Peek-A-Boo

Chapter 1

"Jennie, wake up." Rosé shakes Jennie's shoulder who is slumped over the table.

It's obvious that Jennie's been drinking again. The apartment reeks of alcohol, bottles are littered all over the dining table and the living room. Unwashed dishes are in the sink and leftovers from last night are still on the table. It's been like this since Jisoo went missing 4 years ago.

Jennie shuffles a little and half heartedly opens her eyes. Rosé smiles at her but the concern on her face is undeniable.

"Chae, how did you get in?" was the first thing that Jennie said.

"You always have a spare key under your doormat."

"Yeah, Jisoo always forgets her key." Jennie automatically said. She and Jisoo lived together for 3 years before she went missing. In those times, Jisoo always locks herself out that's why they put an emergency duplicate. Until now Jennie is still hoping that Jisoo will come back and when that time comes, there's always a key under the mat.

The concern on Rosé's face deepens and was about to say something when Lisa interrupted them.

"What the fuck happened here?" Lisa turns around slowly, taking in the mess all over the place, before resting her gaze at the papers on the coffee table. She picks them up and reads it. "You're still looking for her." She says in a low voice.

"Lisa..." Chae tries to calm her down but Lisa ignores her.

Jisoo is their best friend, the sunshine of the group. Everyone was devastated when the incident happened, a wide search was conducted. Jisoo's face was on every newspaper and missing posters, but they never found her. It didn't help when the police closed the case last year. They are always there for Jennie, but Lisa thinks Jennie should not live in the past and start fixing her life.

"This is going out of hand. You," she points at Jennie, "will snap out of this." Her eyes illuminate fire.

Jennie on the other hand can't think straight, her head is throbbing with pain. "Give me that." she extends her hand, commanding Lisa to hand her the papers. "And leave me alone."

That statement only adds fuel to Lisa's fire. "It's been 4 years! Jisoo's gone!"

"I will find her."

"How?!"

The two are clearly in an argument that Chae can't stop, keeping them from physically hurting each other is the only thing she can do for now.

"I'll find a way!" Jennie clutches her head, the pain increasing.

"What other way?! We followed every lead we can. Searched everywhere and inform everyone. I'm not saying that you should stop looking for her and just forget her. But you have to fix your shit!"

Only silence followed as they stare at each other.

"How can you think straight if you're always drunk?" Lisa continues. "How can you afford the expenses of finding her if you're broke because you don't go to work? Do you think this is what Jisoo wants?"

"She would want to be found." Jennie knows that Lisa's words are true. But she can't bring herself to give up, and if she finds the strength to, she just doesn't know how to fix her life anymore.

"Yes. But do you think she'll be happy to see you like this when you find her?"

Jennie's eyes start to blur as the pool of tears threatened to pour. "I..."

Lisa is kneels beside Jennie, "Listen, we did everything we could, there's no more lead. We'll always be here for you and will search with you when something new comes up. But for now, fix your shit."

Jennie catches her reflection on the wall mirror; her hair tangled, eyes sunken, cheekbones prominent and her whole apartment is a mess.

Would Jisoo still recognise me? She thought.

"Tomorrow," Jennie's voice cracks, "I'll start fixing it tomorrow."

"Start by showering and go to work, okay?" Chae said and Jennie nods. All three of them sink in each other's embrace.

But there's one thing Jennie hasn't told anyone, not the police, not even Lisa and Chae. Jisoo sent her a text message the night she went missing...

'I'm going away. Don't look for me.'