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Jennie senses someone looking at her long before they make their way over – a stuttering mess as they stand in front of her with a reddened face.
She’s still not used to it. People recognizing her, that is.
Even though it happens a lot more frequently - now that she’s appeared in another idols music video and picked-up a small modeling job for a beverage advertisement.
She still gets flustered when someone on the street stops in their tracks to look at her and she hears her name being whispered behind her back.
She doesn’t really like it. But she knows that she’s got to get used to it sooner or later. She chose this path for herself, after all.
However, there are things she wishes she wouldn’t have to endure.
Like boys trying to hit on her, for example. She really could live happily without that awkwardness.
“Uhm, hi.”
She looks up and almost wants to sight – instead she gives them a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement.
Them. It’s always two of them. At least.
And here the world thinks that girls can’t do anything without backup when clearly, it’s the same thing with male humans as well.
“My friend was just wondering if… If maybe you… you would…”
He stops and gulps hard – Jennie can see his Adams apple moving and his cheeks flame up even more. Beside him, his friend doesn’t seem to be less nervous because he keeps looking at his shoes. Jennie almost feels sorry for them.
“If maybe you would give him your.. uhm.. phone number. Maybe?”
He’s kinda cute – even though his face is as red as tomato by the time he’s meeting Jennie’s gaze and it falls the second he sees the apologetic look in her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”, Jennie shakes her head. “I’m not allowed to.”
There’s a short pause before they both look at each other quickly, then take a step back and bow politely.
They run off without another word and Jennie breathes out in relief. At least that one went smoother than the last time, when--.
“You gonna eat that or no?”
At the interruption, Jennie blinks down at the untouched ice-cream-sandwich and then up at her friend, before pushing it in her direction.
“Knock yourself out.”
Lisa sends her a grin before practically shoving the whole thing in her mouth – worming out a giggle from Jennie with how ridiculous she looks as she tries to chew without making a mess.
“Stop laughing at me, unnie.”, Lisa warns – mouth still so full, Jennie has trouble understanding her. It makes her laugh even more.
“I’ll stop when you stop being funny. And gross.”, she explains and dodges Lisa’s hand that dashes forward – probably to flick her on the forehead, but Jennie’s faster and she’s cocky enough to raise her eyebrows and smirk.
Lisa rises from her seat immediately at that – gulping down the last remains of Jennie’s ice-cream before explaining in a threateningly calm voice: “You better run now, Nini.”
And even though Lisa is the least intimidating person ever – Jennie still finds herself fleeing the coffee-shop laughingly, the other girl at her heels.
She doesn’t get far.
Because first of all, Lisa’s pretty damn fast - what with them long legs and all - and secondly, Jennie herself is the biggest scaredy-cat on the face of earth and someone chasing after her is not something she can deal with, so instead she decides to give up and lets herself being caught by the younger girl who simply enflings her in a bone-crushing hug.
“Gotcha.”, Lisa smiles in triumph before squeezing the small body in her arms once and then letting her go.
“Yeah, only ‘cause I let you win, Lili.”, Jennie smirks as she gets a hold of Lisa’s hand – intertwining their fingers. It’s an as involuntary action as breathing for her.
Lisa snorts and softly swings their joint hands in between them as they walk on.
“I would have caught you anyway. Face it, unnie. You are slow.”
“Oi!”, Jennie shrieks and punches Lisa’s shoulder not so softly. “You gotta learn to respect your elders in this country, Lalisa.”
“My apologies, your Majesty. I’ll do whatever it is you’re asking from me as of this moment.”
They both look at each other for a moment, before bursting out laughing and Jennie shakes her head at Lisa’s silly antics. This girl was too goofy for her own good.
“Well then, I command a piggy-back-ride home.”
Much to Jennie’s surprise, Lisa doesn’t even protest – instead she stops dead in her tracks and before Jennie even knows how, her arms and legs are wrapped around Lisa – holding onto her for dear life as the younger one starts sprinting, making Jennie’s hair fly and her face morph into something that could only be described as the biggest smile ever.
She giggles and lets out a few squeaky screams when Lisa deliberately pretends to drop her and even though there are people on the street gazing their way, Jennie doesn’t really care.
It’s their weekly day off and she feels as if they deserve a little bit of fun - even if it might annoy others. They’re still teenagers after all, for crying out loud.
Teenagers who were bound to be forced to become adults way too soon and way too fast. So she’ll be damned not to enjoy as much of this normal life as possible.
Lisa carries her all the way back to YG Headquarters, letting her slip off her back when they stand in front of the building and Jennie’s smile falters a bit. It always does when it’s time to enter real life again.
“I don’t want this day to end.”, she whines quietly whilst her hand finds its way back into Lisa’s blindly.
