finessed | jinsoo (discontinued)

13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Jisoo twirled her hair absentmindedly, her eyes blanked out on the empty stage before her. The lights in the theatre room were dimmed to create a mellow setting, her lone figure casting a shadow upon the carpeted floor beneath her. She sat there, leaning cosily with her legs propped up against the seats at the front as she reminisced about everything and nothing all at once. It was the last week of rehearsals before the actual event on Friday and Jisoo found herself embracing her exclusion from the world at six in the morning. The security guard hadn't looked at her weirdly, in fact, he had welcomed her bright and vibrant company with a grateful smile, seeking companion within the loneliness in the air when no being had thought to arrive so early into the morning.

Minutes passed by, and time ticked away.

Soon, in the comforts of her own company, she slowly dozed off into an unintended slumber, her surroundings soon forgotten as her exhaustion hadn't worn off from the day before. They had all left Jin's home around nine o'clock on a Sunday night, everyone burned out from the pile of assignments and report they had to complete before the impending deadline this coming week.

Jisoo didn't know how long she fell asleep for, but when she woke up with a startled gasp that had echoed throughout the stilled room, the ambience continued to remain untouched, everything still in its original place except for the letterman jacket that was unknowingly placed onto her petite body, the largeness of it covering her entire torso. She looked around for a brief while, trying to make sense of the world around her. But as soon as she became more aware, she had calmed down, her body returning to her previous position as she snuggled deeper into the jacket, inhaling the familiar smell that had invaded her senses in her dreamless sleep. Classes had probably already started by now, but at that moment she didn't care. Jisoo felt deadbeat, finding it difficult to juggle her time between her studies, friends and all the responsibilities that she had taken up in school.

Furthermore, her own mother was beginning to worry her.

Jisoo hadn't missed the tired and weary looks her mother had unintentionally thrown her way whenever she got back home from work. Jisoo was almost beginning to feel like a burden, like a child who took things for granted. She felt like she needed to step up to do something, anything, to bear her own needs and wants. The idea had planted its seed into Jisoo's mind for a quite some time now. She planned to scout for a part-time job as soon as the holidays begin.

By the time Jisoo woke up from her pleasant nap, it was already lunchtime. She stretched arms upwards, rotating her body around as she felt her bones crack underneath her skin. She snatched the jacket that had fallen off onto the floor while she was sleeping along with her school bag and quickly made her way towards the cafeteria, her stomach grumbling in desperate pleas of hunger.

Jisoo instantly spotted her group of friends at the corner of the cafeteria, the loudest bunch as compared to the others in the cafeteria who were slightly toned down, albeit still loud. They weren't hard to miss, really. If you see some girl imitating memes as she simultaneously runs away from a lovestruck boy, her two female friends cowering away in embarrassment as the other boys encourage her, then you'd know.

"Oh hey, looks like sleeping beauty finally woke up!" Jimin immediately teased Jisoo as she stepped into his frame, looking fresh and rejuvenated.

Jisoo smirked as she slammed her bag on the empty seat next to her, "That's right homies! I'm back on my bullshit." She wiggled her eyebrows as she did a 'ticking' pose under her chin, her eyes accidentally locking gazes with Jin, who was sitting all the way at the other end of the table. Jisoo instantly dropped the act, clearing her throat awkwardly as she averted her eyes onto someone else, which just so happens to be Minhyuk, a boy who was open about his gigantic crush on Jisoo ever since they worked on a school project together. He winked at Jisoo as soon as he saw her looking his way.