23

Jisoo got a credit card notification text and scowled.

"Well played Limario." Jisoo said as she looked at the amount charged to her card. "I guess I deserve that."

Chaeyoung giggled beside her. "Sorry babe, I should have just gotten Lisa's laptop and taken it down there too for her."

"It's fine. I'll get her back tonight." Jisoo said mischievously.

"What are you planning on doing tonight?" Chaeyoung asked curiously.

"Cranking up the heat." Jisoo smiled deviously.

"Babe." Chaeyoung said in a warning tone.

"What? You said they should talk first. They talked." Jisoo pointed out.

______________

Lisa was getting restless. She wasn't used to being cooped up in one place for so long. She was supposed to be at dance today, letting out the energy she always managed to accumulate if she sat for too long during the day through hours of perfecting choreography.

She started drumming with a couple of Jennie's highlighters absentmindedly as she blankly stared at the laptop screen in front of her. Not even the gruesome image showing devastation to buildings and people after a bombing was snapping her out of it. Her eyes were unfocused and the photo was just becoming a black and white blur the more she stared at it.

"Lisa." Jennie held her hand out.

"Sorry." Lisa said sheepishly, handing her the highlighter and feeling bad she had disturbed her studying.

"The other one. I need the blue one. I have everything color coded." Jennie said without looking up from her books.

"Oh." Lisa handed her the other highlighter in her hand and smiled when Jennie gave her another one to play with to replace the blue one she took. Lisa thought she was going to scold her for being loud and drumming with them.

Lisa started drumming again.

After thirty minutes Jennie spoke up again.

"That's enough of a break Lisa, focus." Jennie demanded, not looking at Lisa as she continued working.

Lisa as usual found demanding Jennie very attractive, she paused her drumming but she might have stared at Jennie a little too long.

"Lisa. Do your edits. Gong-Yoo expects the next round by tonight doesn't he?" Jennie asked again in that same demanding tone.

Lisa didn't know how Jennie even knew that.

"Right. Sorry. Spaced out."

Lisa managed to work for about forty five minutes straight before she lost focus again and Jennie of course noticed.

Jennie set her pen down and rested her hand on her chin as she looked at Lisa intently, appraising her.

Lisa gulped—half nervous at the way she was being scrutinized and half drooling at how hot Jennie looked as she tried to read her. Then Jennie narrowed her eyes at her and Lisa broke.

"I'm sorry!" Lisa whined. "You know I can't stay in one place for long! I should be dancing right now! I had rehearsal with Jimin that I had to cancel because your evil cousin decided to lock me up in a bomb shelter!"

Jennie tried not to smile. She wasn't going to scold her. She had learned that the best way to get Lisa to focus was to let her take regular breaks. She would focus for a little bit at a time and that would end up stretching her productivity.

"Then do something Lisa. I'll give you thirty minutes and then you have to go back to your work." Jennie said, pointing a threatening finger at her.

"Do what?"

"I don't know, dance, work out. Something to get rid of that nervous energy you have. There's enough room in here." Jennie said, waving her hand.

Lisa realized she had a point. Lisa was about to ask if she could put music on, opening her mouth to speak but Jennie cut the question off, not even looking at Lisa.

"Yes you can put on music." Jennie said as she highlighted something in her book and took notes.

Lisa could have kissed her.

Jennie realized her suggestion might have been a bad idea after all, at least for her because fifteen minutes in Lisa was sweating. She'd done push ups and sit ups and God knows what else and now Lisa had gotten so hot she took her sweatshirt off and left herself in sweats and a sports bra and it's not like Jennie hadn't seen her like that before but it had been a long time and her memory hadn't done Lisa justice.

It didn't go unnoticed by Jennie that the fellowship trip had also done wonders to Lisa's body. She had been toned before but now it was ridiculous. Every single muscle on her was defined in that soft feminine way that made Jennie drool all over her.

Jennie was the one that couldn't focus anymore. She kept stealing glances as Lisa worked out.

Then Lisa decided she was done working out and wanted to dance instead and of course the song that came up had to be sexual and Lisa was moving her body the way the song required it and Jennie didn't realize she had been staring the entire time, lost in a Lisa trance as she bit the edge of her pen, admiring Lisa moving fluidly, sensually. Her eyes raking up and down her body. She was so focused on Lisa she didn't even remember to be discreet at least. Normally she would have, but she hadn't seen this Lisa in such a long time and she was such a turn on.

The stares didn't go unnoticed by Lisa, who thought Jennie looked way too sexy biting that pen with that darkened expression in her eyes and that single raised eyebrow.

It motivated Lisa to put on a show for her, to dance for her and look sexy and remind Jennie exactly what she had been missing this whole year.

_____________

"I think it might be time to turn off the t.v." Jisoo said, "Jendeukie looks like she's about to jump Lisa's bones any second now and I'm really not trying to witness the making of my baby cousin's first sex tape."

"She really does go crazy over Lisa's dancing doesn't she?" Chaeyoung giggled.

