It'd been four months since you'd walked out of Nara's house. You hadn't talked to any of the girls, and while your friendship with Nara hadn't disappeared, it was definitely strained. Sana had tried to get you two to talk, but even though you hadn't blamed Nara for anything that you and Jennie had talked about, you felt a little bitterness at the way she pushed you into the situation. And honestly, you just didn't wanna hear about them, and you would inevitably come to that conversation with her.

Leaving the house with the revelation that you shouldn't have been fired because of what Jennie said left your head spinning. You didn't know if you should've been angry, since really, you were supplying her with weed behind the scenes. But even if you were, you knew your anger wasn't directed towards her.

After what happened, you didn't know if you could say the same for Jennie. Everything felt so unresolved, and you both definitely didn't end on good terms. And to put it plainly, you didn't want to— couldn't— see her. Not after she told you how much you hurt her. You didn't want to subject her to anything else you would cause, and you figured since she had the talk that she was yearning for to Rosé about, that she'd be far more successful without your presence then anyway.

But even when you ran from your problems, they always seemed to come back to you, especially when that problem was part of the biggest girl group in the world.

You'd gotten a new job at the café that you had made a routine of going to almost every day, even without the job. Your recurring appearance had allowed you to form a sort of friendship with the employees there, and when you had mentioned that you needed a job, they had offered to it to you.

And there you stood, on a particularly empty day, staring up at the TV as the man on the screen talked about Blackpink's newest announcement and project: Jennie's solo debut.

It wasn't the first time you'd heard about it. In fact, you'd thought it might've been the hundredth time you had. You sighed as you wiped one of the plates you had just rinsed and placed it back in the shelf; you were happy for her. You knew how passionate she was about her career, but you had doubts about how ready she was. And coming from you, that wasn't something to take lightly.

But as you leaned on the counter, staring mindlessly at the coffee blenders since nobody was in, you were reminded that it didn't matter what doubts you had. It wasn't your job anymore. Being a barista at this café was.

You knew it would've been better if you'd actually gotten back onto something more career-oriented than a café, but you didn't have the energy. Even then you weren't applying for any bigger jobs. You knew that along with the lack of ambition, it was partly because you just knew that nothing would be the same as being there for the four girls you had come to love so much, and having to confront that had quickly become a deep setting fear in you.

The time to close the shop was nearing, but you didn't see anyone around and you didn't assume anyone was coming anymore so you began to clean up. You shut off the TV, feeling like you could breathe now that you weren't hearing about Jennie, since you hadn't had the heart to switch channels. You then began to put up the chairs in the middle of the café upside down on the tables. You didn't even realize that someone had come in halfway into your task until you heard their voice.

"Do you need some help?"

You looked towards them, so in your head that you didn't even realize who it was. You sighed deeply.

"No," you said quietly, and she nodded.

You proceeded to put up the chairs as she stood there awkwardly, fidgeting with her hands. You sensed that she was just nervous about seeing you again, so as you put up the last chair you untied your apron and tossed it on the nearest booth before sitting down. You gestured to the seat across from you with a lazy smile.

She took a seat. "I'm sorry for coming so late. I see you were about to close up."

"It's fine." You reassured her, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with the girls?"

Nara chuckled nervously, "That's actually why I'm here."

Your heart jumped slightly, "What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you've heard about Jennie's solo debut."

You nodded. She took a deep sigh, and you could see that something was weighing heavy on her shoulders. "What is it?"

"Look, I'm not telling you that you're gonna get your job back, because I have no idea at all," she started, "but what I am telling you is that you need to come back. Someway, somehow, whether it's in secret or not, which... it probably will be."

You furrowed your eyebrows, "you want me to come in secret?"

Nara bit her lip and nodded, "I know it sounds bad."

"Yeah, it does." You agreed, already standing up and grabbing your apron, "I don't care if you think YG's words are empty or if you think that just because now I know that he knows it wasn't me that he won't report me, but I do. He has power, Nara, and I'm struggling here, I can't afford that."

"Jennie isn't doing well," Nara added, and you froze in your spot, "please, y/n. None of us know what to do."

You couldn't say you didn't expect it, didn't stay up at night wondering how she was doing when you'd seen the vicious comments left under the announcement post. You'd tried to ignore it, but as much as you hated to admit it, you kept checking every night, the hate only growing worse and worse. It was majority the reason why you had doubts about how ready she was. It had made you angry, but now hearing that it was actually affecting Jennie had just made you devastated.

Nara saw the switch in your face and continued, "She's trying not to burden the others, but she needs someone."

"I get it," you said sadly, "but what makes you think that she wants to see me?"

"What makes you think she doesn't?"

You scoffed, "I don't know, maybe how it ended last time, when she yelled and told me to leave."

"Has being in Seoul turned you dumb?" Nara laughed, and you rolled your eyes. "Y/n, does it really matter if she wants to see you or not?"

"Yes, it does. Do you guys ever ask her what she wants? Maybe she's tired of seeing me."

"See, I'm pretty sure she's tired of everything else," Nara commented. "She needs you, despite everything she's said, and I'm sure you know that. Even if she doesn't."

