Work Text:
Jennie doesn't know when the last time she called in at work to say she was taking a break was, which should be extremely worrying but Lisa counts it as a work-in-progress. A win-win. Lisa and her family aren't the only ones who are absolutely thrilled as her own managers celebrate as soon as they get the call.
They give her the entire week off since she doesn't have any major campaigns and beg her to enjoy herself. Jennie chuckles at their insistence and reminds herself to gives them a raise at some point. It's the least she can do for how much she's made them endure.
It pays off as Mama Kim tells them that her stay has been extended due to Mama Kim's sudden popularity thanks to a certain young entrepreneur that she shared a glass of Pinot Noir with. Apparently, the man wasn't just any ordinary gentleman in a suit and was actually the CEO of a luxurious Italian fashion company that owned shares in multiple premium brands.
It helps that he's extremely handsome and that the paparazzi and media follow his every move so they caught their little interaction on the airplane and labelled it as 'CEO of Kim Industries offers a charitable glass of wine to Italy's national gentleman.' Mama Kim was shaken by it all because it reminded her of her little taste of fame during her last airplane incident but her newfound friend had assured her that he would cover everything and to compensate, would buy shares in her company too. So at the end of the day, Mama Kim's promotional team had a field day trying to catch up on her tendencies of accidentally going viral.
Ella finds herself running up and down the house with joy flowing through her veins because it means that Lisa has an excuse to stay for the weekend. They end up spending their mornings and evenings playing on the Switch and taking walks to the park and their nights include baking with a quite tired yet flustered Jennie.
"Lisa you got flour all over yourself, come here." Ella watches with stars in her eyes as Jennie's thumb rubs at the flour on Lisa's cheek.
Lisa grins and feels her cheek burn from the brunette's touch. "You have some too."
"Where?"
"Right..."
Lisa pretends she's examining a gullible Jennie whose eyes have widened from the realisation that there may be some white powder on her face. She slowly grows embarrassed because usually Jennie's the tidiest baker you can come across but Lisa doesn't mind.
"Here."
And Lisa cups her floured hand on Jennie's cheek which causes the shorter girl to blush harshly. Lisa looks at her with so much admiration that Jennie could melt on the spot. She doesn't think she's breathing and couldn't care less about how her skincare routine will need a few more steps to get rid of a floured handprint. All she cares about is how Lisa's staring at her like she's her world and it makes Jennie's insides go crazy.
Lisa studies Jennie's face all over again because it's been too long since she saw the small freckle under her eyebrow or warm chocolate brown eyes that have a habit of encapsulating her own. It's as if Jennie has always been her favourite muse, has always topped every model she's ever worked with. And it's true. Jennie is her favourite muse. Her favourite everything.
When they first met in college, all Lisa could think about was how perfect Jennie was for modelling. Her persona oozed confidence and her beauty was unmatched. Their college days were something both Jennie and Lisa would never forget because they spent most of it pining over each other and convincing themselves that the other didn't like them the same way.
When they look back on it, they find it hilarious to ever think that they thought their heart eyes for each other weren't an obvious enough factor. But they were too scared of rejection at the time and it took a disastrous misunderstanding to get them to where they ended up years later but we'll visit that chapter in their lives another day.
What they don't remember is that they have an audience. Ella internally cheers because she doesn't want to ruin the moment and instead sneaks her camera open to send her mom a picture of the adorable scene in front of her.
Moments like this keep happening and Ella doesn't find herself complain. She can virtually see the cracks forming in Jennie's firm and stoic facade and it's letting her real personality resurface. Like it's been waiting for a certain someone to break it out of its prison. And of course, that certain someone is Lisa. Who else would it be?
"Mmm, Jen I think you're burning up a fever."
"W-what? No, I'm just-- it's just really warm in here, the oven is on."
"Unnie you're nowhere near the oven."
"Oh shut up, you."
Jennie brings herself a container of those cookies to her last shoot for the day the next day whilst Lisa and Ella munch on them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As for dessert of course because Jennie would never let them eat solely cookies as a meal. She wakes up a tad bit earlier and cooks them dinner in the mornings before work. The model leaves them on the dinner table with a note telling her two chaotic children to remember to take a break from their screens.
It's immensely nostalgic as it brings her back to the days when she would cook Lisa's dinner back when they were together before she went to work. Kimchi fried rice is Jennie's speciality and Lisa does not kid when she says she could eat that dish and that dish only for the rest of her life. It's that good.
But as the weekend flies by, Lisa has work on the weekdays and Ella sulks at the threat of everything going back to the way it was before. Jennie's anxious about it too but Mama Kim assures her on the phone that something has definitely shifted between them.
"Mom, what if this is all gone by Monday? That all the progress we made will have vanished."
