• J I S O O ' S  P. O. V •

It's been a week since we visited the library, but Lisa particularly decided to borrow that book from the library out of curiosity and we haven't returned there since then, because it's also been days since she's been acting really weird, every time we talk about the book, she would be spacing out or be silent the whole time even though she was the one who insisted to borrow it. I'm giving her one last chance, if she spaces out again, I'm going to ask her regarding this matter. It's currently break time so it would be perfect to test her now.

After we picked the food that we wanted to eat from today's menu, we all carried our trays toward our usual table in the middle of the bustling cafeteria. "So guys about the book." I started nonchalantly after we sat down, while eyeing Lisa secretly.

And as if to further add to my confusion, she abruptly stopped eating her food and wore a vague expression meanwhile Chaeyoung looked up at me and spoke, "What about it unnie?" She said in complete curiosity.

"What do we do with it now?" I asked, and just as I expected, Lisa was staring into nothingness once again, it's been happening frequently since we borrowed the book and it's really starting to concern both me and Chaeyoung. I sneaked a glance at our red-haired friend, who nodded at my direction as if to give me support, causing me to shift my attention back to Lisa.

It's now or never, I'm going to ask her about her behavior as concern and curiosity is already eating me up.

"Lis—"

But apparently, the school bell had different plans, it rung, indicating that we had to go to our next classes. The obnoxious sound that rung all throughout the whole university managed to bring Lisa back to reality.

I sighed.

"Lisa, Chae, let's talk later okay?" The two of them looked at me briefly before nodding. I must have sounded a tad bit serious as a hint of confusion can be seen on Lisa's face, while Chaeyoung kept her's neutral as she already knew what I was going to talk about. Soon, the three of us were going to our separate classes as it was already noon.

° ° °

Another excruciating hour had passed before our classes finally ended. I planned to go to the garden as it was our meeting place every after class if we wanted to linger around longer in the university, and we agreed that we were still going to talk.

But as I passed the bathroom on my way there, I suddenly heard faint sobs coming from the inside. I stopped at my tracks, curiosity starting to fill my mind of who it could be. Other people would have probably shrugged it off, thinking it wasn't their business and just walk away but well me being me, I wanted to try and give my help. I personally know how much comfort you can bring to a troubled person when you show them concern and compassion.

I know it's not always the case, but it won't hurt to try right?

Despite my thoughts I still mentally face palmed myself because of the fact that I always let this aspect of me win, because the next thing I know, I was opening the door of the girl's bathroom as slowly as possible, and when I saw that I already have enough space to peek through, a very shocking scene greeted me.

"What are you doing here?"

° ° °

"Unnie, what took you so long?" Chaeyoung asked me as soon as I got to clumsily take a seat at our usual place. It was a good thing that it was already noon, so the ambiance in the open garden was cool and calming that I was able to even out my ragged breaths. It wasn't that sunny anymore either so we weren't exactly the only ones present here, in fact there are a handful of students lounging around too.

"You won't believe what happened earlier." I didn't mean to ignore her as I breathlessly spoke instead, a result of me practically running here the second I realized that I was already late for our meetup, and at the same time, I was also still bewildered that I talked to the person I least expected to have a normal conversation with.

Chaeyoung didn't seem to be bothered though, as both she and Lisa looked at me in curiosity. "Why what happened?"

I took a few more deep breaths to stop myself from panting, before facing them and quietly narrating the events that occurred just a few minutes prior.

"What are you doing here?" Jennie asked, vigorously wiping her stray tears.

Now this was a total shocker. It was not an everyday occurrence that you get to see The Kim Jennie, the arrogant, tough, always smirking Kim Jennie, crying.

I almost wanted to say that this was a public bathroom and anybody can enter here but I bit my tongue back, not wanting to start an argument when she was literally breaking down in front of me.

I was just stupidly standing there with my mouth slightly open. "Hey!" She yelled, fortunately dragging me back to reality.

