Jennie let her fingers gently trace over the fabric of her dress, feeling the slightly sharp material scratch her fingertips ever so lightly. It wasn't even near time to start filming the music video, in fact it was the night before, but she'd slipped into it on impulse after spending hours in bed thinking when she should be sleeping. She wasn't sure what there was to think about, really. Yes, there were nerves, but this was different. She felt as though something wasn't quite right, yet everything was planned and had been planned for about a month. The set was ready, the staff were all here, but everyone else but her was sleeping. She'd texted you about an hour before, and she knew that even you had gone off to sleep.

Lisa, Jisoo, and Rosé weren't there with her. Not yet, at least. They'd come once she started filming, or maybe even a little bit after since they all had their own things to take care of. After so many months of looking after her and watching her closely, Jennie couldn't be more persistent about them not worrying about her, about them coming on their own time and only if they wanted to. Of course, she had the best girls in the world by her side, so she knew they would come no matter what. Still, even with her persistence, and her genuine want for them to stop losing sleep over her, she felt alone in her hotel room. She was offered a roommate, but she'd given the excuse that the girls were going to stay with her once they came. That would be true, but even then, adjustments could have been made later on. Jennie let out a deep sigh, her fingers stopping where they were and falling to her side.

"It's not like they would've wanted to be with me anyway," Jennie chuckled humorlessly, letting herself sit at the desk next to the mirror with a heavy feeling on her shoulders. The people around her could've told you that in the past month or so, Jennie had actually been unusually happy. She hated that even though that were the case, that this could still occur. If only she could call you from the next room, to get her favorite staff member in her hotel room even just to talk, it would be nice, but she couldn't. She didn't feel so much guilt anymore now that you'd forgiven her, but the effects of what she'd done were always there. You two had to keep your relationship even more a secret than it already would've been.

The ride back from your place had given Jennie a sense of great relief, really. You'd reacted so much better than she thought you might've. In all truth, she'd confessed to Kai that she was scared you were going to end it right there and then. It wasn't a lack of faith in you, but really something she felt had to be coming. Kai reassured her that wasn't the case. You seemed like a nice person to him, and he'd mentioned to Jennie how Sana was very welcoming as well, so you surrounded yourself with good people.

With a deep breath, Jennie closed her eyes.

"It's okay," she whispered to herself, and pretending it was you, she wrapped her arms around herself, giving herself a hug, "I'm okay."

She had no idea how, but soon after that she felt extremely tired.

The next morning was fast from the get-go. Everyone had to move to where they were going to be shooting first, which wasn't too far from where they were staying. As soon as Jennie had stepped out and took in the sights around her, she felt much better than she did last night. She loved London, and better than that, she couldn't wait to go to Paris. Instantly, the thought of you being with her next to the eiffel tower made her heart skip, and she entered the car with a small smile on her face.

The awkward air that wafted between her and all the staff members was still undoubtedly there, but it was much less, and Jennie had one person to thank for that.

"Jennie, you excited?" Nara asked once she'd stepped out of the car. Jennie immediately greeted her with a smile, genuinely happy to see her. Their relationship had significantly improved over time, and Jennie even found it amusing how Nara would subtly try to gain more information on your relationship with her without being too obvious (which she failed at). She felt comfortable around Nara at this point, and it was a welcome feeling. "This place is perfect."

"I know!" Jennie agreed, taking in the sight before her. It was exactly what she'd envisioned, and the feeling of being right in it made her heart pound. She felt a natural protectiveness with her solo, and a determination to make it exactly how it should be. The building was large and beautiful, its size making Jennie feel slightly small, and the open area that surrounded even larger, the grass a bright and lively green and the little ponds extremely enticing. The weather was cold, the sky a nice blue. One look at Nara and she knew that they were both thinking of the same person at the sight of it. Dropping her voice, Jennie inquired about you. "Um, did y/n tell you she was coming?"