"She's obsessed!" Jisoo confirmed. "Even when they pretended to hate each other, she always drooled over her and it wasn't subtle. At all."

______________

The music stopped and Jennie stared a little bit too long at Lisa's last pose, though who could blame her when Lisa had basically dropped and looked like she was about to hump the ground and then turned and arched forward, abs on display, somehow managing to get on her feet that way. The athleticism was unreal, and so was that body.

She literally had to shake her head before going back to her book.

Lisa couldn't help it, she needed to tease her.

"Is that book really more interesting than me?" Lisa asked and Jennie jumped.

"Hmm?" Jennie asked wide eyed because she had literally just looked away a half a second before and she wondered if she got caught staring.

"I'm dancing half naked for you and you're reading—" Lisa picked the book up to read the title "Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, & Genetics." Lisa finished with a pout.

Jennie snatched the book back, feeling the blush take over already, doing her best to avoid staring at that impossibly sexy toned abdomen right in front of her. Jennie wanted to lick it.

Jennie mentally slapped herself for thinking that because the images of her having done exactly that once or twice or pretty much every time they had been intimate flooded her mind.

Jennie's voice came out a little more high pitched than normal, "Can you go do something, you're distracting me."

"I'm just standing here." Lisa smirked.

"Stand there with a shirt on then." Jennie said grumpily.

"It's too hot." Lisa answered, smirking at her answer and loving the way Jennie was avoiding her eyes right now.

"Go take a cold shower." Jennie demanded, though she was pretty sure she was the one that needed the cold shower right now.

"I suppose I do need to get completely naked and go take a cold shower after getting all sweaty like that. It's too bad I didn't get sweaty because I was doing naked activities, that would have been much more relaxing." Lisa teased, she started walking away and got a pillow thrown at the back of her head and Lisa giggled.

"Pervert!" Jennie yelled after her because now she was all flustered at Lisa acknowledging naked activities.

"Don't picture me naked! You need to focus." Lisa said sternly.

Jennie threw another pillow but Lisa dodged it and ran to the bathroom.

Lisa peeked from the inside of the bathroom. Jennie was already looking down at her book again but Lisa could tell she was blushing from here.

"On second thought, if you have to study for anatomy I can totally pose naked for you in case you need a visual. Might help you focus better." Lisa shouted again. "Surgeons need to know every single part of the body don't they?" Lisa said a little seductively. Lisa knew Jennie liked her lower register so she dropped her voice a bit when she said it.

Jennie's breath caught in her throat at the mental images of a naked Lisa in front of her, letting Jennie study every inch of her body.

Jennie had ran out of pillows to throw so she threw several highlighters at her instead before Lisa managed to close the door in a fit of giggles.

Jennie knew she must be as red as a tomato now. She buried her face in her hands and squealed into them.

"Think holy thoughts Jennie Ruby Jane. Holy thoughts." She chanted to herself.

It was useless though. She even went into nerd mode trying to recite the elements of the periodic table, in order, atomic weights and all to distract herself but inevitably her mind kept drifting to a naked, wet Lisa in that shower and she finally gave up on studying. Especially considering Lisa's second shower was becoming much longer than the first from that morning and it made Jennie imagine what exactly she might be doing in there besides actually showering.

"At this rate I won't even graduate college let alone get into med school. She's been back a week and she's already distracting me." Jennie told herself exasperatedly.

Lisa's phone kept ringing. Jennie ignored it at first but it kept ringing and ringing so she went to knock on the bathroom door.

"Hey Lis. It's your phone. Someone keeps calling. It might be urgent." Jennie jumped when Lisa opened the door abruptly. Then she proceeded to drool because Lisa was standing in yet another pair of loose sweats that hugged her waist perfectly and accentuated her curves, and yet another sports bra. Her hair had that wet look. It was like she had been plucked right out of an Adidas thirst trap ad.

Lisa smirked, putting her finger under Jennie's chin to help close it.

"You'll catch flies baby brat."

Jennie shoved her in anger and stormed away, plopping down on the couch in a huff and turning on the tv to distract herself from a freshly showered, really good smelling, half naked Lisa. Trying not to feel embarrassed at having been caught staring so she pretended to be angry instead.

The amount of times she had thought the word naked and Lisa together in the same sentence in the last half hour was getting really ridiculous, it was probably twice as many as there were elements in the periodic table.

Lisa found the sight adorable, watching Jennie huff and puff the whole way. She finally reached for her phone, which started ringing again.

Incoming Call

Pretty Boy

Lisa answered it. "Why exactly are you blowing up my phone right now?"

"I'm bored."

"Don't you have friends you need to catch up with? We've only been back a week."

"No, they're all rich and snobby."

"You're rich and snobby." Lisa countered, sitting down on the couch and putting her legs up on the coffee table, leaning back and smirking again when she saw cat like eyes quickly flick to her abdomen again.

"Not anymore! I'm poor now."

"You live in a five bedroom apartment by yourself and you rented a freaking Tesla just so we could make a thirty minute drive home from the airport." Lisa answered dryly.

"What else was I supposed to rent?" Kai answered indignantly.

