it's always ourselves that we find in the sea || jensoo

Chapter 28

"Ah yes, thank you, I'll just ... read this," Jisoo sarcastically said, holding the laminated menu the waitress gave her as she stared just past Jennie.

"Two pancakes with bacon and two black coffees please," Jennie told the waitress, plucking the menu out of Jisoo's hands and handing them back to the waitress with a strained smile.

They fell into silence as soon as the waitress left, the hum of the music in the diner mingling with the sounds of voices and the occasional ding of a bell whenever an order was up. Running her fingers over the cracks in the red vinyl seats, Jennie avoided looking at Jisoo. The sound of cups being set down shook her out of her absent-mindedness and Jennie smiled at the waitress as she pulled a cup towards her and nudged the other one closer to Jisoo. With the assurance that their food would be ready soon, the waitress left, and Jennie shifted in her seat, turning her attention to the street outside the window. It wasn't raining today, but the dreary weather seemed to leach the colour out of everything - or perhaps that was just Jennie's downcast mood - but it was stuffy inside the diner, and they didn't feel the wind that chased leaves down the street and turned the occasional umbrella inside out as Jennie watched people hurry down the street. The smell of bacon seemed to invigorate Jennie a moment later when a plate stacked high with her food was placed in front of her. She was still taking a sip of her coffee, and was quiet as they were left alone, feeling the silence weigh down on her.

"Well it looks great," Jisoo eventually said, a cool look on her face as she arched an eyebrow at Jennie. Their silence was usually so comfortable that they didn't need to fill it with needless chatter, but the tension was so thick between them that morning and Jisoo hated it, letting out a withering sigh as she set her cutlery back down. "Come on, Jennie, you can't still be mad at me. I'm sorry."

"Okay."

"Don't just say okay when it's clearly not," Jisoo said, a faint frown creasing her forehead as she reached out for her coffee, her long fingers searching as she slowly moved her hand across the table. Jennie reached out and gently pushed the cup into her hand. "If you're not going to accept my apology then tell me what you'd like me to say so you can forgive me."

Picking up her cutlery, Jennie cut a piece of bacon off, spearing it on her fork and twirling it slightly as she brooded. She had a headache from the champagne they'd been drinking last night, and she was feeling just a little bit sorry for herself. "I don't know."

Spluttering, Jisoo gave her a helpless gesture, her hands spread before her for emphasis. She over-emphasised though, knocking over the salt shaker, and Jennie tutted, sweeping the tiny crystalline grains into her hand and reaching out for Jisoo's. She tipped the salt into her left palm and then gave her a tiny smile.

"Over the left shoulder," Jennie told her, "it's, uh, supposed to blind the devil."

"What?" Jisoo snorted with laughter, her eyebrows rising slightly as she gave Jennie an amused look, obediently tossing the salt over her shoulder anyway to comply with Jennie's strange superstitions.

"Judas. You know, from the bible. Spilling salt symbolises treachery now, so ... a pinch over your left shoulder," Jennie lamely explained.

Nodding slowly as if it made sense, Jisoo dusted off her palms and picked up her cutlery. They descended into silence again, slowly eating their breakfast as they both fought the urge to say something. It wasn't the time or place for them to get into the details, and they both knew they were better off waiting, rather than needlessly making things worse than they had to be.

They'd gotten up that morning and packed away their things, showering together despite their frosty demeanour with each other, before they went to Chaeyoung's to say a quick goodbye to her before she went to work. Lisa came by with Ruby too, so they didn't have to make another stop before leaving, and neither of them seemed to guess that there was anything wrong between the couple. The presence of family and friends eased the tension, and they were both honest about how fun the concerto had been the night before - it had been fun, and they'd both enjoyed the performance - and it was easy for them to keep their private business to themselves. They might have always been honest with each other, but that didn't mean that they were okay with airing their problems in public, even if it was with Chaeyoung and Lisa. It hadn't changed anything though, because they were just as silent when they walked to the diner for breakfast. Neither of them said anything as they ate their food, and Jennie was almost tempted to ask if she liked the pancakes - Jennie personally thought they were the best ones in the area - but she knew that it would be the wrong thing to say. Jisoo wouldn't just ignore their argument if things weren't okay between them.