Jisoo led Roseanne to the back veranda where the others could not hear them. The latter was nervous, because by the tone of the older's voice, what they're going to talk about is not something light and pleasant.

So she braces herself.

"I've told you already, Rosie", Jisoo started once they're outside, "Don't do anything that'll trigger Jennie. That was my only condition when I invited you here."

Roseanne was a little confused with the sudden outburst, although she has an idea on what the other girl was talking about.

"Wha—"

"I saw you last night."

That was enough to confirm the pink-haired's thought, and was enough to make her mum. She hung her head low, something she's been doing a lot since she came to the villa.

"I was going to get myself a glass of water", the older continued, "When I heard you and Jennie talking."

"Chu, I didn't mean to—"

She was once again cut off by Jisoo.

"I thought we've made it clear huh, Rosie? I thought you've promised me that you're going to fix things and not ruin them even more."

Roseanne should've known that things wouldn't be so easy when she decided to invite herself to this party. Approaching Jennie, talking to her, making her acknowledge her presence. She should've known how wretching and emotionally tormenting it is to try and squeeze herself back to the lives of the people she has inconsiderately left.

But she's stubborn like that.

"Jennie's been doing fine. But, you knew she still gets anxious from time to time", Jisoo continued when the younger refused to speak, "What do you think was the reason she carelessly ran down to the ocean in the middle of a storm?"

The pink-haired flails her arms, "I knew it had something to do with what I've said last night—"

"Oh well, it's good that you at least knew that", the older proceeded to cut her off, "But I've told you many times that all we want from you is an answer. Why must you push yourself to her?"

"I wanted to explain to her. I was about to explain", the singer defended.

"Then why didn't you?"

Biting on her bottom lip, Roseanne clenches her fist in frustration. The girl has a point. But she was too much of a coward.

"You had the chance. If you just straight up told her, she would've listened to you."

"I'm sorry."

"For 's sake, Roseanne, until when will we hear those empty apologies??"

The pink-haired heard the little, almost inaudible, crack in Jisoo's voice after the girl said that. She realized they're the ones who are more frustrated about the situation than she is. She's been making them anxious. And the older girl was right. Instead of fixing things, she's ruining them even more.

"Why can't you tell us...tell me?", Jisoo clenches her jaw, trying not to break, "Right here and now. Tell me."

Roseanne looked up at her friend and saw hurt in her eyes. Exactly. They've been giving her a chance to explain and defend herself. Why can't she?

"Because I'm ashamed", she replied, averting her gaze once more, "Because it was stupid. I was stupid."

"I thought you knew us. After all these years, I thought you already knew us", the older girl threw her head back, "I thought you knew that no matter how unreasonable it was, we'll hear you out."

The pain in Jisoo's voice further fuels Roseanne's guilt. Just why can't she make things right?

"You know what's sad, Rosie?", Jisoo continued, "It's the fact that even after everything that's happened...I still have faith in you."

The younger pursed her lips, lifting a hand to meekly hold her friend's arm, "Chu..."

But it was yanked away.

"It's sadder how you don't do the same."

Jisoo her back and clutches on the door to the veranda, her voice was a little shaky when she spoke, "Thank you for saving Jennie. But this will be the last chance we'll ever give you. Please stop apologizing, and start doing the right thing."

Back up against the wall, Roseanne lets out a tear once Jisoo left. Maybe she's really been holding up for too long. And maybe it's about time she face it.

Woman up, Chaeyoung.

~•~

Thursday's games were pretty active and fun. After spending some time outside doing water activities, the group prepares to start an indoor game this time. 

"Okay, kiddos! I'll explain the mechanics for this game. This'll be pretty easy, so", Lisa announced in the lounging area, gaining everyone's attention.

Jennie, who was visibly sulking at the back, raised a hand, "Can I finally join this one, Lalisa?"

After the incident yesterday, they decided to exclude Jennie from the activities to let her rest. Albeit the latter insisting that she's okay, they just made her watch from the villa's balcony.

The younger girl crosses her arms over her chest, "Well, you've got a bandage on your forehead. So, you know the answer."

"But, it's just a small scrape??"

"But, what if you get dizzy and you trip and fall?"

"You're overreacting??"

The girls bubble in chuckles and went over to Jennie to coo the girl.

"You're not playing as long as your bandage is there, little Nini", Nayeon gives her head playful pats.

"You guys are no fun", the brunette pouted.

Roseanne watches from the other side and couldn't help but melt at the gesture. She totally missed this childish side of the girl.

Her lips were still curled while looking at the brunette, when the latter caught her. She immediately turned her head away, afraid that Jennie will be creeped out by her staring.

No matter how hard it will be, she concluded that she's just going to stick with what she's owed them. She'll just find the right timing. She's going to make things right.

