Chapter Text
A FRESH NEW START is something Lisa has been chanting as a mantra in her head from the not-so bumpy airplane ride to the moment her feet touch the carpeted floors of YG Private Boarding school.
Nothing is what Lisa is used to and it's exactly how she likes it.
For firsts, the school is a literal castle. She could be in Hogwarts for all she knew and the sorting hat would be waiting for her in the hall ready to assign her to Gryfindor (obviously she's in Gryffindor because there's no way she could be in any of the other houses).
Secondly, and the most important fact, is that there is no Mina, her ex. The main reason why Lisa had finally decided on a whim to move halfway across the world.
The scene of Mina kissing her what-used-to-be ex-boyfriend right in front of Lisa seethes in her head. She had finally thought Mina had left him, had been kissing her with meaning and want, yet she was too naive to see it was all a summer fling.
She still has Mina's last text rotting away in her phone, unread, of course, probably wishing her a safe flight to the land of royals and monarchs and the Queen and all that stuff.
Speaking of royals and monarchs and the Queen, that is exactly the third thing that Lisa would also have to get used to.
There are actual, walking and talking princes, princesses, ladies, lords, you name it, living in the rooms next to her.
She's yet to find out which one her roommate is as she unpacks first, arriving a few minutes early to get a sense of the place.
It's massive, Lisa will admit that but what she admires is that none of it has been remodelled to a modern-day architectural building. It's all-natural and medieval with cobwebs, statues of knights and all. Give it to the British to keep things the way they are unlike the Americans who destroy, rebuild and renovate.
There's a ring coming from her laptop and she realises it's her dad trying to video call her on Skype. Good thing she has BamBam there to teach him how to use technology. If anything she's impressed that he figured out his password.
"Hi sweetheart, how was your flight?" There's a whole whopping 8 hours time difference but with the way her Dad's eyes glow looking at his daughter and the window behind her that faces the green grass of England's forests and hills, his sleep wears away immediately.
Lisa beams, "It was good dad, thankfully no crying babies or kicking seats."
He chuckles and just as he parts his mouth to ask another question, the door opens to a well-suited man with extremely dark sunglasses and an earpiece sticking out of his right ear.
"The area seems somewhat secure, occupied by a blonde teenage girl. She holds no weapon but an open laptop and doesn't appear to be a threat. Will confirm details as soon as possible." He says in a monotone voice, observing every centimetre of the room including Lisa and her belongings.
Lisa's dad scrunches his brows in puzzlement, "What's going on honey? Why does it sound like the man will the red and blue pills from the Matrix is in your dorm?"
"Honestly," Lisa is quite stunned too, not knowing what to say, "I don't know either."
Then, as the man enters the room and starts comically checking under the bed and inside wardrobes and drawers, a girl emerges from behind him.
There's a white phone nestled in her ear as opposed to the earpiece of the suited man and if Lisa could see angels she would confess to being in the presence of one at this very moment.
The girl stands robotically straight with poise and dawns a whole white matching tweed set that Lisa can only assume is from Chanel due to the small logo on the breast pocket. Her hair is a dark shade of brown similar to the floorboards in the dorms and her eyes are almost cat-like.
She's the most beautiful girl Lisa has ever had the pleasure of laying her eyes upon and yet when she opens her mouth, Lisa regrets jumping to conclusions so soon.
"Oh, this certainly won't do." She puts down her phone and ends the call.
There's a scowl all over her face and Lisa thinks whoever that man is wouldn't be phased by it because the girl looks like a literal cat and holds no ounce of intimidation with that cute wrinkle in her nose.
"Tell my mother there must've been a mistake. I requested a single penthouse room with a private bathroom." The girl speaks with a vail of elegance and yet the words sound so bratty to Lisa's ears.
The man shakes his head, "All clear. Everything is safe for her and she should settle right in."
"Settle right in? Are you listening to me, I could have you fired!" Did Lisa say bratty? She meant extremely rude.
This girl's attitude certainly doesn't match her beauty and it's a shame because now Lisa has come to the conclusion that she will be rooming with a completely stuck-up rich girl.
Lisa doesn't realise her mouth is already running ahead of her brain when she speaks out, "This isn't a five-star hotel Rory Gilmore, you get what you are given."
That must have struck a nerve in the other girl as her eyes laser onto Lisa with an overwhelming glare that holds both novelty and irritation.
"What did you just call me Betty Cooper?" Lisa will admit that the girl is quick on her feet to insult, probably having a thousand ready at her disposal in her mind for confrontations like this.
