it's always ourselves that we find in the sea || jensoo

Chapter 13

Jennie had a few awkward questions to answer the next morning when she finally saw Minzy, who had come home late the night before, and she winced when she saw herself in the bathroom mirror. She'd got in a few good hits herself, but she was sporting a colourful bruise around one eye and her split lip had scabbed over, and Minzy gently chided her as she placed a bag of peas in a dish towel and pressed it to Jennie's face while she ate her bowl of oats. She'd skimmed over a few of the details about what had happened, but she could see the wary look in her adoptive mothers eyes as she eyed Jennie, wondering what to make of the whole situation, while Jennie was sitting at the kitchen table trying to figure out what to make of it as well. The better part of her morning was spent trying to puzzle through her feelings, sitting on the balcony with a cup of coffee, wearing a thin jumper - the first one of the autumn as the bracing sea air held a chill to it - watching the deep blue waves crash onto the beach below her, while she took in the leaves of the surrounding trees, which were turning red and starting to fall. Autumn was ushered in, and she realised that she was no better off than she had been a few months ago.

It was just after lunchtime when she rose from her spot on the balcony and went into her room, packing her bag with clothes and books and sending Minzy a message to tell her she was leaving. She sent the same one to Jisoo, telling her to call if she needed anything, and then she was walking into town and climbing onto the next flight to Seoul. Too restless to settle down with a good book, Jennie ate the ham and cheese sandwich she'd bought at the airport and sipped at a bottle of lemonade, hoping it would settle her roiling stomach. It was a perfect October day - a day for figuring things out.

   Jennie felt a pang of homesickness being back, and when she left the airport, inhaling the smell of smoke, car exhaust and stagnant water from the puddles accumulating over blocked drains, she realised that her life was different now. Gone was the fresh air and small town slowness of Auckland, and she was thrust back into the big, bustling city with its grimy streets and impatient residents, neon lights flickering outside every building as she walked down the street.

Catching a bus through the city, she listened to the loud honking outside as they got stuck in rush hour traffic, and was jolted around every time they hit a pothole, and by the time she reached Chaeyoung's apartment building, she was tired and confused and wearily hauled the faded blue duffel bag over to the elevator. She knew she should've called her sister and told her she was coming, but she hadn't wanted to get into it over the phone, which was her main reason for coming. Jisoo had been right - she needed to talk to Chaeyoung. It wasn't a conversation she wanted to have over the phone though, so she'd hopped on the first bus, and now here she was, knocking on Chaeyoung's door and listening to the gentle padding of bare feet making their way towards her. A feeling of relief washed over her at the fact that Chaeyoung was home, because otherwise she would've had to wait it out at the dive bar they frequented, or hang out at Bobby's place. But the door opened to reveal Chaeyoung, her brown eyes widening in surprise, and Jennie pulled her into a hug, her eyes prickling as the full weight of how much she'd missed her sister hit her.

"What the fuck happened to your face?!" Chaeyoung said, gently pushing her back and gripping Jennie's chin in her hand as she drank in the black eye and split lip.

Jennie gave her a hesitant smile as she extracted herself from her sister's grip, "long story."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming home?" Chaeyoung asked, a bright smile on her face as she shut the door and took Jennie's bag off her.

"It's not permanent," Chaeyoung gently told her, "I just- I had to see you."

Her sister gave her a thoughtful look, before walking over to her bedroom door and tossing Jennie's bag inside. "Alright, well go and put your pajamas on and you can watch Netflix with me."