Take My Mask, I'm Home

it's about time to come clean and go home

Lisa froze halfway through sitting up in bed. Knowing that it wouldn't change anything, that it wouldn't remove the dread in her heart, Lisa reached out once more and touched Jennie's side of the bed. It was still cold, no matter how she wished it wasn't. Her chest felt tight at the knowledge that Jennie wasn't here anymore.

The blinds were still closed, the lamps still dim from where they'd fallen asleep with them on the night before. Jennie's books were still piled on her nightstand, her suitcase was still on the floor, and through the open closet door, she could see that Jennie's clothes were still hanging up.

The house seemed motionless, though. It was too quiet. Her brain was still in that midway state between asleep and awake, but when she sat up and saw that Jennie's laptop bag was gone, it was like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over her. She'd woken up before when Jennie's laptop hadn't been there, when Jennie had been using it downstairs in the kitchen, but this time it felt different. It felt absent.

The letter, the vase of wildflowers, the cold bed. It all just added up to Jennie having left sometime after Lisa had fallen asleep. How long had she waited?

Lisa felt the burn of tears behind her eyes and she scrubbed her hands harshly down her face. Choking on the lump in her throat, she tossed the blankets off her and pulled on her pajamas. Even if she knew in her heart that Jennie wasn't there, she had to check. She had to make sure.

Her hand hesitated over the letter propped up on the nightstand. It was as if it was made of fire and if Lisa touched it, she'd burn. If she touched it, it would truly mean that... that...

Lisa left it there as she pulled on some pajamas and dashed out of the bedroom. She checked every room in the house, ran barefoot down to the boathouse, climbed up into the treehouse. Cold resignation seeped into her as she mentally ticked off every place that Jennie could be, and found her at none of them.

She'd hoped, wanted to believe, that Jennie wouldn't leave. On some level she knew, after the things that Jennie had said yesterday, that she was at least thinking about it. The passionate, tender, but intense way they'd made love the night before, the tears they'd both had in their eyes; it had seemed almost final in a way, like Jennie had been saying goodbye.

Yes, Lisa had at least suspected what Jennie was going to do, and yet, she hadn't tried hard enough to stop her. Hope was a fickle, untrustworthy friend. Lisa supposed that she hadn't really believed that Jennie would leave.

Really, Lisa should've brought it up the second it crossed her own mind.

Lisa shivered as the chill breeze whistled through her thin pajamas, but she made no effort to move, too lost in thought. She kept coming back to Somi; everything had changed after Jennie had been left alone with Somi.

What in the fuck had Somi said to Jennie yesterday when Lisa was taking BoA back to the mainland? In the morning, they'd been so happy. Before she'd left for the mainland, Jennie had been stressed and worried, but not crying. She wasn't pouring her guilt out on the porch. Something had happened while Lisa was away, she was sure of it.

Raking her hands through her hair, Lisa stood on the lawn, the morning dew soaking into her feet.

Tears spilled out of her eyes as she stood there, feeling forlorn and lost without Jennie. Sniffling, Lisa made her way back inside and up towards the bedroom.

She found that she could barely look in the direction of the closet because Jennie's colorful science pun shirts, her satin and silk shirts, the dress she'd worn, were all hanging up there. The casual clothes were as familiar to Lisa now as the Diane von Furstenberg. Jennie had brought enough clothes to change twice a day if she'd needed to, and the memory of them unpacking the suitcases a week ago washed over her.

Her breath hitching, she turned away and her eyes fell upon the envelope leaning up against the vase.

With a shaking hand, Lisa reached out for it, her hand hesitating over the envelope with her name written on it in Jennie's neat penmanship. Lisa sat on the edge of the bed and looked at it, trying to ignore the ghosts of Jennie all around the rest of the room. The corner of the envelope was crooked, as if Jennie had nearly clenched it in her fist at some point. The thought made Lisa's heart ache sharply, like it had been stabbed suddenly; Lisa lifted a hand and pressed it against her chest as if that would help alleviate the pain.

Her hand still unsteady, Lisa picked up the letter and held it gently. As she stared at it, the fibers in the paper soaking up the ink from the fountain pen Jennie favored, Lisa felt a huge, hollow nothingness in her chest. As if it were a void that was too big and yet too small to hold everything she felt inside her.

Turning the envelope in her hands, she took a shuddering breath and straightened her shoulders. Jennie hadn't sealed it, just tucked the tip of the envelope inside the main body of it. Lisa was glad that she didn't have to tear it open; the jarring sound of it might've been too much for her to bear.

Lisa pulled out two sheets of paper and unfolded them. Without even reading the words, she could tell that Jennie had rushed this by the state of her handwriting. When had she even had time to write a letter? Had she written it last night in the dark? Had she found another moment in which to tuck herself away?

With tears blurring her eyes, Lisa steeled herself and began to read.

Darling,

I don't think that I could ever find the words to say everything I would like to tell you. This week has been the most wonderful of my life. I have never, never been so happy. And so to be leaving like this...

I owe it to you to be as honest as I can be. I don't want there to be any secrets between us. I never want to have secrets from you, Lisa. Despite how this whole thing began, we've always been honest with each other, haven't we? I can't remember any other point in my life where I've felt free enough with someone to be myself. Circumstances might have forced me to be, but had we got to know each other outside of that, I know that I still would have been the same person I've been this week... If only I'd been brave enough to say hello to you. I have many regrets in my life, but there is nothing I regret more than never being brave enough to give us the chance that we might have had to be together.

If I'd had the courage, you would never have had to lie to your family. We could have been honest from the start. As it is... we haven't been, and it's killing me. How can we ever have a relationship if you're forced to lie to your family every day about how it began, about how it developed? About what I asked you to do?

I'm so sorry, Lisa – today has been so hard, and it's my fault. This whole week that I've been here, with you, with your family, has been a gift. But the guilt has grown and grown until it's got so heavy that I can't carry the weight anymore. I know guilt. My last name has never let me forget it. Guilt eats away at you, slowly but surely. Every time Clare hugged me this week, I was reminded of how we are both lying to her. Every time Rosie smiled at me, or Hyeri included me... and if it's been bad for me, how bad must it have been for you? They're your family.

Without your family knowing the truth about us, we can't be together. I have shouldered a lot of guilt in my life, but none as great as the hurt I've caused you in the past week. It turns out that the only thing I've never been able to bear is hurting the person I loved most. And so, my heart is breaking.

I know our feelings are real, that we want to be together, and I want that more than anything, but I think that eventually, the burden of guilt that you bear will become too great. You've admitted to me how much it bothers you that you're lying to the people you love the most, and Lisa, I can't be the reason you lie to them forever. The guilt caused by doing so will eat at you over and over until one day you resent the cause of them. And the cause is me.

I can't bear the idea of you hating me, not when I love you so much.

And I do love you, Lisa. I wish that I could've said this to you in person, but it hurt too much. You deserve to know the truth, the last piece of it that I have to give.

The truth is that you had my heart in your hands a long time ago. But this week, I gave it to you.

Today when you were taking BoA back to the mainland, Somi talked to me. She poked holes in everything we tried to build; it wouldn't have mattered if we passed the test on Monday or not, we wouldn't have passed the rest of the investigation. Eventually, she threatened you and then offered me a deal, which I've taken.

You will face no consequences for what we tried to do, none at all. For you, it will be like nothing ever happened.

In return, I've accepted voluntary deportation, and I'll be going back to Korea. This week, probably. I'm sorry that I've also left most of my stuff there... I'll send someone to fetch it for me.

If this week has taught me anything it's what matters the most are the people around you. It is breaking my heart to leave you behind, to leave Nayeon and Yeoni, but... I can't let you bear the consequences for my actions. Not when it could destroy your family, and your life.

There is nothing I wouldn't have done within my power to keep you and your wonderful family safe from harm. I never expected to be welcomed so wholeheartedly. And in time, I will find a way to repay all the kindness that I didn't deserve. It was kindness as I've never been shown before. I wish that I could've been part of your family for just a moment longer. No, I wish that I could've spent my whole life at your side, my hand in yours, and your beautiful smile breathing life into my heart.

I will bear the pain of losing you for the rest of my life. For the rest of yours, I hope that you know that you are loved. You deserve so much better than a relationship built on a lie.

There will never be enough time for me to tell you all the things that I wish I could. And now, time is running out.

The proposal on the boat was as real as anything I've ever felt. I hope you look at the ring sometimes, and think of me.

I love you.

Yours, I will always be yours,

Jennie Kim

P.S. I have to take the jet back home, but I've booked you first class tickets back to New York. Your flight details are below, but you have another two weeks up there in Homer. Please, enjoy the time with your family. I've deprived you of so much of it already.

P.P.S. We never got the chance to discuss your writing. You are a very talented, emotive writer. Despite the terrible topics I gave you, you inspired me with your words. I sent all of them to Oh Sehun, and he's been holding a spot open for you on the team since I read your articles. I was only waiting for you to have the same confidence in yourself, in your writing, as I had. Before we came here, I contacted Nayeon, who has been dealing with Mina on your behalf. You'll be starting back as a journalist as soon as you return to New York. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your new role. I will be reading your articles from Korea, and I am so proud of you.

You are going to do wonderful things, Lisa Manoban, and I will be cheering you on as loudly as I can from my side of the ocean.

By the time Lisa reached the end of the letter, her teardrops joined those that Jennie had left on the paper. She touched her fingertip gently to the dried tearstains that Jennie had left behind, crinkling the paper with her grief.

Lisa could feel a howl of despair growing inside her; her lips trembled and Jennie's letter shook in her hands as she tried to control her emotions, with the effort of not falling apart.

She cleared her throat a few times and looked back down at the letter, forcing herself to concentrate. There was so much to process. It was clear that Jennie hadn't thought out exactly what she was going to say, clear that she hadn't rehearsed it. It had none of her usual structure, none of her elegant words. It was simply written, as though Jennie really didn't have much time to write it.

She put Jennie's letter carefully on the nightstand, moving her fingertips over the words Jennie had left for her, and tried to force herself to breath slowly. It didn't work, though. Her heart was racing, and the adrenaline racing around her body was so strong that she got up from the edge of the bed and started pacing up and down the room.

She didn't know where to start.

Despite her high stress level, the first thing that rolled around in her mind was the fact that Jennie had written that she loved her. Jennie loved her? Jennie had loved her for a long time? Jennie loved her?! The look on Jennie's face the night before that Jennie couldn't hide was love. Lisa had thought it was, hoped it was, but to have it confirmed?

There was a sliver of happiness among all the fraught emotion that Lisa was feeling, and Lisa felt the ghost of a smile on her face.

It still didn't change the fact that Jennie was gone. In spite of how Jennie felt about Lisa, she was still gone. She'd still left at some undetermined time in the middle of the night.

Lisa stalked back over to the letter and picked it up once more. She read it through again, and once more for good measure. She tried to ignore, for now, the skip her heart gave every time she read over the world love. Instead, she tried to focus on the large amount of information that the rest of the letter was giving her.

This time when she tried to force herself to breathe more calmly, she managed it. Sitting once more on the edge of the bed, she breathed in and out, in and out. She sat there, breathing slowly, until her heart rate was more or less at a normal pace.

Lisa tried to go through things logically.

"Okay," she shakily said to herself, hoping the sound of her voice would ground her somewhat. "Okay."

Even those few words cost her a great effort to say.

Firstly, Jennie had left, as far as Lisa could see, because of two reasons. One, she couldn't handle the guilt that lying to Lisa's family made her feel, and by proxy, the guilt that Lisa herself felt at lying to her family. Jennie was not wrong about that. The arguments, the snippy back and forth comments at the beginning of the week, were all about the fact that Jennie had forced Lisa into a situation that required her to be untruthful to her family. That Jennie had demanded her help, not asked for it, and in so doing opened Lisa up to a multitude of dire consequences courtesy of the federal government.

A criminal record. Time in prison. A fine she'd never be able to pay. She would lose her job, her financial security, her future. She would always be judged by this one thing she had done.

Along with all of that, Lisa also risked causing a rift in her family. She loved her family, but she knew that it would take them a long time to come to terms with her actions if they'd had to come and visit her in prison. Rosie was a sheriff, and so was Hyeri. Clare would've been heartbroken. Lisa had never had so much as a parking ticket; suddenly being jailed would've been a shock.

Lisa glanced through the letter again, bouncing her foot on the floor anxiously.

The second reason that Jennie had left? Somi had guessed that their relationship was not formed genuinely, putting them both at the mercy of the government. Somehow, either through investigation or from something Jennie had said, Somi had guessed the truth enough for her to offer Jennie a deal. A deal which apparently resulted in herself taking on all of the blame in exchange for Lisa coming out unscathed.

It was just like Jennie, Lisa thought with tears running down her cheeks, just like Jennie to take all the burden upon herself. She'd been offered a way to save Lisa from the things that Lisa herself had told her she was risking, and she'd saved her from them.

Jennie had saved her, breaking both of their hearts in the process.

Lisa knew of Jennie's altruistic nature; she'd seen it at Knetz, but she'd learnt more about it this week. Jennie arrived early, stayed late, and often forgot to eat. She worked all weekend. Jennie alone carried the weight of the Kim name; she was the public face of it now, not Jongin, and not BoA. Jennie was the one who received the vicious hate mail that she'd instructed Lisa to throw away when it arrived. Jennie ran K-Corp, and built up a firm reputation to the detriment of her own private life. She'd borne her loneliness like a weight around her neck, saying nothing of it to anyone... until this week.

Jennie was self-sacrificing, and although knowing that helped her understand Jennie's decision to leave, it didn't help alleviate the clawing feeling of pain in her chest that made it hard to breathe. It didn't make the way it felt like someone was tightening an iron fist around her heart any easier to bear.

Lisa pressed her forehead into a closed fist and swung her legs up onto the bed, settling herself into the pillows behind her. She wondered what had Somi seen in Jennie that had caused her to offer her a deal instead of dishing out penalties to both of them. Jennie had clearly said something to prevent them both from being prosecuted, but what? Jennie's letter didn't spell it out.

On the one hand she was furious with Jennie for just up and fucking leaving without talking to her about it first. Without saying goodbye. Without giving Lisa the courtesy of saying what was on her mind, of telling Jennie that she loved her.

But, her agonized brain tossed her, Jennie had said goodbye, hadn't she? Not in so many words, but the way they'd made love last night... yes, Jennie had said goodbye.

Lisa dashed away the tears on her cheeks.

Even if, as Jennie had written, Lisa would face no consequences from the government, that wasn't strictly true. Jennie had still condemned her to a broken heart. The woman that Lisa loved had left her, no matter how noble and self-sacrificing the reason. Jennie had left her. Lisa wouldn't walk away from this completely unwounded.

Sitting in their bedroom alone, surrounded by Jennie's things, Lisa couldn't bring herself to be angry at her. Jennie had told her, several times, that she was struggling with the guilt that her actions had brought down on herself and Lisa. Jennie had been brutally and painfully honest about it. And she loved Lisa. When offered a chance to save the woman that she loved, Jennie had taken it.

