chasing girl wonder

brigade de cuisine

Lisa and Roseanne were stuck in the kitchen, prepping the snacks that would go with their somaek, a mix of soju and beer, which Moonbyul and Mingyu poured over several plastic cups minutes ago before leaving them alone.

Outside the kitchen, the old warehouse bustled with laughter and chatter, with Jisoo being the instigator of some stupid antic again—about cilantro, Lisa heard. Her friends' frustrated and appalled reactions—plus Karina's and Winter's dead stares—told they had resorted to playfully attacking Jisoo and her possibly outrageous, nonsensical defending of Jennie's hatred for the herb. Jisoo kept hold of Love as if making the dog take her side. But she understood that the eclectic group helped distract her friend from her broken heart that night.

She scolded Jisoo earlier for feeling too cozy with her feet propped on the dining table, so she warned her that if the table got any scratches, Jisoo would have to pay for a new one. And so, Jisoo gathered the group over the unfinished space with several paint buckets and construction tools lying scattered about, pulling two bottle crates for a makeshift table. Seulgi and Hyunjin took more stuff from the construction remnants—hollow blocks and paint buckets—to serve as everybody's seats.

Poor Jis. While she was doing great in the love life department, Jisoo was stuck being in love on her own with a straight girl, and now Jisoo finally had a dose of unrequited love that all her friends saw coming. Well, Jisoo had been taking that poison for three years already, she could only wish it would be the start of Jisoo moving on from her stupid pining. None of them knew how Jisoo dealt with a broken heart, so that should be something to place their attention to. And it seemed their clown friend was being her normal self after whatever happened with Jennie that afternoon.

The manic energy coming from Jisoo was infectious; everyone in the circle joined in, and Lisa found herself smiling inwardly for a short moment as she mused at the group's backdrop—her restaurant, slowly coming to life, with friends hanging out to have a great time. All the good, fun stuff, including Love's nub wagging excitedly. It was the first time she took a moment to appreciate what she got and who she had as her ride or die, no matter how bad the morning ended with Sinn and Nichkhun. Casting a glance at Roseanne, who was occupied with helping her prepare the dry squid, her heart was squeezed fully at the realization that life had thrown her something quite nice for the first time. Something more than lemons.

Being with Roseanne encouraged her to do more than just fucking lemonades. Perhaps a juice for all seasons, some sparkling juice that combined all fruits in the world. She felt a swell of warmth and pride as something within her shifted. It was as if her insides had gained wings, and nothing weighted her down. Her heart was getting stirred into the feeling of contentment that felt so surreal that she had to pinch the back of her hand to make sure she was not stuck in a dream.

"You're really not going to do the most basic thing ever in the kitchen, are you?" Roseanne gave Lisa a playful side-eye while placing the dried squids into clean plates after soaking them in water for thirty minutes.

Handing Roseanne a pack of paper towels, Lisa defended, "Chaeng, this is basic. I'm just going to fry them."

"Well, we're going extra, chef, coating them with batter instead of simply throwing them straight into the pan," Roseanne teased, lightly brushing the tips of her fingers underneath Lisa's chin.

Lisa frowned with a look of innocence, followed by a release of shallow breath. "But this is still simple." Her eyes wandered around the bowls of flour mixed with water, starch, and paprika on the worktable.

Finding the frown very cute, Roseanne could not help but grab Lisa's face suddenly, placing one hand on the side of Lisa's head and the other cupping her face as she planted a deep kiss on Lisa's cheek, creating a loud, 'smack' sound. Deliberately, she glanced at the glassed wall facing the restaurant's dining area, where she caught Karina's eyes growing wider, elbowing Winter beside her.