It's 3 in the morning for Jennie and everyone's asleep but her busy thoughts running through her head keep their hold on her. She calls her mom for guidance because she's not sure if she can get through the night with a heavy heart.
"Don't sell yourself and Lisa short. You've been through a whirlwind of obstacles, I'm sure you'll be fine."
It's 8 in the evening in Milan and Mama Kim has the evening to herself. She's sitting in her hotel's dining area with her glasses on and her laptop up and running in front of her. She's got her eldest daughter on speaker while she checks a few emails from corporate.
Mama Kim was anticipating this talk since Lisa and Jennie's slow growth started to pick up. Jennie likes to live in the moment but as soon as she's alone, she falls victim to her mind and it tries to create a series of every single possible worst-case scenario that could result from all of these good things happening to her. Because good things are sometimes too good to be true and Mama Kim knows that Jennie gets it from her.
As a mother, Mama Kim has to prepare for every single situation that could occur. Because of the fact that she feels the need to be ahead of everything, her mind is always active either determining what could happen to her children anytime she's gone or what could happen at the company if she strays away for too long. It's the life trait of a CEO and a mother so it's no wonder Jennie tends to think like her.
"I don't know how to go about this. What if I mess up again? What if I make another mistake but this time she'll never let me come back?" Jennie's voice cracks and she feels herself getting upset.
The mother can hear her daughter's distress and she wishes she could hug it away if she wasn't in another country. Where Ella's an overflow of confidence and always redeems herself after every mistake and never stops trying again, Jennie's the full-blown opposite.
The eldest succumbs to fear after experiencing the repercussions of each mistake she's made and it's like her tunnel vision grows narrower and she can't find a way out. That once she's at fault, she doesn't think she can recover from it even if it's obvious that she can.
It was evident when she was reluctant on telling Lisa the truth during their late-night tea session on Friday. Jennie would've never told Lisa how much she missed her if it was the old her.
But the new Jennie is trying but trying can be so difficult sometimes and it's just so easy to return to old habits. In this case, she believes her habit is ruining everything amazing in her life and she apparently has reasons to believe so, claiming that she doesn't deserve anything positive after what she's caused but Mama Kim and Lisa would argue.
"You just need to have faith, sweetie. Lisa's more understanding than you think. Why else would she have accepted my offer on babysitting El ?"
"Because you guilt-tripped her with your motherly attitude?"
"No." The oldest woman takes a moment to check if she did guilt trip the poor girl, "At least I don't think so."
"Mom!"
"I didn't, I swear!" She fights back with a grin and shakes her head. "Either way, I know Lisa still loves you. You have nothing to worry about ."
"Love is a strong word mom."
"It is and it's perfect because love is strong and Lisa loves you to the moon and back."
"Gross."
"And you love her to infinity though don't you sweetheart?"
"Stop--"
"Jennie and Lisa sitting in a tree--"
"Mom if you finish that sentence I will withdraw my shares from the company."
"It's okay, my new friend will just buy them up."
Jennie feels a little more confident after that call so she doesn't withdraw her shares. What she does do is send her mom a bouquet of fresh, white roses as a thank you for always being there for her. Mama Kim would contend, explaining that it's a mother's job to always be there for her daughter but Jennie knows her mom loves white roses with all her might.
Lisa's left already and tells Jennie that she'll be back tonight if she wants her to be there. It's weird because they keep asking each other for permission as if the other is going to deny them. It's like college all over again and Jennie feels like a lovesick puppy.
But she's learned that she has to take this slow as to not overwhelm both Lisa and herself. She can't rush this or else she might lose the only woman to ever own her heart. And at this point, Lisa's the only one that Jennie can see her future with and she'll be damned if she can't have it that way forever.
Later in the morning, Ella forces her older sister to walk her to school because they have a steps competition in their year and whichever class gets the most walking steps wins a prize. Ella doesn't really care about the prize and just wants to win which makes Jennie laugh. They really are twins at this point with how similar they are.
"It's probably just another initiative to make us all more active and if we win, they'll say 'But everyone did amazing so everyone gets a prize!' like they're Oprah or something," Ella mutters whilst she clings onto her sister's sleeve.
Jennie nods back whilst keeping her eyes on the path ahead of them, "Isn't that a good thing? You children need more exercise."
"Yeah it's good I guess." Ella huffs but there's still another thing on her mind, "But how am I supposed to be interested if everyone's a winner in the end?"
"If your class wins I'll buy you that new phone you've been wanting."
"Really?"
"Don't tell mom though."
Jennie winks and she wants to squeeze Ella from the way she beams back widely. She's just so adorable that Jennie would buy her the phone's entire company if she wanted to. I mean, with her net worth and her mom's connections, she's sure she could.