Lisa didn't know exactly what Somi had said to Jennie, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that it had been enough to convince Jennie that her only course of action was to fall upon her own sword. She'd had to pack a few things and leave like a thief in the middle of the night. She'd had to get on her plane, likely with BoA and Somi for company, and sit with them all the way back to New York.

She picked her phone up and looked at the time. 10:41am. Lisa wasn't that heavy a sleeper; if Jennie had left closer to dawn, she'd likely have woken Lisa up on the way out. Which meant that Jennie really had left in the middle of the night.

How had Jennie got to the mainland? Had someone fetched her? Had she called a water taxi? Why hadn't Lisa heard it when it had arrived? She pushed the thoughts aside; none of them mattered. The point was, Jennie had left the house and somehow got to the airport.

Jennie's plane was a private one, which meant that she wouldn't have to wait for any other passengers. Homer airport was very small, and in the very early morning, there wouldn't be any other flights. So, Jennie would already be in the air. Even if Lisa went to the airport, she'd never be able to catch Jennie now; she would already be long gone.

Even if Lisa could catch her, what would she even say? Don't go, stay with me? We can fix this?

There was no way to fix this. If Somi knew the truth, then there was no way to fix it.

Jennie was on her plane right now.

Lisa felt a pang of anguish at the thought of Jennie having to endure take-off, any turbulence, and landing without anyone's hand to hold. She doubted very much that BoA would care enough to hold her daughter's hand when she was afraid.

Was Jennie afraid right now?

Lisa's heart hurt at the thought of Jennie sitting in a seat on the plane, her pale fingers turning even whiter as she gripped the armrests in fear.

Jennie had written in her letter that she'd loved Lisa for a long time. Not only was Jennie dealing with having to leave, the burden of her guilt, the knowledge that she was going to be deported, she also had to deal with her own self-inflicted broken heart. A lump rose in Lisa's thought and fresh tears brimmed in her eyes as she thought of Jennie feeling all of this while also sitting on a plane, terrified of flying.

What could Lisa do, stuck on the ground?

Lisa's mind spiraled wildly in her despair, her chest feeling tighter and her eyes burning.

More than anything, she wanted somehow to be on that plane, holding Jennie's hand. Despite everything, Lisa didn't want Jennie to be alone. She never wanted Jennie to be alone.

Lisa curled up into a ball on the bed and pulled Jennie's pillow over to her. It smelled of the shampoo that Jennie liked to use, and as the faint scent surrounded her, Lisa sobbed into the fabric.

The simple fact of the matter was that, when she pushed everything else aside, she loved Jennie. She was in love with Jennie. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with her soft, sweet, kindhearted Jennie who picked flowers for her and flirted with her to make Lisa blush.

Jennie's face, smiling that soft smile that made Lisa's heart flip over, filled her mind. It required no effort for Lisa to think of Jennie, ten, twenty, forty years from now, still smiling at her the same way with grey streaks in her dark hair. Jennie would've built silly robots for their flower-filled house, every surface covered with books and papers. The walls would be full of photos of them and their family, paintings that Lisa had done. Their wedding photo, Jennie in her dark dress, Lisa in white. Jennie would still be as cheeky as ever, her soft smile turning into a smirk as she made Lisa blush for the millionth time.

Her career aside, which now Jennie had apparently set into motion, the only thing that Lisa had ever wanted for herself was love. To find someone that she could imagine going through all of life with.

Lisa had found that person, and she'd lost her.

Her thoughts turned towards herself when she thought of something else. Jennie had said, had written, that she wished she'd been brave enough to talk to Lisa earlier, that maybe if she had, they'd not be in this mess. But why should it have all been up to Jennie? Lisa had liked Jennie for a long time before all of this, too. Lisa hadn't taken any steps towards trying to get to know Jennie aside from one stilted conversation. She thought Jennie was beautiful, that she was brave. Lisa had admired Jennie from afar, had worried about her staying so late at work all the time, wondered about her loneliness. She'd wanted to peek beneath the armor that Jennie wore and find the woman beneath.

Now that she'd taken that professional mask from Jennie and seen the woman that she really was, she couldn't look away. Jennie had, very easily, revealed her gentle interior. It was almost as if there was a different person entirely beneath that mask, and Lisa had quickly fallen in love with Jennie then.

What was she supposed to do without her now?

Tears squeezed out from behind Lisa's eyelids as she heaved another sob into Jennie's pillow.

Jennie was gone. It still didn't feel real.

Downstairs, a door slammed, and Lisa lifted her head from the pillow. Though the door muffled the voices, she could tell that Rosie and Hyeri were here. They were all supposed to be going to the Red Lion this evening, but after what had happened yesterday, Lisa wasn't sure whether it would go ahead. And besides, Jennie wasn't here anyway; Lisa wasn't in the mood to go anywhere.

Suddenly, Lisa sat bolt upright.

Why would Rosie be here? They hadn't yet had a chance to talk about what Somi had said yesterday, and Rosie had definitely seemed angry. Neither of them had text the other, and now she was here in the house.

How was she supposed to explain why Jennie wasn't here anymore?

Lisa looked through red-rimmed eyes at her phone again. 11am. None of them would know yet that Jennie had left, so she figured that they likely wouldn't disturb them... her, until lunchtime at the earliest.

She lay there, the blinds still down and the lights down low. It was still too much light, though. Lisa buried her face into Jennie's pillow and sniffled.

Apparently, though, her tortured peace was to be disturbed after all. There came some hard knocks at the door.

"Lisa? Jennie? Are you up?" Rosie's voice called through the wood. There was a moment of silence, before Rosie knocked again. "Hey, are you awake?"

Huffing out a sigh, Lisa climbed stiffly off the bed and walked over to the door. Before she opened it, she gave her face a quick wipe to rid herself of her damp cheeks.

She pulled open the door just as Rosie tried to knock again. She let out a half-laugh as Rosie tried to knock thin air, but the sound came out choked, and when Rosie caught her eyes, Lisa swallowed around the lump in her throat once more.

"Are you alright?" Rosie asked, the confrontational expression on her face fading into concern as Lisa's breath hitched. "Hey, Lisa, what's wrong?"

The care in Rosie's voice was too much all of a sudden, and she felt Rosie's arms wrap around her waist as she caught her. Lisa buried her face into her sister's shoulder as she started to cry once more. Rosie held her as Lisa sobbed on her shoulder.

Lisa felt herself being maneuvered into the bedroom and she went willingly where Rosie directed, finding herself sitting in the armchair near the painting of the storm. Rosie crouched down next to her, her hand on her knee. She waited patiently until Lisa had sniffled herself into silence once more.

Lisa watched as Rosie looked around the room, taking in the mess and the suitcases, the open bathroom door, and the books on the nightstand. When Rosie's eyes returned to Lisa's face, there was a knowing look in them with an edge of anger.

"Where's Jennie?" she asked.

"She's gone," Lisa mumbled.

"What do you mean, she's gone? Is she taking a long walk? All her shi- uh, stuff is still here," she said, waving her arm at the clutter in the room. And then she did a double take. "Wow. She sure, uh, brought a lot of stuff."

Lisa croaked out a wet laugh. "Yeah, she did. Evidently, she wasn't sure what she should bring with her."

Rosie gave her a penetrating look. "Surely you'd told her what kind of place this was?"

"I told her not to bring any Diane von Furstenberg dresses, and she at least listened to that."

Rosie rolled her eyes. "Don't think I haven't noticed that you haven't answered the question. Where is Jennie?"

"Rosie," Lisa started, dropping her face into her hands.

She heard Rosie move forward. Rosie didn't pull her hands away from her face, though, for which she was grateful.

"Where is she?" Rosie repeated. "Lisa?"

Lisa let out a sigh and dropped her hands to her lap. "She's gone back to New York. She-"

"Are you shitting me?!" Rosie burst out, interrupting Lisa. She stood up and walked a few feet away. Lisa could see the tense set of her shoulders under her leather jacket and the way her hands clenched over her hips. Rosie whirled around and faced Lisa again. "Is this about yesterday?"

"Yes, but Rosie, let me explain-"

"Is what Jung Somi said yesterday true?"

Despite her upset, Lisa let out a snort. "Jeon Somi."

Rosie wasn't amused. "Whatever the fuck it was," she said, waving her hand in the air, "I don't really care. The point is, was she right? Was it true, what she said? Did Jennie Kim somehow blackmail you into being her wife so that she could get a fucking green card? Was everything an act? I should've known something was up when you called me before you came here. I can't believe I fell for it-"

"Rosie!" Lisa said loudly, standing up, anger and defensiveness thrumming through her. "Do you think I'd be this upset if my heart wasn't fucking broken right now?"

Rosie stared at her. They stared at each other, Rosie with condemnation in her eyes and Lisa bristling with hurt and not a small amount of shame. Her sister was right, after all.

"Okay," Rosie said quietly, backing down. "I know you're upset. But... but Lisa, this woman from USCIS came to our home yesterday and basically accused you both of- of committing a crime, or of attempting to commit a crime. And you never really talked that favorably about Jennie until you showed up with her on Saturday hand in hand and... and I guess it just makes too much sense, in my head. And okay, Jennie's pretty much nothing like you ever described and that was quite a surprise. I fully expected her to be a total bitch if I'm honest, and then she..." Rosie blew out a frustrated breath and threw her hands up. "And then she wasn't. She was lovely, really sweet. And you fit so well together as a couple. You looked so happy, happier than I'd ever seen you, and she was just so- so radiant around you. She looked at you like you were the answer to every question she had. And I just don't understand, Lisa. What the- what's going on?"

What was going on?

How was she supposed to explain that yes, Jennie had demanded she help her get a green card? That yes, their relationship had started out with a lie. That they had never had a personal conversation before a week ago. How was she supposed to explain the fact that they had pretended all week to be a couple, until suddenly they weren't pretending anymore? That Lisa had spent time, a lot of it, wishing that every kiss they'd shared was real and that Jennie had proposed to her that week? That both she and Jennie had been harboring hidden feelings for each other until they'd finally spent time together and told each other? That despite how the week had started, how their relationship had been at work, she and Jennie love each other? How was she meant to explain any of what this week had been without telling Rosie the truth?

Without the truth, none of it would make sense. She could tell Rosie that they'd just broken up, of course, but she'd still have to explain why. She'd have to make up another lie to cover the lie she'd be trying to hide.

Lisa's eyes slid to the letter that Jennie had left on the nightstand, and to the vase of pretty wildflowers that she'd picked for her. Had she picked those in the middle of the night, too?

Lisa had a flash in her mind's eye of Jennie poking around in the middle of the night in the woods, with a flashlight, picking flowers that she knew Lisa loved. Two days ago, the idea would've made her laugh; she would've wrapped her arms around Jennie's waist and given her a soft kiss for her thoughtfulness. Now, the image was a lonely one, and Lisa imagined what Jennie must've been thinking when she'd been picking them.

She felt the tears spill over her cheeks before she even registered that she was crying, and in a second, Rosie had crossed the distance between them and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I need to- I... Rosie, I miss her, I- I don't know what to do," Lisa managed, clutching the back of Rosie's jacket tightly in her fists.

"It's okay, it's okay," Rosie murmured, rubbing Lisa's back.

"It's not okay," Lisa insisted, her breath hitching. "It's not okay. She's alone right now and she's probably afraid on the plane and I'm not even there to hold her hand!"

"I'm uh, I'm confused. Is Jennie afraid of flying?" Rosie asked.

Lisa thought back to the conversation she and Jennie had had on the plane, of Jennie asking her not to tell anyone about the state she'd been in. Even in her own distressed state, Lisa kicked herself for breaking Jennie's trust like that, even if she thought that Jennie wouldn't mind her family knowing. Jennie had written that she wanted to be part of the family. Still, Lisa was torn between wanting to tell the truth and her guilt at having told Rosie something she said she'd keep to herself.

As Lisa bounced between the guilt of her slip-up and the desire to protect Jennie by telling another lie, she gasped with a sudden realization.

She'd never be able to talk about Jennie without making up some kind of lie. She'd never be able to disclose something about their relationship without lying about it. It wasn't just this week, it would be forever; whether she or Jennie were together or not, Lisa would not be able to be truthful about it, even about their breakup.

With ringing clarity, Lisa realized that Jennie had been right. Jennie had seen clearly what Lisa could not; she would have grown to resent all the lying. All the little white lies, small on their own, would've built into a larger and larger pile. Perhaps each little lie wouldn't have been that bad, but each one was a lie nonetheless. It would be like living in a house of cards that you were always trying to prop up in case a stiff wind came along.

What if she had grown to hate Jennie, because of the lies?

The thought twisted at Lisa's heart; although she knew that she'd never know the answer to the question, she suspected that Jennie had been right about that as well. Guilt was an insidious, monstrous thing. If Jennie was the reason for Lisa having to lie, then very likely over time, she would've grown to resent Jennie for it. Maybe not straight away, and maybe they could've got past it with work, but Lisa would never know with certainty.

The thought of resenting Jennie in any way at all made Lisa feel sick, and she tightened her hands in Rosie's jacket.

Her tears were subsiding and with them, Lisa's energy was being sapped away. She let go of Rosie and groped behind her to find the arm of the chair. When she found it, she sat down heavily, letting out a huge shaky sigh and wiping her eyes.

When she looked back up, she found the worried faces of Clare and Hyeri at the bedroom door. Resigned, she waved them in, and Clare sat herself down on the sofa at the end of the bed. Rosie did the same, while Hyeri pulled the other armchair over so that she could see everyone.

All of them looked expectantly at her, waiting to hear, probably, a simple story as to why Jennie was no longer there. Then again, all of them knew of the existence of Jeon Somi and her visit the day before, so perhaps they weren't expecting simple after all.

And fuck, Lisa was nervous. She was so nervous. The moment felt suspended, just like it had on the night where she had first introduced Jennie to her family. There had been a moment where everyone had noticed the ring she wore on her left hand, and there had been a very clear shift through an invisible boundary. Lisa hadn't had any idea that she would be trying to push back against the boundary only a week later.

The air felt thick with anticipation. Lisa's heart was racing, her breathing short, and her palms were sweaty. Hastily, she wiped them on her pajama pants as she looked around at her family, who were all still waiting for her to tell them what was happening. Her stomach rolled nauseatingly, and briefly she wondered whether she might be sick out of nerves.

Somehow, she knew this would be one of those conversations that would live forever in her mind, even though she still didn't know exactly what she was going to say. The hardest conversations always lived forever.

Lisa scrubbed her face with her hands and cleared her throat.

"Okay, okay, so..." she started, the words hard to say. It hadn't been very long since she'd stopped crying, and speaking around the lump that remained in her throat was difficult. "So..."

