Gain

Chapter Thirteen

The girls waited in Jisoo's place and had heard nothing from Jennie. Chae's nerves were eating her up inside. About two hours ago, Jennie's mom had called Jisoo to ask where her daughter was. She had missed the operation but Kuma was alright. He should have a safe recovery. Jennie's mom asked to tell her to call as soon as she got back. Jisoo had lied that something urgent had come up at work. Heading to the kitchen she guzzled down a glass of water.

Ten minutes passed when they heard murmurs and footsteps. A door opened and they all hurried outside. Running, Jisoo slammed her foot in the door before it could close. Seeing the blonde, she fucking knew that this bitch had something to do with it.

"Jisoo," Cass greeted with a tight smile.

"Where's Jennie?" Chae rushed up behind

"Who the fuck is this?" Cass pointed

Chae took in the stand offish behaviour from the blonde stranger and forced down her immediate reaction to such hostility.

"Let us in," Jisoo looked at her gravely.

Sighing Cass explained that it had been a long day. She needed to rest as it was an early morning tomorrow.

"This isn't your room, Cass" Jisoo gritted.

"Isn't it passed your guys bed times anyway?" Cass smirked.

They heard a door close behind Cass and it momentarily eased up the tension. Chae tried to rush in to the room, shouting Jennie's name. However she couldn't enter as Cass blocked her way. They stared at each other furiously.

"Was Jennie with you the whole day?" Lisa spoke

Cass took in the young Thai woman. They looked at each other knowingly. Seeing that made something sickly crawl up Jisoo's spine. Smiling at Lisa, Cass pushed Chae away from the door.

"Yeah she was. I came back last night and surprised her this morning. I took her on our own little date and then we went on a double date. With all the time I've been gone I'm sure you can understand if I wanted my girlfriend all to myself," she licked her lips.

They could all see that they wouldn't get any answers from this woman. Chae was just happy to know that Jennie was safe. Jisoo had enough she told Cass that Jennie needs to come in to work tomorrow and that they can't spontaneously head out again. Cass shrugged as they headed back to Jisoo's room. They sat in silence until Lisa's phone pinged. Reading the message she excused herself for the night. Chae sighed deeply.

"Jisoo, what the fuck is going on. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed that," she pointed to the door Lisa had just left from

"And now Jennie. Is that really Jennie's girlfriend?'' Chae looked up hopelessly.

Jisoo was glad that she wasn't the only who saw Lisa's odd behaviour. As for Cass, she honestly didn't know. They had arguments in the pass and Jisoo only acted civil for the sake of her friend but Cass has been giving her bad vibrations for a long time. Lisa had been acting odd for the past few months but recently it had become more frequent. On top of that she had no clue what was going on with Jennie. Jisoo felt like she was sinking, her head panged.

Soft fingers worked the base of the back of her neck. Jisoo saw Chae kneeling in front of her. The red head told her to relax and she did instinctively. Chae's fingers seemed to knead the pain away has they moved slightly up in to her hair and around the back of her head. She felt her head tilting forward and it met gently with Chae's. The other girl continued to massage her has they leaned against each other. Jisoo gave herself this moment. Far too soon, Chae released her neck and kissed her temples. She smiled at her and hugged Jisoo warmly.

"Come Jisoo, let's talk.'' Chae made her way back to the couch and Jisoo joined her.

Jisoo was confused as she wasn't clear as to what Chae was referring to. She began to mention some concern about Lisa but was cut off.

"No, Jisoo. Let's talk about you. How are you? Are you coping? Have you been getting rest? It's okay if you're hurt too," Chae smiled in understanding.

The purple haired girl was taken aback. She had never really been asked those questions. Though it wasn't entirely official, management and the other girls' treated her like the leader of Blackpink. She knew it was mainly due to age but she also knew it wasn't something she ever wanted. Then out of nowhere, she blinked and found herself in her current position. They sat quietly as she thought.

"'I'm drained, Chaeyoung. I'm fully drained. I've been treading on shallow water and I still don't know what to do. I'm so deeply worried about the other girls and each time I try to talk with them they just shut me out. I...I've never felt so alone," Jisoo's eyes became damp.

Chae listened patiently as Jisoo let out her heart. The older girl spoke of the consistent mistreatment, Blackpink has been receiving from YG. They were barely given work and what they did do could only be taken seriously at face value. Hatred and repeated misunderstandings seemed to follow the girls. Despite this they were expected to perform and uphold the long standing reputation YG agency had built over the years. They sacrificed their childhoods, to commit to this whim. It was the only thing they had and it was turning out to not be enough.

Their training had been difficult. Jisoo saw Chae nod to that. But once you've passed that you realise that training was the good part. Chae's eyebrows wrinkled.

"The YG dungeon is one of the worst places you can ever experience. In their every minute of every day they throw your insecurities at you. You are constantly reminded that you really did do this on a whim and it could only be confirmed through the validation of others. They pit you against others. But mainly they pit you against yourself. And that is what stays," a tear escaped Jisoo's eyes.

"There are thousands of children, with incredible talent in those dungeons. Some walk away, most disappear and the few who make it to the top level are met with the harsh reality that, the dungeon will always be your shadow. And no one knows. Nobody fucking knows," Jisoo began to heave.

Chae moved to hug her as the older girl cried out her frustrations. She held on to Jisoo, making sure to be as caring as possible. These girls were fragile and strong. They were afraid and courageous. They were so many things all at once that Chae felt a kinship she had never before known. They fought for each other but were simultaneously fighting alone. Chae knew exactly what that was like and for the first time since she was a child she felt like she could breathe. They were walking contradictions seeking a place to call home. As she held Jisoo nearer, she decided that these three girls would be exactly that.