The Marrying Type || Jensoo & Chaelisa

Chapter 46

Three days later all three of them were healthy again, thanks to Chaeyoung's vigilant nursing and mothering; the sheer number of nutrients and food and medicine which she'd shoved into them, especially Jennie, would've surely cured an army, but they didn't complain.

And so it came that they all headed out at 3am on a Monday morning to see Chaeyoung off to Africa. Jisoo had refused to let Lisa go alone, and Jennie had gone because Chaeyoung was her friend too. They'd had a little farewell party the night before, after which Lisa had taken care to indulge in all of Chaeyoung, resulting in her being very sore and very sleep-deprived early that morning.

Chaeyoung was practically ready for murder – she hated early morning calls as they were, and despised flying – when you added to that the fact that she was about to leave Lisa for an entire month, her annoyance was more than understandable. She hated seeing Lisa look so down, practically on the brink of tears, and it made her own fight with the nagging feeling in her gut that much harder. There was no witty banter, no snarky comments or jokes that morning; no, Lisa just sat with her in the back of the car whilst Jisoo drove, Chaeyoung's hand in hers whilst her thumb drew endless circles on her skin. Her face was nuzzled in Chaeyoung's neck, and she wore Chaeyoung's hoodie. She had insisted she be let keep it, and Chaeyoung had been more than willing to do so, in exchange for a hoodie of Lisa's to take with her to Africa.

Lisa had given her two, because apparently she'd found out that nights in Chad could actually get cold.

Chaeyoung wasn't so sure if she'd read the right sources.

Jisoo, Jennie and Lisa came with Chaeyoung as far as they could, and for a long while, Chaeyoung and Lisa just stood there, hugging one another as though they had no intentions of letting go. When they did separate, it was only for Chaeyoung to say goodbye to Jennie, after which she enclosed Lisa into her arms once again.

"I'll be back before you know it," Chaeyoung said softly. "And I'll call you the second I can, ok?"

Lisa nodded. "I mean, it's not like I'll miss you or anything, right?"

But the joke was half-hearted at best, and Chaeyoung smiled gently before cupping Lisa's face and kissing her, deep and for as long as she possibly could. She was not one for PDA, but this was an exception. The thought of not being able to do this, to touch and kiss Lisa, to not even see her for an entire month, it bothered her more than anything.

They'd only known a couple of months, and yet, Chaeyoung hated leaving her. She knew she'd miss her – hell, she missed her now, even though she was still there, her lips pressed against hers with one hand planted on her waist. She missed her when she slept at her apartment and Lisa at her own - she sometimes even missed her when Lisa went down to get the mail in the morning.

A month would be hell.

"Well, um," Chaeyoung stammered once she'd pulled away. "I gotta go."

Lisa nodded. "Don't you go catching some stupid tropical disease, okay? Promise?"

Chaeyoung laughed. "No, Lisa, I won't."

And then she went, passed the doors and was gone. Lisa stood there, shoulders hunched and jaw clenched, looking so painfully small that Jisoo couldn't help but feel pity. She walked over and wrapped an arm around Lisa's shoulders, and Lisa sighed then, a shaky breath leaving her chest.

"This is stupid," she muttered.

"I agree," Jisoo sighed, "It's stupid. But she'll be back in a month."

"I know."

"Four weeks."

"It feels so long."