Lisa took a deep breath and blew it out. She looked up and found Clare watching her patiently and with compassion in her eyes.

"Jennie's gone back to New York," Lisa blurted out, her voice cracking on the last work. She cleared her throat again, feeling frustrated with herself. She kept looking at Clare when she spoke, as though if she looked anywhere else, she might lose her nerve. "She and I- we- she's gone back to New York. I-" she stuttered to a stop, the earlier frustration growing. In her stressed state, she wasn't able to come up with any reasonable explanation as to why Jennie would've left in the middle of the night without telling anyone she was going, least of all Lisa.

Fuck it, her mind tossed at her. You can't build lies on top of lies forever.

Jennie doesn't want you to have to lie anymore.

Tell the truth.

"Just over a week ago," Lisa began, her voice shaking as she looked at Clare, "Jennie... you know how she told you that she was in some trouble with the USCIS?" Clare nodded, a knowing expression growing on her face. "Well, she- she was having a meeting with the owner of Knetz, Irene Bae. They were just talking about her visa situation and she was stressed because she was going to be deported, and... I guess she panicked because when I walked in to let her know her next appointment was still waiting, she told Irene that we were engaged," she finished in a whisper.

Lisa dropped her eyes to look at her hands. She found that she was twisting them in her lap, the same way that she'd seen Jennie do it when she'd been anxious.

"A-at first I was very angry. Like, really angry. She was my boss and she'd basically demanded my help. I basically freaked out a bit in the car on the way to the USCIS building. And we- she explained a bit about what was happening and... she told me she was Korean. We spoke with the Immigration officer, Somi, who you met. Or spoke to. And I don't know, I don't know, it was so stupid. I was so angry with her because of everything but I could tell she was scared in there and I- I just wanted to- Somi offered me an out, and I didn't take it. Instead, I just held Jennie's hand."

"I can't believe this," Rosie seethed.

"Rosie," Clare hissed.

There was a moment of complete silence before Lisa carried on.

"When she dropped me off that Friday evening, I shouted at her in the car and again when we got up into my apartment-"

"I can't imagine you shouting at Jennie," Hyeri said quietly, looking somewhat incredulous at the very thought of it.

Lisa sucked in a rattling breath. "I was furious at her and actually I said some hurtful things. She just let me rage at her, and then later that evening I called Rosie and- yeah, that wasn't... great." Lisa paused, in case Rosie was going to say anything about that phone call, but this time, she said nothing. Lisa nodded to herself, and continued. "Jennie picked me up early the next morning and we flew here in her jet. She designed it herself, you know? She's brilliant... um, but she's terrified of flying and even though I was still furious with her I..."

"If there's one thing I know about you, Lisa," Clare said, so gently that Lisa looked up from her lap and at the woman who'd taken her in when she'd lost everything, "it's that you would never let someone suffer, no matter what. You've always had the kindest heart."

Lisa sniffled a little at that, wiping away a silent tear when it fell down her cheek.

"Jennie was always so impressive at work. I know I was never too polite about her whenever I talked about her, and I gave you all a seriously terrible impression of her. But the truth is that I admired her a lot. She had a huge weight on her shoulders and yeah she was a bit impersonal but honestly I... I liked her, back then. There was something about her that I was drawn to but we weren't close and only ever spoke about work stuff. And she was so closed off and aloof and I barely knew anything about her life. And then we came here and we all had that dinner together-"

"Wait," Hyeri interrupted. "I picked you both up at the airport. The story you told me then about how you got together, that wasn't true?"

"No, it wasn't," Lisa admitted. Hyeri let out a low whistle, and Lisa felt ashamed. There was another feeling, though, that was rattling around her body. It felt strangely like relief as she let go of some of the tales she and Jennie had spun together.

"Although that story might not have been true, and neither was the story about the proposal, by the way, everything else was. When you picked us up, Hyeri, she'd made a few jokes before but... that was when I first realized how cheeky she actually was. And it was like I suddenly saw her in a different light. She wasn't just my cold, aloof boss. She was funny, and she was thoughtful. Whenever I felt sad, she reached out for me and made me feel better. Jennie is... she's so much more caring than people know. The media paint her in an awful light. I painted her in an awful light," Lisa said, holding her hand over her chest. "The first morning here, she got out of bed and her hair was a complete mess. Her pajama pants were twisted halfway up one leg and she was wearing an X-Files shirt and that day I just thought, she's nothing like who people think she is. Until then I'd never seen her looking anything less than perfect, but she didn't care one bit about me seeing her with pillow lines across her face."

Lisa had got herself on a roll now. Now that she'd told her family the truth about the start of her and Jennie's relationship, she needed to tell them the truth about the rest of it.

"We had to learn about each other and our lives in preparation for an interview we were meant to be having on Monday. Everything I learnt about her, I just wanted to know more. Jennie was like some kind of puzzle and she kept giving me more and more pieces of herself. She opened herself up in ways I don't think she's really done in years. It hurt her to be so private, but she didn't feel like she had much of a choice, because of Jongin, because of her jobs, because of her last name. But up here... I got to really know her. Straight off the bat, she was so stupidly kind. She was so soft and gentle, and she was constantly surprising me with her wit and how much she cared about me. And to be honest... I was falling for her. The crush I'd had on her before got wildly out of control. We were posing for some photos and- and I suggested that we pose some while we kissed and she just... kissed me. And it the realest thing ever. Earlier that morning I'd jokingly mentioned that she'd never proposed to me and so she did propose, later that day. I made some dumb comment about it being fake but... but it wasn't fake because..."

Clare shuffled a little closer on the sofa so that she could put her hand on Lisa's knee. "Lisa?"

"You know what's crazy?" Lisa whispered, closing her eyes a moment before looking back up at them all. "Except for the swamp witch proposal, and the story about how we got together, everything else has been real. The flowers she told you all that she was getting me every week? Those were real, and I just never put two and two together. The galas she wanted to take me to? She just wanted to get to know me outside of work and thought they may be a good way to do it, and I didn't realize it. The Paris trip... she wanted to take me to see the art galleries there, because she'd overheard me telling someone at work how much I loved art. The way she acted around me, it was all genuine. She didn't fake any of it, she just sort of... acted on her feelings. But she didn't realize that I was feeling the same way about her. And the proposal... it was real," Lisa said, twisting the ring around her finger. "I didn't think Jennie reciprocated my feelings, and she didn't think that I returned hers. But we both did. She told me that she wasn't brave enough to talk to me before all this. And I just realized today that I wasn't brave enough, either. I let her reputation stop me from really trying back in New York. She was afraid that I wouldn't want her because of her work, her family, everything else. But I do. If we'd just talked to each other years ago when we apparently both liked each other, today things would be so much different. We wouldn't have had to lie, we would be together. I- I've never felt like this before. She makes me so h-happy and I love her, I'm in love with her..."

Lisa trailed off once more, the silence stretching through the room. She'd dropped a lot of revelations on her family and when she gathered the courage to look up once more, they were all staring at her with various expressions on their faces. Clare looked torn, halfway between shock and disbelief. Rosie's eyebrows were raised, but she didn't look angry anymore. Hyeri, on the other hand, was smiling.

When Lisa offered Hyeri a hesitant smile of her own, Hyeri winked at her and learned forward in her chair. "So what did Jennie say, when she proposed?" she asked.

At that, Lisa's smile grew into something large and genuine, for the first time that day.

"She said that I made her feel safe. She promised to always do her best by me, whatever that would be. She was crying a little bit and her hand was so soft as she held mine and she looked so... heartfelt, and beautiful, and of course I said yes-"

Lisa was interrupted by Clare squealing a little on the sofa. The unexpected sound startled her, and she found Clare not even attempting to cover the smile on her face. "Jennie loves you," Clare said, sounding a little bit in awe. "Jennie really loves you?"

"She does," Lisa replied, and Clare sat back on the sofa looking extremely satisfied. It confused Lisa; why wasn't anyone asking her about the lies that she and Jennie had told them?

As she was about to ask, Rosie spoke up.

"So Jennie proposed to you, meaning every word she said?"

"Yeah."

"...and you said yes?"

"I did," Lisa said, wondering where this was going.

Rosie smiled. "And she gave you a ring. That ring?"

Lisa looked down at it, the deep color of the tanzanite sparkling next to the diamonds. "She did."

Rosie sat back on the sofa just as far as Clare and looked equally as satisfied. "You know that means you two are engaged for real, right?"

Lisa looked over to the letter on the nightstand, confirming that Jennie had meant it when she'd asked Lisa to marry her. She thought back over her own feelings at the time, and about how she could see their lives together in her mind. She thought about how she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Jennie, and about how deep her feelings were for Jennie now. "Yes, that's true-"

"My girls," Clare interrupted, wiping away a tear and standing up to hug Lisa over the armrest.

"I knew Jennie had it in her," Hyeri crowed from her chair. "She really does look at you like you're everything to her, you know. Even when you weren't looking at her, her eyes were still on you. And you really looked at her the same way." Hyeri clapped her hands together. "I can't believe that I noticed how you two felt about each other before either of you did!"

"She's beautiful," Lisa said, running her fingertip over the ring Jennie had given her. "She's so beautiful, inside and out. She's got the gentlest, kindest soul, and you know what? It sucks so much that other people can't see it, or don't want or try to see it. And it sucks that Jennie felt like she had to hide the best parts of herself away from everyone because she thought her gentle nature would ruin her reputation. She thought she needed to hold on to that in order to repair the damage that her brother caused. She thought her softer side might be used against her. But she's... she's so affectionate. I know that everyone has flaws but she's so perfect for me, and I just want to love her in all the ways that she deserves to be loved."

"If you were feeling all this... where is she now?" Rosie asked, not unkindly. "Where did she go?"

"I think that she left in the middle of the night," Lisa replied, her chest feeling tight at the mention of it. "She left a note explaining herself. The gist of it was that this whole week, she's been feeling so terribly guilty about lying to you all, but especially about making me lie to you all. It's been killing her inside. There have been a few times where she's tried to tell me how badly she was feeling and... I just tried to reassure her that although of course it mattered a huge deal to me that I was lying to you all, I still chose to help her. I could've taken the out that Somi gave me last week, but I didn't. And after we started to... I wanted to be with her. I didn't want to let her guilt be a barrier between us. But she thought that I might grow to resent her for making me lie to you all this time, for the rest of our lives. At first I didn't believe her, but then earlier I realized that I'd even have to lie to you about why she'd left, and I just... she was right. I didn't see it before, but she was right. She saw what I couldn't see."

"She's wiser than a lot of people her age," Clare said, folding her arms over her chest. "She's had to put up with a great deal that ninety-nine percent of people, or more, never have to. She's got a... sorry, Lisa, I don't wish to speak ill of the Kims, but I think her experience has given her an insight into guilt that a lot of people don't have. She may not always understand herself, I don't think, but she understands this. And if I'm honest, I agree with her. I think that you would have resented her, eventually. Poor girl. If she loves you as much as you say she does, then the guilt will have tortured her. And the thought of you resenting her over the lying will have tortured her even more."

Lisa breathed out a heavy sigh. "I know. And it's one of the reasons why Jennie left."

"Oh?" Rosie said, sitting up straighter.

"Yeah. Well, there are two reasons. One was the guilt, and what it might do to us. The other was that Somi somehow figured out what we were doing and called her on it. Jennie didn't go into too much detail in the letter, but it doesn't matter how. The fact is she did, and Somi offered her a way to... to stop me from suffering any criminal charges. If she accepted voluntary deportation, I wouldn't be prosecuted. And... she took that deal. To save me."

Another silence descended on the room at Lisa's final revelation. Several times, Hyeri looked like she wanted to say something, even going to far as to sit forward and point at Lisa, before sitting back once more.

Clare was the one to break the silence.

"If Jennie moves to Korea, what would she do?"

"Before yesterday... happened, we had already discussed what she was planning to do. If she got to stay in the country... she told me she wouldn't want to be working as hard anymore. Jennie mentioned that her priorities have shifted. Jennie works far too hard, but being here, with me, with us, being herself and away from her work, has been so relaxing for her. I think it gave her a massive wake-up call. I think that she'd take a step back, promote Nayeon into the CEO position, and go back into building robots. That's what Jennie liked to do, anyway. She'd like to spend more time up at her cabin, spend time with me, building our relationship. Jennie kind of realized that she had been missing out on life, do you know what I mean? She wants it back. If she got deported... she told me that she would relocate the headquarters of K-Corp and set it up there instead. Jennie can't legally work in the States, but she does own K-Corp, so they can't take it from her. If she relocates it, she should be fine. Knetz, she could either keep or sell her shares, but she can't work there now. She doesn't own enough of it to relocate it anyway, as far as I'm aware."

Rosie tapped her finger on the side of the sofa. "So from what you're saying... okay it's totally shit for her to be deported, I totally get that, but she's super-rich. Jennie would get to take a step back, get to keep her company, do what she likes. It's not... that bad of a life, is it?"

"Rosie!" Hyeri burst out, causing everyone to stare at her for a change. She stood up and walked over to the bed, picked up one of Lisa's pillows, and walloped Rosie with it.

"Ah! What was that for?!" Rosie cried, holding her hands up in defense.

"You idiot. Haven't you been listening to anything that Lisa's been saying? Jennie wants a life with Lisa! She can't very well do that if she's been deported across the ocean with basically no chance of ever getting a visa for the US ever again!"

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Hyeri replied, rolling her eyes.

"Jennie strikes me as a rather noble person," Clare piped up thoughtfully, watching Hyeri as she sat back down. "I've talked to her quite a bit this week about the things that she's developing at K-Corp, and they're all things to help people. Of course she's a businesswoman, and a very shrewd one, but she's building things that are designed to help. Jennie told me that while some of the profits are kept to fund the research and development labs K-Corp has, the rest is distributed as bonuses to her employees or donated to charity. I've read her research papers. In the media, she gives almost nothing away of herself. It's as if she doesn't want herself attached to projects, she wants them to stand on their own. Academically, I admire her. But I've got to know her a little bit personally as well, this week," she said with a smile. "She's kind, she respects you, Lisa, and she loves you. And that's all a mother needs to know about the woman her daughter loves."

"Right, right, okay," Rosie said, shifting forward on the sofa again. "Let me get this straight. Jennie asked you to break the law, and you agreed to do it," she stated, holding one finger up. "You actually had a crush on her way before this all happened." Rosie held another finger up. "She actually did try to get your attention a while ago and you were too oblivious to see it. Also, I'm pretty sure that being your boss, she couldn't just approach you and ask you out on a date. In addition," she said primly, sitting up straight and really getting into it now, amusing Lisa despite herself, "Jennie liked you this whole time, and loves you to the point of proposing for real this week, and you said yes. Your relationship started out fake, but the way you two acted around each other was far too real to be fake. In fact, it just makes this entire situation even more ridiculous because you are not that good of an actor, Lisa. Jennie might be much better, but she basically looked at you with heart-eyes this entire week. Nobody who saw you two together would possibly think that you faked the entire thing. You might have faked the getting together part, sure, but you two are like... sickeningly adorable together-"

"Uh-huh," Hyeri chimed in.