You didn't know. You were unsure of everything that had anything to do with Jennie. But from what you were hearing, everyone was even more clueless, and that was scary. And the reason you ended up in the car with Nara driving almost two hours away to Jennie's apartment.

Nara didn't try to talk to you much during the ride. You hated the weird, unspoken tension in the air between you two because you didn't know if you even had an explanation for it. Being angry about how things turned out was immature and you knew that, but you knew Nara felt guilty and that somewhat justified it for you and you found yourself almost waiting around for an apology that hadn't come yet.

But you also didn't mind the silence. You needed the time staring out the window to prepare for seeing her again. It always unnerved you slightly how close Jennie did live to you. Well, you didn't exactly know where– this would be the first time you were seeing her apartment– but she lived in the same city and that was enough to make you nervous that she would walk into the café you worked in and order a coffee.

Plus, It was different now. You'd seen her stressed out and down before, but even then the girls knew what to do, and she was open to your help. And now you couldn't be caught.

As you walked up the stairs, you were a little embarrassed. You were panting heavily while Nara was fine, snickering at you teasingly since she had insisted you don't take the elevator. Months of not being with the girls had made you a little out of shape, with not being constantly on the move anymore, at least not as much. And you'd definitely been slacking on exercising.

Nonetheless, the pain in your feet went away once you were walking the hallway leading to the door of Jennie's place, as you could only focus on the beating of your heart and the sweat that had secreted in the palms of your hands. Nara knocked, and your eyes were locked on your feet. You two hadn't exactly discussed what you were going to do, with you refusing to say more than three words at a time from being in your own head, but now you wished you had. Would Jennie open the door? As you saw light come in from in front of you, you braced for the reveal.

"So I see you got her."

But your eyes widened when you heard the other voice in the room, opening to see a familiar face that wasn't Jennie's, one you'd come to know over your months with Blackpink.

Nara giggled, and you quickly straightened yourself up. "Cha hee? I didn't know you were gonna be here."

"Yeah, well I was also one of the quick solutions they asked for." She shrugged, walking inside. You both followed behind her, and while Nara set her things down on the counter, you sat down next to Cha hee on the couch.

She smiled at you before leaning in for a small hug, which you gladly welcomed, the thought of falling asleep on her shoulder suddenly very tempting.

"Did you just arrive too? I find it hard to believe you didn't work in making Jennie happier." You asked when you pulled away.

"I've been here for a little bit actually." She said, "I did work for a little, but I work just as much as Lisa's or Rose's or Jisoo's presence does."

You bit your lip, "Is it really that bad?"

Cha hee sighed, "She cares about what the fans think."

You nodded, understanding.

"But that's not all."

You tilted your head, "What else? Is she nervous?"

"Well, there's that too." She nodded, "But... there's you too."

"Me?"

"C'mon, I'm her best friend. I know what she did to you, how she got you fired." she said, her eyes filled with sympathy. "And I knew when she found out that the company knew it wasn't her, I knew about your talk with her a few months ago. I know everything."

You weren't sure if that brought you comfort or not, but you only had one question. "So do you think I'll help after knowing all that?"

"I don't know." she said softly, "but I think you're our best shot."

You smiled at her words, and she chuckled.

"Well, you better work because I'm leaving."

"What?" Both you and Nara asked simultaneously, and you felt a little nervous at the fact that Nara didn't know.

"Yeah, I'm not doing anything for her. I'm just like another person she has to try and pretend to be happy for." She said, walking over to her suitcase and picking it up. "I have a flight in a few hours. I was just waiting around to see if you made it, really."

"This is a surprise," Nara said, and you stood up.

"Wait, where are you going? Does she know you're leaving?"

"Yeah, told her last night. I honestly think she was kind of relieved." She nodded, already walking over to the door and opening it. "I'm just gonna visit my aunt. You still have my number if you have any problems."

You swallowed the lump in your throat, but you had no choice but to accept her words as you nodded and gave her a final hug. She wished you luck before finally leaving the apartment and shutting the door behind her, leaving you and Nara standing in the middle of the room in silence.

"Well, I feel very weird being in here," you breathed out, turning around and examining your surroundings. You knew Jennie still had her home with her parents near here, probably much nicer too. This one didn't exactly look cheap, she was Jennie after all, but it wasn't glamorous. You had heard her mention it a few times in your conversations with her or in her conversations with others. Despite it not being what you expected, it was also very much what you expected. It was comfortable and small and quiet and decorated with pictures that told you everything about her. It was home to her, and you felt like an intruder as you stood and looked at it.

You heard the fiddling of keys behind you, and you turned to look at Nara, who looked like she didn't know what to do.

"Everything alright?" You asked.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm good," she responded immediately.

You laughed lightly, walking over to sit on one of the stools that was against the countertop table, "I don't know, I don't really believe you."

She laughed too, but the tentative look was back on her face quickly, and she let out a sigh. You felt like the mood had turned serious, so you reassured her.

"What is it?" You asked quietly.

"I'm just..." she started, "I'm just sorry. For what happened with you and her at my place."

You pursed your lips, the memory of it making your heart skip a beat or two, seeing as you were going to be seeing Jennie at some point. "Don't be."

