NO STRING ATTACHED - JENLISA

Prove Me Wrong

Lisa (darkly):
"I've never been your ideal, have I?"

Kim Hyun Bin's lips tightened, and for the first time, he seemed to hesitate.

Kim Hyun Bin:
"No. You've always been... unpredictable. But that's why you're effective. Because you don't let the rules bind you."

Lisa clenched her fists, her heart pounding in her chest. Her father's ghost loomed large in this conversation, and it wasn't easy to reconcile the image of the father she never really knew with the man Kim Hyun Bin described.

Lisa:
"So, what? You wanted me to be a soldier like your vision? To follow your rules?"

Kim Hyun Bin's voice dropped, a rare sincerity leaking through.

Kim Hyun Bin:
"No. I wanted you to lead. In your own way. But your father and I... we knew it would be a challenge. And I knew, despite everything, you would eventually surpass us both."

There was a weight in his words. Something Lisa wasn't sure how to take.

Lisa (quietly):
"I'm not here to live up to anyone's legacy. I'm here because I earned it."

Kim Hyun Bin nodded, though it wasn't an agreement — more like a reluctant acknowledgment.

Kim Hyun Bin:
"I never doubted that. But I still wish you had more control over your emotions. You'll need it in the coming months."

Lisa's expression hardened again. She knew exactly what he meant.

Before she could respond, Kim Hyun Bin's voice lowered, and there was something... almost wistful about it.

Kim Hyun Bin:
"Your father was a good man. You're the only part of him I ever cared to see continue."

For a moment, Lisa's breath hitched. She wanted to say something — to rip him apart with a sharp retort. But instead, she was silent. Her father had always been a mystery to her. She had spent her life living up to a shadow, never knowing who the man was that everyone spoke of so reverently. She had only seen the cold image of a soldier. A legacy. A set of expectations.

But tonight... Kim Hyun Bin had just given her a glimpse of the man she never knew. And in that silence, she could feel the weight of it.

⸻

Meanwhile – Down the Hall, Jennie's POV

Jennie had been walking down the hallway when she caught a faint sound — a voice. She wasn't trying to eavesdrop. But something in the tone of the conversation between Lisa and her father grabbed her attention.

She leaned against the wall, heart racing, not daring to get closer but unable to pull away.

She heard Lisa's sharp retort. Then the softer undertones of Kim Hyun Bin's words, ones she wasn't meant to hear. Her eyes widened as pieces of the conversation started to shift things inside her — things she hadn't quite understood before.

Jennie (whispering to herself):
"So that's why... that's why she's always so guarded. Always pushing herself."

She closed her eyes, hearing the subtle crack in Lisa's voice — the vulnerability she rarely let anyone see. It changed things for Jennie. She had always thought Lisa's cool, detached demeanor was just that: cold. But now, it was clear that there was so much more beneath the surface.

Jennie took a deep breath, eyes still closed. The pain in Lisa's past was not just something she'd carried alone; it was a legacy — one Jennie couldn't completely understand, but could no longer ignore.

⸻

Back in the study – Aftermath

Kim Hyun Bin's voice softened as he continued speaking, oblivious to Jennie's presence.