"You should bring her home," her mother says, and Chaeyoung smiles at the thought but doesn't know how to explain why it would probably never happen. "We have more than enough room."
She hums non-committally instead of answering. "We'll see," she mumbles. "I'll talk to her about it."
"I'm sure she has family stuff ..." her mother tries, but Chaeyoung cuts her off quickly.
"She doesn't," Chaeyoung says, and the silence her mom leaves over the line shows that this is probably explanation enough. Chaeyoung sighs. "I don't want to push her, Mom. It is all new."
Her mom makes a knowing sound. "Is it?"
Chaeyoung doesn't have a response to that. She feels like she has had these feelings forever. She feels like she will have them forever. Now the thought of not waking up to Jisoo every morning feels terrifying. Due to the worst emergency drill in the history of their school, Jisoo is still in the library, and Chaeyoung is about ready to go postal on campus security. She only called her mother to stop herself from going out and camping outside the library until it was over. It is also probably why she decided to spend most of their conversation talking about her.
"I'm just saying that she is more than welcome to come home with you anytime, Rosie," her mother says before going off on a long tangent about her latest case. Chaeyoung makes noises when she is supposed to make noises, but mostly, she thinks about taking Jisoo back to Melbourne and letting her seep into every bit of her life.
Her mother is still talking when the door to their room opens. Jisoo smiles when she sees her, but there is something different about her that Chaeyoung notices straight away. She moves around their room, her movements anxious as she hangs up her coat. She sits down on the edge of the mattress, and Chaeyoung reaches silently for her hand.
She barely tugs before Jisoo falls to lie beside her.
"Rosie, are you even listening?" her mother asks, but Chaeyoung is too busy tugging Jisoo's limbs until they wrap around her body. She is too busy trying to find what will set Jisoo at ease. Her mother sighs. "Jisoo is back, isn't she?"
The sound of her name catches Chaeyoung's attention. "Uhm, Mom, I love you, but I have to go."
"Of course you do," her mother laughs knowingly. "Love you, Rosie. I'll send you some cash."
"Okay," Chaeyoung whispers before she hangs up and tosses her phone on the nightstand. Jisoo looks at her weirdly, and Chaeyoung wraps an arm around her waist to protectively bring her closer. "You're back," she whispers. Jisoo nods. "I thought I would have to send out a search party."
Jisoo smiles and reaches between them to rest her hand on Chaeyoung's chest and against her heartbeat. It is racing, and Chaeyoung knows she should feel slightly embarrassed that Jisoo can probably hear it, but she doesn't. She wants her to know. She wants Jisoo to feel what she does to her.
"If the lockdown carried on any longer, I was planning some Mission Impossible-worthy shit to get to you," she mumbles, but is more preoccupied with how Jisoo looks at her differently.
It is not strange or unwelcome, but Chaeyoung still doesn't know what to think about it. Her fingers lazily trace the golden stripes of Jisoo's green shirt to try and settle her. She looks beautiful in it, but that didn't stop Chaeyoung from teasing her this morning that it made her look like a Christmas tree. Jisoo had rolled her eyes and looked at her so fondly that Chaeyoung suddenly had become so preoccupied with kissing her that they were almost late for class.
"I was going to traverse the roofs of all buildings from here to there and then broke in through a window," Chaeyoung jokes. "I had a plan and everything."
YOU ARE READING
She
RomanceWhen Park Chaeyoung forgets to complete her second year residency application, she returns to college to find that they have paired her with the last roommate she ever expected to get. And when that roommate looks at her, Chaeyoung is never sure if...