[30] - Remedy
A/N: Hi everyone, long time no see. Back with an update, I suggest you to skim the last two chapters to refresh your memory on the story. And for now, enjoy.
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Chapter 30
Blinking slowly, Jisoo stares at the ceiling for a while, she has just woken up and felt like just laying there. She turns her head to the side and doesn't see Jennie beside her on the bed. She returns to stare at the ceiling.
She stares at it and recalls the memories from last night, after the bath she took.
Correction:
The bath they took.
She recalls and relives every single detail..
How Jennie helped her put on pajamas, and how then they sat in the middle of the bed, facing each other, as Jennie dried her hair carefully, and how before she wrapped the gauze around her hand, Jennie lifted it and printed a soft kiss on the wound, and then put ointment on it and wrapped it up, and all that she did was in a slow, quiet, gentle and relaxing way that Jisoo didn't feel herself leaning forward towards Jennie, and resting her head on Jennie's shoulder, heading into a deep slumber.
She closes her eyes as she recalls the warmth of the moment in her mind, opens them and then sits upright gradually. She sighs, rubbing her eyes and ruffling her hair. She looks at the clock on the nightstand and sees it's 8:36 in the morning. Sighing again, she gets up from the bed.
. . . . .
She walks out of the room, taking a steady steps, and stops and looks around. Surprised at the overwhelming calm that fills the house, whose lights were still off, and what illuminates it is the daylight coming from the windows. She turns to the stairs and heads to the ground floor.
She arrives at the main hall as she walks, in boredom and sleepily looking around until her gaze falls on the living room and finds Chaeyoung sitting on the sofa, hugging her legs to her chest and staring out the window in front of her but into the void, her hair seems curly and damp.
Jisoo looks at her for a bit and looks at the window too, quizzically, noticing how Chaeyoung looks distantly at the window with wonder and they remain like that for a while.
"Where are Jennie and Lisa?" Jisoo asks quietly without turning towards Chaeyoung.
- "Went out for a walk." Chaeyoung answers simply in a steady tone as she hides half of her face behind her arm and stares in a sleepy expression.
"What? To where?" Jisoo pushes on, maintaining her tone, low and calm, and turns to look at Chaeyoung.
Chaeyoung doesn't answer, she just raises her head, turns it toward Jisoo, raises her hand that holds the comb, and follows in a soft tone,
"Can you do my hair?"
Jisoo remains still while staring at her, a little taken aback, before her facial expressions soften and starts sauntering towards Chaeyoung, and at the same time Chaeyoung slides off the sofa and sits on the floor, leaning her upper part forward a little when Jisoo approaches, giving her space, to sit on the sofa behind her and then she crawls back until she is sitting between Jisoo's legs. She passes the comb over her shoulder, to be taken by Jisoo, and goes to hug her legs back.
Jisoo rests her treated hand that holds the comb lightly on Chaeyoung's shoulder and with the other hand she pulls Chaeyoung's long locks of hair behind her back and gathers them there.
A few seconds pass and she begins to slowly and gently run her fingers along Chaeyoung's hair, caressing over it, while at the same time arranging and separating the strands, cautiously pulling each strand between her fingers. She lifts the comb and directs it towards the ends of her hair to start carefully combing it.
"Do you know why I prefer you to have my hair done?" Chaeyoung says out of the blue, pushing Jisoo to pause, drawing her attention, her hand in the middle of Chaeyoung hair, close to her shoulder.
"Because you remind me of them.." Chaeyoung elaborates. There's silence for a while between them before she adds, "Of my parents."
She says, and Jisoo leaves her hand resting on Chaeyoung's shoulder involuntarily as she looks at her in confusion from behind.
"They used to comb my hair the same way you do.."
Chaeyoung continues and chuckles afterwards, a short, silent giggle, evoking the memory and staring into the distance.
"How you first take your time to run your fingers through my hair.. how you place the comb and pull it carefully so as not to pull too hard and hurt me.. the same attention.. the same care.. the same warmth."
She falls silent a little later, and then follows in a trembling and faint tone as she lifts and turns her head slightly to the side.
"You know?
They died before I had the chance to say goodbye to them."
