Second Overtime | JENSOO & CHAELISA

Chapter XXXVI

Jisoo knew something was wrong before first period ended.

It wasn't one big thing, that would have been easier. Big things announced themselves with yelling, slammed doors, people crying in bathrooms, or Lisa dramatically threatening violence over lunch. 

This was different. A wrongness stitched into the ordinary fabric of the morning, barely visible unless you knew where to look.

Lisa kept checking her phone. That alone wasn't strange. Lisa checked her phone constantly because she loved to send unnecessary memes, argue in three different group chats simultaneously, or update Rosé on things Rosé was probably standing right beside her to hear. 

But today, every time Lisa's screen lit up, her whole face changed. Not much, but just enough to make it look suspicious. Her mouth tightened. Her shoulders went stiff. Her eyes flicked across the room like she was mapping exits.

Jisoo noticed because Jisoo always noticed Lisa. 

By lunch, it wasn't just Lisa.

Seulgi was too loud. That, unfortunately, was normal. But today her loudness felt forced, like she was trying to cover the fact that she kept glancing at Moonbyul every three seconds. Moonbyul looked calm, which meant absolutely nothing, Moonbyul could look calm during a fire drill, a funeral, or possibly an actual murder investigation.

Jeongyeon was quiet.

That was the part that bothered Jisoo most.

Jeongyeon was blunt and steady and usually looked like she was two seconds away from calling everyone in the room stupid, affectionately or otherwise. Today, she barely touched her food and kept looking toward the cafeteria entrance.

Jisoo sat beside Lisa, her bad knee stretched carefully under the table, and let the silence gather before she spoke. "What's going on?"

Lisa froze with a fry halfway to her mouth.

Seulgi choked on her drink.

Moonbyul sighed.

Jeongyeon closed her eyes like she'd been expecting this.

Lisa recovered first. "What do you mean?"

Jisoo stared at her. "That was terrible."

"What was?"

"That." She pointed at Lisa's face. "Your lying face."

Lisa made an offended sound. "I do not have a lying face."

"You absolutely have a lying face."

Seulgi nodded before she could stop herself. "You do." Lisa glared at her. Seulgi immediately looked away and pretended to be fascinated by her burger.

Jisoo leaned back, arms folding across her chest. "So?"

Lisa's jaw moved. For a second, she looked like she wanted to say something, something heavy enough that it had been weighing on her all morning. Then her eyes flicked over Jisoo's shoulder across the cafeteria, and whatever she saw there made her pull back.

Jisoo followed the look.

Jennie sat across the cafeteria with Nayeon. She looked tired.

That wasn't new.

These days Jennie always looked tired in a way makeup couldn't hide. Her shoulders were squared, her uniform neat, her hair perfect, but there was something missing from her face. Like every expression had to travel too far to reach the surface, which made Jisoo's heart ache, but there was nothing she could do, not yet.