"And they lived happily ever after."
Jennie closed the book with a sad smile. If only it was that easy. Maybe teaching Ellie about divorce and cheating would prepare her better for life, but on the other hand, depressing a kid at such a young age was probably not the right way of education.
She put the book on the nightstand and leaned down to place a kiss on her daughter's head.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, darling?" Jennie asked and softly and ran her hand through the girl's curls once more.
"When is Lisa coming back?"
It was a simple question but it made Jennie's heart ache. Even more when she thought about the fact that she had no idea how to answer it.
"I don't know," she eventually said. "Lisa has to protect other children like you, you know?"
Ellie nodded a bit, her feline eyes curious but sad at the same time.
"I don't know when she's coming back."
Or if she's coming back at all.
Jennie closed the bedroom door behind her and let out a desperate sigh. She felt helpless. For what felt like the twentieth time that day she dialled Lisa's number.
No answer.
Again.
///
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Jennie tried telling herself that she did all this for Ellie. That her daughter was the one who needed Lisa more than she did. To be honest, she wasn't sure who needed her more. But no matter what, Lisa had to come back.
So that was how Jennie ended up in front of an apartment complex, early the next morning. She'd dropped Ellie off at kindergarten and even though the girl didn't seem happy about it at all, Jennie thought that giving her a sense of normalcy was the best for her in a situation like this. And after that, she'd come right here. Maybe it had been a bad idea to look up Lisa's address in their files but again, she was doing this for Ellie.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, Miss Manoban doesn't live here anymore," the doorman eventually said after checking his documents over and over again.
"When did she move out?"
"End of last month. She didn't want to renew her contract."
Jennie thanked the man and walked back out towards the car where Jinyoung was waiting for her. She let herself drop in the backseat and let out a slight huff.
Again, this made no sense. Maybe Lisa had planned to stay with her and Ellie for a longer time? Or she simply moved to a new place, but Lisa had never said anything about moving. Jennie closed her eyes for a moment and leaned back in her seat. Now she knew even less than before.
After being at the office for only a few hours (a few very unproductive hours) Jennie decided to go home early and pick up Ellie from kindergarten. She wanted to spend time with her daughter now more than ever.
When she arrived there, one of the teachers waved her over to the corner of the room.
"Did something happen to Ellie?" the teacher asked with a quiet voice. "She barely ate anything and didn't speak all day."
Jennie wasn't sure how to answer that question. It felt like a stab in the heart, hearing that Ellie had such a hard time dealing with all of this.
"I- uhm, there was a loss in the family," she eventually said, eyes on Ellie, who slowly put her shoes on all by herself.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Miss Kim. My condolences."
Jennie just nodded, not bothering to correct the woman. Instead she went over to her daughter to help her into her jacket.
///
It was later that night, Ellie had cried and so had Jennie. Separate from each other but for the same reason. So when Jennie had finally managed to put her daughter to bed, she called Jisoo. Afterwards, Jennie had no idea what she had actually said into the phone, but about 15 minutes later Jisoo stormed through the front door.
Before she even finished asking if Jennie was okay with a hug, the brunette was already wrapped around her completely. They stayed like this for a while, until Jennie could feel that her hands stopped shaking. Jisoo then moved her to the couch and made them both some tea before she sat down as well.
"You love her, don't you?"
Jennie raised her chin to look at her with watery eyes. She'd never even thought about it. Love. Such a weird concept.
"I do," she said after a few long moments had passed. Her voice raspy from crying too much. "I love her so much that it hurts."
She looked down at her hands again, her bottom lip shaking, when two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.
"It'll all be okay. I promise," Jisoo whispered.
Their night ended with Jisoo falling asleep on the couch after she'd come up with a list of all possible ways to get into contact with Lisa and to also get her back to Jennie. The whole time, Jennie had just looked at her in awe. Jisoo in her fight mode was definitely amazing to watch.
///
The next morning, Jennie started with the first point on their list; calling DSPS Security.
