Irene's signature brow raise can mean many things but this exact one could only mean I should've taken the clips back when I had the chance.
"Pretty hair clips." She simply commented.
"I know right? Lisa gave them to me." The clueless celebrant answered cheerfully.
"Oh, is that so? How thoughtful." The coldness in her tone sent chills up my spine.
"Lisa spoils me a lot." Jennie flashed her gummy smile and linked her arm to mine.
"I wish our maknae was more like Lisa. All this one ever does is spoil our day." Wendy pointed at Yeri who playfully hit her unnie's arm and responded with a quip of her own.
I could only gulp and laugh awkwardly as Irene's glare burned through me.
All along I just sat there, too bothered to be sociable. Irene was deliberately ignoring me and I didn't know how to smooth things out. I tried to message her several times but she only checked her phone once and never responded.
It didn't help that Jennie subtly put her hand on my leg. She usually does things like this to put me at ease whenever she notices that I'm uncomfortable. Normally I'd appreciate these little gestures but this time it made me nervous; especially when I saw Irene's eyes follow Jennie's hand to where it disappeared to. It was inconspicuous but I caught it while I was stealing glances at her.
Irene scrunched up her nose and crossed her arms. At this point, she wasn't even trying to hide her disinterest in whatever the others were talking about. She just sat there withdrawn and plainly annoyed.
The whole situation made me ill at ease and so I slipped off to the bathroom to be alone and maybe think for a while. Why was Irene suddenly upset with me? I thought to myself as I stared at the mirror. Was she jealous? Of Jennie? She made it clear that she wanted us to be just friends and besides, this is how Jennie and I usually were with each other. Much like her and Seulgi. I hung my head low, gripping the sides of the sink hard in frustration.
"Did you tell Jennie where you got the hair clips you gave her?"
I must've been too preoccupied that I didn't sense anyone coming in. I slowly looked up to see Irene standing behind me. Her tone and expression was anything but sympathetic.
"Would it be ok if I offered Seulgi the things you gave me?" She asked grimly.
"Hyun, I didn't give those clips to Jennie. She took it from me and I couldn't..."
"Say no to her." She finished my sentence. "Ofcourse."
I opened my mouth to respond but then Jisoo suddenly peeked in.
"Hey, you two. Aren't you going to join us? We're about to sing Happy Birthday to Jennie."
Irene didn't need to be told twice. She turned around and walked out without a single word, passing a confused Jisoo who turned to me questioningly.
"Don't start." I mumbled, making my way out.
The whole atmosphere and mood of the club changed after Jennie said her thank yous and delivered her piece. Strobe and colored lights sporadically lit up the dark as the DJ started to play loud heart thumping beats. Even the mood of the crowd became electric. All were evidently hyped up and ready to feed off of each other's energy.
I was sitting with Seulgi at the bar, drinking mocktails and talking about cats when Irene approached.
"Let's dance." She told Seulgi, without so much as a glance at me. I could only look on as she pulled the younger brunette into the dance floor.