Riptide

08: Where Is My Mind?

Couple of Months Ago
Red Moon Premiere Night, After After Party

Karina, typically the embodiment of poise and glamour suddenly found herself in a less-than-elegant predicament—hunched over the toilet, wrestling with an unruly wave of nausea while Jennie held her hair back. She's a coworker, one of the most awarded actresses in South Korea, and possibly the only person she'd allow in this undignified moment.

"You gotta control your liquor. What if I wasn't around?" Earlier, Karina dragged their executive producer into the VIP lounge and went on and on about some girl. Luckily, Jennie swiftly pulled her out of there.

"Thass why I love ya, unnie..." Karina slurred.

"Confess your love to me after you've had a shower. I don't like stinky girls."

They finally stumbled out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Karina slumped, her right cheek pressed against the dining table's surface, muffling the words, "I kno' I shouldn't miss' er. There are reeasons why she's not in my life an'more, but why do I feel like thissh?" Each word dragged out as she struggled to articulate her thoughts.

Jennie has known about Karina's attraction to women for a while now, starting from when they worked together in this series. Jennie's character in "Red Moon" is a succubus who seduces men and women, including the infamous, three-hundred-year-old vampire Jimin. The shippers went absolutely nuts when this episode came out. It sparked a deluge of fanfiction and Twitter AUs. To relieve their boredom, Jennie and Karina even read some of those and had a good laugh.

Their closeness spawned a small fanbase known as "JenRina," a group of fans who eagerly stitched together every off-camera appearance, speculating on the possibility of a real-life romance. Yet, these speculations were nothing more than products of eager imaginations. In truth, Karina saw Jennie as an older sister, and Jennie in return was incredibly protective, treating Karina like one of her own younger siblings.

Jennie shared openly about accepting the role due to being attracted to women in real life. She even mentioned having an affair with a married woman, (one she truly regrets and won't ever be a part of again — the married bit — unless it's Anya Taylor-Joy, she might reconsider.)

Karina, in turn, revealed her own experiences, admitting to having crushes on members of the swim team during her school days (there was only one crush and we all know who that is) and just having a soft spot for women overall.

"How d'ya stop missin' sum... one? Li, how d'ya do dat?" Karina's words were barely coherent as she leaned heavily on the dining table, her vision blurred from one too many drinks.

Jennie arched an eyebrow, eyeing her with a mixture of amusement and concern. "Jesus, I've never seen you a mess like this. Who is this girl?!"

Karina let out a dramatic sigh, her head lolling to the side. "She the one... who smells like... sunshiiiine an' regrets..." she muttered, her words trailing off into a drunken mumble.

Jennie couldn't help but laugh at her ramblings.

Karina shot her a mock glare before breaking into a giggle. "Ey, don't laff at me! This ish serious'h stuff!"

"Alright, enough of this. Give me your phone," Jennie reached for Karina's pockets.

She blinked up at Jennie, "Wah... what're ya doin, unnie?" she mumbled, her hand wavering as she tried to grab her phone back.

With a swift motion, Jennie held the phone up to Karina's face to unlock it, "Obviously calling your mystery girl, whoever that is, so you can start telling her how much you miss her. Maybe you'll get her back, who knows? Now, what's her name?"