing even Roseanne's shadow.

"I'm really sorry. My crewmen are still trying to locate her as we speak. But you can tell me your concern, and I'll relay it to her soon as we find her", Teddy offers before leaning a little over the table, "Is there a problem with the contract?"

Jisoo shot him a glance, "Actually, the contract is the problem. My secretary signed it without my consent. So I'd like to terminate it."

Teddy Park was yet taken aback, "Jisoo, I thought you personally picked Chaeyoung—"

"You know about our history, Teddy", she cut him off.

The man pursed his lips and leant back against his seat, nodding, "Of course. That's why I was surprised when your secretary came up to us and booked Chaeyoung. I was even more surprised when she accepted. I thought things between you have already been settled. You even set an appointment with her. I really thought you guys are o—"

"If we're friends, I wouldn't need to meet her here", Jisoo's words were sharp, "I wouldn't need to set an appointment with a friend."

That made the CEO mum. Jisoo has a point. If they're back to being friends, she wouldn't need to schedule a meeting just to talk to Roseanne.

"My secretary didn't know", she explains, "And she made a deal with your team without consulting me."

Teddy slumps her shoulders and heaves out a sigh, "I understand. If it's about the contract, you have nothing to worry. We can terminate it as you wish."

Jisoo squints her eyes a little, "I have a feeling there's a but?"

The man tucks a hand under his chin as he continues, "I don't know, but I think Chaeyoung's still gonna come even if we terminate the contract."

Pursing her lips, Jisoo asks, "Why do you think so?"

"When she learned about the offer, I saw that eagerness in her eyes that I haven't seen in years", Teddy opens up, "It was almost as if she was brought back to life."

Jisoo wanted to snicker at the statement, but managed to maintain her composure, "Well, she didn't look lifeless to me whenever I see her on TV."

"That's the reason she's my best artist", the CEO forces a smile, "She's good at everything she does. Even at putting on an act."

Teddy whispers the last sentence, but Jisoo somehow managed to catch it.

"Anyway", the man continues, "If Chaeyoung's determined to do something, we both know there's nothing stopping her."

Jisoo tips her head and looks him straight in the eye, "Not even you?"

"Believe me", Teddy could only shake his head, "Not even me."

Subtly clenching her jaw, Jisoo grabs her bag and stood up, making the man stand on his feet as well.

"If that's the case, then I might need to look for her myself", she fixes the creases of her suit, "I have to inform her personally...that she cannot come."

She starts taking steps towards the door of the conference room with Teddy following behind.

"Is Jennie back...as well?"

The question made her stop on her tracks. She turned back around to face the man.

"Not yet. But she'll come", she answered, "Now, you understand why I need to talk to Roseanne, yes?"

Teddy lets out a breath and nodded. He knows the story. And he feels just as bad that it had to happen. These girls were like daughters to her.

"If you ever find Chaeyoung...", he pauses to look at the girl, then continues, "Please don't be too hard on her."

Jisoo wanted to laugh at the request. And why is that? Is Roseanne some fragile kid now? How does he expect her to be all nice after everything that's happened?

"You know I cannot promise that, Teddy."

"She's no longer the person we knew."

They held gaze for a couple of seconds. Jisoo's was unwavering, while Teddy's was almost pleading.

"She may have made a mistake. A terrible one at that", the man tries to argue, "But we both know she's not a bad person."

Jisoo gritted her teeth and turned her back on the CEO, wanting to ignore whatever he's still saying. But just as she was about to turn the knob, the man spoke again.

"Please, Jisoo", he walks past her and opens the door for her, "I am asking this...as a friend."

But Jisoo didn't spare him a second glance. Heels clacking against the tiled floor, she walked out of the conference room without looking back.

...we both know she's not a bad person.

Teddy's words echoed through her head until she reached her car. She won't admit it to herself, but this is the first time in two years that she contemplated. 

Not inviting Roseanne to her wedding was a decision she firmly made. So why must she be reminded now how good they were in the past? How the four of them got excited when Lisa proposed to her years ago. How they initially planned every single detail and how Roseanne bugged her everyday saying that she'll pluck all her eyebrows out if she doesn't make her and Jennie the bridesmaids.

Those good old days. Why must she be reminded how great of a friend Roseanne was?

Frustrated, she slams her fist against the steering wheel, "Goddamnit, Rosie!"

Jisoo rarely cries.

And this is one of those times that she does.

~•~

"Everything ready, love?", Lisa asks her fiancé after she loads the last luggage in the trunk of her car.

Most of their stuff, especially the ones needed for their week-long bachelorette party were already sent to the venue ahead of time so they won't be cramming on this day of their flight to Jeju. They hired the best organizers they could find so that this trip would be stress-free for them and their guests.

