Despite the fact that Lisa ended up doing everything her way, she still tried her best to do everything that needed to be done and she was stubborn about letting Chaeyoung do everything for her. There really was a fuck ton of paperwork to do, which Lisa absolutely detested. Chaeyoung did the bulk of it but that still let so much left over, and Lisa was holed up in the office for the rest of the day and night after their lunch at McDonald's.
She let everyone go home early, too, after they completed their work. It was interesting how productivity almost doubled once everyone felt acknowledged and happy. Though people were laughing and chatting and having a good time, they were still determined to do their work-with the promise of going home early. By 5PM, everyone had left and Lisa was all but alone in the office.
When Lisa finally finished just after 10PM, Chaeyoung cracked her door open and gave her a tired smile.
"All done, boss?"
Lisa shut everything off and stood, groaning and stretching. Her spine popped in several places. "All done," she answered. "I have a blazing headache. No wonder Jennie is so damn grumpy all the time."
Chaeyoung nodded, looking incredibly pleased. "And she usually won't let me take some of the work off her plate. She feels entirely responsible."
"I feel so bad for how I treated her. She was dealing with this daily and then coming home to my attitude. No wonder she started spending more time here." Her heart absolutely ached. "Man, I really need to make it up to her."
They switched lights off as they went and gathered their things. "Jisoo says the day went really well with Jennie. She was anxious but relaxed really quickly. Apparently Jisoo even caught her playing hide and seek with those two idiots that you have working there."
Lisa nearly choked on her tongue. "Oh god, I need to review that camera footage."
They laughed loudly together, and Lisa's steps were incredibly light. She hadn't felt this good in so long and it was so freeing. She happily waved to Chaeyoung even though her head really hurt and her body ached. The ride home was done with music softly playing and Lisa humming along, and when she walked through the front door to greet her sleepy babies, she was buzzing with warm energy. Her dogs seemed to sense it, and they followed her happily as she walked through the house in search of her wife.
"Jennie?"
Lisa found Jennie in the lounge, asleep on the couch. The blanket she had been wrapped up in was mostly on the floor, and when the dogs pounced on her she woke with a start. Her sleepy eyes met Lisa's, and she gave a beautiful smile.
"Welcome home, big shot CEO."
Lisa's smile is brilliant as she shrugged out of her pantsuit jacket. "Hey baby."
Jennie's eyes widened at the name, then her cheeks reddened. Lisa tossed her jacket onto the back of the couch and then leaned over Jennie to draw her into a soft, loving kiss. When she pulled away, she ached from deep within. Sighing in exhaustion, she collapsed next to Jennie and shut her eyes.
"Tired?" Jennie asked her. She scooted closer and ran her fingers through Lisa's now messy hair.
"Fucking exhausted."
"Even after all that McDonald's?"
Lisa cracked an eye open. "That traitor."
Lisa had been a little worried all day. Would Jennie be furious with her, for what she had done? Her father certainly would be, and usually that meant Jennie would be an extension of his anger. Instead, she started giggling, the joyous sound bubbling right out of her, and Lisa couldn't help but join in. They laughed until they had tears in their eyes, and they pressed close together with her fingers intertwined.
"My father is going to be livid," Jennie murmured softly. "But, fuck him."
Lisa gasped. "Did you really just say that?"
Jennie nodded. "I had such a wonderful day, Lisa. Your work was so relaxed, and I didn't have to sit there while someone insulted me. I didn't have to break my back to get paperwork done. I didn't have to fire good people and feel like a piece of shit. I had lunch with your mother and we had a talk about everything. I just... I realized today that I'm not happy at Kim Corp, and I don't know why I ever thought I needed my father's approval."
Lisa's throat felt like it was swollen shut. The emotions in her chest were tight and warm. "Jennie, I'm... that's all I ever wanted you to realize. I just went about it so wrong, and I'm so sorry. Even though I did my own thing and broke rules, I still had such a rough day. I feel so shit knowing you were going through that and also dealing with my bullshit. I can't be sorry enough. I failed as your partner. I failed you, and I'm so sorry."
Jennie shook her head and kissed her, and Lisa tasted the salt of tears. "Lisa, I think my love for you is stronger now than it ever was. Nothing is more important than you, absolutely nothing. I want to dedicate myself to you."
Lisa wanted to cry. "I want to give you the support you deserve. I'm yours, Jennie. I should be lifting you up, never dragging you down."
"We're only human, Lisa."
"I still fucked up, and I want to make it up to you."
"You already have." Warm tears spilled down Jennie's cheeks. Lisa wiped them away with her thumb. "Just love me, Lisa. Love me for the rest of our lives."
Lisa's smile was shaky, but it was loving. "I do. I love you more than anything." She pressed Jennie's palm to her chest, where her pulse thumped steadily. "I promise on my life."
They kissed again, tears drying up. It didn't get heated, as they were too tired. The dogs were whining for attention too. After getting them settled, Lisa had a quick shower and then walked Jennie to the bedroom.
"I wish I could sleep in the same bed as you," Lisa told her, frowning.
Jennie gently played with her fingers. "Soon, love." She leaned up and kissed her. "I want more than anything to sleep in your arms again."
They stood there like teenagers, holding each other, pretending they weren't exhausted enough to drop. Eventually they parted, reaching out for each other until their hands dropped and Lisa retired to the guest room. She tossed and turned all night, acutely feeling the empty space beside her.
She couldn't wait for the next step, hoping that it would finally give her back the wife she missed so dearly.
