Chapter Text
To my dearest Jennie-poo,
It pains me to send you to New Zealand on your own, but remember that you are in my mind always, and I only wish for your safety. By the time you read this, I will be somewhere in Thailand. I’m not sure if it will ever be safe for me to return to your life in person, but rest assured that you will be well taken care of whatever you choose to do as you grow up.
Love, Da
Jennie re-read the words from her father one more time before putting away the letter that was sent to her 5 years ago. Tomorrow she would jump into a plane to go back to Korea to start training at YG Entertainment to become an idol. The idea of home had made her dig up this letter from her jewellery box, a physical reminder that she was once loved dearly. Jennie could only hope that her father was still alive by the monthly allowances she received in mail. In a way, it was ironic that Jennie had chosen to follow a career path that would put her under the spotlight, when the last 5 years of her life were all about flying under the radar. But she had always loved singing and dancing, at first as an outlet of her negative emotions, though when it came down to it, Jennie supposed being an idol had seemed like a natural career choice because she was all ready to call it quits with going to school.
The flight back to Korea was uneventful, but the real surprise came after Jennie had arrived in the YG dormitory. She was assigned to a two people room, and she found her name plate on the door alongside another girl’s called Lalisa Manoban. When Jennie entered her shared bedroom, one side of the room was already taken, with yellow bunny stuff filling up the space. Jennie naturally gravitated towards the more barren side of the room. There on the bed was a letter neatly placed on the pillow addressed to her. Jennie easily recognized the hand-writing that was a replicate of the letter in her jewellery box. Her heart skipped a beat as she opened up the letter with care. Why now? If Jennie had known she would hear from her father as soon as she left New Zealand, she would have dropped out of school sooner.
To my dearest Jennie-poo,
Congratulations for opening up a new chapter in your life. Your mother in heaven and I, we have no doubt that you will be able to achieve your dreams. The Jennie-poo that I know always knows what she wants, and I am proud of the young woman that you have become. You may not believe me, but I have been watching over you.
Love, Da
Watching over me? How? By not being around? Jennie threw the letter down on the floor in frustration. She flopped face down on her bed, feeling the weight of her father’s words pressing her down into the fluffy duvet.
“Do I need to start putting a DO NOT LITTER sign in our room now?”
Jennie jerked up, startled by a high-pitched innocent-sounding voice close to the foot of the bed.
“Just kidding. I’m pretty messy myself.” A tall and slender girl chuckled and sat down gracefully on the floor with her legs crossed, staring up at Jennie with a curious glance.
If Jennie had not heard the girl’s voice before looking at her face, she would have thought a cute boy randomly ventured into her room, given the short hair and sporty outfit. There was something about the girl in front of her that made Jennie’s heart rate pick up. Maybe it was the big smile that seemed so effortlessly appearing on the person in front of her, especially when Jennie was often reminded by others that she had a resting bitch face. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. You must be Lalisa, my roommate.”
“I go by Lili, and you must be Jennie.” Lili lightly scratched her cheek in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to pop up like a stalker. I was just in the bathroom when you walked in.”
“Noooo, I’m the one who should be sorry about the letter on the floor.” Jennie jumped off the bed to pick up her father’s letter before sitting back down on her bed. “I’m actually a bit of a neat freak. So you don’t have to worry about my side of the room getting dirty in the future.”
Lili’s voice dropped an octave lower. “That’s too bad. I really don’t mind getting down and dirty once in a while.” Lili’s previously innocent smile suddenly shifted to a mischievous smirk.
Did she just ... wink at me? A slight blush began to creep up on Jennie’s face. And what’s up with this girl? One minute she has the aura of a cute smol bean, the next thing I know she is spewing words like she is Casanova.
“Plus I really won’t mind if you tell me a couple more flaws or two ... a multitude of sins are always forgiven for pretty girls like you anyways.”
*SMACK* Jennie’s pillow hit Lili straight in the face, making Lili fall back with a thud.
“You are way too young to be using these pick-up lines.” Jennie squinted her feline eyes toward Lili to cover up the butterflies in her stomach. “How old are you anyways?”
Lili sat back up and gave her bangs a quick fix. Satisfied, she blew Jennie a quick kiss. “Old enough to tell what a true beauty looks like.”
