After a few days together, the girls seemed to have found their old rhythm, as if they’d never been apart in the first place. The days were spent chilling and talking by the pool or wandering around the city for shopping, and their nights were spent dancing in the city’s hottest clubs.

Eunjung was happy to take her friends to places she had come to know and like, and she found it so funny to see them, all typical Korean girls, get used so quickly to the American way of life. She still didn’t have the time to talk to Jiyeon, but the maknae seemed to have softened a bit around her. No more sulking, no more immature attitude. Maybe she’d just needed a little time to adapt to the situation.

One late afternoon, they’d just come back from a city tour and were all pretty exhausted, but happy. They had decided to stay at home for the evening and just eat a nice dinner together, maybe watch a movie afterwards and pass out all piled up on the couch, like they sometimes did during the dorm years.

Jiyeon had announced as soon as they’d gotten back that she would be in charge of dinner, and had prevented anyone from wandering in the kitchen. All the other members had shared worried looks and attempted to talk her out of it. It was a widely known fact that Jiyeon was not the best cook in the world. She was willing and hard-working, but most things she prepared were just downright inedible.

“Err... are you sure Jiyeonnie? We could all help and, I don’t know, share the tasks?” Qri ventured cautiously.

“Yeah, it’d be quicker too” Hyomin added.

“You could do the dishes Jiyeon-ah,” Soyeon concluded mischievously.

“Aish, jinjja, I hate it when you do that!” Jiyeon stomped her feet and crossed her arms angrily in front of her chest. “I know how to cook now, I do!”

She had actually even taken cooking lessons, because she couldn’t stand her nickname of “kitchen disaster” anymore.

“Guys, come on, be nice to Jiyeon. She’ll cook something delicious for us, and we’ll be happy to eat whatever she prepares.” Eunjung intervened helpfully.

She quickly took her by the arm, leading her into the kitchen, and started looking through the cupboards.

“What do you want to make? You want me to go grab some things from the grocery store?”

Jiyeon turned to Eunjung, relieved to have her on her side at least. When she saw her unnie’s calm and trustful eyes searching for hers, she felt deeply moved. It was as if whatever she did to her, Eunjung would always be by her side, and trust her unconditionally.

“Ye...yeah...” she answered, still troubled by her thoughts. “I wanted to make chicken tteokbokki for you. For you all, I mean!” she quickly added, a bright flush spreading on her cheeks.

“Ahah, yeah, I got that... Look, I should have rice cakes in the fridge. There’s also red pepper flakes and paste over here, so you can get started with the sauce. I just need to go buy some chicken and cabbage.”

“That would be great! Oh, and take Soyeon-unnie with you. She’s got strong arms, she’ll carry the bags for mocking my cooking.”

Eunjung laughed whole-heartedly at the maknae’s cheekiness.

“In that case, shouldn’t I take all of them with me?”

Jiyeon pretended to think for a moment, then added with a grin.

“I guess that would only be fair, yeah”

Eunjung smiled and shook her head, about to leave the room when she felt a hand grip her arm.

“Eunjung-unnie... thank you, really.” Jiyeon said with all the sincerity she could, her hand still gripping the older girl’s arm tightly.

“It’s nothing,” Eunjung said quietly. “Just try not to set my house on fire, okay?” She then pinched Jiyeon’s cheek lightly and left the room without another word.

Jiyeon sighed dreamily, her eyes fixed on Eunjung’s back. God, why does she have to act so cool? And she smells good too. I wonder what perfume she uses....

“Jiyeon-ah get to work, we’re leaving!” She heard Hyomin shout from the hallway and this made her snap back to reality. She took the apron hanging from the hook near the fridge, and tightened it around her waist.

That’s it Jiyeon-ah, time to prove these cooking lessons weren’t for nothing!

She quickly gathered the ingredients she needed, trying to remember all the steps from the recipe. Surely and confidently, she got to work, and before she knew it, the sauce was all set and boiling in the pot. At the same moment, she heard the front door open. It had only been about 15 minutes since her unnies had left, so she was a little surprise to hear them come back so quickly.

That grocery store must be really closeby, she thought.

