Gain

Chapter Nine

The coffee tasted bitter as she listened. It was early and despite her fatigue she was vaguely aware that she had slept well the previous night. She didn't know if it had to do with the food or the fun they had after but she had genuinely felt sleepy by the time the others went back to their rooms. Moreover, she felt far better than yesterday morning and her flow was not as heavy today.

"Remember our aim is to locate the missing woman and get intel. We can do this simultaneously and split up the tasks," Chae continued.

She took another sip of the coffee not wanting to waste it. Jennie struggled to swallow and noticed that she was the only one who was drinking this horrible caffeine.

"I'm guessing we're going to have to split up in to two groups," Lisa added.

Chae nodded and explained that two of them would have to stay at headquarters and continue doing research while the others went to the last places Siyeon was seen. After a game of ChingChongCha it was decided that Jennie and Jisoo would head out while Lisa and Chae stayed in. Jennie's phone rung and the caller ID said it was Cass. She greeted her swiftly as the two began to speak. Having heard the name, Chae was curious to know who Jennie was talking to.

"Oh Cass? Yeah that's Jennie's girlfriend. She also works for YG. I think they've been dating for a year now," said Lisa.

Chae internally flinched. Well that was news. She let the new information sink in as she watched Jennie talk. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Jisoo was also observing the phone call. Except Jisoo's eyebrows were scrunched up and she didn't look pleased. Returning her gaze to Jennie, Chae understood why. The brunette's body language had changed drastically and she appeared more timid than Chae had seen before. The expression on her face seemed quite anxious as well. The call ended and Jennie briskly made her way to Jisoo. It was clear her mood had changed and not for the better. They left soon after with the younger girls calls for a safe trip following their heels.

Nearing the red light, Jisoo slowed down. The air in the car was so cold and it was entirely emanating from the girl next to her. Jennie stared blankly out the passenger window as they passed building after building. She was deciphering her thoughts after her conversation with her girlfriend. Again it wasn't what she had expected let alone needed. Cass was curt and didn't seem confident in her or her team taking on a new job. This is in spite of the fact that Blackpink's status and value was rising in the agency. Yes they didn't have the experience of Cass's team but they were building on their potential. It just seemed that the agency and teams like her girlfriend's didn't trust them to succeed.

Jennie sighed. Maybe they didn't want them to succeed. It's a surprise that they've even been given this new job. They hadn't had a solid mission in over a year and were practically the clerks of YG agency. Even though they had the highest success rate in mission completions, YG management just refused to give them decent work. Lisa and Jisoo were handling it as best as they could but the whole thing was fucking up with Jennie's psyche. She trained for six years and the benefits were reaping so slowly after such a long plough. Her girlfriend's form of "motivation" didn't help either.

Heading in to slight traffic, Jisoo placed her foot on the brake. They moved at a snail's pace towards the highway that would get them to their destination. As they inched forward a fuck load of questions were swarming in Jisoo's head. She wondered if her bringing things up would upset Jennie further. But the way her friend reacted to the phone call disturbed her more. Allowing another car to pull in front of them Jisoo turned to Jennie.

"Why did Cass call? Are they alright?"

Jennie kept staring out the window and told her that Cass and her team were perfectly fine. Sucking in her lips, she realised she would have to be more direct.

"Jennie, what's wrong?"

The tone in Jisoo's voice made the brunette turn to face her. Jisoo smiled in assurance and it almost convinced Jennie to let out everything she's been keeping in. Almost.

"I'm good Chu," she lied.

"No you are not," her friend replied.

"Chu, I don't feel like..."

"No, Jennie. Something's wrong and I want you to tell me what it is." Jisoo cut her short.

Knowing that her friend was not about to give up, Jennie resigned to give her a bone.

"It's just I've been feeling down lately about the way the agency has been treating our team and seeing how Cass and her team keeping getting missions has made me envious. It's been the cause of a few fights but nothing we couldn't overcome," Jennie finished.

It was partially true. But it felt good to at least get some of it out in the open. Jisoo nodded in agreement. The agency barely gave them any work but when they did her team strived to do their best. They always delivered even when expectations were too high particularly from themselves. However their situation never seemed to change. Now suddenly, Chae has been added to the team along with a left field type of case. She knew exactly where Jennie was coming from.

"I know what you mean Jendeuks. But we have to stay patient and endure. I have full faith that Blackpink can conquer any issue we face and we can do it together. There are times when you feel that you can only shoulder things on your own. But often that isn't the healthiest thing to do. We are here for you Jennie. We're going through this with you. For so long we have been down in the dumps. The addition of Chae and this investigation are a good thing. We need to take it as a good thing," Jisoo turned a corner.

Jennie smiled at the mention of the red head's name. She decided to follow Jisoo's advice at least partially. She'll see these changes as a good thing. The question was just for how long.