The Only

Chapter 15

There are only a few days left before the play and there is still so much to do that everyone is going crazy.

The theatre club has been having nearly non-stop rehearsals, doing it in batches so that anyone not rehearsing at any point in time can go help with stage, props, or logistics. It only belatedly sunk into Jisoo that the novel they're adapting into a play is humongous, and perhaps she bit more than she can chew.

But luckily enough, the novel itself is cut up from  different points of view and it's only really at the end where all the characters intersect, so this allows them room to maneuver and adjust and get creative in how they're going to make it work.

Rosie quite enjoys the managing and logistics part, despite its challenges and difficulty, and gladly takes over whenever Jisoo needs a moment to catch her breath. Lisa's crew and her general popularity on campus ensured a steady stream of volunteers – bodies willing to do mechanical work. If Jisoo wasn't thankful for her two friends before, she definitely is now.

Besides logistics and management, Jisoo has her hands quite full with rewrites and stage directions. The literary club has constantly been doing revisions, trying to adjust little things here and there –from dialogues to blockings to scenes – depending on what works better for the actors playing the parts.
It has been continuously like this for two weeks, Jisoo in overall boss mode, Rosie working her magic in people-management, and Lisa providing much needed support and manpower.

They have all been working closely together for the past two weeks. Which is fine given that they're all really close friends, anyway.

But this also means that everyone else helping has been working closely with them for the part two weeks.

Which means Lisa has been a constant witness to Rosie working closely with Jaehyun and is left no choice but to also work closely with him, by extension, much to her chagrin.

For the sake of her sanity, Lisa's just taken to either pretending he doesn't exist or picking up tasks which would keep her away from him. So she finds herself doing most of the legwork, usually running back and forth between buildings, picking up things that need to be picked up, instead of working on props and stage design because that's where Jaehyun is.

Of course, it's not entirely effective because the large brunt of the work and assistance needed from them are in the stage and props department. So, at the end of the day, there's really no escaping him and Lisa comes back to work with everyone else in one space.
It's a late afternoon with less than 72 hours before opening night, and the auditorium is buzzing with activity. Lisa has barely had to make any effort to pretend that Jaehyun doesn't exist because she is too wrapped in painting the river in the background of one set – the river where Nayimathun supposedly falls into after an encounter with the Sisters of the Priory, thats she's actually forgotten that Jaehyun exists. It's only when a light, fluttery laugh floats over to her that she looks up and gets distracted out of her focus.

Lisa easily spots the owner of that laugh – she'd be able to recognize it anywhere, swear up to the heavens and down straight to hell that it's the most beautiful laugh to ever escape any human being's lips – sees Rosie with her hand held up as if to catch the mirth stumblin out of her, head tilted back, and eyes crinkling in a smile. But before Lisa could feel the usual adoration spread warmth over her chest, she sees Jaehyun standing in front of her best friend, the one she's hopelessly crushing on, laughing with her.

Her mood sours in an instant and she stands abruptly, drawing eyes to her including Rosie and the serial mood-ruiner with her. Even Jisoo, who literally couldn't be bothered, looks up from her serious discussion with Sejeong - the lead actress playing Ead.