She takes a shaky breath, her eyes full, and Jisoo is mirroring her facial expressions.
"Before I could tell them how much I love them, and before I could thank them.."
She falls silent again for a while and follows as she turns her head to the side, raises her left hand across her shoulder and takes Jisoo's hand, "Therefore, I will tell you instead of them..
Thank you, Jisoo."
She says, Jisoo tilts her head slightly, feeling touched and a burning sensation in her eyes, and looks at Chaeyoung, knowing the meaning behind her words.
Chaeyoung was telling her that she is, to her, like her father and mother.
She is of equal importance and value.
She has the same love and respect for her.
That she replaced them.
"Thank you for everything."
She continues and pulls Jisoo's hand around her a little, tilting her head to support her cheek on the back of Jisoo's hand, and Jisoo wastes no time as she leans forward and wraps Chaeyoung with her arms so that her head stays out across Chaeyoung's shoulder, which then Chaeyoung leans her head against Jisoo's.
Both of them let the tears fall freely in the company of each other.
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"Are you sure both of them came here?" Jisoo asks as she looks around with furrowed eyebrows where Chaeyoung has guided her.
It was a park-like place and a hilltop, full of fresh grass, big trees and various flowers that were at the tree trunks. It looked like a foothill overlooking the sea while the sun was partly showing through the clouds giving the place a warm touch despite the cold weather. There were also some people who had gone out to hike, also at a distance from them, some are families, others are youth groups or couples.
The place was spectacular.
- "Yeah, they must haven't arrived yet." Chaeyoung says standing restlessly at some distance from Jisoo, kicking some pebbles off the grass, and then turning to the other side.
"What? From where—"
- "They're here!" Chaeyoung cheerfully interjects as she raises her hand over her eyes to shade them from the sun and smiles.
"Who are you?? Where are you taking me?!"
Before Jisoo can say anything, a voice interrupts her from the opposite side, she turns towards it and her expressions go blank from what she sees;
Lisa, smiling broadly with a large picnic basket in hand, and next to her, Jennie wearing the same expressions, pushing a wheelchair, in which Matthew's mother is sitting on, constantly talking and asking Jennie in confusion.
"Look in front of you." Jennie says as she lowers her head close to Dara's ear, in a lighthearted tone.
Dara raises her eyebrows in question, turns her head and looks around as they approach Jisoo and Chaeyoung, as the place becomes more and more clear to her, she remains speechless, staring around her with eyes wide open, taken in the beauty of her surroundings.
"Oh finally!" Chaeyoung exclaims when they get to them and she heads toward Lisa to take the basket and puts it on the ground. To then they start taking out its contents.
- "We got stuck in traffic."
Lisa says as she takes out the picnic blanket and begins to unfold the creases, and Chaeyoung helps her with that as they open it wide and spread it on the floor while Jennie was still standing behind the wheelchair smiling, looking at Dara who seemed very happy as well.
"What is this?" Jisoo asks in wonder, and her features conceal a smile.
- "We'll have our breakfast here." Lisa excitedly replies as she stands, puts her hands on her waist and takes the superhero pose.
"It was Jennie's idea." Chaeyoung remarks, as she walks near Jisoo, drapes her arm around her, looking at the blanket, and at Lisa, who began to place the food on it.
- "And for it to be complete.." Jennie trails off before she turns around the wheelchair and takes Dara's hand -while she looks at Jennie tenderly- and helps her to get up, sits on the mat and stands back up.
"Well, what are you waiting for? let's get started!"
Lisa says, calling everyone, and Chaeyoung goes to sit by her side as Jisoo remains standing, staring at Jennie, contemplating her with a faint smile.
Jennie keeps looking at Lisa, Chaeyoung, and Dara and how they treat her sweetly and joke around with her. She smiles at that happily, unaware of Jisoo's gaze until she raises her head and locks eyes with her, and her heart skips a beat.
Her heart suddenly beat rapidly to Jisoo's expression as she looks at her intently.
They keep staring at each other for a prolonged moments when then Jisoo mouths 'thank you' without voicing it and smiles at Jennie broadly with love, and Jennie returns the smile right away and turns her head towards the girls, feeling bashful.
