Outline of You | Jensoo

Ch13.

Instinctively, Jisoo straightens up and tries to neaten her hair, blinking hard a few times in an attempt to look more sober than she really is.

"Sorry to be barging in after hours," Jennie sounds so apologetic Jisoo almost apologises too. "I was just passing by and then I saw you guys through the window and thought I'd come in to say hi. But... um...," she hesitates, caught between a flood of concern for Jisoo and respecting her privacy.

"Good thing you did," Soojoo chuckles, genuine and welcoming. "Come have a seat here," she gestures towards the bar stool beside Jisoo, before reconsidering, then pointing to another one further away, "or you might want to take that one instead if you're allergic to drunkards who cannot think straight."

"Hey!" Jisoo protests and instantly regrets as the pounding in her head intensifies. She winces, making sure her back is to Jennie until the throb returns to bearable.

"Don't mind her. Would you like something to drink?"

Jennie glances at the mess of bottles around Jisoo, who has refused to text, call, or meet up with her outside of work for a couple of weeks now, and she worries about what has gotten into her. "Thanks but I think I'll share with this one, though. She looks like she could use some help."

Jisoo scowls childishly, "I don't need any help."

Refraining from pinching Jisoo's puffed-up cheek, Jennie chuckles, "Sharing is caring." And she takes the bottle and drinks from it anyway.

Soojoo's lips tug up at the sight. She knows Jennie is drinking from Jisoo's supply so that the stupid drunkard would have less to drink.

"I assume you don't need a shot glass then, guzzling from the bottle like that," Soojoo teases and then thumbs to the kitchen. "Well, I have to clean up the back, so, take care of her, will ya?"

"No promises, but I'll try."

They laugh and Soojoo throws a wave over her shoulder before rounding the corner.

"So," Jennie settles beside Jisoo and folds her arms on the countertop, "what's the occasion?"

She observes the deep flush in the architect's face, from her forehead down her cheeks to her neck and disappearing under the collar.

"You're checking me out."

In a hidden fluster, Jennie instantly averts her gaze and clears her throat. From the corner of her eye, the silly lop-sided grin that Jisoo wears makes her cough out a laugh.

"Nope," Jennie pops the 'p' and drinks from the bottle, "and speaking of which, you're the one who hasn't been checking in with me." She abruptly finds that saying it aloud makes her sound less like a concerned friend and more like a demanding girlfriend, and she internally cringes.

"Check in with you, where? Sounds sleazy," Jisoo's voice is low and husky, as she leans the side of her face against her loose fist, propped up at an angle against her elbow on the countertop. She still has that dopey harmless grin, which, try as she might, cannot look less innocent.

Heat rises in Jennie's cheeks, in spite of herself, and she chuckles to mask it. She taps a finger on her phone screen, her painted nail clicking crisply against it. "Here, silly."

"Oh," Jisoo says eloquently and sighs through a small smile, reaching out to retrieve her bottle from Jennie's side. As Jisoo takes a swig from it, Jennie horrifies herself with the thought of indirect kissing, and hurriedly diverts her attention to the interior decor instead.

It does not escape Jennie's notice, though, that Jisoo has neither answered her question nor offered an explanation on her radio silence over text.