"Very true," Clare said sagely.

"What are you saying?" Lisa asked shakily, the strength behind Rosie's words taking her aback a little.

"Lisa, you love Jennie, and she loves you too. There's only really one way forward in this situation," Rosie stated.

"And... what's that?"

"Ugh, Lisa. I can see why it took Jennie so long to get your attention," Rosie said, gesturing at her with both hands. "This is your time for the romantic comedy gesture!"

"My what?"

"Oh for fuck's sa-"

"Language, Rosie!" Clare chastised, smothering a smile behind her hand.

"Sorry!"

Hyeri was cackling on the sofa, and Lisa was suddenly feeling a little lighter.

"Okay, so what I was going to say, without the cursing this time, was that this is your moment, Lisa. You have to go and get your girl, no matter what."

Lisa gaped at Rosie, and then the pieces clicked into place. "You think I should go after Jennie?"

"Yes!" Rosie, Hyeri, and Clare all chorused together.

"Jinx," Lisa said weakly.

Rosie rolled her eyes. "Look, Lisa. I'm going to be really honest, I didn't know what I should think of Jennie when she first got here. You hadn't given us the best impression of her. But whatever preconceptions I had in my mind before she came, they were wiped away as soon as I saw how she looked at you. And whenever I've seen you two together, you looked so happy. You both," Rosie emphasized with a pointed finger in Lisa's direction, "looked happy. You've been my sister for fifteen years and I have never, not ever, seen you as happy as when Jennie Kim had her arms around you. Regardless of what she asked you to do, and never mind the government, you can't just let her go without a fight. I think I speak for all of us when I say that if you have to move to Korea while it gets figured out, then move to Korea. Goodness knows Jennie has enough money to support you both, and you can be a journalist anywhere."

Lisa was still gaping at Rosie, but found her voice. "Jennie got me the journalist job at Knetz-"

"Fine, then take a sabbatical and go and work on some international stories. My point is, Jennie loves you, and you love her. You owe it to yourselves, and each other, to try."

Silence descended on the room after Rosie's little speech.

"I've seen one of my daughters heartbroken before," Clare said slowly, carefully. "I don't want to see it again. Even if it means you move continents for a while or for good, we'll make it work. Jennie is a good, and a very kind woman, and I would be proud to welcome her into the family." Clare leaned forward and reached for Lisa's hand, holding it in both of hers. "You deserve to be happy, you both do. And if you make each other happy, then there's no reason on earth not to chase that happiness. We only get one life, Lisa."

Lisa slumped in her chair, unable to believe what she was really hearing. Despite knowing what they'd done, what Jennie had asked her to do, what Lisa had agreed to do, they were still encouraging her and Jennie to be together? She dropped her face into her shaking hands for a moment, taking several deep breaths before looking back up.

"Don't get me wrong though," Clare said, standing up and looking stern. "I'm not going to say I'm not angry. I am. You did a stupid, stupid thing, both of you. We will talk about this, but right now, if you don't chase after Jennie you'll never forgive yourself. If one of the biggest roadblocks to your relationship was the fact that you weren't honest with us, then consider that roadblock removed. We're your family, Lisa. We'll still be here for you when you get back, no matter what happens."

Lisa was overwhelmed. It was barely midday and she felt like she'd run the emotional gamut of her life. Had she really told her family the truth about herself and Jennie? To know that they'd recognized how Lisa felt about Jennie, and how Jennie felt about Lisa in return, meant more than Lisa could say.

She felt like she'd spent half the time she'd been awake crying, but that didn't stop her from bursting into tears yet again. This time, it was relief and gratitude that caused it, as well as a deep love for her accepting family. It was only a couple of seconds before she felt everyone piling on to give her a group hug. Lisa sat there in her chair, surrounded by the people who had taken her in when she had nobody, and who had accepted Jennie right alongside her, even knowing the truth.

By the time they broke apart, even Hyeri was wiping away a tear. Clare told Rosie off for wiping her eyes with her sleeve and fetched each of them a tissue.

Lisa didn't know what to say. Her breath caught in her throat as she wiped her face with the tissue, pushing her glasses up on top of her head to do so. This morning she'd woken up to find Jennie gone, and felt her heart break in her chest. Then, faced with Rosie's knowing anger, she'd told her family the truth.

The truth.

What if... what would Jennie say if she knew the tables had turned like this?

Somi still knew what they'd done, they couldn't change that, but if one of Jennie's main reasons for leaving was the guilt that came from making Lisa lie to her family, to everyone? If their lies were no longer a factor, then... then...

That was hope she felt in her chest now, warming her from the inside out and chasing away the jagged heartache Jennie's departure had caused. Hope that things would be alright, that even if it meant she had to do her job somewhere other than Knetz, she and Jennie could make it work.

If Jennie loved Lisa as much as she said she did, as much as Lisa loved Jennie, then Clare was right. Lisa owed it to them both to try.

Lisa was seized by the desire to contact Jennie as soon as possible, to explain that she'd talked to her family, to tell her that she didn't have to feel guilty anymore. To tell her that neither of them would have to lie to Lisa's family, or to anyone, about anything. They could be together, because they wanted to be.

Lisa didn't want to be without Jennie in her life. She wanted Jennie to be there in a very significant way, and sitting around in her bedroom in Homer wasn't going to make that happen. She'd have to talk to Jennie. But how?

There was no way for her to contact Jennie at the moment. The only way she could get a message to her was through her email. Lisa cursed herself for leaving both her work phone and her laptop at home rather than bringing them with her; she remembered the spite she felt as she left them behind, and kicked herself. Lisa didn't have Jennie's work phone number stored in her cell phone, since she always kept work separate from her personal life. It was laughable now when she thought about the fact she'd fallen head over heels in love with her boss, but still. Hindsight was seeing with perfect vision. Even if she could contact Jennie, she only had her work email addresses, through which Jennie did everything. Work emails that Jennie no longer had access to, thanks to the refusal of her visa.

"I have to go back to New York," Lisa said suddenly, standing up and putting her glasses back on. "I have to- even if nothing comes of it, I have to go and talk to Jennie. I have to try, I can't just let this happen. I can't just let her move to Korea without even telling her that I love her! I've got to- shit, I've got to book a plane ticket."

"You haven't even told her that you love her?!" Rosie exclaimed loudly.

"No! I was about to tell her and she stopped me!" Lisa replied, waving her hand in the air. "She was really upset at the time about the whole situation and I think she just... she definitely knows, though. Jennie knows how I feel. I just haven't said it out loud to her and I really, really want to tell her!"

"Alright then," Rosie said with a wide smile. "We've got to get you on a plane! It's going to be really expensive so late in the game, but we've got to try."

"It'll be cheaper during the week," Hyeri said.

"But Jennie might not have a week! She took voluntary deportation, and she wrote in her letter that she could leave this week. She could leave as early as tomorrow, or Monday! I don't have time to waste." Lisa felt energy thrum through her as though she'd drunk six cups of coffee. "Can I borrow your computer?" she asked Clare, the beginnings of a smile crossing her face.

"Of course you can! I'll go and log in. Oh, this is so exciting!" Clare replied, bustling out of the room.

"Good for you, Lisa," Hyeri said, giving her another hug and moving towards the door. She paused just before she left, leaning against the door frame. "The least you can do is try, and I really mean this in the best possible way – you both deserve each other. That chemistry I was picking up between the two of you outside the airport? Everything I've seen between you since? That's what a lot of people spend their whole lives looking for."

Hyeri was gone before Lisa could say anything in response, leaving her alone in her room with Rosie.

She turned to her sister, the first person she'd lied to throughout this entire situation. Rosie was standing there in the bedroom, contemplating the vase of flowers that Jennie had picked for Lisa. As she watched, Rosie reached out to touch some of the petals.

"Jennie picked those for me," Lisa said quietly, and Rosie looked over at her. "She's given me so many flowers, but it was only when we got here and she gave me a bunch that she'd picked herself that... the day before, she'd fallen into the sea. She can't swim, and I pulled her out of it. The next morning, she picked me some flowers and made me breakfast, and it was like... she'd been very open with me up until then, but after that, she didn't hold anything back at all. That day was the day she proposed."

"I get the feeling Jennie could do grand gestures, but that she chooses not to," Rosie said, her hand dropping back down to her side. "Or, if she did, she wouldn't think of them as grand gestures. I mean, she bought me five bottles of expensive scotch because she didn't know which one I'd like, and she didn't even know me. You were the one who had to tell me that it cost a lot. I can imagine for the woman she loved, no price she'd have to pay would be too high to make you happy. Even if that price was moving away to Korea to protect you. And, I know that her doing so hurt you, but I understand where she's coming from."

"You do?" Lisa asked.

"I do. When Hyeri and I broke up, it was because of an incompatibility we had. And okay, this could be a bad analogy but bear with me. I don't pretend to be wise. I wanted kids, and she didn't, as you know. It wouldn't have been fair for either one of us to force the other's hand. If we did, on some level, we'd have to live with the knowledge that we took our happiness at the expense of the person we loved, do you know what I mean? It doesn't mean that they wouldn't be happy, but at the back of their mind would always be this- this niggling guilt... you know? And I think if I apply that to Jennie's situation... she wants to be with you, but she felt she couldn't do that at the expense of making you lie to your family and everyone in your life, just for her. From what you've told me about her, she already bears a lot of weight on her shoulders. And Clare's right, she's noble. I don't think she'd want to take her chance at happiness if it meant that you'd be hurt. In my opinion, letting you go just shows how much she loves you."

Lisa's eyes had filled with tears yet again at Rosie's little speech, and she wrapped her sister in her arms.

"Thank you," she whispered into the warm leather jacket. "You're right, I think. I don't even know why I lied to you all. I don't know why I agreed to-"

"I do," Rosie said firmly, grasping Lisa by the upper arm and using the other to tilt her chin up. "I do. Lisa, you've never seen anyone in need and not helped them. It's not in your nature to ignore suffering, even when that person has been causing you pain as well. You saw that she needed help and comfort, but you still didn't turn your back on her. It was a dumb thing to do and I am mad at you for doing it but at the end of the day, it's not why you did it that matters. It's that you did it at all when you didn't have to. And look, you fell in love with your boss," Rosie said with a smirk and raised eyebrows, "and she fell in love with her assistant. It's the damn oldest story in the book. You just need to write the last page."

Lisa laughed wetly, wiping away the tears on her face. "That was cheesy, Rosie."

"Yeah, yeah, don't tell Hyeri or I'll never buy you chocolate again."

Lisa clapped a hand to her chest dramatically. "You wouldn't do that to me!"

"I would! No chocolate if Hyeri finds out."

"I- oh. Fine, I won't tell her."

Rosie's smirk morphed into a smile. "Come on. Mom's probably searching for flights for you now. Let's go give her a hand?"

"Yeah. And... thanks, Rosie. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"What are big sisters for?"

Lisa grinned at her. She picked up Jennie's letter with the flight details on it, and pulled her wallet out of her jeans pocket before they both rushed downstairs.

Before long, they were crowded around Clare's laptop on the kitchen table. Lisa had tried to change the flight that Jennie had booked for her, but she wasn't able to without authorization from the cardholder, which she didn't have. Maybe Jennie could cancel the flight later.

That left them with only one option, buying a new ticket. Thankfully, there were a lot of flights going from Homer to New York on Sunday. Once they really looked into it, though, Lisa realized that it was going to be a long, long trip. Since she was going so last-minute, she couldn't be too choosy about the flights she took. Lisa would have to fly from Homer in the early evening tonight, wait a few hours in Anchorage airport before taking a mid-morning flight to Chicago, and then take a flight from there to New York. She'd end up in New York past midnight, so if she was lucky, she might get a couple of hours sleep at her apartment. Although it would be time-consuming and difficult, it could be done.

Lisa had never done anything like this before. She wasn't one for moping around, and getting ready to try and catch Jennie before she left the country made her feel like she was doing something. It was infinitely better than wallowing and, damn it, she wasn't going to let Jennie just leave without at least telling her that she loved her.

Jennie deserved to hear that someone loved her, that Lisa returned the love Jennie had for her. Even if Jennie already knew it, Lisa wanted to tell her.

With a few clicks on the keyboard, she was booking her seats on each of the three flights she'd need to take to get back to New York. Lisa had to forcibly stop Rosie from booking flights as well; Rosie very much wanted to come with her, but there was no way she'd be able to get a few days off work so suddenly. She was the sheriff after all. Lisa had to promise to phone her with the details.

Her first flight from Homer to Anchorage left in several hours, so she had time to have a big breakfast, or lunch by this point, before packing up some of her stuff. Taking a suitcase would mean waiting around for luggage once she got to New York, and she would have precious little time as it was. She decided to do a Jennie and leave most of her stuff behind when she left. After all, she hadn't really brought anything with her that she couldn't do without.

Everyone was on the edge of excitement all through lunch. There was a lot for everyone to think about. Lisa had dropped quite a few revelations on them all so far today, and all of her emotional outbursts had left her feeling pretty wiped. She actually thought if she sat down for too long, she might fall asleep. But for now, she was happy to sit with her family and talk.

Over a cheesecake that Rosie and Hyeri had brought with them that morning, Lisa told them about how she always wanted to be reaching for Jennie to hold her, how just looking at her smile made her chest flood with warmth. Rosie recalled how Jennie had taken her by surprise during Mario Kart, and then, she told Lisa about the chat she and Jennie had had in the Red Lion while Lisa was outside with Jake. Rosie told her about how she'd said welcome to the family, Jennie, and Lisa thought about how, if anything, that had been what had caused Jennie to be so upset the day she'd fallen into the sea.

It couldn't be helped, now. If she managed to find Jennie at Knetz or K-Corp, she could try to convince Jennie that she didn't need to feel guilty anymore. That it didn't have to be a factor in their relationship, if she still wanted one.

Lisa shook herself back into the present and listened to what her family were asking. They all wanted more details about how Lisa had realized she was in love with Jennie, and Lisa was only too happy to share some stories from the week. Without delving into too many personal details, she told them about how Jennie felt about the storm painting, and about the drawings Lisa had done of Jennie when they were sitting in the treehouse. She also told them about her minor freak-out when she'd realized that maybe Jennie's feelings were real too, standing in an alley outside the Market.

Clare wanted to know even more details about the real proposal, and Lisa told them all about it. She remembered how Jennie's eyes had shone, how she'd thought for a while that this proposal had been fake too, and how it had hurt Jennie for Lisa to say it. Rosie actually walloped her on the arm for that one.

"I'm still going to call her swamp witch, though," Hyeri said, taking a sip of her orange juice.

"Me too, to be honest," Lisa said with a laugh. "I like it far too much to just let that one go. Besides, I think she quite likes it. Her mother definitely didn't, and I think that was a good enough reason to keep it."