"Hi, this is Jennie Kim speaking. I'd like to get in contact with Lisa Manoban. She's worked for me until recently and we still have some things to sort out."
Jennie cringed at her own phrasing but she had no idea how to say it in a better way. The woman at the other end started typing before she spoke again.
"Ah yes, I see it here. Unfortunately, I can't help you with that," she said.
"Do I need an appointment or what is the problem?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Manoban doesn't work here anymore. Could I interest you in any of our other bodyguards? They all went through the same training program and-"
"Uhm, no thank you," Jennie interrupted her quickly. "Do you happen to know where I can find her? Did she switch companies or something?"
"I'm sorry but I don't know anything about that."
"Okay, thank you anyway."
And with a sour feeling in her stomach, Jennie ended the call. What did this mean? Did Lisa quit because of what had happened. Or even worse, did she get fired?
Her thoughts got interrupted by another call coming through. She answered her phone without looking at the caller ID.
"This is Jennie Kim speaking."
"Miss Kim, this is Detective Irene," the woman at the other end said. Well, that was fortunate, as Irene was one of the next people on her list. "I was wondering if you could come down to the precinct today. There was a breakthrough in your case."
///
When Jennie left the police precinct a few hours later, she felt lighter than she had in a long time. They had somehow found a large sum of money that the psychologist of her daughter's kidnapper had received from one of Mrs. Kim's offshore bank accounts.
There were still a few weeks left until Mrs. Kim's trial, but Irene assured her that there was no way she would get out of this.
"I don't know if I can ever thank you enough," Jennie said when they stepped outside interrogation room once again.
There was a hint of blush spreading on Irene cheeks. "I had help. Lisa was actually the one who found the connection to Mrs. Kim."
Only hearing the name spiked Jennie's heartbeat. "Lisa? Was she here?"
"No, I haven't seen her in a while," Irene shrugged, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. "She called me the other day and told me everything she'd found out. Why? Isn't she still your daughter's bodyguard?"
"Do you have a way to contact her? She won't answer my calls and I really need to talk to her."
The Detective looked at her with a frown and Jennie had no idea what to say to get her to help.
"Or maybe Rosie, her sister, do you have her number? Maybe she's listed as her emergency contact?"
Irene shook her head. "I'm not allowed to hand out personal information like that."
"Please Irene, this is basically an emergency so I need her emergency contact."
"I'm sorry but-"
"Please"
"Okay, fine," the detective eventually said. "But don't tell anybody that I gave it to you."
Then she went over to her computer to look something up and shortly after, handed a piece of paper with a phone number and an address to Jennie.
"She lives with her sister as far as I know."
As the brunette accepted it, she could feel the tension bleeding out of her body. She finally had a way she could find Lisa.
"Thank you so much, I owe you one."
///
The seconds it took until the front door was opened were excruciating to Jennie. She'd never been a patient person but lately it had only gotten worse. Finally, she found herself face to face with Rosie.
"Oh Miss Kim, I didn't expect to see you here," the blonde said. She was casually dressed in sweatpants and it didn't look like she was expecting anyone.
"Is Lisa here? I need to speak to her."
Before Rosie could answer, the elevator doors behind Jennie opened and a pizza delivery guy stepped out.
"Finally," Rosie mumbled with a smile on her face. She paid the guy for the food and it almost seemed as if she had forgotten that Jennie was still standing there.
"Do you want to come in?" she asked right before closing the door. "Lisa isn't here though."
Jennie sighed, but walked inside anyway. "Do you at least know where she is? She won't answer my calls and I just want to know that she's alright."
Jennie looked down at her own fumbling hands, rather than looking at Rosie's pitiful eyes.
"Do you want pizza?" the blonde asked.
"No, thanks." Even the thought of eating food right now made her stomach turn around.
Rosie gestured for her to sit down and grabbed her first slice of pizza.
"Lisa... after what happened the other day she decided to go home for a while. She didn't tell me much by the way so feel free to fil me in."
"What do you mean home? I thought she lived here?"
"Yes, she does. But I mean home home. Back to Thailand where her mom lives."