"I don't know, a fucking Toyota!" Lisa joked into the phone. "We didn't even have that much stuff and you didn't even use it for the rest of the day. How much did you pay for a mere thirty minutes?"

"I was trying to save the planet!" Kai countered. "Tesla's are good for the environment or whatever!"

Lisa laughed into the phone. "Okay pretty boy, you go save the planet. Why don't you start now, go recycle something. That might save you from your boredom."

"Let's just go for some drinks, my treat. I'll buy you all the drinks and food you want. We can bar hop in Hongdae."

Lisa sighed, "What did I tell you about using your money to bribe people into being friends with you?"

"You're already my best friend though."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Still, you need to stop doing that. People aren't as nice as me, someone will take advantage of you."

"Trust me, I'be learned my lesson after blowing all the money from selling my stocks and renting out huge yachts in Jeju and throwing parties for people who dropped me as soon as the money ran out."

"I'm sorry." Lisa said again, she'd heard his stories before.

"So, drinks?" Kai asked hopefully.

"I would, but I can't right now. I'm sort of, locked up."

"Locked up?" Kai asked bewildered. "They let you have phones in jail? How much is your bail, I'll come bail you out." Kai said, walking to his safe to take out cash.

Lisa rolled her eyes playfully.

"Not jail, but thanks, now I know I can call you if I ever get arrested again." Lisa giggled. "I'm locked up in some kind of underground bunker Jisoo has. She threw me down here and I don't know the code to get out. I'm stuck for the weekend and that's probably only if I don't piss her off in the mean time."

Kai started laughing hysterically now.

"Shut up!" Lisa grumbled.

"Do you want me to drive over there and bust you out?"

"Do you want Jisoo to knock your lights out when she sees you?"

"Fair point." Kai said. "Did you tell her I'm living at her place yet?"

"I tried. She didn't believe me. She laughed in my face and said she's surprised I didn't throw up even mentioning your name. Hopefully she doesn't find out I wasn't lying while I'm down here because she might make good on that threat of keeping me down here for two years. If I go missing you know where to find me."

"You think she'll kick me out of the apartment when she finds out?"

"Probably." Lisa said smirking.

"Lisa you're supposed to be my best friend!" Kai whined.

"Rosie's my best friend."

"Fine fine, fourth best friend." He said grumpily and Lisa had to laugh because he was always so upset about that.

"I don't know, I'm getting pretty close to Jimin lately." Lisa teased. "Might demote you to fifth."

"You're a jerk."

"You're definitely fifth now."

"Wait, I take it back!"

"I'm kidding, relax pretty boy. Jimin might take the pretty boy title though, he's much prettier than you."

"No arguments there. I don't think there's anyone I know that wouldn't describe him that way. That boy is pretty. Anyway, should I start looking for a back up apartment just in case?"

"I won't let her kick you out but I can't promise she won't hurt you."

"I think I have some kevlar around here somewhere. I'll start wearing it."

"You're being serious aren't you?" Lisa asked incredulously. "Why do you own kevlar?"

"Bought it when I got drunk with some buddies from college and I let them shoot me with a 9mm to see if it really worked."

Lisa's jaw dropped. Then she started grinning. "Please let me shoot you." Lisa begged.

"Aren't you supposed to be telling me how dangerous that was to do and how I could have died!" Kai said indignantly.

"Nope. I'm still pissed you kissed J—" Lisa cut herself off, remembering Jennie was in the room and she almost admitted her jealousy in front of her. Not to mention she hated Kai's guts and she almost outed that's who she was currently on the phone with. "I'm still pissed at you, the least you could do is let me shoot you."

Kai picked up on the fact Lisa had stuttered, avoiding saying Jennie's name.

"Oh my god, wait—wait— wait—did she lock you down there with Jennie?" Kai finished, barely controlling his laughter. "You're stuck in an impenetrable bunker for the weekend with your ex? This is so epic! I knew Jisoo was an evil genius but this is beyond hilarious. I wish I could watch the show."

"Shut up pretty boy." Lisa said grumpily, with less bite than she would normally use.

She still didn't know if this whole thing was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand Jennie was reacting to her, blushing and cuddling her at night and all that, which is what she really wanted.

On the other hand, this could go south really fast. They had so many unresolved issues and although Lisa really wanted Jennie back, Jennie broke up with her. Ghosted her. She knew she couldn't take another rejection. She spent a year trying to get over the first heartbreak without success so she was already fearing how else Jennie could hurt her if she let her back in, despite desperately wanting to.

"Can I have Jisoo's number?" Kai asked eagerly.

"No."

"What about Rosie's?"

"No! Why do you even want their numbers?"

"So they can give me a play by play of what's going on down there of course. I'd love to see my best friend's game get tested with a girl she's head over heels in love with who happens to be her ex that she hasn't really seen in over a year. This is like, reality tv at its finest."

"I'm hanging up."