"Oh, yeah, she did!" Nara nodded, "We're still sort of figuring out the details, though, like how to get her here without any attention. I don't know, do you think YG really cares if she comes?"

"I don't care what he thinks." Jennie huffed. She was tired of having you miss out on things she wanted you to see, she'd already spent too much time away from you after the whole incident. Besides, she didn't believe anyone would want to do that to you. She would be naive to think that no one has caught on to you being the one she constantly is seen with after all her 'scenes'. "Just tell her to wear a hat and shades. If she wants to be here, then she'll be here."

"Oh, okay," Nara smirked, impressed by the boldness, "I have to say I like this new you!"

"Thank you!" Jennie smiled shyly, before that smile was replaced by a glare. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Immediately, Nara blushed, "Oh, um, no, I didn't mean it like that! I mean, you can't say we haven't really had our quarrels, you know, with y/n-"

"But those aren't our quarrels, they're my quarrels with y/n." She pointed out, though at Nara being flustered it was only mere teasing. "Can you not separate yourself from her? Wouldn't you say that's a sign of unprofessionalism?"

"Wait, hold on, I always thought you were awesome! That's the truth. I honestly never said a bad thing-"

"I'm kidding!"

Quickly, her embarrassed and panicked expression turned into one of disappointed realization, and a scoff slipped from her lips and she began to walk away. "Oh, whatever! We'll be ready when you're ready, go check in with the stylists to get ready, bla bla bla..." As she stepped further and further her voice naturally got fainter, but Jennie didn't miss the way she mumbled about her spending too much time with you. If only, she thought to herself. She couldn't wait until you showed up. You'd told her you'd come as soon as possible. When that was, she had no idea, but she only hoped she wouldn't have to wait so long. Allowing herself to want you was a nice feeling, but she found it came with the terrible curse of missing you just as badly.

Jennie didn't waste time to get in front of the camera seeing as the daylight seemed to pass by much quicker in London. She'd gotten ready, and made sure to make an effort to be a little nicer to her staff members. Of course, she'd had her reasons to be closed off, but she'd started to see the very lovely benefits of being warm to others. The air was a little lighter, and once she started filming the people seemed to be much more comfortable giving her notes.

Her first shot wasn't hard. It was a simple scene of her walking and looking around, all while appearing a little hungover, or blank from what was implied to be a wild night out. It was fun for her to step into a narrative like that. Truthfully, she did get drunk, but it was usually alone. Granted, her status didn't exactly allow her to go crazy in a club without ruining the clean image of herself or the group as a whole, but either way she preferred her own company (sometimes). The music playing out loud made her heart swarm with proud feelings, ones she hoped wouldn't show too much in case it was mistaken for arrogance.

However, as she filmed her next few scenes, the more and more it become harder to hide those proud feelings. It was a lot of work, with a lot of changing, and by the end of the day it was cold and everyone was longing for it to go back to the hotel, but everyone seemed to be genuinely happy. It was a new and fond experience to allow herself to loosen up along with the rest of everyone else. Soon enough Jennie was laughing along with people who'd never said more than what was necessary to her and getting jackets wrapped around her to warm her up. The last scene she'd shot was in front of the carousel. The bright lights made it magical, Jennie had stared in awe for a while before proceeding. The fireworks seemed to set off in her heart too. When it was all over, Jennie had almost fallen to the ground in relief. As proud as she felt, she was tired, but the surprise of all the cheers around her kept her awake for the moment. Straightening up, Jennie bowed several times, thanking everyone around her.

Nara approached Jennie, an excited bounce in her step. She reached out a hand to pat her on the back, a comforting action to the idol, and moved in close. "Great job today!"

"Thank you!"

"Also, the girls just arrived. They said they'd meet you at the hotel." She informed her. "And, uh... someone also came with them. They said they wanted it to be a surprise."

It must be you! Jennie thought, and with a happy nod she parted from Nara to say her thanks to everyone around her another time. Along with the feeling of accomplishment, she felt very pretty in her dress. She'd be lying if she said she didn't take it off on the way back just to see your reaction. She might've not felt ready before this day, but she thought maybe she did after it. The only thing that could make it better was you and the girls.

