None of Us Saw This Coming

March, 2017: Let's Have Some Pho

"None of us saw this coming."

So a bubbly voice with an unavoidable excitement voices the words out to every pair of eyes in the room that has its attention solely on the possessor, waiting for her next set of words as she shows her toothy smile; the one that is so adorable and sincere that everyone cannot help smiling too. She heaves a sigh—a deep one—to hold a grip on herself, but the idea of taking a glance at the figure next to her, dressing in white with a smile that has yet left her beautiful beautiful face does not help her settle her wrecked nerves.

It all started back in 2017 when she was still active as a member of the girl group Blackpink. It was the time when everything was still surreal to her; including the stardom that the group gained after debuting not even a year prior that also affected her. She remembers how everything that led her to this day started some months before their comeback for their new single that would be released in summer. A lot of people were looking forward to it but Lisa could not shake off the nervousness in her system because their new single was conceptualised differently from their previous tracks. So there Lisa was, still out of breath after hours of practising at her company studio when a call dropped on her phone.

"Lisa-yah, where are you?" A familiar voice from the other end of the line greeted her. A familiar voice of Kim Jennie.

They met in 2011 when she first came to South Korea as a trainee under YG Ent; the agency where they were then working at. Jennie was one of the top-ranked trainees back then, who did not hesitate to communicate with her in English just so she could help Lisa at least understand her surrounding easier and better despite their CEO's strict rule of banning anyone from speaking to her in languages other than Korean. That was why Lisa spent more of her time with Jennie during her first few months being a trainee and grew fond of her because being with Jennie was easy. It made things way easier and she just loved how easy it was with Jennie.

It was not long before Jisoo came to the scene and Lisa became more fluent and comfortable speaking in Korean. Jisoo was bubbly and easy to talk to, like an older sister she never had. They could talk from sunrise to sunrise, they could fight like tomorrow did not exist, and made up quicker than spelling their own names. Lisa loved being around Jisoo; the energy she channelled, the warmth she provided, the tough love she gave her when it was the most needed. Jisoo spoiled her in the way only Jisoo knew how to and Lisa could not help loving the soundness Jisoo made her feel.

Then Chaeyoung came along and although she felt quite bitter about Chaeyoung's presence at first because the new girl annoyed her from time to time. Yet, in the end, it turned out that Chaeyoung was her twin flame all along. They fought, they bickered, they laughed, they cried, they finished each other's sentences, and they shared almost everything together; like two perfectly matched puzzle pieces. Lisa had come to love Chaeyoung's presence. Lisa loved how Chaeyoung completed her in a way she did not know she needed to be.

But for the young Lalisa Manoban, Kim Jennie had always been different from the rest because, for Lisa, Kim Jennie had always been there and there was no way she could ever imagine herself being without the older anymore.

"I'm at the building, eonni."

"Have you eaten?" The voice asked.

"No. Not yet."

"I'm going to have some pho at our usual place, let's have a meal together," Jennie said without skipping a beat, seemingly hoping Lisa would not give the idea a contemplation and just immediately agreed to it.

"Jen, it's almost midnight."

"So? I'm heading there now, I'll see you there," Jennie said without giving Lisa time to reply and just ended their call, leaving Lisa with no choice but complying with the older's invitation.