twelve months after • jenlisa

EIGHT

Jennie woke up the next morning, quite refreshed. She really needed a good night's sleep because of the headache that visited her last night, and by headache she meant the one and only Lalisa Manoban.

After quickly making her bed, she made her way to her on-suite bathroom, taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth. She blow-dried her hair, letting it flow naturally, she did her makeup minimally (as she always did) and got dressed for the day. She settled in wearing a silk black button-up shirt tucked into a pair of mom jeans with a Chanel belt. She also grabbed a suit jacket before heading downstairs.

Jogging barefeet down the stairs, the least expected sight greeted her. It was Lalisa Manoban in her kitchen cooking breakfast, and it seemed that she was far from burning it down.

"Good morning, Jennie." greeted Lisa as she notices the smaller girl's presence. She took the last pancake from the pan and placed it on the stack of already-made ones.

"What are you doing?" asked Jennie as she approached the counter.

"I'm not burning the house down, don't worry." assured Lisa with a small smile as she took three pancakes on a separate plate with butter and maple syrup for Jennie.

She gently pushed the plate across the counter to Jennie, "Eat up."

"Thank you." thanked Jennie quietly. If she was to be honest, she forgot when was the last time she had breakfast at home. She only grabs coffee and a muffin at Starbucks and for her breakfast. The only proper meal she eats is lunch, since she is always invited by Chaeyoung or Jisoo.

"Do you still like your eggs scrambled, Jen?" asked Lisa as she grabs two eggs from the carton in the pantry.

"Yeah." answered Jennie.

"Alright." Lisa cracked the eggs in the pan and slowly mixed them around.

"When did you learn to cook?" asked Jennie, genuinely curious.

Jennie took a bite of the pancakes and they surprisingly tasted amazing, despite only having butter and maple syrup as toppings. Jennie remembered when Lisa could barely cook an egg, she smiled at that thought.

"Two months in Thailand, I realized that I couldn't possibly live on takeout. So, I taught myself through Youtube." said Lisa as she proceeded to add some salt and pepper to the eggs.

Jennie chuckled, "That's funny."

"What is?" Lisa furrowed her brows together.

"I don't know, I just imagine you trying to learn how to cook." said Jennie.

Lisa found it fascinating how conversations go so smoothly with Jennie when they both act like civilized adults, the fact that they haven't seen each other in a year would never cross your mind.

"It was definitely....eventful. My shirt caught on fire once, I was trying to boil an egg, by the way." said Lisa with a small smile on her lips as she carefully slid the scrambled eggs off the pan and onto another plate.

Jennie gave Lisa her first light-hearted laugh of the day, "That's so stupid."

Lisa placed the plate of scrambled eggs in front of Jennie, besides her plate of pancakes with a happy grin. She took the plate of pancakes she reserved for herself and quickly took a bite, leaning against the countertop.

"What time do you go to work?" asked Lisa.

"9 o'clock." answered Jennie as she took a bite of the eggs Lisa served her, they also tasted fantastic.

"Can I drive you?" asked Lisa with hopeful eyes.

"Why?" questioned Jennie.

"I'm gonna be looking for an apartment, too. We could leave the house together." said Lisa.

"Sure." For the first time in so long, Jennie agreed to something Lisa said without picking a fight.

Lisa never thought that a single word would make her so happy, but it did. She let out a toothy smile at Jennie before taking another bite of her pancakes.

"Why...." Jennie cleared her throat, "Why did you leave?"

Lisa stopped chewing her food for a moment before swallowing it and putting her plate down to the counter.

"I....was broken after we broke up, Jennie. On the plane to Thailand, I decided to leave everything behind, I deleted every single social media outlet I had. I used the trip to Thailand as an opportunity to heal myself, to grow, to change." said Lisa as Jennie listened to her intently.

"I travelled all over Asia and took photographs, I printed the photos out and made a magazine with a stapler. It was really crappy but I was really proud of it, and that's when I realized that that's what I wanted to do." said Lisa.

"Then why are you here again, Lisa?" asked Jennie.

"I promised myself that I would come back to Seoul, back to you when I've changed, when I've become the person you deserve to be with."

"Lisa, you didn't have to change."

"I did, Jennie. I was immature and had no idea how the world worked. Now, I've matured and grown as a person."

Jennie nodded her head. She now understood why Lisa had left, everything was crystal clear for her. Lisa just needed to get away from everything, to heal herself and to create another, a better version of herself. Jennie couldn't be more proud of Lisa, if only she had let the taller girl explain herself earlier.

"You know how I always used to say that I'd marry you?" asked Lisa.

"Yeah."

"If I had to be completely honest, that gave me a reason to come back. Up until now, I could never imagine myself marrying anyone else but you." confessed Lisa, looking straight in Jennie's feline eyes.

Jennie's heart was beating madly, just how a schoolgirl would react to her crush. She felt as if she was twenty-one again.

"But you have Kang, now. It's a shame." said Lisa, her eyes showing a different kind of emotion.

Oh right, Kang. Jennie thought to herself.

"Actually, Kang and I aren't together. We've been on a couple of dates but that's it." said Jennie which wasn't totally a lie.

"That's good to know." said Lisa, a tight smile on her lips. "So, are we friends...again?"

Jennie rolled her eyes at the question, "Yeah, whatever, Lisa."

Lisa grinned at Jennie's answer.

"It's 8:25, you should get ready, you still have to drop me off work, you know?" said Jennie with a small smile.

"Yes, ma'am." said Lisa with a military salute and fake-serious face.

"Weirdo."

Lisa just smiled at Jennie who gave her a gummy smile right back.