"If you're going to be staring at me like a complete idiot just leave." She sassed, but I just ignored her comment and crouched down to her level. My actions caused her to look at me in annoyance, but as I looked closer I could see a hint of confusion in those eyes too.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a careful voice, genuinely worried.

I'm not stupid, I know that she can be a total pain in the ass sometimes, but I don't recall her doing anything seriously out of the line, a few jabs and snarky comments here and there, but not a single thing that was enough for us to be genuinely hurt and for us to genuinely hate her.

And besides, I'd do everything I can to help anybody who's wearing the same pained and tired look she has on now, because I recognize that exact same look, wore it a lot back when I was younger.

I slapped myself internally, this wasn't about me right now.

After I successfully pulled myself out of my own thoughts, I averted my attention back to Jennie, only to find her looking at me with a weirded out expression. She was probably wondering why I was helping her when all she did in front of me and my friends for the past few months was bitch.

"Like it's any of your business." She quickly put on a tough facade again, her voice was low but it was enough for me to hear. Then again, I ignored her sharp comments.

"We're not really in good terms, but I'm not like you, so you can tell me." There, that was my last attempt because she seriously looked like she was hesitant to share whatever was bugging her right now, and I'll respect that and leave when she denies me again.

"Stop being nosy, Kim. I told you it's none of your business!" Jennie raised her voice a little this time, making me flinch. She tried her best to glare at me, but the unshed tears sitting at the corner of her eyes tell me the opposite thing. But then again, even if that was the case I already said what I said, I'll respect her and give her the space she needs.

"Okay, I understand." I sighed in understanding before standing up, I dusted my hands in the process of approaching the door but when I was only a few centimeters away from the door knob, a panicked voice stopped me from continuing my actions.

"Wait!"

I turned around to face her. Jennie mimicked my past actions and stood up, she fiddled with her fingers as she leaned on the wall and by the way her brows were furrowed, it was obvious that she was currently having an internal battle with herself.

After a few seconds, she eventually spat out a silent 'whatever' before looking up.

"It's just. . .I'm tired." Jennie muttered weakly, a clear contrast to her attitude just a while ago. Her hands fell limp at her sides as she met my gaze this time.

My eyes softened, I've never seen Jennie be this vulnerable before. "I'm tired of meeting their expectations, I'm tired of acting tough, when in reality I'm nothing but this weak little girl." She sobbed, finally letting her tears fall.

And just like that, Kim Jennie let down her walls.

I think I get it, she didn't want to be looked down on, so she chose to be the one who looks down on others. She didn't want to make herself a target so she made herself untouchable, she wanted to cope and cover her weaknesses but I guess she just learned to do it in the wrong way.

I don't know how she became like this, nor do I know exactly what she was going through right now, but I still went for it anyways. I was hesitant at first but I still ultimately decided to approach her again and engulf her in a hug, it was a bit awkward but she needs it anyways, and to my surprise though, she actually returned it.

"It's okay, let it all out." I said in a soothing voice as I patted the expanse of her back.

"I won't go into details because you're still literally a stranger to me but. . .having the title I have here, it means you need to be unaffected by their words, having that title means that even though you're already hurt badly, you need to remain fearless and fight back, or at least that's what my dear old dad likes to say." Jennie continued, though I noticed the obvious change of her voice at the last part of her sentence. She chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "It's getting too much."

Her words slowly sinked in as we let go of the hug. Parent's pressure maybe?

I wasn't sure but I didn't know that there was a possibility of her being stuck in that kind of situation, and I also wasn't aware that she feels this way. A pang of guilt started to fill my body remembering all those hurtful words we always accidentally let out whenever we argue with her, I know that she kind of deserves it still, but the guilt was still there nonetheless.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that you felt this way." I told her while looking down in shame. Jennie scoffed, but unlike the previous occasions where it usually had malice in it, this time it didn't.

"No, I kind of deserve it." She said sheepishly as she wiped her tears.

