memories of yesterday | chaennie

9. Before

When Jennie awoke, she first recognized the familiar pain in her neck. She blinked and looked around. Disappointment set in almost immediately when she realized that she was not sleeping next to Chaeyoung that morning. She was back on the couch. She sat up, thankful that the heat was back on. She lifted up her blanket and looked down at her attire.

When did I change? She wondered. She lifted her shirt a little and peered down. No bra. Suddenly she remembered that Chaeyoung had been the one who undressed her and she turned bright red. Chaeyoung had taken off her clothes. She had seen her naked. Jennie face altered like a blinking Christmas light, switching between fire engine red and ghostly pale. She buried her face into the blankets and whispered "oh my god, oh my god" several times over. She cursed at herself for feeling so embarrassed. The door opened and Chaeyoung stepped out.

"Morning." She said to the woman on the couch as she made her way to the hallway bathroom. Her eyes were barely open and she couldn't see the petrified expression on Jennie's face. Jennie didn't know how to greet her. Thank you for dressing me? Sorry you had to see me naked? Would you like to see me naked again? You've seen mine, let me see yours?

Heat collected on her cheeks and, more distractingly, below the belt. Jennie became aware of the disturbing urge to jump Chaeyoung and it brought to attention the small fact that she had not gotten any since she fought with Chaeyoung. That had been far too long ago. The second thing that flashed through her mind was that she was incredibly late for work. Yelling a stream of expletives, Jennie jumped off the couch, tearing off her clothes in the process. Chaeyoung walked out, hearing the commotion, toothbrush still in hand when a topless Jennie ran by. She froze, eyes wide. Jennie wasn't aware of how badly she had fried Chaeyoung's brain. Her thoughts were preoccupied with getting to work as quickly as possible. With any luck, her boss wasn't in.

"I'll see you tonight!" Jennie shouted, running out the door. Chaeyoung stood for a whole minute more, the image of a half-naked Jennie still fresh in her mind.

---

Jennie lucked out. Her boss had been trapped in a meeting for most of the morning. Jisoo, however, was waiting for her like a predator. Her smile reminded Jennie of one of those hyenas at the zoo right before feeding time.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Jennie asked warily. She unlocked her office and put her folder of potential clients down on the desk. Jisoo followed and sat on her desk.

"Are you two back together yet? I saw you two out in the snow acting all couple-y. Please tell me you two are back together." She stated, almost leering at her.

"We're getting there, I think." Jennie replied. "I think she doesn't quite know how she feels about me. She thinks we're good friends." Jennie logged onto her computer.

"When is that going to change?" Jisoo asked. Jennie shrugged.

"It'll change when I tell her, I guess." Jennie said, looking through her emails. Jisoo slammed her hands on the table.

"Just tell her, Jennie!"

"I'm waiting for the perfect moment. I can't just say over dinner, 'Hey Rosie, I love you, pass the string beans.' It has to be right." Jennie countered. "It has to be a moment she'll remember forever, even if she loses her memory again. I want something that will be with her until the day she dies. It has to be perfect." Jisoo hopped off the desk and paced around her room.

"Hell with being perfect, Jennie. You need to tell her before you lose her." Jennie waved her hand.

"I'm not going to lose her, Chu. Not again."

---

Chaeyoung recovered her senses when her phone buzzed again. She picked it up and looked at it. It was another message from Jaehyun.