Flash From The Past | JENLISA

XXXV

Two Years and Nine Months Earlier...

"What fucking box did we fucking pack the fucking thing in?" Lisa grumbled as she kicked at the nearest cardboard container in frustration, groaning when it didn't budge, the ache resonating through her foot and up her leg. Rolling her eyes, she noted the side was labeled 'Books' and figured it was probably not her smartest moment of the day. Then again, the day wasn't over, so she had plenty of time to make lots of other bad decisions. And if she didn't get some fuel in her soon, it was very likely that there would be a vast array of them.

The meager contents of their refrigerator had left her with little options as far as something to eat for dinner, but she was starving, having subjected herself to manual labor for the better part of the day, and if the situation wasn't rectified in the next twenty minutes or so, she would not be responsible for her actions. Who knew something as simple as a goddamned grilled cheese would be so goddamn difficult to put together.

Well, without a pan... yeah.

Looking around their new apartment, she growled in frustration once again, rubbing at the back of her neck and wondering how in the hell she'd gotten herself into this situation. But with Jennie out of town on her biggest assignment yet for the Daily, it was up to her to try and get their new home in at least somewhat presentable condition. Jackson and Ryujin had helped her unload everything the day before after she'd threatened Jackson with significant bodily harm in order to use his truck but were both too busy to help any further, Ryujin starry-eyed, enamored, and spending every free moment with her girlfriend, Yeji, and Jackson... well, Jackson was useless when it came to unpacking. Or packing. Or putting things away. Or really anything having to do with being orderly. Shiny things were just too much of a distraction and if the sun was high enough, that could literally be any object with a reflective surface. And she really didn't feel like having to babysit today too.

Never thought I'd want Suzy Homemaker's help so bad, she thought, but even Jisoo and Rosé were unavailable, the two out of town, taking advantage of Jisoo's students being on March break.

But she could do this. She didn't need to rely on their friends to take care of settling into their new place.

If I could just find the goddamn pans!

She tore into another box labeled 'Kitchen', wondering how in the hell they'd accumulated so much stuff in the last few years, and where in the hell they were going to put everything in their new apartment.

The move had been sudden, but neither one of them could take another day living next door to the family with dozens of screaming children constantly roaming the halls, day and night, banging on their door and running away laughing like it was a game. They were annoying and vile little creatures, and on more than one occasion, Lisa had come up on the losing end of a disgusting, sticky substance playfully left on their door handle while letting herself into their place after a long day of work. They'd been on the lookout for anything that could possibly replace the home from hell and it was completely out of the blue when this new place became available. But, with the obviously elderly population that had been giving her dirty looks for the last two days, she could guess why the apartment was suddenly vacant.

Her search was once again fruitless, the box she'd just torn into holding their dishes and cutlery, and her frustration was quickly tipping into dangerous territory.

"Fucking stupid... fucking... fuck!" she growled through clenched teeth, standing and looking around her for any other boxes labeled 'Kitchen'. It had been Jennie's idea to actually put the room name on each box, which Lisa initially thought was just a touch neurotic, but now... now she was thinking they should've listened to Rosé's advice and made packing slips and numbered everything accordingly.