"It's all I'm going to call her when she next comes up here," Rosie said, smiling at Lisa.

Lisa wasn't really sure when she'd next be able to come back up here; it all depended on what happened in New York. She would be leaving on the same day that she and Jennie had planned to leave anyway, so it wasn't really a surprise to her that she was doing so. It was just that she was now leaving under rather different circumstances than she'd planned. She was meant to be travelling back with Jennie; Lisa had even been looking forward to the trip a little bit, maybe doing some quizzing about each other from the Immigration folders. Mostly, though, she thought that she and Jennie could curl up together and just enjoy being with each other.

She spaced out a little as she thought about both of them cramming into one of the single beds in the stalls on the plane, and just nuzzling her face into the crook of Jennie's neck. It would be a very tight fit, two adults in a single bed, and Lisa almost giggled at the thought of them being squished together like that. She was sure that Jennie would roll her eyes at the idea, but climb into the bed next to Lisa anyway.

Lisa startled when Hyeri waved a hand in front of her face.

"Earth to Lisa!"

"I guess I zoned out there for a second," Lisa said sheepishly, scooping the last piece of cheesecake up with her spoon.

"A second? You were gone for a while!" Hyeri laughed.

"'m s'rry," Lisa mumbled around her cheesecake.

"What were you thinking about?"

She swallowed her mouthful. "Jennie," Lisa said, her voice thick.

"Not surprised," Rosie said, cutting some more cheesecake and passing Lisa a second slice. "Here. You're going to need all the energy you can get for all the travelling you're going to need to do!"

"Ugh. None of these planes are going to be as comfortable as Jennie's," Lisa grumbled. "Did I tell you that it had beds in it?"

"Beds?" Hyeri squeaked.

"Yup. Two of them, in their own little bedrooms. I slept in one for part of the flight up here. Jennie said I snored."

Rosie raised her eyebrows as she sat back down. "To be fair to Jennie, if you're really tired, you do snore quite a bit if I remember correctly."

Lisa mimed throwing a piece of cheesecake at Rosie. "I do not!" She looked around for confirmation from either Clare or Hyeri.

"Nope, not getting involved in a fight between the sisters," Hyeri said with a mock grimace.

"I'm with Hyeri," Clare added with a chuckle. "Lisa, you'd better go and pack what you're going to need for your trip. Even if it is only up to Anchorage, you're still going to need to go through security."

Lisa sighed. "That's true..." She looked up at her family. She felt as she always did when a departure was coming; like she might cry at any moment. The uncertainty of not knowing when she'd be able to see them again always hit her hard. But this time, there were several things that were different. Jennie was no longer her boss, and Lisa's related anti-social hours and frequent weekend work no longer applied. She also allowed herself to hope for a moment that if by some miracle Jennie was allowed to stay in the country, she and Lisa would travel up to Homer far more regularly. Jennie had told her how much she'd enjoyed being up here, how the fresh air had made her feel alive again, and she thought that Jennie would love to spend some more time in Homer. With as few boat trips as possible, Lisa thought with a smile.

Her mind floated, once again, to the Big Paint that would be happening this summer in Homer. Would she and Jennie be able to attend, if they were still together?

Lisa shoved the thought out of her mind. The situation was so delicate, and the federal government was between them. Even if she'd told her family the truth, it was no guarantee that she and Jennie could still be together, even if it was what they both wanted. And even if they could be together, there was also no guarantee that Jennie would be able to stay in the United States. They might be doing their painting in Jennie's house in Homer.

No, no, stop thinking about it. There is no point thinking about anything like that until you've at least spoken to Jennie, Lisa told herself rationally. Just like you didn't plan past the Monday interview, don't plan past this. It may only lead to false hope and heartbreak. You don't know what's going to happen yet.

Clare was right, she needed to go and pack. She finished the second slice of cheesecake that Rosie had brought her, and headed upstairs. Back in her bedroom, Lisa looked around once more at the things that Jennie had left behind. Steeling herself against the sadness that the sight of her belongings brought her, Lisa headed into the bathroom for another shower. If she wasn't going to be able to shower again until she got back to New York, she was definitely going to make sure she felt fresh before she left. She didn't take long, knowing that she had things she needed to do.

Back in the bedroom, damp tendrils of her hair trailing around her neck from where they'd escaped from her loose bun, she opened the backpack that she and Jennie had been using during the week. She didn't need to worry too much about carting home loads of clothes, since she had enough back at her apartment in Brooklyn. Into the backpack she shoved a clean change of underwear and a tshirt; she would've loved to have taken one of Jennie's science pun shirts, but she didn't want to ruin it by getting icky while travelling in it. She did pack one at random into the backpack though, feeling that at least if she didn't get to speak to Jennie, she would still have a piece of her to hold onto.

The journey would be quite long, so she also packed a couple of books, one of her smaller, mostly empty sketch books, and a small case with some pencils and a sharpener. From one of the cupboards, she pulled an older Nintendo 3DS and plugged it in to charge. Lisa never knew what kind of entertainment she'd be in the mood for when she was flying, so it was better to cover all the bases. The movies were never that great on planes, in her experience.

She glanced again at the time on her phone; it was past 2:30pm now. Depending on what time Jennie had left and however long it had taken her to arrange the flight with air traffic control, she would most likely be landing soon or possibly have landed in New York already.

Lisa's heart ached when she thought of Jennie having to endure the landing with nobody holding her hand. Once again, she was sure that neither BoA nor Somi would step up for her. Lisa's own hands shook with the thought of Jennie gripping the armrest so hard that her knuckles turned white again. She really, really hoped that there hadn't been any turbulence during the trip, for Jennie's sake.

The thought that Jennie might possibly have landed already spurred Lisa into moving faster. It didn't matter that the flight times were set and unchangeable, she wanted to be underway. If she could fly to New York herself, she would be out of the window faster than she could say Swamp Witch.

She was stuck in that strange, midway feeling of both wanting time to slow down so that she didn't have to leave, and wanting it to speed up so that she could get her trip underway and try to get in touch with Jennie. Leaving Homer always caused Lisa pain, but this time she let it energize her. She finished packing what she needed to, save the Nintendo 3DS, set the bag aside, and got dressed into comfortable clothes. There was no way she was going to be sitting on planes for hours in jeans.

Back downstairs, they all passed the time until Lisa had to leave playing various rounds of Mario Kart and Smash Bros. Even Clare joined in; she was hilariously bad, and the jittery nerves that Lisa was feeling were soothed by the laughter they were all sharing.

It seemed like no time had passed before Lisa was standing in the doorway with her backpack at her feet, and being hugged by Clare.

"Give Jennie a hug for me too, okay?" Clare said, stroking Lisa's hair. Lisa had told Clare a little bit about BoA, and Clare had been horrified. "If there's anything that girl needs, besides you that is, it's hugs. You tell her I'd be honored to have her as my third daughter."

Lisa nodded tearfully into Clare's shoulder. "I'll call you when I get... to each place," Lisa said, sniffling.

"Alright, sweetheart. Have safe flights and let me know when you get back to your apartment. I don't care what time it is, okay?"

"I will," Lisa said with a wobbly smile. "I'll see you soon."

Rosie, Hyeri, and Lisa took Clare's boat across the Sound to the mainland, Hyeri gave them all a lift to the airport in the squad car she'd left parked at the harbor earlier. Lisa sat in the back, watching as Homer passed in the windows. As sad as she felt to be leaving, she was on edge thinking about Jennie possibly leaving the country, and she was far more anxious than she was sad. The letter that Jennie had written her was tucked in one of the books in her bag, though, and it was that that was spurring her onward.

The closer they got to the airport, the more animated Lisa got. She drummed her fingers loudly on the door frame.

She was actually doing this. She really was going to fly back across the country and try for Jennie. She'd never done something quite so dramatic in her life.

"You're practically bouncing in the seat back there," Rosie said, turning around and eyeing Lisa with amusement. "Are you that keen to get rid of us?"

"Definitely," Lisa said with a laugh. "No, of course not. I'm just eager to get going and-"

"See if you can make a big romantic gesture and declare your undying love for Jennie in front of all your friends and colleagues?"

Lisa gulped.

"I'm sure I saw that happen in Ryan Reynolds movie once," Hyeri said, flicking her indicator on to turn right at the traffic lights.

"However I have to do it," Lisa said with a confidence she didn't feel at the thought of having a huge audience for their conversation, "I'll do it."

"Atta girl," Rosie said with a snort.

It wasn't long before they were pulling up at the airport and Lisa was hugging both Rosie and Hyeri goodbye, the other two almost in a stranglehold in Lisa's arms.

"I'm gonna miss you both so much," Lisa mumbled.

"I'm going to miss you too," Rosie replied, at the same time as Hyeri hummed in agreement. "I definitely need an update as soon as you've caught up to Jennie though. I do not want to read about your reconciliation on Twitter instead of in a phone call!"

"Heard, definitely heard," Lisa said, acknowledging the soft rebuke for what it was.

"Just take care of yourself," Rosie implored. "I know it's important to you to get your message across to Jennie, but please take care of yourself as well. She's not the only one with a broken heart, here."

"I know, I know. I'm trying to be realistic, because the odds are definitely stacked against us when it comes to the federal government, but sometimes I just can't help being hopeful, you know?" Lisa blew out a breath and stepped away from the hug. "I just have to keep in mind that if there's even the slightest chance, I have to go for it."

"Definitely," Rosie and Hyeri said together as they walked Lisa towards the lone security gate in the airport.

Lisa shifted from foot to foot before giving them each another hug. "I'll let you know when I've landed and stuff," she said. "And, what happens if I manage to find Jennie, if she hasn't left the country by the time I get back to New York," she said, meaning it as a joke, but her stomach sank like lead at the thought of it anyway.

Rosie caught it immediately. "Hey, it'll be alright. No matter what happens, we've got your back, okay? And remember; if Jennie didn't love you, she wouldn't have left."

"Thank you," Lisa whispered, giving Rosie a tight hug. "I miss you. I miss you both. Please move to New York so we can hang out more!"

"Aww," Hyeri said, wrapping her arms around both of them.

"I'm working on it," Rosie said through a sniffle of her own. "I miss you too. You'd better still be there when I get there, but if you've moved to Korea to be with Jennie, I guess I can't be too mad"

"You'd better go," Rosie said, when they broke apart. "You've got a long journey ahead of you."

Lisa nodded. "I do. Okay, well, I'll catch you on the flip side."

"No," Rosie protested with an eye roll at Lisa's cheesy statement.

"See you later, alligator," Lisa said with a grin as she hitched her backpack further up her shoulder.

"No, Lisa!"

"Hasta la vis-"

Rosie clapped a hand over Lisa's mouth with a laugh. "No! I regret making you watch all those movies!"

It was with a big smile on her face that Lisa finally stepped away from Rosie and Hyeri, giving them a big, over-the-top wave. "Okay, I'm gonna go now!"

"Good luck!"

Rosie and Hyeri waited until Lisa was through security. Homer's airport was really small, so she could still see them at the end of the short corridor. They both waved at her and gave her thumbs up, and Lisa returned both before she turned and walked into the small departure lounge beyond.

She was on her way. She was finally on her way. Lisa felt her breath come quickly as she wandered towards the shop, intent on buying snacks for the flight. It would be almost four hours, and as hyped up as she was starting to feel, she definitely couldn't do this whole flight without food.

By the time she was boarding the plane, Lisa had two sandwiches, two bags of Twizzlers, three different bags of Skittles, two bottles of water, and a Coke.

The Homer plane was nowhere near as luxurious as Jennie's plane, and now that Lisa had had a taste of that kind of flying, she desperately wanted it back. There was a child in the seat behind her that kicked its feet into the back of her seat during the take off, and Lisa gritted her teeth. Instead of saying something, she put her earphones in and listened to music, and watched as the coastline of Homer stretched out in the distance. Once the plane banked, she could only see the blue ocean, so she settled into her seat. Thankfully, the child stopped kicking once the plane levelled out.

When Lisa wasn't reading one of the books she'd brought with her, she was daydreaming about her favorite parts of the past week with Jennie. Being able to think about someone she loved in this way was new to her. She'd never felt as strongly about Jake, despite what a good and honest guy he was; being with him was nice, but she'd never felt her whole body tingle at the thought of being close to him. When Jennie was nearby, it was like a physical ache and a tugging behind her navel.

About an hour into the flight, after she'd eaten both sandwiches and drunk the Coke, Lisa fell asleep, sprawled half in her seat and half up against the window that was next to her. The emotion of the day had left her feeling pretty exhausted, and she only woke up once the plane was descending into Anchorage.

At Anchorage Airport, there was a ten-hour layover, so Lisa forked out some money to stay in a hotel rather than sleeping on the benches like she'd originally planned. That way, she'd at least be able to charge her phone. She gave both Clare and Rosie a call once she'd settled into bed, letting them know what she was doing. They didn't chat for too long; Lisa was comfortable enough that she was already falling asleep propped up against the pillow. She set her alarm and curled up under the duvet. Her last thoughts before she fell asleep were of Jennie; Lisa hoped that she was alright, if she was back in her apartment now, and what she was doing. Was Jennie packing? Had she gone to K-Corp to pack up her belongings there? With those disquieting thoughts in her mind, Lisa fell asleep.

The worried thoughts about Jennie must have plagued her sleep, because by the time her alarm woke her up early the next morning, she was grumpy and sore from having lain in one position for too long. Thanking her foresight in booking a hotel, she turned the shower on and let the warm water soak her aching thigh and shoulder, before she got ready and headed into the airport to check in to her next flight. The connecting flight to Chicago, and the one from there to New York, were connected, so she only had to check in once.

The flight to Chicago was quite turbulent, and Lisa found herself clenching her jaw as the plane rocked from side to side. Once, the plane dropped altitude so quickly that the woman in the seat next to her let out a scream so shrill that Lisa had to stick her finger in her ear to stop it ringing.

For the first time, she was glad that Jennie had left the day before; today, Sunday, was the day they were meant to fly back to New York together. If they'd had to fly through this storm, Lisa worried at how stressed Jennie would be on such a horrible flight. As her hands gripped the armrests, Lisa was very glad that Jennie was not with her right now. The sky outside was a dark, sinister grey-black, and every now and again, Lisa spotted a flash of lightning.

After a while, the plane made it through the bad weather. Lisa breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her sketch book out. Concentrating on drawing something would distract her much better than any movie, and she spent the next few hours sketching various views of the woods around the house in Homer. After a while, she found that she was drawing Jennie into them, leaning against trees, or smiling down at her from the treehouse. When she realized what she'd done, she opened her phone and looked at one of the photos of she and Jennie kissing. Seeing it again made her stomach swoop with butterflies and love; if Jennie had been with her, she would given her an affectionate squeeze and a soft kiss.

