Chapter 7

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Kicking off her heels, Lisa stumbles over to the sofa and crashes down onto the cushions with, "What a night." 

Lisa has the blinds swept back from the huge, south-facing window that serves as the backdrop to the living room, the downtown a twinkling spectacle beyond the glass. She invited Jennie and Rosé to her house to have a small celebration for the success of her project.

Jennie look through the window and asks, "How well do you two know me?"

That seems to catch their attention.

Lisa sets her phone on the table and turns on the sofa so she's facing Jennie, her knees drawn into her chest. Rosé who seems to be sleepy, is now alert and her eyes snap open. She straightens in the chair.

"What do you mean?" Lisa asks.

"Do you trust me?"

She reaches over and touches Jennie's hand. Pure electricity. "Of course, Jennie"

Rosé says, "Even when you and I have been on the outs, I've always respected your decency and integrity."

Lisa looks concerned. "Everything okay?"

Jennie shouldn't do this. She really shouldn't do this. But she's going to. 

"Hypothetically," She starts. "A woman of science, a physics professor, is living here in Seoul. She isn't wildly successful like she always dreamed, but she's happy, mostly content, and married"—Jennie took a quick glance at Lisa, thinking of how Rosé described their relationship backed at the theater—"to the woman of her dreams. They have a good life but one night, this woman goes to a restaurant to buy dinner for their monthsary. On the walk back, something happens. She never makes it home. She's abducted. The events are murky, but when she finally regains her full presence of mind, she's in a lab in somewhere in Seoul, and everything has changed. Her house is different, she's not a professor anymore and the most heartbreaking this is that she's no longer married to this woman."

Lisa, with her eyes full of interest, asks, "Are you saying she thinks these things have changed, or that they've actually changed?"

"I'm saying that from her perspective, this isn't her world anymore."

"She has a brain tumor," Rosé suggests.

Jennie looks at her old friend. "MRI says no."

"Then maybe people are messing with her. Running an elaborate prank that infiltrates every aspect of her life. I think I saw that in a movie once."

"In less than eight hours, the inside of her house was completely renovated. And not just different pictures on the walls. New appliances. New furniture. Light switches were moved. No prank could possibly be this complex. And what would be the point? This is just a normal girl. Why would anyone want to mess with her at this level?"

"Then she's crazy," Rosé says.

"I'm not crazy."

It becomes very quiet in the loft.

Lisa takes hold of Jennie's hand. "What are you trying to tell us, Jennie?"

Jennie look at her fondly. "Earlier tonight, you told me that a conversation you and I had inspired your installation."

"It did."

"Can you tell me about this conversation?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not a single word of it."

"How is that possible?"

"Please, Lisa."

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