She was walking so fast when she arrived that Nara had to slightly jog to keep up with her, worried that she might trip over the length of her dress. They didn't speak in the elevator, Nara huffing from the light run. Despite Jennie's excitement, she couldn't help but glance over at Nara and remember the time you got a little out of breath walking up a hill with her.

Outside of the hotel door, Jennie could already hear the girls talking inside, picking out Lisa's loud laugh from the bunch instantly. She could only imagine how much better it would be with them by her side when filming for the music video. They'd been nothing but supportive, truly, and as she opened the door she was ready to show them her gratitude in a big hug. One including you. One with her favorite people.

Only, when she opened the door, it wasn't you and the girls. It was Kai and the girls.

"Jongin?" Jennie asked in surprise, the confusion on her face visible. He was sitting on a chair across from one of the beds in the room, where as soon as Jennie entered the room all the girls were getting up from to greet her with a big hug of their own before he could respond. Jennie hugged them back tightly, putting aside her confusion for a moment.

"Unnie, how'd it go?" Lisa asked excitedly once everyone pulled away.

"It went great," Nara butted in, "she was amazing. We got a lot of scenes done."

Lisa slightly jumped at her voice, not realizing she was there. "Oh, hi!"

"Nara," Jennie lowered her voice so all that the rest could hear was a mumble, "what about y/n? Where is she?"

"Oh, I still don't know when she's coming. The person I was talking about was... y'know." Nara said sympathetically. "I told her about the shades and hat thing and she seemed okay with that, though. Sorry."

"Oh. It's okay."

"Oh, I still don't know when she's coming. The person I was talking about was... y'know." Nara said sympathetically. "I told her about the shades and hat thing and she seemed okay with that, though. Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay." She assured her before dismissing her. The girls all led Jennie to the bed, gathering around to get all the details about the shoot, halfheartedly making sure to include Kai in the conversation. She gladly let them in on everything they didn't have the chance to see, feeding off of their eager questions and excited demeanors. She had the itch to really acknowledge Kai the entire time, but luckily she had that opportunity when the girls offered the two of them some alone time since they wanted to get a bite to eat and tour around and they figured Jennie was too tired to go out after a long day of shooting. They were right about that. Promising to see them later that night, Jennie bid them goodbye before directing herself to the services pamphlet in the drawer between the two beds.

Immediately, she went to the menu for room service.

"I'm kind of hungry." She admitted, though that was an understatement.

"Ah, me too."

"I didn't expect you to be here."

"Gotta support my girl," Kai grinned, and Jennie let out a small chuckle at the label. "Is this alright? I just thought that it'd probably be good for me to be here with you."

"Oh, yeah, of course." Jennie said, waving her hand to dismiss his worry. It wasn't like she hated him being there. Like she said, he was a nice guy. It only reminded her of the possible reason she gets to shoot the music video where she wants, but she just hoped that he wouldn't insist on doing something like making out in public for photos. As she looked through the menu, she didn't think that was the aim they were going for, anyway. She glanced at Kai sitting awkwardly in his chair as he pretended to be interested in the room's decor, that being one or two old paintings that really required only ten seconds each to process. He was wearing a beige coat that was stylistically far too big for him, a white long-sleeved button up, and black suit pants. He looked handsome in the yellow light, and Jennie thought that the two of them together looked like they'd just gone out to a formal dance or something. He hadn't commented on her dress, she realized. Clearing her throat, she was determined to get his thoughts. If only to see if it was good enough for you. "Do you like my dress?"

Kai immediately redirected his attention to her, a type of urgency that could only have meant he was just waiting for her to call his attention. He scanned it over quickly, but he'd already noticed it before, so his response was almost instant. "It's beautiful," he smiled charmingly, "you look beautiful."