"Oh," Jennie sank down in her chair. That was the last thing she'd expected.
"Look, Jennie," Rosie interrupted her thoughts. "I don't know what happened between the two of you but I know that Lisa... she's really grown attached to Ellie and to you as well. So whatever happened, maybe you two should talk it out."
"But that's the problem, isn't it? I want to talk to her but she doesn't want to talk to me and I don't know what I'm supposed to do," she sighed once again. "Please, can you help me?"
///
When asked later, Jennie couldn't say what had happened in the next 24 hours after that. Somehow, she found herself in a car with Rosie, Ellie, and Jinyoung behind the wheel heading towards Thailand.
It was clear that Jisoo was the one to be blamed for all of this. She'd convinced Rosie to take them there as soon as possible, she'd organised everything at K-Corp so Jennie could leave for longer than just a day, and she'd even packed her bags for her while Jennie was packing Ellie's stuff.
"I'm actually excited to go back home. I haven't seen Chittip in forever," Rosie said, while happily munching a sandwich.
"Have you ever been to the beach, Ellie?" she asked then and turned around as much as she could in her seat. "Our house is right by the ocean."
"Really?" Ellie asked with big eyes. "Can we go swimming, mommy? Pretty please?"
"Of course, darling," Jennie answered with a smile. She ruffled her daughter's hair and the girl responded with loud giggling.
"Oh I love this song!" Rosie said from the front and turned the radio louder. The blonde started to sing along and Ellie happily clapped her hands to the beat (or at least she tried).
Jennie couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of her. And with a small shock she realised that she couldn't even remember the last time she had smiled.
Admit it, Jisoo. Did you send me on vacation without telling me? She texted Jisoo. She'd had her suspicions when Jisoo had so gladly offered to pack her bags for her.
You're not allowed to come back to the office within the next two weeks. You're welcome. Came the reply within a few seconds.
I hate you.
Love you, too.
Jennie rolled her eyes. She had absolutely no idea what she would do without her best friend. Her phone vibrated again as another text came in.
Also, if you're not coming back with your body broken from too many orgasms, I'll personally chain you two together until you've made up for all of your sexless years.
Yep. Jennie was going to kill her.
///
Jennie could feel her heart beat quicken as she approached the glass doors leading to the terrace. She didn't feel prepared even though she'd had more than enough time to think about what to say. But prepared or not, there she was.
Standing on the porch and looking out at the ocean, was Lisa.
Golden hair tousled from the wind, her left arm still in a cast, wearing a soft-looking cardigan. Jennie had never seen her that soft before. She seemed fragile, somehow. And Jennie just had to watch her for a few seconds, just to make sure that this was really her Lisa and that she was really here.
Eventually, she announced herself with a soft knock on the glass door and took one step out on the terrace. Lisa turned around and her eyes widened at the sight of Jennie in front of her. As if she couldn't quite believe that what she was seeing was real.
It was silent for a few moments. Just the two women looking at each other.
"You came all the way here?" Lisa asked after what felt like an eternity.
"You didn't really give me another choice," Jennie answered. Her tone wasn't accusatory, it was cautious with a hint of pain in her voice.
"I needed to get away from it all," Lisa said and turned towards the ocean again. This time Jennie joined her and leaned onto the handrail as well. "I got suspended without pay until further notice so I decided to quit before they could fire me, which definitely would've happened."
The blonde sighed softly and Jennie instantly felt bad for her. She knew how much Lisa loved her job. She had seen it every single day at home.
"It never should've come that far. Falling in love with your client sounds like such a stupid cliché."
"Especially when your client is a five-year-old."
At that Lisa turned towards Jennie before letting out a loud laughter. It took Jennie off guard, especially when she realised how much she'd missed that sound.
"Wait," Jennie suddenly said before Lisa could speak again. "Did you just say you're in love with me?"
The happy smile on Lisa's face got replaced with a sad one. "Yes. Yes, I am."