"That's your punishment for refusing to see the doctor, stubborn midget", Jisoo joined the bantering.

"Says the six-footer", Jennie retaliated.

The group, alongside Roseanne, bursts into fits of laughter. This is really their love language.

"Okay, if little JenJen can strike back like that, she must be alright", Jisoo pats her fiancé's shoulder, "Let her join."

Sighing, Lisa puts an arm around her, "Alright, if my gorgeous bride says so."

She, then, leans over and places a kiss on her fiancé's cheek, earning growls from their audiences due to cringiness.

"Okay, can we now have the mechanics of the game before these two start making out infront of all of us?", Bambam joked.

Lisa playfully tosses a roll of paper towel at her cousin, before reaching for the cue card.

"Alright, so here's how it works", she clears and starts reading, "This game is called Indoor Scavenger Hunt. We'll give each of you the list of the tasks you'll have to accomplish. Each task has its corresponding points. The harder the task, the higher the points, of course. We can't follow or watch over you at once, so you'll have to take pictures of each of your accomplished tasks and show them to us. We'll give you two hours for this game."

The group nodded, and once they understood the mechanics, the organizers handed them the task list.

"What even is this, Lalisa??", Mino felt like cracking up upon reading the contents of the card, "Put on your cousin's contact lenses??"

Letting out a laugh, Lisa nodded, "That's 25 points, buddy."

"And what's the prize for this again?", it was Bona who voiced out the question.

The engaged couple turned to each other and shared a look, before Jisoo answered, "A yacht."

That ignited everyone's competitiveness.

"Man, this will be fun", Hanbin commented and starts checking out the tasks.

The others started to split up as well, some of them going as duos since some tasks require cooperation from another.

Taking a look at her own list, Roseanne shook her head in early defeat, not really knowing how to complete the tasks in hand.

"The only thing I can do among these, is make a drink for the bride-to-be", she whispered to herself, "And that's only 10 points."

Given that Jisoo's probably still upset with her, she decided she's going to make the drink for Lisa. So, without further ado, she went straight to the kitchen and starts preparing a hot chocolate.

"Look who's sneaking a drink while everyone's busy with the tasks."

A playful voice made the singer jolt. Luckily, she has good reflexes and didn't spill the drink.

"Yah, Lalisa, I almost dropped the cup", she scolds the culprit and turned to face her.

Chuckling, Lisa welcomes herself inside the kitchen and leans on the countertop, "Why are you making a hot chocolate in the middle of the game?"

Roseanne lifted the cup and carefully handed it to the other girl, "This is actually a task. Make a drink for the bride-to-be."

The younger takes it and brings it close to her nose, inhaling its aroma, "Hmm, I see. I can drink this, right? I mean, no funny ingredient here?"

They shared a laugh while the singer lands a playful, soft jab on Lisa's shoulder, "I think I might've accidentally put some black pepper powder in there."

"That's evil, Rosie."

She brings the cup to her lips and takes a small sip, smiling after.

"You still love hot chocolate", Roseanne commented, mimicking the other girl's smile.

"Why, nothing beats hot chocolate. It's the best thing in the world."

The singer remembers how she and Jennie would always drop by Lisa's favorite local store to buy her a cup of hot chocolate whenever the girl was upset or was arguing with Jisoo. They knew it would do the trick. It always calms her.

"But, why am I the only one getting a drink?", Lisa asks, still holding the smile, "There are two brides-to-be."

Turning to lean against the countertop beside her friend, Roseanne lets out a sigh, "We'll, Jisoo's...kind of mad at me. I mean, she has every right to be."

"She's not mad at you", the younger replied, shaking her head as she does, "She's mad at what you've done. And sad at what you're doing."

"She told you?"

"We tell each other everything", Lisa tips her head to glance at the pink-haired, "I thought we all agreed to tell each other everything? I wonder what happened to that, Rosie."

The older plasters a bitter smile, "I was stupid, and a coward. That's what happened."

"Weren't we all? Once in our lives, we've been stupid and cowards. But we can always change that."

Lisa paused to take another sip from the cup.

"The Roseanne I knew was full of courage", she continues, "She wasn't perfect. But she always tries to do the right thing."

Roseanne also wonders where that version of herself went. She wonders how much of herself she's lost along the way.

"I won't scold you or anything. That's Jisoo's job", Lisa said, letting out a humorless chuckle, "I just want the best for all of us, Rosie."

The pink-haired nodded in understanding, looking up at the girl with a sincere smile this time, "Thank you, Lis."

"No, thank you", the younger straightens up and raises the cup in her hand, "For the hot chocolate. That's 10 points for you."

"Ah, do I still have to do the other tasks now?"