“I’m done with the sauce guys! And I didn’t set the house on fire!” She yelled happily over her shoulder. When she heard a small gasp just behind her, she turned around and almost jumped up with fright at what she saw. There in front of her, was not Eunjung, nor any of her unnies. Instead, she was staring at a strange girl with a wide, apologetic smile on her face who was holding her hands in front of her as a calming gesture. No... it couldn’t be...

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” The girl said in broken Korean.

“I heard noise in the kitchen and thought it might be Eunjung. I had forgotten she had her friends over this week.”

Jiyeon didn’t say a word, and just kept staring at this girl with a cautious look on her face.

“Oh, by the way, I’m Jamie! And you’re Jiyeon, right? It’s very nice to meet you!” The girl said warmly.

Then she approached Jiyeon, and before the younger girl knew, she was wrapped in a bone-crushing hug. Shocked and frankly irritated by the girl’s attitude and presence, Jiyeon quickly pulled away.

“Er... I’m all dirty from the cooking,” she said coldly. “Nice to meet you too, by the way,” she quickly added.

“It smells amazing, what are you making?” Jamie approached the pot and lifted the lid curiously, Well, she clearly seemed at ease in the house and around Jiyeon, even though the younger girl was not exceptionally friendly.

Hugh, why is she talking to me like we know each other?

“It’s... I’m making tteobokki. I’m just waiting for Eunjung to come back with the rest of the supplies.”

“How awesome! I see you’re all set for the sauce, but I’d like to help with the rest! I’m just gonna go change and wash my hands, then we’ll get to get to know each other while cooking together.” Jamie said excitedly before leaving the room in a flash.

Jiyeon suddenly felt all her good mood had disappeared. What did that stupid American girl know about tteokbokki anyway? She felt helpless and frustrated at the same time. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to cook a nice meal for Eunjung, not spend the evening witnessing her annoying girlfriend flirt with her and steal her thunder. She couldn’t take it. They already had so little time left...

At the same moment, she heard the front door open for a second time, and this time, the unmistakable chatter and cackles told her the girls were indeed, back from their shopping trip.

“Wow, it smells good Jiyeonnie!” Boram yelled as soon she entered the house.

Then she saw Eunjung make her way quickly into the kitchen, a troubled and agitated look on her face.

“Jiyeon-ah... eer... did someone... did you see...?”

“Your girlfriend? Yes, Eunjung-ah, I did” she answered dryly, and turned back to the stove.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t know she was coming... I just saw her car in the driveway...”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s your house. She’s your girlfriend. I’m just... just an old friend”

Jiyeon was clearly upset, but she knew the words she spoke were the truth. She didn’t have the right to be angry and yet, she was infuriated, which was obvious to Eunjung.

She approached the younger girl carefully and put a soothing hand on her shoulder.

“Jiyeonnie...”

Jiyeon quickly took a step back and shook her head.

“I’m sorry, okay. I don’t understand what’s going on in my head... don’t try to comfort me, because I’m stupid.”

“You’re not...”

“Baby! Hey!” A cheery voice interrupted from the doorway.

Eunjung turned around and instantly found her arms full of her over-excited girlfriend. She still felt bad for Jiyeon’s obvious anger and it made her feel a little uncomfortable. She still smiled warmly at Jamie and gave her a quick kiss on the lips as a welcome.

“Hey! I wasn’t expecting you back from Vancouver before next week!”

“I know but the filming had to be stopped for a couple of days, the weather is really too bad over there. So I thought I’d just come back to see my handsome girl!” She said, clinging to Eunjung’s neck affectionately.

“That’s nice really... but...”

“Oh yeah, about that I’m so sorry, really, I didn’t think of your special reunion. I was completely out of it today, I just thought about taking the first plane back home. I’ll be staying at my place tonight; I don’t want to ruin your get-together!” She offered nicely.

“That’s very sweet of you... And you’d probably get bored anyway...” Eunjung glanced at Jiyeon, who had been watching the whole scene with barely contained disgust. The older girl quickly disentangled herself from her girlfriend.

“Err... you already met Jiyeonnie, I should introduce you to the others... Jiyeon-ah here’s the food I brought back.”

“But, I said I’ll help Jiyeon with the tteokbokki,” Jamie pouted.