"Oh thank god," Jennie mumbled. She couldn't think of anything other than to just take Lisa's face in her hands and kiss her senseless. "Wait," she interrupted herself once again. "I think we should talk before anything else."
"Yeah, we should."
"First of all, you can't just leave a child behind like that. Not when she's basically accepted you as one of her parents. You just don't do that."
Lisa quickly nodded, looking bashful. She'd never had children before but she still felt bad for not even thinking about that.
"You're right. I should've known better." And after a few seconds she added: "Can you forgive me?"
"I'm not the one you should ask."
"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to see her again," Lisa said sheepishly.
"Lisa, you belong to this family. You're already a part of it, don't you understand?" Lisa simply stared at her with wide eyes. The first tears were already glistening in her eyes. This was all she'd ever wanted and she had been so sure that she'd messed it up.
"Ellie is inside. Do you want to say hello?"
Quickly, the blonde nodded. "But I have something that I need to do first."
And then she gently took Jennie's face in her hands and leaned down to place a soft, almost shy kiss on her lips. Unlike last time, Jennie wasn't wearing her heels, making the high difference even bigger. Jennie smiled into the kiss and pulled her arms around Lisa to pull her close. And in that moment, she knew for sure that she could never let go of her again.
They spent a few more minutes outside. Simply standing there, wrapped up in each other, making up for the time they had missed together.
"I think we still have a lot to talk about," Lisa said into Jennie's neck. "But maybe we should go inside first. I really want to see Ellie."
///
"Lisa!" Ellie shouted as she saw the blonde step inside the house. She crashed right into the bodyguard, who was catching her with open arms.
"Hey sweetie," Lisa smiled and pick her up as gracefully as possible with one arm in a cast. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too," Ellie said and pulled her arms around Lisa's neck.
"I'm sorry that I left without saying goodbye. Can you forgive me?"
The girl nodded with her full body before she buried her face in Lisa's neck. The blonde felt like crying again. She truly didn't deserve the love of this tiny human. She swore to herself that she would make it up to Ellie somehow. She'd figure something out.
Jennie and the Manoban women watched the interaction all with smiles on their faces. And Jennie could feel that her world was falling back into place.
"I'm sorry I didn't really introduce myself before," she said when she realised that she was standing right next to Lisa's mom. "I'm Jennie Kim, thank you for welcoming us in your home."
"That's Chittip to you, dear," the woman said before she pulled Jennie into a warm hug. It took Jennie a few moments before she started to relax. The warmness of this family was just overall overwhelming.
"We're a bit short on beds but I think we can make it work," Chittip said and walked of to collect all the blankets in the house.
"Oh, I thought Jisoo had booked a hotel."
"I told her that that wouldn't be necessary but I didn't think that you'd bring your bodyguard as well," Rosie answered with a frown, counting everybody again.
"Well, Jinyoung is only here because he wouldn't want me to drive alone."
"You can't be mad at me for doing my job, Miss Kim," Jinyoung said, while trying to hide his smile.
"Thank you, Jinyoung. But I wouldn't want to keep you here for so long. You deserve to be with your family as well."
It took some time and a heated discussion but Jinyoung eventually agreed to drive back home to his family after Lisa had reassured him multiple times that both Jennie and Ellie would be safe with her. But Chittip insisted that he at least stayed for dinner.
///
Dinner with the Manoban family was... an experience itself. It was loud and messy, but all in a good way. Chittip had prepared a delicious meal and made sure to stuff everybody full to the top. Jennie was surprised that nobody was asking questions about what had happened between her and Lisa or what had even happened to Ellie in the first place. She knew the questions would come eventually but for the moment, she felt almost calm when thinking about it.
After dinner, Chittip sent Jinyoung off with a stack of leftovers he could take home and he only left the house after reminding Lisa once again of her duties. By that time, Ellie was almost asleep on the kitchen table. The exhaustion of the day had clearly gotten to her.
"Can you show me where I can put her down?" Jennie asked and Chittip got up from her chair in a second to show her to a room.
Rosie waited exactly one second after Jennie had left the room, before she punched Lisa's arm.