"Jisoo.. Jennie.. why are you still standing? Come on." Chaeyoung calls them, chewing on a slice of toast that has jam spread on the surface.
Jisoo smiles at her weakly, takes off her shoes and then walks on the blanket and sits cross-legged, and so does Jennie, stealing gazes from time to time at Jisoo and heading to sit next to her.
After the end of their breakfast, which was full of laughter, banter, and foolish arguments between Chaeyoung and Lisa, which wasn't without Jennie rebuking them as she was clinging to Jisoo and constantly wrapping her arm around hers, Lisa and Chaeyoung decided to take Dara and walk her a little in the park, and here is Jisoo now sitting next to Jennie looking at them as they were making childish antics or suddenly starting to dance and goofing around while pushing Dara's chair.
"It's a beautiful, isn't it." Jennie asks in a low tone, breaking the silence -and she meant the place- as she turns towards Jisoo, attracting her attention and smiling at her.
Jisoo stares at her for a moment to then she follows, agreeing to her with a faint smile, "it is."
She says, and she meant them, and Jennie turns her head to look forward and wraps her arm back around Jisoo's and rests her head on her shoulder gently, Jisoo does the same, turning her gaze ahead as well.
Her small family is indeed beautiful.
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"All his property was confiscated, and everyone working under his command was arrested."
Sehun says, rounding the cup of coffee on the center table towards Jisoo who was sitting across from him.
"The search is still going on for the people who were mentioned in the files that you handed over.."
He brings the other cup closer to Jennie, who was sitting next to Jisoo, she nods to him in gratitude and smiles.
"But generally, everything is under the police control now and you are completely safe."
He finishes, adjusting his sitting, looks at Jisoo and smiles.
Jisoo nods understandingly as she takes a sip of the coffee without looking at him.
For some reason, she can't look at him as comfortably as before and she can't but to remember what Jang Park had said to her, however, she tries not to show it too much.
"As for the press, I took care of that as well. They will not be able to bother you any longer."
Sehun adds, since he also had enough of the journalists gathering around the company and their home and their frequent rude questions to Jisoo.
"Thank you so much." Jennie says after a while when Jisoo stays silent.
- "How are you, Jennie? How is your arm?" Sehun asks as he turns his attention to Jennie.
"Uh.. I'm fine.. the best I can be."
Jennie answers, smiling and nodding affirmatively. He nods to her with understanding, and then turns towards Jisoo again.
"Jisoo, regarding the expansion project in London, we will send another person to manage it, so just take—"
- "I'll go." Jisoo inserts, raising her head to finally look at Sehun, surprising him.
"There is no need to appoint another person. I will go and supervise the project." Jisoo elaborates calmly.
-"Are you sure?" Sehun asks, studying her carefully.
Jisoo nods as she answers, looking at the cup,
"Yes.. I need to get away and stay on my own for a while."
She confesses and it is quiet between them, unaware of Jennie remaining silent and mired in her confusion.
- "What? What project?" Jennie inquires in question, as she furrows her eyebrows strongly, and looks between Jisoo and Sehun.
"Um.." Taken aback, Jisoo adjusts her sitting, realizing that she has not told Jennie about this yet.
"I couldn't tell you this.." She says, partially turning towards Jennie while Jennie was still looking at her in confusion and looking completely dissatisfied. "A new branch of our company will open in London and someone has to go there and stay on top of it.."
Jisoo was talking and Jennie was nodding to her slowly, wearing blank expression.
"My father assigned this to me and I didn't refuse. I was intending on telling you that day, but.. that happened." Jisoo finishes, turning her gaze elsewhere.
Jennie remains silent, opening her mouth slightly and closing it. She wants to say something, she wants so, so badly, but doesn't know what to say.
Was it a surprising? Yes, of course.
Does she agree with it? For Jisoo to go somewhere far away from her and by herself? Absolutely not.
Did she feel hurt because she has just found out? Yes, at first, but it disappeared when Jisoo explained it to her.
Would she tell Jisoo to stay even though Jisoo had previously said that she needed this trip, only because she doesn't want her to go?
Would she..?
