Addicted

Chapter 9

It's been two weeks since Lisa started driving Jennie to and from the university. She had been remarkably consistent without Jennie even asking. Though they still hadn't established any cellular communication, Lisa frequently initiated conversations whenever they were alone or when she caught Jennie in the hallways. Every evening before driving Jennie home, Lisa took her to various restaurants or cafes around the city for dinner. Through these dinners, Jennie learned a lot about Lisa.

Jennie discovered that Lisa was currently pursuing her master's degree, having already completed her bachelor's at an early age. She learned about Lisa's hobbies: how the heiress enjoyed playing basketball with the other heiresses, went golfing occasionally, used boxing to vent her anger, and could cook, though she only did so when she felt like it. Jennie also paid close attention to Lisa's beautiful features during their conversations. She noticed a small glint of excitement whenever Lisa made direct eye contact with her, to which Jennie could only react with a deep blush, while Lisa responded with a sly smile.

Everything had been going smoothly for the past two weeks. Jennie concluded that Lisa was much more than what met the eye and what rumors painted her to be. Lisa was genuinely kind and lovely once you got to know her. Jennie thought Lisa's unapproachable and cold demeanor was simply because she wasn't used to smiling as much as she did with Jennie. This was the start of something new and exciting for both of them, and none of their friends knew what was going on. They were keeping things low-key, but there was one person who had already figured it out: Jisoo.

Jisoo and Lisa had always been the closest in their circle of heiresses. They were sisters not by blood, but by bond. Whatever one did never went unnoticed by the other. They knew each other's body language so well that Jisoo could easily tell something was up. She had figured it out one week after Lisa began trying to prove her words to Jennie when she followed Lisa's car one morning and found her best friend waiting for Jennie outside her apartment complex.

Jisoo's suspicions were confirmed when she watched Lisa's face light up as Jennie approached the car. She saw how Lisa's usually stern features softened, how her eyes sparkled with genuine affection. It was a side of Lisa that Jisoo rarely saw, and it intrigued her. She decided to keep their secret, watching over them in silence, ready to step in if needed but content to let them navigate this new and thrilling chapter of their lives. She knew Lisa's history, her struggles with trust and the walls she built around herself.

•••

One Friday afternoon, Jennie was waiting for Lisa to come fetch her from their building like she had for the last two weeks. Yeri had long been gone, having been picked up by Wendy before their dismissal, leaving Jennie and a few other students. Jennie looked around, hoping to spot the tall blonde girl who had been fetching her, but there was still no sign of Lisa.

Just as she was about to leave hopelessly, a ding from her phone caught her attention. She opened it to find a message sent by an unknown number. She read the message, and unknowingly a sad frown appeared on her face. The message was from Lisa, saying she couldn't fetch Jennie today for dinner as something important had come up. Attached was a photo of Lisa pouting while holding a file.

Jennie texted back that she understood and told Lisa to focus on her work, mentioning that she would just take the bus. After sending her reply, she saved Lisa's number before walking out of the building towards the university gates, a sad pout on her face that she didn't even realize she had.

On the way to the gate, a familiar voice called out to Jennie. She turned around and saw Kai approaching her with his charmingly boyish grin. Jennie smiled, and the pout disappeared completely.

"Hey, Jennie! Are you going home already?" Kai asked, his smile broadening as he approached.

"Yeah, I was going to take the bus," Jennie replied, trying to keep her tone light.