"Okay, what the heck is going on between you two and why did I not know about this?" She asked excitedly.
"Chill, Rosie, I only have one good arm," Lisa responded but she was already smiling like an idiot again. "Honestly, no idea how that all happened but I'm so fucking happy."
Rosie instantly wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her in for a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you," she mumbled into Lisa's sweater. "But next time you need to update me on your love life as soon as something happens or I'm gonna punch you in the bad arm."
"Okay, dork," Lisa laughed and pulled her sister in once again.
///
"So, I can share the guest bed with my sister or with you. Decision is all yours," Lisa told Jennie once they all got ready for bed. She was blushing slightly and the pure sight of it made Jennie grin.
"We can share if you want," Jennie suggested and Lisa quickly nodded.
"But no funny business!" Rosie yelled from the bathroom and Lisa had to roll with her eyes.
And as much as both of them wanted to do some 'funny business', it probably wasn't the best idea with a child and Lisa's family in the house. So Lisa and Jennie got into bed, and while Jennie only stiffly stayed on her side, Lisa instantly rolled over to her and cuddled closer.
"That okay?"
"More than okay," Jennie whispered back and finally relaxed.
They just lay there for a while, neither of them tired. After all, Jennie still had something she needed to get out.
"Uhm, that day," Jennie started slowly, not really knowing how to approach this topic. "I- I'm sorry for slapping you. You didn't deserve that."
There was no response from Lisa. She simply stared into the dark, thinking that maybe she actually did deserve it.
"I don't know what I thought in that moment. I just wanted something, anything to make me feel better but it didn't help and so you had to endure my anger. You don't even know how sorry I am."
"I forgive you," Lisa eventually answered. "But you know, it's not a healthy way to deal with your feelings."
Jennie leaned back against her pillow and sighed. "I know, nothing I ever do is."
Lisa slowly interlaced her fingers with Jennie's, hoping that the gesture said what she wasn't able to put into words.
"I thought about going to therapy. Together with Ellie. I think it would be good for both of us."
"That's a big step," Lisa said and turned her head into Jennie's direction to kiss her shoulder. "I'm proud of you. And I'll be here for you two no matter what. You know that, right?"
"I know. Thank you," Jennie whispered. Then she pressed a soft kiss on Lisa's knuckles and took a deep breath to keep herself from crying.
///
They stayed like that for a while. Just lying in silence, cuddled against each other. Lisa was almost asleep when Jennie broke the silence again.
"So now that you're basically unemployed, do you have time to go on a date?"
Lisa's lips spread into a wide grin and she chuckled softly.
"I have to warn you, though, I'm a single mother who's also a workaholic and lives with bodyguards."
"You're lucky. That happens to be exactly my type," Lisa said with a smile and leaned over to place another kiss on Jennie's lips.
///
Lisa nervously checked the time on her watch once again. It was already four minutes past eleven. What took them so long?
She let her eyes roam around the room once again, even though she had already spent enough time looking at all the different pictures and book shelves. She thought about getting up and walking around a little but before she could do so, the door finally opened.
Not even a second later, Ellie stormed out of the room and straight into Lisa's arms.
"Hey honey," Lisa said with a smile and scooped Ellie up into a hug. "How did it go?"
"I drew some pictures. Krystal has really nice crayons. They're even nicer than mine."
"Really? Wow, let's hope she lets you draw here more often."
Lisa looked up to see Jennie and another woman – Krystal, she assumed – looking at her from the doorway. They knowingly smiled at each other before Jennie went to give Lisa a quick kiss.
"It's nice to see that you have a good support system," Krystal said. "Ellie needs it. And you do too."
Jennie smiled at Lisa, a slight blush spreading on her cheeks.
"I'm Doctor Krystal Jung, it's nice to meet you. Lisa, right?"
"Yes, Lisa Manoban," she quickly answered and went to shake the woman's hand.
"I've heard a lot about you. From both of them," she said with a grin. It made Lisa's smile go even wider.