'Kind of', I mused internally, but I'll take it because at least she's recognizing her faults, which just further cements my thought that maybe she wasn't that bad after all, and she just wanted to protect herself from this cruel world.

"You better not spread this around though, Kim." She glared at me pointedly with her puffy and red eyes, and weirdly enough I just laughed lightly in response. It was obviously a good thing, she was slowly reverting back to her usual self which probably meant she was already fine.

"You can count on it, Jennie."

Chaeyoung and Lisa's mouths were hung wide open by the time I finished telling them about what happened recently.

"Well I did not expect that." Chaeyoung said, feeling genuinely sad for the girl now that she got to hear more from her side.

"Me neither," Lisa added sullenly, "Even though she still started most of our fights, it still won't change the fact that I kind of feel guilty now."

"I promised her that I won't spread anything about our conversation, so this stays between us three only, okay?" I said in a stern voice, though I know that that goes without saying because Chaeyoung and Lisa are not the type of people to break promises.

"That's already automatic, unnie. I genuinely hope that she would feel a lot better and to keep your promise with Jennie, we'll stop talking about her now but on the other hand," Lisa turned to look at me with quirked brows, "What did you want to talk about earlier?"

This statement made me and Chaeyoung tense, we shared a brief look and as if it was déjà vu, she gave me a slight nod, indicating me to finally ask the question we've been itching to ask for days now.

"Oh, about that, Lis. Uh, how do I say this?" I scratched my cheek and thought about how I should word it for a second, "You see for the past few days, me and Chae noticed that you've been acting weird lately."

"Weird?" The frown on her face deepened, "In what way?"

I kept giving her face a good stare to figure out what she was thinking as I continued talking slowly, "I believe it's nothing bad, you just kind of act differently whenever we mention the book we borrowed from the library. . .you know. . .that kind of weird."

The way Lisa's face faltered didn't escape my sight, "W–What are you talking about unnie?" She suddenly chuckled nervously which was so out of her character. Seriously, what's going on with this girl?

Chaeyoung shot me a worried look, causing me to sigh. It wasn't in Lisa's nature to stress about things so simple for she was a very carefree girl, so seeing her getting nervous about a book, of all things was concerning.

"Everytime our conversation steers to that topic, you tend to act weird, you either space out or turn silent." I continued to point out.

Lisa stared at us silently for a few moments, the troubled look never leaving her face. Her hands slowly made it's way to her nape, she rubbed it for a few seconds before sighing and bringing them back on her lap, a seemingly obvious sign of defeat on her part.

"For the past few days I debated with myself if I should tell you this, but you cornered me here." She shrugged and sat straight.

Our full undivided attention was on her now.

"Do you guys remember that time when I said my parents would always tell me this one specific story before I always go to bed?" Me and Chaeyoung nodded, though we were a little unsure about why she was talking about that, we still let her continue, "Well I just find it weird that the book we borrowed recently has the exact identical story with the one my parents always told me about."

That revelation to say the least, shocked me and Chaeyoung as well.

"I thought my parents just made the story up, but upon reading the book we borrowed from the library, it made me question if that was really the case or not." Lisa continued.

Now this definitely explains why she would always have this shocked expression whenever she read the book, it seems like she's been thinking about this coincidence for the past few days.

"That's also exactly why I asked Seulgi unnie if I can borrow the book, to confirm my assumptions if it was the same story, and like I said to my surprise when I read it fully, it was." Lisa explained.

Chaeyoung's brows met, "Now that you say that, your behavior for the past few days isn't that surprising at all." She said while I nodded in agreement.

The three of us turned thoughtful for a second because of what Lisa said, but because of the silence that fell upon us, we couldn't help but accidentally overhear a few students talking a few feet away from us.

"Have you heard?" A female student asked her peer.

"About what?" Her friend questioned in confusion.

"About the sudden disappearance of our student librarian, the one who goes to another school. . .Kang Seulgi was it?"