*SMACK* A dog stuffed toy appeared out of thin air to knock over Lili again. “Quit it with the cheesy lines.” A fake scowl betrayed by the playful glint in Jennie’s eyes.
“Okay, okay, I’m 14.” Lili was busy fixing her bangs again. “Next time aim lower and leave my poor bangs alone. They need high maintenance.” Lili replied with a pout.
“Great, I’m 15. So you actually should start addressing me as Jennie-unnie. Show some respect.”
“Sexy Jennie-unnie then.” Lil wiggled her eyebrow suggestively.
Jennie rolled her eyes and got out of bed. “That’s it.” Using her arms, she pinned Lili to the ground by straddling her and stared straight into her eyes. Jennie whispered, “Do you know what happens to naughty girls?”
Lili took a gulp of air to steady herself, unable to control her heartbeats. Being up close and personal with Jennie’s gorgeous profile had been unexpected.
With the other girl clearly in shock, Jennie bent lower to level her lips to murmur into Lili’s ears. “It’s tickle time.” Nimble hands started ravaging the girl trapped below mercilessly, making sure that all the ticklish spots known to men were well covered.
“Surrender!!!” Lili tried to her best to roll away from Jennie, finally able to catch her breath when Jennie took pity on her and stood up. “Has anyone told you that you are kind of savage?”
Jennie flopped back down on the bed with a smirk, “Maybe.”
Jennie and Lili spent the rest of the day getting to know each other, since training did not start until the next day. Jennie learnt that Lili was from Thailand and had a natural linguistic talent, already having mastered Korean on her own before coming to YG. Lili learnt that Jennie had been taking self-defense classes since 4 at the insistence of her father, which explained how easily Jennie was able to overpower Lili despite her smaller physique. But they have also made a pact to not discuss their idol related capability on their first meeting day, preferring to surprise the other during actual YG classes. Time flew between the girls as conversations flowed naturally. Even though Jennie would not normally consider herself as an approachable person, she was not immune to the ball of sunshine that was Lalisa Manoban, whose crackhead persona quickly melted away the older girl’s natural wall of defense.
When night came, the girls grabbed a quick dinner at the YG cafeteria then retreated back to their shared bedroom. Jennie also came to find out that Lili was not only clingy at the privacy of their room, but out in public as well. There were a couple times in between dinner bites that Jennie had to push Lili off of her to avoid spilling food on the both of them, eliciting chuckles from the other trainees nearby.
The girls agreed to call it in early as classes would start bright and early at 8 am the next day. Each now tucked in their respective beds, wishing each other good night and good luck to their idol journey ahead. Darkness overtook the room soon enough, accompanied by even breathing.
At the witching hour as Jennie’s alarm clock’s hour hand stroke three, an ominous mist began to form in Jennie’s dreamland, taking her back to a childhood memory that was buried deep in her psyche but never forgotten.
“Please ... Don’t hurt me ...” Jennie whimpered softly in her sleep, with eyes tightly shut. A sheen of sweat coated her body, soaking the brand-new bedsheets. In her dream, a miniature sized Jennie was running into an alley way, being chased by a group of masked men approaching with heavy footsteps. She knew these men were trying to get to her father through her. She could only keep running even though her lungs felt like they were already on fire.
A deep feminine voice whispered next to the older girl. “Jennie, wake up. You are safe now.” Strong arms enveloped Jennie’s shaken slender body, while a Thai lullaby was quietly hummed.
That feeling of unspoken fear was gradually replaced by soothing warmth as Jennie came to her senses. Feline eyes fluttered open to stare at smooth skin at the nook of a neck, as Jennie’s heartbeat slowed to a steady cadence. “Lili, is that you?” Jennie asked while rubbing her eyes.
The arms cradling Jennie stiffened slightly at the question. “Shhhhhh ... it’s okay now. Go back to sleep, my princess.” Jennie’s body was carefully lowered back onto the mattress. The soft hum of the Thai lullaby resumed as the other person took a seat on the floor, her hand smoothing out some of Jennie’s unruly tresses.
Feeling exhausted from the emotional roller coaster, it did not take long for sleep to reclaim Jennie. Before she lost consciousness, Jennie faintly heard a voice replying to her earlier question. “It’s Lisa ... actually ...”