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Were You Happy?

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Lisa's loud exhale came echoing the four secluded walls of the old warehouse, her back hitting a giant sack of donated clothes. "God, I'm spent! And not in a good way, if you know what I mean."

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes.

"Shut it. There's still people here that might hear you." She continued to scan the checklist in her hand as she counted the tall stack of boxes in front of her.

They were currently working at the food and clothing drive Kai asked them to help at a day after they flew back to New York, packing up collected donations that will be sent out to several poor communities of Manhattan the next day. Apparently, the Kim's own charitable companies, too, which was started generally by Kai's (and Jisoo's) great grandmother, alongside the very first established Kim Oils from more than half a hundred years ago.

Meanwhile, Lisa just waved the blonde off, grabbing a sealed bottle of water next to her and taking a huge gulp.

"Meh. The remaining volunteers are leaving, anyway."

"Hey, guys." A voice suddenly interrupted them. They both turned around, where they were instantly met by the sight of a grinning Kai walking up towards them. "How's it looking in here?"

"Pretty good." Lisa stood up, welcoming the boy. "I just finished stacking the last set of boxes up while Rosie here is doing inventory."

Kai nodded up and down, reaching for Chaeyoung's waist and giving her a short hug, in which the blonde only returned with a sweet smile.

"Hey, thank you so much for doing this, by the way. I didn't expect some of the volunteers to back out at the last minute. I didn't want to postpone this drive, either, just because we're a little short of staff." He gave them both a grateful smile. "Really, you guys are just amazing."

Lisa chuckles lightly in return, hand hitting her best friend's back playfully. "Don't sweat it, Jongin. All of this is amazing."

"Yeah. Lisa even almost cried because she says it warms her heart to see all these volunteers working together. Something about, what is it, Lis? There's always good in the world or something like that?" Chaeyoung teases, which effectively earned a snort from the brown-haired boy, and an eyeroll from the Thai.

"Alright, alright. I'm a sap, whatever." Lisa glares at the smirking blonde. "Come on and hurry up in there so we can go. I'm starving."

"Actually, we still have a few boxes that needs to be taped-up right over there," Chaeyoung pointed at a specific direction, while Lisa just groaned tiredly, making the blonde roll her eyes. "It's just a few more, Lisa. And it's not like you have anything better to do on a Saturday night. You have no one."

"Hey!" The Thai sounded offended, effectively causing the other two to laugh. "For your information, I have a date tonight."

"Ooh..." Kai chuckles. Chaeyoung just scoffed. "Now, now, don't think I'll be missing out on my best friend's dating life." Lisa tried not to visibly flinch at that. (Thank god, only Chaeyoung noticed it.) "Who's the lucky girl, Manoban?"

Lisa, fortunately, was able to snap out of her thoughts just in time to come up with a decent response. "No one. Just someone I met, uhm, yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Chaeyoung seemed at shock. "Oh my god, Lisa—"

"Damn! She brought a chick home from Paris!" Kai, on the other hand, is beyond thrilled for his best friend. "Go, Lisa!"

Chaeyoung groaned, while the other two continued laughing their hearts out and hi-fiving each other.

"Great. Now, Lisa's gonna be wandering the city with this Parisian date of hers while I'm stuck in here doing all the remaining work."

Not that Chaeyoung hates what she's doing. She actually likes it, being able to take part of such beautiful act of kindness without expecting anything in return. She's never felt more enthusiastic—

But there's no freaking way she's carrying all these heavy boxes on her own!

"Oh, don't worry, Ro. You won't be doing all that on your own." Kai chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Chaeyoung's shoulder comfortingly.

The blonde sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god. I knew you were gonna help me—"

"Nope. I have a date too." Chaeyoung glared at him, causing the boy to raise his hands up playfully. "What? Happy wife, happy life. We wouldn't want Jennie dumping my ass now, would we?" (Lisa didn't mean to clear her throat out loud, but she had to. A lump was stuck in it. Thank god, Kai didn't seem to notice.) "But don't worry. I actually drove up here with Chu and she's out there supervising the outgoing packages. I'm sure she'd love to help you out."