"I feel like I should be though." She said, "We haven't talked."

"We have a few times," you tried to defend, but she shook her head.

"Not like we used to, and you know that." She scoffed. She was right, obviously, so you just nodded slowly. "I know that you didn't want to talk to her, and I know that didn't end well, and I know at the end of the day it comes back to me, so... I'm sorry, and I don't want it to be like this and I really miss you, so I'm asking for your forgiveness."

The genuine look on her face told you how much she really wanted you back, and you couldn't deny the way you missed her too. Plus the conversation of Blackpink that you had so wanted to avoid was sort of already out of the way, so you waved a hand at her.

"It's all good." You smiled, the same smile spreading on her face too at your words, and before you knew it, she had come around the table and wrapped you in a hug, making you both laugh before she whispered in your ear.

"I don't regret doing it though."

In an instant, you pushed her back with a playful glare. "I'd take that back if I were you."

"I probably should for the sake of your happiness, but I won't." She smirked. You opened your mouth to protest again, but she cut you off. "Come on, y/n, you cant deny that at the very least it helped you express your feelings, right? You would've gone crazy if you hadn't talked to her, and you can't tell me you weren't dying to fix whatever happened in that dressing room!"

You rolled your eyes, "Yeah, whatever you say. Where is she anyway?"

As if on cue, three knocks came from the other side of the door, making the both of you whip your heads in that direction before looking back at each other with wide eyes. You shook your head at Nara to not open it, obviously to no avail since she walked over to it a few seconds later. You could hear muffled talking from the other side of the door, and your heart stopped when it opened and you saw Jennie, her hands in her bag as she was looking for something.

Rosé's eyes immediately met yours, and she tried to sneakily wave at you, but it obviously caught Jennie's eyes and soon enough the girl you had long dreaded seeing was looking at you too.

You got déjà vu from their performance, when you had first seen Jennie before it started and from after, when she caught you in her dressing room. Her eyes looked towards Nara in disbelief, then to Rosé, who was already taking a few steps backward and mumbling out some excuse of why she had to immediately leave.

"Excuse me, where do you think you're going?!" Jennie yelled, and you could hear Rosé's steps increasing into a jog as she yelled back a nervous apology. Nara was similar in her actions, quickly moving past Jennie once she looked back at her in irritation and squeaking out her own small apology. You would've yelled at her too if your mouth didn't feel screwed shut and as dry as the Sahara desert.

Jennie looked at you again, her jaw clenched before she squeezed her eyes shut and released a breath, the tension temporarily leaving her too as she shut the door behind her.

You sat frozen in your seat, watching her take off her coat and hang it on the rack. She didn't address you at all. Not even when she threw her bag onto the couch and shut the door as she walked into her room.

"Okay," you'd whispered to yourself, "what now?"

You didn't know how many minutes you sat there awkwardly, feeling more like an intruder than you did just moments before, but you sat there long enough to realize that she was not going to be coming out anytime soon. Not until she knew you left.

And you did consider that option, even tiptoeing to the front door and resting your hand on the doorknob. But your body physically stopped you from twisting it open and leaving. You'd come all the way here, and if you didn't get this over with now, Nara would only insist on it more and more. And you didn't really want to disappoint Cha hee.

And also, you cared about Jennie.

So with heavy steps, you made your way over to her bedroom door and knocked gently. When you got nothing back, you knocked another time.

"Jennie?" You called out loud, and you felt embarrassed at the way your voice slightly wavered. After a beat of silence, you spoke out again. "Can I come in? I drove all the way here. Well, Nara did, but still... it was a long drive."

You internally cringed at yourself. You were usually good with your words. What had happened? Those weren't moving words at all. Determined to fix it, you opened your mouth again, but as soon as the first syllable of her name came out of your mouth once again, the door swung open.

Jennie looked at you tiredly, and the annoyance on her face was undoubtedly present.

"Close your mouth," she said before walking away from the door.

You nodded, closing it, as well as the door as you stepped inside. She sat back onto her bed, leaning her back against the headboard and scrolling on her phone. As much as she tried to pretend she wasn't affected by your presence at the moment, you knew that your nervousness was not making you hallucinate the way her hands slightly shook and how her breaths were tight.

Even through that, you had still expected a badger of questions from her, a string of accusations on why you were here and whose idea it was to bring you to her apartment. Yet you got nothing. Her eyes were locked on her phone.

You clasped your hands together in front of you and cleared your throat, "Not gonna ask why I'm here?"

She exhaled heavily, "Does it matter why?"

The question itself may have been a remark on any other day, but she just sounded done with everything, and you had braced yourself for her fiery attitude. You weren't sure you liked how calm she was being.

"I guess not." You replied, letting yourself rest your back against her wall. After another moment of nothing, you continued. "I understand if you want to yell at me, you know. I'm probably the last person you want to see."

"That's true." she nodded, and you did your best to ignore the sting.

"So? Go ahead, I'll take it."

"I don't have the energy to fight you." She said simply, shutting off her phone and setting it down next to her. Her eyes met yours and she shook her head. "I don't... have the energy to do anything anymore."