I Think I Love You •Chaennie•

Chapter 15

Jennie's POV

I smooth the sides of my dress, which whips around my ankles as I walk. For the fifth time since we left the subway station, I fish through my purse until I can feel the edges of the notecards I wrote my speech on.

The six of us decided to go to the student contest mixer together, even though this is the first night that we're officially facing off as competitors. As always, seeing Jisoo and Tae hold hands as they walk in front of me makes me smile, but this time my smile is a bit pinched. The sight reminds me of Rosé's hand, now hanging limply by her side as she walks next to me, not entwined with mine.

I look away from her. I need to focus tonight. I have to win that Most Anticipated Film award. I mentally run through my speech one more time, twisting my ring on and off my finger as I do.

Lisa glances at me, taking in the anxious motion. "You'll be fine."

I nod, not entirely trusting myself to speak. Besides, she might look calm, but the intricate braids she had done must've taken ages, and her soft pink eye shadow matches the flowers on her dress. She's as nervous as I am.

We reach the Corner Cinema Hotel, tucked away in a rainy corner of SoHo, and hurry inside. We cross the threshold, jostle through the crowd milling in the lobby, and reach the registration table.

"Are you here for the Emerging Filmmakers Mixer?" the receptionist, a short girl with bangs, asks us.

She hands me a roll of name tags when I nod. I take one and pass the rest on before scribbling my name on mine and sticking it to my chest. It rumples over the dress, and I poke at it to straighten it out.

Rosé leans over me to grab a spare name tag, edging away from Tae. I glance at the two of them, frowning. They haven't spoken all evening.

"You look nice," Rosé says.

I look down at my dress to hide the heat creeping into my face. "I, uh, got the dress on Rent the Runway. It's cool. It's this subscription service where you can rent clothes." I'm painfully aware of how fast I'm talking, yet unable to stop myself. "You can rent by the item or get a monthly subscription, and then you can have a certain amount of items out at a-"

Rosé laughs. "I know what Rent the Runway is. Please breathe."

I stop talking long enough to inhale. Our name tags on, we walk past the desk into the reception room. It's a small space with arched stone walls framing little candlelit tables. I inhale sharply as we cross the room. I can't believe that I have to pitch my movie in such a fancy place tonight.

" 'Thanks, Rosé; you look nice too' would've been fine," she says.

I glance down at her outfit, which is indeed lovely. She's curled her hair, like she did for the dance, and it makes her look older, in a good way, like she's actually put together. It doesn't hurt that she put on gently sparkling eye shadow and a light blush that highlights her cheekbones. And given that they do a pretty good job of highlighting themselves day to day, it's...well, it's a lot to handle.

I grin, my nerves disappearing for a moment. "You know I can't handle compliments."

"All I know is that you're apparently a paid spokesperson for Rent the Runway," Rosé says, but she's still smiling. I shove her bony shoulder in response.

"Let's go find seats and forget this ever happened," I say.

Rosé shakes her head, but follows me to the theater anyway. The seats are big and plush and comfy, wrapping around a massive screen mounted at the front of the room. Lisa and Jisoo have already found seats near the front, and Jisoo waves at us when we walk in. Lisa's blushing at her phone, a special expression that I've come to privately call her Bambam Smile.