None of Us Saw This Coming

March, 2019: The Way She Loved

"Irene! Over here!"

"Here, Irene!"

"Irene!"

"Irene!"

Her name was shouted by countless foreign faces; Irene here, Irene there, with flashes from countless cameras taking turns showering her face. It was a typical scenery; one of the perks of being an idol, she sarcastically claimed in her head. Extreme exposure to lights coming from camera flashes had never immensely bothered her though, so she had never had trouble with being showered under such an intense glare of lights. What usually bothered her was the figures behind the lenses who called her over and over again, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere for her. It felt like she was being chased down to no end.

Irene was attending Paris Fashion Week at the invitation of one of the Italian high fashion brands of women's clothing. She dressed in golden attire wrapped in a black coat—the very much needed element because it was crazy chilly out there despite the warm welcome. She was seated shortly by the staff and the crew of the event, next to an American actress who was much younger than she was. The girl was friendly and all smile, it eased Irene intensified anxiety. The girl took her time to speak to Irene and she was awed by the girl's humility and respectful behaviour; she was a well-mannered young lady.

The fashion show took a few hours during which Irene could relax a bit, enjoying the passing models on the runway exhibiting brilliant collections and letting her mind wander off places her body could not follow. Each piece from the collection seemed to take her to different places and she loved how the pieces could communicate, telling stories on their own; the colours, the ambience, the runway, and even the people in the building had created such an atmosphere that drew her deeper and deeper that she failed to track herself and ended up losing the track of time.

Paris was one of her favourite places to be; except for the chilly air, still it had always been one of the places she loved to be. People, in general, did not pay much attention to others, hence it was easier and more convenient for her to be out and about in public compared to other places. No eyes were staring at her, nobody was watching her, she was practically ignored, and she oddly found comfort in it.

She was planning on taking a walk around once she changed and freshened up a bit after attending her invitation but turned out the plan stayed as was because she fell asleep from the temptation of a bed laid out before her eyes. Irene just finished with her long bath after spending an entire day sleeping (it was very much needed though, considering she woke up way before the sun did to get her hair and makeup done, along with her fitting—plus, jet lag), so there she was dabbing her wet hair as she calculated all the things she could possibly do in Paris at 11 PM going 12 AM because she would definitely no longer be able to sleep a blink. That was when her phone vibrated and on her screen popped up a notification from her social media. It was from Jennie, who was also there in Paris, attending an invitation by another high fashion brand.

[from jennierubyjane] Our eonni :) Let's have a meal together! <3

Well, there it was, her entire plan for the next hour until she was ready for another slumber; that one particular midnight meal with Jennie sounded like a godsend, so she excitedly punched an "okay" text to the younger.

It was not long until the both of them met up at a bakery Jennie claimed to be one of her favourites. Burgers and ice cream for midnight snacks did not sound like sin at all anyway, so those were exactly what they ordered. Irene missed hanging out with Jennie like that—just the two of them (when it actually had only been a month since the last time they did in LA).

"How are things with Lisa?" Irene suddenly asked out of the blue, it was not out of curiosity, she was not that nosy. She was just concerned, wondering if Lisa finally patched things up with Jennie after only two months ago Lisa almost froze herself into a chicken nugget because of her inability to process her own thoughts and feelings. She could have asked Jennie about it the last time they met but it felt like opening a barely healed wound so she opted to keep the wonders to herself.