After The Fall

Chapter Twelve ❤️

The baby asks, her small, adorable eyes are skimming Lisas's. The surgeon shakes her head and immediately offers a soft smile.

"No" she speaks, tiny fingers playing with her lips as her voice echoes. "I'm just happy you know"

"Happy?"

The baby repeats after the surgeon. "I'm happy too" she grins and Lisa nods, kissing the side of her face before hugging her closely to her chest, hoping it will lessen the guilt she has somewhere in her chest.

A guilt that will never wash away, no matter what.

"Do you want to walk?" Lisa asks, pointing at a school  of small fishes that are swimming around carelessly and the baby nods. The surgeon bends down, kissing her baby once again before letting her hand go.

"You let go?"

Ji-Ae asks, referring to their hands and Lisa nods, hands retreat into the safety of her own jacket. "I'll be watching you from here, little love" she says and the baby looks into her eyes, frowning before looking away at the direction of fishes that are swimming around in the tank. "But you will look at me? You will stay close to me?"

She asks again and Lisa nods. "Yes, I'll be here watching you. Don't worry"

"Okay" the baby takes a sharp breath. "Then I go"

"I always two steps behind, little love" Lisa reminds her baby daughter and the kid grins before taking her first step away from her mama.

With Roseanne, the idol always makes sure she has her youngest daughter against her chest. None of them can have the same thing taken away from them again. Not this time anyway.

Lisa breathes in, eyes on the back of her daughter's head as the kid half walks half jogs. From her peripheral vision, she notices the troubled look on Lili's face which is very unusual to begin with.

"You alright, Lilibear?" she breaks the silence that exists between them.

The teen blinks her eyes twice before tilting her head to gaze at her mama. Her feet are planted firm to the floor that she makes no attempt to move them away.

"I'm alright" a smile which Lisa assumes as fake lights up her face, making her look exactly the same like she has always looked like.

But the only difference would be how her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes the way it normally does whenever she's reflecting whatever that her heart feels.

"But you don't seem alright"

Lisa comments. "Is there anything that you want to share with me?" the head surgeon offers. She clears her throat before running her hand through her short, dark hair.

"I mean, I'm not as good as mommy in solving anything but I promise if you tell me, I'll never let you go through it alone"

Lisa says again, trying to convince her daughter to spill the tea but the teen has always been so professionally guarded with her emotion that she totally and politely declines such attempt to make her reveals whatever that's playing on her mind.

"I'm alright"

She lies and Lisa knows that. But she wouldn't want to pressure the teen into speaking about something she is reluctant to tell. So, the head surgeon nods and forces a smile.

"Well, I'm good with that. But, just in case you need someone to talk" Lisa says, eyes back on her youngest daughter who seems to stop by a corner of the tunnel where the surgeon can clearly see she's drooling over a big fat fish that's swimming lazily, "You are free to tell me, alright?"

"Sure" Lili nods. "I'll tell you"

She adds and Lisa clears her throat, totally not having anything else to speak with her eldest, more reserved daughter than Chaeyoung that she raises.

The girl loves whatever that Lisa loves. They watch sports together and always have something to say or comment about the techniques and how they'll be doing it differently.

But Lili?

She talks eloquently in fashion, favoring maths and science over some stupid Netflix series  that's been trending online and speaks fluently in top notch designer brands  that only people like her will understand.

Like her Miu Miu black satin scrunchie that she wears everywhere around her wrist compared to the blue by Fendi that she adores but doesn't really love wear it on regular basis.

Lisa would never understand her, that's for sure. But at least, the surgeon is willing to try. And sometimes, that's more than enough.

❤️❤️❤️

"I'm going to buy this!"

Ji-Ae exclaims cutely as she grabs a shark plushie from a pile of them in the merchandise shop. Lisa walks behind her with a dork smile, a basket full of plushies in different sizes and colours can be seen around her strong arm.

"Ji-Ae"

Lili sighs. She steals a glance over her royally silver Bvlgari watch that wraps perfectly around her wrist. "I think we have shopped enough for today"

She points at the overflowing ocean characters plushies in the small basket. But the baby shakes her head. "But this one is for mommy!"

She whines, looking interchangeably from her mama to her big sister again. "Because I promised her I'd get her something! So that she won't feel  left out!" the baby adds cutely and Lisa just giggles as she nods her head. "Fine, little love"

She kneels down to meet her baby's height before leaning in to boop their noses together. "You can have that one too"

Lisa states which makes the kid squeals in excitement before sticking her tongue out at Lili. "Ha! How you like that?"

She asks teasingly and Lili just shakes her head. "Are you getting something?" Lisa asks but the teen just shakes her head. "No, thanks. But I just wanna go home"

"Lili is no fun"

The kid says as her mama follows after her.

"Well, to think about it, I do think she's tired. How about we pay for these and go eat something now before I send you back to mommy?"

"Then you're gonna stay for the night"

The kid says, grinning. "Because I still miss you and I don't want to let you out of my sight yet"

"Oh, being thoughtful, aren't you?"

Lisa teases before nodding. "Well, I can't promise but let's see how things going, yeah?"

❤️❤️❤️