"And I'm rooting for you Lisa. I hope you get back together with our ex-girlfriend." Kai teased, purposely trying to annoy Lisa with his phrasing. "Holy shit, why did I just realize you're my eskimo brother?!" He said excitedly. "Well, not like that, not full on Eskimo. Maybe it makes us Eskimo cousins? Because all we've ever done is kiss in high school and I'm sure you two did wayyy more than that but—"

"She is not your ex-girlfriend because she was never your girlfriend to begin with and if you ever so much as mention touching her ever again I will shave your head and cut off your privates!" Lisa yelled into the phone, interrupting him and completely forgetting to worry about Jennie being in the room and seeing her jealousy fit towards the guy whose guts she hates almost as much as she hates her father.

Kai laughed through the phone, he would pay for that comment later but he really wanted to get a rise out of Lisa in front of Jennie. Maybe then they'd get back together when they both realized they were still into each other.

Kai had spent months traveling with Lisa. He spent the entire time trying to convince her that Jennie still liked her. Jennie had said it herself during that disaster of an engagement dinner. She had said her father had Lisa and that's why she wasn't fighting back, though Kai didn't understand what that meant he knew Jennie was in love with Lisa but Lisa wouldn't believe him.

"I'm really hanging up now, asshole."

"Get your girl back, best friend."

"I'm not your best friend."

"Okay best friend."

Lisa hung up the phone grumpily and she caught curious cat eyes looking at her when she looked up. Jennie's eyebrow was raised and she was looking at Lisa like she was trying to read her. Lisa squirmed under her gaze.

"Was that Kai?" Jennie asked Lisa.

Lisa nodded, no point in denying it after her outburst.

Jennie pursed her lips, turned off the tv and went back to her studying.

Lisa was sitting right next to her so its not like Jennie could have ignored her phone conversation, it wasn't that hard to figure out who she had been talking to. She was angry that Lisa would actually be his friend. She didn't understand it. Kai had caused them both so much damage.

Jennie's heart skipped a beat when Lisa got jealous over whatever taunt Kai had said over the phone over her, feeling some butterflies but now that the call was over Jennie was back to being hurt that they could actually be friends.

"Why are you even friends with him Lisa?" Jennie asked, unable to keep the hurt from her voice. She sighed and set her pen down and looked at her.

Lisa looked away from the laptop she had started working on again.

"He's not who we thought he was." Lisa answered honestly.

"He made me miserable Lis. For years, he went along with my father's whims. He cheated on me and humiliated me. He bragged and rubbed it in my face that I was stuck with him. He broke us up! He didn't respect our relationship and decided to kiss me—right in front of you I might add—without my permission and now you're friends with him? After even punching him for that?!" Jennie finished incredulously.

"I know Jennie. I know it doesn't make sense to you right now and it probably seems like I'm betraying us and our old relationship but there's more to it than that. There's a reason why he was such an asshole. He apologized."

"What possible reason could he have to completely disregard someone else!" Jennie shouted. "The only decent thing that coward did was break off our arranged engagement!"

Lisa looked down to the ground.

"It's not my story to tell Jennie. Let him explain. He wants to apologize to you too."

"I can't believe you of all people, and Kai!" Jennie said angrily, frustrated beyond relief. She had always thought Lisa was the only other person that had hated Kai as much as she did.

Now Jennie had found yet another reason to resent him, Kai getting to spend time with Lisa and being close with her. Working with her. Being allowed in to a piece of Lisa's life Jennie had been forced out of for an entire year. He must have been present to that part of her life for least a few months if they were able to actually become friends before coming back to Seoul.

Even though Jennie wanted so much more with Lisa, even just getting to be her friend was enough and Kai had been allowed that while Jennie was still trying to fix the broken pieces she had left behind by being forced to break up with her.

Jennie was jealous. He didn't deserve having Lisa like that.

__________

"Hold up, did she just say Kai?" Jisoo said, looking at the screen, squinting her eyes.

They didn't have audio unless either Lisa or Jennie pressed the button on the intercom but Jisoo was a pretty decent lip reader. It came with the territory of being such an excellent schemer.

Jisoo suddenly remembered what Lisa had said the other day, about Kai being the one in Jisoo's old apartment. She had honest to God thought it was a joke. Now, not so much and she hated it more than anything.

"Oh hell fucking no." Jisoo unceremoniously got up and went to the closet, grabbing the bat she always kept there.

"Babe." Chaeyoung asked bewildered, realizing she was going directly to that closet. Oh no. She grabbed the bat. This was not good. "Baby, put the bat down please."

"I will, I just have business to attend to first." Jisoo said, putting her shoes on.

"Business with who?" Chaeyoung asked tentatively, running to grab her shoes too before Jisoo did something like assault someone, again.

"My tenant."

Jisoo walked out of the house and practically ran down the stairs, Chaeyoung hot on her heels.

"Lisa's assistant?" Chaeyoung probed.

Jisoo nodded in response, she was fuming. She had hated Kai before but now, after finding out about the blackmail thing this last year, she had no doubt he was in on it with Jennie's father. There's no way she believed he was genuine friends with Lisa. Not after helping Jennie's father use his wealth to get Jennie to do things for him for years. Now he was living at her old apartment, and supposedly friends with Lisa. Jisoo was a schemer, so she trusted no one and there was no way in hell she would let whatever new plan they had cooked up to get to Jennie by using Lisa again.

