Midnight Angel [Jenlisa FF]

~'~'~ Chapter 10 ~'~'~

The foyer inside Mr. Kim's home was deathly silent. Near the entranceway, Jin, Jackson, and Lisa stood in an abbreviated huddle, unsure of what do to or what to say. They simply held their positions and waited for something to happen. Waited for Mr. Kim to respond. At the moment, he was only staring down at the picture, his face tense and pale. In front of him, Jisoo glared angrily, her body trembling.

Finally, Mr. Kim raised his eyes, glanced at the people who'd invaded his home, who threatened to destroy what was left of his family, before his eyes landed on Lisa. "You took this?" he asked tightly.

"Yes," Lisa said with a nod. There was no reason to deny it.

Removing his glasses, Mr. Kim pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd hoped he'd never have to deal with this, never have to tell the truth of what had happened that horrendous night four years prior. His life had already been torn to pieces. Now, what remained was hanging by a thin thread that was already frayed. The four people in front of him had the ability take away all that he had left.

"I'm waiting, Joo Won," Jisoo snapped. He looked up at her, opened his mouth to speak, but abruptly closed it again. "Don't you dare lie to me!" she demanded, yanking the picture from his hand. "I know she's not dead!"

"Jisoo," Jin stated softly, walking over and putting a soothing hand on her shoulder.

She shook off the gesture, shot narrowed eyes in his direction. "I'm not going to let him wiggle out of telling us what the hell's going on!"

"Okay," Jin agreed. He placed his hands back on her shoulders, turned her to face him. "He'll tell us, but why don't we give him a minute? We can go into the living room, sit down, and let him explain."

Jisoo took a deep breath, tried to calm some of her frustration. It didn't work. "Fine," she bit out and stomped to the room on her right.

Jin ran a hand through his hair, looked at Lisa and Jackson then back at Mr. Kim. "She's not going to leave until you give her answers, and frankly, she's got every right to know them. We all do. So, you might as well go sit down and start explaining."

Shoulders slumping minutely, Mr. Kim replaced his glasses and walked hesitantly into the room Jisoo had entered. Behind him, Jin, Jackson and Lisa followed, sharing unsure glances between them. Inside the room, Jisoo's pacing abruptly halted when she saw Mr. Kim.

"Answer me one question. One," she requested as calmly as possible. "Is Jennie alive."

"Yes," Joo Won responded dejectedly, not over the fact that his assumed dead daughter was really alive, but that he was going to have to reveal his deepest, darkest secret.

Hand clenched, Jisoo walked over to the couch, dropped onto it, and stared hard at Kim. "Why have you been hiding her here all this time?"

"Because I had to!" Joo Won shouted desperately. "They would have taken her away! They would have locked her up in some institution! I couldn't let that happen! She was all I had left!"

"Why would they do that?" Jin challenged, his own anger and frustration growing.

Joo Won released a shuddering breath, his eyes closed, his head drooped. "Because she killed them."

"She... - NO!" Jisoo roared, leaping off the couch. "No! You can't believe that!"

"I know what I saw," Joo Won stated wearily, all but flopping into one of the living room chairs. It would all come out now. Each and every little detail.

Jin grabbed Jisoo's arm, led her back to the couch. She looked as if she wanted to tear Mr. Kim's eyes out. Not that he could blame her. Believing Jennie could kill someone, let alone her own family, was absolutely ridiculous. But for whatever reason, Joo Won believed his own daughter had committed murder. "Why don't you tell us exactly what happened?" he asked Mr. Kim.