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She woke up inside a white room.
Gone were the beige-colored walls of their bedroom in the beach house and the calming sounds of the ocean waves in the distance. There was complete silence instead. The absence of color and sound unsettled Lisa.
The white door to her left suddenly opened to reveal the three beautiful members of BLACKPINK. They were all wearing flowy white dresses with flowers in their hair.
"Chaengie!" Lisa exclaimed, relief and utter joy flooding her veins at the sight of her members. "Jennie-unnie! Jisoo-unnie! Oh my god, you're all here!"
"Of course, Lisa, where else would we be?" Jennie answered and went to sit in front of her on the massive white bed. The other two chose to sit on either side of the girl, holding her hands.
"I miss you all so much! I'm glad I'm back," she whimpered as the trio enveloped her into a hug. Lisa couldn't remember how she got back to civilization; how she and Jungkook were able to leave the island. In truth, she couldn't remember much of anything at all. But, all was fine in the world again now that she was back home.
"Aw, our sweet Lalisa," Chaeyoung's laugh resounded against the tiny room. It made the youngest tear up to hear her angelic voice after so long.
"Why are you crying, maknae?" Jisoo asked, worry coating her every word. "Did you have a bad dream again?"
"No, no. I'm just so glad to be back home."
It didn't escape Lisa how Jennie, Chaeyoung and Jisoo exchanged sad looks after her remark, but she was too elated to think much of it. "Where are we?"
"In our new dorm. We had to find a new place after... you know. You're safe here, okay?" Chaeyoung kept on reassuring her. "You don't have to worry anymore."
"I know what's going to make you happier," Jennie interrupted then. "C'mon, your parents just arrived from Bangkok this morning. They're in the kitchen cooking breakfast for us. I bet you're hungry 'coz I know I am!"
"Really? Oh my god!" The youngest wailed, "I can't believe they're here." It only took a second for Lisa to untangle herself from the mounds of blanket. Then, she was running towards the bedroom door and into the dining room.
There, she found her parents busy setting up their food on the rectangular table, their faces lighting up with delight when their gazes fell on her. "Mommy! Daddy! I'm back! I'm home!"
The two pulled her into a hug when she reached them. Then, the tears in her eyes built up again when she felt her father's kiss on the top of her head.
"พวกเราคิดถึงคุณ (We miss you)," her mother uttered with a shaky voice, "ลูกสาวคนสวยของเรา (our beautiful daughter)".
The Manoban family stood in the dining room, just hugging each other, when Lisa's mother beckoned the other girls to join their little bubble, too.
After a while, they were finally seated around the dining table, ready to eat the heart-warming dishes the married couple cooked. Lisa was just about to burst with unadulterated happiness at the sight of her parents and members.
"I'm home, I'm home, I'm home," the girl repeated to herself a couple of times, basking at the gentle warmth emanating from her loved ones, when the thought of her favorite roommate popped to her head. She was missing him... so, so much. "Hey, where's Jungkook?"
Everyone in the dining room stiffened upon hearing her question. "Maknae, please," Jisoo quipped in sombrely. "We should eat first, the food is getting cold."
"Why? What's wrong?" She asked, feeling a bit uneasy at the gloomy atmosphere that suddenly surrounded them. "Jungkook is my friend. I just want to know if he's okay."
Her family and friends wouldn't even look her in the eye, making her heart sink with dread. "Did something bad happen to him?"
A long moment passed before Jennie sighed, "Lisa, Jungkook-ssi is still missing, remember?"
Chills ran down Lisa's spine at her friend's statement. "What?"
"Lisa, it had been more than six months since you came back," Chaeyoung choked out the last word, "alone."
"I don't understand..."
"You came back to Seoul without Jungkook-ssi. You know this, maknae," said Jisoo. She was trembling, her intense stare at the food in front of her didn't falter. "The kidnapper didn't let him go, and we still couldn't find the island. Lisa, we're so sorry."
"You're kidding, right?" A high-pitched laugh bubbled up inside her. "Stop messing around, guys! Mommy, they're just joking, right?" Lisa turned to look at the older lady, wanting so badly to hear from her own mother that Jeon Jungkook was doing okay.
One look at her parents' grim expressions and she knew that everything her members were saying was true.
And just like that, her world came crumbling down. "No, no, no! That can't be."
One second, she was sitting on the chair beside Chaeyoung and Jennie. The next second, she was shouting and screaming and sobbing on the floor.
Everything hurts so much, Lisa could barely breathe.
Pain and grief consumed her whole being.
She cannot possibly lose Jeon Jungkook, not him. Not in this lifetime.
She would die. She would die. She would die.
She could die now. She won't make it.
"Lisa, wake up," a raspy voice called out to her, jerking her awake. "Please baby, wake up."
The girl opened her watery eyes to see a worn-looking Jeon Jungkook gazing down at her. They were still at the beach, a golden sunrise was upon them.
He took Lisa into his arms without another word. Jungkook's heartbeat thumped loudly against her ear; but, for the first time in forever, his closeness didn't give her much comfort.
He's here, he's here, he's here, she reminded herself. Still, the tears won't stop streaming down her face, blinding her.
"It was just a bad dream, baby," the boy reassured her. "You're okay. We're okay."
But, she didn't feel okay.
All she could feel was the unbearable pain blooming across her chest, suffocating her. Her heart was splitting into tiny little pieces as the nightmare played inside her head over and over again.
Not even Jungkook's tight hold on her could keep the darkness at bay.
End of Chapter 22
Author's Note:
Hi! How are you liking this revamped version of Utopia so far? Any feedback is welcome and appreciated. 😊😊😊
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