The Love We Had | JENSOO [18+]

Chapter Twenty-Five: Famous Jennie Kim

Jennie pulled her hair back into a slick, tight ponytail and then wrapped it around itself into a firm bun. Swimmer's hair. She darned her sleekest athletic one-piece bathing suit and put her cap and nose-plug in the pocket of her flowy cover-up.

Ready as I'll ever be.

In the kitchen Chaerin was cooking breakfast.

"Big day, hun!" she said with a smile.

Thanks. I'd almost forgotten.

Jennie sat down at the table, her stomach in knots. She eyed the bacon and scrambled eggs with disdain. Although she feared anything she put in her tummy might make an appearance later due to nerves, she ate anyway, knowing that a totally empty stomach would only hamper her performance.

She grimaced at the realization that all the fun had been sucked out of the event she most looked forward to in the summer. By Kim Soojoo. Jennie allowed herself a moment to visualize herself wringing that sinewy neck and sighing.

Better.

Jiyong was unusually quiet as he ate, and it only added to Jennie's anxiety.

"Are you okay, Dad?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I'll be fine. Just a little headache," he said cheerily. "I took some aspirin, I should be fine soon enough."

Jennie cocked her head to one side and squinted at him. "All right then."

The next two hours were the longest of Jennie's life. She paced the lawn, kicking loose stones around, and walking to the end of the dock and back at least five times where she did various stretches, hoping to pull and strain the butterflies right out of her body. This day needed to be over already so she could go back to some semblance of normalcy.

When the time came to head out. Jiyong, Chaerin, and Jennie stood on the gravel driveway, arms interlocked. Awaiting them at the end of the narrow road that led to their cottage was a media frenzy. They'd have taken the boat down the length of the lake to reach the main pavilion, but the water was covered in buoys and floating lane markers for the events to come.

They stood in silence, and Jennie knew it was up to her to make the first move. She glanced lovingly at her two biggest supporters.

"Into battle."

And with that they hiked to the end of the driveway, arm in arm, all the while Jennie's heart pounding in her chest.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl when they reached the end. The reporters had multiplied into what seemed like dozens, all of them equipped with cameras of one sort or another. Microphones and other recording devices were shoved into their faces, and the flashing lights blinded them. The clicking and shouting was deafening.

Behind the wall of media reps wearing press passes around their necks were two rows of people engaged in a face-off. Some of the cameras were on them instead of Jennie's wide-eyed family. One faction sported Team Jennie's shirts and the others, Team Soojoo, who sang Soojoo's hit songs in unison. Some had even made picket signs and Jennie did her best to read them over the heads of the frantic, yelling reporters.

Jennie the Angel.
Save The Treehouse.

Jisoo + Jennie
"JenSoo 4Ever"

She couldn't help but chuckle at the efforts of her new-found fans. The one with Soojoo's face encircled in red with a line through it made her laugh out loud.

The crowd parted just enough for the three of them to pass through, but the craziness still surrounded them on all sides, some photographers even walking backwards and tripping over each other to get a shot from the front.