Lisa decides to bid farewell to her dad a bit sooner than she would've liked to if it weren't for the rude interruption that barged into her room, "I'm sorry I gotta go. I'll call you again when I'm not busy, love you."
With reluctance and still a lingering concern, her dad nods his head, "Love you too sweetheart."
And when the line ends, Lisa finds that the brunette is examining every inch of her just like the suited man who has now opted to stand at the door frame. Lisa can't help but feel small and extremely pressured under her gaze in her grey sweatpants and blue jumper.
"I do apologise Miss Kim but your request wasn't quite approved by your mother. She advised that you share a room with another girl to..." He gulps and Lisa thinks it's because he's being careful with his words and she doesn't blame him. "Tame your behaviour."
"Excuse me?" Yep, those definitely weren't the right words for the job.
The man falters to reply as 'Miss Kim' shoots him a deathly stare.
"I'llbeoutsidenowMissKimhavefun!"
And he scuttles out and shuts the door as quickly as he sputtered out those words.
The brunette scoffs at what had just happened and paces the room. "Tame my behaviour." She mumbles, rolling her eyes, "What am I? An animal?"
"You could pass as one." Lisa says under her breath but nothing escapes the other girl's attention and she detects the remark in her ears.
Once again, she's looking at Lisa with intent but this time she's wearing a sickening smile.
"And where are my manners Karen Smith, I'm Jennie Kim and you are?" Her arms are crossed and her brow is arched, awaiting an answer.
"Lalisa Manoban, but you can call me Lisa. Not Karen Smith or Betty Cooper or whatever blonde fictional girl you have in your arsenal." Lisa sits still on her bed, cautiously watching Jennie with trepidation. "And I'm your new roommate."
"Well, new roommate as of now." Jennie says matter-of-factly, "This arrangement won't last long. I'm sure mother has made a grave mistake and I will be sleeping peacefully in one of the better quarters of the school."
"Right." Lisa nods with a laugh, clearly amused by this girl's snobbishness, "Keep dreaming princess."
The comment makes Jennie tear away from opening her suitcase and focuses back on Lisa. As if Lisa's words were an arrow that hit her.
"You know who I am?"
Lisa's face bunches up with confusion, "What?"
Jennie parts her mouth and wants to make another comment but hears a sweet voice coming from outside their door.
"Jen, darling. I know you're in here."
It's another high-class girl and it must be one of Jennie's friends from the way she actually lights up with relief and scrambles to open the door.
"Joy! You're here!" She engulfs Joy in a tight hug and the taller girl giggles.
"You act like we didn't see each other a few days ago?" And Jennie frowns and it's cute because her cheeks get bigger and her lips pout.
"A few days is too long. We mustn't be apart for no more than 24 hours." Jennie huffs.
Lisa thinks her roommate has been replaced or better yet possessed by another spirit because she is nothing like the spoilt girl from before. It's refreshing to see that despite her attitude, she has somewhat of a caring side.
"You and your dramatic tendencies." Joy shakes her head with a smile. "Let's see ourselves to Rosie's room. I'm sure she's transferred her whole palace fridge into that small space they call a room here."
Jennie nods and with manners that Lisa didn't know she had, announces her exit. "This isn't over Manoban. I'll be back for your hazing after the welcoming."
Lisa fakes a smile before the two are out of her sight. Unfortunately, Lisa guesses that the rich are too full of themselves to close a door behind them so she gets up herself to shut it.
But just as she's about to close the door, she finds two people running out of breath in the hall towards her.
"The princess! She's on this floor!"
"I know dimwit but where is she?"
Princess?
The pair notice Lisa standing in the doorframe with bewilderment and one of them tells the other that they should greet her.
"Hi, I'm Jisoo." Jisoo radiates a smile that Lisa is sure could be for magazines and billboards. The girl is stunning, not in the same way Jennie is but in a way that is graceful and mature. "And this is Haein."
Haein is a lot taller than Jisoo and had a goofy grin to him. His eyes are kind and his features sharper than stone. Lisa could've sworn this boarding schooling only accepted models and that Lisa was the outlier of their acceptance system.
"Lisa." She says with a hand on her hip.
"Ah, American." Jisoo picks up her accent immediately. "We haven't got too many of those here."
"I'd say she's the only one Soo." Haein agrees, analysing Lisa as if she were a foreign object that he had just discovered.
Feeling a bit awkward, Lisa clears her throat, "Why were you guys running around?"
"We heard that the princess was on this floor?" Haein says eagerly out of breath from supposedly sprinting from his room on the 2nd floor.
"I'm sure there are several princesses in this building. You just have to keep looking around to find one." Lisa shrugs.