Once she had the photo clearly in her mind, Lisa clicked her screen off and slowly sketched it out onto the page on the tray-table. Little by little, the smile on Jennie's face came to life on the page in front of her. The delicate curl of her fingers around Lisa's jaw, the gentle waves of her hair, and the joyful expression on Lisa's face; they all came into being through the strokes of her pencils on the paper. While she was drawing it, she couldn't help but think of how it had felt to kiss Jennie in the treehouse, not knowing at the time whether it was real for Jennie or not. Now that she knew it was, the smile on Jennie's face just made the picture all the sweeter for Lisa.

By the time the plane landed in Chicago, Lisa had sketched out several of their photos from the past week, including some from the day they'd painted the boathouse. The week that they'd spent together was full of so many good memories for Lisa that she wanted to sketch as many of them as she could. She also remembered that she wanted to give Jennie the storm painting. Once she knew what was going to be happening, she would have to ask Clare to post it to wherever Jennie was.

Hopefully, that would be in New York, with Lisa.

Thanks to a delay in Chicago, the plane landed later than anticipated in New York, at just after three in the morning. Lisa had sat in one of the departure lounges at O'Hare getting more and more frustrated as the hours ticked past. She'd had this vague idea that, knowing Jennie stayed up fairly late and would likely still be jet lagged, she could just go to her apartment and talk to her there. She'd never been to the apartment itself, but because of her job, she'd had to drop work deliveries off with security enough times that she could have found the right apartment block in her sleep. Jennie knew that Lisa knew where her apartment was. Every minute that the flight was delayed pushed that possibility further and further away, until finally, it wasn't a possibility any longer.

With Jennie possibly leaving the country at any moment, every minute, every hour, counted. Tired from the flights and stressed with the idea of Jennie leaving before she could reach her, Lisa stepped off the plane in New York.

Her eyes gritty with tiredness, Lisa dazedly made her way out of the terminal she'd landed at the airport. Jennie accepting voluntary deportation essentially rendered their interview in the morning moot, which was the only good spot that Lisa could see at the moment. She was so tired that even if it was still on, she doubted that she would be able to answer any questions correctly.

When she stepped outside, the difference in air quality between New York and Homer hit her hard; she missed the fresh air and the smell of the wildflowers immediately. She debated with herself for a few minutes on whether to line up and take a taxi to Red Hook, or to just continue her journey immediately and take the subway. In the end, she opted to wait for a taxi, because the subway that late at night wasn't the most appealing of ideas.

As the city zipped by the windows of the taxi, Lisa tried her best not to think about whether Jennie was still in the city or not. Maybe, somewhere across the river, Jennie was asleep right now in the lonely apartment she didn't like very much. In her mind's eye, she imagined Jennie falling asleep in the chair in front of the window that overlooked the City Park; maybe Jennie was hoping to see as much of the sky as she could, like she could in Homer.

Maybe Jennie wasn't asleep at all. What if she was awake, staring out over the view, her silhouette dark against the window as she looked out? What would she be thinking about? Had she recovered from the flight? Lisa's stomach twisted at the thought of Jennie alone in her apartment, dressed in something soft and casual, but her thoughts dark and heartbroken.

It wasn't until Lisa was back in her apartment, exhausted, showered and under her duvet, that she called Rosie to let her know that she was back. Thanks to the delay and a dodgy console in the seat in front of her on the flight, leaving her unable to charge her phone, it had died. Rosie had been watching the flight on Flight Radar though, and so wasn't too worried at the lack of word.

Halfway through the call, Lisa fell asleep.

When she next woke up, the sunlight was streaming in the blind-less windows. Lisa blinked blearily against the harsh light, shutting her eyes and groping for her phone in her bed somewhere. She cracked an eye open and looked at the screen to see the time. It was 9:39am.

There was one very still moment where Lisa stared uncomprehendingly at the time, wondering why her alarm hadn't gone off and woken her. Dimly, like sand through her fingers, she had a vague memory of waking up and pressing something on her phone, before rolling over and falling back to sleep.

Dread gripped her as she realized that she'd wasted quite a few hours just sleeping when Jennie could be leaving the country. Lisa was suddenly wide awake, and as her body caught up to her mind, she shot out of bed towards the sink to brush her teeth. There was no time even for a quick shower; she'd showered and washed her hair the night before, thankfully, even though it looked a complete mess. Finger-combing it would have to do. She'd hoped to make herself presentable before speaking to Jennie, but any plan to do that went straight out the window. She tugged on a pair of black jeans and a sleeveless black shirt.

Lisa shoved her phone in her pocket, her wallet in the other, and zipped up a red hoodie with cartoon sushi dancing up the sleeves. Carefully, she tucked Jennie's letter into her back pocket. She was still wiggling her feet into her sneakers as she struggled to lock her apartment door. The lock was faulty, and it decided now was the time to start playing games with her.

"Come on, come on, come on, come the fuck on," Lisa hissed at it as she twisted her key in the lock over and over again, each twist getting more and more frantic as she panicked.

Her mind tossed her an image of Jennie climbing the steps to the door of her private plane, and in her stress, Lisa turned the key harder than she should've and it snapped right there in the lock. The door, however, was closed. Lisa stared at it for a second, before giving it a tentative push. Satisfied that it was locked and hoping she hadn't forgotten anything, Lisa stuffed the remainder of her keys in her pocket. She thundered down the stairs, taking them two at a time and crashing loudly at the bottom before rushing out into the street.

Lisa's adrenaline spiked as she jogged quickly down the road towards the ferry terminal. Going to the subway would actually take longer, and there was a ferry leaving in less than ten minutes. She would easily make it, but she didn't want to take any risks. She kept the jog up until she reached the ferry stop, checking her phone to make sure she had enough credit before sitting down on a seat to catch her breath.

She practically bounced in her seat with exasperation when at each stop between Red Hook and Pier 11, a large crowd of people trooped on and off. Lisa watched them walking slowly up and down the ramp and silently begged for them to hurry up.

When the boat finally docked at Pier 11, Lisa pushed herself through the crowd and ran down the pier towards the crosswalk. Only as she got there did she realize she had absolutely no idea where Jennie was. Out of habit, she'd been rushing towards Knetz, but Jennie might not even be there. She might very well be at K-Corp, her apartment, USCIS, or somewhere else entirely.

Her heart pounding wildly, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, pausing for only a second to look at the photo of Jennie with the spoon hanging out of her mouth, before she unlocked her phone and dialed a number she never had before. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of calling before, but she let her frustration at herself go. It's not like it would help, she thought.

While it rang, she continued towards Knetz; if nothing else, at least she could tick it off the list of places she needed to check.

Halfway across a busy street, the phone connected, and Lisa heard a friendly voice through the speaker.

"Hi, Lisa! Calling so soon?"

"Hi, Nayeon," Lisa huffed, slightly breathless from rushing up the busy sidewalks towards Knetz.

"Are you alright? You sound like you're... running?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lisa said, turning a corner and dodging a group of tourists staring up at whatever building she was passing. "Listen, Nayeon, I'm sorry to just call like this out of the blue, but is Jennie with you?"

"No," Nayeon said, her voice a little sharper. "Why are you asking? Isn't she with you? Don't you have that interview today?"

"No, I don't think- it's a long story, I'll tell you, or Jennie will. Anyway, is she at K-Corp? Or her apartment?"

"I don't know where she is, Lisa," Nayeon said, sounding a little worried now. "Have you tried Knetz?"

Lisa skidded to a stop outside the Knetz building. "No, not yet, but I'm just outside there now. I'll go and check if she's inside, and I'll give you a call back."

"Please do," Nayeon replied.

"Bye, Nayeon," Lisa said, before hanging up and shoving her phone back into her pocket. She pushed through the doors and ignored the way her shoes squeaked across the polished lobby floor.

The elevator seemed to take an interminable amount of time and Lisa could practically feel the blood pounding through her ears as she waited impatiently for it to arrive. Finally, it came, and she pressed the button for the floor she worked on.

The numbers climbed slowly, a few people getting in and out, giving Lisa a nod of recognition. The higher the numbers climbed, the faster Lisa's heart seemed to beat. The floor below the one she wanted, someone got on and held the door open for a friend of theirs who was ambling along the corridor, wires trailing along the ground behind them from the armfuls of computer gear they had.

Lisa huffed in annoyance. She was so close to her floor, so close! She stepped from foot to foot as she bit her lip, watching the person approach.

The man coming down the corridor dropped something on the floor, and at the sudden sound, Lisa couldn't stand the waiting any longer. She walked swiftly out of the lift and towards the door to the staircase in the corner. She dashed through the doors and up the stairs, before finally finding herself in front of the Knetz office doors.

She paused for only a second before pulling them open and stepping into the room. She really didn't have time to waste.

Straight away, Lisa remembered why nobody ever used the stairs if they wanted to make a quiet entrance; the doors squeaked really loudly. Immediately, every head in the office swiveled towards her as the loud noise screeched through the quiet room.

"Oh look, it's the future Mrs Kim," Woozi said in a smarmy voice, giving her a lascivious wink.

"Oh shut up Wooz," Lisa spat, not having the patience for him right now. Across the office, she could see Minnie standing up and holding her arms out as if to say what the fuck?

Wooz's comment aside, Lisa suddenly realized that the office was very, very quiet. Nobody was typing, nobody was on the phone; in fact, nobody was making any attempt to even pretend they were working.

She caught Minnie's eye, who waved her cell phone at her. Lisa yanked it out of her pocket and, too late, saw a message from Minnie that must've arrived during or after her call with Nayeon.

Minnie: why the hell is Jennie packing up all her stuff? And why is she dressed in JEANS?

Jennie was here?

Lisa looked up and instantly, all the breath left her lungs.

Jennie walked out of her office carrying a cardboard box. She was wearing jeans, but that's not what Lisa noticed first about her, no. What Lisa focused on first was that Jennie's hair was hanging in loose, soft waves around her face. The sight of her Jennie, her soft Jennie in the surroundings of the Knetz office was so jarring that Lisa half-choked on the next breath she tried to take.

She'd never seen Jennie in the office with her hair down. Never. She'd always been dressed in those damned expensive clothes that were designed to draw the eye, her hair never even slightly out of place. As she walked towards the break room at the opposite side of the office to where Lisa was standing, Lisa could see that Jennie had dressed to blend in. The problem was that in dressing casually, she'd drawn even more attention to herself.

Nobody in the office, save Lisa herself, had ever seen Jennie dressed like this.

But Jennie was here. She was here. She hadn't left the country yet, and she was right here.

"Jennie!" Lisa burst out, her voice loud and desperate, as if Jennie's name was the only word she knew right now.

At the sound of Lisa's voice, Jennie spun around instantly, her face a mask of shock.

"Lisa?!" Jennie answered in a strangled voice.

Swallowing, Lisa walked between all the desks that separated herself and Jennie. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see that people were turning around in their seats, perhaps anticipating a good show. By the time she reached her own desk, she was only a few feet away from Jennie. The whole walk towards her, Lisa didn't take her eyes off Jennie.

Jennie looked both surprised and apprehensive. There were also nerves in her eyes as she watched Lisa approach; the nervousness sent a little crack running through Lisa's heart.

"Hi," Lisa said, once she stopped in front of Jennie, the box Jennie was holding shaking a little.

"Hi," Jennie replied quietly, the word almost like a sigh. "What are you doing here? I uh- I thought you were um... I thought you'd still be in Homer."

"I figured," Lisa said, but then she blanked on what to say next.

Jennie was standing there in front of her, clutching the box like it was the only defense that stood between herself and whatever she thought Lisa might say. For a moment, neither of them said anything; they just gazed at each other, and the complete silence of the office helped narrow the world to just Lisa, Jennie, and the box that was between them.

Jennie's lower lip trembled with the effort of trying not to cry in front of the whole office, and Lisa was struck once again at how much had changed over the course of their time in Homer. Just before they'd left, Nancy had yelled at Jennie in front of the whole staff about how awful she was. About how cold, aloof, and unlovable Jennie was. Jennie had borne the vicious, cruel words with a dignity that had impressed Lisa at the time, but now, Lisa knew how much it had cost Jennie. The difference now was that Jennie was barely hanging on to her emotions, and Lisa couldn't bear to see Jennie cry.

Lisa cleared her throat and took a step forward. "I read your letter."

Jennie nodded, squeezing her eyes shut for a second before opening them again. "Then you understand why I-"

"I understand," Lisa gently interrupted, "that you wanted to protect me. But you didn't even talk to me about it before you left, Jennie. We could have tried-"

"You shouldn't try. All I'm going to do is make things miserable between you and your family in time, and I don't want that for you. You deserve far better than me, even if I- even though you know how I feel about you," Jennie said, struggling to get her words out as her breath started to hitch in her throat.

"That's... not what I was going to say," Lisa replied. "I was going to say, we could have tried to find a way to tell my family together."

"But you can't tell them!" Jennie said insistently, twisting to drop the box she was holding on the nearest desk, heedless of Daniel, who yanked his hand out of the way just in time. "You can't tell them about the..." Jennie trailed off, glancing around the office, no doubt taking in the fact that every single staff member was watching the two of them.

"Did you mean everything you wrote in this letter?" Lisa asked, pulling it from her pocket and lifting it up between them. She took another step closer to a heartbroken-looking Jennie, holding the letter out.

Jennie started to lift a hand to the letter, as if to take it, before she wrapped both of her arms across her stomach. "You know that I did."

"And every word you said when you gave me this ring?" she asked, holding her left hand up. Between them, the ring sparkled under the harsh lights of the office. Jennie glanced down at the ring for a long moment, her eyes turning soft.

"Yes, Lisa," Jennie croaked out, looking once more at everyone. A week ago, Lisa knew that all Jennie would've had to do is raise an eyebrow as she glared out across the office and everyone would have been back to work in a second. She didn't do that. Now, Jennie just looked defeated, all of her defenses down.

"I meant every word," she said brokenly, looking up at Lisa with her brown eyes swimming in tears. "I meant every word I wrote on that paper, even though it killed me to write it in the first place. And I meant every single word on the boat."

Lisa felt like she was standing at the edge of a precipice. Like at the USCIS office, like the evening they'd announced their engagement over dinner in Homer, and like yesterday morning when she'd told her family. This was a moment that she knew could change everything.

Jennie stood in front of her, the woman that she loved, who she wanted to spend her life with.

Tell the truth, Lisa's mind insisted. You told your family, now tell her.

"I told them," Lisa said simply. "I told my family."

It took a second for the words to sink in, and then, Jennie's jaw dropped. Her eyes widened, and one of her hands groped towards the edge of the desk she was standing next to. "You- you told them?" she asked incredulously.

"Told them what?" Lisa heard someone behind her stage-whisper to someone else, who hurriedly shushed them.

