i know, you know, we know

Chapter 5

A plane ride wasn't nearly enough time to process everything, but it did provide the privacy she needed to confront Jisoo because she's the reason why she ended up in this position in the first place. As soon as they find their seats, with her and Jisoo on one side of the aisle while Chaeyoung and Lisa occupied the secluded area in the back, Jennie doesn't waste time contemplating whether or not she should bring it up.

She slaps Jisoo.

"Jennie, what!" The startled girl says as she rubs her suddenly sore arm. "We're going to be wearing god knows what and your handprint is gonna be on my arm for all the world to see!"

Jennie rolls her eyes, relishing the petty revenge she was able to exact.

"How long have you known?"

"What are you talking about? Have you... Are you okay?" Jisoo asks, still a little miffed that she was slapped. "I mean, I know that the airport was hard for you, but I thought Lisa—"

She cuts her off. "How long have you known that Lisa's in love with me?"

Jisoo gapes at her, mouth falling open in shock. Then, she turns around, swiveling her head from side to side, trying to figure out if anyone was listening in on the conversation. But Jennie has already checked and she knows that the people who were most likely to hear were the elderly couple behind them and the Spanish businessman in front of them. Neither of them cared that they were Blackpink, and Jennie doubted that they even knew who they were.

"Now?!" Jisoo hisses at her frantically. "You want to bring this up now?"

"Relax, no one's going to overhear."

"We're on a plane! You couldn't wait until we landed or something? I swear to God, you girls will be the death of me."

Again, Jennie rolls her eyes, exasperated with Jisoo's dramatics.

"Stop avoiding the question."

Jisoo stares at her, trying to gauge if she was being serious. And then, she sighs, closes her eyes, pinches the bridge of her nose before meeting her gaze once again. Jennie feels the shift in the atmosphere around them as Jisoo sobers, looking like she's choosing her words carefully. She sees the hesitation in the way she bites her bottom lip, and Jennie feels like she should be worried about her answer. But at this point, she's been cornered by a crowd, had a breakdown in a restroom, and realized that Lisa's in love with her. She could honestly say that whatever Jisoo had to tell her is probably going to be easier to handle than the other three.

"I've known since the beginning of this year."

"January?"

"Yeah, when you and... I found out for sure a few days after the Dispatch thing, when Lisa was receiving all that hate."

Jennie takes a moment to process that because January was difficult for her but now that she thinks about it, it must have been just as difficult, if not more, for Lisa. She realizes that she must have broken her heart, and the thought because she's seen Lisa hurt but she never realized that it might be because of her. Jisoo sees the self-blame the moment it sets in.

"Stop, don't do that," Jisoo implores as she grabs her hand. "You didn't know, and she was strong enough to turn the mess into an opportunity to grow."

"But I—"

This time, Jisoo cuts her off. "—I knew something was wrong for weeks before Dispatch leaked your relationship. She was always sad and lost, and at first, I didn't know why. I didn't connect the dots until she was trying to comfort you."

Jennie remembers that day. She knew that Lisa was sad, and at that time, she thought it was because she was disappointed in her, and because she was hurt that she didn't trust them enough to tell them. It had been one of the reasons why she broke up with Kai a few weeks later.