Circles and Circles || Jensoo

Chapter 2

Jisoo got home from work as the darkness of the autumn evening closed around her. She was getting home later and later these days, and had to make an effort to leave earlier. She unlocked the door of her apartment, and let herself in.

She busied herself making dinner, tidying up, generally musing about. As she dusted, she made her way along the bookshelf, to her photos of her family; they were smiling, larking about in the way they always did. Jisoo wondered if they were ever as happy as they looked in those photos, before things fell apart.

But they did fall apart, Jis, a voice whispered in her head. They did.

She picked up a photo of her and Jin, smiling. He was ruffling her hair, and she had her arms around his waist, hugging him from the side. Jisoo felt the warmth of tears slipping down over her cheeks. Dropping the duster, she hugged Jin's photo to her chest and fell into a chair. Pulling her knees up, she buried her head and sobbed.

It had been eight long years since the night that Jin had died, and the night that Jisoo had watched the world as she knew it twirl away. She could remember the night like it was right in front of her, and the clutch in her chest had barely lessened since.

With the smell of rubber burning off the bitumen, Jisoo stood, watching in horror as the red convertible stripped backwards in a cloud of smoke. The sound of flesh hitting the pavement, of Jin's tortured screams. The vision of red and blue lights as they shone, spinning, in the puddles. The numbness in the cold, watching the solitary figure walk away into the fog and the night.

Jisoo jerked out of her reverie, squeezing her eyes and trying to still her shaking body. It was too hard at this time of year. She jumped up, placing Jin back on the shelf where he belonged, and began her long nightly ritual of cleaning her apartment from top to bottom. This time, she would exhaust herself completely. This time, she would sleep.

* * *

Jisoo reached for the office door, and glanced up at the clock. She grimaced. She was getting later and later. Hanbin looked concerned, as he handed her the day's mail, removing the pencil from his mouth.

"Later and later, Boss." He leant back in his chair. "Am I gonna have to start making you toast to get you here on time?"

Jisoo couldn't help smiling in reply.

"Wouldn't help, Hanbin. I wouldn't eat it." She started towards her office, leafing through her mail absentmindedly.

"Boss, your 9.30 appointment is in there," Hanbin warned.

Jisoo stopped in her tracks. What appointment? She could feel her brow furrow, and knew that she had to start paying more attention to her life. Even work was slipping now.

"Hanbin, do I even HAVE a 9.30 appointment?" She looked at him, hoping he would tell her he was joking. She needed some time to sort out her projects. Workaholic or not, she was starting to feel just a tad overloaded.

"Ms Park rang earlier," Hanbin replied, looking puzzled. "She said you'd arranged it yesterday."

Jisoo knew that things were slipping a little, but she could remember yesterday very clearly, and it had NOT involved making a 9.30 meeting with Rosé.

She marched into her office, partly interested and partly disgruntled. The white-raven haired woman sat in the chair by her desk. When she saw Jisoo, her face formed a wry smile, but somehow Jisoo was not amused.

"We had a 9.30 appointment?" Jisoo demanded. "I usually expect appointments to be agreed on by both parties. I believe it's part of the social graces." Jisoo knew she sounded disgruntled.