The Clandestine Us

Thirty-eight

───── ❝ Lisa's POV ❞ ─────

I've been third-wheeling Jennie and Jungkook for hours now... and honestly? No regrets.

Jennie, being the best friend that she is, knows exactly how to make sure I never feel left out. Jungkook, on the other hand, looks like he's doing everything short of begging me to leave them alone. His side-eyes have been relentless, and I just respond with a mocking glare or an exaggerated eye roll every time.

So childish.

Rosé's been chilling with Jisoo, who's caught up in some deep conversation with Joy and Seulgi somewhere. That left me stuck with the secret couple.

Jennie clearly enjoys having me around. Jungkook? Not so much... To the point that I want to a remind him that I had Jennie first. I met her first. We bathe together. We live together. We used to be roommates. I've known her the longest, and I was her prom date... Thank you very much.

Right now, Jennie's laughing as she watches a group of NCT boys jump in sync to the music—only for the entire circle to fall apart when some of them slip on the wet inflatable. Jungkook's holding her hand, completely unbothered by the chaos, gently playing with her fingers.

I laughed along when the boys surfaced, already pointing fingers and arguing about whose fault it was.

"Did you see Johnny and Doyoung's faces? That was epic!" Jennie said between giggles.

Jungkook, meanwhile, frowned at the mention of other men. His brows knit, lips jutting forward into a pout.

Childish. Jealous.

"I saw Yuta and Taeyong, mouths wide open like they just watched a horror movie," I said, laughing harder.

"What's so funny about that?" Jungkook grumbled, eyebrows still furrowed, lips still pouty.

"You're such a killjoy. You just turned a year older and you're already acting like you're in your menopausal era," Jennie teased, nudging his side.

"I just didn't find it funny," he insisted, still sulking.

"Maybe JK needs to hang out with people who get his dry humor. Why don't you go join the 97-liners over there?" I said with a smirk, throwing another jab his way.

He shot me a glare, but Jennie looked... convinced.

"Yeah, you should go hang out with them. You might be getting bored with us," Jennie said, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Huh?" Jungkook blinked in disbelief. "What? No... I'm enjoying myself. Really... I swear! I even thought it was funny! I was just teasing you, babe."

Lame excuse. I gave him a look.

Jennie giggled. He glared at me again but immediately softened the moment his eyes met hers.

So childish. So jealous. So obviously whipped.

"I'm not going to get mad if you're bored, you know," Jennie said sweetly. "We were planning to bond with the girls at the front anyway."

"Let's go?" she added, already getting up.

Jungkook had no choice but to follow when Jennie started walking toward the beach club, where the 97-liners were gathered with some of the Stray Kids boys.

"Yo!" their voices echoed in unison when Jungkook approached.

Jennie and I stopped a few steps away, watching the group welcome him like a long-lost brother.

"Have fun," Jennie mouthed to him with a playful smile, then pulled me toward the bathroom.

She called Jisoo, asking her to bring concealer. A few minutes later, Jisoo showed up with Rosé in tow. We quickly helped Jennie cover the hickeys peeking out a little before snapping a few mirror selfies.