Invisible

Two weeks had passed, and Lisa and Jennie had grown noticeably closer. Their friendship was evident to everyone so much so that their clinginess in public made other students envious, especially Hanbin. Though he was still courting Jennie, she seemed to have little interest, as Lisa was always by her side. Hanbin could sense something off but chose to ignore it.

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Lisa

“Lisa, we’re still getting ice cream after class, right?” Jennie asked with a bright smile.

I nodded, and her smile widened even more.

"Hey, lovebirds, can you tone it down? Our eyes have been suffering for two weeks now." Irene commented with a teasing smirk.

I quickly lowered my head, feeling my cheeks heat up. Damn it. Why do I always blush so easily?

Jennie’s friends had also become close with my squad, which was great news for Seulgi and Jisoo, who both had crushes on them. Meanwhile, I was making my own moves, just as my squad had advised me.

We were in the cafeteria, peacefully eating lunch, when an unwelcome presence disturbed us.

“Hi, Jennie. I was wondering if you’d like to grab something to eat after class?” Hanbin asked, his hopeful gaze fixed on her.

Tsk. Jennie already has plans with me.

“I’m sorry, Hanbin, but I already have something scheduled.” Jennie replied casually, her tone polite but firm.

I couldn’t help but smirk at her response.

“But I know a great place—”

Hanbin didn’t even get the chance to finish because Jisoo interrupted him.

“The group clearly doesn’t want your presence here.” she muttered just loud enough for Hanbin to hear.

Hanbin’s expression darkened.

“Aww, that hurt.” Jisoo suddenly exclaimed, rubbing her arm. Someone must have pinched her under the table.

Hanbin had no choice but to walk away and return to his group.

“That was rude, Jisoo.” Rosé said, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, baby, but that did hurt. Damn.” Jisoo pouted.

Wait. Did I hear that right?

Jisoo just called Rosé baby?!

“That’s for being rude.” Rosé scolded before flicking Jisoo’s forehead.

Jisoo pouted even more. I swear, I wasn’t used to seeing this side of her.

“And this is for cussing.” Rosé added. Then, out of nowhere, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on Jisoo’s forehead.

The whole table fell silent.

What. The. Hell.

She could’ve just kissed her on the lips while she was at it. Kidding.

“I thought our eyes would finally get some rest from the lovebirds. Didn’t know our ears would have to suffer too.” Irene commented, ruining the moment.

“Shut up. Seulgi, can you shut Irene’s mouth?” Rosé shot back.

Damn. What a smooth move.

Irene immediately fell silent, her cheeks turning red.

“Wait, did we hear that right? You called Rosé baby?” I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity.

“Don’t mind it, Lisa-yah. She probably said that by accident, right, Jisoo-yah?” Rosé laughed nervously.

“Y-yeah, right.” Jisoo muttered, looking away.

“This is unfair. I’m the only one without a partner here.” Bambam whined, pouting.

We all laughed and shook our heads.

“Alright, enough of this. Let’s just eat.” Mina said, bringing the conversation to an end.

After Class, Jennie’s excitement was written all over her face.

As we left the school, the squad along with Irene and Rosé stayed behind at our usual spot. The ice cream parlor was nearby, just a four-minute walk.

As usual, Jennie clung to my arm. Other students watched us as we walked, but I didn’t care anymore.

Why does Jennie still let Hanbin court her? I thought. She said she doesn’t have romantic feelings for him…

I quickly shook the thought away. Lisa, don’t ruin the moment.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the ice cream parlor. I held the door open for Jennie.

“Go find a seat. I’ll order.” I told her.

Jennie nodded and walked towards an empty table near the door.

I approached the counter and ordered, “One bucket of milk ice cream and one chocolate flavor, please.”

The cashier, a girl around our age, nodded but started flirting with me with her eyes.

Damn. Can she hurry up?

I placed the payment on the counter. Just as she was about to hand me the ice cream, someone snatched it away from her.

"I don’t think eye-flirting with customers is part of your job." Jennie said coldly. "And you’re too slow. Maybe you should find another job instead. What do you think?"

I widened my eyes. Oh, shit.

“Jennie” I whispered, trying to warn her.

“What? I don’t think I said anything wrong.” she said, crossing her arms.

I sighed, turning back to the cashier. “I’m sorry about that.” I apologized before dragging Jennie to our seats.

“Why did you apologize to her? You didn’t do anything wrong.” she huffed.

“What you said was rude, Jennie.”

“Well, she was staring at you. Didn’t you notice? Or did you like that? Huh? Did you enjoy it? And why are you calling me Jennie?” she fired back.

I facepalmed. This girl, seriously.

“What are you even saying? Of course not, Nini.” I reassured her.

“You better not have, or else I’ll skin you alive.” she muttered, glaring at me.

I gulped. She’s not serious… right?

Lisa, of course, she’s not serious. But still… shit, I’m sweating.

“Let’s just eat.” Jennie said, finally dropping the subject.

I nodded, relieved. That was close.

As we ate, our conversation shifted to random topics until Jennie suddenly brought up something unexpected.

“Lili, did you know that our school is owned by the King and Queen of Thailand?” she asked.

My grip on the spoon tightened.

“Y-yeah.” I replied, trying to sound casual.

“They say the King and Queen only visited once, and it never happened again. Do you think they’ll ever visit the school?” she continued.

I forced a chuckle. “I don’t think so. They’re royalty. I’m sure they have a hectic schedule.”

Jennie nodded. “You have a point.”

I quickly drank my water, feeling uneasy. I didn’t like this topic at all.

“We should go, Nini. It’s getting dark.” I said, changing the subject.

Jennie checked her phone. “You’re right.”

She texted her driver, and within minutes, the car arrived. She offered me a ride home, but I declined.

“Our house is just a few blocks away. I’ll be fine.” I reassured her.

Jennie, being herself, was persistent. But luckily, I managed to convince her. I texted Mina to pick me up instead, and she immediately agreed.