"You wrote in your letter that without my family knowing the truth about us, we couldn't be together," Lisa said in a rush. She ignored the confused looks from her colleagues. Nothing existed right now except for herself and Jennie, and neither one of them took their eyes off each other. Lisa dimly heard the elevator ding to the side of her, but neither she nor Jennie broke their gaze. Jennie looked absolutely dumbstruck and gaped at her as Lisa plowed on. "Well, they know now, and while they are a little bit angry, they could see how we felt about each other, Jennie. They think of you as part of the family, and they still want you to be. You don't have to feel guilty anymore. All they cared about was that we loved each other, and that we made each other happy. And I'm sure that once they've given us as much shit about it as they want to, this will just be the story that they pull out every at Thanksgiving or birthday or- or wedding," Lisa managed, tears choking her own throat at that last word.

"Wedding?" Jennie whispered.

"Yeah," Lisa said firmly. "A wedding. Our wedding. And I don't care if I have to take a sabbatical and move to Homer with you. I don't care if I have to quit. I don't care if we stay in the US or if we have to move somewhere else. Because I've been realizing something ever since I saw you climb out of bed with your hair like a birds nest and your pajama pants twisted up your leg." Lisa heard gasps around the office, and Jennie's cheeks grew a little pink. "I don't want to live without you. I could, but that would be awful. If you move to Korea without me, I don't want to miss you and ache for you every day that you're not there. I don't want to wonder what you're doing on your birthday every year for the rest of our lives. I don't want to pass that spot between the mainland and the island without thinking of how you proposed, and I don't want to look at a storm anymore without you by my side. I don't want a life without you. I love you, Jennie Kim, and there's no need to feel guilty anymore. My family knows the truth, and they love you. And we want to keep you, if that's alright with you."

The silence rang out around them. If someone had dropped a pin, everyone would've heard it. The office held its breath, waiting for Jennie's answer. Lisa felt like a spectator at the Super Bowl, waiting for the snap on a possible game-winning field goal with only seconds to go on the clock. Her heart was racing, and she was looking at Jennie like she held the keys to her heart.

This was it. She'd laid it all out on the line. All Lisa could do now was wait.

Lisa watched Jennie anxiously. She still looked shocked, as if she couldn't quite believe what she'd heard.

Then, like sunshine breaking through in the eye of the storm, a smile spread across Jennie's face. It started out slowly, but it grew and grew until it was as radiant as Lisa had ever seen it. Until finally, Jennie was beaming, her eyes crinkling at the corners, and her gums clearly visible.

"You mean it? You really mean it?" Jennie asked finally, her voice trembling even as she smiled.

"I really mean it, all of it," Lisa confirmed, as clearly as she could, hope rising within her.

As Lisa watched, Jennie seemed to stand up straighter, as if the heavy burden of guilt from her shoulders was being relieved piece by piece, until she was standing free of it. It was a beautiful sight to behold; an unburdened, happy Jennie, who was smiling at her as if she couldn't contain the joy that was trying to burst out of her. It was a Jennie that nobody in this room but Lisa had ever seen before.

"You love me?" Jennie asked quietly, as if she just wanted to make sure one last time.

"Of course I love you, you silly swamp witch!" Lisa said exasperatedly. She was smiling too much for there to be any bite to it though. "You proposed to me, and I said yes, how much more obvious could it be?"

"Good," Jennie replied, her smile deepening even more. "Because I love you, too."

"Kiss your swamp witch, Lisa!" called Minnie from her desk, and around them both, there was an outbreak of laughter from the staff members.

Lisa didn't need the encouragement from Minnie, but neither, it seemed, did Jennie.

Before Lisa could even reach towards her, Jennie closed the distance between them, her brown eyes burning with love, relief, and a hint of desire. Lisa wrapped one arm around Jennie's waist and pulled them flush against each other, and for one suspended, glittering moment, they gazed at each other.

I'm home, Lisa thought, I'm home now.

Jennie's hands slid along Lisa's jaw, before one of them tangled in her hair. With one sure tug, Jennie pulled Lisa towards her and there was no more distance between them as their lips crashed together in a messy, open-mouthed kiss.

Wolf whistles and cheers erupted around them as Lisa tightened her arms around Jennie, breaking the kiss for a moment because both of them were smiling too hard to continue. It only lasted a second before Jennie was kissing her again. Jennie's kiss was sure, confident, and only just this side of acceptable in a public setting, but Lisa forgot about their audience. All she gave a flying fuck about was that Jennie was here in her arms, and Lisa was home.

Jennie hummed happily into Lisa's mouth as she twisted her fingers in Lisa's hair.

"I love you," Lisa mumbled against Jennie's lips before kissing her again.

"I love you too," Jennie murmured. "I love you so much. You have no idea."

"Do you want to get out of here?" Lisa asked, leaning her forehead against Jennie's, heedless of their audience. The room was loud with talking now, none of it work-related, but Lisa couldn't concentrate on anything other than the woman in her arms.

"I'd love to," Jennie replied, her voice still quiet. "Shall we go to your place? I'd like to see more of it."

Lisa chuckled sheepishly against Jennie's lips even as her stomach swooped with want. "It has to be yours. I kind of snapped my key in my lock this morning on my way over here."

At that, Jennie burst out laughing, a light and unrestrained sound. Several people looked in their direction, not used to seeing their boss smile, never mind laugh so openly. Jennie paid them no mind and ignored them all, content to just stroke her fingers along Lisa's jaw.

"You are something else, Lisa Manoban," she said, dropping one of her hands so that she could hold Lisa's, entwining their fingers immediately.

"So are you, Jennie Kim," Lisa replied.

Jennie swung their joined hands while Lisa traced the dimples in Jennie's cheeks. It was almost as if the last day and a half had been erased, although she knew it hadn't. The issue of Jennie's visa was still very real.

"I just have to get some things from my office," Jennie said, her smile dimming a little as she glanced towards it. "I don't really like packing to leave somewhere, although..." she trailed off, beaming once more, "I don't think I'll be too sorry to stop working here. I really didn't know much about running a media empire and so frankly, Deb can have it."

Jennie pulled Lisa towards her office, and as Lisa closed the door behind them and turned towards the desk, the memories of Jennie announcing that they were engaged flashed through her mind. Only ten days ago, Lisa's life had turned a very drastic and unexpected corner. She watched as Jennie piled a few things into the box that was sitting on the desk, tucking her hair behind her ears as she opened a drawer.

Lisa looked around the room. Now that she knew Jennie much better, she didn't see much of her in the décor at all. It was too stale, too void of color. The only thing that screamed Jennie was a photograph of a fork of lightning on the wall to the side of the desk. The connection between herself, Jennie, and one particular storm made Lisa flush, and within seconds, she'd pulled Jennie around the corner towards her private bathroom, and leaned back against the wall.

They were completely out of sight of their colleagues here, and Lisa took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Jennie's waist, and give her a kiss that was definitely not suitable for public viewing. Jennie clutched at handfuls of Lisa's hoodie as Lisa's hands crept under Jennie's clothes, palms flat on Jennie's back. By the time they broke apart, both of them were breathing hard and Jennie's eyes were almost black with desire.

"I didn't think I'd get to do this again," Jennie whispered against Lisa's lips before she leaned back a little. "I- Lisa, I'm sorry that I left, I'm sorry that I just left in the middle of the night-"

Lisa smiled and brushed a thumb over Jennie's bottom lip, and Jennie cut off her apology. "I understand why you did it. I do. We can talk about it later, but for now I just want to say I understand, and I'm not mad at you. All I care about is that we're together. We can figure the rest out. I just don't want to lose you," she said, sliding her hand into Jennie's hair. "I love you, and my family loves you, and that's all that- that's what I came here to say. I told them the truth, but all they needed to know was that we made each other happy. That's it. The rest can work itself out."

Jennie smiled up at her before giving Lisa a soft, sweet kiss. "I know it was only a short time apart, my love, but I missed you."

"I missed you too," Lisa replied, draping an arm around Jennie's shoulders as Jennie lay her head on Lisa's chest. Lisa cradled Jennie close to her, thrilled at being able to hold Jennie once more. She brushed her hand through dark hair as Jennie nuzzled the underside of her jaw, before she leaned up and gave Lisa a kiss so soft that she felt like she would melt.

They had barely been standing there quietly for more than a few moments before a perky voice cut through the silence.

"Isn't this cozy?"

Lisa snapped her head around to find Jeon Somi standing with her arms folded in Jennie's office, her eyebrows raised as she looked at them wrapped up in each other. Lisa felt Jennie stiffen in her arms as she realized who was standing there, and ran a soothing hand down her back.

Dread radiated so strongly throughout Lisa's body that she immediately felt a little sick with it at the sight of Somi, standing there so innocently with a Barbie-doll smile on her face. Instinctively, Lisa tightened her arms protectively around Jennie, as if by doing so, she could keep her from Somi's grasp. Jennie, for her part, pushed herself slightly closer to Lisa, her fingers wrapping around the lapels of Lisa's hoodie.

"How did you get in here?" Jennie asked, her voice a little unsteady.

"Security let me in. I've actually been here for a little while. I caught the end of your... talk, out there in front of everyone," Somi said, indicating the office with a point of her finger.

Suddenly, Lisa remembered the ping of the elevator while she and Jennie were talking out on the floor.

"I think we should all have a chat," Somi said, after neither Lisa nor Jennie spoke.

Even if Somi deported Jennie, Lisa thought desperately, she wouldn't be able to keep them apart. She and Jennie would work something out. Not after everything they'd been through in the past week and a half. Lisa was prepared to do anything at this point to keep Jennie in her life.

Somi wouldn't take Lisa's happiness from her now, and she certainly wouldn't be taking Jennie's. Not if Lisa had anything to say about it.

Pulling herself up to her full height and taking a sharp breath, Lisa let her hands loosen around Jennie's back, and she nodded.

"Alright," she said to Somi. More quietly to Jennie, she said, "come on. We can do this. I've got you, okay?"

Seeing that they were going to follow her, Somi turned around and moved towards Jennie's desk. As she was about to sit in Jennie's chair, Jennie started to clear her throat. Lisa elbowed Jennie gently. "Let's not make it worse," Lisa whispered.

"Oh," Jennie replied under her breath. "Oh yeah." She sat in one of the two chairs opposite the desk, with Lisa in the one beside her. Lisa thought it made more sense, anyway. This way, they could sit together. It was very reminiscent of their meeting in the USCIS office, except that this was in their place of work, and their colleagues could look in at any time. Lisa didn't dare turn around to see whether anyone actually was, although she was sure that she could feel eyes on the back of her head.

Jennie's hand was shaking slightly in hers, but Lisa ran her thumb over the back of it, and she heard Jennie give a gentle sigh.

Somi sat back in Jennie's chair and crossed her arms. She looked across the desk at both of them, one by one, in silence. Lisa felt a little like she was under a microscope, the way Somi's eyes swept over them. She looked like she was trying to figure something out, and Lisa didn't like it one bit. When Somi finally smiled her plastic smile again, Lisa felt her stomach sink into her boots.

"You two present quite the interesting case, you know," Somi said conversationally, leaning down and bringing her clipboard out of the bag she'd apparently propped up against Jennie's desk. Lisa hated that damned clipboard. "I've been doing this job for some time now and I have never been wrong about a supposed couple who is trying to scam the system. I'm not wrong about you two, either."

Shit. She and Jennie hadn't even had time to discuss anything yet. Lisa didn't even know exactly what Somi had said to Jennie to prompt Jennie to leave in the small hours of Saturday morning, other than giving Jennie the deal. Lisa opened her mouth to say something, but Somi held up her hand.

"Do you want to know why I think you're interesting?" Somi asked. She didn't wait for an answer before continuing to speak. "I know that your application for a fiancée visa was made under false pretences. I know that you faked your relationship. As I said to Miss Kim on Friday, I know that you have no evidence of your relationship. If I were to visit either of your homes, I would not find a single shred of evidence that you two had ever been a couple until very recently. The loss of all your photos, apparently all held on Jennie's now destroyed phone, was all just too convenient."

As Somi spoke, Lisa sank back in her chair. Is this the kind of thing that Somi had said to Jennie on Friday? Had she really laid it all out this bluntly? If so, it was no wonder that Jennie had left. They'd never had a chance, not even from the very start. Even if they'd passed the interview, they would have failed the background check. Somi was right; they had absolutely none of the evidence that they would've needed to prove that their relationship was real.

Lisa could almost hear her heart racing in her chest, and she gripped Jennie's hand a little tighter.

"The most interesting thing about the two of you, though," Somi went on, leaning back in the chair and folding her arms over her chest once more, "is that I do genuinely think that you two love each other."

Jennie sat up straight in her chair. "We-"

"Independently of each other," Somi said, as if Jennie hadn't tried to interrupt, "you both exhibited strong feelings for each other. Miss Kim here was steadfast until I threatened you, Miss Manoban, at which point she backed down and stated that she would say or do anything to keep you from harm. Generally, this does not happen in false relationships. Her defense of you was intense, if teary. She begged me not to hurt you, stated that she loved you, and said that she would give up everything for you."

Lisa looked over at Jennie, whose eyes were beginning to turn red at the edges, as if she were fighting back tears. As Lisa watched, Jennie quite obviously bit the inside of her lip, and Lisa brushed her thumb across the back of Jennie's hand once more.

Somi turned her gaze on Jennie.

"Miss Manoban, on the other hand, admitted to her feelings for you, before she dropped me back off in Homer. That in itself wouldn't have been remarkable; declarations of love are par for the course in these situations, even if her declaration was very... sweet. It wasn't until today, however, that I became convinced of her feelings for you, Miss Kim. In the last few days she flew across the country, declared that she loved you in front of the entire office, indicated that you did actually propose to her some time within the last week, and say that she would move to Korea for you. In addition, she also stated that she had told her family about what you two had done. Your colleagues out there may not know the whole situation, but I do. Neither of you noticed me come in, neither of you knew that I was listening, and neither of you were expecting me to walk in on you giving each other an intimate hug in a place clearly designed for privacy," Somi said, indicating the hallway towards Jennie's bathroom that did, indeed, block them from the view of their office.

Lisa didn't know why Somi was saying all of this. Her stomach was twisting itself in knots as she sat there, and she could feel her shirt sticking to her back with sweat. She was very, very nervous right now. What she'd said was the truth, she would fly to Korea to be with Jennie, but what that had to do with Somi, Lisa didn't know. She thought it best to say nothing, though, because Somi looked like she was about to speak again, and Lisa didn't think it wise to interrupt.

"Given everything I've witnessed from the two of you, I conclude that you have genuine, loving feelings towards each other. I'm not sure, of course, how long they've been going on-"

"Three years," Jennie blurted out in a wobbly voice. Somi's eyebrows rose, but when Jennie spoke again, she didn't try to stop her. "I- I first noticed her on her very first day here. I tried for a long time to get her attention, but being her boss, and being a Kim, I didn't know how to talk to her. She didn't seem to realize that I... it's all ridiculous now. I'm not sure exactly when I fell in love with her, but I used to talk to my friend and colleague Nayeon, all the time about her, about how I could make my feelings known. I put a name to those feelings while we were in Homer, but I'd been feeling them for a long time before that."