"Goodbye, Krystal," Jennie said, before Krystal was able to share any more stories. (Not that she was allowed to anyway.)
///
"So, I'm assuming it went well?" Lisa asked once they had arrived back home.
Home. It was still so weird to grasp it all. Technically, Lisa was still staying with her sister to give Jennie and Ellie some time to process everything that had happened but in reality, she spent more time at their house than anywhere else.
"Yes, and I even got some homework," Jennie said and hooked two fingers into the belt loops of Lisa's jeans.
"Oh really?" the blonde answered with a wicked grin.
"Yeah," Jennie whispered and pressed a few kisses along Lisa's jaw. "Krystal said we should get some alone time and," she slowly trailed her fingers over Lisa's arms, sending shivers down her back. "And talk about our feelings."
"Huh?"
Jennie dropped her hands, a small grin forming on her face.
"Oh you're a little shit, Kim."
Jennie's only response was a loud laughter before she pulled Lisa in for a kiss before she suddenly turned shy again.
"But can we actually do that? Talk about our feelings? I think it would be good for me."
"Of course, darling. I'll cook dinner and-" Jennie raised her eyebrow. "I'll order dinner and once Ellie is asleep, we can talk. Sounds good?"
The brunette only nodded and then wrapped her arms around Lisa. She still couldn't believe how she deserved someone so... someone like Lisa.
///
Over the past few weeks Jennie had gotten better at talking about her feelings. It was easy, being around Lisa. She was so gentle and understanding that sometimes it even felt like a little too much. Jennie wasn't used to being treated like this. And she wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to it.
"I love this view."
Jennie looked over at Lisa to see that the blonde had her back turned to the beach and was smiling at the other woman instead.
"Stop looking at me like a lovesick puppy. I can't handle so much attention."
"Yeah, sure," Lisa said with a grin and pulled Jennie in to give her a soft kiss. "I'm just so happy that you're here. That we're both here."
"Me too," Jennie answered and buried her hands in Lisa's hair to pull her down and show her exactly how happy she was.
Unfortunately, they got interrupted by Chittip after only a second. "Kids, dinner is ready," she said, while giving them a knowing smile.
"You know, I love staying with your family," Jennie whispered softly. "But I'd love to get some alone time with you."
Jennie had to grin at the way Lisa's eyes widened.
"Mom and Rosie wanted to go to the farmers market tomorrow morning. If we ask nicely, they'll take Ellie and we have the house to ourselves."
"I can't have sex with you in your childhood bedroom."
"Why not? We can turn the stuffed animals around so they're not watching."
"You're... something, Lisa Manoban."
"Eh, I've been told."
"Okay, so we have established that you're a big softy," Lisa said and handed Jennie a steaming mug and then dropped down on the couch right next to her.
"It's just that I haven't been in a serious relationship in a really long time and you're kind of perfect and that doesn't make things easier."
"But this isn't moving too fast for you, is it?" Lisa asked with a worried frown on her face.
"I don't know. It feels good. All of it."
"Even when... you know," Lisa wiggled her eyebrows. "When someone cries during sex, my first thought is that I did something wrong."
///
She could feel Jennie's thighs shaking as they pressed closer around her head. Lisa tried to pull her even closer, not caring about needing to breathe as she was surrounded by Jennie.
But instead of a moan, she heard her sobbing.
Lisa raised her head and tried to shake the messy hair out of her face.
"Hey baby, are you okay?" Lisa asked, voice deep and hoarse, still breathing heavily. She reached up softly pushed a strand of sweaty hair out of Jennie's face.
The brunette tried to quickly wipe away the few tears that had escaped her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Keep going."
"You don't look fine."
Jennie let out another sob and angrily wiped the fresh tears from her cheeks.
"I just love you so much. God, Lisa."
A soft smile spread on the blonde's face and quickly she leaned in too kiss the tears from Jennie's face.
"I love you, too," she whispered before slowly kissing her way back down.
Jennie cried out again. This time in a good way.
