Jennie
"Jennie..." Rosé gently grabs my wrist, hoping to capture my attention. "I'm sorry. She didn't meet Irene, though." That doesn't make me feel better. No, not one single bit. Rosé sighs again. "You know, I want to hate her for this, but I can't. She has a hard time getting attached to people, Jennie. She doesn't let people close to her. I know you don't understand, but... she's not a bad person, I swear she's not."
Yeah, yeah. My previous conversation with Hae-in replays itself in my mind, and I want to roll my eyes at the audacity of the words. If she's such a fucking good person, then why does she make bets on innocent, unsuspecting women?
The bartender hands me my second Cosmo, and I find myself downing it just as quickly. Both Rosé and the bartender quirk an eyebrow at me - I can already feel the effects of the alcohol, the clear liquid soaking through to dull my angered senses.
"Another?" asks the bartender. I nod and he takes the glass again, clearly amused.
"Jennie?" Rosé sounds worried. "Are you okay? Maybe you should slow down."
Slow down? She's lucky I'm not on my fourth round of shots by now.
"I'm fine, Rosé." The words come out more forced than I'd like. "Thank you for telling me."
This doesn't seem to appease her. "Are you going to leave Lisa?"
I raise my eyebrows at her. Is this girl serious? "Wouldn't you?" I snap. She's nonplussed, apparently expecting such a reaction.
Though if I'm honest with myself, I knew she'd do something like this. It shouldn't - doesn't - matter. I can't let my anger take control of the situation. Again, it's simply the reality check that I need. So why does it hurt so much?
"I guess so," Rosé finally admits. She sounds disappointed. "I'm sorry, Jennie. I don't want her to hurt you, that's why I told you all of this. I'm a pretty horrible sister." Now she just looks fucking sad. Great.
I feel the need to comfort her. After all, it's not her fault her sister's a douche.
"You're not a horrible sister, Rosé," I say with a sigh. "It's just... it just kind of pisses me off. But we're not technically exclusive," I admit. "I'm not actually her girlfriend. I just said that because I was pissed off when I thought someone like Irene was answering the phone..." I feel so stupid, and even more so when Rosé doesn't look surprised.
"I would've done the same thing," she offers.
I smile lightly. "Thanks."
The bartender produces my third Cosmo and offers Rosé another drink. I sip this one more slowly, yet still deliberately, hoping to ease some of this tension while not ending up face-down on the floor of the bar.
I idly wonder what Rosé would think if I told her about the bet. She's essentially still a stranger, still unpredictable. She could be willing to help me, as is Hae-in, or she could completely fly off her rocker and tell Lisa about the whole thing. She wouldn't be happy, of that much I'm certain... but would she agree with all of these stunts I'm pulling?
However, it would only make Lisa appear as an even bigger asshole in her mind. As pissed as I am, I still can't find it within me to do that to Lisa. To Rosé.
I keep my mouth firmly shut. We linger at the bar, which grants us easier access to more drinks. I have a feeling I'm going to go through plenty before the night is over. I wonder, fleetingly, if Rosé will be able to recommend any good hotels; I'm already feeling woozy and the night's just beginning.
"So..." Rosé looks at me nervously. With my third Cosmo down, I'm starting to feel a little better. "Would you think I'm like... insane... if I asked you to give Lisa another chance?"
I want to laugh at the absurdity of the question. Under any normal circumstances, I would safely answer yes, that I'd think she was very insane. But nothing about this night - about this whole week - has been normal.
But I don't say any of this, of course, and instead regard her curiously. "And why should I give her another chance?" I'm interested to hear her reasons, but she seems frustrated when she has to explain.
"I just have a feeling. It's... it's weird, I already know that. But it's just something I trust, and it's like... a premonition, you know? Don't you ever just get a feeling about some things?" She seems so desperate for me to understand. I decide to humour her.
"I guess. I mean, sometimes I'll wake up and have this feeling it's going to be a bad day... and then it turns out really shitty." What an awful example, I think, but Rosé's eyes brighten as she clings to whatever leverage she can find.
"Exactly! A lot like that!"
I'm not sure what she means with all this talk of a feeling. She doesn't know about the extenuating circumstances that surround our relationship, though I'm sure if she did, things would be different. But I realize that this actually works out in my favour. This way, I can continue my game with Lisa with a clear head. Rosé will be none the wiser, most likely thinking it was my promise to her that lead me on my further pursuits and not my obvious insanity.
As my mother always said, never look a gift horse in the mouth.
"So," Rosé eagerly continues, "you sort of get what I'm saying?"
I smile, mostly just to placate her. "Yeah, I do." She's patiently awaiting my answer to her previous question. "And yes, I'll give her another chance."
She squeals - actually fucking squeals - before wrapping me up in a big hug. For Lisa to be so distant, she sure is touchy-feely. It's like night and day.
"That's great, Jennie." She's all excited now as she regards my empty glass. "Want another drink? This one's on me."
Another drink, eh? Don't mind if I do.
