Backburner

It is a lazy Thursday night for Jennie, who is lying down on her bed and trying to catch some sleep. Her eyes were about to close when her phone suddenly rang, and she immediately sat on her bed as she saw the caller ID.

Of course it’s her.  

“Hello?” jennie answers 

“Jen,” the person on the other line responds. Sadness is evident in her voice and Jennie is pretty much aware of that. 

"Chaeyoung? "Is there anything wrong?" There is, of course . Jennie thought as she bit her lower lip.  

“Jen, Suzy.. I think she’s already seeing someone else.” 

The moment Jennie hears that name, she knows something is about to happen again. And that ‘again’ is something that is not healthy for her peace. 

“H—how did you know?” The brunette is trying not to sound concerned, but with the stuttering and shakiness of her voice, she failed. 

"I saw her with a man. They were holding hands. "I think it’s the one that she was talking about last month." Chaeyoung’s voice cracked. Jennie couldn’t help it, and so she chuckled softly—but not because she was happy about the sudden news.

“Wh—why are you laughing jen?!” Chaeyoung asks while laughing. Jennie may not see her right now, but she knows the blonde is pouting behind the screen. 

"You sound like a hurt puppy right now," Jennie says, smiling. "Stop sulking, Chaeyoung. prepare and we’re going out. Should I pick you up?" she said.

“But it’s already eleven o’clock!” Chaeyoung complained.

"That’s why I'm asking if I should pick you up, I knew you were going to complain about the time," Jennie said with a chuckle.

"Fine. I'll take a bath first." Chaeyoung said it with a grumpy tone, and Jennie sure missed that grumpy tone.

“Alright Chaeyoung, i’ll see you later” jennie said as she ended the call.

Jennie sighed and got up from her bed. This is pathetic. I am pathetic . Jennie reflected while walking towards her closet. 

As long as we keep talking. 

~

Jennie: Chaeyoung, I'm outside.

Chaeyoung grabbed her cardigan and went out of her apartment as soon as she received jennie’s message. Chaeyoug slightly shook her head as she saw Jennie standing beside her car and trying to warm herself. 

“Hey!” Chaeyoung greeted the brunette. “Really, jennie? The weather could literally kill us—and you’re still wearing that collar shirt” Chaeyoung handed her cardigan to jennie.

“What’s this for?” Jennie asked her friend with confusion all over her face.

"Jen," Chaeyoung said softly, "you were literally freezing earlier." "I don’t want you to catch a cold, so wear it." And even God knows this is the brunette’s weakness, so she had no choice but to wear it while feeling the burn on her cheeks.

Both got inside Jennie’s car, and nobody dared to talk until Chaeyoung got curious.

“Where are we going?” Chaeyoung asked, “And why do we have to leave at this hour?” 

"Stop asking and just wait," Jennie answers while rolling her eyes. "Oh, I guess we’re almost there," Jennie said with excitement.

Chaeyoung faced the road as well, and her eyes got bigger as she realized the place. 

"Amusement park?!" Chaeyoung exclaimed, "Seriously, Jennie?" at this hour?" Chaeyoung asked the brunette while scratching her nape.

“Yes!” “Do you remember this place?” Jennie asked with a gummy smile, “This is where we celebrated your birthday when we were kids.” Jennie recalled those days. 

Confused chaeyoung tried to remember their memories in the said park, and her face lit up when she successfully remembered something.

“Right,” she said, “the one where you cried because you didn’t get the plushie that you wanted,” Chaeyoung said with a chuckle.

Jennie rolled her eyes as she remembered her tantrums. "Whatever, Chaeyoung." Jennie said while pouting, "I'll make sure to win plushies this time!" Jennie said while clapping her small hands.

The two finally got tickets after parking the brunette’s car. Both were walking peacefully until something caught Jennie’s attention, causing her to jump, which made Chaeyoung flustered.

“What’s wrong?” chaeyoung asked and gave jennie a confused look.

"Chaeyoung!" Jennie grabbed her friend’s arm and dragged her to the souvenir shop. "Can I please have two panda headbands and," Jennie examines the items, "Oh! "That one panda bag and the small panda plushie, please?" Jennie politely ordered.

As soon as she paid for the stuff, she saw Chaeyoung waiting for her outside the shop.

"Chae!" Jennie exclaimed, "Look! "I bought this cute panda stuff," Jennie said while wearing her headband. "This is for you." She gave the headband and bag to her now-grumpy friend.