"But the princess is living here." Jisoo emphasises like it's the most obvious statement and brings out her phone. It's the first day so they're allowed until the welcoming where they collect everyone's phones until the weekend. "Look, this is her."
And when Jisoo flips her phone over, Lisa wishes that she hadn't said the comments she made earlier.
A tiara sits comfortably on top of wavy brunette hair and a smile so blinding Lisa almost loses her eyesight.
A white gown so beautiful with diamonds and floral patterns sewn and beaded to it with a bouquet of white lilies presumably from one of the fans in the audience.
A girl appears as a goddess with the way she shines and waves at the people.
"Her name is Jennifer Ruby Jane Kim, the Princess of Great Britain."
And she just happens to be Lisa's roommate.
"So you're telling me you've never heard of the royal family?" Jisoo's whispers along with everyone else's in the assembly hall are shushed by the Head Mistress as she readies the mic.
Lisa scoffs, "I don't live under a rock. Of course, I've heard of the royal family but as for their family tree I'm only aware of Queen Clara and Prince Taehyung."
Jisoo can only shake her head with approval, "At least you're a woman of taste. Everyone and their grandmother know of Prince Taehyung and his good looks. If anything he's the hottest man in the entire monarchy. I'll marry him someday and make my name skyrocket."
Lisa respects that Jisoo is a girl who strives for what she wants.
"Is this thing on?" The Head Mistress struggles to adjust the mic so one of her assistants runs up on stage and helps her by twisting a few switches.
Haein is back in his dorm as the boys have their own Headmaster and welcoming organised for later on. A few rows back are where Jennie and her friends chat away all prim and proper with their legs crossed and backs straight. It makes Lisa subconsciously work on her own posture and shuffle in her seat.
"Jennie Kim is a legend you know? She's the princess of all princesses. She's got an attitude awarded with several scandals and issues to it." Jisoo rants in awe with her hands clasped together.
"I'm sure she does." Lisa side-eyeing her roommate only to find her covering her mouth and laughing at something Joy had said. "I'm sure she's got hundreds of scandals to her name."
"Millions I'd say, darling." Jisoo leans in closer to Lisa's ear and asks, "Is she as rude as they say?"
Lisa wants to say yes, a hundred per cent yes. But that wouldn't be fair.
As taught by her mother years ago, Lisa tends not to judge people too quickly. After seeing what Jennie could be like with people that she's comfortable with, she's got a feeling that the media exaggerates too much. Granted, she hasn't read a single article or seen any headlines or magazines bar the one Jisoo had her skim through earlier but Lisa sticks to what she's been taught.
"I'm not sure. We barely spoke." Which isn't a lie because they uttered maybe 5 lines to each other before taking off. "But I think we got off on the wrong foot."
"How so?" Jisoo's eyes glint with an inquisitiveness that almost scares Lisa. This girl really loves her drama.
As Lisa explains the situation under the commotion of the technology in this castle not working, Jisoo's whole face illuminates.
"This is exciting. Someone that's actually got the guts to go against the Queen Bee— or should I say Princess Bee herself!" Jisoo gasps and holds Lisa's hands in hers with eagerness, "I need someone like you as a friend. Haein wishes he had an ounce of your personality."
Lisa snorts, "I barely know you."
A smirk spreads across her heart-shaped lips, "My full name is Lady Jisoo T.R. Kim. Now you."
"You're a Lady?" From Lisa's limited knowledge of how titles go from watching Mary Queen of Scotts, she now knows that Jisoo is the daughter of a Duke.
The heiress nods and encourages her to go.
"Uhm. My full name is just Lalisa Manoban." She feels intimidated already by all the titles and royal stuff but she knew it would be like this after reading the school's brochure. They practically use people like Jennie and Jisoo for their promotional campaigns.
"Well, 'Just Lalisa Manoban', I'm sure we'll get along quite well." Jisoo sends her a genuine smile that makes Lisa realise that she does indeed have a royal aura to her or whatever that means.
"Finally."
All heads turn to the stage where the staff have finally fixed the surround sound system after what seemed like a decade.
"Welcome all to Yang Hyunsuk 'YG' Private Boarding School. My name is Sandara Park, the Head Mistress for this historic group of ladies sitting in front of me."
Long story short, YG was always stuck in the past and had no intentions of admitting girls to the school until Sandara Park and many of the school's female staff lobbied the board and overruled the stupid tradition.
This year the school accepted an entire programme dedicated to the other half and because of this, Lisa was proud to be on scholarship at a school where her pictures could possibly be in history books. Well, British history books at least.
"I hope everyone has settled in by now and feels welcome—"
"I don't feel welcome Ms Park."