"Why, of course. Loosen up and have fun, Rosie."

Lisa gave her a toothy smile, before the girl waltzed out of the kitchen while waving at her. 

Such a dork.

But, at least Roseanne's gained a little more courage now. She'll get through this. 

She has to.

~•~

After an hour has passed, most of them are already on their sixth or seventh task. And they've proven that higher points really correspond to harder tasks because one of these is to 'get a piggy back ride from Jisoo'. 

"I'm gonna cross this one out because there's no way she'd piggy back ride us", Minnie said while scribbling on her list, "That woman breathes out fire, for crying out loud."

Bona and Nayeon could only laugh while scribbling on their own list.

Another task was to 'roll a paper towel around your body like a mummy'. Ten surprisingly achieved that with flying colors. Nobody helped him take off the paper towels afterwards, though.

Roseanne had done quite a good job with the tasks as well. She thought she'd be stuck with the hot chocolate, but others helped her finish the difficult tasks, too. 

There's just one on the list that she'll definitely skip.

"Hey, Rosie."

She was alone in the living room when she heard someone call her. Turning around, she saw Mino approaching.

"Mino, what's up?", she greeted.

"Well, I can't seem to finish these tasks on my list", the guy said, flipping the card in his hand, "I'm wondering maybe we could help each other?"

Roseanne shrugs her shoulders, "Depends on the task. What is it?"

Mino lifted his card to show to the singer, "Kiss someone on the cheek."

There goes the task she would definitely skip.

Her eyebrow automatically raised at the guy's answer. She knows this is just for the game. But she also knows Mino's reputation. The dude's a jerk and a womanizer, and she's honestly never been that comfortable around him.

So, shaking her head, she replied, "No, can't do that one, sorry."

"Come on, Rosie. There's no one else here I can do this with."

"Then, you'll have to skip the task."

Mino casually leans closer to her, a sly smirk playing on his lips, "It's just on the cheek, though."

She took a step back, "If I'm not comfortable with it, I won't do it."

"But, you're single, right?"

"What does it have to do with—"

"Come on, Rosie—"

Roseanne blinked an eye and suddenly, the guy was being pulled away from her. She tips her head to look at the good intruder, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"You heard the girl, Mino", Jennie said in a low voice, her hand grabbing the guy by his collar, "She won't do it."

Backing away, Mino held both of his hands up, "Woah, chill Jen. I was just messing around."

"If a girl's uncomfortable with it, then stop", the brunette scowled, shooting daggers at him, "For once, man up and learn how to treat women right."

The guy continued stepping back, lips still curled in a teasing smirk, "This seems a little personal, but yeah. Chill, we're buddies, remember?"

"You know we're not."

Mino just bubbles in a childish chuckle, "Alright, sorry Rosie. I won't bother you anymore."

He flails his arms in the air once more in an unserious manner, before finally leaving the room.

Roseanne honestly could care less about Mino. She actually forgot about the guy's existence the moment Jennie stepped in between them. She's surprised because not only the girl acknowledges her now, Jennie also defended her.

She was still deep in thoughts when she felt Jennie move towards her. She shifted her gaze to look at the girl, but was met by a task card instead.

"Y-You're the only one who can complete my task card", the brunette spoke in a soft voice, eyes avoiding the singer's.

Baffled, Roseanne takes a look at the card and notices the remaining item that's uncrossed.

'Take a picture of your acquaintance who has a light colored hair."

Roseanne could only blink at the girl who still couldn’t look her in the eyes.

"Can I ask for your permission to—"

"Sure."

Her answer was automatic. She didn’t even think twice, because how can she decline this little ball of cuteness with a cute little bandage on her forehead?

She’d give the girl her life if she ever asks for it.

She’d give it even if she doesn’t ask for it.

Getting the approval she needed, Jennie immediately lifted her phone and quickly snaps a photo of the pink-haired.

"Thank you", the older girl muttered quietly before turning on her heels and marched out of the living room.

Clutching her chest, Roseanne was left dumbfounded for a while, before she cracks a smile so wide she swears anyone who would walk on her would think she’s some teenage lovestruck fool. She's in awe with how that simple, quick interaction makes her all giddy like a kid who’s been given their favorite cotton candy.

Above all, she's overjoyed that the brunette seems to be finally warming up to her.

The game ended that afternoon with Jennie as the winner. Everyone was whining, but Roseanne couldn't wear off the smile on her face. Not when Jennie is visibly happy with her brand new yacht.

Seeing her gummy smile that she's always adored, Roseanne realized that's all she needs.

That's everything life needs.

~•~

a/n 

shameless advertisement:

please check out my other story ‘Message In A Bottle’ if you miss romcom 😉 

peace out! ✌️