Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung.

Jennie covers her ears as that stupid name keeps on replaying and replaying over and over.

To no avail as the said name rewinds inside her head as well.

All the school seems to talk about is that new girl.

The school has been babbling nothing but Chaeyoung. All about Chaeyoung that Jennie’s already informed that Chaeyoung is in the exact same year and in the exact same class as Lisa’s.

Goddamnit.

If they aren’t chanting ‘Chaeyoung’, they’d be chanting ‘Rosé’. Which is basically the same girl and so Jennie grunts in irritation.

But she doesn’t quite understand why she feels sudden anger and sudden ache when that stupid name comes from Lisa’s mouth.

She has heard Chaeyoung’s name a thousand times every day but then why, with Lisa just casually mentioning it for even only just once a day, is enough to ruin her own?

----------------------

Jennie glares at Lisa. Well, Lisa’s back. As the taller girl is preparing Jennie’s things in the living room.

Jennie glares not because Lisa’s doing something wrong with her things, but because Lisa is doing something else.

Lisa’s humming.

“You sound stupid.” Jennie suddenly says, making Lisa jump from shock.

“Jesus! Jennie!” Lisa quickly turns to her, a hand on the former’s chest, “Don’t scare me like that!”

Jennie disregards what Lisa says, she points out instead, “You’re humming.”

Lisa knits her eyebrows together, “Wha-? I am?”

“Yeah,” Jennie fixes her things beside Lisa, “And you sound stupid.”

“Stupidly good?” Lisa lightly elbows Jennie as she teases.

“Don’t get it too much in your head, monkey.” Jennie scoffs as she turns to Lisa.

She shouldn’t have turned because her heart skips a beat.

For Lisa was smiling.

Smiling at her.

How long has Lisa last smiled? How long has Lisa last smiled at her? Jennie swallows – when did it become hard to swallow?

She blinks her eyes as she unintentionally looks at Lisa’s smiling lips.

How badly she wanted to keep that smile.

Jennie’s about to answer back but she’s briefly cut off when Lisa’s phone rings.

Taking Jennie’s words, and Lisa's smile with it.

“Oh, I’ll just take that.” Lisa excuses herself, and Jennie’s left to look at the floor. She hears Lisa run to the other room where her phone is, and Jennie wishes that her ears turn deaf for a moment.

For she hears that blasted name again, that wretched name from Lisa’s mouth,

“Chaeyoung!”

There we go. Jennie’s day hasn’t even started and it’s already ruined.

The sounds she hears from the other room are already faint, but maybe she pays a little too close that she’s able to hear Lisa say that name.

Jennie sighs as she continues to pack where Lisa left. Throwing her things inside brashly.

She’s busy tossing stuff that she’s not able to notice Lisa already coming back.

“Hey,” Lisa grabs a notebook, “Not too hard, you might ruin your bag.”

Oh now, you care.

Jennie lets go of the notebook and lets Lisa do the packing.

It’s Lisa’s job, right?

Jennie crosses her arms as she continues to watch Lisa earnestly prepare her things.

“There.” The blonde states proudly,

“You’re ready to go!” Lisa turns to Jennie.

That same dorky smile already on her lips.

“Why are you so cheerful today?” Jennie asks grimly, arms still crossed.

And Lisa really might be dense because she does not sense Jennie’s mood. For Lisa replies, “I am? I’m always like this.”

“Yeah, right.” Jennie ends the conversation.

“Well, I’ll be preparing for school now.”

Lisa adjusts Jennie’s bag one last time before turning back to the older girl.

“Your breakfast is already in the dining table, by the way.” Lisa starts walking, but not before she says, “Don’t skip breakfast, okay?”

Leaving Jennie to chew on her lip,

For Lisa unconsciously starts humming again as she runs up the stairs.

------------------

Jennie goes out of the house to find Lisa already by the car door. She walks closer and Lisa starts to smile again.

Jennie can’t help but clench a hand when she sees it.

“Ready to go to school, Princess?”

Princess.

That flimsy title she asks Lisa to call her the first few days of Lisa’s service.

Why is it hard to hear it now? When she’s the one who asked for it?

“Stop with the titles, Manoban.” Jennie says as she gets in the car.

“What? That’s what you want me to call you, right?” Lisa gets inside as well.

Jennie clicks her tongue, she doesn’t want to get mad this early in the morning,

“Just…” She raises a hand to Lisa’s face, “Just stop it, okay? I’m not in the mood.”

Why isn’t she?