They continuing walking in silence, enjoying the fact that they're in each other's company and haven't been for a very long time. Jennie loves the peace and quiet and the tranquillity of an early morning and Ella-- well, Ella just loves to keep questioning everything in sight. There's nothing new there.
"Are you and Lisa okay now, Unnie?" She asks innocently with batting eyes.
"What?"
Oh no, here we go. Ella the matchmaker strikes again.
"You guys are all lovey-dovey at home all the time." The youngest teases her sister who's now adorning another familiar shade of red on her face.
"No we're not--"
"Lisa, you have flour all over your face, let me use it as an excuse to kiss you--"
"That's not what happened! You were there!"
"Yeah but that's what I wished would happen." Ella sighs dreamily and swings her and Jennie's arms as they walk. The action causes Jennie's heart to soar. She really missed days like this with her. "Why won't you guys make up already? Aren't you soulmates? Mom tells me that even if soulmates fight, they still find their way back to each other."
"It's not that simple El."
And it really isn't that simple. I mean, it could be if Jennie would stop being so wary of herself and focusing on the negatives but that would never happen. Not in a million years.
But Ella doesn't understand that. Children form opinions based on the facts they know and fill out the gaps with their imagination. There are no limitations, no pessimistic what-ifs in a child's head so Ella just assumes Jennie doesn't love Lisa enough.
Which is false information.
Jennie loves Lisa so much that she's taking every step, in what could possibly result in a relationship, with trepidation.
The downside to that is that the longer she waits, the longer Lisa falls victim to her own worries. Because although it seemed like Lisa was fully for trying again, it didn't mean that she wasn't nervous. She just bottled up all her anxiety until she was alone and it started to nip at her self-consciousness. She doesn't believe she's as strong as Mama Kim makes her out to be.
"Where were you this weekend, huh?" Jisoo wriggles her brows and her shoulder bumps her best friend with playfulness.
Jisoo and Lisa have known each other for far too long in Lisa's mind. They're childhood best friends that luckily rose to fame together: Lisa with her photography and Jisoo with her acting. When Jisoo wasn't on set, she would be dragging her younger friend to a date just so Lisa could take her pictures. Because every photo that Lisa took would make fans feral because of how Lisa would take the best angles (and because their friendship was something all of them wished for themselves).
As of now, they were doing just so at the National Park that was thankfully empty because of how early they were. Jisoo sits down on the grass with her knees up whilst Lisa leans against her shoulder. Her eyes are focusing on a bunch of clouds and attempts to make out their shapes.
They're wearing similar outfits which they didn't at all plan beforehand. They've both got collared shirts where Lisa's is orange and white and Jisoo's is navy and white. Because of how they're practically twinning, Jisoo sneaks a selfie with a peace sign before Lisa can answer. She's definitely going to post this one later. Lisa looks adorable with her outgrown bangs.
"I was babysitting," Lisa murmurs back, pulling out blades of grass and throwing them back against the wind.
"I didn't know you did that."
"It's a part-time job."
"Who needs a part-time job with your income?"
"It's not for the money."
Jisoo strokes her chin in a thinking pose and smirks, "Then can you mind Dalgom for me, I think he misses you."
Lisa scoffs, "Dalgom hates me."
"He's just playing hard to get." Jisoo shrugs and joins Lisa but instead, starts throwing the grass at her.
Lisa laughs and extends her hands out to try and push Jisoo away, "For 20 years now?"
"That just means he loves you the most."
They stay like this for a while, using grass as their ammunition and thank God none of them have hay fever or else they would be a sneezing mess right now. It's antics like these that make fans envy them. Lisa and Jisoo are in their mid-20s and yet they still act like how they were years ago. Back when Jisoo would drag Lisa to the adoption centre and stare at a formerly owner-free Dalgom until Lisa begged Jisoo's parents to adopt him for her.
They've been through so many stages of their lives together and it's unbelievable how strong their connection still is.
When their grass fight ceases, Jisoo makes her best friend look into her eyes and sees that she's hitting on something interesting by asking about her weekend. Lisa's never vague with her words and when she is, it means she's hiding something and no one can hide anything from Jisoo Turtle Rabbit Kim.
"But seriously, where did you go? You disappeared on me, I had to eat all that ramen by myself." Lisa almost frowns at the thought of Jisoo eating at their usual restaurant alone.
"Why didn't you just call up Chaeng?"
"Because she's busy promoting her new album." The oldest clears her throat and starts doing her girlfriend's point choreography whilst singing, "On the ground~"
"No wonder she wasn't home." Lisa wonders out loud, now noticing that Jennie's neighbour wasn't there during the weekend. Jisoo on the other hand allows the sentence to fly over her head.
"Wait how would you know--"
And then the penny drops and Jisoo's entire system fills with a newfound adrenaline. The actress begins rapidly firing punch after punch, hitting her best friend with glee. She doesn't care if she fractures her shoulder, all she cares about is the realisation that Lisa was with Jennie the entire weekend.
