Chapter 16 - Happy Birthday, Jennie
*Third Person's POV*
Sunday, Jan 16, 2022.
Lisa had never been more excited before in her life than she was Today. Jennie had done so much for her so this was her gift to Jennie.
The first part of the plan was to keep Jennie away from the Café till the time of the party and Jisoo herself offered to do the honors. Though Jennie was visibly sad that she couldn't be with Lisa, she still couldn't refuse her Jisoo Unnie. To avoid Jennie's suspicions her parents, Jisoo, Chaeyoung, and Taehyung wished her as usual. Nevertheless, Jennie's mind still wandered off to the thought that Lisa hadn't wished her yet.
According to the plan, the Café was closed earlier. Everyone got on to their scheduled tasks of cleaning, decorating, bringing things, and such on. By 7 in the evening, they were ready. Around 25 people were present, including Jennie's parents, the group, and a few other friends.
Now they were just waiting for Jennie and Jisoo to arrive. Lisa was visibly nervous. She was literally shaking and sweating and had been walking back and forth inside the Café.
"What's wrong, Sweetie?" Mrs. Kim asked as she approached Lisa.
"Nothing, Mrs. Kim."
"Really, Lis? You have been pacing around for a while." Chaeyoung said joining the conversation.
"I am tensed."
"Why, Sweetie?"
"What if Jennie doesn't like this, Mrs. Kim? What if she gets upset?"
Both of them burst into a laugh. "Is that what you were thinking the whole time? Relax, Lisa. It's Jennie we are talking about." Mrs. Kim patted Lisa's shoulders and walked to where her Husband stood, chatting with Jung-hyun.
"She's right, Lis. Jennie Unnie would definitely like it, especially since you planned it." Chaeyoung said a bit playfully.
"Huh!?"
"Nothing. Stop stressing over silly things. Did you text Chu Unnie?"
"Yeah. They are on their way."
"That's great. Now, come with me."
Meanwhile, Jennie had been growing a little impatient. It was clear to her that Jisoo was hiding something, but Jisoo wouldn't give it away for the world. Every time Jennie would ask to leave, Jisoo had to drag her to a new place and come up with some lame excuse to prevent Jennie from running to the Café. So, when Jisoo received the text from Lisa that everything was set she mentally sighed in relief.
Jimin was assigned to spot them and alert so when he spotted them within proximity, everyone got ready for the surprise. The plan was flawless and Jennie was more than surprised. When she saw the Café empty and dark she was confused and they scared the living hell out of her with all the screaming. She almost jumped over Jisoo, which would have made both of them fall.
"You guys scared me." She said, faking madness. She was just one step away from showing excitement.
"Chill, Unnie. We wanted to surprise you." Chaeyoung said as she put the birthday hat on Jennie.
She couldn't hide her smile anymore. Jennie laughed widely and Lisa was finally relieved. She was technically hiding, though ever since Jennie stepped inside she had been searching for Lisa's doe eyes. And when she, at last, spotted them, her smile grew even wider if it was even possible.
Though everyone in the room had wished Jennie, she was yet to receive her most anticipated one from Lisa. But for some reason, Lisa stayed quiet. She waited like there was some right time to come. Jennie's parents left sometime after the cake-cutting, reminding her to be back by midnight. It was different from the parties Jennie had been to in the past years -- something she got used to -- but she found herself enjoying it more than ever. The only thing that bothered her was she couldn't have some time with Lisa, though she was genuinely happy to see Lisa enjoying it as well.
