Midnights In Paris | Jenlisa

Sweet Tooth

It was one of those days when one feels nothing. The weather wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. Looking at the grey sky directly from the window of her office, Jennie scrutinized the building in front of hers, from the discolored bricks to the out of place balconies. It was not that she didn't know what she was looking for. No, that was something that she, whether she was willing to admit to herself or not, knew perfectly. The real problem was that, she never found it.

"I saw Lisa yesterday" a chirpy voice called for her attention.

She didn't bother turning around. Instead, she watched as a slightly overweight cat moved elegantly on the cornice of what looked about the sixth or seventh floor. She wondered what her reaction would be if she saw it fall. She doubted that rushing to help would actually be useful for something. Yet, she imagined that was what any normal person would do.

"And?"

What do you call the feeling of knowing something bad is about to happen yet you can't do anything to help it, let alone prevent it?

"She was with the model from the shoot"

Life. That's what it was.

She cleared her throat and slowly turned away from the window before she made her way to her desk. She knew that Chaeyoung was waiting to meet her eyes, yet she didn't give her the satisfaction right away. It was not the one who looks for eye contact that holds the power of a conversation, but the one who meets the other's eyes, words from her father resurfaced from the back of her mind, leaving a sour taste on her mouth.

"Well, how does the say go? The leopard can't change its spots?" She hoped the sarcasm on her voice was evident enough that Chaeyoung would not feel the need to discuss it further.

As it often happened, she was wrong.

"I think we should talk to her" the blonde said and Jennie noticed, not without feeling a bit annoyed, the way Chaeyoung's voice was higher, more insecure. She sounded just like she used back home, she couldn't help but think.

"She sounded desperate"

Jennie's hand went to fidget with a pen on her desk. It was a gift from her dad, congratulating her for the engagement to Jiyong. She didn't know why she had even kept it. It was a Mont Blanc, black, and, from the looks of the box it had come with, a limited edition.

"I don't have anything to tell her" she answered, while her eyes stayed fixated on the shiny object in her hand.

"I think we owe her at least some kind of explanation"

Her hands stilled, putting the pen back on the desk. Her eyes finally met Chaeyoung's who genuinely looked troubled. For a moment, she felt the familiar feeling of guilt clutching at her stomach, making her nauseous. She swallowed it down, like she had learned to do. Otherwise, there was no surviving this.

"You know what the deal was. If you're finding it too hard, then you should have thought about it when you offered to come with me"

She stared astonished at the sight that's in front of her: a petite bird with an orange beak had flown right beside her. Yet, the first thought that had come to her mind, hadn't been how it was possible for such creature to be in the center of Seoul, but how it didn't look the slightest bit scared. She even moved her hand closer, sliding it across the concrete bench she was seated on. It still didn't look afraid. If anything, Jennie had convinced herself while staring at its apparently soulless eyes, it was at peace.

"Miss Kim"

A voice coming from behind her managed to startle both her and her new friend who flew away just as fast as it had come to her. She didn't part her eyes until it became just a tiny colorful point amongst a grey background and she couldn't distinguish it from the lifeless buildings that surrounded her.