THE HAPPIEST GIRL | JENLISA

Chapter 75

Jennie

During all the chaos, Lisa's eyes sweep across the venue, stopping as soon as they land on mine. I wonder if I'm imagining things, wondering if her eyes can really be locked on mine with all the blinding flashes of the cameras. Nevertheless, I nervously flatten out the flowy knee length skirt of my black cap sleeve dress, shifting uncomfortably in my short heels.

It feels inappropriate to be here, like I'm seeking out to torment her when it's the complete opposite of my intention. I honestly have no real intention of being here, other than having to do my job. Greg insisted that I come here to celebrate our two teams coming together when in reality, I'd give anything to be hidden up in my hotel room right now, sitting and listening to the album when the clock strikes midnight with a pint of ice cream and Jessi by my side.

Speaking of Jessi, I'll have to send that girl a thank you card, a gift basket, something for putting up with me the last few days, trying to help me digest everything and being my shoulder to cry on. Since the night I saw Lisa again, she's gotten a frantic phone call from me every night to update her on everything that's been going on.

But as much as I don't want to be here tonight, how could I tell Greg no and come up with an appropriate excuse to bail? So instead here I am, standing in the middle of a crowded room that has no idea I'm the girl behind the album. The girl that did Lisa wrong.

With Lisa's eyes still seemingly boring into mine, the room suddenly feels smaller, like it's closing in on me. Feeling my chest tighten, I break contact and scurry off into a corner, tucking myself into a plush chair, planning on staking out here all night to avoid any attention and keep to myself.

Later on in the night, Greg comes up to me, taking a seat in the empty chair next to mine. "Having fun?" he asks, with scepticism in his tone. He probably knows that I've just been sitting here all night while everyone else is being social.

"Sorry, parties just aren't my thing." I say feeling embarrassed. It's not a complete lie. He nods in understanding, while lifting his beer up. "Do you want anything?" He tips the neck of the bottle towards the open bar.

"No, thanks." The last thing I want in my system right now is alcohol. "You go ahead and have fun." I encourage, knowing that he came over here to check on me. "I'm good."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure." I give him a reassuring smile as he stands up.

"Alright, try to have fun." he teases, tipping his beer in departure.

I slouch back in the chair, scrolling through my phone to pass the time. To buy myself even more time, I decide to get up to go find the restroom. Shuffling through the crowd, I find a gap in it that just so happens to give me the perfect view of Lisa and Kaia, surrounded by a group of other people our age.

Kaia sits comfortably on Lisa's lap as she sits on a small couch. One of her hands is occupied by playing with the curls at the back of Lisa's head, her other hand holding a glass of what I can only assume to be alcohol, much like all their other friends.

Kaia and their friends seem to be having a great time, laughing and immersed in conversation, but I can see Lisa's jaw is tight, with her gaze blank and uninterested despite everything going on around her. In the dimly lit room, an orange ember catches my eye, glowing brightly and fading fast. A cloud of smoke emerges forward, and when it fades, I'm able to make out the figure behind the blunt, Kim Taehyung.

Taehyung and Lisa have been pinned against each other for years, the two popstar heartthrobs always battling it out on the charts. The two were always so different, Lisa the more clean cut pop sensation while Taehyung was the edgy bad boy. Now they're more alike than I'd like to admit.

Since I left, Lisa and Taehyung started hanging out, Taehyung becoming a bad influence and getting Lisa into some trouble here and there. They were always spotted out clubbing and partying, slowly becoming a dynamic duo. I just thought after Lisa's rehab stint, the two wouldn't be seeing each other.

The blunt starts to get passed around, with Kaia taking a long drag from it, offering it up to Lisa after. She shoots Kaia a glare, shaking her head. I realise how hard this must be for her, being surrounded by drugs and alcohol, only being out of rehab just a few months ago. It makes me furious for her. Who would allow her to be surrounded by all of this?

"You have some nerve being here." a voice growls, and suddenly I know who it is.

I tear my gaze from the awful scene to look at Hyun-suk. "Well, it's sort of my job. My boss invited me."

His jaw clenches. "Don't take that tone with me. You're walking on thin ice." he threatens.

"What, are you going to try to destroy this job for me, too!?" I press on, with a flare of anger running through me.

"You've ruined her once, I won't let it happen again!" he snarls.

I open my mouth to retort but instantly close it when a heavy arm drapes around my shoulders, while a large hard body leans into mine.

"I'd let you ruin me any day, sweetheart." I look up to see Taehyung towering over me. His sandy blonde hair is dishevelled on top of his head, with the sides shaven. His green, bloodshot eyes are hooded as he peers down at me, with a lazy smile on his lips that still shows off deep dimples on his sharp and attractive face.

I instinctively look back to where I saw her last, spotting Lisa, with her eyes ablaze and raging.