She must love and thrive with attention, doesn't she?
Every single person in the room, familiar with the voice, looks at Jennie with either curiosity or a smile, either interested in what she has to say or just plain obsessed.
Jennie is aware of her status, how an invisible crown sits on top of her head and she isn't afraid to flaunt it every chance she gets.
"And why is that Miss Kim?"
Lisa gulps and there's a thought aching in the back of her mind telling her that Jennie will expose her in front of the whole school for being rude to their beloved princess and that she'll be expelled and will have to go home to her Dad and Aunt and explain how she committed treason and—
"My brother told me that there was a fanfare of trumpets during their welcoming."
The whole assembly hall, including the staff, erupts in light fits of laughter and even the headmistress curls her lips, "I'll make sure to have bagpipes ready for you next time Miss Kim."
Like a heavy weight has been lifted and Lisa's worries subside until she locks eyes with Jennie.
The princess simply winks at her with a smirk so irking that it churns something in Lisa's stomach. For some reason, she's even more afraid than before, of what might happen now that Lisa's mindful of the consequences of any of her actions towards someone of royalty. Like actual royalty. Like million dollar crown and dresses royalty.
"Before I was gracefully interrupted by Miss Kim..."
Lisa leans into Jisoo's ear, "Miss Kim?"
Jisoo nods, "Everyone here is addressed by their surname."
"So, no 'Your Majesty'?"
"It's actually 'Your Royal Highness' but I'll forgive you since I haven't educated you yet." Jisoo grins at Lisa's soft laugh.
"Each of you will receive a package of your respective uniforms as these will be the dress code..."
And as Headmistress goes on about the rules and obligations of a role model student, Lisa's mind warns her that there are a certain pair of chocolate brown eyes locked onto the back of her blond head. She follows her instincts and finds Jennie staring at her once again.
Of course, Jennie isn't the type to look away after being caught staring like the obnoxious heiress she is but her lips don't curl up or anything.
In fact, as her friends gossip away to each other, Jennie is laser-focused on Lisa similar to the way she examined her from head to toe when Lisa talked back to her.
Lisa isn't much of a mind reader or a face reader at most but there was something in the way Jennie glared at her so plainly. No malice or mischief detected.
She doesn't think much of it before something intriguing catches her ears from Miss Park's speech.
"And of course, we will have the annual YG Camping Trip, similar to the tradition that the boys took part in but for obvious reasons, this would be catered towards our female students." There are a few murmurs of appreciation before the headmistress continues, "Further details are to be provided but as of now, we know that instead of the usual arrangement of groups camping out in the Grizedale Forest, we will have pairs as to further encourage your independence and survival skills."
In the few hours that Lisa has been here, she knows that she's only got two friends; Jisoo and Haein. And of course, the latter would pair up together so hopefully, Lisa wouldn't be stuck with someone unbearable.
"The pairings will be organised by dorm room. So whoever your roommate is, I hope you've gotten to know each other as they will be your partner for the campout."
She spoke too soon.
She's stuck with someone extremely unbearable.
"In a few weeks, you get to share a tent for 48 hours with the princess!" Jisoo squeals and Lisa tries to shush her after earning a few glares.
"Could this day get any worse?"
Lisa sighs and shrivels back in her seat, the rest of the headmistress' words flowing in one ear and out the other.
After their welcoming, collection of phones and their scheduled 'Tea Time' where Lisa discovered her newfound love for black tea and biscuits, she isn't surprised to see that her roommate is nowhere to be found.
However, she is surprised to see that she's unpacked. Maybe she got her tall bodyguard to do it for her while they were gone.
The entire top of their shared vanity is filled with Jennie's own belongings, not that Lisa minded because she wasn't one for makeup and jewellery. She kept hers simple with just all silver rings, a trusty mascara, a cool-toned compact powder and some concealer.
But Jennie? She has an entire beauty store in their room.
Chanel foundation, Chanel concealer, Chanel mascara, Chanel primer, Chanel blush, Chanel highlight, Chanel contour, Chanel—
You get it.
The girl lives and breathes in Chanel.
She opens the wardrobe to find 3/4s of its contents preserved in clothing bags, presumably holding very expensive and luxurious coats and other clothing. Then on the right side sits a lonely coat and Lisa's extra hangers that she'll use for her uniform.
The YG crest is black with a white outline and the packages of uniforms that she brought in earlier possessed a knee-length dark grey skirt, a choice of either a black sweater vest or a black knitted jumper both dawning the crest along with white tights or knee socks. Another package held their PE uniform that they would have to wear during morning exercises and any other physical activities that the school has planned.