The other girl looks down at her with a frown on her face that morphs into a look of understanding and then she nods and pulls at Jennie’s hand.
“Well, it doesn’t have to, yet. Wanna go eat Tteokbokki down by the Hahn River?”
Jennie’s head snaps up at that and her mouth waters instantly. She’s never had anything better to eat in her life than the Korean dish sold by that cute, old lady who owned that food-stand by the river. Lisa and her had discovered the place some months ago and had become regular customers there almost immediately.
“That’s a rhetorical question, right?”
Lisa snorts as she tugs at Jennies hand and starts leading her down the road – away from the building they call home.
Home, Jennie came to realize within the last few years, isn’t about a place though. She’s been to so many places – lived in a handful of them too, but they never made her feel like…. whatever home was supposed to feel like.
And maybe Jennie never wanted to know. Because she somehow – subconsciously – always knew that her life wasn’t going to be taking place in just one place. That she’d be traveling a lot – not able to return back to the same “home” every night.
But maybe she’d been wrong about that. Because home wasn’t about a place. Jennie was pretty sure of that now.
“Earth to Jennie. You in there?”
Lisa’s voice brings her back and she gives the girl’s hand a little squeeze to show her that she got her attention.
“Who else should be in me if not me, Lalisa?”, she jokes and tries to suppress a smile as the other girl rolls her eyes exaggerated.
“I would hope you’ll have Tteokbokki in you any time soon. So stop daydreaming and hurry up, I’m starving.”
Jennie squints her eyes and sends Lisa a glare, before removing her fingers from the younger girl’s grip, legs already starting to move.
She turns her head slightly, only to yell “Race ya!” to a stunned Lisa.
Second time’s the charm – it turns out because different than before, she’s quick enough for Lisa not to catch her.
She’s panting slightly when she stops in front of the old lady’s food truck and sends her a bright smile which is being returned instantly.
She bows politely as the lady nods her way and without a beat asks: “You’re not with your girlfriend tonight?”
Jennie feels her cheeks heat up a little bit – but it’s not until Lisa’s by her side, draping her arm over Jennie’s shoulders with the words “I’m here, I’m here” – that they turn a solid crimson.
“Aah.”, the old lady nods and sends them an honest smile before asking: “Shared plate as usual?”
Lisa hands her the money before Jennie even has the chance to answer and they’re sitting on that little bench by the riverside they always sit on not a minute later – Lisa already digging in and humming in delight.
“This is too good to be true.”, she whispers – more to herself than to Jennie but, strangely enough – the older girl’s suddenly hyper aware of everything that is Lisa.
It isn’t as though it was the first time she finds herself in a situation like this. When – almost out of the blue – she feels tingles all over her body in her friend’s presence, but every time it happened, she had been able to push it aside successfully, burying it somewhere deep inside.
Right now though, she finds her sight glued to the Lisa’s face – not able to look away as she replays the old lady’s words in her head.
“You’re not with your girlfriend tonight?”
Your girlfriend.
Your girl friend.
She didn’t mean it like that – Jennie’s sure of it. She must have meant her friend who’s a girl, right?
But… what if she hadn’t?
What if she had actually insinuated that Lisa was her…
“Girlfriend.”, she hears herself whisper – and it’s already too late for her to cover up her inadvertency when the other girl looks up at her puzzled.
“What?”, Lisa says slowly as she blinks – lowering the hand that was holding the fork and Jennie could’ve sworn that her knuckles where white because she was holding onto it so hard.
“Nothing.”, the older girl quickly recovers as she scolds herself silently in her head. What the hell was that? She really needed to chill.
“Didn’t sound like nothing.”, Lisa presses on and Jennie usually loves how observant her friend is, but not right now.
She couldn’t do this right now.
So she just shakes her head and steals the fork from her hand – pushing some food into her mouth to keep it occupied.
Lisa looks at her bewildered for a second before she lifts an eyebrow and grunts – looking aways, out onto the water – lulling Jennie into the false believe that she had averted the worst, only to crush that assumption a few moments later.
“You said girlfriend.”
Jennie halts. Eyes glued to her fidgeting fingers as she tries to find a reasonable explanation for this absurd outburst.
She doesn’t.
“I did.”, she decides to be honest, but that’s all she’s got really. Thankfully, that seems to be good enough for Lisa who quickly scans her face and then smiles. Warm and welcoming.
And Jennie can’t help thinking that this feeling right here – the one provided by Lisa and her disarming smile – felt like coming home.
And when the taller girl scoots closer and takes Jennie’s free hand in hers, there’s a spark kindled in the Korean’s chest.
She squeezes the younger girl’s hand and feels her own mouth tug upwards at her sudden realization.
Home isn’t a place.
Home is a feeling.
And Jennie’s home.