Backburner

It has been a week since that incident happened, and it has also been a week since they last talked.

Jennie is about to open her fifth bottle of beer when her doorbell suddenly rings.

“I’m coming!” jennie shouted 

When she opened the door she saw her two friends with bags of takeout in their hands. 

“Jisoo? Nayeon?” 

"Yes, it’s us!" Nayeon said while rolling her eyes, "Were you expecting someone though?" she playfully asked.

Jennie rolled her eyes as she quickly cleans her living room 

"Jesus!" Jisoo exclaimed, "I get it; tonight is Friday," she said, "but really? You have dozens of beers prepared.”  "You planned to drink alone without letting us know so we could join?" Her friend complained.

Jennie let out a chuckle and shook her head. "Well, I know you guys were busy, so I didn't bother to—" Jennie wasn’t able to finish what she was saying when Nayeon cut her off.

“The last time I checked, it was actually YOU who was busy with someone else last week,” Nayeon said while opening her beer.

Jennie went silent and opened her fifth beer. 

"Well, you can’t deny that from us, Jen," Jisoo said. "My brother literally saw you and Chaeyoung in Everland," she added.

Jennie just sighed and stared at her beer. She knows Nayeon will surely knock some sense into her, again.

"Well, our Jennifer never learns," Nayeon said while munching her chips. "You’ll see Chaeyoung bending on her knees to propose to our stupid friend, and this bitch will say yes without even thinking twice." Nayeon added, which caused jennie to roll her eyes.

Jisoo laughed, “So what happened last week?” the latter asked.

"I bet they kissed again," Nayeon said with a chuckle, "and I bet Chaeyoung was the first one to part her lips."

"And she apologized and left again," Jisoo added.

One thing about Jennie's friends, they know her too well. They know them too well.

Jennie just rolled her eyes and slowly hit Jisoo’s arm. "You guys aren’t helping," she said after taking a sip of her beer. "It’s not like I can do anything about it."

“You can actually do SOMETHING about it,” Nayeon said. “You’re just dumb”

“Can’t you see?” she asked the brunette. “That girl only uses you when it's convenient for her.” 

"She enjoys your company far too much," jisoo commented. "But after that, watch her leave again." Nayeon added. "She sees you as someone who can always be available for her no matter what." and jisoo nodded in response.

“Do you guys still talk?” jisoo asked her friend

Jennie was obviously stunned by that question. Her friends are waiting for her response, but deep down, they already know her answer.

“Well, right now we—”

"It’s just a yes-or-no question, Jen." Nayeon interrupted. 

Jennie sighed for the umpteenth time and sipped her beer. "No. "It's been a week since we last talked," she said, almost breathless.

Nayeon chuckled as she gave Jisoo an "I told you so" look.

“So, what are you planning to do next?” jisoo asked

"Of course she’ll immediately get back to it." "One call is all it takes." Nayeon said and rolled her eyes.

Jennie glared at her friend and cursed her.

“I- i honestly don’t know.” she said. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Just learn how to say No and that’s it, jen” Nayeon said. 

"That’s the reason why she won’t leave you alone," Jisoo said. "You always say yes to her, or sometimes you are the one who likes to insist on such things."

"Jen," Nayeon put her beer down and took Jennie's hand in hers. "We just want to get you out of this stupid situation. If you can’t help yourself, then we will."

Jennie faced her friend and gave her a genuine smile. 

"Well, Nayeon has been saying that for ages," Jisoo said with a chuckle. "And I'm with her. However, we can’t do this alone without your help." she added 

“We will help you, so you can help yourself.” 

3 months later

Nayeon and Jisoo kept their words and gave their best to help their friend. And it surprisingly worked this time. 

Jennie has been doing well since that night. 

But of course, at first, it didn’t go easily. There were times where her friends had to pick her up from different bars every night, which lasted for a week . They even set up their mandatory sleepover at Jennie’s apartment every Friday just to watch their friend cry for hours . Nayeon even tried to set her up on a blind date, but it didn’t work because she would always ditch her date.

There was this time when Nayeon almost gave up when she caught Jennie trying to dial Chaeyoung’s deleted number. They even fought. Screams and curses were heard at Jennie’s apartment that night, which caused Nayeon to walk out, leaving Jennie alone.

But she came back an hour later, dragging jisoo with her and bought bags of canned beers.

Jennie went through a lot—the three of them went through a lot, actually.

She’s thankful for them. 

And now that she’s doing better, she's discovered new hobbies such as baking, painting, and more.

And finally, that person doesn’t bother her anymore. 

Jennie made a promise to herself that she would always protect her peace.

~

Jennie just finished baking cookies and is now cleaning her kitchen, but she got interrupted when her phone suddenly rang.

She quickly grabbed her phone off the counter, and she hesitated to answer the call because the caller was an unknown number.

Maybe jisoo is pranking me again. So she had no choice but to answer the call.

“J-jen,” 

That voice.

She knows that voice too well.

She knows the owner of that voice as well.

Jennie was stunned. She almost dropped her phone. 

The brunette was about to end the call when the caller suddenly spoke. “I missed you.”

She’s doomed. 

“W-what do you want?”

“I’m really sorry about that night, jen” the caller said, but it was almost a whisper.

“Look, Chaeyoung I—” 

“I really miss you, Jen,” Chaeyoung said. “Wanna grab some ice cream?”  

Jennie ended the call as soon as Chaeyoung asked her. 

She went straight to her room and buried herself in her bed. 

And just like that, she found herself thinking about Chaeyoung again .

She spent three hours thinking about Chaeyoung, and all the suffering that she and her friends had gone through in the past few months.

She can’t just give in after everything the blonde has put her through and she knows that.

But maybe Nayeon was right. One call is all it takes, and she’ll eventually get back to it.

Jennie: Meet me at the park. Please bring my chocolate ice cream with you. Thanks.