Now it's Chaeyoung's turn to clear her thro— No, no. It's Chaeyoung's turn to almost cough her fucking lungs out.

"I-I'm sorry, what now?"

Kai chuckles at the way the blonde stuttered.

"Chu and I were in the other location at the Upper East Side earlier, but we packed up early. She said she'll be staying for here for the next few hours to finish everything up herself." Kai shook his head amusedly. "She's always insisted it like that, even in the past few years. She's actually the one who encouraged me to take over this org with her when we were in college."

Lisa aww-ed in adoration, while Chaeyoung felt like her heart was to jump out of her chest and right accross the room where Jisoo stood—

Where Kim Jisoo fucking stood!

"Hey, everything good?" The brunette rasps out which is the only reason why Chaeyoung blinked her thoughts away. Snap out of it! "Why the hell are you guys still in here? It's late."

Chaeyoung wanted to be swallowed by the ground. She hated so much how red she turned all of a sudden, and both Kai and Lisa are giving her this annoying, teasing grin.

I swear to god, I could kill them!

"Oh, don't worry, man. We were just on our way. Right, Kai?" Lisa elbowed him on the arm.

"Right, of course, we were." The boy nods eagerly. "But just us two, because Rosie is gonna stay, right, Lisa?"

"Right, of course. Rosie is gonna stay." It was Lisa's turn to nod up and down, and Jisoo had to raise an eyebrow confusedly. "She's gonna stay here with Chu! Just the two of them, alone. Right, Kai?"

"Right—"

"Alright, that's enough of you two." Jisoo cuts them off, rolling her eyes as she let out a chuckle. "Get outta here."

It didn't take a matter of seconds before the two disappeared, leaving just Chaeyoung inside the warehouse frozen next to a stack of boxes, with Jisoo shutting the door behind them.

(Not completely, though. She left it just a little bit agape.)

Chaeyoung had to clear her throat. "Uhm," Great. Turns out she didn't even have anything to say.

Now Jisoo was left staring at her expectantly. When she sensed that the blonde was lost for words, she decided to give her a break, sending Chaeyoung a small smile. "Hey."

"Hi," It's all Chaeyoung can come up with. Just fucking kill me already!

Jisoo chuckled— shortly, but it didn't fail to send Chaeyoung's heart beating out of control, anyway.

"So," It turns out Chaeyoung isn't the only one who's lost for words. "Let's get these bad boys taped-up, yeah?"

What the hell was that? Jisoo internally winced at the awkwardness of the atmosphere.

Chaeyoung just nodded, smiling shyly at the brunette before sitting back down and working on her station.

It was a little quiet at first, and in all honesty, Chaeyoung preferred that than the next words that were about to roll off Jisoo's tongue.

"Are you okay with, uhm, with this?" She barely breathes out, eyes wide as she met gazes with the blonde. "I just mean, right now, staying late, working on these donations. You don't have to, you know? If you're tired— or uncomfortable. I mean, I can manage—"

"Chu," Jisoo was forcefully cut off by Chaeyoung's voice, a fond smile clearly heard in the tone. She looked up, only to be met with a sight of a smiling Chaeyoung looking right back at her. "I'm okay."

Jisoo blinked, several times, before nodding her head up and down.

"Right. Yeah," She cleared her throat. "Okay. I just thought—"

"I'd be uncomfortable?"

A nod from Jisoo.

"To be honest, I am. A little." Chaeyoung sighs. "But not so much to the point that I couldn't breathe the same air as you." She gulps hard, because what if Jisoo couldn't? "A-are you?"

That took such courage, especially for the Chaeyoung  in the duo, to ask.

Of course she's uncomfortable! She's stuck in there with you!

You ruined her life and now she's in there talking to you!

That inner monologue didn't ease Chaeyoung a bit.

