THE LIGHT OF LOVE | JENLISA

Chapter 8.

"Good job guys!" Jisoo and Rosé, together as usual, approached Jennie and Lisa with happy smiles on their faces. Their group got an A- for the English class assignment which was the highest grade in the class. "Your analysis was brilliant, how much time did you two spend on it yesterday?"

"About two hours." Lisa replied truthfully.

"Yeah, sure. How much time, really?"

"Two hours, I swear. We just worked really hard."

"Seriously? Wow." Jisoo looked at Jennie.

"What?" Jennie asked curiously.

"It's just that you must be good at motivating people. Because until now Lisa has never done anything above a bare minimum." The Thai felt slightly bad because, let's face it, she was being called lazy. She had to admit that it was true, but hearing this from a friend still hurt a little.

"Oh, maybe Lisa just realized the potential she has." Jennie answered simply. Lisa didn't feel hurt anymore, she was overcome with pride. It was a simple compliment, but coming from Jennie, it meant a lot.

"I'll see you girls later." Jennie excused herself awkwardly and strolled away.

"She never really smiles." Rosé observed. "And there's something mysterious about her. Lisa, did you notice something... unusual when you were studying together?"

"No, she's just a normal girl with a troubled past." Lisa lied. Even her best friends wouldn't understand what was going on between her and Jennie.

"Hmm." Rosé seemed unconvinced, staring at Lisa's eyes with a questioning look. But she didn't spot anything suspicious. "Anyway, it's Friday, are you going out like usual?"

Friday night was like a weekly ritual for Lisa. Wear flashy clothes, put extravagant make up, go clubbing, dance, drink a lot, maybe hook up with a stranger... Then suffer from a physical and moral hangover on Saturday morning. And then next Friday do the same things again. Rinse and repeat.

"I don't know..." she replied, and seeing how shocked her friends are, she immediately added:

"I mean of course I am, I don't remember the last time I got an A, it's something to celebrate, right?" she faked a cocky smile.

"You're very weird today. Don't think I can't see it." Jisoo said, gazing at her pensively. "Chae, what do you think, isn't she being weird?"

"Sure she is. Something's bothering her, but she's just not ready to share it yet. Lisa, just remember you can talk to us anytime you want, okay?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." Lisa stayed in denial, although she felt awful for lying to her friends. "I have to go, see you girls around."

***

To go out or not to go out. That was the question Lisa was pondering over for the last two hours. She was an adult, the school week was over, she deserved some fun time. And yet... Why was she suddenly feeling guilty for wanting to go clubbing? Screw it. She called Momo and Nayeon, her usual companions on Friday night.

"Hey. It's me. Yeah, I'm coming." she paused for several seconds. "Fine. See you there."

Two hours later, dressed in a reddish blouse and a black miniskirt, Lisa entered the "Black Lion", one of the most exclusive clubs in the city. It was packed, but Lisa didn't mind, she loved the overpowering atmosphere of a full crowd, loud music and blinding laser lights.

"Let's go upstairs and have some fun." Nayeon was visibly excited about the fun they were going to have. Once on the first floor, they ordered drinks at the bar and then went dancing, the part of the evening Lisa loved the most. She was the queen and the dance floor was her realm. Her body followed the music almost instinctively, and the fact that she could completely turn off her brain was very relaxing. Then came the second round of drinks and then the third...

A man slightly older than her appeared out of nowhere. "Devilishly attractive, would certainly bang him if I was straight." was the thought that passed through Lisa's mind. "Shit, I must be drunk." she realized and shook her head, trying to sober up. It didn't work.

"Enjoying the night?" he asked.

"Yeah. But I should probably spare you the trouble. I'm not interested in guys." Lisa mumbled out.

"It's fine, I'm not looking to hook up. We can just talk or dance." Wow, what a sweet guy. Lisa smiled. "So come on." she outstretched her arm and led him to the dance floor. They danced together for awhile when Lisa began to feel unwell. The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was how he dragged her towards some back door...

She regained consciousness feeling the cold air on her face. They were outside, in some dark, dirty back alley behind the club. She realized she could barely move and her mind froze in terror. She remembered the stories of girls being drugged and assaulted... Maybe he slipped a pill in her drink... Shit, no, it couldn't be happening! She needed to get out of here... But just when she wanted to do that, someone's hands pushed her against the wall.

"Shh, be quiet." a sleazy, breathy voice whispered. Lisa made an effort to cry but she couldn't, her muscles weren't listening to her brain. As she felt his body pressing against hers, she almost threw up with disgust and fear.

Suddenly, faint steps could be heard in the alley. The man turned back and saw a small brunette girl standing about ten meters away, her furious eyes fixed at him.

"What the f-" he couldn't finish. The girl waved her hands and the guy was hit by an unknown force, sending him flying. He screamed in pain as he hit the ground, but judging by his frightened face, his fear was even stronger than the pain.

Lisa looked at the girl and couldn't believe her own eyes. Jennie was standing with her eyes closed and clenched fists and various objects were just flying in circles around her, it looked like a mini tornado with Jennie in the center. Empty bottles, cans, old newspapers and other junk were just chaotically swirling in the air. The guy whined in pain when the objects suddenly began to hit him, he tried to protect his head but in vain, a large bottle landed on his face and his nose started bleeding. He fell on the ground again, curled up and put his hands over his head, trying to avoid the blows.

Lisa glanced at Jennie again: she was both frightening and majestic, like a beautiful yet deadly goddess. The Thai ran towards her, staggering on the way, knelt down and put her arms around Jennie's legs.

"Enough, Jennie, enough, he's not worth it! Calm down, please, you're scaring me!"

All of the sudden everything stopped, the objects fell from the air onto the ground and what was left was just a deafening silence. The brunette opened her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked, blinking very fast, as if awakened from a dream.

"Just take me home, please..." Lisa pleaded faintly.