Lisa was with Jennie.
The entire weekend.
So that means...
"Oh my God! You were Jennie's babysitter!"
"I didn't babysit Jennie!"
"You were Ella's babysitter!"
"There we go." Lisa suppresses a smug smile by pursing her lips together in a thin line.
Jisoo's jaw laughably unhinges and Lisa prays that a bug would fly into it. The actress is still in shock and no words form in her mouth for a good few minutes. It's weird because Jisoo Kim never stops talking just like Ella (maybe they're all distantly related-- they have the same surname after all).
You see, Ella and Mama Kim aren't the only people who have been rooting for those two to stop being so blind. When Jisoo isn't spending her time annoying Lisa to her heart's content, she's ranting to her girlfriend about how much she wants her favourite photographer and her favourite model back together (Chaeyoung used to get offended by the labels but Jisoo assured her that she was more than a model and that she was her favourite artist. After that confirmation, Chaeyoung had no more complaints).
But despite her passionate belief, she's still cautious about Lisa's broken heart. She shivers when she remembers the dreadful night as Lisa described it to her. Jisoo's surprised that Lisa even agreed to go out with her today.
Because it's Monday now and Lisa hates Mondays. Why? Because she was left alone on a Monday.
"You couldn't give a damn about me could you?"
Jennie lines her tongue with her teeth and physically feels the venom laced on her tongue. She breathes in a ragged breath and the fatigue should start to get to her by now but it's replaced with fury. A fury she didn't know she had and really didn't want to let loose.
Lisa throws her an incredulous look, "I always care about you! Why would you think that?"
"Because you're always so against me and my work!"
"I'm not against you Jennie, I'm all for your success but don't you think this a bit excessive?"
It's 5 in the morning.
5. In. The. Morning.
Meaning that Jennie had been at work all day for a racking total of 20 hours which was double-- no, maybe even triple her normal schedule. She's let this editorial get into her head and Lisa needs to keep her grounded. Her heart and mind burn and ache to make her girlfriend stop at the pace she's going.
Lisa let the late nights slide but the longer she sat on her couch waiting for the model's return, the heavier the weight of worry grew in her chest. This was beyond inhumane and she was scared for life that Jennie could collapse at any moment with the way her body seemed so frail and so drowsy with exhaustion.
The paler complexion. The thinner figure. The eye bags and dark circles. Lisa could list all of the warning signs to Jennie but she still wouldn't consider stopping.
"You're just jealous aren't you?" Jennie's accusing tone is sickening, right down to the core, and it pierces through Lisa's heart.
"Why would I be jealous ?" Lisa massages her temples with her fingers and tries to understand where her girlfriend is going with this. Why is Jennie so keen on twisting and deflecting everything Lisa is trying to declare?
There's something evil in her. There has to be. Why else is she letting all this nonsense leave her deep innermost thoughts and become known? But Jennie's irritated. She's been hearing the same advice over and over again from everyone she knows and she just wants it to stop.
The most terrifying trait of a Kim is their destructive tendencies to hurt others with terrible and horrid words that undercut the people they love in order to protect themselves.
Sadly, that trait is very prevalent to Jennie. It has been all her life but it surely hasn't been this bad.
But when fear gets in the way, her anger tends to join it and they become a deathly combination. Jennie is afraid of stopping because she doesn't want to lose her job. So when people try to constantly encourage her to rest, meaning that, to her, the chances of losing her job increase, instead of being considerate, she loses her temper.
"Because I'm living out my dreams and you're not. You haven't found a single magazine that wants to take you and I don't think you ever will."
The words hold so much conciseness that Lisa flinches. It's a low blow. An extremely low blow because Lisa's career is rocky, she's painfully aware of it because not everybody can be at the top of the food chain like Jennie Kim.
Not everybody can outsell magazines and have every company and brand on their knees for them. Not everybody can be Jennie Kim and all her life, she knows that. She really does. She's reminded of it every second she's with her.
However, it doesn't matter to her at all anymore because she's replaced that insecurity with pride and acknowledges her time will come. That her talent just hasn't found the right person to appreciate it just yet.
Jennie's glare is unwavering and Lisa shakes uncontrollably. It's a frightening sight but Lisa powers through with an unsteady voice,
"You don't really mean that."
"I do. I mean every word of it."
At that moment, it might have seemed like Jennie words were solidified and true but later that day, Jennie sobs into her Mom's arms and thinks of how ruthless she was to ever let those words spill from her mouth.
Fortunately, that's in the future and what's happening in the present is something that honestly, Lisa doesn't even know how to deal with. She's never witnessed Jennie like this and she blames that stupid company that simply doesn't care for her wellbeing. She blames the company because she refuses to believe that this is all coming from the girl who loves her dearly.