As she spends the whole day organising the little space that Jennie has kindly left for her, she finds it peaceful to be left alone in a room in a castle in a secluded part of the West of Britain. There isn't much to be heard apart from birds chirping, the wind blowing and the occasional hushed whispers of students outside her door.
Like the pleasant person she is, Lisa has left Jennie's packages untouched and placed them neatly on her bed, too afraid to touch them in case Jennie labels it treason for touching a princess' belongings without permission. It sounds silly but it's what Lisa thinks of Jennie so far.
Lisa's laptop is placed on top of her desk and she considers calling her dad back after tidying up her side of the room. She plops down and opens her laptop to find a few new emails. Some usual promotions from websites Lisa forgot she subscribed to and a few from her best friend BamBam who's asking if the British accent is as sexy as they say it is or if Australian still reigns supreme.
But then there's one email that's drawing all of her attention and it's from a user called [email protected].
Lisa is hesitant to click it because she hasn't spared a thought about her ex-fling since she left for Cumbria and she still has her texts left unread for very obvious reasons.
However, her cursor is right on top of the link and all she would have to do is click it. She can already see a sneak peek of it: 'To, Lisa ... I heard you're in England now... I'm glad you didn't let me—' and that's all it gives her.
Maybe she should click it.
Maybe she should give Mina the benefit of the doubt and let her explain herself.
Maybe she should talk to her again and see if things could—
"And this is my room!"
The door bursts open and the second habitant of Lisa's dorm has finally made an appearance.
It's late in the evening and Lisa hasn't seen her since their incident during Tea Time.
"Oops, I didn't see you there Cher Horowitz." Jennie grins with a fake apologetic look and it causes Lisa to scoff.
"Right, you just so happened to sit down when I was a foot away."
Jennie laughs, "You Americans and your measurements. You were a metre away at best." Her entourage has now made their presence known by sitting around the empty seats of the perfectly made round table. "There are other tables Manoban, there's no need to be fighting over this one. Unless you're dying to sit beside me then by all means— Joy give her some space."
Unaware of the tension between them, Joy happily moves and ushers you to sit beside them, intrigued at the thought of Jennie maybe having a new friend.
The princess looks at Lisa through her eyelashes and batts them with feigned innocence. Lisa almost pukes at the sight (even if it is slightly attractive— just slightly).
"It's okay Joy, I'll sit with my friends." Lisa smiles at her and then send Jennie the courtesy of an eye roll before heading off to where Jisoo and Haein are settled comfortably with their tea.
"Now that's why we have Tea Time." Jisoo exclaims approvingly and Haein agrees whilst shoving a Jammy Dodger in his mouth.
"You have a guest?" A man around Haein's height steps in after Jennie and Lisa almost drops her laptop off her legs.
She's only seen the man in Buzzfeed articles that have journalists and fans alike thirsting for him.
Jennie's twin brother Taehyung Kim is standing in their room in what she's learned from her research on the area is Lee Sooman School's dark green tie, white shirts and brown pants and a Louis Vuitton leather jacket.
He's the embodiment of sexy and if Lisa wasn't a lesbian she would've died on the spot. But she can appreciate how the royal Kim gene pool is blessed by the deities and that his smooth skin and sharp jawline should be a national treasure.
She wonders why it didn't click in her head that Jennie was his twin sister. She had heard of Taehyung's older twin but never saw a single photo of her for reasons she'll never know other than preference cookies and all that technological tracking and marketing.
But the pair do lookalike with their attractive auras, silky soft hair and dark, alluring eyes that could captivate anyone.
It looks like a literal fever dream and if anyone else were in the room with her they would be melting into the floorboard.
Jennie searches the room and sees that Lisa is huddled up in her bed with her laptop. She purses her lips in a thin line and thinks Lisa looks stupid, assuming she's already advanced studying their assigned material for the year. (She goes with this idea because she refuses to acknowledge that her first thought was that she thinks the way Lisa is still in the sweatpants and hoodie she came in is cute.)
She clears her throat, "That's Roomie Manoban. The one I told you about."
"Ah." Taehyung hums and eyes Lisa with a subtle smile.
Lisa is certain that the Kims must have a genetic habit of performing intensive stare-downs and examinations on every new person that enters their lives.
If Lisa felt pressured earlier this afternoon with one Kim, then having two feels like torture. Like the pits of her stomach have dropped to her feet and she wants the ground to swallow her up.
"You're cute. Are you single?" Taehyung flirts hopefully, earning him a sudden sharp elbowing from his twin. "Ouch."
