Catch The Stars

Chapter 28

It takes them almost an hour to get to the beach what it with being in the exact opposite direction of Cheumsan.

They stop at a gas station on the way, picking up some snacks and drinks. Nayeon and Taehyung are asleep and Jennie stays in the car together with Joohyun while Seokmin and Y/n go inside the shop.

Joohyun leans forward in her seat, her arms folded right behind Jennie’s head. When she talks, her breath puffs against the back of Jennie’s head. She smells sweet; like roses and some exotic fruit.

“What’s up with you two?” She whispers, both their gazes on the shop windows where Y/n is smiling at something Seokmin shows her.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re ignoring each other,” Joohyun says. “What happened?”

Jennie sinks back in her seat and feels Joohyun twist her fingers through her hair, something she would’ve never done if they were back in the village. She wonders how their friendship would look like if they met somewhere else, under different circumstances.

“We had a fight, I guess.” Jennie shrugs. “I think I said something that made her angry.”

Joohyun shakes her head, a sigh leaving her lips. “Don’t get me wrong. She’s like, my favorite person on this planet, right after Seulgi. Maybe even along with her, if she’s not in one of her moods.” They both laugh quietly at that. “But she has quite the temper, doesn’t she?”

Jennie nods her head. “Yeah.”

“You better put her in her place when I’m not here anymore,” Joohyun continues. “Don’t let her push you away or take it out on you just because she can’t deal with her emotions.”

“Can we not talk about you not being here anymore?” Jennie can’t help but pout.

“I’m leaving tonight, silly. There’s only so much longer you can ignore it.”

“Well, I plan to ignore it until the very last second, if you don’t mind.”

“Aww, are you going to miss me that much?”

“Yes,” Jennie says seriously and feels Joohyun deflate a bit behind her.

“I’m glad we got to meet Jennie,” She whispers, reaching out to pat her cheek gently.

She sighs and leans her head back. “Me, too, Joohyun.”

-

The beach is deserted, just like Nayeon said it would be, because no one in their right mind would chose a dark, gloomy day like this to go to the beach.

Seokmin parks the car in the deserted parking lot and they move around for a while, stretching their limbs, packing the stuff they want to take to the beach, avoiding each other like Jennie and Y/n are currently doing.

The sand is wet and cold against Jennie’s feet but she tries to keep her spirits up. At least it’s not raining, and everyone seems to be in a fairly good mood, even Y/n, who jokes around with Nayeon and holds Taehyung’s hand when he climbs up on a big rock to jump down from it on the other side.

Seulgi spreads out a huge blanket where they put down their bags and the snacks they bought.

Jennie looks up at the sky and sees a bunch of seagulls flying through the air, and their sounds together with the waves of the sea, the salty scent in their, it all serves to calm her down the tiniest bit.

At the beginning of her insomnia, Jennie used to listen to different recording at night; it was either the sound of rain, thunderstorms, the chirping of crickets, or a recording of the sea.