'This isn't Jennie' is what she treats like a mantra in her head to stop herself from retaliating back. She needs to be the mediator. She has to have patience. It's just the exhaustion talking. This isn't Jennie.
Lisa holds onto Jennie and attempts to resolve this in a calm, orderly fashion. Her eyes bore into cloudy ones and she's doing everything in her power not to cry. She has to stay strong for her. For them.
"Jennie please, just be reasonable here. We don't want to regret saying anything else."
It's as if everything Lisa says doesn't make it all the way into Jennie's head and gets flipped around. That all her words strike every nerve even though they don't mean to.
"No, you know what?" Jennie harshly pulls her arm out of Lisa's grasp. "I'm so sick of you. You keep telling me to take a break as if you want to drag me down with you. To your level."
Ouch.
The taller girl settles her hands on her hips and looks down at her, "And what's my level, Jennie? I'm a professional photographer--"
"Who's got no projects, no campaigns, no shoot, no nothing." A laugh. Jennie lets out a sadistic laugh and it's scary. "It's pathetic that you want me to stoop so low just so you can catch up."
"Taking a break isn't stooping low Jennie. It's called looking after yourself."
"If I hear you tell me to take a break one more time I'll--"
"You'll what?"
"I'll leave."
She'll...
"Leave?"
"For good."
For good?
The world stops at this very moment. Like time itself is astounded.
Lisa tastes acid in the back of her throat. She's choking up and all her strength has seeped out of her.
"That isn't fair Jennie. You worked 20 hours straight, do you not see the consequences o that? You could end up getting hospitalized!" Jennie refuses to meet her gaze knowing that it could possibly drown her and Lisa's growing frantic by the second at the threat of Jennie deserting her and leaving her all alone.
Lisa doesn't have any fears but one. It's why she has 5 cats and is still considering a 6th one.
She hates the feeling of people being sick of her.
She hates being walked out on.
But most of all, she fears the feeling of being left alone.
"Please, just rest. Take the day off tomorrow, the editorial can wait a little longer."
One last look. There's desperation and vulnerability in the rims of Lisa's eyes as they try to convince Jennie to stay.
But Jennie's far too gone to recognise them.
Jennie is painstakingly stubborn and always means her word.
"I'm leaving."
Lisa feels herself shatter into pieces watching Jennie give up. Watching Jennie take her purse and blazer and walk away. Watching Jennie leave without a second thought.
"Jennie!"
She calls out from the door frame as the shadow of her figure grows smaller and smaller.
"Jennie!"
Her vision is blinded by her hot tears and her cardiac muscles constrict themselves. It feels like she can no longer live.
"Jennie."
In those last few moments, Lisa's back was glued to her door until Jisoo forced her to move by pushing it open with the help of her spare key and her strong girlfriend.
Jisoo had never seen Lisa in such a devastating state and she refuses to relive it all over again.
But the thing is, Jisoo may not have known Jennie for as long as she did with Lisa but what she does understand is that Jennie is and has always been susceptible to change when it comes to her best friend. That Jennie will change for the better if Lisa can be courageous enough to overcome that day.
Lisa tried to. She really tried to look past it the day she fell asleep to Jennie's heartbeat, the day after when she was defeated at Mario Kart too many times to count and the day after that when they made cookies together.
But then Monday struck and it all came crashing down on her.
What if she tries again and Jennie leaves? For good?
Then what?
Because there isn't anyone else for Lisa. It's hauntingly simple. Jennie is and will always be her soulmate and as much as she wants to be with her, her soul is still fractured from the fears that came to be true.
Lisa needs closure or reassurance or maybe even both for that matter.
But she doesn't know where to start.
So hopefully, Jennie will do it for them.
A sleek black Porsche parks away from anyone else at the car park and Ella's grin is so big that it looks like the letter 'U'.
They haven't done this in a while and if Jennie's being honest, she hasn't been at a drive-thru since before her promotion which was approximately six months ago.
Ella licks her lips in anticipation as Jennie hands her a McFlurry. It's freezing outside but Ella has this strange addiction to eating cold food during cold weather and surprisingly, she never gets sick from it, unlike Jennie who could literally have one ice cream cone on a snow day and would end up with a temperature the next.
"You can't tell Mom about this either. You know how she is with me treating you too many times." Jennie warns whilst taking a fry for herself.
Mama Kim has been on Jennie's back for impulse buying everything that Ella asks for. First, it was the Nintendo Switch, then it was the new Chanel wardrobe, then the laptop, then the Dior shoes and--
Yeah, Jennie likes to spend her money and what about it? She loves spoiling her little sister just because she can and no one can stop her. Except for their mother of course but other than that, Ella literally doesn't need a part-time job if Jennie's still earning 6 figures just by one photo alone.