Jennie doesn't know why she was annoyed by her brother's comment. If anything she's used to him complimenting anything with two legs. Maybe it's just her maternal obligation to defend her roommate's dignity or whatever (and not because she was annoyed that Taehyung was flirting with Lisa rather than the people he could flirt with within her friend group which still doesn't make sense but oh well— adolescence and all that).
"I'm sure someone like Lisa is single. No one could handle a temper like her." Jennie smirks.
"Temper? I'm not the one complaining about a private boarding school's room not being up to a 5-star standard." Lisa fights back, subconsciously bringing her laptop closer to her.
"5 stars? How pathetic of you, I only grace 7-star hotels." Jennie shakes her head as if Lisa had said the most disappointing thing.
"7 stars? Is that even real?"
"It is and only superior people like me would know of it."
Taehyung suddenly snorts at the sight of his sister bickering with her roommate and decides that he can value someone like her to keep Jennie on her toes.
"Would you like to come with us Roomie Manoban?" Jennie is shocked by Taehyung's impromptu invitation and crosses her arms.
"Pfft. She doesn't seem like the type to break the rules." Jennie comments.
And to Lisa's distaste, Jennie is right.
Lisa is a rule follower and would rather walk a tightrope across the San Francisco bridge than break a rule, tainting her golden record.
But Lisa is also someone that wants to prove Jennie wrong and also to distract herself from the fact that she almost opened an email from her ex.
So really, she's killing two birds with one stone here.
"Where are you guys planning on going?" Taehyung lights up with interest at the question whereas Jennie arches a brow in surprise.
"A pub downtown a good walk from here. We'll meet up with a few of my friends." Taehyung smiles, "It'll be good for a tourist like you who's never had the real English experience of going to a pub."
"I'll come." Again, Jennie's jaw is slightly open with shock. "Unless Jennie doesn't want me to."
Both Taehyung and Lisa glance over to Jennie who quickly shuts her mouth and plays it off, "Whatever. Don't expect me to take care of you."
With another triumphant smile coming from the pair, Lisa closes her laptop shut and pats down her clothes. "I'll just get dressed then—"
"No need!" The Prince of England stops Lisa from going anywhere and starts taking off his leather jacket, "Just wear this and you'll be fine. I'll text Woosik to bring me an extra."
Lisa holds the jacket with careful fingers and almost starts shaking, "I can't wear something like this."
"It's out of her pay range." The insults never cease to escape Jennie's lips.
Taehyung shrugs, "It's alright. I have too many leather jackets in the walk-in closet at home. It's just one out of hundreds. And it's not even one of my expensive ones so it's not a dent."
Gulping, Lisa is reminded of how different her life is compared to these royals. One jacket alone costs her a whole summer of full time at the café at home but it only costs a wink to them.
Reluctantly, Lisa puts it on and it feels as though she were a sheep in wolf's fur.
"Perfect. She looks good doesn't she Jenjen." A grin of approval dances on Taehyung's lips, looking her up and down.
Jennie swallows and doesn't quite look at Lisa, "Whatever." It's her second 'whatever' in the past hour and Lisa finds it odd that she's only insulted her five times since she and her brother got here.
"We should go before the security guards come back from their breaks." Taehyung opens the door and for some reason, Jennie files out immediately as if she didn't want to be in the room any longer than a second. "After you Roomie Manoban."
"It's Lisa by the way. Manoban is my surname." Lisa says, shoving her hands in the jacket's pockets. "I don't know why she insists on Manoban, it's probably because—"
"She's trying to keep you at a distance." Taehyung shakes his head, his hair slightly hitting his eyes, "Classic Jen. She's not the type to make friends you know? Unless they've gone through the whole Olympics for her."
"That isn't what I was going to say but... good to know?" Lisa tells him, glancing at Jennie who's already metres away.
"But Lisa Manoban huh?" Taehyung tests it out on his tongue. "It has a nice ring to it."
"Are you going to just stand there and risk getting caught or are you actually going to use the feet you were born with and start moving?" Jennie whisper yells.
The two share a knowing look and close the door behind them before picking up the pace.
"Is she always this mean?" Lisa asks, honestly wanting to know if Jennie is truly as rude as she can get.
"Not really. You just bring it out of her I guess." Taehyung chuckles, "I heard about your little introduction to each other earlier by the way. I always thought she was more of a Veronica Lodge but I can see a bit of Rory in her."
And when Lisa snickers it earns her a steely glare from Jennie and she coughs out her laugh.
Three turns into five as Taehyung lets Lisa invite Jisoo and Haein, much to Jisoo's excitement.
She's never been in the same vicinity as the Prince of Great Britain and even the Princess at that and it's satisfying her obsession with the royals even more. Thank god for bumping into Lisa at the right time.