"Just, uhh, the same as you." Jisoo nodded up and down, as if convincing herself, too. And then she chuckles, head shaking this time. "God, this isn't working at all, is it?"

Nope. Not at all. "Not at all. God, this is awful." Chaeyoung finds herself chuckling unsurely, as well.

"Look, if trying not to go there doesn't work for us, can we at least, go easy on pulling the band-aid off?" Jisoo asks, and Chaeyoung felt her throat going a little dry. "Maybe that will work. Don't you think so, Rosie?"

Rosie. She felt ridiculous thinking about it, but why does it hurt a little bit— Jisoo calling her Rosie?

Pull yourself together! "Well," Chaeyoung sighs, not really knowing what to say. Whatever. What the hell. "Maybe. Sure."

She saw Jisoo nod lightly, sending her the same small, painfully guarded smile. "The past six months, how'd you spend it, Rosie?"

She should've asked the question first.

Chaeyoung bit her lip, gaze averting. What the hell does she say to that? "I, uhm..."

"Okay, maybe that's nothing short of specific." Jisoo chuckles. She shook her head as she went back to taping up a few boxes on her own. "Let me rephrase that; How are you? I mean, how was it for you, the past six months?"

Still, Chaeyoung didn't know what to say.

(Or maybe she does.) Painful. Everything's in one word, really.

God awfully painful, that is. But she decided to go with, "Complicated," instead. She sighed, still biting on her lower lip. "I mean, it's hardly easy, after how things between us were left off."

How I said stupid things to you that I didn't mean and caused you to run away from me.

Or caused you to leave me. And want literally nothing to do with me.

How I fucked up, so bad, that it cost me... you.

All of you, entirely.

But Jisoo's chuckle saved her from the thought of actually saying that out loud. And interestingly enough, the brunette's words were the last thing Chaeyoung ever expected to hear.

"I can't do this. I'm being unfair." She starts off, and Chaeyoung had to look up at her. Jisoo was smiling, mostly apologetically. Why? "Cards on the table, I knew how you spent your past six months, Rosie."

Now Chaeyoung is confused. Utterly. "What do you mean?"

Jisoo sighed, shaking her head, somewhat feeling absurd.

"I stooped way lower than I did in Paris the other day," Still with the apologetic grin, Jisoo didn't dare to break eye contact with the blonde when she said, "I had you followed. My men, I asked them to follow you. To watch you, what you were doing, how you were doing. If you're doing good on your own, if you're happy that I'm gone." I'm not. Chaeyoung most certainly is not, (and Jisoo knew that all too well.) "Or if you were just as miserable as I was."

I am.

I still fucking am.

However, Jisoo didn't get a response. So she sent Chaeyoung another apologetic grin before turning her attention back to the box in her hands. "For that, I apologize. I took advantage of my money and power and invaded your privacy and I swear, I didn't mean to. I'm only human, too, after all."

In a heartbeat, Chaeyoung accepts it. (She thought she already had Jisoo forgiven even before she came clean, anyway.)

"It's okay, Chu." She sent Jisoo a genuine smile when the brunette glanced her way again. "I understand. I mean, I probably would've done the same thing, if only I had that kind of money and a tiny clue of where you possibly were."

Jisoo chuckled, "Yeah, that too. I made sure you didn't get any. Had to hurt the budget a little, though."

Chaeyoung laughs softly, too. Although, she couldn't believe they're having this conversation right now.

Hell, she couldn't even believe Jisoo is actually talking to her, about this, let alone keep it as light as it can be.

(Chaeyoung preferred this.)

(She silently hoped this doesn't end here.)

"But were you happy? To know that I wasn't?" Chaeyoung's response came in late, but strong. Jisoo had to pause what she was doing.

A sigh escaped her lips, and Chaeyoung feared the anticipation.

(She didn't have to, because) Jisoo looked up at her, staring straight into her eyes, open and honest, walls temporarily broken down.

"I wish."

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