Chaeyoung probed her again, trying to calm her down. "Why do you wanna take a bat to the face to Lisa's assistant?"

"Because her stupid assistant is Kai and Lisa said they were friends and I'm not buying it. I thought she had been joking about that."

Chaeyoung didn't realize how fast they had been walking because they made it to Jisoo's old apartment in no time.

Jisoo rang the doorbell.

Chaeyoung jumped in front of Jisoo to block her.

Kai opened the door and paled.

"Oh fuck."

"Oh fuck is right!" Jisoo said, raising the bat and trying to swing around Chaeyoung. "What the fuck are you doing here! What's your new sick game you're playing by trying to get close to Lisa?!"

"Baby put the bat down." Chaeyoung pleaded. Jisoo usually listened to her but sometimes it took some convincing when she was in a blind range like this.

"I'm just going to tap him." Jisoo said as she swung harder now. Kai tripped over his own feet and fell, trying to dodge it.

"Wait Jisoo, let me explain." Kai begged.

"Explain what? How you've been an asshole since high school? How you went along with Jennie's father and helped break her and Lisa up! How you helped her father blackmail her and you made her miserable all year by going to those stupid Galas with her even though you're a fucking cheater?!

How you did all that like a coward and when it came down to marry her you finally grew the balls to leave and disappear and then Jennie had to deal with the aftermath?! And now you're back here working for Lisa and acting like you're her friend! After everything you've done? What do you have on her? Are you blackmailing her too?!"

Jisoo didn't expect answers to her questions, she just wanted to hurt him and make sure he stayed away from her baby cousin and her friend. If she had to use violence to threaten him, Jisoo was not above it.

The only problem is her girlfriend wouldn't move, and Jisoo was so not going to even gently try to move her out of the way in case she hurt her, so Jisoo threw the bat as hard as she could and it flew straight into Kai's stomach who grunted and fell, the wind got knocked out of him.

"I—I'm gay." Kai managed out once he caught his breath.

Chaeyoung stopped struggling with Jisoo and turned around to look at him.

"I knew it." Chaeyoung breathed out, she had always had an inkling. The biggest closet cases in her experience were usually homophobes or sleazy assholes that tried to sleep with as many girls as possible and shout it from the rooftops so no one would suspect.

Jisoo didn't believe him for a second and since Chaeyoung stopped pushing her back she went around her getting ready to punch him in the face, or kick him in the face, whichever of her limbs were closest to him.

"Kim Jisoo stop right now!" Chaeyoung raised her voice, knowing she could get through to her now.

"Damn it." Jisoo said under her breath, stopping. She was hoping she would make it to him before Chaeyoung realized she snuck around her and scolded her. Jisoo hadn't been fast enough.

"Just a light tap on his jaw babe, he deserves it." Jisoo pleaded.

"You already knocked the wind out of him with that bat. That's enough." Chaeyoung shook her head sternly and Jisoo scowled.

"Lucky bastard. If I ever get you alone you're done for." Jisoo threatened under her breath and Kai shrunk as Jisoo picked up her bat menacingly.

"Will you just let me explain?" Kai asked Chaeyoung because Jisoo was staring daggers at him. "It's not an excuse but there was a reason. I was a coward but there was a reason I did everything I did."

Chaeyoung forced Jisoo to go inside and listen to him.

Jisoo didn't buy his bullshit, protesting against her but Chaeyoung could tell he was being sincere. Jisoo as always, relented to her girlfriend so she followed them in. Besides, she still had her bat, if he says something she doesn't like she could get another swing in and get away with it with her girlfriend.

Jisoo scowled at Kai the whole time as he made them some tea. Kai tried really hard not to tremble under her gaze. He'd known her his whole life and Jisoo was not someone to be messed with. Clearly, he already felt the coming bruise.

He launched into his story and of course Chaeyoung cried for him when he got to the part about his uncle. Kai couldn't help it. When Rosie started crying as he told them about his uncle he let the tears fall too, sobbing heavily this time. Unlike with Lisa, where he wanted to seem a little more strong. Rosie's crying spurred him on. He cried for a while as Rosie comforted him and he almost felt like another weight lifted of his shoulders, like he had finally mourned him properly.

Even Jisoo deflated a bit. Just a bit.

She grabbed him roughly and picked him up.

"You're coming with us. You have to tell Jendeukie."

She still didn't trust that he wasn't making all this shit up as blackmail despite his protests about not knowing that Jennie's father had been using Lisa against her until the night of the engagement. She needed Jennie to verify his story before she let her guard down.

"I swear, I know I'm not innocent. I know he always used her financial status against her but up until that night I didn't think he'd done much worse. I didn't know he had something on Lisa. I only realized it because it was the first time she didn't fight him back and she said he had her, and then I ran away." Kai pleaded.