The youngest Kim shrugs and takes a spoonful of ice cream to point it at her, "McDonald's isn't a treat. It's a lifestyle."
A belly laugh rips out from her lips and Ella smiles in triumph at making her laugh. When Jennie calms down and wipes her fake tears she arches a brow, "Who taught you that?"
"Chaeyoung Unnie," Ella answers back proudly.
Of course, their famous singer/food addict of a neighbour told her sister that McDonald's, a fast-food chain was a lifestyle. What a responsible example for a 13-year-old.
Jennie sits back in her leather seat and examines Ella who's too busy scooping every last drop of oreo ice cream in her tub.
"Ella's been telling me about how much you've changed."
Two days later and it still rings in her head. It's been bugging her all weekend. Did her sister really think that way? Has she changed?
Jennie's aware of how her ugly side got the best of her during that phase in her life but she blames her obsessive unhealthy habit of working too much and has been learning to redeem herself.
But as she reminisces on the days she was with Lisa when things hadn't gone downhill just yet, she remembers how much happier she used to be. How she didn't feel guilty about having too much free time because you can never have too much free time.
She thinks about how less awkward these car rides used to be and how Ella would blast Taylor Swift on Jennie's radio and they would be so embarrassingly loud that onlookers and locals instantly knew it was them from just their vocals. It's not their fault that they were in their Reputation era.
The old Jennie would have never let it all come to this.
So how does she go back to the old Jennie?
Maybe she should start with small talk. It helped her with Lisa so it certainly should aid in reconnecting with her sister.
"How was school?" She asks in her best tone to break the silence between them.
"Fine." Ella steals one of Jennie's fries and leans against the passenger door. "Ms Kang talked about first aid today."
"First aid? Why would they teach you that? You're so young."
"13 isn't young Unnie." Ella retorts back. Why does everyone think 13 is young? 13 is just 5 years away from 18 so in Ella's extremely unique mind, she's an adult. A very mature adult who's incredibly independent and doesn't need anyone to look after her.
"You're still my baby sister though." Jennie uses her baby voice and stretches forward to pinch her sister's cheeks.
"Ah-- stop that!" Ella swats her sister away with a tender smile. She pouts before picking up on her story, "Anyway, she taught us how to bandage people up."
Jennie nods in approval, "At least one of us will know how to do that. I don't even know how to open a bandage."
Jennie could never make a good nurse. If she saw an open wound she would end up fainting from shock. Blood and gore and all of the above don't mix well with her so she invariably stays away from all of that. Plus, no one ever thought of teaching her how to use a first aid kid back then so she's certainly not going to start now.
"I think you need Ms Kang to teach you," Ella exclaims absentmindedly.
"What? Why?" Jennie's brows knit together. Could Ella read her thoughts? Maybe she really is a prodigy.
"Because I think you need to give Lisa a bandage."
"I need to..." The model is slow to comprehend what Ella's just stated but when it does register, she almost chokes on her straw, "What?"
Operation #2 is a go.
So maybe Ms Kang didn't say all of this but what she did say was that injured people need attention fast before their condition grows worse and Ella concluded that Lisa was in fact profoundly injured and needed Jennie's proper attention immediately.
She isn't a fan of slow burns. She wants her ship to sail promptly before it's too late which might sound selfish but Mama Kim assured her that it was just called being caring for others (in reality, Mama Kim also hates slow burns as much as the next person).
"Ms Kang said sometimes bandages can mend a broken heart."
"I doubt Ms Kang said anything like that. It's illogical."
"What's illogical?"
"Nevermind," Jennie notes that she should help her sister increase her vocabulary while she's at it. "Keep going."
She's intrigued now. This exact characteristic of Ella's is probably what had Lisa hooked to her soulmates theory. Now she's on the other side of the conversation and it feels like she's been put on the spot.
"She told us the symptoms of someone who's hurt. That they frown a lot and their eyes look lost. That sometimes they're not sure of what they're doing. Everything she said reminded me of Lisa unnie and it got me to thinking."
Something about Ella thinking doesn't sound good to Jennie.
"Did you hurt her?"
A cold, harsh shiver runs through Jennie's spine after Ella ultimately asks her question. It's like a vault has been opened and the recollections that Jennie tried to bury away are being set loose.
All those nasty words, all those curses that she never meant. All those nights afterwards where she both cried over her mistakes but worked herself to oblivion to distract her guilty conscience and not let Lisa get to her.
It's everything Jennie has been actively avoiding since leaving Lisa.
And it reminds her that she did in fact hurt and leave Lisa.
She abandoned her lover, leaving her all alone in her flat. A flat they shared too many memories to count in. And now, a horrid memory would linger forever in the apartment complex and she feels awful.
Awful for having started all of this when it could have been avoided if she had just listened to everyone. Listened to her girlfriend who told her that she just wanted what was best for her.
