Morning Dedication | Chaelisa Ver.

Ch 22: Telling

💜

She didn't want to have that shower for a number of reasons. She was tired and it seemed like a lot of work and Chaeyoung being there, so intimately close to her when Lisa felt so gross both on the inside and the outside, was just another reason making her want to stay in bed and not live this day.

Especially because Hoseok and Taehyung are coming to see her in a while and Lisa isn't in the mood to be social and make conversation.

Lisa actually came up with a lot of reasons why she shouldn't take a shower and she kept trying them on Chaeyoung, although she knew from the beginning that whatever she said, Chaeng was always going to have something to say back. Even when Lisa decided to be honest and reveal that the main reason why she felt uncomfortable was her body. She doesn't really like herself lately and she told Chaeyoung exactly that.

It was the only argument that caused Chaeyoung to momentarily stop being so insistent. She just took a break from that because she knew that Lisa wasn't saying it just to be a brat or for the sake of the conversation. Lisa's insecurity about her body is an issue that keeps resurfacing every now and then, Chaeyoung just wishes there was something she could do about it. But there is nothing, not really, the only thing she can do is constantly say and show how beautiful she thinks Lisa is. Chaeyoung was planning on doing that either way.

It's what she did today, so after a lot of discussion, Chaeyoung finally managed to convince Lisa and get her up from the bed and take her to the bathroom.

That's where Chaeyoung proved to Lisa that she wasn't just words, that the only thing she cared about wasn't just convincing Lisa to do something she felt uncomfortable doing, only because Minzy asked her to or because Lisa's friends are coming over, but she proved it in practice, that the only thing in Chaeyoung's mind was doing whatever she could to stop Lisa from feeling bad about herself. Lisa didn't have to feel this way, not when it was Chaeyoung who was there for her.

The truth is that Chaeyoung had a hard time pretending that it's an everyday thing helping Lisa shower when Lisa has had a surgery only a few days ago.

Deep down, she was a little scared of hurting her because she's never done this before and didn't even know what to do. But she masked her fear well, it wasn't that bad. Not as bad as when Chaeyoung had to change the dressing on Lisa's surgical wound.

That was another thing that Chaeyoung didn't do before. She never even saw the first wound because Lisa didn't want her to, Minzy always took care of it. But this second wound, Chaeyoung saw it, all of it, today for the first time. It's raw, purple and yellow and ugly and it looks so painful, Chaeyoung is glad that Lisa can't see it because it would only make her feel worse.

So now they find themselves in the bedroom. They're sitting on the mattress, Lisa's in front of Chaeyoung and between her legs while Chaeng combs Lisa's wet hair.

They're silent because Lisa is silent. She's just having a sad day today, not because they've pushed her a little with the shower, it's just how Lisa woke up. Chaeyoung knows because Lisa texts her when she wakes up in the morning and before she falls asleep at night, just to let Chaeyoung know what she's doing, never really bothering to hide the mood that she's in.

But that's the one thing that Chaeyoung hasn't tried 'fixing' because there's nothing to fix. Lisa is allowed to have a bad day. Given what she's going through, her overall attitude is more positive than Chaeyoung was actually expecting.

"They're gonna ask what happened." Lisa whispers, obviously meaning Tae and Hoseok understandably having questions about the surgery.

"You don't need to get into details, you'll say only what you feel like saying." Chaeyoung says, blindly reaching in front of Lisa to tap under her chin, finally making Lisa lift her head up from that sad position so Chaeyoung can start making the braid on Lisa's hair.