Jisoo knew Jennie knew him better, they'd been close when they were young and part of high school so she would be able to figure out if he was lying or not. Plus there was the added bonus that since Rosie wouldn't let her beat him up, Jennie for sure would.

Kai followed them back home.

Jisoo put the code in to the door.

"Wait." Chaeyoung said, grabbing a big pillow from the couch and handing it to him. "Body armor." Chaeyoung explained and he nodded.

Jisoo opened the door and shoved him in, he almost lost his balance and fell down the stairs.

"Knock three times if you need an ambulance." Jisoo snickered over the intercom. "You have thirty minutes to survive in there and I'll try bringing you back out. I hope she kicks the crap out of you first though!"

Jisoo ran to the living room with Chaeyoung so they could watch the security feed.

"She won't kill him will she?" Chaeyoung asked nervously. "We just locked him up in there and there's no escape."

Jisoo shrugged. "If she does I hope she strangles him. I don't need blood on my carpet, it's hard to get the stains out."

Chaeyoung smacked her arm playfully.

____________

Jennie ignored Lisa after she refused to tell her why she and Kai had randomly become friends all of a sudden. All Lisa had offered was that she had ran into him, helped save him from a drunk guy, and that they got close traveling Korea for the last three months because Lisa offered him a job when she noticed how haggard he looked. Jennie loved that about Lisa, that she cared for people so much that she would put their differences aside but she just couldn't reconcile the fact it was Kai of all people.

It was the loudest silence Lisa had ever witnessed in her life. Jennie wouldn't look at her, acknowledge her, or say a word but Lisa felt all the anger being directed towards her right now and Lisa couldn't focus.

She kept stealing glances at Jennie and then flinching because it was almost like Jennie always knew when Lisa was looking at her and the silence just got louder. It was almost as if Jennie was screaming at her with the silent treatment.

They heard the beep of the door and they both looked at each other wide eyed, getting up, thinking Jisoo had finally opened it to let them out.

Lisa froze as she watched a very meek and fearful looking Kai slowly walk down the stairs, holding a pillow to him like it was his very own bodyguard.

She watched Jennie tense and then launch towards him.

The look on Jennie's face was even worse than Jisoo's when she saw him. He bolted, running up the stairs and knocking on the door.

"Open the door before she murders me!" Kai yelled.

"What the fuck are you doing here Kai!" Jennie yelled, letting her tiny fists fly and connect with Kai's body. Kai turned around, using the pillow as cover but for being so small Jennie sure was quick and managed to hit him each time anyway, feigning blows and hitting him when he exposed himself.

Lisa let Jennie beat him up. She was still angry about his comment from earlier.

"Ow. Wait Jen." Kai tried protesting, hiding his face behind the pillow and getting fists to the gut now. "I'm just here to apologize."

"Apologize with your face!" Jennie said angrily, making a fist. "Move the fucking pillow you coward!"

Jennie grabbed the pillow and ripped it away from him. She managed to hit him in the jaw and Kai bolted again, running down the stairs and hiding behind Lisa.

"Save me." He pleaded.

Lisa smirked and moved aside, letting Jennie rush him again.

"You're an awful best friend!" Kai shouted as he ran up the stairs to where the loft bed was, trying to escape Jennie.

"You shouldn't have called her your ex-girlfriend and talked about kissing her!" Lisa shouted back.

Lisa watched as Jennie shoved him and he fell on the bed, crumpling into a ball as Jennie kept hitting him and calling him insults and yelling at him for daring to come down here.

"I'm so fucking sick of your face!" Jennie shouted. "You're a selfish prick! What made you think I ever wanted to see you again?!"

Lisa finally had mercy on him after a few minutes of watching him hide behind more pillows. She went up the stairs and grabbed a shrieking Jennie by the waist, who started squirming and kicking and throwing fists in his direction.

"Put me down Lisa! I'm not done!"

Lisa looked at Kai who sat up on the bed, his hair was everywhere and he had a busted lip.

"You busted his lip already baby brat, that's enough."

"Put me down!" Lisa set her down for a second to get a better grip on her and Jennie rushed Kai again, she managed to get another hit, kicking him hard in the shin before Lisa caught her and threw her over her shoulder, going down the stairs with her. Jennie half heartedly hit Lisa's back as she yelled for her to put her down.

Lisa threw her on the couch and Jennie tried to escape again but Lisa pinned her arms down. She maneuvered herself to sit behind Jennie, letting Jennie sit between her legs and Lisa hugged her arms down so she couldn't move.

Jennie finally deflated, partly because this position was so familiar. Lisa always used to sit behind her like this while she worked and it had always soothed her. Jennie loved Lisa's cuddles and Lisa was so close right now and hugging her—well, more like trapping her—but it didn't make Jennie like it any less.

She deflated mostly though because she just realized Lisa still wasn't wearing a shirt, she was just sporting her sports bra and Jennie was simultaneously feeling hot and bothered as well as jealous that the sleazebag that called himself her ex-boyfriend had just seen Lisa like that too. Jennie tried to block her with her body as much as possible.