And Jennie found herself blushing, a big smile on her face as she looked away and whispered a small, "Thank you." He laughed at her timidness and seemed to gain a bit of confidence as her kept his eyes on her, showing a willingness to continue their conversation.

"What about me?" He asked suddenly. Jennie looked back at him and giggled at the way he'd leaned back in his chair with his hands up to give her a better view of it in full. It was the exact same whether he did that or not, she thought, but it looked good on him.

She shrugged, feigning nonchalance as she returned her attention to the menu, "Handsome."

Kai laughed in triumph before sighing loudly, a sign of the change in air in the room. It was much more comfortable than it was a minute ago now that they'd actually talked. It wasn't that they weren't friends. Jennie had known him for a few weeks, and obviously trusted him enough to tell him about you. Of course, when she first met him she had no idea why he was really there, and neither did he. They'd talked and had fun together, and other than the fact that she was surprised by how easy it was for her to open up to him, she didn't think of it as significant enough to tell you. But with their new knowledge, there was always a bit of hesitation. Kai knew that Jennie had something with you, but the both of them understood that what might happen between them was technically what was supposed to, and they didn't know how to go about it smoothly.

"Is there anything you're in the mood for?" Jennie asked, remembering what she was doing again.

"Mm, I don't know," he said, sucking in air through his teeth, "is there fried chicken?"

"Chicken?" She laughed. "You're in an expensive hotel and you want fried chicken for dinner?"

"Why not?" He shrugged, taking the opportunity to move from the uncomfortable chair to sit across from her on the adjacent bed. He held his hand out, silently asking to see the menu for himself. She handed it to him, not really interested in looking anymore. She'd eat whatever he ordered since she didn't really feel like deciding anything.

After he called for room service, instead ordering a combination of club sandwiches and a bottle of red wine for the two of them, he'd asked all about how filming went, and Jennie was happy to tell him all the details while they waited for their meals to come. He was genuinely interested in the process and the way it felt, seeing as he'd never done a solo before but that it was probably going to happen sooner or later. By the time they'd really gotten in to their conversation, they'd both gotten into comfortable positions on their respective beds, the both of them looking more at the ceiling than each other so they didn't strain their necks.

"Is it scary being without the girls?"

"A little bit." Jennie confessed quietly. "It's hard, because none of us have ever done it. I couldn't help feeling like it was too soon when they told me. And I wasn't really at my best, either."

"No?" He asked. "Why?"

"I don't know. I guess... I missed y/n." She whispered, finding it easier to say things without having to look at him. "She wasn't with us at the time. It was my fault, but... I'd felt so lonely. And the fans, too... I can't say I'm too loved by them, y'know."

"What?" Kai laughed in disbelief. Jennie could tell he turned towards her by the sound of the sheets moving, and when she did he saw how confused he was. "What do you mean? People love you!"

"Please," she scoffed, "you can't tell me you haven't seen all the hate. As proud as I am of SOLO, it's probably just gonna make it worse."

There was silence for a little bit from his end. He'd sat up slightly and seemed to be in deep thought before doing his best to give his genuine opinion. "Well, I think that the truth is always bound to come out. What they're hating you for, they have no idea about the process that goes on behind the scenes or how hardworking you are. In the time that I got to see you working on SOLO, I saw how hardworking you were. Really! I think what you don't realize is that a lot of people see you this way, too," he continued, "For me, at least, I try and really focus more on the people around me. I appreciate the fans, but they'll never know me the way the people in your life know you. Like... the girls, they will always have your back. Y/n, she seems very fond of you. And I know that our companies trying to make us date might make it kind of weird sometimes," Jennie laughed softly at that, "but I like you too, and I believe in you."

Jennie couldn't stop the tight feeling in her chest from coming, but instead of it being from anxiety or pressure it was because of how touched she was to hear it. She didn't want to cry in front of him, but she'd been particularly sensitive in the past few months– or maybe the past year, really. "Thank you," she croaked out, but the tenseness in her voice was apparent, and noticing this, Kai got up from his bed with an amused laugh and kneeled in front of her.