Jennie turns to the window, but she does hear tapping on a phone.

She turns to her side to see Lisa texting before looking at the latter’s side of the window as well.

Just since when did Lisa start using her phone to type messages again?

Jennie bites a clenched finger as she dismisses the thought and tries to focus on the scenery outside.

Because it’s somehow less painful to look at.

---------------

Jennie instantly covers her ears the moment she sets foot in the school. She knows she’ll be hearing more of Chaeyoung, or Rosé, or whatever name that bitch has.

Bitch.

What a strong word. She hasn’t even properly met this Chaeyoung yet.

Jennie finds the littlest of comforts when she sees Kai by the front gate, waiting for her. She immediately runs to him – leaving Lisa behind once more.

“Good morning.” Kai greets her as he carries some of her things.

“Hi.” Jennie adjusts her bag by her shoulder, “Have you been waiting long?”

“Not really. I just arrived a while ago.”

Jennie only nods.

She hears Kai say, “Won’t you say goodbye to Lisa?”

Jennie looks at him, “What?”

“Lisa’s still waiting by the gate.”

Jennie wastes no time and turns back to look at what Kai is talking about.

True enough, Lisa is still by the gate.

Jennie scrunches her forehead in confusion, “What the heck is she still doing there?”

And she finds the answer at once.

Jennie grits her teeth once more as she finally knows the reason why Lisa’s there.

It wasn’t because the blonde is waiting for Jennie’s goodbye, it’s because Lisa’s waiting for someone else.

Someone else that’s – you got it – Chaeyoung.

“Damn it!” Jennie curses under her breath.

“Are you saying something, Jennie?” Kai tilts his head.

“None. I’m fine.” Jennie turns her head back to face front, her anger already reaching her eyes,

“Let’s just keep going.”

-------------------

Jennie glares at Lisa. Well, Lisa’s back. As the blonde is busy chatting with this taller girl on Lisa’s usual table.

“Wow, you look nasty.”

Jennie slowly turns to the girl beside her, “Shut up, Jisoo.”

“Why are you frowning?” ‘Jisoo’ puts a finger between Jennie’s eyebrows, “And why are your eyebrows together?”

“Tch.” Jennie swats the finger off her face, “I’m trying to study.”

She hears Jisoo laugh, Jisoo says, “You must be smart because I don’t see any notebooks on the table.”

Jennie only sighs as she finally gets a notebook.

She tries to avert her attention to anything else but the sight of blonde hair. She’s busy pretending to read when she hears her friend speak – not in any way helping her, because then Jisoo just has to say,

“That ‘Rosé’ girl sure is very social.”

Jennie weakly grunts as she hears that stupid name again, even coming from her very own friend’s mouth!

She doesn’t reply as she doesn’t want to prolong this kind of conversation, but Jisoo must really be as callous because then the shorter girl continues,

“Rosé even made friends with that girl.”

Jennie need not ask who Jisoo’s referring to, because she knows exactly who it is.

And Jisoo just keeps on adding salt to the already open-wound when she adds, “’Lisa’ is her name, right? The loner girl?”

Still, Jennie doesn’t reply.

“Oh, look!” Jisoo exclaims, “She could smile!”

It made Jennie finally raise her head and place her eyes back to Lisa’s table.

And it also made Jennie clench on her notebook hard, for Jisoo's correct,

For she sees Lisa laughing.

Laughing with Chaeyoung.

It surprisingly chews on Jennie’s insides as she sees how Lisa laughs, because Lisa covers her face as she does.

And it might be because of one of their stupid inside jokes.

For Lisa to cover all her face from laughing.

Lisa covers her face as she laugh, and Jennie can only wonder what Chaeyoung said to make her laugh like that.

Because Jennie never saw Lisa like that,

Because Jennie never made Lisa smile like that.

Jennie unintentionally winces when she realizes it. She doesn’t know why, she just knows she did.

“Aww, she’s so pretty when she smiles like that!” Jisoo taps Jennie as she points to the pair in front of them.

Jennie closes her eyes once, before turning them back to where Jisoo’s pointing at.

Because why would Jennie feel like this? Why should she feel like this?

Why should Lisa smiling and laughing even bother Jennie?

She saw Lisa laugh and smile before, why is this any different?

But then Jennie sees Lisa laugh with Chaeyoung, and she has never seen Lisa laugh like that. No, at least not with her.

And maybe that’s what’s bothering her.

When Lisa smiles like that,

Because someone else made her smile like that.