Yours For The Weekend

5

"Chaeyoung, open the door, I believe Jisoo is on her way," Mom says, interrupting my thoughts as I sink deeper into the comfort of our couch.

"Why?"

"She'll be here for Christmas dinner, and you'll be going back to LA tomorrow, so it'll be more casual between the two of you. Are you still avoiding each other?" she asks, concern lacing her words.

"Chaeyoung, open the door, I believe Jisoo is on her way," Mom says, interrupting my thoughts as I sink deeper into the comfort of our couch.

I groan inwardly, not wanting to move from my cozy spot. "Why?" I ask, not really curious.

"She'll be here for Christmas dinner, and you'll be back tomorrow, so it'll be more casual between the two of you. Are you still avoiding each other?" she asks, concern lacing her words.

"We're not avoiding each other," I say with a chuckle, hoping to dispel any misconceptions.

"It's not like you two hated each other... There are just some circumstances," she sighs. I know she adores Jisoo so much that she was overjoyed when we started dating. I'm sure she'll be the happiest on the night of our wedding. I had already told her about it, and she was upset, but there was nothing we could do about it now. "Go now, don't make her wait. It's cold outside," she said, so I just nod and make my way to the door.

As I open the door, the cold air hits me, and I shiver involuntarily. Jisoo is standing in front of me, her breaths visible in the frigid air. She ought to have knocked or at least pressed the doorbell. "You should have knocked," I say softly, trying not to sound rude.

"I just arrived," she explains, so I brush it off and let her in. She makes sure to dust off her snow-covered shoes before entering and taking them off. I shut the door while she kneels to remove her shoes, and I wait for her to finish before heading inside.

"You came," Mom says with a wide smile as she walks over to Jisoo and lightly rubs her back. She treats Jisoo as if she is a member of our family. The first thing my mother urged Jisoo to do after our breakup was to maintain their current relationship.

Jisoo's words brought a sense of comfort to the kitchen as she apologised for not bringing anything to the table, prompting my mother to wave her hands dismissively. "I cooked a lot, you don't have to worry about that," Jisoo replied with a simple nod, her smile as warm as ever.

The mood was light until Alice barged in, her words cutting through the air like a knife. "Is my sister-in-law already here?" she asked, causing me to shoot her a look of disbelief.

"Ally, shut your mouth!" I exclaimed, my tone sharper than I intended. I didn't usually talk like that to my sister, but I couldn't let her ruin the atmosphere.

"I'm just joking," she said, attempting to lighten the mood. "Calm your nerves, my dear sister," she added with a chuckle, but the damage was already done.

As I stood in the kitchen, still reeling from the awkwardness, my phone began to ring. I pulled it from my pocket, half-expecting it to be my friend from LA, and was surprised to see her name flash on the screen.

"Roseanne, Merry Christmas!" she greeted me, her voice filled with holiday cheer. I was about to respond, but before I could, a swarm of people started to greet me.

"Oh, you guys are together?" I asked, my attention shifting back to Jisoo, who was standing beside me.

"Yes, we're having a party at my place," they replied, their excitement palpable even through the phone.

"Oh, let's FaceTime," I suggested, turning to Jisoo and my mother. They were both staring at me, but I raised my hand to excuse myself and walked into the living room. I waited for the phone call, my heart beating a little faster than usual.

They called me back in less than a minute, their faces lighting up the screen as soon as I answered. "Roseanne!" they greeted me. These were the people I had met in Los Angeles, the ones who had given me the opportunity to display my art in front of many people. Because of my father's reputation as a well-known artist in LA, I had become widely known as his daughter.

"I'm home for Christmas, so I won't be able to join you guys," I explained, still smiling.

"Oh, by the way, I heard your last exhibit's artworks are already up for auction?" one of them asked, causing my heart to sink. I had been trying to avoid this topic, but it seemed to follow me everywhere.

"Uh... some of it, yeah," I said, hearing footsteps from my side but not bothering to look.

"Come on, Won't you give me one for free then? We're friends after all," said the woman on the other end of the phone, chuckling as if she'd just cracked a hilarious joke. As an artist, the one thing that always stung my ego and pride was when people assumed they could have my artwork for free just because we were "friends."

"Um... I'm not really sure yet," I managed to reply, trying to keep things polite even though I knew it wasn't right.

"Roseanne, don't be a stranger... we've literally been friends since you moved here to LA." Her words sounded hollow, as if she only considered me a friend once I'd become well-known. It was then that I heard footsteps come to a halt behind me. When I turned around, I saw Jisoo standing there, staring at me with an inscrutable expression.

"I have to go... enjoy the holidays," I quickly said before hanging up the phone. When I looked back, Jisoo was already walking away.

She was the only person who could tell when I was faking a smile and when it was genuine. She knew which words could make me happy and which could make me sad. She could even tell when someone was lying to me and when they were trustworthy.

I felt embarrassed that she had seen me in that light. I wanted to vent and tell her how annoyed I was and how I didn't deserve people like that in my life, but I simply couldn't do it right now.

As I walked into the kitchen, my mom and sister were deep in conversation. Jisoo was standing on the far side, holding a glass of water. When I looked at her, she didn't meet my gaze, seeming to be aware of my attention on her. Then, she quickly exited the kitchen to avoid any further interaction with me.

"Didn't you bring Jisoo a gift, Chaeyoung?" Alice asked abruptly.

"You did?" Mom added, making me nod.

"Go give it to her before we eat," Mom instructed, "this steak is taking longer than expected." I had no choice at this point.

I went outside to grab the gift from my car. It was a painting I'd spent a long time on, a portrait of Jisoo. Only those who knew her well would recognize the painting because I'd painted it with such detail and the way I remembered her. Being the only one who'd woken up beside her for years, there was a specific point in this portrait that only I could picture.

When I returned to the living room and placed the covered portrait in front of Jisoo, she finally looked up at me.

"This is my gift to you," I said, holding my breath, "and I hope that you like it as much as I do."