"Yeah, I guess so", Jisoo answered while taking a peek inside the car, "Actually, let me just check if I have packed my lingerie here..."

The younger girl chuckles and wriggles a brow at her, "Ooh, that one's a must-bring. We're not boarding the plane without that."

Jisoo playfully hits her shoulder, "What a , really."

Lisa lets out a laugh before slipping her arms around her fiancé's waist from behind, stealing a quick kiss to her cheek as she does. If people would walk on them, they'd think they're just some random couple getting all lovey-dovey in the middle of the basement parking lot and not a multi-billion business tycoons.

"By the way, love", Lisa spoke once they broke the hug, "Have you found Rosie yet?"

Jisoo's expression changes almost automatically at the mention of the name, "Not yet. She went ninja as soon as she landed, and not even Teddy could find her."

"Do you think she'll show up? At the party, I mean."

"Rosie has the guts, we know that."

Lisa casually leans against the side of her car and tilts her head up in ponder, "Don't you think it's about time we meet her again?"

The older girl gazes at her fiancé but didn't answer. So Lisa continued.

"Don't you think it's about time we talk?"

"We tried hearing her out, Lis, remember?", Jisoo said, arms crossed over her chest, "Did she give us a proper answer? No."

"Maybe she's ready to talk now."

"And what about Jennie? Is she ready to face her ex?"

Lisa looks back at her, noticing how her fiancé's eyes were softening, "If Jennie's moved on, she'll be fine."

The two girls went silent for a moment, just holding each other's gazes, until Lisa spoke again.

"I think it's about time we let Rosie speak for herself", she told the older girl, "So, we can all have that closure we needed."

Looking away, Jisoo shakes her head, "I don't know, Lis."

The younger walks to her to give her a gentle pat on the head, "It's time we all move on, Chu. Think about it, yeah? I'll just get my camera upstairs."

Lisa gave her cheek one last kiss before the girl left to the elevator, leaving Jisoo with all these thoughts about their former friend again.

She would be lying if she says she doesn't want answers. Because she does. Rosie didn't just leave Jennie. She left the three of them confused, betrayed, broken.

But Jisoo's also protective of Jennie. The first few months hit the girl like a truck. She's not sure if her bestfriend's totally healed, but she doesn't want her to go through that mess again.

Jisoo was still deep in her thoughts when she felt her phone vibrate inside her bag. She fished it out only to find a private number calling. Her brows creased. She doesn't normally answer unknown calls, but something's telling her to do otherwise now.

Biting on her lip, she pressed the answer button and lifted her phone against her ear, "Hello?"

"Jisoo."

She froze on her ground upon hearing that. Fate does really like to play sometimes, eh? Jisoo could never not recognize this voice. It's so distinct she almost hates it.

Rosie.

"I heard you're looking for me", the girl on the other line said, her voice deep and...cold.

It was about 5 seconds when Jisoo finally found her tongue, "How did you get my number?"

She heard the girl chuckle, albeit humorless, "You're not the only one with connections."

There's something foreign about Roseanne's tone. Jisoo doesn't like it. It's as if she's talking to someone she didn't know.

"I terminated the contract my secretary made with The Black Label", the older girl said straight to the point, "It was a misunderstanding. I didn't consent it."

She heard the girl sigh on the other line, "So, you're not really planning to invite me."

"I have every reason not to."

Roseanne went silent for a moment. Jisoo could only hear her soft breathing, and the pause was making her anxious. In all the years that they've been friends, this is the first time she felt anxious while talking to the girl.

"An apology would never be enough", Roseanne spoke after a little while, "But I really am sorry, Chu."

Came a prickling feeling in Jisoo's chest. She mindlessly clenches her fist and answered, "We both know I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. And please, it's long overdue."

"I must apologize to all of you", the singer said, "I know I can no longer be your bridesmaid..."

Jisoo clutches her phone a little tighter. She knows she's one brave woman. But just how could these words affect her and the walls she's built between her and the girl.

"But let me at least sing...for your wedding", Roseanne continued, giving that same lifeless tone, "I want to fix every single I've done, Chu."

Jisoo knows she was never weak. She's known for being an authoritarian. Her judgements are firm, unbending. The corporate world molded her to be this tough.

So why should she go low for someone who left them questioning their worth?

"Please...Jisoo", she could hear her voice cracks a little.

...it's about time we let Rosie speak for herself. Lisa's voice kept ringing in her head.

Shutting her eyes, Jisoo lifts her chin up and lets out all her emotions in one deep breath.

She's firm, tough, unbending.

But this time...just this time...

...she'll make an exception.

"We'll hold our bachelorette party in Jeju", Jisoo finally said, "I'll text you the address."

She, then, ends the call and grips on her phone hard.

It'll be okay.

It has to be.