But you can't dwell on the past is what Mama Kim wisely advises her. All Jennie can do is compensate for the future.
"I did," Jennie admits softly to both Ella and herself. "It's why we're not together. I hurt her bad El. I hurt her really bad."
"Did you apologise? Mom says you have to apologise when you hurt someone."
"I..."
Oh wow.
How shitty of a person is she?
She didn't even say sorry and that's the first lesson they've ever been taught.
Jennie and Lisa spent the entire weekend together, playing games, binge-watching shows, baking and yet, Jennie had all the time in the world and didn't apologise for all the horrible things she did. For the disgusting things she said. For leaving Lisa all alone without turning back.
"I didn't apologise." She announces it to the air between them in shock like she's having an existential crisis.
Ella nods as if she can interpret the deeper meaning of Jennie's admission and fishes for something in her pocket. She then places it in Jennie's empty hand.
Jennie glances up in confusion and Ella stares back at her as if the answer is plain obvious.
"Then it's simple. You tell her you're sorry and give her this."
The brunette opens her palm to find something so small yet so idiotically meaningful.
"Ella I'm not..."
And the intensity in Ella's stare thickens and Jennie finally gets it now.
She knows what to do.
They're met with a wandering Lisa in front of their door when they come home. Her gaze is stuck on the floor and it's like she's kicking air to pass the time. Jennie's known that Lisa has the weirdest ways of keeping herself occupied.
Ella rushes to hug Lisa first as Jennie taps in the code to their door. It's her birthday because Mama Kim finds it easier to remember. Whilst she punches it in, it eventually hits Jennie that Lisa would've had to have opened it by herself on day one and cringes on thinking about how hard that must've been. Putting in your ex's birthday to open a door to where you and your ex spent most of your days making golden memories. She reminds herself to change the passcode and tell her mom to deal with it.
"Sorry we're late, Ella wanted some food." Jennie shoots her an apologetic smile over her shoulder before pushing the door open. "Did you wait long?"
"No."
Yes.
Lisa was standing idly for a few hours because she stupidly decided to retreat to their apartment, thinking that they would be there after Jisoo had made a mess of her outfit. Because apparently a grass fight wasn't enough satisfaction for the older girl and she virtually dragged Lisa through the mud as payback for not informing her of her weekend plans in advance.
So out of courtesy, Lisa attempts to wriggle out of Ella's hold because she doesn't want her dried up dirt to cover her.
"El, I'm a bit dirty. I don't want you getting it all over yourself."
"Why are you covered in soil?" Ella only notices the patches of brown now that she's examined Lisa from head to toe.
"I was with Jisoo."
Jennie chuckles softly, "Ah, that explains it."
She's aware of their friendship and how messy they can get. But it's endearing either way and Jennie can't find it in herself to scold Lisa for not cleaning up after herself.
Lisa doesn't like cleaning and sticks by the rule of thumb that it will go away on its own. Which Jennie finds to be incredibly ridiculous because how does the dirt go away by itself? It's not like it's going to disintegrate as time passes on and the stains on Lisa's shirt will merely vanish.
"Ella go do your homework in your room, I'll help Lisa fix up her clothes." Jennie sets the extra food down on the counter and walks towards the kitchen to grab a towel.
Before she leaves, Ella catches her sister's attention and mouths the words first aid before retreating to her room. Jennie's mouth parts open to reply but it closes as soon as Ella sprints away.
"Where did you guys eat?" Lisa sits on a stool behind Jennie who's now wetting the towel.
"McDonald's."
"Did you get me anything?" Lisa teases as Jennie dabs the collar of her shirt.
"We did actually, a burger and a portion of small fries."
"Small fries? How you wound me. You know how much I love my greasy, salty potatoes." The photographer has an addiction to McDonald's fries and Jennie purposely got a small size as to not get Lisa too hyper. It's like the overflow of salt has an effect on her and instead of a sugar rush, Lisa gets sodium rushes.
If Mama Kim were present at this very moment, she would've taken another photo for the album. I mean, look at them?
Lisa's looking up at the brunette's beauty through her lashes and holds her breath as Jennie focuses on rubbing away the brown patch on her collar. It's like the old days when Lisa played soccer in college and would visit Jennie after training so they could spend time together. They found that cleaning each other up (well, mostly cleaning Lisa up) was their thing. That it was romantic and soothing for them as they would enjoy each other's company along with their usual banter.
What Jennie does notice is that Lisa's holding back something. That her usual witty comments aren't tinged with the familiar enthusiasm that Lisa exudes. There's something on her mind isn't there?
"Are you okay?" Jennie breaks the tension looming around them but doesn't meet Lisa's stare.
Lisa murmurs back automatically, "Yeah, I'm fine."
Not really.
