jealousy, jealousy | Jenlisa

2

Jennie and Hyunsuk decide to write about Queen Tearza. Hyunsuk is surprisingly easy to work with, doesn't complain, and does whatever he's tasked with diligently, so she doesn't have many qualms or arguments about it. They write both a critique and a defense of her role in the annexation of a strong tribe, and Hyunsuk has some insightful points to make about what kind of sacrifice leading a country entails. It's dramatic stuff, but Jennie was often criticized for being too biased and nitpicky in her papers, so this might be the humanizing touch needed to balance everything out.

All in all, the paper is a breeze, and Lisa had been right: they finish and turn it in weeks early, and Professor Lee saved her so many headaches and useless fights.

At least for Jennie.

For some reason, however, Lisa and Diana aren't as efficient in writing their own paper, which makes them end up researching their person a table away from Jennie at the university's library, where she's reviewing for a quiz for Park's class.

"That's ambitious," she hears Diana comment, and Jennie immediately stiffens.

"It is, but you can't write about the Dragon Emperor without giving the Vipress and the Gatekeeper a mention," Lisa replies, typing something on her laptop. "So we might as well dedicate a section to each of them."

"Wouldn't Lee dock points for that?" Diana asks.

"It won't be about the three of them, per se," Lisa elaborates, eyes still trained on her laptop. "Just the contributions they've had to the Dragon Emperor's reign. It would be impossible to write this paper otherwise."

Diana makes a noise of agreement.

Jennie's textbook lay forgotten on her desk, her eyes fixated on the two of them. Lisa's concentrating on summarizing information for whatever it is they're writing, but Diana's not. No, she's staring at Lisa intently, almost as if admiring her features. A small smile plays on her pink, glossed lips.

Gods, Diana is really pretty, isn't she?

What the fuck?

Jennie tries to think about something else—Lisa's decided to write about the Dragon Emperor. She's certain it's her idea, because she knows Lisa well enough to know she enjoys a challenge, which, in this case, entails detailing the lives of three people so intertwined separation would be a disservice and almost misinformation. Lisa has always had a weird distaste for the Trifecta, for reasons Jennie can't quite understand.

She also knows for a fact that if they were partners, she would veto the idea. The Trifecta were some of the most famous figures in Korea's history, second only to the Phoenix Goddess and the Dragon Marshal, and even the Red Emperor himself. Jennie would argue that they need to stand out, because there have been so many papers written about the Trifecta it's bordering on academic cliché.

Lisa would also 100% fight her on choosing Tearza, on the grounds that technically, she isn't part of the South. Then they would go on to have a big argument about Tearza's relevance in South's history and it'll be a huge stink that would end up getting them kicked out of the library for the day because they got too loud.