"You... Want me to wear these?" Chaeyoung asked, it was almost a whisper. Chaeyoung doesn’t like her friend’s idea, obviously.

"Come on, Chaeyoung!" Jennie is trying her best to convince the blonde girl, "It looks cute on you, please." The smaller girl pulled her puppy eyes once again, and who wouldn’t say yes to it?

With a defeated sigh, Chaeyoung finally gave in and wore the headband and the cute-sized bag. 

Fuck Jennifer’s idea! She thought.

The girls are almost set for their last ride, but Chaeyoung notices the time and realizes it’s already two o’clock in the morning, causing her to tap Jennie’s shoulder.

"It’s already two o'clock; aren’t you tired yet?" She asked the exhausted brunette

"Right, I think I’m already drowsy," Jennie said with a sleepy voice, "but I’m also hungry." "Can we go eat something first?" She asked Chaeyoung, and the blonde nodded in response. 

The two are now eating corn dogs while sitting on the bench. The smaller girl ate like a hungry cat, and the taller girl secretly took a picture of her.

"Chaeyoung?" Jennie called, and Chaeyoung hummed in response. "Did you have fun tonight?" the brunette asked while wiping her messy lips. 

"Yes," she smiled, "this night is amazing—all thanks to you," she said softly while staring at her friend. Jennie just gave her a gummy smile and held Chaeyoung’s hand, "Of course, Chae."

"Shall we go now?" Chaeyoung asked her friend, who is now getting ready, "Oh, wait! How about the plushie?" As soon as Chaeyoung reminded the brunette, the latter dragged her to the nearest huge claw machine.

"Are you sure about this, Jen?" "That unicorn is way too big," Chaeyoung exclaimed as she watched Jennie. 

Jennie may be struggling right now, but she is really determined to bring the huge unicorn home with her. "They surely did something to this machine!" The brunette said with a disappointed face, "I’m running out of tokens and I still can’t get Miss Unicorn." Jennie is on the verge of giving up at this point.

Chaeyoung shook her head as she chuckled, "Give me your tokens," and the smaller girl gave the few tokens left to her more competitive friend. 

Alright miss unicorn let’s get you out of there.

On her first try, she struggled to get the unicorn, because who wouldn’t? That unicorn is way too big, and even if the machine is huge, she’s not really sure if it could fit in the claim spot. 

“Go Chaeyoung!” Jennie cheered, “Let’s bring her home with us!” 

And that's what it finally took for Chaeyoung to get the brunette’s unicorn.

“Fucking finally,” she said while stretching her arms 

Jennie tightly hugged the unicorn while swaying her body. "It’s so fluffy, I'm gonna die," the brunette said with a baby voice, and Chaeyoung almost melted at the sight of her friend.

“Jennie, it's already three o’clock, we need to go,” Chaeyoung said while fixing her panda headband.

“Right, but we need to go somewhere first,” Jennie said, “but don’t worry, this won’t take long”

The next thing she knew was that both of them were inside a cute photo booth, and Jennie was in a hurry to retouch her makeup.

“Are you ready, Chae?” Jennie asked the taller girl and the latter nodded in response. 

“1, 2, 3! Pose!” 

~

The two are now at Chaeyoung’s place, but the blonde girl didn’t want to step out of Jennie’s car yet.

“Chae,” 

“Yea?” 

"So what happened to you and Su—" Chaeyoung cut Jennie off as she hushed her with her fingers on Jennie's lips.

"Let’s not talk about it anymore," Chaeyoung said. It was almost a whisper, but enough for Jennie to hear.

The blonde leaned closer to her friend, which caused jennie to stutter.

"All r-right, I'm s—." and Chaeyoung once again cut her off, but this time she closed the gap between them.

They kissed. 

It was passionate yet rough. 

Jennie was about to wrap her arms around Chaeyoung’s nape when the blonde girl suddenly parted her lips.

“Oh fuck,” Chaeyoung said while panicking

"Chaeyoung, wait." Jennie tried to grab the taller girl’s arm, but it was too late for her when Chaeyoung finally opened the car’s door.

"I’m sorry about that, Jen," Chaeyoung says as she shifts her gaze away from her friend and closes the car door.

Jennie took a deep breath and placed her head on the steering wheel.

She’s exhausted. physically and emotionally exhausted. But what can she do about it? She’s used to it anyway.

Maybe you’ll finally choose me after you’ve had more time.