Rules of Attraction (A Blackpink Story)

CHAPTER 7

Monday 12pm (1 week later)

Rosé's P.O.V.

It had been a week since Jisoo had been away and it seemed like an eternity. She was expected to arrive back late last night and we'd finally be reunited as she got back to college this afternoon.

After finishing another class, I rushed out of the door towards the Student Council office. I couldn't wait to see her, to be with her again as I ran to the second floor, my heart leaping with excitement.

Her assistant wasn't at her desk so I decided to walk in and knock on Jisoo's office door. I never waited for her to answer since she always just told me to go in. In excitement, I flung the door open to see the love of my life stood by her desk, reviewing paperwork in her hands.

Running across the room, I threw my arms around her into a tight embrace. "Jisoo! You're back, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too." Her voice was monotone and cold as I pulled back to stare into those beautiful auburn eyes I adored only to see her avoiding my gaze. She looked so tired like she'd hardly slept.

"Hey... is everything okay?" I asked cupping her cheeks with the palms of my hands.

She took a deep breath, taking my hands to hold them. "Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know.. something just seems different." She looked exactly the same but the coldness to her voice and frosty demeanor was nothing like her usual self and it worried me.

She didn't reply and instead sat down at her desk and gestured for me to sit opposite her. It felt awkward and strangely formal.

"So... what did you do on your vacation?" I asked, trying to break the ice.

"It wasn't a vacation, it was for business." She said as reading through the documents one after another, signing each one.

"Did you have a good time?" I asked again but still she hardly engaged in the conversation.

"As good as can be expected. I really need to finish this paperwork, I'll schedule us dinner reservations this evening." She said bluntly, my heart sunk in disappointment that she was too busy to talk to me when I'd missed her so much.

"Oh. I thought maybe we could go to the cafeteria and have lunch together."

"When am I supposed to do that?" She stated harshly, making me flinch at her icy tone as she continued.

"I don't have time! I need to review the admissions for the college clubs next term as well as having a meeting and 2 lectures to attend." Sadly, I stood up and grabbed my bag. I leaned across the table and kissed her lips gently making her stop frozen from working as I whispered.

"Okay... make sure you try to take a break from working hard." There was such sadness in her eyes. Maybe she didn't want me to go but she didn't say anything and instead I could feel her gaze watching me as I headed towards the door.

Through the sadness I was feeling, I still managed a smile knowing something was going on she wasn't saying.

"I'm proud of you." I muttered as she continue to stare longingly at me until I finally closed the door.

For the remainder of the afternoon, I didn't hear from Jisoo so spent the time finishing my assignments and talking in the music club to Taeyeon. She'd become a close friend and I could often confine in her when I was feeling upset. The only topic we didn't really discuss was my relationship with Jisoo.

As the evening finally descended, Jisoo's chauffered car arrived outside the café and it whisked us away to an expensive and exclusive restaurant overlooking the Han river.

She messaged me to say she'd made dinner reservations for 7pm and even in her messages, it still seemed cold and unlike her.

Arriving at the restaurant, we were seated at a private table slightly away from the guests. It was a romantic and picturesque setting surrounded by candle light where we could finally have a moment alone after the past week of being away from one another.

As I scanned the extravagant menu, I could sense Jisoo's eyes gazing at me from across the table. She held out her hand, holding mine gently. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you, Jisoo." I replied shyly. The look in her eyes was different though. There was still an awkwardness like she wanted to talk to me but couldn't find the words.

Carefully I put down the menu and reached for her other hand, holding both across the table. "I'm sorry I keep asking you this but are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Chaeyoung." She replied bluntly and emotionless.

My eyes went wide in confusion. "Chaeyoung? You never call me that-"

She ignored it and instead tried to gain the waiter's attention. "Should we order? I'll get us some drinks."

"Jisoo.. please tell me what's going on." I stated, gently squeezing her hand to look at me again.

"Nothing, everything's fine. I sorted it." She replied but that left me more confused than ever.

"Sorted what?"

She bit her lip and started playing with the bracelet around her wrist. "Just some business issues."

Knowing she was feeling tense, I didn't want her to worry so tried to change the topic. "Okay? Did you manage to finish all of your work in the office earlier?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Most of it."

"That's great, you're really dedicated. They're lucky to have you." I smiled warmly at her, it seemed the simple gesture meant a lot as she instantly reached out for my hands again.

"I love you." She exclaimed as she stared at me deeply. There was so much I wanted to ask but I didn't and instead ran my thumb across the back of her hand to comfort her.

"I love you too."

For the rest of the evening, we enjoyed a quiet dinner and a walk through the city. It was like she was there in person but her mind was elsewhere. I wished she could tell me what she was feeling so I could at least try to make it better.

Several weeks later and it continued just the same. It was like there was an invisible divide between us, a wall she'd put up. No matter how hard I tried to talk to her she refused, closing her heart off as if to prevent any more sadness from settling there.