Hawái (Chaesoo)

Chapter Three: Messages Unsent

Seoul was cloaked in its usual haze of neon lights and endless activity, but Jisoo barely noticed. She sat in the corner of a quaint café, her oversized hoodie shielding her from curious eyes. In front of her was a half-empty mug of coffee, the steam long gone cold.

Her phone buzzed against the table. She glanced at the screen, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the notification. It wasn’t a text from Rosé—it never was—but a fan account tagging her in another Hawai'i photo.

Rosé and Jaehyun, laughing over dinner, her smile radiant under the glow of string lights. It was too perfect, too staged, and yet it still hurt.

Jisoo sighed, locking her phone. She reached for her coffee, the bitter taste grounding her. How was it possible to miss someone this much? To feel their absence in every quiet moment?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the chime of the café door. A man walked in, tall and unassuming, his baseball cap pulled low. For a split second, Jisoo’s pulse quickened—it wasn’t him. She looked away, embarrassed by her own reaction.

---

Meanwhile, halfway across the world, Rosé sat on the edge of her hotel bed, staring at her phone. She had spent the morning scrolling through her social media feed, pretending to be interested in the waves crashing below. The truth was, she wasn’t interested in anything except one person—one she hadn’t spoken to in weeks.

“Kim Jisoo,” she murmured under her breath, her Australian accent lingering on the syllables.

The name felt foreign on her tongue now, as if speaking it aloud might make the distance between them more real. Her thumb hovered over the message thread with Jisoo, where their last conversation—a curt exchange about forgotten belongings—remained untouched.

Her heart raced as she typed a message:

“Your song… I heard it. I think it was meant for me. Was it?”

She stared at the screen for what felt like hours, the cursor blinking at the end of the sentence. Then, without giving herself time to second-guess, she hit delete.

Instead, she typed: “I hope you’re doing well.”

But even that felt too much. She deleted it, tossing her phone onto the bed with a groan. Jaehyun’s voice drifted in from the balcony.

“Rosé, you okay in there?”

She took a deep breath, smoothing her hair as she stood. “Yeah, just finishing up some emails.”

Jaehyun nodded when she stepped outside, handing her a glass of sparkling water. “Thought you might need a break.”

She smiled, grateful for his presence. He wasn’t pushy, and he never asked for more than she could give. But as they sat together watching the waves, Rosé couldn’t help but wish it was someone else sitting beside her.

---

That night, Jisoo lay awake in her apartment, staring at the ceiling. She had written three songs that week, each one more painful than the last. Her producer had praised her for the raw emotion in her music, calling it her best work yet. But Jisoo didn’t feel proud—she felt exposed.

Her phone sat on the nightstand, its screen dark. She picked it up, scrolling aimlessly until she found Rosé’s name in her contacts. Her finger hovered over the call button, her mind racing with what she might say.

“I miss you.”
“Why did you leave?”
“Come back.”

Instead, she locked her phone and set it down again, frustration bubbling inside her. Jisoo had never been good with words. That was Rosé’s gift—her ability to say what Jisoo felt but couldn’t express.

As the hours dragged on, she finally gave in. She opened her notes app and began to write.

"I saw the photo today. You looked happy. I want to believe you are, but part of me wonders if you’re just pretending, like I am. I heard your laugh in my head, the real one—not the one for cameras. I miss that sound."

She paused, her fingers trembling over the screen.

"I miss you."

Jisoo stared at the words, then deleted the note with a sharp swipe. What was the point? Rosé was thousands of miles away, smiling in someone else’s arms.

---

The next morning, Rosé and Jaehyun prepared to leave Hawai'i. As she packed her suitcase, Rosé found herself slipping into old habits, scrolling through Jisoo’s Instagram. The comments on Jisoo’s latest post—the performance video—were filled with praise. Fans speculated about the meaning behind the song, some even wondering if it was about her.

Rosé’s chest tightened. She wanted to believe the song was for her, that Jisoo still thought about her the way she thought about Jisoo. But was it too late?

On the plane back to Seoul, Rosé stared out the window, the clouds rolling beneath her. The flight attendants moved through the cabin, offering drinks, but she barely noticed. Her thoughts were elsewhere.

By the time the plane landed, Rosé had made a decision. She would send Jisoo a message. Maybe it wouldn’t fix anything, but she needed to know if the connection they once shared was still there.

Her phone buzzed as she turned it on. A notification appeared at the top of the screen—a new post from Jisoo.

Rosé hesitated before opening it. The caption read: “Sometimes, you just have to let go. But some things never leave you.”

Her heart sank. Was Jisoo letting go of her?

Rosé locked her phone and leaned back in her seat. Maybe Jaehyun had been right. Maybe it was time to stop pretending.