"I liked her for a long time, too," Lisa said, looking over at Jennie, who gave her a tremulous smile. "I sort of... admired her from afar. She was my boss, and so it was kind of awkward. It was when we were in Homer that I realized I had more than professional feelings for her, and the more I got to know her, the deeper in love I fell. I wouldn't say they're... new feelings, but I guess I wasn't as aware of them as Jennie was. But they are... she did propose to me, last week. She got down on one knee and asked me to marry her, and I said yes, genuinely, and with all my heart."

Somi regarded them carefully. "I'm sure that I don't need to tell you how rare it is that two people who attempt to do what you did actually have real, romantic feelings for each other. If they did, there wouldn't be sham marriages in the first place. Platonic friends trying to help each other, yes. People who actually want to be together? It's very rare."

"Neither of us were brave enough to talk to each other before all this," Lisa said. She felt that it was important that Somi knew this, because it was part of their story. "We both wanted to get to know the other, but neither of us had the courage to actually... talk to each other. If we had, none of this would've happened. But it... it pushed us to make that step and now I- now that I know Jennie, really know her, I..."

"You don't want to be without her," Somi finished for her. Lisa was surprised, but she nodded.

"I should have left a note with all those flowers," Jennie mused quietly. "Or left the pastries on your desk instead of in the break room. Or been more obvious in any kind of way."

"I think the invitation to Paris was obvious in hindsight, I was just too oblivious to see it," Lisa replied, pulling Jennie's hand into her lap.

A silence settled in the room. For Lisa, it felt tense. The air seemed to be full of words unsaid, and Lisa didn't want to try to guess what was going on in Somi's head. She glanced over at her; Somi was looking down at her clipboard. As she watched, Somi leaned down and pulled a thin folder out of her bag, then thumbed through the pages. Lisa could feel Jennie's hand shaking in hers, and she wrapped both of her hands around it.

The silence stretched on and on, becoming taut like an elastic band stretched too far. One wrong comment and the whole thing could snap, but the silence was excruciating, and Lisa longed to fill it. It was only Jennie shaking her head minutely at her that stopped her from speaking. Her leg jigged up and down out of the view of Somi, and she felt another bead of sweat trickle down her back.

After more than two minutes of complete silence, during which Lisa felt like she was going to explode, Somi put the folder back down and closed the cover. She rested her clasped hands on top of it and gave them a smile that looked only slightly more genuine than the plastic one she'd always worn before.

It was very disconcerting. Somi looked like she was about to hand down a judgement, and Lisa's heart was in her mouth. Her pulse was racing, and she was sure that her palm was clammy against Jennie's, but Jennie didn't let go.

"Nothing changes the fact that you two did try to break federal law," Somi said seriously, her smile disappearing. Lisa sat frozen in her seat. "That said, it's like I told you earlier. It's very rare that a couple who try to do this have genuine feelings for each other. You both clearly care deeply for each other; you showed me this independently of each other, and when you didn't think I could see you. Miss Manoban, I heard you say outside that you told your family about what you did?" Lisa nodded. "And what did they say?"

"They, uh-" Lisa tried, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat quickly and tried again. "They said that the way we acted together was too real to be fake. That we owed it to ourselves to try for this, that I should come here and try to talk to Jennie. Um, that I should move to Korea if that's what it takes for us to be together. And they want to keep Jennie," Lisa said, looking across at Jennie. "Clare said that she would be honored to have you as a third daughter."

At that, Jennie's eyes filled with tears. "I've never really had a family," she said thickly, "but I want to be part of yours."

Somi looked carefully between the two, before she seemed to come to some decision. "Given everything you two have told me, everything I've heard elsewhere, and what I've seen, I've made a decision. I've taken into account what you two tried to do, but given how you two clearly feel about each other, I'm inclined to be more lenient than I was before," Somi said, her smile returning. "Miss Kim, you will not be able to work for an American company for the time being, as you do not have a valid visa, but you will not be deported. I will give both you a month. At the end of the month, you will both need to take the interviews, and you will need to pass them. If you do, your fiancée visa will be processed, and I expect you to marry each other soon after it has been granted. Usually, that will take between six to nine months, but that's enough time to plan a wedding..."

Lisa felt like she was swimming through molasses as her brain struggled to fully understand what Somi was saying. She could feel herself trembling all over; this seemed too good to believe. She couldn't believe it. Jennie would stay? They could be together? Lisa needed to hear it once more.

"You mean I- I get to keep Jennie?" Lisa asked, hardly daring to even say the words, as if saying them would make Somi change her mind.

Somi gave her a wide smile. "Yes, you get to keep each other, provided you pass the interviews in a month. I don't anticipate any problems with that."

"We can stay together? Here?" Jennie croaked, her voice cracking with emotion. "I can s-stay? I don't have to go back to Korea?"

"Not if you pass the interviews," Somi said. "Make no mistake, the USCIS will be keeping an eye on you. My professional opinion counts for a lot, since you were my case, but my opinion is that you are a genuine couple, even if you came to that decision in a... less than orthodox way. The Immigration rules still apply to you, but given your feelings for each other, as I said, I'm inclined to be more lenient. I'm not heartless, regardless of how I may have come across. It was my job to investigate you, and even though I was right, I wasn't wholly right. Tearing the two of you apart would be cruel, and I'm not in the business of cruelty. Let me plainly state everything, so that there is no doubt," Somi said, leaning forward a little, "Miss Kim, you will not be allowed to work until you have a valid visa. That will not be until you are issued the fiancée visa. You will not be allowed to leave the country, not even to go to Alaska. If you fly to Homer to visit family and your plane is diverted to a Alaskan airport for whatever reason, if you go past security, you will be in violation of your status and you will make things difficult for yourself. The US is a large country. Try to stay within the boundaries for the next few months, okay?"

Jennie nodded frantically, wiping away the tears that fell down her cheeks. "I will."

"Miss Manoban, for you this will be like going back to the start of this application. As an American citizen, your legal status in the country is obviously not in question. You are free to work as normal. I do suggest, however, that you open a joint bank account, among other things, to lend weight to your relationship. I will email you both confirming what we have discussed today."

Neither Lisa nor Jennie spoke. Jennie looked like she was struggling to hold her tears back, and Lisa felt like she was drunk. She heard Somi speak, she'd heard the words she'd said, and on some level she understood them. But the blood was roaring in her ears and her pulse was still racing. All she could think of was that Jennie could stay. Jennie was staying. They could be together, for real, with no lies being told. Lisa felt tears burn behind her own eyes and a lump rose in her throat at the thought that she and Jennie would be together.

"I should say that I do not give second chances lightly," Somi said, breaking through Lisa's thoughts. "I suggest that you work very hard on studying for these interviews, and that you do not give yourselves any reason to fail. If you pass them, there is no reason to think that you will suffer consequences. I am aware of your past history, but I am also aware of the fact that you two clearly love each other. Do not let me regret giving you this chance," she finished, pointing at each of them in turn.

"We-we won't," Lisa managed.

"Right then," Somi said, slipping her folder and her clipboard back into her bag and standing up. Lisa and Jennie climbed to their feet as well, still clutching each other's hands. "I have to get back to the office. I came here to speak with Jennie about her deportation and instead we've done a U-turn. I will be in touch with you both soon with your interview appointment dates and a summary of this... meeting. Miss Kim, Miss Manoban." She nodded at them both as she swept out of the office.

For a short, dumbfounded moment, they stared at each other. Jennie's eyes were glassy with tears, and she was visibly trembling. Lisa could feel Jennie's hand shaking in hers, and she knew she wasn't much better off.

And then, with a muffled cry, Jennie threw herself into Lisa's arms and burst into tears, pushing her face into the crook of Lisa's neck and sobbing. Lisa tightened her arms around Jennie's waist and felt the tears rolling down her own face. She pressed kisses against Jennie's temple, in her hair, wherever she could reach, until they were both sniffling and wiping their faces with tissues from a box on the desk.

When Jennie finally looked up with a watery smile, Lisa gave her as bright a smile as she could manage.

"Let's go home," Jennie said. She gave Lisa a shaky, but warm, kiss before she wound her arms around her neck and hugged Lisa, standing on her tiptoes. "Let's go home."

* * * * *

Several hours later, Lisa woke up curled around Jennie, her arm wrapped over Jennie's stomach, pulling them gently together. When she pressed a warm kiss to Jennie's shoulder, she tasted salt on her skin, evidence of the exercise they'd put each other through since they'd tumbled through Jennie's front door.

Lisa hadn't had time to look around the place before Jennie was pulling her into her bedroom. They both left a trail of clothes across the floor in their attempt to get their hands on each other once more. For the next few hours, they loved each other, and there was no need to hold back. Nails scratched down backs, fingers gripped and wandered, tongues pressed into soft places, and lips delivered kisses. They murmured words into each other's mouths, into their ears, and against their skin. They had no need, either, to be quiet. Their names were offered like prayers, called out, or whispered through voices tight with pleasure.

Afterward, they fell asleep together in Jennie's large bed, Lisa pulling the sheet up around them. Jennie fell asleep first, her hand loose in Lisa's as she dozed off. She'd gone to sleep with a smile on her face, and Lisa lay awake for only a little while longer, marveling at the fact that she now got to hold Jennie in her arms once more. Jennie wasn't going anywhere, Jennie was home, and so was Lisa. They got to keep each other.

When she woke up, the late afternoon sun was making the bedroom glow. Lisa looked around. It was decorated in soft cream and off-white, with maroon edging on the sheets, fluffy throw, and the corners of the pillows. There were a few paintings on the walls, but the room was mostly minimally decorated, as if Jennie didn't spend a lot of time in here. Lisa supposed that with the late hours Jennie worked, this was just a place to sleep. Jennie had said herself that she preferred her cabin up near Salem, but that didn't make Lisa any less eager to explore the apartment, this part of Jennie that she'd never seen.

Jennie stirred not too long later, stretching luxuriously, before turning over and smiling at Lisa.

"Hello, my love," she murmured, pressing her lips to Lisa's in a gentle kiss.

"Hello, swamp witch," Lisa replied, and was rewarded with Jennie's soft laughter.

"I love you," Jennie said, trailing her fingertips along Lisa's jaw. "And I love being able to say it now. I almost can't believe that we're lying here together, and that your family knows what we did." Her face grew troubled for a moment. "Lisa-"

"You don't need to say you're sorry," Lisa said preemptively, and when Jennie frowned, she knew she'd guessed right.

Jennie wasn't to be deterred, though. "I still want to say I'm sorry. I should say it. I'm sorry for putting you through it all, and for making you lie. I'm sorry that my guilt over it drove me to leave in the middle of the night like some kind of thief, without even talking to you about it first, and I'm sorry for... I'm sure that the letter upset you. I never wanted to hurt you. That is the last thing I'd ever want."

Lisa hummed for a second, before she rolled gently on top of Jennie, settling between her legs and propping herself up on her elbows. "I accept your apology, but I'm not sorry. Do you want to know why?"

"Of course," Jennie said, her eyebrows raised slightly.

"I'm not sorry because if it weren't for the fact that you demanded my help, we may never have got to know each other. You might have left the country before we'd had our chance, we'll never know. I'm not sorry we had to lie to my family, even if it made us both feel terrible, because without having to act like a couple in front of them, I would never have realised just how much I loved to hold your hand. I'm not sorry because if it weren't for that week in Homer, I wouldn't have discovered what a wonderful, sweet, kind, thoughtful person you are. I'm not sorry because if it weren't for you feeling so guilty and giving in to Somi's threats to save me, she would never have realized the depths of your feelings. I'm not sorry for any of it, because all of it led to us here, now, being able to be together. Jennie Kim, there's no need to apologize anymore," she finished, touching her forehead to Jennie's.

"O-okay then," Jennie said, a wobbly smile on her face as she dug her hands into Lisa's hair and pulled her down for a tender, open-mouthed kiss. It wasn't a kiss meant to lead anywhere, but Lisa sank into it anyway, sank into Jennie. In one movement, she twisted onto her back and pulled Jennie into a tight hug, never breaking the kiss.

"I know your feeling of guilt won't go away overnight," Lisa said a moment later, pushing Jennie's hair behind her ears. "I suspect it won't until we've at least spoken to my family. We'll give them a call later, okay?" she said, smiling when Jennie nodded. "We can tell them the good news together." Reaching down, Lisa pulled up Jennie's left hand, stroking her fingers along a certain finger. "And I want to buy you a ring, too. I want everyone who looks at us to know that, despite our unorthodox start, we chose each other."

"I would love that," Jennie whispered.

"Me too. And I know we've done a lot of learning about each other already, but now we have a whole month. We're back in New York. We can take each other to our favorite places, we can head up to Salem, we can watch a storm from my apartment in Red Hook if there is one. We can do all the things a couple would do. We can go on dates. Do you remember what you said, about dates?"

Jennie smiled at the memory of them painting the boathouse and asking each other questions. "I said that I would have treated you beautifully, if we'd got to go on any."

"Well, now's your chance. I like hot dogs, holding your hand, and walks in the dog park," Lisa said, giggling when Jennie's breathy laughter spilled out of her. "But I'm open to any of your ideas, too. As long as I'm with you, the date will be beautiful enough for me."

"Whatever did I do to deserve you, Lisa Manoban?" Jennie said quietly, her brown eyes sparkling with unshed tears and happiness.

"I'm not sure, but as I don't know what I did to deserve you either, I guess we're even," Lisa said with a confident nod of her head. She let her eyes wander around the room once more. "So, I haven't seen any of this apartment."

"There's not much to see," Jennie replied with an exaggerated groan, reaching for Lisa. "I'd rather stay in bed with you."

"But I want to see the closet with all the science pun shirts!" Lisa said excitedly, sitting up even while Jennie tried to pull her back down towards her. "I want to see where you cook all the things you love to eat. I want to see the view out of your apartment window. Show me your life, Jennie! I want to see all of it. Where are the giant closets?" she asked, climbing out of bed and hearing Jennie laugh behind her. "How big is your bathroom? Where is the bathroom? Do you have a lab in here somewhere where you tinker with robots? Is it a mad scientist lab? Do you have any cool robots here that you can show me?"

Lisa strode naked across the bedroom towards the door, their discarded clothes like a trail of breadcrumbs into the parts of Jennie's life she'd never seen. Behind her, Jennie sat up in bed. The crinkling of the sheets made Lisa pause in the doorway, looking back. Jennie's hair was a mess, as usual. The sheets were pooled around her waist, and she looked like nothing less than the most beautiful painting Lisa had ever seen.

When Jennie reached her, Lisa took her hand, just as she'd done at the start of it all. With a brush of her thumb across the back of Jennie's hand, she murmured, "show me your life, Jennie."

And with a soft smile, Jennie did.