The Heiress [ Chaennie ]

Interlocked Fingers

After the pleasantries, Chaeyoung timidly sat down beside Jennie, not really knowing how to greet the girl now that they're engaged and in front of their parents. Sensing Chaeyoung's nervousness, Jennie reached out and put her right hand on top of Chaeyoung's left one under the table. She then looked at the younger girl and gave her a reassuring smile while gently squeezing the girl's hand.

Visibly, the younger girl's form relaxed and she shot Jennie a smile in return. Turning her palm upwards and slowly intertwining their fingers under the table. She locked gazes with the older girl while doing this to see if she'd be uncomfortable with the gesture. Seeing no resistance in Jennie's eyes, Chaeyoung locked their fingers together and held her hand securely in her own. Putting their joint hands on her lap and confidently turning her gaze towards the parents, Chaeyoung pretended to be listening to whatever their parents were talking about while sporting a very heavy blush on her cheeks. Jennie on the other hand was speechless and was barely hanging on to her sanity when she heard her father calling her name.

She cleared her throat and focused on the elders around the table when they started asking Jennie about University and business matters. With their interlocked fingers, Chaeyoung gently moved her thumb to rub over Jennie's skin, sensing the older girl tensing because of being asked about business. The action didn't go unnoticed by the older girl, she deeply appreciated the girl's silent act of support and comfort. Taking a deep breath, she flashed the younger girl a grateful smile and continued the conversation with a much lighter disposition.

Letting their parents catch up with each other, Jennie then leaned back in her seat and turned her attention to Chaeyoung. More accurately to what Chaeyoung was wearing. Feeling Jennie's gaze on her, the younger girl leaned in her seat as well and saw Jennie eyeing her clothes. Her cheeks turned red for the nth time that week and she wondered if Jennie would want her clothes back and demand she return them. She hoped not because she really did love wearing Jennie's clothes. Jennie caught Chaeyoung's gaze and slowly raised her perfectly sculpted brow in question while wearing her signature smirk.

Mr Park then cleared his throat and gave the girls a warm smile. All the parent's gazes were set on the girls.

"Girls, by tomorrow there's no need to worry about hiding your engagement. We have fixed and planned every public announcement starting with tomorrow's nightly news on television. It will air around 6pm on every channel in the country. This is an appropriate time to give you two the whole day to get ready and stay safe in your house. We wouldn't want you two getting swarmed by paparazzi."

Jennie sat up straight, mirroring her father's powerful stance. She nodded at the information given to her, silently thinking of ways to stray Chaeyoung away from possible paparazzi infested areas. She unconsciously tightened her grip on the younger girl's hand.

"The news announcement on TV will be tomorrow. On Monday, we're going to publish it on the newspapers across Korea. Solidifying the fact that our families will be joining together as one. Not only newspapers, we've already talked to radio channels that we trust and as your fathers, were going to give short statements confirming these news. Our competitors in the business as well as those who tried to bring our families down, will shake in their seats of power at the rise of Korea's most pristine engagement. With Jennie's reputation as a music Critic, composer, singer, musician and business mogul paired with Chaeyoung's charisma, audience-pull, acting, vocal & musical talents as well as her fan-base even though you haven't debuted yet. The both of you will restore our families' seat of power amongst both business and media."

There it is again. Both girl's felt the pit of their stomach drop. A Business Plan. They didn't want it to be a business plan. For their parents, letting the girls marry one another was both good for their business and but also they knew who their daughter would eventually marry and they trust the younger girls to take care of each other the way that they've been doing while growing up. They just feel bad that they had to do this for business as well. It wasn't a proud moment but it was also necessary to salvage their dropping business rates.