Renovatio

Part 2

The following morning, Chae awoke to cuddling Jennie's pillow. Thin beams of sunlight popped through the slits of the dark curtains. Sitting up, she placed the pillow back into position. Blinking she sat and stared over to the empty spot beside her. It felt strange not awaking to Jennie's arms around her neck. Nor was there any breakfast waiting for her when she got out of bed these last few days. Her lips puffed out as she stared at the empty space.

Dogs barked outside and voices chattered. Kicking the covers off, she swung her legs off the bed. Wiggling her toes between the fur of the carpet she lifted her head and stared forward blankly. A woman and man's voice echoed outside. The sound of a horse trotting also filtered through. Bowing her head, she stared at the carpet. Turning around she looked at the empty spot again. Clicking her tongue, she stood up and headed towards the bathroom.

Opening the sink tap, she splashed some water on her face. Drying it off, she saw that her eyes were their natural orange. Biting her lip, she did not feel the need to turn them brown yet. She and the others were only meeting again late that afternoon. Staring at her reflection, her eyes drifted over her hair. Smiling, she knew she had some time today. Meeting her own gaze again, she opened the cabinet and grabbed a comb.

Another tray of refreshments was ushered in. Johnny had just arrived and was being given a brief introduction to the teachings of Meta by Suga. Jennie and Jeongyeon sat at the corner table going over potential areas of use from the maps of the lands Johnny owned. Taeyong had taken the rest out to explore the estate gardens. They had discussed plans throughout the entire morning. Having woken up at 6am until now to at least figure out where they should start. The sun was bright and the sky blue with shapeless clouds speckled over it.

Jisoo looked out on the balcony as a soft breeze threaded by. In the distance of the garden she could make out the figures of Irene and Kai since they were closest to her vision. The others were blurs. Turning, she walked back inside. Johnny was asking Suga questions while Jennie and Jeongyeon were each making notes on the maps before them. She watched as the two women chatted softly.

"Ey, you know we're meant to be on a break," she said to them.

"We'll take one later Jisoo," said Jeongyeon and Jennie smiled at her as they continued. Shrugging her shoulders, Jisoo was not going to waste time convincing them. She walked over to the adjacent room and found Lisa buried deep in a thick book. She watched as she pressed down on a calculator and preceded to write down in the book. Glancing into the other room, she closed the door behind her.

"You're meant to take a break you know," she said leaning against the door. Stopping, Lisa looked towards her.

"We don't have any money for this war we're about to start. And so, I'm having to pull miracles over here. That's why I'm not taking a break at the moment."

Jisoo sat in the chair before the desk, "Do we really have that little funds?"

Lisa sat back in her chair, "We do have money. But it may not last us longer than four months. Food, pay for any forces we may have, medical aid. Without knowing how long this will take then we may run out of funds."

"What do you suggest?" asked Jisoo.

"How long are we going to fight for Chu?"

"You shouldn't answer a question with another?"

"How long?"

"It may take longer than four months Lisa. I know you know that."

"Then we're going to need to find money sources from somewhere."