『JenSoo Short Stories』

Damaged Goods

Fresh air.

That was the first thing Jennie thought of when she finished her part of the group's comeback photoshoot. That's how she found herself sitting on the edge of a pier in one of Seoul's hottest summer evenings. Their shoot had ended a little past 4pm and a little bit over an hour later, Jennie was sat on the pier at their "secret" lake (the girls and her had stumbled across this place on a random adventurous night when they were still trainees. It became their safe space, almost. A place the girls would escape to when their world gets too overwhelming). The last time Jennie was here by herself must have been over a year ago. Right after news of her & Kai broke the internet and when Jennie painfully finds out that people only love her when she's perfect.

Jennie lets her feet dangle over the edge, her toes gently skimming the water's surface. The lake stretches out for miles and Jennie lets herself imagine that somewhere over the horizon, an alternate life waits for her.

Jennie has always been a fan of water (the group's Hawaii trip being proof of that. There wasn't a day where Jennie wasn't out by the beach, simply admiring the way the waves crash on the shore, over and over again. The only constant she can believe in at the moment, she thinks). So right now, staring down into the calm lake, the water looks deep and inviting and Jennie almost slides off the pier in favour of letting the cool water engulf her.

She had been sitting out there for a couple of hours now. The skies were no longer a bright blue, instead transforming into beautiful hues of yellow and orange as the sun slowly makes its descend. Jennie sat facing the setting sun, her back to the world. Looking down, she finally sees herself on the reflective surface of the murky, blue water.

Jennie sees what other people see; A beautiful young woman with cat-like eyes and an almost dangerous smile. Her face is nothing short of perfection, as if God himself took the time to sculpt Jennie Kim's face with the image of an ethereal goddess in mind. Men wanted to sleep with her and women wanted to be her. Sometimes, the other way around too. She doesn't usually indulge but there were a couple of nights where she entertained some fans and they were lucky enough to have seen Jennie Kim behind closed doors (an NDA was always signed because Jennie was many things but she isn't an idiot). A girl with a seemingly perfect life. Little did anyone know, her life strayed far from perfect.

"Hey." Jennie hears an all-too-familiar voice greet her. It didn't surprise her one bit. Honestly, she wonders why it took so long for someone to come find her. She had been gone for a few hours now at this point, her phone successfully ignored. It's not like Jennie had the freedom to just...disappear. Though sometimes she wishes she could.

Jennie doesn't look up, content on ignoring the woman that interrupted her peace. She keeps staring at her reflection in the water, carefully mulling over each feature on her face, silently loathing herself more and more as the seconds tick by. After a few minutes of silence, the woman gently sighs and plops down next to Jennie. Jennie scrunches up her face in mild annoyance, not at the other woman but at herself. She wasn't sure why.

"Jisoo" Jennie finally acknowledges the presence of the woman sitting next to her.

"Jennie" Jisoo echoes back, almost teasingly.

Jennie almost cracks a smile at that. Almost.

"I called you a few times. When you didn't answer, I immediately knew you would be here. So, I came here to check on you," Jisoo admits.

Jennie searches her eyes and found that Jisoo was being completely honest and sincere. A surge of over-whelming emotions course through her. Jennie does not deserve this. She doesn't deserve Jisoo's kindness.

"You deserve the world and more, Jennie."

Jennie looks at Jisoo, confused. Realisation dawns on her. She must have voiced her thoughts out loud.