The Marrying Type || Jensoo & Chaelisa

Chapter 25

Dara entered her house around half past 3 in the morning and walked straight into a raucous, drunken game of Jenga. The whole house smelled strongly of mulled wine and spices, and there was a happy fire crackling in the fireplace. A bag of marshmallows lay on the floor nearby, as did a platter that had most likely once held graham crackers and chocolate pieces. Jisoo and her friends were gathered around the coffee table, all of them watching intently as Bogum attempted to maneuver a piece out of the tower.

She stood in the living room doorway for almost a minute before the group finally realized her presence.

"Hi, Dara!" Lisa cried, waving enthusiastically.

"Hi, kids. I see you started celebrating without me."

Jisoo walked over to her mother, cheeks slightly pink from both embarrassment and the alcohol. "We're not really drunk, Mom, we're just playing Jenga. I hope that's ok."

"At 3 in the morning?"

"It's very intense."

Dara laughed. "It's fine, Jisoo. Just try to keep it down, ok? And do try to get some sleep, we'll be headed for the cemetery tomorrow afternoon."

Jisoo nodded. "I know."

"Oh, and don't you dare wake me before noon unless someone is literally dying. I had the worst shift."

"Got it, mom."

Dara threw her one last smirk and walked up the stairs, leaving the living room to the 'kids'. Jisoo hopped back onto her seat on the couch, with Jennie seated behind her so that her legs were on both her sides. She leaned back into Jennie's body, and sighed contently as she felt the warmth and was surrounded by the faintly sweet and fresh scent that seemed to shroud Jennie at all times.

"You guys wanna play something other than Jenga?" Jisoo asked.

"Shh, wait." Irene snapped. She was halfway through trying to take a piece out from the very bottom, and her tongue stuck out of her mouth just slightly as she concentrated on keeping her hands steady. But she was drunk, and so her attempt failed, sending the tower of wooden blocks clattering along the table and the floor.

"Yeah, guys. Let's play Monopoly or something, Mom won't like the racket."

They gathered the game away and began setting up for a game of Monopoly. Suho yawned widely when they were passing around the pieces, making almost a show of how tired he was.

"I think I'm going to bed."

"What, now? But we're just starting the game." Irene asked, perplexed. "Surely you want to play?"

"I drove all the way from Texas."

"But it's Christmas."

"I'm really tired."

Irene stared at him for a while, not believing what she was hearing. Suho never turned down an opportunity to whoop Lisa's ass in a game, let alone Monopoly - he was the only one who really stood a chance against her. And yet, there he was, pretending to be tired and looking like he couldn't wait to get out of the room.

"Ok, fine. Good night."

The annoyance in her voice was not just caught by her husband; everyone in the room heard it, even Jennie, who barely knew her - Irene was just slightly off from pissed, and she wondered what was going on. It all seemed so confusing - she couldn't place Suho, couldn't figure him out, he seemed jumpy and shifty and she couldn't fathom why or how Jisoo could consider him a friend.

"Good night."

With that, Suho stood up, offered Jisoo an apologetic smile, and walked out of the room. There was a moment of silence, which was ended when Irene scoffed and said: "What a wuss. I've been up for like what, 30 hours? And I'm fine."