“No!” Jiyeon yelled, startling everyone including herself. “I mean... it’s okay, I got this... you’re tired, go meet the others. You’ll need strength for that anyway.”

“Okay then,”

Eunjung lead her girlfriend to the living room, glancing one last time at Jiyeon who was obviously fighting hard to keep her frustration under control. When she was finally alone in the kitchen, Jiyeon pricked her ears and could clearly hear her friend’s excited exclamations at meeting Eunjung’s girlfriend.

“Ahh, you’re so pretty!”

“Your Korean is so good!”

“I love your hair!”

Hugh!! Traitors! The baby dino gritted her teeth, then punched the counter really hard with her fist to release her anger. She immediately regretted it and yelped in pain! Oww what a pabo! Why can’t I behave normally for once in my life? And what’s so special about this plain girl anyway? Eunjung deserves so much better than a chatterbox with an annoying smile plastered on her face! Oh well, we’ll see about this later...

Deciding it was not use to curse the girl in her head, Jiyeon finally got back to her recipe and started chopping the chicken and cabbage fiercely.

This is a better alternative than breaking my hand on the counter, she thought satisfactorily.

As the girls’ insistence, Jamie had decided to stay over for dinner. She actually hadn’t needed much persuading, because she missed Eunjung like crazy and she found the former T-ara members to be really funny and entertaining. Jiyeon, for her part, was exceptionally quiet. No one had dared ask what was going on, but it was now becoming clearly apparent that Jiyeon would tick and get into angry/brooding dino mode as soon as Eunjung’s love life was being discussed. Jamie and Jiyeon were sitting on either sides of Eunjung, and the latter was trying to act as thoughtful towards the both of them to make sure Jamie didn’t feel left out, and Jiyeon’s head didn’t explode from jealousy. She would praise Jiyeon’s cooking and wipe sauce at the corner of with her napkin, and ask Jamie if she was feeling okay while squeezing her hand under the table. Overall, and despite Jiyeon’s unpleasant attitude, she was pretty happy to see how well and naturally her friends had welcomed Jamie’s presence.

Every time her girlfriend tried to start a conversation with Jiyeon though, the maknae dodged it like a pro:

“Oh, Jiyeon-ah, the food is really good!”

“Hmm... yeah, it is.”

“Jiyeon-ah, I really like your last album, I listen to it all the time!”

“Yes, I guess most people do.”

“Jiyeon-ah, do you have funny stories about Eunjung?”

“None that I’d like to share.”

Every answer made the other members cringe, or scoff in indignation at the youngest rudeness, and they instantly tried to appease the atmosphere every time poor Jamie got rejected.

“I have one actually!” Hyomin shouted with a little too enthusiastically.

Everyone turned to her, so she started recounting the time she had sneaked into the dorm kitchen one night to take a midnight snack and Eunjung had come home from a late shooting.

“I had no idea she had left in the first place you know! It was so dark and I suddenly felt convinced a burglar had entered the house! So I grabbed a frying pan and jumped on her!”

“She literally assaulted me, seriously, she hit my head so hard I thought I was gonna pass out!”

Everyone burst out laughing, and Jamie huddled close to Eunjung, cradling her head in her arms protectively.

“Oh my poor baby, did it hurt a lot?” she said with a cute voice.

Suddenly, the sound of a chair being brusquely pulled out made everyone’s head turn.

“Jiyeon-ah, are you okay?” Soyeon asked, seeing the maknae had gotten up.

“No... I’ve got a headache. I’ll go lie down.” She uttered before leaving the room quickly.

Everyone had risen from their seat as well, not knowing what to do.

“Jiyeonnie!” Eunjung called and was about to go after her when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Eunjung-ah, no. Leave her alone. Whatever made her so upset, I think she should be left to deal with it on her own, for now. We’ll go look for her in a little while, okay?” Soyeon whispered, gently her arm in an attempt to reassure her. “Let’s enjoy the rest of our meal.”

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

So, a little more drama here for our girls! Hey, I wasn't gonna let the chance to use this girlfriend storyline pass! I still haven't talked much about Myungsoo, but I'll get there in time, don't worry^^ Anyway, I hope you liked it and if you have suggestions or anything, feel free to drop me a line about it.

Thank you again for reading and commenting!