Haein on the other hand is unusually quiet. Quieter than usual.
And what's even more bizarre is that Jennie is the same.
She hasn't sounded a single original one-liner ever since Taehyung started talking his head off with Lisa whilst Jisoo watches with stars in her eyes every time he included her in the conversation.
"What a player." Jennie mutters lowly and fortunately for her, no one hears it.
Then five turns to nine when Taehyung's friends arrive at the entrance of the pub and make it easier for them to walk in without being questioned for age. Only Lisa is underaged in terms of the drinking age of 18 here in Europe, the rest are all thankfully of age.
After getting a feel of the atmosphere, Lisa and Jisoo sit across each other on a high table with Jennie choosing to stand in between them. The boys are standing within eye line, bantering away about last week's football match.
"So, Lisa. Unless I've been wrong about you and your ill choice of fashion sense, you're wearing one of Taehyung's Louis Vuitton jackets." Jisoo teases despite being jealous of the idea of Taehyung giving someone else his jacket.
Lisa sinks into the jacket out of embarrassment and tries to hide it. "He let me borrow it since it's cold."
Jisoo nods slowly, "Right. And not because he's got a big fat crush on you."
Suddenly there's a horrible inhumane sound to their side and they glimpse over to see Jennie hitting her chest whilst coughing.
Instinctively— because Lisa is such a kind person— she pats Jennie's back out of comfort without realising what she's doing. Jennie stares at her with bewilderment whilst Jisoo looks amused.
It's only then Lisa retracts her hand as if it were on fire and sputters out an apology but she still doesn't hide her concern.
Jennie reads this and groans, "I choked on my pint. Get over it."
"Okay..." Lisa says feeling uneasy for her and Jisoo continues her suspicious intentions.
"Do you like him?" Jisoo wiggles her brows encouragingly, "I mean look at him, he's the hottest royal the Kim Hierarchy has! No offence Jennie."
"Opinions are subjective."
Lisa scratches the back of her neck, "I'm not really interested in him or any guy in particular."
Jisoo's eyes comically grow larger and Jennie's ears perk up and for once she's suddenly interested in the conversation, leaning in over the table and it causes Lisa to shrink. She doesn't know if they're giving her a good or bad reaction and the silence only makes it worse.
Maybe she could sneak out of the pub and no one would bat an eye. It seems like the most logical thing to do and—
"You like girls?" It's a really strange night because for once Jennie's tone is laced with novelty and a hint of softness rather than bite.
"Are you homophobic your royal highness?" Jisoo probes on, taking a sip of her pint but keeping her eye on the monarch.
Jennie rolls her eyes, "I may be connected to centuries of ancient, traditional and old-fashioned people but I am a modern-day woman. A feminist too if you will and—"
"Get to the point Kim." Impatiently, Jisoo raises her brows thinking this could be one hell of a story.
"I'm not homophobic you prune."
"A prune? I thought you had more in you darling."
"Oh trust me Lady Jisoo, I much rather would call you other things than a prune but my mind isn't fixated on my iconic insults at the moment." Jisoo lines her tongue and decides to let her superior win this one only because her interests have returned to Lisa's riveting confession.
Jennie faces Lisa again, "Do you?"
"I do." Lisa answers flatly, still revelling from the bickering that just ensued moments ago, "Not that it's any of your business."
"Right." Jennie takes a hard swig of her pint this time, a thin line dripping from her chin and she wipes it off somewhat aggressively with her sleeve.
Lisa tries not to follow the action too much but her eyes betray her and really it isn't her fault that Jennie makes everything look so hot.
"So what I'm hearing is, you'd rather date a princess." And with Jisoo's thoughts being said out loud with wonder, it lands right into Jennie's mind as she remembers that she is indeed a princess and that Lisa prefers them over a prince.
And for some reason unbeknownst to Jennie herself, she flushes red and starts to unattractively choke on her beer again.
"Jennie!"
"Jennie!"
Both girls are unaware of what Jennie has discovered and try to help her but she's already embarrassed enough and swats away their hands, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Stupid pint doesn't taste nice anyway. It tastes like piss."
Lisa smiles at Jennie's words because it's so odd to hear such profanities come from a poised, flawless princess like her.
Jennie jerks away from the table and excuses herself for another, better drink.
"She's being weird." Lisa says out loud but Jisoo doesn't pay attention to it.
"Have you dated any girls before?" She questions with genuine interest and only because she wants to get to know her future best friend even more.
Lisa responds, "I have. I actually recently broke up with my ex, I saw her kissing another boy."
