Midnight Angel [Jenlisa FF]

~'~'~ Chapter 26 ~'~'~

"Joo Won?" Though it was dark, Lisa could just make out the features of the car she thought she remembered seeing her boss, and Jennie's father, driving. she groaned and gripped the steering wheel tighter. This was the last thing either of them needed at the moment. It looked like they would have to deal with her, though. Lisa punched the remote to open the garage door and waited while it slid upwards. "It's probably better if we go in through the garage and let Mr. Kim in through the front door. I don't want to take any chances with anybody seeing you."

"Okay," Jennie mumbled, her eyes trained on the figure she could see standing on the front porch watching the car pull into the garage.

They left their packages from shopping in the car, choosing instead to greet Mr. Kim first. Together, they walked through the door off the garage that led into a sort of mud room next to the kitchen. Jennie was tempted to ask Lisa not to let her father in. Right now, she just didn't know if she had the energy to talk to him. She had to, though. It wouldn't be fair to leave him standing out there.

Tired was a bit of an understatement to describe how she was feeling at the moment. The hours spent in Santa Monica with Lisa yesterday had been draining enough, but on top of that, the meeting with the FBI had sapped every last ounce of energy Jennie had. She'd answered each and every one of their questions, told them everything thing she knew, and listened to her friends add their two cents. The whole thing had been almost like a twisted version of 'This Is Your Life, Jennie Kim'. Except there hadn't been any happy memories or reunions with old friends or teachers. All it had been a reminder that she'd once been normal, she'd once had a life and family, and now she had nothing and was thought dead by all but a few people. No, there was nothing happy about that story.

She'd had a futile, far-fetched hope that the FBI agents would say, okay great, we'll go arrest them all now and you can go about your life. Stupid, Jennie knew, but she'd still hoped. Was it so much to ask that she be able to have a normal life again, or as close to one as someone like her could get? Probably.

Now, she had to speak with her father as well. She hadn't seen him since the night she'd come to Lisa's, wanting her to return home; the night he'd realized his belief that Jennie was a murderer was wrong. Lisa had talked to him since then, but Jennie had put it off, unable to find words of what she would say to her. Looked like she'd have to make it up as she went along.

Jennie trailed behind Lisa as she made her way to the front door. Call her chicken, but she'd take even a few extra seconds to prepare. All too soon, though, she was at the door and unlocking the dead bolt. Before she even had the door all the way open, her father was pushing his way into the house.

"I trusted you to take care of my daughter, Lisa!" the old man snarled, coming toe-to-toe with Lisa. "I specifically told you that she needs to remain hidden!"

"Yes, you did," Lisa said as calmly as possible.

"Then please explain why I saw you driving up to the house with her in the car! That does not show me you are keeping her safe!" Joo Won retorted hotly. he didn't give Lisa an opportunity to answer. "I grew worried when you called out from work yesterday, and tried calling but nobody answered the telephone. Then today you were out as well, so I attempted to call again. When there was still no response, I came here. It is a good thing I did. Just where the Hell have you been?"

Lisa listened to the angry ramble patiently. she didn't necessarily appreciate being yelled at, but she could certainly understand Mr. Kim's rage. The man was simply concerned for his daughter's safety. He'd spent four years protecting her, keeping her existence secret. Regrettably, the only answer Lisa had to give was not going to soothe Mr. Kim's fears.

Rather than beat around the bush, Lisa gave a straight, simple explanation. "We went to Santa Monica yesterday so Jennie could have a chance to do something fun."