Lisa tilts her head, "Are you okay?"
Is there something you want to tell me?
Similar to how Lisa is in tune with Jennie's emotion, she can also figure out whether Jennie has something that's been bothering her and she wants to talk about it. She remembers Friday night and the way Jennie's breathing slowed, the way she nibbled on her bottom lip with nervousness and would do everything in her power as to not make eye contact with Lisa.
There's an odd feeling in Lisa's stomach that whatever this is, that it might resolve her own troublesome problems that have been haunting her all day. Like their soulmate connection allows them to sense the other's intentions.
It's now or never, Jennie inhales a heavy, encouraging breath.
"There's something I need to say, but you have to promise me that you'll let me finish okay?" Lisa nods and complies as Jennie puts down the towel behind Lisa and finally gathers enough courage to face her and wow.
Has she said how much she loves Lisa's doe eyes?
How they expose all of Lisa's emotions in the pool of brown. The photographer is patient and supportive and stares back at Jennie with an overwhelming sense of...
Of love.
"I'm sorry."
Jennie holds up what Ella gifted her earlier and opens Lisa's palm to leave it there.
Out of pure eagerness, Lisa peers down at her hand and parts open her mouth.
It's small and a bit tattered from being in Ella's pocket too long but it's still distinguishable.
A bandage?
"I'm sorry for everything I said before. You're-- you're the best photographer I know and believe me when I say I've met too many in my lifetime at this point and none of them compare to you." She laughs a little at that and it gives her the strength to continue. That she's doing the right thing here.
"And I know we already went over this nights ago but I need to tell you that I really was stupid for letting you go and for taking out my fears on you. God, the things I said." And Jennie feels her eyes sting with tears with just the mention of how cruel she used to be, "Lisa they weren't true. None of it was true and you're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I know I won't find anyone else."
Lisa's insecurities want to interrupt her so badly. They want to belittle her and tell Jennie that she could have anyone she wanted in the world. But then Jennie's next words quench their desire and Lisa's own eyes grow glassy,
"You're my soulmate."
It echoes in Lisa's mind and makes its way into her heart. The statement frees the muscle from its former chains of fear and despair and heals every crack and bruise.
"And I'm sorry for leaving you. I'm so sorry for just walking out and for never coming back for you."
Jennie whispers the last words because she knows Lisa needed to hear that. She knows Lisa struggles with loneliness and should have never stepped out of her life in the first place.
"Don't do it again. Please." Lisa surges forward and hugs Jennie's waist, talking into her shirt and soaking it with her tears. "If things get too much don't just walk away. We can always work it out okay? Together."
"Together," Jennie repeats with a weak smile as the tears stream down her cheeks.
Lisa pulls away and reaches up to wipe the wet trail off her face with her thumb, smiling back.
Then it dawns on her that there's still a random object in her hand.
"What's the bandage for?"
"It's for you." Jennie chuckles and attempts to open it. Already aware of Jennie's unusual inability to open a bandage, Lisa takes it upon herself to open it for her. Jennie smiles and sticks it on the taller girl's chest with a pat, "Ella said her teacher told her it can mend a broken heart because, you know, I hurt you."
Lisa shakes her head and stands up, sneaking her arms around Jennie's waist whilst maintaining eye contact, "I don't need a bandage to mend my broken heart if you've already stitched it back together."
"Sap." Jennie blushes and tries to hide it.
Fortunately for her, Lisa takes hold of her chin and tilts it upwards so she can see her. So she can really see the love in Jennie's eyes, "Your sap."
"Really?"
"Really."
After she tucks in a very hyper Ella into bed (who refused to sleep after hearing how her meticulously crafted plan worked once again), the model saunters into the living room and opens up her laptop to check a few emails. She's on a week's leave but she still has to keep up with her inboxes when she gets the chance.
"Jen?" Jennie melts from the nickname and peaks up from her laptop. "What's this about a company acquiring shares in Kim Industries?"
Lisa slides down beside her and covers herself in Jennie's yellow blanket that she's surprised that she kept considering how Lisa gifted it to her a few Christmases ago.
She pushes her phone to Jennie's peripheral vision and from what Jennie can make out from the lack of space; it's an article from yesterday about her mom's shenanigans in Milan.
"Oh, that? Mom said she made a new friend on the airplane again."
Lisa clears her throat, "He-- He's my boss."
"He is?" Jennie hums and doesn't really see the problem that Lisa's trying to communicate, staring back at her and giving a nonchalant shrug, "Well isn't that a coincidence?"
And it's the perfect coincidence.
Because when Mama Kim found out that the man she shared her Pinot Noir with had a professional photographer that she was quite acquainted with, she saw a golden opportunity for her next operation.
Green has always been Jennie's least favourite colour.
But Mama Kim will find a way to exploit that.