Our ears perked at that, the previous topic we were talking about leaving our minds as quickly as it came. We all looked at each other for a millisecond before standing up, grabbing our things, and rushing towards the direction of the library to confirm whatever we just heard.

No words were needed to be said, our thoughts were obviously mutual by the way we ran through the halls like there was no tomorrow. It was a good thing that the school wasn't that crowded anymore, so we avoided bumping into anyone.

Why would Seulgi unnie even disappear all of a sudden?

Unlike other students, we three considered her as a genuine friend. She was older than us by only a year and more often than not, she'd listen attentively to our rants and give us some advice from time to time. She took care of us and we did the same to her too.

So to our horror when we finally arrived there, Seulgi unnie was indeed nowhere to be found, and instead we were greeted by an unfamiliar lady probably in her mid 30's arranging her desk which used to belong to Seulgi unnie on some days of the week. We were about to approach and call for her attention when a feminine voice suddenly called my name.

"Kim Jisoo!"

The three of us snapped our heads towards the direction of where the voice was coming from and unexpectedly, found a person we least expected to see as if that didn't already happen to me today.

"Jennie? What are you doing here?" I asked, 100% confused. I didn't miss seeing Chaeyoung taking a step back, and Jennie didn't seem to miss it too.

"Don't worry Park, I'm not here to eat you." Jennie said. I didn't know if she was joking or something, but the next thing that Jennie uttered left us speechless.

The sarcastic look disappeared from her face as it was replaced by a sheepish but also stoic one. Her eyes strayed at various places for a few seconds before they finally fixated back on us.

"I'm here to say thank you to your unnie," Jennie reluctantly looked at me. It was obvious that she wasn't used to doing this whole gratitude thing, "I didn't get to thank you earlier so I'm doing it now, so once again, thank you." She simply said before quickly walking away.

"This day is getting crazier and crazier!" I finally let out after a long minute of dumbfounded silence, causing Lisa and Chaeyoung to chuckle a bit.

But as if something hit me, I remembered why we were even here in the first place. I turned around to look back at the library's front desk, causing the younger two to do the same, but to our confusion the woman was no longer there.

I sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time today before looking down on the watch snuggly hugging my wrist.

"It's getting darker guys, let's just go back to the dorms now, we won't gain anything by staying here because it seems like the new librarian left while Jennie was—I still can't believe it—apologizing. We also still need to study, and let's just investigate the first thing tomorrow."

° ° °

Above from where the three girls were currently talking, a horned bird with feathers as grey as angry clouds just happened to be hovering on top of the academy's rooftop. When it saw the girls walking away at a good distance, it suddenly morphed into a male, human body in it's teenage years, wearing the very same uniform the girls currently have on.

"They're doing great, they're currently heading back to their dorm." The teenage boy said in a neutral voice, waiting for the other person to reply telepathically in his head.

"It's good to hear that, update me next time." said the person from the other side, or should we say. . .dimension.

"You don't have to worry about them, I'll be here to protect them in case anything happens." The mysterious boy said with absolute determination.

"It appears that I've trusted the right person, thank you Choi, get some rest."

° ° °

Awww poor Jendukie....But eyyy second chapter done! Am I even talking to someone?😂

Jennie being kind, The books possible relation to Lisa's parents, Seulgi's sudden disappearance, two mysterious characters being introduced wooww!!! To qoute Jisoo:"This day is getting crazier and crazier"😂

Anyways who do you think these two mysterious people could be, and who is this Choi? *smirks evilly* comment down below your thoughts. I'm very sorry if it's too boring buttt things are about to get interesting mwahahaha!!!

Anyways, once again please put your thoughts down below so that I can see your opinions and have a good day everyone!

Luvv y'all!!!

Author-nim outtt!!!

° ° °

Note from present me: It's really obvious that I was trying really hard, especially on my author's notes lmao

Edited as of 07/09/21