Jennie could feel her face heat up. "I just-" she stopped herself, unsure how to put her thoughts into words. "You are just so much. So loving and caring and it's a lot. And I'm still getting used to that."
A small smile spread on Lisa's face, making the frown disappear. She reached over and intertwined their fingers before Jennie continued.
"With you I can be vulnerable. I always had the feeling that I could. And that doesn't come easily for someone like me."
"I know, which is why I appreciate it even more."
Then Lisa smiled at her again, with those soft brown eyes looking right into her soul.
"God, this feelings-talk has too many feelings. Where is Jisoo and her inappropriate comments when you need her?" Jennie groaned, causing Lisa to laugh out loud.
"You know, I think Jisoo is really good for you. Even though she is a little shit," Jennie chuckled slightly at that. "But she cares about you."
The knock on the door made Lisa tense up instantly. It had developed after years on the job; the vigilance, always being alert. She gestured at the others to stay in the living room before she made her way to the door, already spotting anything she could possibly use to defend herself.
After a glance through the peep hole, Lisa let out a sigh and opened the door.
"Hey guys! Can I join the family vacation?" Jisoo yelled at her. She was wearing a wide grin and held a bottle of wine in her hands.
Lisa just rolled her eyes, but with a smile on her face as she opened the door wider to let her in.
For some inexplicable reasons, Chittip instantly took Jisoo to her heart and welcomed her to the suddenly very big family. And after all Lisa had to admit that she actually started to like Jennie's best friend.
It only took one day, though, until the actual intentions of this visit became clear.
"You," Jisoo said and pressed a finger into Lisa's chest. "I still have to talk to you."
"Okay?" Lisa answered slowly and threw a quick glance at Jennie. The brunette only rolled her eyes.
"You got this," Jennie then said and pat on Lisa's shoulder before she ran after Ellie, who was about to fall into the ocean (which, admittedly, the girl seemed very excited about).
"So you think you're good enough for my best friend, huh?"
A grin spread on Lisa's face. "Oh, is this your shovel talk?"
"Yes, now stop smiling this is serious," Jisoo said, putting both hands on her hips. "I know you're a bodyguard and carrying a gun and whatever. But I know how to use a shovel. And by that I mean; I'm literally going to punch you with a shovel if you ever hurt her again. And I don't want to because I actually like you."
"I'll try my best not to give you any reason then," Lisa answered with a smile. "And don't tell anybody, but I like you, too."
"Ellie really got herself a great family. With lots of weird and overprotective aunts. She's a lucky kid. Apart from the kidnapping thing."
"I'm afraid that it might happen again," Jennie admitted quietly after a few seconds. Lisa sighed and put her mug down on the table.
"You know I can't promise that something like this will never happen again." Jennie nodded slowly, a sad look in her eyes.
"But for now, your mother is in prison and the rest of the world has seen that this family can protect itself."
Jennie nodded again and Lisa squeezed her hands a little tighter.
"And not to brag but dating a woman has raised your social status immensely," the blonde said with a grin. "Dating me is the solution to all your problems."
"Yeah yeah, keep dreaming about that," Jennie answered with a smile but she knew that there was some truth to it. Ever since the press had found out about their relationship the articles about her had gotten more and more positive. The fewer people hated her, the safer it was for Ellie out there.
///
It was quiet for some time. They both drank their tea in silence. The severity of it all still hanging over them.
"She's my entire life. She's my heart. I couldn't live without her."
"And I will always protect her. I promise."
Jennie smiled softly as she leaned her head against Lisa's shoulder. Lisa placed a soft kiss on her head and let her thoughts drift away.
It was a promise she intended to keep.
Because that morning at her mother's house in Thailand, when Lisa had woken up with a tiny elbow in her face and feet pressing into her stomach. She'd opened her eyes to see Ellie squeezed in between her and Jennie. Jennie, whose hand she was almost still holding with only two fingers intertwined.
Because that morning, Lisa realised that without noticing it, she'd become part of a family.
Because that morning, Lisa decided that she wanted to marry Jennie Kim and never let go of this family ever again.