The Angel Next Door (Rosé X Female Reader)

45: Those Eyes

Word Count: 6,701

Exams were returned and results announced, and I, along with the other second-year students, reached a period of relative calm. Club activities resumed, and our main focus now was preparing for Sports Day, which was just three weeks away.

Some students had to take supplementary lessons and exams for certain subjects based on their scores. But luckily, I was in the clear, so I could enjoy this brief period of calm. After school, I talked with Jisoo, and when I brought up the topic, she gave me a strained smile.

"I don't actually have much downtime," Jisoo said. "I have club activities, and I need to practice for the interscholastic athletics competition."

Jisoo had already established herself as the ace of the track and field club in her first year, and the coaches and managers had high expectations for her. She never failed to put in the effort to live up to those expectations.

Jisoo had once called me "stoic," but from my perspective, that word described her more than me. It was her earnest effort and dedication that made her popular and well-liked.

"Oh, that's right, it's still a ways off, but the chance to show off your accomplishments is coming up, huh?" I remarked.

"Mmm. With the competitions approaching, I'm going to need to shorten my times more, but I don't mind since I like to run anyway," Jisoo replied.

"Will you be alright? My image of the track club is that it's pretty demanding."

"Maybe it is, but it's not like the club is ancient Sparta or anything. The coach knows you can't get good results just by going all out every day. There's a balance to it: We rest during break times, and when it's time for club activities, we work hard."

"Huh... sounds like it's definitely an enthusiastic club."

"I think it does require discipline and motivation, but if it was one of those high-energy clubs with no time to rest, I probably would have quit already. If I'm just running, I can do that anywhere. That's probably why Lisa quit."

"Oh yeah, she went to the same middle school as you and Jennie, right?"

"Yeah, she did. Jennie and Lisa are both so different now compared to back then, you'd probably be shocked."

Now that Jisoo mentioned it, I remembered hearing that Lisa's personality was quite different than it had been in middle school. I hadn't known any of them at that time, so it was difficult for me to imagine.

The only version of Jennie and Lisa that I knew was the cheerful couple and constant life of the party. Their past didn't seem like a topic they liked to discuss much, so I hadn't probed deeply. But they must have changed considerably if Jisoo felt the need to mention it.

I was curious. However, with an expression that said she was worried about upsetting Jennie and Lisa by saying too much, Jisoo gently related, "I'm not going to talk about it, but maybe they'll tell you themselves sometime."

I had no intention of forcing the information out of her, so I nodded with understanding. Jennie didn't butt into my personal life, so I decided I wouldn't go sticking my fingers into my friends' pasts either.

"Going back to the topic of track and field, getting too obsessed and running mindlessly only leads to injuring your muscles and tendons. For me, you know, running track is important, but it's not everything in life. So I'm pretty happy with the way the club does it."

Jisoo's smile was so dazzling that I had to squint to look at her. Looking a little embarrassed, she made an awkward face.

"Well, that's enough about me, right?" Jisoo said. "Let's forget about club activities for now; we've got the day off."