"Aah.. umm.." Jennie swallows thickly after she starts, picking on the tip of her finger in her other hand, and lowering her gaze down for a while, then she returns it to Jisoo, who was waiting patiently for her response. "Is it.. is it necessary?"
Jisoo is silent a little while looking at Jennie and Jennie looking back at her. She knows how Jennie is feeling now, but this is neither related to them nor because she wants to stay away from the girls, she just really wants to stay alone and to find herself and so she answers in a matter of fact;
"Yes, it is."
Jennie nods understandingly as she turns her head and starts playing with her fingers.
"OK." Jennie adds softly.
"If we're done with this topic, we can move to the other one."
Sehun declares when an awkward silence prevails between them for a while, attracting their attention and turning to Jennie.
"Jennie, about what we talked about earlier, the place is ready for you girls to go." He says, making Jisoo look at them in question.
-"What place?" Jisoo says, furrowing her eyebrows.
"In fact, Jennie called me at noon and told me of her desire and the girls' to go together to another place outside of Seoul but inside Korea and to spend some time alone away from Seoul."
He elaborates smiling at both of them, while Jisoo was still surprised, looking between Sehun and Jennie.
"And if you ask me, I find it a great idea, especially since you will be going after a few days, so it would be better if you girls spend time alone together."
"Where is the place located?" After remaining silent for a while, conscious of Jennie's gaze at her, Jisoo asks.
- "In Busan, a secluded house located near the beach too.. fits perfectly for you."
"Ok.. thanks, dad." Jisoo says smiling weakly and Sehun smiles wider at her because it is the first time that he sees her like this after what happened in the hospital.
She gets up and Jennie does the same as Jisoo starts walking towards the office door.
- "I will fax the rest of the details later, and you can go tomorrow." Sehun informs as he walks behind them, and Jisoo nods to him positively until they stand at the door and Jisoo turns to meet Sehun when she remembers something.
"another thing.." She begins with a questioning expression. "What was Jin Young doing next to you in the cemetery? I saw him in the hospital too. "
She says, drawing Jennie's interest, she was wondering about that as well.
"Ah.. not really important.." Sehun replies, sighing. "He will tell you himself anyway when the time is right. "
Jisoo remains silent, looking at him skeptically for a moment, then nods affirmatively and leaves the office, followed by Jennie as she bows to him in gratitude and gives him her thanks.
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"I can't believe you were talking to ants in my absence." Lisa says in disbelief as she gawks at Chaeyoung, who was sitting next to her in the second back seat, before she turns back to look through the car window.
- "What should I have done? You were out for long hours! Besides, it's just one and its name is Juehu." Chaeyoung responds with an irritated tone, grimaces and looks out the window on her side, watching the buildings flashing in front of her when the car passes by.
The road to Busan was quiet often, except for the times when Lisa and Chaeyoung start talking about random topics and discussing them completely irrationally, and Jennie, who was sitting in the first back seat with Jisoo next to her, sleeping with her head on Jennie's shoulder, had to listen to all of it and just sigh helplessly and roll her eyes on them from time to time.
"I get it but.. an ant?? At least talk to an animal that is seen.. a wolf or something. I mean, how do you even recognize it?"
Lisa says as she returns to look at Chaeyoung in question, and Chaeyoung gasps sharply in disbelief, as if Lisa has just insulted her ant friend.
"First of all.." Chaeyoung starts looking unhappy at Lisa and sitting upright, raising her index finger with sass and moving it as she continues. "There were no wolves in the forest.
And secondly; If it had happened and there was one and I tried to talk to him, you wouldn't have seen me in front of you now."
Lisa looks to the side, realizing that Chaeyoung has a point, and nods her head affirmatively.
"Also..I can recognize it because I put it in a box and sealed it. "
Chaeyoung continues, sitting back comfortably in the seat, smiling proudly.
- "What, you kidnapped an ant?" Lisa immediately questions. "How could you? What about her buddies?!"
"Don't worry.." Chaeyoung assures, looking at Lisa with a confident smile. "I locked a few of her friends with her in the box too," she says in triumph, as if she had done the trick of the century.
Lisa remains silent for a moment, she wonders,
"Mmm..but.. that way you won't be able to recognize it either."
She points out and Chaeyoung's cheery expression falls, realizing it.
