Chapter 11
Jennie was 21 years old when she got her first tattoo…
“Come on Jen, you know the rules. You chose dare so now you have to go through with it.” Yves said. It was Friday night and their group of friends were hanging out in Jisoo and Jennie’s apartment. They’d decided to live off-campus this year but still wanted to live together so they had rented an apartment close to the school together and it had quickly become the place where their group hung out. They’d been chilling out in the living room, listening to music, and talking when Sua had come up with the brilliant idea to play truth or dare.
They all made fun of the childish idea but sat around in a circle anyway since there wasn’t anything else to do. After a few rounds, it was finally Jennie’s turn and she made the mistake of choosing dare and now Yves was trying to convince her to go through with it. “Come on, don’t be a scaredy-cat”, she taunted. “Don’t listen to her Jen, you don’t have to get a tattoo if you don’t want one”, Jisoo defended her.
“Tell you what, if you get one I’ll go with you and get one too”, Jin told her. Jennie decided not to tell him that she had already been planning on going through with it anyway. “You’re on”, she told him.
They stood up and decided to walk to the popular tattoo place that was located a block over from her apartment. They left their friends to their game and started making their way there, both thinking about what they would get.
Once there, they opened the door and walked into the dark store. “Hello, are both of you getting tattoos today?” the man sitting on a chair asked. “Yeah, both of us”, Jennie said. She shoved Jin forward. “He’s going first.” Jin mock glared at Jennie before following the man behind a curtain. Jennie sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room and wondered what tattoo Jin would come out with. She hadn’t needed to think hard on hers. She’d already known what she wanted to be imprinted on her skin. She’d been planning on getting that specific tattoo for some time now but had been too scared to. Now, though, the dare had just been the push she needed.
Jin came back out, breaking her out of her thoughts. “That was fast. What did you get?”. She asked. He smiled at her and pointed at his finger where a small bandage laid. It’s a J. You’ll see it after it’s healed. Jennie laughed at his unoriginal idea before standing up. “I guess it’s my turn then.” She walked behind the curtain and was met with a nod, by the tattoo artist, directing her to seat in the chair in front of him. She did as she was told and asked for a paper and a pen so she could draw the tattoo she wanted for the artist to see.
The artist smiled when he saw the drawing. “It’s nice”, he told her. “Looks more meaningful than your friend’s.” Jennie nodded at him before leaning back and closing her eyes, wishing she’d drank more before getting in the chair.
It was almost half an hour later when the tattoo artist announced he was done. Jennie looked down at her new tattoo and smiled when she saw it. It was perfect. She thanked him and after paying him, made her way out. Jin was waiting eagerly to see it. “I want to see what you got.” He told her. Jennie undid the bandage and showed him her new tattoo proudly.
Jin looked at it confused. “I don’t get it. Why a firefly?” Jennie looked down at the intricate design that now adorned her chest, right above her heart. It was that of a small firefly with one word written below it. “Forever.” She smiled fondly as memories of the girl who had once called her that ran through her mind. “It’s a reminder. Of someone I once knew.”
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Jennie was 23 years old when she graduated from college…
Jennie was pacing nervously outside the gymnasium, repeating her speech under her breath for the hundredth time while Jisoo was sitting on the floor watching her friend with clear amusement on her face. She finally stood up after watching Jennie finish only to start it once again. She stood in her way, grabbing her by the shoulders and stopping her pacing. “Jen, breathe. You got this. You’ve practiced hundreds of times; you’re going to be great.” She told her. Jennie took a big breath, trying to calm her nerves. “Really?”, she asked. “Of course. I’ve heard you practice so many times even I could go up there and give it”, she joked.
“Look, you’ve worked hard for this. Nobody deserves it more than you. Now I’m going to go find my seat before the ceremony starts.” She pulled her into a quick hug before making her way into the gym.
Jennie starred at the door she was supposed to walk through in a few moments, trying to calm her racing heart. She knew Jisoo was right. She had worked her ass off to get there, going from being about to be kicked out of college to graduating top of her class. It had meant hours of extra studying and dozens of extra credit assignments to catch up on all that she had missed during the first semester but she had eventually gotten there.
One thing she knew for certain was that she owed it all to her friends. If they hadn’t come into her life when they did, she didn’t know where she’d be right now but it certainly wouldn’t be here, about to give a speech at their graduation.
“And now, one of our own her to give the closing speech, Jennie Kim”. Jennie knew that was her cue and took one last deep breath before making her way into the gym, climbing the stairs that led to the stage amidst the clapping. She walked over to the podium before finally turning to face her fellow graduates. Familiar faces looked back at her. The sight of her mother smiling proudly back at her from the crowd eased her nerves.
“Fellow graduates. We did it. After years of hard work, we’re finally here. We leave this place different people than who we were when we first arrived. Wiser, older, ready to pursue our dreams out in the real world. But most of all, we leave changed by the people who have entered our lives since we arrived. We leave with friendships that will last for the rest of our lives. We leave with cherished memories that we will never forget. There is a universal truth that we all must face that says that everything comes to an end. And so, it is now time for us to say goodbye. But remember that this is not really goodbye. As long as we hold on to these memories and to these friendships, it will never truly be goodbye. So, let’s not say goodbye. Let’s say, see you later. Thank you.”
Silence followed her speech which was quickly shattered by the thundering applause that followed. And amidst the cheering crowd, Jennie could have sworn she heard a faint ghost of a whisper in her ear. “You did it firefly. You did it”