Chaeyoung is tough but fair. She pushes Jennie, takes her where she never thought she could go, and even if she feels on the verge of collapsing more often than not, Jennie's grateful. She needs this. She needs Chaeyoung calling on her bluff when she lies on the floor and wheezes loudly, begging for a break, she needs her crossing her arms over her chest and staring at her, eyebrows raised as she commands Less whining and more running, she needs to be told that she can do more, she can do better. And when she truly cannot, when her body starts sending signals, when she gets dizzy and sees spots or feels like her heart is about to pierce through her chest, Chaeyoung listens and knows it's time for a real break.
That's why Chaeyoung is such a good coach. She gets her. Somehow, she knows when Jennie's bullshitting and when she's not, she knows when to trust her and when not to. Maybe it's because she's really good with people, maybe it's because Jennie's actually always honest with her even when she jokes around, unable to hide that proud little smile that makes Chaeyoung roll her eyes more often than not—Jennie likes to think Chaeyoung does it in a fond way.
As the weeks pass, Jennie gets more and more eager to come to the gym. It's fun. It's good. It's rewarding. She's improving and she knows it, thanks to Chaeyoung thoroughly keeping track of her performances, but also, simply, because she can feel it. Work is less exhausting, she takes the stairs to her studio more often than the elevator, she sleeps better. Weirdly, the Cat's Cradle starts to feel like a second home, a place she's excited to go to, where she knows she'll be safe despite feeling like dying every two minutes, where she feels at ease with everyone. A month passes, then two, then three, and that feeling only grows stronger.
•••
The changes happen gradually, and some turn into a habit without Jennie even realizing it. Jennie calling out to Jisoo whenever she passes by to show off her nonexistent skills, I'm almost as badass as you now! Did you see that push-up? Don't be jealous Jisoo, one day you'll be as buff as I am!, Jisoo invariably snorting, You keep trying, baby girl. The staring contest she has going on with Tzuyu, one-sided as Tzuyu looks like she actually wants to murder Jennie and Jennie decided to turn it into a game instead—she doesn't take it personally, Tzuyu seems to be annoyed at the whole world and then some. The ten minutes she takes every single time after practice to chat with Sana at the front desk, whining about Chaeyoung's iron fist, laughing about—and commiserating with—the poor girls who chose Tzuyu as their personal trainer. The early lunches she sometimes gets with Lisa, the newest instructor who one day heard Jennie howling about how hungry she was just after practice and decided to introduce her to her favorite tapas place, just around the corner.
Some changes Jennie notices immediately and thinks about all day long, all week long. How one day "Chae" slipped through her lips instead of "Chaeyoung", and how Chaeyoung froze at the nickname for a split second, before resuming to what she was saying as if nothing had happened, as if the tip of her ears hadn't turned red, as if Jennie hadn't caught the slightly widened eyes and the held breath. How, four weeks after Jennie started coming to the gym, Chaeyoung laughed, really laughed, from the heart, teeth exposed, eyes shut, and how Jennie thought it was the most beautiful sound she's ever heard in her life—the most incredible thing was that Chaeyoung laughed at one of her stupid puns, and not even a good one with that. How, the next day, Chaeyoung touched her for the very first time, to correct Jennie's posture as she was doing squats, when she would usually just show her by doing it in front of her. How the softness of her hand on the small of Jennie's back imprinted on her skin and mind, how she could still feel it as she walked away from the gym, as she took her shower at home, as she shook cocktails behind the bar, as she went to sleep, as she woke up the next day. How Chaeyoung did it again for their next training session, and the next, and the next.
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To Climb A Tree | Chaennie
Fanfiction[UNDER REVISION] Yes, Jennie likes girls (and boys). Yes, she has no trouble acknowledging when a girl is pretty, or hot, or both. Yes, horny is one of her few default mindsets. But to be fair, she's twenty-two and very new at this. Girls, boys...
