Chapter 9 - Too Dense

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Aside from her grandfather, parents, and brother, Jennie’s family also included that seemingly virtuous sister-in-law of hers. In Jennie’s past life, she never paid attention to her sister-in-law because that woman wasn’t close nor intimate with Jennie’s older brother.

It seemed that when he married Lee Ye-jin, he had been thinking along the same lines as Jennie; it was about time, and there was that odd family rule to consider. Therefore, he’d simply found himself a docile wife with a suitable family background.

After the marriage, the husband-and-wife pair didn’t interact much. They later moved out of the manor, further reducing Jennie’s chances of seeing that woman.

Only, who would’ve expected that woman to be another one of the Lee family’s chess pieces? The Lee family wanted to infiltrate and then consume the Kim family—how wishful!

Lee Ye-jin, Lee Sun-mi, and the entire Lee family… Jennie kept this debt firmly in her heart.

In the evening, most of the Kim family members returned. Grandpa Kim, Father Kim, and Mother Kim filed in. Nothing could be done about Brother Kim since he was busy abroad. As for Lee Ye-jin, her whereabouts were a mystery.

However, Jennie wasn’t worried as she peacefully ate dinner with her grandpa and parents.

Grandpa Kim was a very lively elder, and he was also the fondest of Jennie. While they were eating, he couldn’t help but ask, “Nini, where’s Lisa? She didn’t come back with you?”

“We’ll come together next time.” Today, she came back on impulse, so she forgot to bring Lisa along.

Her response surprised Grandpa Kim. Every other time he asked a question like this, he would either receive a rejection or just plain silence. Jennie’s response this time made Grandpa Kim’s eyes shine.

Cheerfully, he said, “Then I’ll wait for the two of you to come back and see Grandpa. Lisa is a pretty good child.”

No one in the Kim family was stupid. They were aware of how the relationship was between Jennie and Lisa. Despite their traditional family rules, the Kim family was actually a very open-minded family.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have allowed Jennie to marry Lisa, who had been a newcomer at the time of their marriage. Not to mention, she was an orphan.

Father Kim and Mother Kim were both listening from the sidelines, and their eyes also began to shine with anticipation.

Mother Kim said, “That’s right, bring Lalisa here and have her sign a few autographs for me. The little rascals in my company adore her. Oh, yes, and I heard that she professed to you today on her official webpage? Hehe, if you ask me, I’d say that it’s time for the two of you to disclose your relationship already. That way, people will stop coming to me asking if you’re married yet. They all want to introduce you to a boyfriend.”

Father Kim chimed in, “Yeah, when do you plan on disclosing it and letting our friends celebrate a bit?”

Very few people knew about the marriage between Jennie and Lisa. Lee Ye-jin was the only reason why the Lee family knew about it.

“Not now. I’m a bit busy right now,” Jennie responded with uncertainty. She disliked formalization. She and Lisa were married, so they were a couple. To her, it was as simple as that. There was no need to make a great show out of it.

As for whether or not their relationship should be publicized, Jennie had never thought of it before. However, she switched over to focus instead on the other piece of “news” she’d heard from her mother just then.

Jennie’s reaction was a bit slow as she asked, “Lisa professed to me? When?”

Some people were just so slow that it gave others headaches. Jennie clearly knew about the matter, and yet she’d still somehow failed to make the connection. Her EQ level was most likely in the negative range.

But then, she thought about how she had felt when she first saw Lisa’s post. Could it be that she wrote the message for her? Was it really as her mother said?

Except… wasn’t this confession a bit too strange? It wasn’t formal at all. She didn’t even mention a name, so how was anyone supposed to know who she was professing to? Jennie felt a bit miffed by that train of thought.

She said, “Mom, you’re probably misunderstanding. This is just a way to gain publicity, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“Publicity? Does it seem like the Film Empress needs to gain more publicity?” Mother Kim suddenly felt like rolling her eyes. Was it her misunderstanding, or was it her daughter being too dense?

“Mhm!” Jennie nodded seriously and then lowered her head to focus on eating, indicating that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. The seniors all looked at her helplessly as they stifled their laughs.

…..

The next day, the news of Film Empress Lisa’s public confession dominated the headlines of every major media outlet. The blur of fervent discussion and guesses that ensued were capable of sending just about anyone’s mind reeling.

When Jennie arrived at the company, she heard the heated debates between her employees.

“Who do you think Lisa Manoban’s real love is? Could it be that little actress, Park Min-young? I think they’re pretty suitable for each other. Recently, weren’t they involved in some rumors together?” One of the company’s female artists said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about Park Min-young. The rumors were only started to give publicity for the film they were starring in. Min-young is so much older than Lisa, so why would she like her? And remember, Lisa is the Film Empress now,” another artist retorted.

“That’s not necessarily true. In the recent years, dating someone who is older or younger than you is really popular. Age isn’t a problem.”

“Even if age isn’t a problem, Empress Lisa still wouldn’t like her. I’m in the same unit as her, so I know what the truth is like. Empress Lisa never paid her any attention on set …”

The rest, Jennie didn’t hear because she walked straight into the elevator and rode it up to her office.

“From now, pay attention to the rumors about Lisa. Don’t let them spread, even if they’re just for publicity.” She instructed Jisoo, cold-faced as she did.

“Okay, I understand.” Jisoo wrote her instructions down on a notepad and added a star to emphasize its importance. Then, she asked hesitantly, “What about the rumors going on right now?”

Lisa’s official webpage confession couldn’t really be considered a rumor or a publicity act, and so far, the woman in question wasn’t doing anything about it. As Lisa’s newly-appointed agent, Jisoo couldn’t help but feel worried.

“Do what Lisa said. If you encounter a problem that you can’t resolve, come find me.” Jennie wasn’t very clear about Lisa’s intentions, but that didn’t sway her decision to support her. She believed that the woman was very capable and would be fine without her interference.

“I understand,” Jisoo added another star for importance to the image of Lisa in her mind, boosting Lisa to the same importance rank as a family member.

Meanwhile, Lisa had just arrived at the office. She’d spent the entire night before going over the two scripts, and she liked both of them a lot.

The thought that they were personally selected for her by Jennie made her even happier, and she was eager to go and see her.

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