Jisoo gasps, "How shite of her!"
Lisa laughs, "How shite indeed. But at least I got to move away and make new friends."
"Cheers to that Lalisa." Jisoo clinks her glass with Lisa's water only to notice that its empty and being the oh-so-chivalrous new friend she is, she offers to get her a new glass, "I'll be right back. Gotta keep you hydrated!"
The lonely Thai-American girl sits comfy in her seat and looks around her surroundings. It's a nice pub, warm dim lighting and wooden furniture everywhere. It has such a homey atmosphere to it that Lisa can tick off 'Appreciating the English pub experience' off her bucket list of things to do during her stay.
She catches sight of Taehyung who throws her a thumbs up to ask if she's okay. Lisa gives him one back before he grins and goes back to talking to Haein.
As far as first impressions go, he's a sweet guy and would be perfect for Jisoo. If anything she wouldn't mind playing Cupid for them and setting a few things up.
After a period of people-watching, Lisa wonders what's taking both Jennie and Jisoo so long and gets down from her chair only to be met with a burly man.
He's most likely much older than Lisa and the way he's studying her disgusts her right to her core. It's a shame to know that creepy old men are common no matter the country.
"Where are you going sweetheart? I know you've seen me eyeing you all night." Which is completely false because Lisa has not seen this man at all tonight. He reeks of alcohol that makes her dizzy and his accent is thick with occasional slurring to it.
He sets his hand on her arm and his green eyes glisten with a predatory shine, "D'you wanna dance?"
"No, thank you." Lisa rips her arm out of his grip and holds her stance and hopes someone in this godforsaken pub can sense her distress.
He doesn't seem too phased by Lisa's distaste and pleads on,
"Oh come on doll, just one dance won't hurt."
"She said no you bastard now get away from her."
It isn't Jisoo who's come to rescue her like a knight in shining armour, rather it's Jennie in a full attire of Chanel whose eyes rage with fire at the bulky man.
She's got a different pint in one hand and a glass of water in the other but her hands are latching on to them pretty tightly, so tight that her knuckles burn white. Lisa thinks she could shatter the glasses with her bare hands if she wanted to.
She hands Lisa the glass of water and bites the inside of her cheek, "No, means no. Get that drilled into your tiny head why don't you."
Instead, the man visibly glows with glee at the idea of two beautiful women in front of him, "Feisty and gorgeous. I like to see that now."
Jennie clicks her tongue, "That's it."
Using her free hand, she puts her forefinger and middle finger in her mouth and releases a hideously high-pitched whistle that seizes everyone's attention.
And as if by instinct, all five men, including Haein surround the girls and the old man with their arms crossed, clearly unimpressed.
"One guy, Jennie? He wouldn't even put up a good fight."
"Excuse me?"
"What did he even do?"
"He's trying to force Lisa to dance with him."
The girl in subject starts to panic because this definitely wasn't how she pictured her night to end. She doesn't want to cause a commotion because, quite frankly, she's well aware of the fact that a princess and a prince and a Lady somewhere are all huddled up in this small pub in the middle of town and it would be very easy to snap a few pictures for a golden headline.
She can already picture it now;
YOUNG ROYALS GONE MAD AT LOCAL PUB?
DRUNK FIGHTS ARE WHAT THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF ENGLAND DO IN THEIR SPARE TIME!
TWO ROYALS AND A LADY WALK INTO A PUB— GUESS WHO'S COMING OUT WITH A BLACK EYE?
Sure they're not examples of Lisa's best creative writing skills but they're a taste of what's yet to come.
"Maybe we should calm down guys, it's nothing to fight over." Lisa attempts to squash the situation with a hushed tone.
"Calm down? Have some dignity woman, we need to teach this man a lesson!" And with that, Lisa knows there's no use in preventing tomorrow when Jennie is being very adamant about today.
She pours the remains of her drink all over the now angry man and then expertly throws it over his shoulder where it conveniently smashes into the opposite wall.
The action catches the attention of three much more big and beefy English men that Lisa guesses are his friends.
Jennie practically has heart-eyes at the sight of potential chaos that's about to break out. "That's more like it."
The beer-drenched man exhales in fury before trying to presumably attack Jennie. Unfortunately for him, Taehyung is a lot faster and has much more of a hard-hitting punch than his sister and knocks the drunk to the grounds.
A bar fight begins with all of the men in the pub wrestling one another and just as Lisa starts to struggle to understand what has just occurred, she's whisked away with a soft hand in her own leading her out the door.
Lisa's convinced that this is the most interesting first day she's ever had in her entire life.
And it only gets more interesting from there.