“What time will you leave tomorrow, Ruby Jane?” Jennie’s dad asks as they eat dinner.

Somehow, Lisa feels a bit sad with the sudden decrease of number who eats with them in the same table, now that some of Jennie’s relatives went home already.

“After breakfast?” Jennie looks at Lisa for assurance, so Lisa was compelled to nod.

“Ah, that early?” He asks.

“Yes, Dad. Why?”

“Ah, that’s a shame.” He shakes his head in disappointment.

But it was Lisa who feels the most disappointed when he adds,

“SeungYoun will visit tomorrow after lunch. I thought it’s better if you meet with him first before you go.”

Lisa tightens her hold on the utensils in her hand by just the mere mention of a new name, but it was again soon loosen as Jennie affirms,

“No. Dad. Not him again. I don’t like him, okay?” Jennie continues to cut her food, “And I’m sorry, Dad, but this is the most respectful way I’ll decline your offer.”

“Why don’t you like him?” Jennie’s father asks, “You’ve known each other since you were young!”

“And we haven’t contacted each other through the years that followed.” Jennie replies, “Dad, I’m not going to meet with him.”

He sighs. Even Lisa knows that he feels that he will not win over his own daughter.

“Alright,” He resigns, “I won’t force you two together anymore.”

And Lisa breathes easily again.

Though that breath was short lived, and it remained short-lived all throughout the night and the days that’ll follow,

Because Lisa hears her heart break when Jennie’s father says yet again,

“Where’s your boyfriend, anyway? You haven’t mentioned him the whole time you were here.”

Lisa continues to feel the ache in her insides as they have this conversation.

Must she really hear it all now?

Now that she has basically owned her feelings up for the older girl?!

Jennie softly scoffs, “He’s not my boyfriend, Dad.”

“Well, whatever he is to you.” Jennie’s dad swats a hand, “Where is he anyway?”

“He’ll be back in Korea next week.”

“Ah, the exchange student still? I like that boy! He’s smart.” He nods as approval, and Lisa raises her eyebrows in dismay.

“How many weeks was he sent for exchange, Jendeuk-ah?” Jennie’s mom decides to join the conversation.

“He was sent to other countries to study for 6 months. He’ll be back at school soon.” Jennie answers without much thought. It hurts Lisa more because that means Jennie knows it by heart.

“Too bad he was not able to come here with you.” Jennie’s mom says.

And so Lisa was left chewing on her own lip once more.

She feels her body get heavy and heavy by the second. An invisible weight being put on her shoulders, like the whole world has been brought upon her to carry.

Why should it feel like this?

When she didn’t even have Jennie in the first place.

What right does she have to feel like this.

So Lisa only sighs. She lost the war even before she prepares for the battle.

She was blindly aiming for a goal that was never there.

How pathetic.

She suddenly feels like throwing up. She doesn’t like this feeling.

This feeling of rejection. When she hasn’t even confessed yet!

Ironic.

So Lisa only closes her eyes once more,

Because that’s the only thing she can do by now.

----------------------

“Are you alright, Lisa?” Jennie asks as soon as they got inside her bedroom.

Lisa doesn’t answer, she only prepares the bed for sleep.

“Lisa?”

“Yeah!” Lisa says rather awkwardly, with the sudden high pitch and unequal volume with how she said it, and with how she doesn’t even look at Jennie when she did.

Jennie creases her eyebrows, “Why are you so… jumpy?”

“I’m not.” Lisa quickly defends herself, another sign that she is anxious.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Jennie finally turns the taller girl around so the latter will be facing her.

Lisa sighs, and she doesn’t really think anymore, “You didn’t say you have a boyfriend.”

“What?” Jennie’s eyebrows just keep on meeting and meeting.

“You said you didn’t have one.” Lisa looks at the floor as it was easier than to look at Jennie.

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

“Then what is he?!”

Lisa doesn’t fear anymore. When she wishes for the moment to come where she doesn’t think of what she says next, she didn’t think it’ll be this soon.

“Didn’t we have this argument before?” Jennie asks, dimly, indifferently, “Haven’t I told you before? To not pry on my life?!”

And Lisa wishes hard that everything that has happened the whole week – her being dragged to Anyang, her being pushed to meet Jennie’s family, her being pulled away from Sehun, her having feelings for Jennie – everything that has happened the whole week to not have happened in the first place any more.

Because now Lisa is more than rejected, she feels more than torn.

She’s breaking.

Because she realizes that absolutely nothing has changed between her and Jennie.

Because she feels the same walls and barriers Jennie had carefully put up between them once again.

Because then Jennie says, breaking Lisa’s heart – the heart Lisa was about to offer to Jennie, the heart that was for Jennie – in the most uncaring, callous, and heartless way,

“It’s never your business.”