*
Jennie poured some coffee in a flask and thought deeply about her next step regarding her work. It was only 5am and still dark out, and she was exhausted. She barely slept because she missed Lisa too much, so she ended up just going to her study, but she didn't want to do anything for Kim Corp so she just curled up on her comfortable chair and read. Reading was something she hadn't been able to do in almost 2 years, and she never realized how much she had missed it.
Soft footsteps drew her attention and she turned to see Lisa wobbling down the hallway. Her eyes were lidded and she was clearly still half asleep. There were dark circles underneath her eyes, too, so when she was close enough Jennie pulled her closer and pressed a hand to her face.
"Why are you up?"
Lisa smiled at her. "Couldn't really sleep much. Heard you were up so I just wanted to say good morning."
Jennie's heart skipped a beat. "That's so sweet of you."
"I miss you."
"I'm right here."
Lisa bent down to embrace her, and Jennie buried her nose against Lisa's neck. She inhaled deeply, enjoyed the leftover body spray and Lisa's natural scent. Even her sweat smelt nice to Jennie. Lisa was warm in her arms, and Jennie really didn't want to go, but she needed to.
"Have a good day at work today," Lisa mumbled sleeping into her shoulder. "I'll be thinking about you and missing you."
Jennie chuckled. "Lisa, you're making it very difficult for me to leave."
"Bad Lisa."
She laughed softly and rubbed a hand along Lisa's back, then accepted a soft kiss from her. She forced herself to step away, but gave Lisa a little wave before she closed the garage door behind her.
It was fine. Because she knew what she needed to do, and Lisa would be home waiting for her. When she arrived at work and saw an email that her father had cleared her whole schedule to see her, she didn't feel the usual anxiety. She just felt relief.
*
Chaerin read over the report she had printed and smiled to herself. It always pleased her greatly to see such fantastic results. When Lisa arrived first, she was a little tired looking but seemed to otherwise be in a good mood. Very different to how she used to be-so miserable and drained.
They had to wait a little bit for Jennie, but that was fine. After the report, Chaerin knew they were ready to move on to the next step, so she had scheduled an appointment with them for as soon as possible.
Honestly, she was excited to give them this step, especially since it was just a minor one to lead them gracefully into step 9-if they managed to still hold back.
Jennie finally joined them. Her top button was undone and she had her heels in her hands, and when she sat down, she all but collapsed on top of Lisa. Lisa just wrapped her up in a hug and kissed her temple.
"I'm happy you could get away from work," Chaerin said by way of greeting.
Jennie set her heels down and wiggled around on the couch until she was comfortable. "Oh, I actually quit."
By the surprised look of delight on Lisa's face, this was news to her. Chaerin already knew, of course.
"Wait, what?" Lisa asked.
Jennie laughed. It was a free, joyous sound. "I went in to work today and my father cleared my whole schedule, like he thinks he can just do whatever he wants! So, he came in early and stormed into my office, took my seat and made me sit down in the guest seat in my office. Then he started shouting at me. It was really bad, so I stopped him, told him to fuck off into the ocean again, and then I left. He was shouting after me but I barely even heard him."
"Jennie, that's... Fuck, finally! I'm so fucking happy. What do you want to do now? You'll have so much free time. You don't even need to work."
"Exactly! I've been thinking about getting into gardening, actually. I have so many books to read, too. I could even help you out at the bookstore whenever you need it! Lisa, I feel so free. I was so incredibly miserable at Kim Corp and I always have been."
Lisa cupped Jennie's face in her hands, then kissed her.
Chaerin merely sat back and watched the two of them talk and then kiss, and she carefully hid her smile before they could see it. When the kissing got too steamy, Chaerin cleared her throat to remind them where they were and they broke apart, sheepish.
"I like the spirit," Chaerin told them. "We can now move on to step 8. Are the two of you ready?"
They straightened and clasped hands. Chaerin watched them exchange a nervous glance.
"We're ready," they said together.
"Wonderful," Chaerin chortled. "Step 8 is extremely easy, but what comes afterwards is the real challenge."
"Okay, so what's the step then?" Lisa grumbled.
"Step 8: Lisa, please move back into the bedroom. You may now share a bed. However, sex is still strictly forbidden."
Their faces fell and it delighted Chaerin so much that she had to take a second to compose herself.
"I mean, are you sure we can't fuck yet? I think we're there."
"We've made so much progress!"
"As much as it pains me," Chaerin told them, making her tone and gaze firm, "my rules are absolute. I do agree you both have made incredible progress. To be so disappointed that you aren't allowed to have sex yet is proof that you're basically ready. For the next week, no sex. After that, we'll proceed to step 9. If you have sex before then, step 8 has failed. Is that clear?"
They looked at her with mild glares, but their fingers were still linked and Chaerin knew they would listen to her. They both nodded, and Chaerin happily walked them out of her office. Once they were gone, she walked over to her window and watched them in the parking lot. They walked slowly, hands linked and they were talking and laughing. They stopped beside their car to kiss, and when Lisa pressed Jennie to the side of the car, Chaerin shook her head in exasperation.
No doubt it would be difficult to resist, and it wasn't really an issue if they did give in too soon. Chaerin just wanted them absolutely prepared for step 9. They would definitely thank her, after all. She just hoped they didn't ruin her fun before then.
"Chaerin?" Lucas poked his head into the room. "We have a new couple."
Chaerin continued to stare out her window, even long after Jennie's car disappeared. "Fit them into the schedule," she told him distractedly. "We're almost done helping the Kims fix their marriage."
Lucas smiled and left to do as instructed.
//
sorry guys couldn't finish this story as promised cause a lot of things came up that i couldn't avoid 😞 i'll try to update more next week. keyword: try. pls don't hate me if i don't 😬