lessons in love || chaennie

chapter ten

Chaeyoung stood on the porch of her girlfriend's house, a small bungalow, trying to manoeuvre the two bouquets of flowers in her hand so she could ring the doorbell. She had picked up the flowers on the way here, not wanting to rise any suspicions from her parents by leaving the house with them. She looked down at her outfit; a simple skirt and blouse ensemble that she hoped would give a good impression without seeming too showy.

Balancing both bouquets on her left arm, she reached out and pressed the button, hearing the ringing sound reverberate from inside the house. A couple of seconds later, Chaeyoung was looking at a smiling dark-haired woman. She opened her mouth to try and speak, but nothing came out. Quickly clearing her throat to try and get some of the moisture back that had been lost from her nervousness, she tried to speak again and thanked every deity known to man that actual sound came out at this attempt.

"Um, hi."

She quickly retracted her thanks to the gods and inwardly kicked herself for not being able to come up with anything better than 'hi'.

"Chaeyoung, right?"

"Yea. Yes. I'm Chaeyoung. Um, Park. It's very nice to meet you, Ms. Kim," Chaeyoung said nervously and thrust the slightly larger bouquet, filled with lilies, into her hands.

"Oh, wow, Chaeyoung, these are beautiful, thank you. Come in, come in. And please, call me Eomma-nim," Ms. Kim said, ushering the blonde inside the door.

Chaeyoung walked into the hallway, the soft lighting and burgundy walls giving off a peaceful atmosphere. She looked at Ms. Kim again and marvelled at how similar she was to Jennie, they had the same shaped face, same body movements. They even walked the same way. The only notable differences she could pinpoint were age and hair colour - Ms. Kim's was slightly darker. At the same moment she was comparing the two, Jennie came up from the side of her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Chaeyoung spun around at the contact and gave her girlfriend a winning smile.

"Jennie! Hi. I, um, brought you flowers. You said you liked daises in Biology earlier this week so I got you daises. And I got your Mom lilies, 'cause you told me that earlier that they were her favourites when I spazzed out about my socks. And your house is really nice, I meant to say that to you, Ms. Kim," she said, turning to Ms. Kim, "Very beautiful house, like your daughter, and its all relaxing, like I feel when I'm around your daughter. And, um, did I mention I like your daughter?"

"Once or twice. And I'm very glad to hear it. Does she do that a lot?" Ms. Kim asked her daughter, an amused smile on her face.

"Usually just when she's nervous. Either that or she says nothing at all, like when she kissed me in the locker rooms."

"Um, standing right here! And, could we not talk about my moment of insanity please," Chaeyoung huffed, but had a small smile on her face.

"Sorry, baby," Jennie said, genuinely apologetic, "I love my flowers."

She brought the bouquet up to her nose and inhaled their scent.

"Why don't you put them in your room, Jennie. I'll have dinner ready in ten minutes," Ms. Kim offered, figuring Chaeyoung would be more comfortable if she had some alone time with Jennie.

"Thanks Mom," Jennie replied, taking Chaeyoung's hand and leading her down the hallway towards her bedroom. She held the door open for her girlfriend, who walked inside the room.

"Hey, I love your room!" Chaeyoung gushed, taking in her surroundings, the lilac walls softly illuminated by the string of fairy lights hanging above Jennie's desk.

Her double bed was pushed against the far wall, just under the large bay windows and there was an armchair beside the desk, facing towards the bed. She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, jumping up and down slightly when she felt how bouncy the mattress was. Jennie giggled at her.