mean it (jensoo)

chapter 3

They saw each other in passing over the next three days but hadn't had time to catch up for lunch. This was mostly fine by Jennie, since she was still working on getting her shit together so she wouldn't go storming into Jisoo's office with a bouquet of flowers, confessing her unending adoration and infatuation with the CEO and making a real ass of herself.

She narrowly managed to avoid doing this by doing her best to avoid Jisoo completely. If Jisoo called or sent her a text, Jennie would be there in a heartbeat. But right now, she wasn't going to go looking for reasons to exacerbate the burn of her own heartache, which she knew wasn't going away any time soon.

The three days without being alone with Jisoo went by slowly. Of course, Jennie kept an eye open at all times, checking in with Jisoo silently when she happened to be in the office finishing up a piece. Jisoo seemed... off. After everything that had happened with her mother, this didn't surprise Jennie. She was surprised that Jisoo hadn't reached out to her, either, for a band-aid of sorts. On the other hand, Jisoo wasn't used to hearing people tell her no. So when Jennie had denied her what she wanted the other night, she likely felt the rejection deeply. That would explain Jisoo's silence.

Eventually, silence came to an end when Jisoo could no longer hold back the dam of emotions threatening to break through. Her frustration with her mother, her brother, her job, herself... All of it was running high. She needed nothing more or less than an intense wave of relief, and she knew she wasn't going to find it without Jennie. So, without further deliberation, she approached the reporter's desk at the end of the workday.

"Jennie," Jisoo said, voice steady but soft, without the usual confidence Jisoo put on while she was at work. "Could I please see you in my office for a moment?"

"I was just about to head—" Jennie started, then realized that it was her boss speaking, and that staying late was an order, not a request.

That being the case, she closed her mouth, flattened her skirt, and followed Jisoo to her office.

Once the heavy glass door had closed behind them, Jisoo sat on the edge of the desk, in a far more casual position than Jennie had ever seen her (leaned back, legs crossed at the ankles).

Jisoo was silent though, so Jennie finally had to break the awkwardness and ask, "What did you want to see me about? Was my last piece—"

"It's not about work," Jisoo assured her hurriedly. "It's about... It's about something else."

Jennie blinked. Where was this going? If she wanted to get laid, she'd likely have already been naked.

"Okay. Shoot," the reporter encouraged her.

"I've... been busy," Jisoo fumbled.

Raising an eyebrow, Jennie waited for her to continue, but Jisoo said nothing, so Jennie said, "Yes, I know."

"No, I..." Jisoo tried, biting her lip and looking less than confident.

This threw Jennie for a loop. Jisoo hardly ever looked like this anymore. The only time she really was vulnerable was in regard to the wounds created by her mother. Was that what this was about?

Clearing her throat to urge herself on, Jisoo continued, "I haven't been... ignoring you..."

"It would be okay if you were," Jennie said quickly, upon seeing the surprising amount of distress on Jisoo's face. "I upset you, and I know you haven't exactly been pleased with me lately. I would probably avoid me too."

There it was. Right there, in the open. Jennie was sure that Jisoo was mad at her for refusing to engage with her physically the night she'd been crying. But Jennie also knew she'd been avoiding Jisoo herself. Not ignoring, just... not going out of her way to be near her.