Act Like You Love Me

Sixteen.

For the next two weeks Jennie brought Lisa a bouquet of flowers accompanied with a letter of love. She continued her daily messages just like and was relieved to see Lisa slowly opening up to her again. When they'd see each other whether in a group or alone, she noticed Lisa smile a lot more than she did the past month and didn't pull away from Jennie's touches.

Lisa wasn't pushing her away anymore, so it was time for Jennie to move on to the 2nd step in her plan: come out to her parents and ask Lisa's parents for their permission to formally date their daughter.

This was all new to Jennie since she was the one who was usually courted, not the other way around. But Jennie knew if she wanted Lisa to trust her with her heart again, she had to show Lisa she was ready to risk it all - and that meant no longer hiding.

After she gathered her confidence, Jennie decided to invite her parents over to have a nice dinner, filled with a truth bomb. They had been out of the country for a little vacation, so it was a while since she's seen them.

"Hi eomma, Hi appa," Jennie greeted them with a hug as they entered her apartment. Jennie was pretty shocked that her parents hadn't reached out to her about Kai. Sure, they'd been vacationing, but she was pretty sure the news reached them, unless Kai's parents hadn't said anything.

Jennie's parents had always pushed her to do things 110%. Growing up they had a plan for her - graduate college, take over the family business, and marry someone who had could provide for her and it was a plus if it was their family friend's son, Kim Jongin aka Kai. She and Kai had known each other since they were kids, but it wasn't until 3 years ago that she gave him a chance.

She had fulfilled her parents' wish of graduating, but broke their heart when she told them she wanted to pursue a career in modeling, not business. At the time, they, mostly her dad, blamed it on hanging around 'that girl' Lisa all the time. It always hurt Jennie when her dad would speak ill of Lisa. They had been friends since high school and her dad always had the audacity of being fake around Lisa only to talk about her life choices behind her back. She's pretty sure the only reason he didn't forbid her to be friends with Lisa was because Jisoo and Rosé.

After months of arguing and proving to her parents that modeling wasn't just a hobby, they finally gave in under one condition - be in a relationship with Kai and even though they tried to deny this was going to be an arranged marriage, their actions proved otherwise. Jennie agreed because at least she was able to do what she loved and the feelings that she was starting to have at the time for a certain Thai girl were pretty overwhelming, she needed a distraction.

But now that Jennie had a chance to make things right with Lisa, she needed to do this. It's not like her parents could do anything. They couldn't threaten to cut her off - she had her own career. They couldn't threaten to ship her off to another country - she was an adult. The worst they could do was disown her and while it would hurt to not have her parents' love and support, she needed to take this risk with Lisa.

"How was your vacation?" Jennie asked her parents, still wondering if they knew anything about her and Kai.

"It was nice, honey. But sometimes your father would take one too many calls a day," Jennie's mom answered with a playful roll of her eyes.

"Well if Jennie took over like we planned, I wouldn't have to worry so much," her dad said seriously.

"He's kidding, Jennie. Don't mind him," Jennie's mom tried to ease the tension.

"It's true though. She went to school for business, but she's modeling," Jennie's dad said as if Jennie wasn't present. "You've only had 3 magazine covers over the past few years. Are you getting work?"

Jennie avoided eye contact and just played with her food. This was not the direction she thought her conversation would go. Something was definitely up.

"Jennie, I just want to remind you, the company is still there for you. You wouldn't have to struggle as much as you do now," Mr. Kim continued over Jennie's silence.

"I'm not struggling though. I'm just taking a break," Jennie was starting to get frustrated at how cold her father was.

"Nevermind then. When you and Kai get married, I trust that he'd do a good job of taking over," Mr. Kim confirmed what Jennie wanted to know.

"Kai and I...You really don't know?" Jennie had to be sure.

"Know what dear?" Mrs. Kim inquired.

Jennie took a deep breath before revealing her relationship status. "Kai and I broke up."

"What did you do?" Mr. Kim accused Jennie instead of comforting his only child.

"Why do you assume that I did something?" Jennie was on the bring of raising her voice.

"Because you're always trying to stray away from what's best for you," Mr. Kim said as a matter of fact, waiting for Jennie to challenge him again.

"He's the one who messed up. He cheated and got another girl pregnant. He loves her, not me. I'm not to blame," Jennie was on the brink of tears. How could her father shrug of her side of the story?

"Well, if you acted more like you loved him, then maybe he wouldn't have cheated. From your so-called modeling career and hanging out with your friends all the time, you barely spent time with him," Jennie knew her dad was referring to Lisa. Yup, this was definitely not how she pictured this conversation. "Let's leave. I lost my appetite. I'll wait for you in the car," Mr. Kim continued before grabbing his coat and walking out the door.

"Mom, I'm sorry," Jennie let out a sob as soon as her mom engulfed her in a hug.

"Don't listen to him. It's not your fault. Kai shouldn't have done what he did. Do his parents know?" Jennie nodded in response. "And they didn't even have the guts to tell us. Everything is going to be okay, honey."

"I love her, mom," this wasn't the right way to confess, but she needed to before her mom walked out the door after her dad.

Mrs. Kim was silent for a few seconds comforting her daughter. "I know honey, I know. I didn't want to assume, but you'd have to be blind to not see how much you love Lisa. It'll be hard to convince your father otherwise. But I want you to know that I love you regardless of who you love, okay?"

Jennie started to calm down after hearing her mother's assurance. Her mom knew about her feelings and was fine with it. Her dad was a different story, but knowing she had 1/2 of her parents supporting her, gave her the confidence to keep fighting for Lisa.

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Author's note: Sorry for the delay! I had some writer's block again.

Thank you for reading! See ya later.