She still made an angry face and glared at Kai who was peeking from the loft bed at them.

"Tell her." Lisa said to him. "Hurry, because she's stronger than she looks."

Jennie squirmed again as if to prove Lisa's point, she broke free again, fully intending on finding a shirt for Lisa but Lisa was quick to bring her back down. Lisa sat down and rested her back to the couch, bringing Jennie with her and sitting her in front of her between her legs again.

"I'm sorry Jennie." Kai said meekly, still hiding behind the barrier of the loft bed.

"It's a little too fucking late for that don't you think?" Jennie said, shooting him another glare.

"I was afraid."

"And I wasn't?!" Jennie shouted angrily, indignantly.

"Of course you were, I know you were, but I'm not brave like you. I wasn't strong enough to fight my demons."

"What fucking demons Kai? If I remember correctly all you've done for the last five years is blow money, drink, go to parties and fuck everything that moves and torture me alongside my father and then proceed to rub it in my face."

Kai sighed.

"You were my only choice Jen. You could have saved me."

"Save you from what? You had everything!" Jennie shouted. "And you made sure I knew it you smug bastard. 'You need me Jennie,' don't you remember saying that so much you sounded like a broken record player!"

"That's the part I have no excuse for. I lost myself in the part I was playing because I was so afraid and I even took it out on you who were supposed to be my only hope." Kai said sighing.

Jennie scoffed and rolled her eyes hard. She felt Lisa start rubbing circles with her thumb into her skin and holding her tighter to her chest and Jennie hated how distracting it was. How quickly it made her stop wanting to murder Kai for being such an asshole.

"Do you remember my uncle, the one in America?"

Jennie frowned. She didn't know the details but she knew Kai had spent the summer with him before he killed himself because he was going to jail for something. Kai wouldn't talk to her about it despite them still being really good friends at the time until Jennie quickly got tired of his shit because he progressively turned more and more into an asshole as the months wore on.

"Vaguely." Jennie answered. She did remember but she was still pissed.

"I was the reason he killed himself."

Jennie looked up to the loft with a scowl, her glare dropping for a second.

Kai was still peeking fearfully, he noticed the slight change in Jennie's demeanor. He sighed and got up, walking slowly down the stairs, trying not to make any sudden movements. Jennie didn't make a move to break free from Lisa's grasp so he felt safe enough to sit in the couch adjacent to them.

He looked to Lisa who nodded encouragingly. Lisa could tell he had already cried today for some reason, she was going to have to ask him why, though considering he had somehow made it down here she figured he'd told his story once already.

"I had a boyfriend that summer."

Jennie looked up sharply. She almost laughed, thinking Kai was trying to play with her now but he looked so serious Jennie couldn't even speak to make a sarcastic comment. She furrowed her brows and looked at him in confusion.

"We were—being intimate." Kai said awkwardly, he still wasn't used to openly talking about his sexuality. At least not to people he knew. He knew to some extent he liked girls too which is why he had found it easy to hook up with them if they were attractive enough but he had never felt an emotional connection like that with one. With anybody except his first boyfriend.

"My dad showed up and almost caught us. My uncle warned me so I snuck out but my boyfriend didn't make it out in time and my uncle took the fall when my dad found my boyfriend half naked in the bedroom we were using. You know my father, he's a scary man behind closed doors.

He had my uncle arrested. Calling him homophobic names and used the fact my boyfriend was sixteen to get his own brother taken away. I know that's not even what he cared about. He probably wouldn't have cared if he had caught my uncle sleeping with a sixteen year old girl, all he cared was that he was a man too.

We stayed for a week in a hotel and I was glued to the t.v, watching the news. Watching as people egged my uncle after he bailed himself out of jail. Watching as they threw rocks at his house and wrote slurs on his car and destroyed him. Calling him disgusting, a pedophile, a faggot.

He hung himself that week and my father said good riddance, saying it's the least he could have done to himself for being so disgusting and disgracing our family. He hushed it all up and then we flew back here as if nothing had even happened. As if his own brother hadn't killed himself because of me even though he didn't know it."

Lisa felt Jennie lean back into her as her body relaxed, Lisa had started to rub up and down her arms with her left hand and had slowly slackened her grip on her. She kept one arm around her though, more so to hug her than to keep her in place now.

Lisa was reveling at the way Jennie had slowly started melting into her arms. How Jennie was absentmindedly playing with her fingers around her waist like she used to do all the time before. They were awake now, these weren't sleepy cuddles and Lisa felt giddy over it.

"You were a complete asshole when you came back from America. I thought it was because they got to you or something, I thought you were trying to be cool like whatever those American jocks do on tv." Jennie said with furrowed brows. Her scowl was more of a grimace now.

"They did get to me. They stole my uncle and tore him down because I was too scared to admit I liked boys. I killed him."

Jennie sighed. "That's not true Kai. You didn't kill him."

"It is. If I had admitted that it had been me and not my uncle in that room none of that would have ever happened."

