The Tiger King (Chaelisa)

25| Girl Talk

"Honestly you should slow down," Somi said to Jennie with lips pursed, "or anyone might think you have...energy drinkism."

Jennie merely gave her a tight-lipped smile. She sipped her can of Monster energy and drummed her fingers restlessly as her knee bounced. "This is only my second can. I got plenty left."

"It's not even the weekend. Why are you even drinking that?"

"Nerves, I told you," Jennie said shortly, "if Lisa doesn't get along with that Rosé today, it's all for nothing, I don't know how else to break through that slump of hers. It's the crucial make-or-break chance."

She sipped again, thoughtful. "Not to mention she was still mad at me about her rescheduled match..."

"Well, you could have had water, it's healthier," Somi lectured, "what kind of trainer are you?"

"A bad one, clearly."

"Unnie!"

"I'm a trainer, not a health-freak," Jennie reasoned, "I'm allowed to make bad decisions. You just pretend I'm drinking something healthy to get rid of my nerves."

"Energy drinks don't get rid of your nerves."

"Alcohol doesn't get rid of your problems, yet everyone collectively drinks it to pretend it can do that," Jennie shrugged, "same difference."

"It's making you more tense for heaven's sake, look at you unnie, you're strung up like a rubber band! Chaeyoung, tell her!"

The petite boxer working out on the hanging balloon glanced in their direction at the call of her name. "What?"

"Tell Jennie to stop drinking!" Somi urged.

Chaeyoung shrugged. "Better than biting her nails, I guess. Each to her own. Or is it 'his own'?" Chaeyoung rubbed her chin and frowned. "Why is language always gravitating towards male pronouns to illustrate examples-"

"Not helping, Chae!"

"What?" Chaeyoung defended as she redirected her attention back to Somi, "I'm all in favour of everyone being a free spirit and do whatever the hell they like, you know?"

Somi rounded on the girl doing press-ups nearby. "Dahyun! Knock some sense into Jennie unnie!"

"One sec," Dahyun puffed as she performed three more push-ups before sitting back, sweaty and red in the face. "What sense?"

Somi gestured exasperatedly at Jennie cracking open her third can. Dahyun raised her shoulders.

"Well, if it's her coping method-"

"Ughhhhhh you're all useless!"

"Pipe down little girl, leave Jennie alone and text your boyfriend, he might be missing you," Chaeyoung teased, "he seems to be taking the liberty to hang around you a lot these days, isn't he?"

Jennie smiled as she watched Chaeyoung and Dahyun gang up to tease a protesting Somi.

"Mimi and Daehwi are sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S--"

"Rot in hell!"

"Ladies, ladies! Hold, pause, time out! I forgot my popcorn," Jennie called out, pretending to pull a bowl across her lap and gobbling down a fistful of popcorn with obnoxiously loud noises as she stared fixedly at the three girls in front of her. "Okay, un-pause."

Somi rolled her eyes as the other two laughed. "Real mature of you unnie."

"Oh I'm not an unnie right now, Lisa isn't here," Jennie winked.