Imperfectly Perfect [Chaelisa]

seventy seven

"Why did I suggest this?" Lisa asks herself, staring at the storefront before her. "I have no idea what we're doing. We should just go home. Go home and nap and ask our parents to do this stuff for us."

"Lili," Chaeyoung says, rocking on her heels, "we're adults. We can do this ourselves. Besides, I have a list"

"You have... a list?" Lisa pauses and looks over at Chaeyoung, who is humming to herself and staring down at her phone. "You know what we're getting?"

"Yes," Chaeyoung nods, "I mean, I obviously wrote down the essentials, like things we'll one hundred percent need for our apartment. But also other things, stuff that might not be so obvious. Things that'll make our apartment a home."

After a few moments of silence, Lisa beams. "God, I love you."

"I love you too," Chaeyoung says, tapping her hand against her thigh, "Shall we go and look around? Since it's mostly furnished, we won't need any big things. My mom already bought us some cutlery, so that's already crossed off the list."

Chaeyoung holds out her phone in Lisa's direction, and the younger girl looks through the list. She snorts when she reads house plants. Knowing Lisa, they'll be dead within a week.

"You've already checked a bunch of stuff off," Lisa points out. "Like, the major stuff, anyways."

"Yes," Chaeyoung nods, "my parents- um, they have spares of things that we can take. And I already have all of Hank and Leo's things, I just need to pack them. It's mostly just homey things we need. Like- um, like cute cushions for the couch. And a nice bedspread."

"And house plants, apparently," Lisa says with a snort. "You realise we'll just be killing them, right?"

"No," Chaeyoung pouts. "I'm responsible."

"You're also easily distracted sometimes." Lisa points out. "Like... a new Lion King thing will happen and suddenly that's all you're focused on for weeks."

Chaeyoung blushes, but doesn't argue with her. "That's because The Lion King is one of my special interests. Just like lions in general are. And I'm going to become a zookeeper, but more like a lion trainer, so I can look after them, since you won't let me have one as a pet."

"I love you and all, Rosie," Lisa squeezes Chaeyoung's hand, "but like, I wouldn't chance getting mauled by a lion for you."

"You just don't turn your back on it," Chaeyoung mutters, and she says something that sounds a lot like stupid head under her breath, and Lisa gracefully ignores her. "You know, I watch a lot of Big Cat videos on YouTube. Can I show you when we get back to my house?"

"Of course." Lisa answers, as they walk into a store, "keep your phone out so I know what to look for in here."

Chaeyoung hums to herself for a little while, before she announces, "You don't really like shopping, do you?"

"I like shopping when there's something I want to buy for myself," Lisa says, "like clothes. Or pizza. And I know this stuff is for us too, but it's like... boring stuff. You know?"

Chaeyoung bobs her head in agreement. "I don't like shopping either, but only because it's too loud most of the time. Though, this store is nice and quiet. I guess loud kids don't come into places like this."

Lisa hums, scanning down the list of things again. Honestly, house plants are the most exciting thing on there.

"You know what?" Lisa announces as she pulls Chaeyoung towards the bedding section of the store. "Tell me a story. That'll make this go quicker."

"A story?" Chaeyoung frowns to herself, tapping out a pattern against one of the shelves. "I like this sound. It echoes. Anyways, yes, what kind of story would you like to hear?"