"You had no way of knowing that was going to happen. Even if you had fessed up, your uncle had already been arrested right? All you would have done was gotten yourself beat up by your father."

Kai choked down a sob.

Lisa felt Jennie lean forward in response and never in a million years would Lisa have guessed she would do this willingly. She let Jennie go to him.

Jennie looked back at Lisa curiously first, and Lisa felt tingles because she knew Jennie was asking for permission. Lisa nodded and smiled a bit. Jennie got up, grabbing a throw pillow in the process and handing it to Lisa who looked at her curiously but grabbed it anyway. Once Jennie was satisfied Lisa's torso was mostly hidden from view she sat next to Kai, wrapping an arm around him as he cried.

"It wasn't your fault." Jennie said as she shushed him.

Lisa watched intently as Jennie calmed him down.

As soon as Kai finally stopped crying Lisa got up and grabbed Jennie's wrist, pulling her back, "Okay that's enough."

She sat Jennie down on the other side of the sofa as far away from Kai as possible and Lisa sat between them which Jennie didn't like because now Kai had a full view of a sports bra clad Lisa.

Kai managed a laugh after that.

"I'm not going to steal your girl Lisa."

Lisa clenched her jaw.

"She's not—she's not my girl." Lisa forced out, the words tasting awful on her tongue. "But you couldn't even if you tried." Lisa finished.

Jennie almost jumped in to say she was most definitely still Lisa's girl. She wanted to be, and even if Lisa didn't want her back Jennie still considered herself Lisa's anyway, even if her heart hurt that Lisa wasn't hers anymore.

Kai laughed again. "I did try remember, and failed miserably I may add."

"Don't make plans next Saturday. We're going to the range, bring your kevlar." Lisa smiled faux sweetly.

"You're going to shoot me aren't you?" Kai asked.

"Yep."

"Can we have drinks afterwards? That shit hurts. I had a bruise for like a month last time."

"Only if you're paying."

Kai grinned. "Deal."

Jennie looked at them in bewilderment. She was never going to get used to this, not in a million years. She understood Kai's motivations a bit now, though she hadn't completely forgiven him, at least there had been a valid reason for why he started turning into an asshole. She didn't get how Lisa could be so forgiving though. So quickly. The selfish part of her hoped Lisa would forgive her that quickly too.

"Jennie. I'm so sorry." Kai said sincerely. "I know it doesn't make up for the years of putting up with me, I just wanted you to know why at least. Why I was so selfish and wanted to marry you even though I didn't love you like that and you hated me. I knew you would understand if I had told you sooner.

I knew you'd let me be with whoever I wanted and you'd let me hide behind you if we got married. At first I thought it was win win, I thought I was taking you away from your father if we went through with it. We would both be free. I didn't stop to think I'd be getting in the way of you finding someone and ruining your love life all those years and at some point I turned into someone even I hated."

Jennie rolled her eyes. "What love life?"

"That's exactly why I thought it was okay. You were never interested in anyone. Up until my best friend here stole you away and swept you off your feet without even trying."

Jennie blushed.

"I'm still not your best friend." Lisa deadpanned. "I'll maybe consider your position in line once you let me shoot you."

Kai rolled his eyes at her but smiled anyway, he'd let her shoot him if it meant climbing up the best friend ladder. If it wasn't for Lisa he'd still be drinking his life away in Jeju. If it wasn't for her he wouldn't have gotten closure over his uncle or the opportunity to make amends with Jennie.

"Also trust me, you're wrong. I had to try very, very hard. The baby brat requires special care." Lisa said fondly. "It took me about two years just to get her to stop hating me. You just didn't try hard enough. You have to spoil her."

Jennie felt herself get even redder and Kai started smirking so Jennie deflected. "Sorry about your lip." Jennie told Kai.

Kai touched it and winced. "It's okay, it's the least I deserve. At least you only punched me. Jisoo hit me with a bat. I can already feel the bruise."

Lisa started laughing. "I'm going to have to high five her for that."

"You guys really need therapy." Kai said incredulously. "You're all very abusive you know that? Except Rosie. She's the only one that hasn't given me some kind of bruise or injury."

"Please," Lisa giggled. "She's the worst one. She's harder to crack than the rest of us but don't get on her bad side or she will murder you and no one will find your body and she will be the last suspect on the list because no one would ever believe she did it."

"Yeah right." Kai said rolling his eyes. "She's too sweet for that. She even cried with me earlier and was literally the only reason Jisoo only managed to hit me once with that bat. She saved me and then made her listen to what I had to say. Rosie is like a walking empathy poster child."

"I'm serious. I still don't know what really happened to Vanessa. My money's on Rosie." Lisa contemplated seriously.

That girl completely disappeared right after Chaeyoung and her had broken up. It hadn't been the nicest break up either and then suddenly there was literally no trace of her. No one knew what happened to her. She never came back.

"Yup. It was definitely Rosie." Lisa said nodding to herself as she thought about it while Kai looked at her skeptically and Jennie looked at her dreamily because the little crease between her eyebrows and the finger tap on those plump lips while she was thinking was so cute.

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