"Oh ..." it comes out of her mouth automatically, staring blankly.
"God! I swear their topics get dumber and dumber the longer they talk."
Jennie mumbles to herself as she roll her eyes and looks back on the road, oblivious to Jisoo's amused smile as she hears her say so.
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Jennie comes out of her room in the evening to the open hall, she has just taken a warm bath after a deep and long nap due to the fatigue caused by the long hours on the road, and as she walks, she looks in amazement around the house that Jisoo's father has prepared for them.
It's really amazing and perfect for them.
Jennie continues to wander around the house looking for Jisoo, since she is the only one awake now, and because Lisa and Chaeyoung are still asleep. She finds her standing on the balcony that opens to the living room, leaning on the railing, staring into the night sky with the air caressing her hair gently.
She smiles to herself when she sees Jisoo like that, walks up to her, and pulls the double glass door when she arrives, attracting Jisoo's attention to look at her over her shoulder, and acknowledging her presence before she returns to look ahead, wearing a relaxed expression and a faint smile, seeing that it was none other than Jennie.
Jennie advances further until she stands next to her and lets her forearms lie on the top surface of the railing as well and looks ahead as Jisoo does, taking deep breaths, and as she does, she turns her head to look at Jisoo and stares at her insightfully.
She looks at the ideal way in which Jisoo's features sit on her face, each detail in its proper place, each detail completes the other. She looks at her from a farther angle as Jisoo gazes into the space and how her baby hairs fly when a cold and faint breeze blows over them..
Paying a very close attention to her.. to all of her..
To her existence itself..
To her eyelids that flutter weakly and to the rising and falling of her chest steadily, announcing the presence of life within her.
She looks at her fully, and it hits her; Jisoo is here.. Jisoo is alive and she's here.. with her.
Suddenly, her chest tightens, the realization suffocating her, and feelings overwhelming her, as she thinks about one thing only.
She was so close to lose Jisoo in that incident.
"What?" Jisoo starts calmly and with a lighthearted tone when she feels like Jennie is constantly staring at her. "Why are you staring at me? "
She says, and Jennie's expressions wrinkle right after, as if she is about to cry, pushing Jisoo to stand up straight, removing her arms off the edge, looking worried.
"I don't know what I would do without you if something happened to you.." Jennie chokes out in a trembling tone as she breathes short gasps and her eyes quickly tear up.
- "Hey..." Jisoo says in a faint tone, as she quickly but gently pulls Jennie by her shoulder and wraps her into a tight hug, her arms over her back while Jennie's arms went around Jisoo's waist.
"I was about to lose you forever." Jennie adds in a muffled voice as she cries and Jisoo says nothing and just stays still, listening and wearing a sad expression as she strokes Jennie's back soothingly.
"Please.." Jennie says, as she raises her hands across Jisoo's back to cling to her shoulders.
"Be ok, always."
She says and bury her face in Jisoo's shoulder and remains like that for a while, until Jisoo turns away, just enough to break the embrace and holds Jennie's face with both hands, looking at her with the ends of her eyebrows tilted downward. She starts wiping the tears from Jennie's face with her thumbs, gently and affectionately, looking directly at her.
"Jennie.." She starts with a low tone, and when Jennie's eyes meet hers she continues, "I will.. I'm not going anywhe—" before she can finish they hear the sound of knocking on the main door from downstairs, interrupting them and pushing them to turn toward the direction of the sound.
They look at each other in question, then another knock comes, and Jisoo pulls her hands slowly and lowers them, stepping away from Jennie, and Jennie misses her warmth immediately.
"I'll see who." Jisoo informs as she emerges from the balcony, and Jennie follows her after a few seconds.
Jisoo goes down to the ground floor and walks to the main door, while Jennie stands behind her at a distance. Opening the door gradually, Jisoo freezes in her place, looking with shock and confusion at the person standing at the door.
"Jin Young?"
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To be continued
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Hi again; sorry for my absence, life has been hasty and final exams has just ended recently.
And thanks for all your sweet messages and comments, I appreciate it a lot.
Next update will be up in few days if not tomorrow.
Hint: it's what y'all have been waiting for.. :)